Helen Garraway's Blog, page 2

Sentinals Origins Part Two achieves Chanticleer International Book Awards Long List 2025.

So thrilled to announce that Sentinals Origins Part One is on the Chanticleer International Book Award’s (CIBA) 2025 Long List for OZMA Fantasy.

The Ozma Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Magic, Steampunk and Fantasy Fiction. The Ozma Awards is a genre division of Chanticleer International Book Awards and Novel Competitions (The CIBAs). These titles have moved forward in the first look rounds from all 2025 OZMA Fantasy Fiction entries to the 2025 Ozma Book Awards Long List. These entries are now in competition for the 2025 Ozma Short List. The Short Listers will compete for the Semi-Finalists positions. Finalists will be chosen from the Semi-Finalists and recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference, CAC26.

See full details on CIBA website.

Series link

Wild magic is rife in the world of Remargaren and a shadowy group of dissidents have discovered how to exploit the power for their own purposes.

The goddess, Leyandrii, and her Captain, Guerlaire, must face down this new threat and protect the people from unseen dangers. As Guerlaire learns to wield his own power, three new cadets with the potential to change the world are beginning their journey to become Lady’s Rangers.

Drawn from the back streets of Vespers, a young boy is thrust into a world beyond his comprehension. Battling bigotry and violence, Birler will need to navigate the Rangers’ Academy while grappling with unexpected ties of friendship, a tantalising found family, and embrace ancient magical powers.

A heartwarming tale of friendship and family is set against a backdrop of bigotry and violence in a world where wild magic can precariously tip the balance. Birler and his new friends will have to fight their own battles, not only to earn the right to become rangers but to help Leyandrii and Guerlaire restore the natural balance and defend their world.

This is the first part of the prequel to the award winning Sentinal series.

If you enjoy fantasy books then you will love my epic fantasy Sentinal series or the Romantic Fantasy SoulMist series. Sign up to my newsletter and download a free novella called Sentinals Stirring and also Sentinals Discovery, the first few chapters of Sentinals Awaken from Birlerion’s POV and get notified when my next books are published.

Sign up to my newsletter and download Sentinals Stirring for free

By clicking the sign up button above, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and the newsletter platform provider to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time.

By signing up to my newsletter, you agree to receive commercial information from Helen Garraway, located at 61 Bridge St, Kingston, Hertfordshire, UK (Data Administrator).

Breaking News! Epic Fantasy Romance SoulMist series now in Kindle Unlimited

The SoulMist series is now in Kindle Unlimited. If you haven’t read the series yet and have a kindle subscription, now’s the time!! 

If you fall in love with the shadows, does that mean you are fallen too?

A dying angel. A fractured realm. The SoulBreather who might be able to save them both.

Solanji has a secret. One that is becoming increasingly difficult to keep. She can touch souls and see into a person’s inner thoughts. Soulbreathing is exhilarating and addictive, until the day Solanji caresses the wrong person’s soulmist.

Dragged into a long forgotten angelic mystery, she is forced to venture into Eidolon, the godforsaken last resort for those without souls. In order to save her brother, she must rescue a broken and tortured man. Can she save him from the shadows? Does he even want to be saved? And can she find a way to return to the light before the darkness engulfs them both?

SoulBreather is the first book in the epic fantasy romanace/paranormal fantasy SoulMist series, now complete with DragonBound and OblivionGate. 

Series link

Book One: SoulBreather
Book Two: DragonBound
Book Three: OblivionGate

Short Stories (For Newsletter subscribers only)
Oathsworn (2024 xmas bonus story.)

If you enjoy fantasy books then you will love my epic fantasy Sentinal series or the Romantic Fantasy SoulMist series. Sign up to my newsletter and download a free novella called Sentinals Stirring and also Sentinals Discovery, the first few chapters of Sentinals Awaken from Birlerion’s POV and get notified when my next books are published.

Sign up to my newsletter and download Sentinals Stirring for free

By clicking the sign up button above, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and the newsletter platform provider to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time.

By signing up to my newsletter, you agree to receive commercial information from Helen Garraway, located at 61 Bridge St, Kingston, Hertfordshire, UK (Data Administrator).

