Assaph Mehr's Blog, page 29

Jordan Abbey (of Chaos Wolf, by Sheryl Hayes)

Dear readers, tonight with me is a literature major who – together with her moccha latte – got a bite from a love-sick werewolf. She is here to tell us about hostile alpha pack leaders and stiff-necked vampire elders, about their uneasy coexistence, and how one woman makes an epic mess of the status quo.

Tell us a little about where you grew up. What was it like there?

I grew up and still live in Rancho Robles. It’s a medium-sized city near the Santa Cruz mountains in California. Not as b...

World-building Historical Fantasy (or, of Unicorns and Icebergs)

The Historical Fantasy Book Club is one of my favourite FB groups (shocking, I know), and back in June they invited me for an “author takeover”. I thought rather than talking about my usual topics (Romans, and their obsession with fantastical beasts and how to cook them), I’d try to create a broader discussion, one about the various shades of historical fantasy — specifically how much and what type of “history” are addressed in books of this genre.

This turned into a lively and th...

Sergeant Vila Kiprik (of Deliverance at Van Demon’s Deep, by S.P. Stevens)

Dear readers, tonight with us is the leader of a snatch squad, tasked with clearing an old mine from the psychotic savages that took over. The savages – known as the Unbound – are followed by dark magic that mutates living things and liquefies rock, and Kiprik and his crew must make it to very bottom of the mine, where the deepest magic and the darkest truths lurk.

Tell us a little about where you grew up. What was it like there?

I was a Sendal lad, born and bred. Village like any other, b...

Book Review: The Good Audit, by C.P. Aiden

The Good Audit is one of the funniest, wittiest satires I have read in recent years, with humour and social criticism. A must for anyone who ever worked in the corporate world!

What to expect

A story about a team of accountants auditing a manufacturer’s financial records. Sounds boring? It’s anything but!

In a brilliant move, Aiden does name or describe the characters. They are all called based on their positions or salary bands – from Intern and Staff 2, to Manager and Partner. This does...

Special Announcement: OMG!

For those unaware, SPFBO (Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off) is the indie equivalent of Thermopylae — 300 entrants and only one winner. It’s rough, brutal, and very prestigious.

There are 10 blogs (some with multiple bloggers) judging 30 books each, and then the 10 finalists are judged with the help of Mark Lawrence for a single final winner.

Brutal, like I said.

Last night Zack Pike (who won last year’s SPFBO, and very well deservedly so!) announced his semi-finalists on Booknest. And guess which book he likes be...

Dorothy Kennedy-Denham (of Behind the Fan, by Caroline Walken)

Dear readers, tonight with me is an ageing heiress to an electronics empire, about to be sent to a nursing home by her family. She reminisces about her time as a burlesque dancer, and of family drama playing over decades of history.

Tell us a little about where you grew up. What was it like there?

Oh my, well that is going back a ways, you know I am nearly a 100. I will tell you, times were quite a bit different than today. My family lived in Newport Kentucky, in a real nice neighborhood; we knew everyon...

My Execution

This is a short piece I wrote when I wasn’t in a good mood… On the other hand, it suits the general October spookiness quite well.

You’ve been warned.

Today I will be executed for my crimes.

The guard banged his truncheon on the bars, and I obediently kneeled at the back of the cell. His mate pushed the key into the lock, twisted it, and opened the door. The first guard, Harry, put a tray on the floor. “Your chateaubriand and reserve vintage Bordeaux, sire,” he said, before pushing the tray...

Simarovien Zulavi (of A Change of Rules – The Missing Shield series, by LL Thomsen)

Dear readers, tonight with us is the Knights Commander of the West and 2nd Sword of King Kaimar the 3rd of Ostravah. He’s here to tell us about a forgotten war, a world of nine realms, old betrayal, broken magic, new perils and a friendship worth dying for.

Tell us a little about where you grew up. What was it like there?

My family has retained their seat of power in Zanzier since before the Chaos War.  I am a noble. 

The only son of the ruling house, I was schooled as befit my stand...

Larkh Savaldor (of Keys of the Origin, by Melissa A. Joy)

Dear readers, to night with me is the son of an admiral who grew up amongst pirates. He’s here to tell us about being thrown together with a law-abiding righteous citizen, into a struggle to bring the world back into a state of balance from the precipice of madness and desolation brought on by a renegade sorceress hell bent on reviving the greatest threat of all.

Tell us a little about where you grew up. What was it like there?

I was born an’ raised in Saldour, the largest port city in Faltainy...

Adalyn and Penelope Price (of Existence, by L. D. Whitney)

Dear readers, tonight we reprint a transcript of a TV interview, hosting two sisters — a biologist and an author. They are here to tell us about their adventures in the Amazon basin, and about the crypids they encountered there.

/Begin Transcript/

Jack Carver: Tonight, we are honored to welcome Adalyn and Penelope Price to the show. Adalyn, of course, is best known for her contributions to the field of biology, particularly in the study of the “Ex-Extinct.” And Penelope generously took time out of her...