L.R. Braden's Blog, page 5

Review: Circle of Magic - Daja's Book

Daja's Book by Tamora Pierce
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The books in this series get better and better! Part of that may be that we as readers are more invested in the characters and the world, but I feel like the flow of the storytelling is improving as well.

Daja's book takes place away from Winding Circle, the cloistered temple where our four protagonists have come to live with their new guardians. The four child-mages and their teachers have all traveled north with the Duke to assess the damage of a long drought that has given rise to rampant wildfires. There they meet a stuck-up noble and an even more stuck-up mage. There's also a trader caravan in town, which puts Daja in a very difficult spot since she's been exiled from the trader culture as a carrier of bad luck thanks to being the only survivor of the ship wreck that killed her family. And to complicate things even more, the four children's magic is leaking together, causing some unexpected magical results.

In Daja's case, her metal magic mixes with Briar's plant magic to create an iron bush that grows and blooms as if it were made of wood and leaves. This unique magical creation gives Daja an excuse to interact with the trader caravan, reminding her of the life she's lost. As with all great character arcs, Daja must face the choice of what she's wanted up to this point and what she might lose if she actually gets it. After all, a trader cannot be a metalworker, and Daja has come to appreciate her new life.

The other characters play supporting, but equally important, roles in this story. This truly is a found family tale that shows the strength of trusting others and working together. This is particularly highlighted in the petty mage who tries to shoulder the entire burden of handling the fires all on his own because he is too proud to ask for help.

All in all, this story propels the kids forward in regards both to mastering their powers and coming together as a family. My daughter and I can't wait to start the final book in the series.

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Personal Demons Excerpt: Family Dysfunction

There are plenty of reasons Mira has avoided going home, and not all of them have to do with dead bodies...

 

The pounding on her door matched the pounding in her head as Mirastartled awake. She threw off her comforter and rolled out of bed.Her knees hit the floor at the same time as her feet. Her hands werea second behind. She sat back and rubbed one hand across hersleep-crusted eyes. The bedroom door burst open.

Mira’sright hand slipped under her pillow by instinct, clutching the hiltof her kukri and drawing the blade in one smooth motion. She barelymanaged to stop the arc of the blade before it bit into the side ofher tia Marta’s neck.

Marta’seyes went wide. She stumbled back, colliding with a small woodendresser to the side of the door.

“Putthat away.” Abuela flapped a hand at Mira from the open doorway.

Mirasheepishly lowered her knife to the floor.

“Andyou. . . .” Abuela turned on Marta, somehow managing to look severedespite the large curlers wobbling in her hair. “I told you not tobarge in like that. Honestly, it’s like no one in this house hasany manners these days.” She crossed herself over the pink paisleyof her nightgown, apparently taking the lack of manners in herhousehold as a far worse transgression than the near decapitation ofher eldest daughter.

<Ha!I love your family.> The demon chortled. <Stuff like this neverhappens when we stay in motels.>

Mirarose to her feet. “Sorry, tia, you startled me.”

“Whosleeps with a knife under their pillow?”

<Whodoesn’t?>

Martawaved the words away as soon as she said them. “It doesn’tmatter.” She strode forward and grabbed Mira’s arms, giving her alittle shake.

Thisclose, Mira could see that Marta’s eyes were red-rimmed. She woreno makeup, and her hair was tousled. No self-respecting womanraised by abuela would leave the house in such a state unlesssomething was seriously wrong.

<Sothe possession of practical protection is looked down on, but lack offace paint is a cause for concern? Talk about backward.>

“You’rea detective now, right?” Marta gave Mira another little shake.

<Seriously,with all the craziness that happens in this world, shouldn’teveryone sleep with a knife?>

Letit go.

“Youhave to help me.” Marta shouted the words into Mira face.

<I’llbet Ty sleeps with a knife.>

“Dropit!” Mira brought her hands up in impotent defense from the verbalonslaught, knocking Marta away in the process.

Martastiffened, her bloodshot eyes going wide again.

<Fine,whatever. But makeup over knife seems like skewed priorities. That’sall I’m saying.>

Abuelacrossed herself again and opened her mouth, probably with anothercomment on the lack of manners being shown in her house, but Mirabeat her to the punch.