Authors At The Armouries (AATA) Stuff Your Kindle Day – 19th July 2025.

Check out the books from some of the authors attending the 2025 Authors At The Armouries book fair and gothic ball.

Lots of free or 99p books – Including Sentinals Awaken (FREE)! Check them out now. There are books in a wide range of genres, so you’re sure to find something you like!

UK mainly, though mine is free on Amazon US as well. Offer on many of the books is for July 19th 2025 only, so don’t wait.

Check out the book promo today!

If you haven’t started the epic fantasy Sentinal series yet, then there is no better time because the first book, Sentinals Awaken is FREE on Amazon UK and USA. Read it on Kindle Unlimited but don’t own the book? Download it today!

Click HERE to Download Your Copy Today!

Book One of the Epic Fantasy Sentinal series

Book Description

When a long-forgotten threat starts to reemerge, one man stands as the last defense against darkness…

Jerrol Haven serves his king without question. When he finds evidence of corruption and is attacked, the loyal soldier’s mind spins after his touch of a sacred tree awakens the dormant spirit of a three-thousand-year-old protector. But he fears he has failed after the crown prince accuses him of treason and orders his execution…

Fleeing the city, Jerrol is stunned when the goddess appears to him, appoints him captain of her warriors, and charges him with a quest to find artifacts that can save the realm. And as he runs into danger and more betrayals, the steadfast hero discovers a rare gift that may be the world’s only hope…

Can Jerrol rally the forces of good to stop a rising evil?

Sentinals Awaken is the first book in the Sentinal epic fantasy series. If you like endearing characters, immersive world-building, and gritty conflict, then you’ll love Helen Garraway’s award-winning tale.

Buy Sentinals Awaken to restore the guardians today!

Complete series is on Kindle Unlimited. First four books on Audio:

Book 0.5: Sentinals Stirring (prequel novella) Ebook free if you sign up to my newsletter.
Book One: Sentinals Awaken
Book Two: Sentinals Rising
Book Three: Sentinals Justice
Book 3.5: Sentinals Recovery (Novella)
Book Four: Sentinals Across Time
Book Five: Sentinals Banished
Book Six: Sentinals Destiny
Prequel: Sentinals Origins Part One
Prequel: Sentinals Origins Part Two (Release Date TBC)

Short Stories (For Newsletter subscribers only)
Sentinals Discovery (First few chapters of Sentinals Awaken from Birlerion’s POV.)
Book 2.5: Sentinals and Guardians 2023 xmas bonus story.

If you enjoy fantasy books then you will love my epic fantasy Sentinal series or the Romantic Fantasy SoulMist series. Sign up to my newsletter and download a free novella called Sentinals Stirring and also Sentinals Discovery, the first few chapters of Sentinals Awaken from Birlerion’s POV and get notified when my next books are published.

Sign up to my newsletter and download Sentinals Stirring for free

By clicking the sign up button above, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and the newsletter platform provider to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time.

By signing up to my newsletter, you agree to receive commercial information from Helen Garraway, located at 61 Bridge St, Kingston, Hertfordshire, UK (Data Administrator).

Sentinals Awaken ebook is FREE during the kindle countdown 18th-22nd July 2025.

If you haven’t started the epic fantasy Sentinals series yet, then there is no better time because the first book, Sentinals Awaken is FREE on Amazon UK and USA. Read it on Kindle Unlimited but don’t own the book? Download it today!

Click HERE to Download Your Copy Today!

Book One of the Epic Fantasy Sentinal series

Book Description

When a long-forgotten threat starts to reemerge, one man stands as the last defense against darkness…

Jerrol Haven serves his king without question. When he finds evidence of corruption and is attacked, the loyal soldier’s mind spins after his touch of a sacred tree awakens the dormant spirit of a three-thousand-year-old protector. But he fears he has failed after the crown prince accuses him of treason and orders his execution…

Fleeing the city, Jerrol is stunned when the goddess appears to him, appoints him captain of her warriors, and charges him with a quest to find artifacts that can save the realm. And as he runs into danger and more betrayals, the steadfast hero discovers a rare gift that may be the world’s only hope…

Can Jerrol rally the forces of good to stop a rising evil?

