Beth Tabler's Blog, page 170

Review – A Mirror Mended by Alix E. Harrow

“You have to make the best of whatever story you were born into, and if your story happens to suck ass, well, maybe you can do some good before you go.”

It has been an exciting five years for our dimension traveling heroine, Zinnia Gray. We have moved past the traditional simple sleeping beauty type stories and into just about every variation on theme that can be imagined. Every country, every type of world, and even some off-world, Zinnia has stepped in and did her best to “help” the titular princess. She has burned fifty spindles. “Just when Zinnia’s beginning to think she can’t handle one more princess, she glances into a mirror and sees another face looking back at her: the shockingly gorgeous face of evil, asking for her help.”

Now, what fairy tale do we know of that has a gorgeous face of evil staring into a mirror?

It is none other than the worst of evil stepmothers, the poisoner of many apples, The Evil Queen, and she needs help. Although at the time of jumping through the mirror, Zinnia did not know that. Even the worst of the worst might have a redeeming quality buried deep inside them, and they need a better ending than to be put in hot metal shoes, or crumble and wither to dust. Or, if you take the Disney version, driven off of a cliff. Either way, The Evil Queen’s future is one of horror, and she wants a new ending.

“You have to make the best of whatever story you were born into, and if your story happens to suck ass, well, maybe you can do some good before you go.”

I have often said that Alix E. Harrow cannot write a bad thing. For me, her stories always resonate. When I hear that she will have a new release, I look forward to it for months. A Mirror Mended is no different. I highly enjoyed this story, with a few caveats. Like the first in this series, Zinnia is snarky and likable. I get her humor; maybe it is because I, too, have quite the sardonic tongue. A Mirror Mended is a story that does not take itself too seriously. How could it? Fairy tales, while important culturally, are often a bit tongue and cheek. I am glad that Harrow moved on to another fairy tale just as dark as Sleeping Beauties. Disney sure does enjoy tarting up stories for the masses, especially when the underbelly of the story is figuratively infested with worms.

Harrow is also a master world-builder. Granted, the world of Sleeping Beauty and Snow White were reasonably solid from the original stories, but she takes all those ideas and convincingly twists them. It is one of the things I enjoy about her as an author; she knows how to make the unbelievable into the believable.

“The mirror showed me you, out of all the possible people in all the universes,’ It sounds almost like an apology. ‘Why?’
‘Well, what were you doing at the time?’
‘I was looking into the mirror, obviously. Wishing for a way out.’
‘Well, so was I. As it happens.”

The caveats as mentioned above are that Zinnia’s quippyness, her snark, came off less as a popping soap bubble of humor and more like a defense mechanism, and given the context of the story, it didn’t quite fit right for me as a reader. This might be entirely on me and what I see in Zinnia as a character, but often her dialog seemed too forced. And in a story this short, something like that can quickly drive out a reader, as it did with me.

Even with this sidenote, this is a hell of a good story. Her record for writing killer novels and short stories continues. I highly recommend this as a nice little jaunt into fairy tales. Make sure you read the first novel, A Spindle Splintered, first so you can get all the references and enjoy Harrow’s mastery.

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Review – Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree

“it was like drinking the feeling of being peaceful. Being peaceful in your mind. Well, not if you have too much, then it’s something else.”

Legends & Lattes by Travis Bladree is a fantasy story wrapped in a warm hug with a side of scones and a perfectly creamy dark roast latte. Travis Baldree, the famous audio narrator, has offered a gift to the reading world with an un-schmaltzy story that even the hardest of grimdark readers can get behind. 

“it was like drinking the feeling of being peaceful. Being peaceful in your mind. Well, not if you have too much, then it’s something else.”

The story follows Viv, an Orc, as she leaves her bloodstained warrior days behind her. She came to a moment where she knew she would never find happiness in her current profession. Plus, there was that magical cup of wonder she had at that gnomish city a while ago. It was time for her to set down the sword, pick up the dish towel, and hopefully find some peace.  

