L.R. Braden's Blog, page 13

Author Spotlight: Corrine O'Flynn

Today I want to introduce you to author Corrine O'Flynn, who is celebrating the release of her newest book: Undead Men Tell No Tales, the first installment in an exciting seafaring urban fantasy adventure with romance, magic, betrayal, intrigue, and lots of mystery!
Corinne is a USA Today bestselling author of fantasy and mystery books. She's the author of The Expatriates fantasy-adventure series, Witches of Tower Hill paranormal suspense series featuring the award-winning Ghosts of Witches Past, the Aumahnee Prophecy urban fantasy series, which she co-writes with Lisa Manifold, and the Half Moon Girls murder-mystery series. She is also a publisher with Wicked Ink Books, whose titles include the award-winning TICK TOCK: Seven Tales of Time and their latest release, OFF BEAT: Nine Spins on Song. Even the craftiest pirate can’t outrun the curse of the sea witch.

Known on the high seas as the Fog Queen, Morianna Swift never imagined her life as a pirate. But after her brother’s death, she has no choice; she’ll be damned if she’ll stand by and watch as the family fortune is taken by the murderous thieves at the East India Company. While fleeing her previous life as a high-born lady, Morianna is cursed with a powerful hex that imprisons her forever upon the waves.

Unable to master the magic to free herself, Morianna seeks the one being powerful enough to remedy her curse. Everyone knows that a deal with the sea witch seals your fate as sure as succumbing to the siren’s song, but Morianna rolls the bones anyway and puts her fate in the hands of the sorceress. Locked in an unbreakable promise that threatens not only her soul, but the souls of those she loves, Morianna refuses to accept that there’s no way out.

All of this while the East India Company continues their quest to dominate the ports, the city, and the sea—at all costs. Caught in the current of two opposing forces, Morianna finds herself in the middle of a maelstrom that threatens to destroy everything she's fought so hard to protect.

She's never relied on fair winds or following seas; the Fog Queen makes her own luck. Pick it up launch week at the discount price of $ .99! Buy on Amazon Excerpt from Undead Men Tell No Tales:I should have killed him.

Standing at the stern of the dinghy, my head swam with dizziness and dread. As the beach came into view, every part of me wanted to dive off the back of the skiff and disappear into the sea. I could swim back to the ship, right? Nobody would miss me; my business could wait.

A bead of sweat trickled over my temple as I stared at the backs of my crew. The oarsmen brought us to shore. Sitting shoulder to shoulder with the other non-rowing passengers, Mr. Fusack’s body tensed under my gaze as if he could tell I was watching him and could read my thoughts.

If I’d learned anything from my father, it was to heed my first instinct. That tiny spark of inclination came from deep wisdom, which we should learn to trust. My father always advised taking a good think when the circumstances merited, and constraints allowed—he saw no reason to rush when you had the luxury of sitting with your thoughts.

“Think on it if you can. Change your mind if you like,” he’d say in his soft-spoken manner that always made everyone around him quiet down so they wouldn’t miss a word. “But never forget, your initial reaction arrived in your belly for a very, very good reason.”

In this case, my first instinct was to draw my cutlass across the sleeping neck of my soon-to-be ex-pilot, Mr. Barnaby Fusack, without so much as a second glance. Insubordination among sailors could be deadly, and when those sailors were engaged in piracy on the high seas against the force called East India… well, insubordination was like a festering boil and had to be cut out at the source.

I’d watched Mr. Fusack sleeping in his hammock. He swayed gently as we sailed, his foul breath dank as his oily beard, and his thick fingers folded together across his belly like the corpse I wished I had made him. The man had been one of the most trusted crew of my brother’s, and my father’s before him—God rest their souls—but it seems family ties only counted for so much where he was concerned.

Mr. Fusack was a quick thinker, an excellent navigator, and a gifted storyteller. He’d spin tales of adventures on the high seas that kept the crew rapt, hanging on every word. He was also a disrespectful louse who refused to heed any order from me until it was repeated by Mr. Albie, my First Mate. I had allowed Mr. Fusack to remain on my ship despite his refusals to hear me out of some imagined loyalty to my father and brother, I suppose.

But my leniency almost cost us everything.

Other Titles by Corrine O'Flynn: About Corrine Corinne is a native New Yorker living in Colorado who wouldn’t trade life in the Rockies for anything. She is a self-proclaimed scone aficionado, a professional napper, and she has an entire section of her kitchen devoted to tea. She serves on the board of Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers as the Chair of the Colorado Gold annual conference. When not writing, she can be found hanging with her husband and their four kids, playing board games, knitting, reading, or binge watching some fabulous shows (while sipping tea).