“Sorry, tia.” Mira rubbed her arms. The older woman’s grip hadbeen tight enough to bruise. “Please, just calm down and tell mewhat’s going on. What do you need help with?”

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Game Review: Forbidden Jungle

I've been waiting a long time for this game!
This is the fourth game in the story line of the "Forbidden" game series. I love that these games, while totally playable as standalones, create a continuous narrative. Forbidden Island came first, where our intrepid adventurers sought four mythic treasures on a sinking island. Upon escaping with their loot, they then crash landed in the burning wasteland of Forbidden Desert. With their own plane broken beyond repair, the adventurers reconstruct an ancient dirigible that carries them to the floating launch platform of Forbidden Sky, where they battle wind and lightning to connect the circuits necessary to launch a rocket. That rocket then carries our adventurers to a distant alien planet, which you explore in Forbidden Jungle.This game has a good balance of luck and strategy. You definitely have to plan as a group to survive, but be prepared for your plans to get tossed out the window by the whims of fate. While we seemed to be doing quite well at the beginning of our first play through, we died very abruptly when we were overrun by aliens due to a unfortunate series of cards drawn from the threat deck. We did manage to win our second play through, this time due to a fortunate equipment card that showed up on the first turn. I'm convinced that early population control is key to winning this game, but I'm sure there are other viable strategies.Despite it's delay, it feels like this game was a bit rushed for release. Along with a typo in the manual (easy to overlook) there was a significant issue with one of the layout cards. It required 25 tiles to create the layout, but there are only 24 tiles in the game. This was an easy fix, we just adjusted the design, but there was a moment of confusion and worry that we'd somehow managed to lose a tile despite this being only our second play through. The game components are well made, though some of the adult alien figurines have trouble standing. For those familiar with this game series, they've returned to the tin box of the first two installments.Unlike many games I've played lately, the developers of Forbidden Jungle actually managed to put an accurate time estimate on the box. With most play throughs coming in at just under an hour, this game is long enough to feel satisfying without eating up a whole day, making it great for shorter gaming sessions.

Personal Demons Blog Tour!

Dark,quirky, urban fantasy with a mystery plot, a dash of socialcommentary, and a sprinkling of slow-burn romantic potential.

PersonalDemons

TheRifter Series Book 2

byL.R. Braden

Genre:Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Suspense 

Protectingher secret and hunting demons is a matter of survival forpossessed-practitioner Mira Fuentes. She's spent years learning towork with the snarky demon housed in her body, and it hasn't alwaysgone smoothly. Nor has her recent partnership with an agent of theParanatural Task Force. Ty Williams—uncomfortably-attractive andoverly-protective—may never fully accept that his partner has aliteral inner demon.

Butwork-life-demon balance is the least of Mira's problems when a figurefrom her past drags her back to the hometown she's avoided for nearlya decade to investigate a string of potentially-magicaldisappearances. Someone or something is snatching teens from thelocal high school.

Emotionallyoff-balance in a city full of old ghosts and new dangers, Mira willhave to confront her past to discover what is hunting the innocent.

Praisefor L. R. Braden:

"Mynew 'auto-buy' author. I love everything this woman writes."—J.D.Brown, award-winning author of the Ema Marx Series

"Afast-paced, engrossing, unexpected, and tension-filled magical work...Agreat read for every female lead Urban Fantasy enthusiast."—TheQueen of Swords, NetGalley reviewer on Demon Riding Shotgun

"ILOVED this book. It's got fun. It's got depth. It's definitely goingto stick with me."—Lydia R, NetGalley reviewer on DemonRiding Shotgun

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DemonRiding Shotgun

TheRifter Series Book 1

Possessedby a demon since she was eleven years old, Mira Fuentes maintains afragile alliance with the snarky soul who shares her body. Togetherthey hunt down unstable Rifters-- demon-controlled humans bent oncausing chaos in the mortal realm. But when a routine hunt leads to apowerful Rifter with plans for Baltimore, Mira quickly finds herselfin over her head and at the top of the city's Most Wanted.

