L.R. Braden's Blog, page 11

Read the first chapter of Demon Riding Shotgun!

We're a month away from the release of my new stand-alone novel, Demon Riding Shotgun, and I've got exciting news! You can now read a preview of the first chapter here on my website. Just follow this link, or pop over to the Bonus Features page to find it and other awesome extras. For those of you not yet familiar with this book, it's an urban fantasy story about a demon-possessed woman who learns that she can't always do everything by herself when the target she's hunting leads to a much larger conspiracy. She's joined by a second protagonist (and romantic interest) who has a complementary developement arc in which he must regain his damaged self confidence and learn to trust his own instincts again. While they have the same goal—to protect the city—they come at it from wildly different angles, and both must learn to trust the other in order for either to succeed.

You can read the full blurb at the bottom of this post. Remember to preorder your copy of Demon Riding Shotgun so that you can finish the story as soon as it releases. ;) Available from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Google | iBooks| Kobo Possessed by a demon since she was eleven years old, Mira Fuentes maintains a fragile alliance with the snarky soul who shares her body. Together they hunt down unstable Rifters-- demon-controlled humans bent on causing chaos in the mortal realm. But when a routine hunt leads to a powerful Rifter with plans for Baltimore, Mira quickly finds herself in over her head and at the top of the city's Most Wanted.

Recently retired from the PTF after losing his partner, Ty Williams now works for the Baltimore PD and keeps his distance from cases involving magic. But when a person dies of clearly magical causes and the PTF doesn't have any agents to spare, Ty is the closest thing the department has to an expert. Saddled with a new partner he doesn't want and a mountain of self-doubt, it's his job to track down a suspect who looks suspiciously like the one-night-stand he brought home from the bar last night.

Mira will have to set her trust issues aside and enlist the help of a man determined to uncover her secrets if she hopes to learn the identity of the demon's host and prevent the human race from becoming meat puppets for the denizens of the Rift. local_library Read Chapter 1

Review: Tombyards & Butterflies

Tombyards & Butterflies by Orlando A. Sanchez
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Overview:
This is a fast, fun fantasy that I'd recommend for fans of the Nate Temple, Harry Dresden, and Iron Druid series. It has all the hallmarks of a standard urban fantasy novel -- fast pace, lots of action, short quippy dialogue, humor, paranormal/supernatural investigations, and bad-boy heroes with dark pasts. If you like quick adventure stories with a lot of banter, this is your jam.

The Characters:
This book centers around two friends who run a business (and possibly live) together. The main character and narrator is Strong, a gunslinger cursed with immortality. His sidekick (and I think the more interesting of the two) is Monty, a powerful mage with a very clouded past.
For the most part I found the characters engaging. My main complaint would have to be the heavy-handedness of their humor. I was knocked out of the story on more than one occasion when the author broke the flow of a scene to get in some extra snarky dialogue. This made the characters come across as long-winded, oblivious to their surroundings, and especially in the case of Strong, too flippant to be believable. I'm all for witty characters, but there's a fine line between witty irreverence and buffoonery. These guys would have come across better if they were toned down a tad so I wasn't so often rolling my eyes after an exchange.

The World:
In the world of this story, supernatural beings seem to be both known to exist and somewhat obscured. There is a policing agency that seems specifically designed to handle supernatural threats and there are several references to a supernatural war that happened at some point in the past, yet it's unclear if regular people are aware of the many strange things in their world.
The structure of the world's supernaturals seems to be based loosely on standard Earth mythology focused mainly on the Greek myths with vampires and werewolves thrown in the mix. Overall I think the author did a good job of creating a rich world, though there were a few details about the world's history that I would have liked to know to anchor me a little more.

The Writing:
Sanchez writes with a short, fast sentence structure that keeps the story clipping along at a good pace. He excels at punchy descriptions that convey just enough info without breaking the flow of a scene. There were a few instances where I was knocked out of the story because I wasn't quite sure what the author was trying to say, but for the most part the writing was easy to follow. As I mentioned above, Sanchez went a little overboard on the witty dialogue exchanges in places, seeming to put a scene on hold while Strong and Monty chatted about random, often inconsequential topics.
There were also a few inconsistencies and occasional plot jumps that required a bit of mental acrobatics to follow and knocked me out of the story. For example, approaching the climax of the story both Ramirez and Corbal say they won't help Strong, but then they turn around and do it anyway with seemingly no shift in motivation. Also, chapters 31 and 32 cover almost exactly the same ground in slightly different and mildly contradictory ways, giving me an odd sense of deja vu and once more knocking me out of the story. It was almost as though Sanchez wrote two versions of a scene intending to choose one, but then put them both in the final book.

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Coming soon... Demon Riding Shotgun

I am SO EXCITED to tell you about my upcoming book: Demon Riding Shotgun! Demon Riding Shotgun

Possessed by a demon since she was eleven years old, Mira Fuentes maintains a fragile alliance with the snarky soul who shares her body. Together they hunt down unstable Rifters—demon-controlled humans bent on causing chaos in the mortal realm. But when a routine hunt leads to a powerful Rifter with plans for Baltimore, Mira quickly finds herself in over her head and at the top of the city's Most Wanted.