Cover Reveal: Far, Far Away Anthology

In a land far, far away… In a distant galaxy… Once upon a time…

These are all ways to begin fantastical tales of love and adventure. Gateways into the realms of imagination. In this anthology, we bring together authors from all over this world to transport you into the worlds they’ve created.

Travel through space and experience infinity three hours at a time. Explore dangerous caverns for the source of a deadly disturbance. Get stranded on a mysterious island from which no one returns, then learn to survive on a distant planet while you hope for rescue. 

In this far-reaching, magical collection love allows you to see in colour, time is vast but fragile, and changing minds and hearts in Ancient Rome is only one stop on an epic journey across time, space, and reality. 

Stories Included in the Anthology:

“Piece of Mind” by L.R. Braden
“Songs and Superstitions” by Shana Scott
“Black Spire Isles” by Barend Nieuwstraten III
“Field Notes from the Unknown Planet” by Brittni Brinn
“The Colour of Roses” by Kelly D. Holmes
“The Prime Crusade” by Buddy Young “Fatestorm” by Justine Alley Dowsett and Murandy Damodred

PREORDER NOW

Read an Excerpt:

It’s 2021. The pandemic drags on and we’re all stuck inside. Blegh. Reality sucks.

So why not take this opportunity to escape into fiction?

A year ago we ran a contest and we asked writers to submit stories set in other times, places, and versions of reality. Then we had our judges pick the best ones to include in this anthology.

Therefore, the seven stories you are about to read are windows into other worlds, but also into the minds of eight extremely creative and talented individuals. We’ve included their bios and a few words from each of them so you can get to know the people who have created such imaginative stories to take us far, far away, if only for a little while.

So pack your bags, or don’t because you won’t be needing them for this journey. Instead, sit back, relax, and turn the page to find distant galaxies, alien cultures, mysterious magical islands, unknown planets, the value of colour, the fragility of time, and the fickle nature of fate. 
Publisher Website: http://www.mirrorworldpublishing.com/
Visit the Tour Hosts:

https://saphsbooks.blogspot.com/2021/04/tour-hosts-for-far-far-away-anthology.html

Audiobook Giveaway!

Enter for a chance to win the first three books in the award-winning Magicsmith series for FREE with this Audiobook Starter Set!
Prize includes: A Drop of Magic, Courting Darkness, and Faerie Forged. ($60 value)
*Prizes will be awarded in the form of digital download codes redeemable at audiobooks.com.

Enter using the widget below, or follow this link. a Rafflecopter giveaway

Author Spotlight: Hunter J. Skye

Today I'm excited to share with you the works of Hunter J. Skye, who writes the Hell Gate series for readers who love dark, paranormal romance and ghost stories. You can read my full review of book one in the series, A Glimmer of Ghosts, here. And book three, A Rapture of Wraiths, is on the way. But the main focus today is on the second installment: A Shiver of Shadows which releases on May 24th!
Keep reading for an interview with Hunter, where she talks about the inspiration behind her Hell Gate books! A Shiver of Shadows:

You'd think stopping Armageddon would buy a girl a bit of R&R with her freshly resurrected boyfriend. But things go south again when celebrity soul wrangler, Melisande Blythe, is abducted and dragged to Europe.

There's more to the darkness hiding in the reclusive, mountaintop country of Andorra than just garden variety evil. There's something dangerously wrong with her beautiful immortal hosts too. Gifted with flesh again by the Grace of God, three-hundred-year-old former ghost, Colonel William Grayford, will move heaven and earth to find his beloved. But Europe's most wicked monsters stand in his way. Something more painful than death awaits Mel, if Grayford can't find her in time.

The world's been living on fifteen thousand years of borrowed time and it's just run out. Find it on Amazon or Barnes & Noble Don't miss the beginning of the Hell Gate series, A Glimmer of Ghosts:

One night of filming in the wrong cemetery changes everything for a celebrity ghost-hunter with a half dead brain. When Melisande Blythe discovers that a secret society of wraiths wants her killed or worse, Mel will have to do the one thing she promised she would never do… trust a ghost.