She finds a city that is not too large, not too small but is a perfect size. She finds a property in disrepair and goes to work. Firstly, no one but her knows what coffee is. They drink tea here, for shame. Secondly, she has no staff; thirdly, her “coffee house” is a horse stable. She is going to need some help. 

And I think that is the point, she no longer has to do everything alone; she can make relationships and does. Great ones. Viv stumbles here and there, but her friends help her get through the worst things using their best skills. I like that Bladree shows that people can change and can grow. 

While this is a hopeful fantasy, hope punk, if you will, there is still conflict. This slight conflict kept the story from going too sticky-sweet. Instead, the variance of the story helped balance out the elements. Travis Baldree knew what to do to make the story balance out. 

 If you enjoy cozy stories that warm even the coldest and deadest of hearts, read Legend & Lattes. Use it as a refresher between bouts of Mark Lawrence or Joe Abercrombie. Sometimes the world is not as heartless as we think and a warm, perfectly made cup of coffee is all it takes to make everything all better. 

Check Out Some Reviews of Legends & Lattes and an Interview with the Author

Interview With Author Travis Baldree

Review -Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree

Review-Legends & Lattes: A Novel of High Fantasy and Low Stakes by Travis Baldree

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Review – Ledge by Stacy McEwan

“Stay the Frost, Watch the Chasm, The Cold is not Alive”

Ledge, a new fantasy story by famed BookToker and author Stacey McEwan, is frosty, sizzling, and spicy all at the same time. 

The story’s premise is thus. Dawsyn, a young human adult, lives on what is called Ledge. It is an icy outcrop up high in the mountains. Her tiny village scratches a meager existence from the trees and small game, begging, pleading, and killing their way through life. Life is hard. No one can leave. If you try to go, you have two options. First, you can fall to your death as a victim of the vast chasm that excises her tiny village from everything beyond it. Or as a human sacrifice to the Glacians.

The Glacians are another species that thrives in cold weather, is incredibly strong, flies, and has talons and sharp teeth. From an evolutionary standpoint, they out predate humans by quite a lot. Every season, like clockwork, the Glacians come and steal a member of the town. Why they do this is unknown, it is said that they eat humans and chew on the very bones of townsfolk. However, that’s just chatter; no one in the village knows the true reason for this, and if they do, they aren’t sharing their secrets. 

Dawsyn, our story’s protagonist, is alone. Her family, her tribe as it were, has died from various things. Her sister was taken as tribute, her mother is gone, and her grandmother has died from a cough. She is alone, scratching it out, defending her trees and the future warmth they can provide. It isn’t much, but her strength of will sees her through each day. “but her luck has run out. She is chosen and ripped from her icy home, the only world she knows. No one knows what will happen to her on the other side, least of all Dawsyn. Murdered? Enslaved? Worse?Thankfully, the fates align and Dawsyn manages to escape their clutches with the help of a half-Glacian called Ryon.” The question is, who to trust?

While this story is, in many ways a typical trope, two enemies from disparate worlds come together and find something between them; McEwan does quite well with the dialog and the world-building. I like both characters well enough, and the Glacians are an exciting twist on tired fantasy characters. There is most definitely a good level of spice in this book which is all sorts of fun—but not done so in a totally and utterly unbelievable way. Definitely not insta-love here. 

I enjoyed this reading experience thoroughly. Is it groundbreaking, not really? But she pounds away typical tropes and makes every line hers in writing. Nothing felt stagnant, the pace was excellent, and one moment flowed through to the next. I found myself staring at the clock at 3 am, wondering where the last four hours went, which is a solid hard win in my book. 5 Stars from a very bleary-eyed reader from staying up to late, and hell yes, I would do it again. 

I recommend this book, and I am dying to read the next book. 

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An Interview with Legendary Author Margaret Weis

“I’ve always been a story teller, even before I could read.”

I’m so excited to have another opportunity to chat with Margaret Weis, the undisputed queen of Dragonlance (sorry, Takhisis) and co-author of The Dragonlance Chronicles, the trilogy that started it all.

Thank you for joining me again!