Recently retired from the PTF after losing his partner, Ty Williams now works for the Baltimore PD and keeps his distance from cases involving magic. But when a person dies of clearly magical causes and the PTF doesn’t have any agents to spare, Ty is the closest thing the department has to an expert. Saddled with a new partner he doesn’t want and a mountain of self-doubt, it's his job to track down a suspect who looks suspiciously like the one-night-stand he brought home from the bar last night.

Mira will have to set her trust issues aside and enlist the help of a man determined to uncover her secrets if she hopes to learn the identity of the demon's host and prevent the human race from becoming meat puppets for the denizens of the Rift.

For those of you familiar with my Magicsmith series, you'll be happy to hear that this book takes place in the same world. If you're a new reader, or maybe someone who just couldn't get behind Alex as a protagonist, I'm here to tell you that while set in the same universe this book is *not* part of that series and features a brand new protagonist. That means you can pick it up fresh without needing to have read any of the Magicsmith books. Stay up-to-date on all the latest news by signing up for my monthly newsletter:     emailJoin Mailing List

Game Review: Unsolved Case Files

For my birthday this year, my husband and I decided to try our hand as amature detectives. :)
We ordered a "cold case" online from a company called Unsolved Case Files. They have lots of different cases to choose from, but the one I picked was "Veronica Falcone." Here's a quick synopsis: ROBIN FALLS, CT - On August 26th, 1947, celebrated American WWII spy, Veronica Falcone, went missing while investigating something mysterious in town. Three months later, her motorcycle was found at the bottom of a ravine with the brake line intentionally cut.
Her boyfriend and mechanic, Joey Caruso, was arrested for the murder but hanged himself in jail while awaiting trial.
Did he kill Veronica? What was she investigating? Can you bring about justice for this famous war heroine? I chose this case partly because it sounded interesting and partly because of the date. I was after all playing it on August 26th, which was the day Veronica disapeared 74 years ago. :D

This product is really more of a "puzzle" than a "game," but it was fun none the less.
Finding the solution relies heavily on your observation and critical thinking skills. The one down side was that to actually start working on the puzzle you need to get through a crazy amount of backstory information. The game producers tried to make this entertaining by giving the witnesses and suspects strong personalities and amusing dialogue, but it mostly came down to reading page after page of reports and statements just like you'd have to do if you were a real detective. And since we were doing this as a team, we read all those papers OUT LOUD. Needless to say I was quite hoarse by the end.

Along with the various reports were fabricated evidence including photographs and newspaper clippings. Your job is to go through all of the evidence and find the discrepencies that the original investigators missed. This will allow you to "reopen" the case, which takes the form of opening the first of three secret envelopes and provides you with a new lead. You then need to find additional evidence to support your new theory of what happened to the victim, at which point you open a second envelope. The last stage of solving the crime is determining who killed Veronica and why. It took us about four hours to finish the game, but most of that was taken up with reading the evidence files. I'd say the game was about 80% reading and 20% deducing, which is understandable but a little too close to real life for a game. On the flip side, I've played plenty of games that don't give enough backstory and facts to make finding a solution satisfying, so I understand that it's a delicate balance. One way we made reading all those files more fun was to give each character a distinct voice and act out the transcribed interviews like a skit.

Overall, we had a good time, but I'm not convinced we'll be playing another unless we do it in a larger group so we can share the reading with more voices. I also think this would work well for someone wanting to do it alone because then you could read silently which would both save your throat and be faster. As I said, there were a lot of different files to choose from, so you can pick a crime that fits your interests. Each file costs about $30, which seems pretty reasonable for the production value, but because of the nature of the puzzle you can only play it once. I repacked all of the contents so that I can at least pass it on to someone else who may enjoy it, but be aware that it's a "one and done."

Total product rating: 4 of 5 stars.

Game Review: AER: Memories of Old

3 of 5 stars I grabbed this game on discount yesterday because I liked the idea of having a character who could fly. The game world is set up so the land is composed of a bunch of small, floating islands. You play as a shapeshifter who turns into a bird so that you can explore those islands. That game dynamic is very fun and I was happy with the experience.

The story line of the game is that you're on a pilgrimage to visit the three temples of your world. Mostly it seems like the story is just a series of scrolls dispersed throughout the world that you can access to basically learn the history and philosophy of the game world. The gist is that humans were greedy, a megalomaniac king tried to become a god, and the world was broken (literally). A priestess in touch with the animal spirits led a group of people into the sky and made a deal with three immortal beings to help her guard the world from the void that had poisoned the human's hearts.