Sentinals Awaken is the first book in the Sentinal epic fantasy series. If you like endearing characters, immersive world-building, and gritty conflict, then you’ll love Helen Garraway’s award-winning tale.

Buy Sentinals Awaken to restore the guardians today!

Complete series is on Kindle Unlimited. First four books on Audio:

Book 0.5: Sentinals Stirring (prequel novella) Ebook free if you sign up to my newsletter.
Book One: Sentinals Awaken
Book Two: Sentinals Rising
Book Three: Sentinals Justice
Book 3.5: Sentinals Recovery (Novella)
Book Four: Sentinals Across Time
Book Five: Sentinals Banished
Book Six: Sentinals Destiny
Prequel: Sentinals Origins Part One
Prequel: Sentinals Origins Part Two (Release Date TBC)

Short Stories (For Newlsetter subscribers only)
Sentinals Discovery (First few chapters of Sentinals Awaken from Birlerion’s POV.)
Book 2.5: Sentinals and Guardians 2023 xmas bonus story.

If you enjoy fantasy books then you will love my epic fantasy Sentinal series or the Romantic Fantasy SoulMist series. Sign up to my newsletter and download a free novella called Sentinals Stirring and also Sentinals Discovery, the first few chapters of Sentinals Awaken from Birlerion’s POV and get notified when my next books are published.

Sign up to my newsletter and download Sentinals Stirring for free

By clicking the sign up button above, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and the newsletter platform provider to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time.

By signing up to my newsletter, you agree to receive commercial information from Helen Garraway, located at 61 Bridge St, Kingston, Hertfordshire, UK (Data Administrator).

Author Interview – J.M. Tibbott

Author of the Pridden Saga series.

I was fortunate to meet fantasy author J.M. Tibbott at a writing group I attended, and I am very pleased to welcome her to my blog.

Helen: Welcome, JM. It’s a pleasure to meet you. Could you tell us about your Pridden Saga series, and the first book, The Arrival?

JM: The Arrival is the first book in My Pridden Saga series, and introduces Kat, my protagonist. She’s a rather feisty young woman, who hates to be controlled.

Kat, a brilliant video game designer with a desperate desire to control her own life is faced with the option of losing a job she adores. Sent on a forced vacation to adjust her attitude she is stunned to find herself in a strange tech-free world. Confused and lost all she wants is a fervent desire is to return home.

Promised aid by the local ruler she is horrified to be tasked with an assignment to aid in preventing a devastating war, but without clear instructions on how to achieve this.

Amid vicious creatures and enemies lurking around every corner she must defend against a villain with sinister plans to seize the power she has no idea she possesses.

Can Kat survive in a land hurtling towards destruction?

Helen: That sounds like a great adventure, and for a gamer to be stuck in a world without technology, I am sure that gave you plenty of opportunity for conflict! What were your thoughts behind the cover design?

JM: Although I have designed covers for other authors, when I sat down to do this for my first novel, I simply couldn’t come up with anything that pleased me, so I contacted a UK designer (Deranged Doctor Designs) and after answering a lot of questions about how I envisioned the appearance of my protagonist, they suggested the woman on the cover. I loved the picture they chose – the red hair, and the rather stubborn look to her face. I think in this first series I rather tended to see how I would act in the situation the book suggested.

Helen: The story behind the cover is always so interesting. What about the title? How did you decide what to call your book?

JM: I spent a lot of time on the titles of the books and since this is the one where Kat is thrust into a strange new world, “The Arrival” just seemed to make the most sense, because this was the first time Kat found herself on Pridden.

Helen: What made you write this particular book?

JM: I had been writing many short stories, and I knew I was ready to attempt a novel, so when I woke one day with an idea for a story, I was captivated, and although I only planned a single novel at the beginning, the ideas for expanding it, began to drench me with ideas, and so it turned into seven novels.

Helen: That is so wonderful when the ideas begin to flow. Congratulations on writing seven novels. When did you realise you had a passion for writing?

JM: I cannot remember a time when I didn’t love writing. At about the age of ten, I wrote strange plays, which I forced my sister to act in, and demanded my parents watch and pay a penny admission to view my efforts.