 

(JC) Dragons of Deceit, book one in the long-awaited Dragonlance Destinies trilogy, releases August 2nd. Will you tell the readers a little bit about it?

The best I can do is the jacket copy. (Which I helped write!)

Destina Rosethorn—as her name implies—believes herself to be a favored child of destiny. But when her father dies in the War of the Lance, she watches her carefully constructed world come crashing down. She loses not only her beloved father but also the legacy he has left her: the family lands and castle. To save her father, she hatches a bold plan—to go back in time and prevent his death.

First, she has to secure the Device of Time Journeying, last known to be in the possession of the spirited kender Tasslehoff Burrfoot. But to change time, she’ll need another magical artifact—the most powerful and dangerous artifact ever created. Destina’s quest takes her from the dwarven kingdom of Thorbardin to the town of Solace and beyond, setting in motion a chain of disastrous events that threaten to divert the course of the River of Time, alter the past, and forever change the future.

(JC) How does it feel to be back in Krynn?

Always fun to go back to Krynn!

(JC) Do you have a favorite location in Krynn and, if so, what is it? Are you ever tempted to set important scenes or write things in such a way that time is spent at that location?

No, not really. Although Mt Nevermind comes close.:)

(JC) Tasslehoff Burrfoot has to be the most well-traveled of all kender! He has found himself involved in many big events in several different time periods. What makes him ideally suited to being the common thread that ties so many of these events and time shifts together?

I have long said that Tasslehoff is the wisest person in the stories. He sees the truth in people, even if they can’t see it themselves. He accepts them for what they are. He is content to be who he is. He is loyal to his friends. He is always open to new adventures. He is filled with curiosity.

(JC) Tas has such an incorrigible and fun-loving personality that it’s easy to overlook the wisdom he has and the incredible ways his interactions with other characters affect them. I always saw him as a catalyst for character growth in others. Will he have any such interactions with Destina Rosethorn, the main character in Dragons of Deceit, and how will these interactions affect her or others?

I really can’t say any more about the plot! Sorry.

  (JC) I’m really excited to meet a new group of characters in Dragons of Deceit (while also happily looking forward to seeing some old friends again). Which new character was your favorite to write and why?

My favorite new character to write doesn’t appear until the second book, so I really can’t talk about it!

(JC) I can’t pass up the chance to ask about my favorite morally gray character, Raistlin. You’ve said in the past that you really understand Raistlin and it’s clear he holds a special place in your heart. When thinking of Raistlin, do you picture him more often as wearing red robes or black? And why?

I will always think of Raistlin as wearing the red robes. I think that is who he is at heart. He gave into temptation to try to gain power, but, in the end, he realized that it would end up destroying the world, as it had destroyed him. That was his tragedy.

(JC) You and Tracy have been collaborators on so many amazing books, including Dragonlance, of course, the Death Gate Cycle, and The Dark Sword trilogy. How has this creative team-up developed over the years? What are some of the triumphs and challenges of co-creating?

Tracy and I met at TSR. He was the game designer in charge of DL and I was the liaison with the game design team and the book department. We both realized that we had a great story to tell with DL and wanted to write it ourselves. We both came up with the plot. I was the main writer because Tracy was working the game side. I would send what I’d written to him and he’d add his parts of the tale. We have worked that way ever since! The key to a partnership is respect.

(JC) Dragonlance spent some time in the hands of other people. Is it tough to adapt to the changes that were made during that time? How do you go about returning Dragonlance to the way you envisioned it?

We rely on primary source material. It would be impossible to reconcile all the different visions of all the authors who ever wrote for Dragonlance!

(JC) When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

I’ve always been a story teller, even before I could read. I would tell stories to the kids in kindergarten during rest time. Writing was a natural extension of that. I didn’t really know I wanted to be a writer until I was in college. I was in my Freshman English class when the teacher took me aside and told me that if I wasn’t majoring in Creative Writing, I should be. It was like the moment in the Blues Brothers when the heavens open up and Jake realizes he has to put the band back together. I realized I was a writer. I switched my major that very day.

(JC) Hooray for that teacher!!!

The internet today is an entirely new beast. How has technology changed your writing and publishing process over the years?

