E.B. Roshan's Blog: This, That and the Other, page 3

New Release: Inseparable

Today’s the day…the long-awaited final Shards of Sevia novel is now available to the public! You can read what some early readers are saying HERE and HERE.

You can also find it at a variety of online bookstores HERE, though it may be a minute before it shows up on Amazon.

The Young Authors are Back!

A couple of years ago, I ran a series spotlighting some young (and mostly unpublished) authors. I’m happy to say Part Two of the series continues now, featuring several young authors who have graciously agreed to share snippets of their lives and stories with us.

Today, you have the opportunity to (virtually) meet Cate VanNostrand!

Cate VanNostrand is a college junior studying English and History, an oldest child who loves her three siblings, and a firm believer that chocolate can fix anything. When she isn’t studying ancient Rome or British literature, you can find her jamming to rock music, working as a developmental editor for indie-published authors, and working on her own WIPs, which are too many to count.

Here’s a quick look at one of them: 

To say that criminal studies major Joan Watson is a fish out of water might be an understatement. After almost twenty years of putting up with her grief-stricken family, Joan moves from a small Detroit suburb to the bustling campus of San Diego State University. When she befriends Shea, a budding detective, and Toby, a cute but reserved theater nerd, she begins to feel like she has found her group of misfits. But when Toby’s precocious roommate is murdered and suspicion falls on his shoulders, Joan and Shea find themselves the next targets of a cold-blooded killer, with their mind bent on one thing: revenge.

You can check out her website to see what she’s up to HERE.

Cate also provides editing services HERE!

Book Spotlight: Nova and the Lost Stars by Lillian Keith

Today I have another lovely new children’s book to share: Nova and the Lost Stars.

“Nova, the stars are so bright, no darkness can hide them.”

When The Great Comet knocks three of the brightest stars from the sky, 10-year-old Nova must venture north to return them to the Star Keeper. Will she get them back in time to light Papa’s way home? Or will the sky be dark forever?

Here’s some more information about the book:

Genre: Children’s Adventure Chapter Book (non-magical, though contains whimsical elements).

Age Group: 6-10 years old

Author: Lillian Keith

Illustrator: Amelia Grace

Ebook Release Date: August 30th

Page length: 72 pages

Book Link:

Preorder On Amazon

Author/Artist Link: https://linktr.ee/the_pencil_sisters_press

Book Spotlight: Cooper Drivacoach and the Long Ride by Bree Pembrook

Today I’m happy to help introduce what appears to be a humorous and quirky adventure for younger readers–Cooper Drivacoach and the Long Ride, by Bree Pembrook.

What happens when you ask a Glump for directions? You get very lost. When Cooper Drivacoach asks for directions to the School of Random Arts, he and his wild and crazy passengers are sent on a long ride through some of Abougrugon’s most dangerous places. Cooper and his trusty employee, Clementine the pony, must make the treacherous journey and get their young passengers safely to their destination, but will they be able to make it past thieving leaves, stinky swamps, and all manner of chaos?

To learn more about this young author and her stories, you can check out her website HERE.

Inseparable

Shards of Sevia #6 is now in the hands of quite a few ARC readers, and it’s just about a month until it’s available to everyone! I’m really looking forward to being able to share this story, so much so that I decided to post a sneak preview today.

Without further ado, here’s the first part of the first chapter:

CHAPTER ONE: DUNYA

Radoslav and I got quiet as we drew near the stretch of sidewalk where Sami Shurdar and her family had been murdered. I knew Rado wanted to put an arm around me, or at least hold my hand. His longing to touch me radiated off him like heat. But if he did, I might cry, so I kept a step or two ahead of him, just out of reach. We didn’t have time for tears.

Even after International Peacekeeping Force troops from all over Europe entered Sevia and took control of Dor, our capital city, ending the power struggle between Tur and Sevian militias, my old neighborhood wasn’t a good place to linger.

But Rado and I had a mission. If we wanted Bobur, the orphan boy I’d rescued, to be our son, not just in name, but legally, we had to find his birth certificate first. Since the Family Affairs Office in Pasha had been burned to the ground and with it, any legal evidence of Bobur’s existence, our best hope to start the adoption process was to look for his certificate in his dead family’s home.

Memories of loss closed in like the shadows of the abandoned apartments. Each building in this part of Pasha looked the same as the one before it, massive blocks of concrete, white paint faded to dirty yellow, and wrought-iron balconies on the second and third floors.

Only mine stood out. Three months ago, when the IPF troops evacuated all Tur people from the city, the face of our building had been bare. Since then, someone had spray-painted a familiar image across the entire front in wild, sweeping lines— a black bull locked in combat with a white stallion. Seeing it there, so fresh it practically dripped, made my eyes well up.

I’d know my little brother Desh’s work anywhere. But Desh had been dead for over a year, murdered by White Horse militia members, just like the Shurdars.

“Who did that?” Rado asked, his voice just above a whisper, tipping his head back to see it all at once.