Helen: It’s nice that your creativity started young and you never lost it. What is the main genre you write, and who inspired you to start writing?

JM: I love writing high fantasy. My mother inspired me to read Sci-fi, and when I began to read Isaac Asimov, I was so entranced, I figured I could also do what he did.

Helen: If your main character, Kat, could tell us why to read your book, what would she say?

JM: I think Kat would say that we all have the opportunity to change, and even though she resists change, even she has managed to learn things from the odd life she is having to live on Pridden. Each book has changed her and made her a better person.

Helen: Are you a pantser or a planner? Do you write free form, or do you have a framework you stick to?

JM: I am definitely a planner, I have a very specific way of planning my books, something I was privileged to learn from john Truby

Helen: Do you need to do much research as part of your writing process?

JM: I initially began Book one, and stopped because my characters needed challenges, and I then spent two years designing the world. I spent enough time on it, and did enough research, that it was sufficient to help me with all the subsequent books in the Saga.

Helen: What is the best thing that have happened to you since you started writing?

JM: I actually like reading my own books.

Helen: I first wrote my books for me read, and I decided to publish them so I could read them as a book, instead of on my laptop! Thank you so much for joining me today. One last question. If you didn’t write in High Fantasy, then which genre would you like to try and write in next?

JM: I believe I would like to attempt to write a cosy fantasy.

About the Author – J.M Tibbott

J. M Tibbott

JM Tibbott has been writing since childhood, but The Pridden Saga is her first series of published novels. As a writer of magazine and newspaper articles, being an editor for an online news-letter, and a writing instructor, JM belongs to a community of local writers, all of whom are continually upgrading their own skills.

JM has been teaching writing skills for over ten years.

She is in the process of combining a collection of her short stories, which she expects to publish later in the year.

JM welcomes comments from her readers, and encourages them to visit her website, to which she will be shortly a blog, showing illustrations and information about the various creatures populating the world of Pridden.

JM declares — “If I could not write, I could not breathe,” which is similar to how her favorite author, Isaac Asimov, felt about his writing.

Follow J.M Tibbott:

Facebook

Purchase The Arrival from Amazon:

UK: eBook | Paperback
USA: eBook | Paperback

As an Amazon Associate I may benefit from purchases made using these links.

If you enjoy epic fantasy then check out my award winning Sentinal series, which is now complete. If you like fantasy books with a touch of romance then you will love my SoulMist series, start with SoulBreather. Prefer Dystopian Science Fantasy? Then try Harmony. Start the adventure and stay for the journey.

Sign up to my newsletter and download a free novella called Sentinals Stirring and get notified when my next books are published.

Sign up to my newsletter and download a free copy of Sentinals Stirring

By clicking the sign up button above, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and the newsletter platform provider to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time.

By signing up to my newsletter, you agree to receive commercial information from Helen Garraway, located at 61 Bridge St, Kingston, Hertfordshire, UK (Data Administrator). You can withdraw your consent at any time. The data will be processed until the consent is withdrawn.

Book Review Alert: Ties of Death by Constance Lopez

Reviewed: June 26th, 2025
Released: April 4th, 2025
Genre: Paranormal Fantasy

A cursed king. A stolen bride. A desperate quest.

Emana hasn’t seen her best friend Daenn since she left their gryphon rider clan for an arranged marriage eight years ago. She doesn’t believe the rumors that he’s become a ruthless tyrant since ascending the throne… not until the warm, kind boy she once knew hunts her down, kills her husband, and steals her back to the clan.

This new Daenn is cold, driven, and harder than the steel he wields with bloody efficiency, yet he claims to need her. Or at least, he needs her magic to temper his own chaotic, deadly power—through the shackles of marriage. But when Emana tampers with the new bond between them, their magic begins lashing out on its own, striking down innocents in alarming numbers.