I use a computer instead of a manual typewriter, which is all that was available when I started out. That was a huge change.:)

(JC) The last time I was privileged to interview you, I asked about authors that you love or that you have been influenced by. I think it’s interesting that none of the names you listed (including Dumas, Rex Stout, and Jane Austen, among others) write fantasy. Do you think reading books in multiple genres changes how you write fantasy?

Absolutely! I tell aspiring fantasy writers to read everything EXCEPT fantasy. Fantasy worlds are grounded in reality so that the reader will accept them. Learn about character creation and plot development and writing techniques from other genres. Your work will be richer for it.

(JC) If you could sit down and have dinner with any author or character, who would you choose and why?

I’d love to have tea with Jane Austen.:)

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Review – The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri

“This was what she had needed. Not forgiveness, not a balm for this strange writhing fury inside her, but the promise of someone to care for–to love–that she could not harm. Even if she had to. Even if she tried.”

Savagely beautiful, The Jasmine Throne kept me riveted from the first page all the way through until the last heart-stopping moment. Fierce characters, bold storylines, and incredible prose all combined into a book unlike anything I’ve read.

From the violent and misguided fanaticism of Chandra to the quiet desperation of Rukh, each character showed a different side to the multi-faceted gem of this world. And what world building! Ahiranya was complex and beautiful-but also broken, with other cultures and peoples crushed and forgotten. The complicated political factions between those with differing views of what Ahiranya should be was engrossing, to say the least. This struggle of will became a powder keg waiting to explode, the question being who will be left standing when the dust settles.

While the world was amazing, the characters were even more so. Chandra, Emperor of Parijatdvipa, has widened the divide between the peoples of Ahiranya. He is the match that starts the blaze. His cruelty leads him to punish his sister Malini by imprisoning her in the Hirana, a holy temple where children with unexplained powers were once burned alive.

Malini is cunning and manipulative. Her form of rebellion is the sort that draws people to a cause and convinces them to take the final step from thought to deed. She can form armies, stage coups, and maybe even kill emperors- if she can escape the Hirana. What I loved most about Malini was her ability to use people and feel zero guilt over it. At times, it was difficult to tell if she was a hero, or simply a different sort of villain.

Priya was my favorite. All sharp edges, she was once a child of the Hirana. She escaped the fire that killed her brothers and sisters, but not unchanged. Her early experiences molded her into someone tough yet vulnerable. She carries a strength and fierceness in her that will carry her through rebellions and give her the strength to blaze her own way. She is also a rebel, in her own way, although her end goal is far different. I expected her to be cold or unfeeling simply because of her past, but she showed a strong sense of loyalty and compassion. It came out particularly well when she interacted with Rukh, a boy that she rescues.

Bhumika is a rebel of a different sort. She uses her status as wife of the regent of Ahiranya to fight in secret. She hides in plain view, subtly doing what she can to protect those in need of it. She is a bit of a contradiction, and I loved seeing more of her personality come out during the course of the book. She is not someone I would want to mess with, I’ll say that.

Other players dance in and out of the narrative, showing up at pivotal moments that set the story moving in directions I would never have expected. No character is superfluous; instead, each adds to the book in important ways.

I have to touch on the mythology and religions in The Jasmine Throne. I won’t explain it because there is no way I could do it justice, but wow. This was a book that was impossible to put down, even though I dreaded reaching the end. I am desperate to read book two of The Burning Kingdoms.

Read The Jasmine Throne. I guarantee you’ll love it.

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Self Published Fantasy to Add to Your TBR – Team Edition

In my ever so humble opinion, BWGB has one of the best writing teams in the world of reviewing. Seriously, the caliber of the people who I am blessed to come to know as friends can not be understated. Please take a moment and check out the great work coming out of the team. Also, watch this space, there is more coming out from these lovely humans as well as those not on the list such as Maria Blackrane who is in the final editing stages on her debut.