Recentlyretired from the PTF after losing his partner, Ty Williams now worksfor the Baltimore PD and keeps his distance from cases involvingmagic. But when a person dies of clearly magical causes and the PTFdoesn't have any agents to spare, Ty is the closest thing thedepartment has to an expert. Saddled with a new partner he doesn'twant and a mountain of self-doubt, it's his job to track down asuspect who looks suspiciously like the one-night-stand he broughthome from the bar last night.

Mirawill have to set her trust issues aside and enlist the help of a mandetermined to uncover her secrets if she hopes to learn the identityof the demon's host and prevent the human race from becoming meatpuppets for the denizens of the Rift.

On COURTINGDARKNESS: "This book was a fantastic second installment tothe Magicsmith series... Truly brilliant writing!"--RichelleRodarte, NetGalley Reviewer

"Theplot was engrossing, fascinating and action-filled."--Pam Guynn,NetGalley Reviewer on Faerie Forged

**Only.99cents!**

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L.R.Braden is thebestselling author of theMagicsmithand Rifterurban fantasy series, as well as several works of short fiction. Herwriting has won the Eric Hoffer Book Award for Sci-fi/Fantasy, theFirst Horizon Award for debut authors, the Imadjinn Award for BestUrban Fantasy, and the Colorado Authors League Award for writingexcellence in multiple categories. She was also honored as a finalistfor the 2023 Colorado Book Award in Sci-fi/Fantasy and for RockyMountain Fiction Writers’ Writer of the Year award in 2021 and2023.

Whileshe loves to travel, she’s always happy to come home to Colorado,where she lives in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains with herwonderful husband, precocious daughter, and two quirky cats. When notwriting, she spends her time playing games, enjoying the greatoutdoors, and weaving metal into intricate chain mail jewelry thatshe sells in her Etsy shop, WimsiDesign.

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Personal Demons Excerpt: Impulse Control

We've all got inner demons... but how much can we really blame on them?

 

Flames erupted from her skin.

Tysnatched his hands away, but not before the hair on his wrists wassinged off. He smacked his smoking palms against his thighs with acurse. Maybe I pushed a little too hard.

“Mira!”Bembe’s voice was smooth and cold as polished marble.

“I’msorry.” Mira took two stumbling steps away from the altar. Shebumped a pew and reached out to steady herself, which left asemicircle of char on its edge. Tears streamed from her eyes butevaporated halfway down her cheeks. She took fast, labored breaths.

“Calmdown.” Bembe’s words radiated authority despite his being in hispajamas.

Allat once, Mira froze. Color leached out of her hair, widening thewhite stripe that was always there. The flames shrank, then died awaycompletely. Wisps of steam rose off her clothes. When she looked up,both her eyes were solid gold.

“Sorry,Mira needs a minute.” The lyrical purr of the demon accented Mira’svoice.

“You’reMira’s demon?” Bembe asked, his tone faltering for the firsttime.

Mira’snose scrunched. “When you say it like that, it sounds like she ownsme. Let’s just say I’m the being sharing her body.”

“Doyou have a name?”

Sheshook her head. “Names are a mortal concept.”

Bembefrowned. “Then how do demons refer to each other?”

Shetipped her head to one side and looked up, considering. “For thosestrong enough to have a sense of self within the Rift, it’s more ofa me versus not me scenario.” She lowered hergaze back to the priest. “It’s not like we have block parties togossip about the neighbors.”

Thiswas the most Ty had ever heard the demon speak without Mirainterjecting, save right after a feeding, when the surge of newenergy made the demon stronger. He cleared his throat. “What’sgoing on here? What have you done with Mira?”

Thenarrowed golden gaze settled on him. She put her hands on her hips.“Mira’s fine, but while I’ve got uncontested control of themouth, there are a few things I’d like to clear up, starting withyour obvious discrimination against me.”

“What?”Ty stiffened at the accusation. “I never—”

“Youconsistently blame me when shit goes sideways. Granted, I may not bethe most stabilizing of influences, but Mira’s got plenty ofimpulse control issues all on her own.” She pointed to the char onthe pew. “Case and point. So stop assuming every bad decision shemakes is my fault.”

“Sorry,”Ty said, flabbergasted. “I hadn’t realized you were offended.”

“Secondly,”the demon went on, steamrollering over Ty’s apology, “What’swith you suddenly refusing to sleep with us?”