Now, to save her clan and free herself from Daenn, Emana must journey deep into the heart of the jungle with him in search of a way to destroy his magic for good. But the more they are together, the more she sees echoes of warmth beneath his icy exterior that hint that maybe he hasn’t changed as much as she thought. Except the search to sever their bond is filled with horrors, and destroying Daenn’s magic might require a heavy cost—his very life. Read My Thoughts…

Book Review Alert: When Darkness Hunts the Dawn by M.H Woodscourt

Reviewed: June 22nd, 2025
Released: September 16th, 2024
Genre: Epic Fantasy

Rebel. Captive. Dragon.

Condemned for leading a rebellion against a petty tyrant, Mikoneh and his twin sister resign themselves to a fiery death. But when the stake is lit, the flames answer to Mikoneh—and he and his sister escape amid the ensuing chaos.

On the run, they discover they’re being chased by worse than the tyrant’s knights. From deep underground, Dark Mages hunt them for a birthright they never knew. With unexpected help from a magic box and a peculiar woodelf, the twins race for foreign lands to seek refuge from the legendary Dragon King.

But their relentless pursuers will stop at nothing to use Mikoneh’s blood to stir the embers of an ancient war against humans, elves, and dragons.

Soar into the first book of a dragon-centric adventure rife with political intrigue, fierce duels, and deep lore set in a complex fantasy world! Read My Thoughts…

Book Review Alert: Until All Curses Are Lifted by Tim Frankovich

Reviewed: June 18th, 2025
Released: August 13th, 2019
Genre: Epic Fantasy

Phenomenal power. Cursed for his father’s sins.

Marshal lives in magically-enforced silence, unable to communicate with those around him. When he discovers he’s also heir to immense magical power, he sets out on a quest to escape his curse, and maybe find a way to end the corrupt system that gave it to him.

But his half-brother, wanting the power for himself, dispatches a leper assassin to kill Marshal and those he loves.

Seri wants to use the system to become the most powerful mage in history. But her ambitions are disrupted when the earth itself begins to shake. The magic that holds the world together is failing, and the combined power of all the mages is not enough to save it. And then someone begins murdering mages.

Manipulated by outside forces, stalked by murderous foes and monsters, Marshal and Seri each must learn how to use their unique abilities before it’s too late. Dark powers from another realm are watching them. Watching and planning… Read My Thoughts…

Book Review Alert: Steering the Craft by Ursula K. Le Guin

Reviewed: June 17th, 2025
Released: October 31st, 2024
Genre: Writing craft

Revised and updated for the twenty-first century, Steering the Craft is Ursula K. Le Guin’s carrier bag of the essentials of a writer’s craft, a generous gift from one of the great thinkers about how – and why – to write.

This handbook is an accessible and profound guide to the craft of writing and editing. Le Guin lays out ten chapters that address the most fundamental components of narrative, from the sound of language to sentence construction to point of view. Drawing on the global canon, Le Guin offers her inimitably witty commentary and incisive dissection, developing into an exercise that the writer can do solo or in a group. No other writing guide offers such a comprehensive, experienced and kind approach to “steering the craft” as a writing crew.

Steering the Craft deserves a place on every writer’s shelf. Read My Thoughts…

Book Review Alert: Woods of the Raven by Mary Calmes

Reviewed: June 10th, 2025
Released: June 22nd, 2023
Genre: MM Paranormal Fantasy

Something wicked this way comes…and it might be too late to stop it.

Xander Corey lives simply, sustainably, on the outskirts of Osprey, a small, quaint town in Upstate New York. He’s a librarian when the town’s budget can afford him, a good friend, kind neighbor, and also, a witch. And while that’s of no concern to anyone around him, there are others, non-humans, who have a vested interest in Xander’s family land. Xander knows something dark and dangerous is brewing. He’s just not quite sure what.

And that’s not the only mystery he’s dealing with. The new chief of police is, by turns, giving him heart palpitations and homicidal thoughts. Xander can’t decide if the gorgeous yet infuriating Lorne MacBain is on his side, or trying to drive him insane. Added to that, the man doesn’t believe in magic, and since that’s who Xander is, their future looks anything but bright.

But Lorne is not the unimaginative, stick-in-the-mud Xander thinks he is. And a rock to anchor him as his life is turning upside down is just the thing Xander needs. Now if only the two of them can stay alive…. Read My Thoughts…