Author P.L. StuartA Drowned Kingdom

Once Second Prince of the mightiest kingdom in the known world, Othrun now leads the last survivors of his exiled people into an uncertain future far across the Shimmering Sea from their ancestral home, now lost beneath the waves. With his Single God binding his knights to chivalric oaths, intent on wiping out idolatry and pagan worship, they will have to carve out a new kingdom on this mysterious continent―a continent that has for centuries been ravaged by warlords competing for supremacy and mages channeling the mystic powers of the elements―and unite the continent under godly rule.

With a troubled past, a cursed sword, and a mysterious spirit guiding him, Othrun means to be that ruler, and conquer all. But with kingdoms fated on the edge of spears, alliances and pagan magic, betrayal, doubt, and dangers await him at every turn. Othrun will be forced to confront the truths of all he believes in on his journey to become a king, and a legend.

When one kingdom drowns, a new one must rise in its place. So begins the saga of that kingdom, and the man who would rule it all.

Read the Prologue

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Author Ryan HowseRed in Tooth and Claw

A brutal wilderness.

Hungry, plague-ridden animals.

A winter so cold it snaps wood.

Chemosh, a scout imprisoned by the enemy, agrees to lead the way through this wilderness for his freedom. But both his knowledge and his resilience are put to the test, not just by the wilderness, but by the chaotic, violent man he guides. A man he must rely on if they are to survive.

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Author Dan FitzgeraldThe Living Waters

When two painted-faced nobles take a guided raft trip on a muddy river, they expect to rough it for a few weeks before returning to their life of sheltered ease, but when mysterious swirls start appearing in the water even their seasoned guides get rattled.

The mystery of the swirls lures them on to seek the mythical wetlands known as the Living Waters. They discover a world beyond their imagining, but stranger still are the worlds they find inside their own minds as they are drawn deep into the troubles of this hidden place.

The Living Waters is a Sword-Free Fantasy novel featuring an ethereal love story, meditation magic, and an ancient book with cryptic marginalia.

A Chat With Dan Fitzgerald

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Author GM NairDuckett & Dyer: Dicks For Hire

An SPSFC 2021 Finalist and Indie Fantasy Fund 2022 Award Winner (somehow)!

Michael Duckett is fed up with his life. His job is a drag, and his roommate and best friend of fifteen years, Stephanie Dyer, is only making him more anxious with her lazy irresponsibility. Things continue to escalate when they face the threat of imminent eviction from their palatial 5th floor walk-up and find that someone has been plastering ads all over the city for their Detective Agency.

The only problem is: He and Stephanie don’t have one of those.

Despite their baffling levels of incompetence, Stephanie eagerly pursues this crazy scheme and drags Michael, kicking and screaming, into the fray only to find that they are way out of their depth. They stumble upon a web of missing people that are curiously linked to a sexually audacious theoretical physicist and his experiments with the fabric of space-time. And unless Michael and Stephanie can put their personal issues aside and fix the multi-verse, the concept of existence itself may, ironically, no longer exist

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Author Thomas Howard RileyWe Break Immortals

A drug addict who hunts sorcerers down by tracking their magick, the most renowned swordsman no one has ever heard of, and a thieving magick-wielding woman hellbent on revenge collide during a last ditch effort to stop an insane superhuman serial killer from making himself a god.

The Render Tracers always say magick users deserve to burn. Aren couldn’t agree more, Keluwen would beg to differ, and Corrin couldn’t care less either way.

In a world where most people use swords for protection, Aren uses tools that let him see what no one else can see, and he takes advantage of loopholes that can undo magick in order to stop the deadliest people in the world. He is a Render Tracer, relentlessly pursuing rogue sorcerers who bend the laws of physics to steal, assault, and kill. But his next hunt will lead him to question his entire life, plunging him into a world where he can’t trust anyone, not even his own eyes.

When Keluwen finally escaped her fourthparents’ home and set out on her own to become a thief, she never thought she would one day be killing her own kind. She honed her magick on the streets, haunted by her past, hunted by Render Tracers, and feared by a society that hates what she is. Now she joins a crew of outcast magicians on a path of vengeance as they race to stop an insane sorcerer who has unlocked the source of all magick and is trying to use it to make himself a god.