Beyond the novelty of flying there wasn't a whole lot of depth to the game play. Each of the three temples contains a series of puzzles that eventually lead you to one of the immortal beings. After talking to all three, the door to the tower in the center of the map is opened and you can head there for the endgame. The entire game, taking my time and enjoying the exploration aspect, took maybe five hours. You could probably do it in two if you rushed through.

My biggest criticism for this game was the ending. Not only did it not feel particularly resolved . . . the entire ending is done in cut scene. You don't actually *do* anything after walking through the final door. There's a little running along a path and a few speech interjections from your guide, but the player has absolutely nothing to do at the end. I feel like there could at least have been one final puzzle to let the player feel like they were engaged rather than just watching a movie.

I'm not sure this game has any real replay value, but I do think I'll revisit the world when I just want the relaxing fun of flying around. The graphics are minimalistic (blocky polygons) but enjoyably whimsical, and the islands offer a lot of beautiful diversity that are fun to explore so long as that's all you're expecting to get out of it. There's also a nice soundtrack that matches nicely with the relaxed exploration vibe. I'm not sure how much this game costs when not on sale, but it was most definitely worth what I paid for a few hours of laid back entertainment.

Review: The Heroine's Journey

The Heroine's Journey by Gail Carriger
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Gail Carriger's The Heroine's Journey was an interesting exploration of the practical, philosophical, and cultural aspects of storytelling. I won't go in-depth on the content -- that's what the book is for after all -- but I will say that it gave me a good deal to think about. The writing itself was easy to follow. Carriger's voice is witty and entertaining, as fans of her fiction can attest, so even the driest sections were not difficult to get through.

There were many aspects of the Heroine's Journey that Carriger touched on that resonated with my own work -- often scenes that I could never get to fit quite comfortably into the Hero's Journey framework. I can now see how the main character of my Magicsmith series started out with a bit of a hero complex (thinking dependence on others was a weakness that would ultimately harm her), but over the course of her adventures shrugged off that mantel to embrace the heroine that was always inside her (finding support and strength from loyal friends and found family). I don't think I write pure Heroine's Journey or pure Hero's Journey, but a solid foundational understanding of both will help me write from a place of intent rather than relying on intuition and happy accidents.

I highly recommend this book to authors looking to expand their storytelling toolkit and media-consumers who'd like to take a philosophical look at how the stories we tell and absorb affect our worldview.

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Review: The Burning Son

The Burning Son by T.H. Leatherman
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

A great sci-fi adventure in a wonderfully detailed universe. If you love space opera, you should definitely check out The Burning Son.

While it took me a while to warm up to the main character, astro-navigator Mark Martin, the world building and uniquely developed alien races kept me engaged. The story kicks off with the fall of Martin's home world to an invasive race of religious zealots. Martin and his sister flee the planet aboard, basically, a pirate ship. The story lost a little bit of focus as the crew took on various jobs, but we got a good look at some of Leatherman's alien cultures that made up for it. Then the pacing in the second half of the book really picks up as Leatherman shifts the focus back to the main plot.

This story had a lot of action, unique settings, excellent species creation, and while some of the reveals were easily anticipated there were enough twists that I couldn't be *quite* sure I knew where everyone stood until near the end. The one place where it fell down a bit for me was in the development of the main character. It's not that he wasn't likable... for me he just felt a little flat. Maybe it's because he always seemed unfazed even when everything was going to hell around him. The more pronounced personalities of some of the secondary characters made up for that however.

Fair warning: this book is very much a cliffhanger, so don't expect a tidy resolution at the end. That said, the second, and even third, book in this series is available.

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Follow some amazing Fantasy and Sci-fi authors on BookBu...

Follow some amazing Fantasy and Sci-fi authors on BookBub and be entered to win a $300 Amazon gift card! I'm thrilled to be participating in C.L. Cannon's Summer Fantasy and Sci-Fi BookBub Giveaway going on now through August 31st! Click the image or the link below for your chance to win:

https://bit.ly/summerbbgw The more authors you follow, the more chances you have to win! You can also come back every day for special tasks that will earn you daily entry points!

GOOD LUCK!

Another Win!!

I'm so proud to announce that Faerie Forged, the third book in my Magicsmith series, was able to take home the 2021 prize for Best Urban Fantasy Novel at this year's Imaginarium Convention! This is my second time winning the Imadjinn Award, having taken it last year with A Drop of Magic!

Since I was only attending the conference virtually I wasn't able to accept the award myself, but my wonderful publisher Debra Dixon was present and able to receive the award on my behalf.
Thanks, Debra! You can check out the full list of award-winners at the Imaginarium website: https://www.entertheimaginarium.com/2021/07/11/imaginarium-2021-film-festival-and-imadjinn-awards-announced/

Book Luver Kindle Giveaway

Check out the Book Luver’s Summer Giveaway at https://bit.ly/BL_KF_Braden for a chance to win a free Kindle Fire!
You can earn extra entries by sharing the contest, and everyone who enters will receive a link to download a book from each of the participating authors at the end of the promotion.
This contest runs July 1 - August 31.