But does the corporeal spirit of her dreams really want her heart or does he want her newfound ability to enslave souls? With Hell on the horizon, Mel is running out of time. She has to stop the fiery invasion or face the darkness warring in her soul. Find it on Amazon or Barnes & Noble What started/sparked your fascination with ghost stories? That’s a great question with an unnecessarily long answer! My first reason for writing ghost stories was the spooky late Victorian house in which I grew up. I was born and raised in Olde Towne, Portsmouth- a historic district in an old colonial town on the coast of Virginia. My father is a stickler for maintaining historical accuracy so it was rather like living in a museum. Not unlike people of the Victorian era, my parents were charmed by the frequent paranormal activity in their beautiful home. They accepted it as par for the course when one lives in a home in which so many generations have lived and died. My older brother was fascinated by it too, but me- not so much. I was frightened most every night growing up.
My second reason for writing haunting tales was an undiagnosed sleep disorder. After decades of suffering in silence, in 2016, I was finally diagnosed with narcolepsy, an auto-immune disorder that causes frequent nightmares, sleep paralysis, and hallucinations upon waking and falling asleep. It’s like living inside the scariest ghost story you could possibly imagine. I wish I could have been diagnosed earlier, but now that I know what’s going on inside my head, I can literally make lemonade out of my spectral lemons by writing ghost stories. Now that the phantoms are on the payroll, everyone is much happier. Where do you see this series going? / How many books do you have planned for the series? I’m so glad you asked! There are seven hell gates in this series so there are seven books, but I have four novellas that fit neatly between the books so, all together, that makes, WOW, eleven books.
As for where the series is going, my heroine’s internal journey is a bumpy ride as she is always desperately trying not to turn evil. It’s an on-going problem. Her external journey takes her deeper and deeper into the paranormal side of life. She travels the world and meets preternatural species of every ilk. Sometimes alliances are formed and sometimes it’s simply kill or be killed. I love tossing Mel into unwinnable scenarios because she always surprises me. Have you written any books not in the Hell Gate series? Yes, indeed. I started writing sword and sorcery in my teens and have worked up quite a pile of unsubmitted manuscripts. I’m also chipping away at two young adult magic realism series, a mainstream light science-fiction, and my first try at a mainstream mystery with a light paranormal element.
Urban Fantasy is my favorite sub-genre, but I’ll write anything as long as it’s speculative fiction. How much of yourself do you put into your books? I don’t take pride in much, but I am proud of my genuine characters. The only way I can do that is to be honest and imbue my characters with my own vulnerabilities, hopes, neuroses, humor, and quirks. I put everything I got into my books. Are you a member of any writing groups? If so, which ones? I am a member of a few writing communities and guilds, but I pour most of my time into my chapter of the Romance Writers of America. In fact, I’m currently president of the Chesapeake Romance Writers, which is strange since I didn’t ever see myself writing romance. Boy, have those authors rubbed off on me. I write scenes now that turn my cheeks red. If one of my kids comes into my office while I’m typing a steamy scene, I literally turn the monitor off. Oh gosh, I’m blushing again. What was your favorite scene to write and why? I guess I’m always secretly hoping someone will ask me this question, but now that you have, what do I go with? The curse-dripping mummified thieves, the castle full of evil nuns, the catacombs? Decisions, decisions. Wait…there’s a scene in book two when my main character is at a party on the beach in Barcelona and she’s drugged and having a really good time. That scene is the runner up because I’m a closeted free spirit. I’m always waiting for the opportunity to cut loose and dance like nobody’s watching. Alas, someone is always watching so no cavorting for me. But I lived vicariously through that scene.
With that said, my favorite scene from A Shiver of Shadows is the one where my heroine stumbles into a bar filled with drunken saints. One of my favorite things about Mel is that she struggles with her faith. I can relate. She thinks she’s a bad Christian, but in fact, Mel is pretty in tune with the universe and the powers that be. What do you think most characterizes your writing? This is super subjective, but I think my lyrical slantings characterize my word as borderline literary. I write some downright gritty stuff, but I try to describe it in a way that leaves an almost poetic impression. I hope my dark, quirky, dreamy aesthetic comes off as cool and not weird. Oh, screw it- I’ll take weird. Weird is good too, right? If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be? I’d say “There’s this thing called the internet coming soon that will make submissions a lot faster and easier. So, don’t horde those manuscripts. Polish them and get ready, girl. Oh, and don’t go out with that guy down the street. You know which one. He’s a putz.” More About Hunter I was born with a rare nightmare disorder, and raised in a spooky Victorian home. If that's not enough reason to pen tales of haunting paranormal romance, I don't know what is. As a writer of ghost fiction, I am inspired by haunted sites like the historic district of Olde Towne Portsmouth, VA where I grew up. As long as I get plenty of oxygen and sleep, I can keep the nightmares at bay. Want to know more? Visit hunterskye.com

Of Mettle & Magic Preorder Exclusive

I'm giving away a special thank you gift to readers who preorder Of Mettle & Magic!