Tyshot a glance at Bembe, then looked away. Heat crept into his cheeks.“I really don’t think this is—”

“Youwere happy enough with our performance the first time, I could tell.But now you’re all grossed out when we ask, so what gives?”

“Um. . . have you discussed this with Mira?”

“Yeah.She told me to stop asking, but I can tell she’s into you, so Ifigure it’s because she feels shitty when you shoot us down.”

Guiltand elation did a little dance in Ty’s chest. He hated that he’dhurt her with his rejection, but the news that Mira was attracted tohim flamed the foolish spark of desire that he’d been unable toextinguish despite all logic screaming that a romantic relationshipwith his partner was a bad idea.

“Ifyou’re not interested, you’re not interested. But if you’rejust chickening out because we’re too much for you, you should atleast have the balls to say so rather than acting all nice andcaring, then shooting us down when we reciprocate. You’re reallyfeeding into Mira’s whole ‘I’m a monster, and nobody loves me’thing.”

Thatlast line, even spoken in the demon’s mocking tone, stabbed anicepick through Ty’s heart. “She’s not a monster.”

Thedemon crossed her arms, cocked her head, and glared at Ty. Dark lineswere beginning to form beneath her eyes, spiderwebbing down hercheeks like black fractals. If the demon stayed in control muchlonger without a boost of outside power, Mira’s physical body woulddeteriorate. He had to convince Mira to stop hiding behind her demonbefore the damage grew more severe.

“Neitherof you are monsters,” Ty amended.

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Review: Circle of Magic - Tris's Book

Tris's Book by Tamora Pierce
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is the second book in the Circle of Magic quartet, each of which focuses on one of the four main characters. Tris is the surliest of the four kids, which makes her a little harder to connect with, but it's not like she doesn't have reasons for the chip on her shoulder. I liked that we got a better window into her backstory with the introduction of her cousin. I'm still not entirely sure why Tris's family didn't figure out that she had magic (it seems pretty obvious), but we can at least understand how they wouldn't want her around with all of the freakish weather she causes.

This book also features pirates! And who doesn't like a good pirate story? Not much time has passed since the end of the first book, so the four kids are still trying to get a handle on their new powers. To complicate matter, it seems that their magics are starting to bleed together. And to top it all off, the pirates of the Pebbled Sea are attacking Winding Circle! Each child, along with each of their teachers, must use their unique abilities to defend their home from the invaders.

While the first book distributed the narration and focus between each of the kids fairly evenly, this story really did feel like it was *Tris' Book*. She has the most growth, the biggest role, and the steepest consequences.

My daughter, with whom I'm reading these books, is totally in love with this series. So for sure 5-stars for the target audience. I also enjoyed this story. I liked it better than the first book because it felt like it had a more solid direction. We're both eager to read the rest.

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Personal Demons Excerpt: Demon Vision

Seeing the world through the eyes of a demon...

 

The airboat bumped and jolted beneath Mira as it raced through theEverglades under tio Rafael’s guidance. Rain fell in curtains fromthe slate-gray sky. Dense stands of cypress choked off the grassyfields that had, at first, stretched to the horizon. The waterwaysnarrowed, forcing the boat to slow. The increasing canopy caught aportion of the rain, but heavy drops continued to pelt the boat’spassengers. Dead wood and creeper vines laced the tree roots,creating walls. Alligators floated like driftwood just beneath theagitated surface of the water. The air, still thick and warm despitethe rain, gusted in Mira’s face and tangled her wet hair. She tooka deep breath and pressed her palms to the vibrating metal surface oneither side of her crossed legs.

Timeto work.

Anotherbreath and she let herself slide away, deeper into her subconscious.The demon swelled to fill the vacated space. Mira could still feelthe hum of the metal under her hands and hear the roar of the fanpropelling them forward. She could taste the briny air and smell themusty scent of rotting wood and algae. But everything was filtered byan imperceptible distance, as though she were living in a memory. Shetook another breath and let herself sink further. The demon’senergy filled her body, taking over. Mira drifted at the end of atether.

“Whoa,what the heck is happening with your hair?” tio Luis shouted.

Theanxiety his question stirred nearly jarred Mira out of her meditativestate.

“Ithappens sometimes when she uses magic.” Ty’s voice was a rock inthe storm, soothing both her and Luis as he assured her uncle suchoddities were of no concern.