I studied him, my husband of three weeks and four days. He was short. A little overweight. He trimmed his black hair close to his head to hide the fact it was thinning on top. Not much to look at, maybe, but Rado had never taken advantage of me, never lied to me. He’d never asked for anything in exchange for what he offered—except the kind of love I wasn’t sure I could give. He was so good it scared me.

“Who would have painted that?” he repeated.

“Erkan,” I whispered. “He must have come back here after we were evacuated. The style though—that’s not traditional. It’s Desh’s. He did it for Desh.”

Rado reached for my hand, and I let him find it. With a hesitant thumb, he traced the ridges of my knuckles and the plain silver wedding band he’d bought me the week before.

“I wonder where Erkan found a ladder long enough to paint that high up,” I said.

​­Rado just stood there with his lips parted. The silence made my skin prickle.

He shrugged. “Maybe he balanced on the balcony railings.”

The setting sun slowly dipped behind the building opposite us, and Erkan’s tribute to the Tur people who’d lived and died in Pasha—especially our brother—faded into shadow.

Cover Reveal: Peril in Dry Springs

Today I’m pleased to participate in the promotion of another Kristina Hall novel, the Wild West-themed historical fiction, “Peril in Dry Springs.”

Dry Springs hasn’t seen the last of trouble.

Ira Burke is surviving—just barely thanks to an injury that about stole his ability to hold down a job. The fact that the new saloon owner finds him a threat further complicates matters, as does the town matchmaker’s attempts to marry him off to the woman who helped him during the war.

Patience Ashbee arrives in Dry Springs to care for the younger sister she hasn’t spoken to in six years. What she doesn’t expect to find is an acquaintance from the war—or the dangers that follow her all too closely.

Because peril has once again come to Dry Springs.

From Kristina Hall, author of women’s Christian fiction, comes a historical novel featuring high stakes, faith, humor, and a hint of romance.

GOODREADS LINK: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/152644986-peril-in-dry-springs

PREORDER LINK: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DCF512WW

Inseparable ARCs Available

At last, the final Sevia story, in which Radoslav the interpreter and Dunya the militia member (hopefully) get a “happily ever after” ending, is coming to virtual bookstores near you!

However, if you don’t want to wait another month, advance copies are available now for anyone interested in writing a review.

To get yours, please email me at: btznvntATgmailDOT.com

Cover Reveal: Inseparable (Shards of Sevia #6)

We have a title…and a cover! If all goes well, the final part of Radoslav and Dunya’s story will debut on September 10th.

War brought Radoslav and Dunya together. If she hadn’t become a refugee, and he hadn’t taken a job as an interpreter at the camp she was sent to, they never would have met.

Now, they’re taking the first tentative steps toward a peaceful future for themselves and their adopted son. Settled in a fishing village far from the conflict zone, they have good reason to hope the worst is behind them. They could not be more wrong…

Book Review: Unforgiven by Vanessa Hall

“Unforgiven” is the second Vanessa Hall novel I’ve had the pleasure to read. It’s the final installment in her romantic suspense series. Though Vanessa’s storytelling skills and characterization have always been strong, I felt she has taken a definite step forward here with Vladimir and Katya’s story.

Her ability to craft a convincing suspense scenario remains weak, but if you’re reading Vanessa Hall, you’re not reading for the predictable, logical action sequences and “true to life” crisis. You’re reading for the characters, and the internal journeys she portrays so vividly and well. Rather than marching them robot-like from growth point to growth point, she allows her characters to develop organically, even cyclically, as they gradually deepen their understanding of God, themselves, and each other through each revolution of their emotional stories.

That being said, spending so much time in Vlad’s head was not pleasant reading—it’s hard to accept that someone could keep living through so much unmitigated, self-inflicted misery—but unfortunately, it’s pretty obvious many people do. His deepening understanding of forgiveness and the relationship between forgiveness and atonement was portrayed well. His obsession with being shot in the head by everyone he met, including the local Baptist pastor, was perhaps unintentionally humorous, but somehow it didn’t feel entirely out of character. Russian humor is nothing if not dark...

Katya was, in my opinion, a much stronger and more believable heroine than Molly in the previous book. I think the author took a risk with Molly, and it didn’t quite work, but Katya, despite her occasional excessive self-analysis was a very satisfactory heroine indeed. The plot required her to be a bit more of the “damsel in distress” than I would have liked, and honestly, than she deserved, but it gave the necessary opening for an otherwise un-shiny character to shine, so I’ll let it slide.

Overall, I’m giving Unforgiven 3.5 stars!

To (virtually) meet the author, and check out her other books, you can visit her author website HERE.

Finish Line in Sight…

As of today, I’m nearly done with writing the final installment in my Shards of Sevia series. Participating in the King’s Daughters Writing Camp turned out to be very motivating, as well as fun. I increased my goal from five chapters to 12,000 words, and still managed to write nearly twice that during the month of July.

Over the next few weeks, stay tuned for excerpts from the new book, a title, a cover…and some guest posts from fellow KDWC attendees!