Since physical author signings and book launch parties are still a no-no until the COVID vaccine is widely distributed, I wanted to offer something that could be sent out to readers. I racked my brain to come up with something that would be practical, fun, and connect in some way to the book. What I came up with was this two-part gift.

The first item is an autographed bookplate sticker with a fun graphic I made, a hand-written thank you note, signature, and date. The sticker makes a cute souvenir, and if you order a physical copy of the book you can stick the bookplate on the title page to turn it into an autographed copy.
The second gift is a small sketch journal, because no one should be without paper when inspiration strikes. I got this idea because James gives Alex a sketchbook in Of Mettle & Magic that she carries around and uses to express and share her ideas when she can't convince people with words. The journal is about 4"x6" and has 48 unlined pages. The covers come in a variety of colors that will be distributed at random, and each is decorated with a Magicsmith sticker.

Due to the expensive nature of international shipping, I'm afraid I can only offer this gift to US residents. If you live in the US and have preordered a copy of The Magicsmith Book 5: Of Mettle & Magic, just fill out this form to let me know about your purchase and enter your mailing address so I know where to send your gift. You can preorder OF METTLE & MAGIC as an eBook from any of these sites (physical copies coming soon): Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Google | Kobo | iBooks

A New Place to Connect

I've been brainstorming ideas for new ways to connect with my audience in a more informal and organic way than just typing posts and sending them out into the world. So let's try this: I've created a reader's group on Facebook, the idea being that people interested in the Magicsmith books, urban fantasy in general, and similar topics can post openly in an informal setting to share their opinions, questions, recommendations, and enthusiasm. For my part, I'll be posting daily snippets from whatever I'm working on, as well as smaller / more random posts that I wouldn't necessarily publish to sites like this blog or my official author page. So if you want to get to know me better and connect with other awesome people: COME CHECK OUT MY FACEBOOK GROUP

Game Review: Stuffed Fables

  I bought this game for my daughter this past Christmas. As of writing this review, we've played it twice--once with three players, once with four--and everyone had a great time.  

  Basically, the players take on the roles of stuffed animals that belong to a little girl. The first night the girl sleeps in her new "big girl" bed, a horde of creepy mechanical minions come out of an eerie glow under the bed to steal her toys. The little girl's baby blanket is taken, and the player's stuffy characters are dragged into an adventure to get it back and return to their sleeping charge.   The characters you play each have a unique set of abilities, so your choice in stuffies can greatly affect your play style. For example, Lumpy the elephant can absorb damage meant for another player while Stitch is good at searching and Flops can reroll dice for his ranged attack. Each player gets one character card that displays all their special abilities. This is also where they track their stuffing (life), hearts (good deeds), and buttons (rewards for defeating minions). Arranged around the character chart, players also collect cards that represent their current weapons, armor, and accessories--items that can make or break an adventure.   Each of the characters (and the evil minions) are represented as wonderfully detailed little figures that you place on the gameboard.        The mechanics of this game were quite different than any I'd played before. It's basically a Choose Your Own Adventure story played out in the form of a board game. Each adventure the characters go on takes place over the course of several pages. Each page provides a visual map, a written description of what's happening, and any special rules you may need for that page. Like any Choose Your Own Adventure, the story does not play out in a linear manner. Depending on your choices, and your success in carrying out those choices, you may skip sections, backtrack, or miss whole pages of possibility. This mechanic increases the replayability of the individual adventures, but it won't take you long to learn all the possible paths. The book as a whole is made up of nine distinct adventures, or chapters. In the course of your adventures, you can have many random encounters, some good, some bad. You can also gain positive and negative traits like Courage or Soggy.   The last mechanic of this game I'd like to mention is the dice. This is a "roll" playing game, meaning there is a significant element of chance to all your encounters. From fighting enemies to searching for items, passing challenges to simply moving across the map, even the amount of stuffing in your character . . . it all depends on your dice. For each player's turn, you reach into a black bag and pull out five colored dice. Each color affects a different attribute. For example, you need a red die to perform a melee attack, while a ranged attack requires green. Yellow dice let you search. White dice give you a chance to increase your stuffing, while black dice will increase the chances something bad is about to happen. Blue dice are most often used for movement and defence, and purple dice are wild. So, depending on what you pull out of the bag, your plans may have to change. If you're a melee character who didn't draw any red dice, maybe you should search for a new weapon or try to get between an enemy and a friend to act as a shield. If you need to cross a green terrain line on the map but didn't get a green die, you're not going to be able to scale that obstacle.  