Thetrees, water, and flotsam blurred and blended, turning to blue-graysmoke around her. A long, thin shape of swirling blue drew herattention to the side—the denser energy of an alligator draped overa log. Another swirl of concentrated energy streaked overhead—abird. Beside her, Ty was an electrical storm in the shape of aperson. Gianna and tio Luis sat behind her, and farther back stillwas Rafael at the tiller. The four people sharing her boat were hazyhuman shapes marked only by the dancing energy that swirled insidethem. They bore no distinction from one another, yet the pulse ofTy’s energy felt different somehow, more familiar.

<Everyoneresonates a little differently,> the demon confirmed.

Thefew times Mira had seen the world through the demon’s eyes shehadn’t noticed any difference between the amorphous blobs ofelectric potential that denoted a human presence. Can you tellindividual people apart when you see them through the Rift?

<I’venever bothered to try. Generally, demons are only interested inidentifying people with special powers, and those are easy enough tospot. The rest are just white noise.>

Thespace around Mira suddenly expanded like an explosion in her mind.She could see beyond the trees and shrubs walling her in. The mistyworld of the Rift stretched out around her like a monochromekaleidoscope. Every animal, every insect, was a burst of lightning. Afrog splashed into the water ahead. A mother bird sat on three eggsin a nest, the unborn chicks a flurry of light beneath her. A clusterof ibis waded through shallows on spindly legs. Dragonflies zippedbetween branches like jet planes. Centipedes crawled through therotted center of a nearby log. A family of opossums dozed in a treeoff to the left. Geckos clung to tree trunks. Snakes slitheredthrough the sawgrass. There was even a large cat lounging in the highbranches of a tree far to the right. Where there was life, lightningdanced through the Rift, mimicking the storm overhead.

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Review: Big Magic

Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is an excellent book for anyone pursuing a creative life--meaning people who like to create, be that as a career or hobby. While I don't adhere to all of Gibson's beliefs about ideas being living entities with their own plans and desires, it is a novel concept that was fun to consider. And I do agree with her on many of the general principals put forward in this book, such as the concept that we must allow ourselves to be enchanted by the process of our own creativity rather than trying to control it, that we don't need anyone's permission to pursue our dreams (many people look down on creativity because it is often an impractical career choice), and that often the best way to succeed at creative living is to remove the burden of success from the equation.

With a down-to-Earth tone, Gibson's writing is smooth, engaging, and often comical as she shares amusing anecdotes from her own life and experiences. I would highly recommend this book to anyone struggle to pursue their creative dreams in a practical world.

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Personal Demons Excerpt: Here there be monsters.

It's hard to see yourself as anything but a monster when that's the way the world has labeled you.

 

Energy surged through Mira. The old man’s blood trickled over herfingers where they gripped the knife hilt. She dared not remove theblade even now, with the demon sufficiently entangled. He’dsurprised her with his power. Most demons grew stronger the longerthey were in the mortal realm, kind of like the buildup to one last,grand finale before they burned out their host and were pulled backto the Rift to wait for another likely target. This one must havebeen within a day or two of its end, and pretty damned strong tostart with.

Asthe dark, copper-tinged tendrils of the demon’s essence were pulledfrom the old man’s body and absorbed into hers, she felt the demonwithin her swell beyond the boundaries of their usual arrangement.Mira’s consciousness was pushed further back, to a corner of hermind where she would remain while the demon was in the driver’sseat. She imagined this was how most rifter hosts lived whilepossessed, a passenger in their own body. She only had to deal withit after a feeding, when the demon’s energy was too much tocontain, or when they needed to call directly on the demon’spowers.

Thedemon continued to drain the screaming rifter. Even if the old manwasn’t aware of what was happening, he’d regain consciousness themoment the last of the Rift energy was extracted. He’d be himselffor a moment, just long enough to realize what was happening. Thenhe’d die. They always died.

Miralooked away from the twitching, flailing, soon-to-be corpse in herhands. She still had enough physical control for that.

Tywas watching her from a crouched position on the floor. The richbrown of his irises seem almost black in his narrowed eyes. A deepfrown pursed his thick lips, masked slightly by his short goatee. Thesepia tones of his skin blended with the shadows of the room as thesmall fires caused by her fight with the rifter died down. He seemedto be studying her, examining the way the old man’s demon waspulled out of his body and into hers. His expression flickeredbetween fear and admiration. His gaze met hers for an instant, thenhe turned away.

He’sfreaked out to be working with a monster.

<Relax.He probably just doesn’t want to watch this guy die.>

Miragave herself a mental hug. Her body was now being controlled entirelyby the demon. He’s been a soldier, a PTF agent, and a cop. He’sseen plenty of people die.

<Doesn’tmean he enjoys it.>

Buthe wasn’t looking at the rifter when he got disgusted, Mirainsisted. He was looking at us.

<Fine,so maybe watching us eat another demon freaks him out. So what?>

Yeah,thought Mira. So what? Why should I care what he thinks about meanyway? Everyone else is afraid of me. Why would Ty be any different?I am a monster after all.

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Sifting for Colorado Gold

With the Colorado Gold Writers Conference right around the corner, I want to take a moment to talk about the process of judging a writing contest. One of the major features of this annual writers conference is their Gold Rush Literary Award, which is a chance for unpublished writers in a variety of genres to get their works in front of literary agents during the conference. This year, I served as a judge for this contest. This was my first time judging a writing competition, and I have to say, it was a strange and eye-opening experience to see things from the other side of the fence.

I always knew contests were a bit subjective. I mean, it’s not like there’s a standardized answer sheet that judges can use to see if the authors got it “right.” And yet... there sort of was. I was given, basically, a grading rubric. It actually looked a lot like the charts used on my daughter’s homework to judge whether she got a passing grade on an assignment. Something like, “Shows a basic understanding of grammar: Student falls short of, meets, or exceeds expectations.” Only there were A LOT of categories to grade, and not all of them were even present in all of the entries I read. How do you judge the quality of something that isn’t there? Like, “Are the supporting characters relevant?” in a story that only introduced one character.

Then comes the subjective part. Do I think this person understands grammar? Do I think their main character has a full growth arc based solely on the synopsis and the first ten pages? Do I think the stakes are high enough for the genre they’re writing in? Is the narrative voice clear? Is the pacing right? Are the metaphors appropriate? Talk about subjective! One person might think comparing a cab driver’s head to a pineapple is the most clever thing in the world, while another could find it trite and cliched. (No one actually compared a cab driver’s head to a pineapple in any of the entries I judged.)And to complicate matters, not all of the entries are judged by the same people. How could they be? There are way too many for a single person to tackle even an entire genre, let alone the whole contest. So now you have a bunch of different people judging a handful of stories each, but those stories are then stacked up side-by-side. What if one judge thinks capital letters and periods are all that’s really necessary to hit the mark of “understands grammar,” while another is in love with semicolons and counts off anybody who doesn’t use them every time the opportunity arises? What if the judges have a different idea about where commas go, because let’s face it, the writing community as a whole can’t ever seem to agree on exactly where commas go.

So yeah, each entry gets a subjective grade that is then compared to another entry’s equally subjective grade provided by a different judge with a different background and personality. Now this isn’t to say there’s NO consistency in the process. At least for this contest, each entry was judged by two different people to, hopefully, provide a balanced view of the work. And obviously, as judges, we all TRY to be even and fair to the best of our ability. I’m just saying, human opinions leave a lot of wiggle room. One judge might read their assigned entries after having a brilliant, relaxing day that’s left them feeling generous. Another might judge after a long slog through a double shift that’s left them hating the world. Just like readers, I suppose. There are a lot of variables that can affect how your work is received.

I guess the main take away that I’m getting at here is this: Don’t let success or failure in a competition affect you too much. Yes, if you win, you may get an amazing opportunity, but you’ll still need to keep proving yourself every step of the way, whether that be to agents, publishers, or readers. If you don’t win, you may be tempted to take it personally, or to feel like you’re not good enough. Don’t let doubt dictate your path. I’ve had books that won multiple awards in some contests that didn’t even make the finalist cut in others. There are just too many variables at any given instant to take any of this too seriously. So if you win, smile. Enjoy the moment. Then move on and keep writing. If you don’t win, be disappointed. Lament the moment. Then move on and keep writing.