  (As a side note about the dice: the colors were very washed out, so red was orange and purple was pink. I think they could have found a higher quality dice distributor.)

  Overall, I'm looking forward to playing the rest of the chapters of this story. I'd give this game 4 out of 5 stars.

Review: Save the Cat! Writes a Novel

Save the Cat! Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is one of the best books on the craft of writing I've ever read!

Save the Cat! Writes a Novel is not only filled with useful, insightful, and actionable analysis on the structure of successful stories, but it's easy to read, which is a huge plus for an informational book.
Even if you are a "pantser" and shudder at the thought of outlining, I recommend you read the beat sheet breakdown and genre explanations so that the information can percolate in your subconscious. I have no doubt that reading this book will make me a better writer.

The "Save the Cat! Beat Sheet" breaks down the traditional 3-act structure on story-telling into fifteen distinct single- or multi-scene "beats." Here's a *very* brief synopsis:

Act 1 has an Opening Image, Theme Stated, Setup, Catalyst, and Debate. These beats form the backdrop for your story, introduce your main character(s), and provide the inciting incident that will propel your character to change.

Act 2 turns the status quo world upside down and represents the characters chasing their "wants" rather than their "needs." Characters try to solve the story problem "the wrong way." This act includes the introduction of a B-story (sometimes a C,D,etc, for as many side stories as you want to weave in). The first half of act 2 is a section called Fun and Games, during which the character either flounders or flourishes in their new world, and culminates in a Midpoint where the character either achieves a false victory or suffers a false defeat. The second half of act 2 is where the Bad Guys Close In (both figurative and literal), culminating in the All is Lost Moment, where the character hits rock bottom. This is immediately followed by the Dark Night of the Soul, in which the character digs deep and learns the theme of the story in order to move forward and attack their problem "the right way."

Act 3 starts with the "aha!" moment where the character realizes what they really "need." Then there's the Finale, which encompasses the lead up to the climax, the final confrontation, and the resolution. And lastly, there's a Final Image, which should be a foil of the opening image to highlight how the character has grown and changed.

While most of that information might seem like a no-brainer, the explanations and descriptions provided in Save the Cat! Writes a Novel certainly helped to clarify my thinking on a few points. Plus, it was a fast and enjoyable read. I highly recommend.

View all my reviews

Review: How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories

How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories by Holly Black
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Black's writing is as beautiful and engaging as ever. However, as basically an explanation of Cardan's backstory, I didn't find very much plot in this novella. You need to have read the rest of the series to get the full impact of this book.

Having read the other books, How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories gives some nice insight into Cardan's personality and fills in a few details that were pleasant, but not strictly necessary, to know. At only 173 pages with pictures to boot, it is an incredibly fast read, and well worth the diversion for any fan of the series.

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R.I.P. Zoe

I've had a difficult couple of weeks. My sweet kitty, Zoe, took a turn for the worse just before Christmas. She's been struggling with cancer for about two years, and after what should have been a routine treatment she suddenly stopped eating. The vet suggested I put her down, but I wanted to give her a chance to bounce back, as she had done in the past. She did seem to recover briefly, and for about a week we thought she was going to make it. Then she had a relapse. Rather than watch her waste away in pain, we made the choice to euthanize her. I don't regret the decision, but I do miss my kitty. Here's a little tribute I wrote for her:

When I got Zoe, she was small enough to fit in the palm of my hand. She turned 10 this Christmas.

Zoe was by far the most interactive pet I've ever known, and I've had my fair share of pets. She was a champion ping-pong player, loved soccer, and never backed down from a round of peekaboo. She chased her tail until she fell over, hunted all the insects that got into our house, played fetch, and did areal acrobatics to put a Cirque du Soleil performer to shame. She meowed until she was picked up every morning so she could ride around on my shoulder while I made breakfast. She followed me from room to room, and when I sat down she was on my lap. She draped my arms while I typed my novels and purred on my stomach when I laid down to read. She drank from the faucet and the shower until she was drenched. She's the only animal I've ever known to have a security toy, which she carried around the house when she wasn't sure where we were, and slept with every night.

She was a perfect match to my personality: fiercely attached to those she loved and violently uncomfortable around strangers. She was my constant companion. She will be missed.