Corrin is a sword fighter first, a drinker second, and a…well, there must be something else he is good at. He’ll think of it if you give him enough time. He is a rogue for hire, and he has no special powers of any kind. The most magick he has ever done is piss into the wind without getting any on himself. He is terrible at staying out of trouble, and someone always seems to be chasing him. When he gets caught up in a multi-kingdom manhunt, he finds himself having to care about other people for a change, and he’s not happy about it.

They are about to collide on the trail of a man who is impossible to catch, who is on the verge of plunging the world into ruin, and who can turn loyal people into traitors in a single conversation. They must struggle against their own obsessions, their fears, ancient prophecies, and each other. They will each have to balance the people they love against their missions, and struggle to avoid becoming the very thing they are trying to stop.

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Author WHITNEY REINHARTPocket Fiction

“Short stories are tiny windows into other worlds and other minds and other dreams.”

~ NEIL GAIMAN

Read Her Work Here

Author BJØRN LARSSENChildren

Gods make lousy parents.

All Magni wants is peace and quiet, but when your father is the God of thunder, you don’t get to live the life you want. When Thor destroys all his son knows and loves, Magni vows to bring prosperity and end the violence… forever. But can you escape cruelty in a universe built on it, or the shadow of your father when everyone calls you by his name?

Maya, her rage more powerful than she knows, wants freedom to pursue her own destiny. Neither torture nor blackmail can make her obedient or pretty enough for Freya, her foster-mother and Goddess of love. Fighting for independence and revenge, can a mere human win a game where Gods dictate the rules?

Author Interview

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Author KRYSTAL MATARChildren

Follow the law and you’ll stay safe. But what if the law is wrong?

Tashué’s faith in the law is beginning to crack.

Three years ago, he stood by when the Authority condemned Jason to the brutality of the Rift for non-compliance. When Tashué’s son refused to register as tainted, the laws had to be upheld. He’d never doubted his job as a Regulation Officer before, but three years of watching your son wither away can break down even the strongest convictions.

Then a dead girl washed up on the bank of the Brightwash, tattooed and mutilated. Where had she come from? Who would tattoo a child? Was it the same person who killed her?

Why was he the only one who cared?

Will Tashué be able to stand against everything he thought he believed in to get the answers he’s looking for?

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Author CT PhippsPsycho Killers in Love

FROM THE BEST-SELLING AUTHOR OF THE SUPERVILLAINY SAGA

What if all the villains of slasher movies were real? What if the movies made about them were just adaptations of real-life killers with supernatural powers? This is a fact known to William and Carrie because their father, Billy the Undying, was one of the worst slashers of all time. So much so that they’ve spent the past decade in an asylum out of fear they’d end up just like him. Escaping, the two have decided to form a new life on the road. Except, a chance encounter in a dingy diner introduces William to the girl of his dreams.

Too bad she’s a girl on a mission to kill all slashers. But maybe the best way to catch a supernatural serial killer is with another pair of them.

Enjoy this exciting prequel to the United States of Monsters books!

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Spotlight – Blue Haven by Lisa King

a science-fiction thriller that explores what innovation can achieve—and destroy—despite the best intentions.

Welcome to Blue Haven, the world’s most lucrative condo corporation—so exclusive that only five lucky residents live in this lush, tropical paradise, housed in a top-secret location.

Among them is twenty-five-year-old Aloe Malone, an introvert and former waitress who traded bussing tables for lengthy sleep-ins, ocean dips, Michelin-star restaurants, spectacular sunsets, and unlikely new friends—all thanks to a spurious lottery win.

Life’s good.
Damn good.

That is, until Aloe discovers a journal.

Seemingly left by a past resident named Eloise whose entries are both sad and evoking, Aloe quickly suspects there’s more to Blue Haven than meets the eye.

Her suspicions are confirmed when visions arise, gruesome hallucinations she can’t understand, followed by a strange yet familiar man lurking in places he shouldn’t. Something’s wrong. Or maybe it’s all in her head. Regardless, she vows to uncover the truth.

Except someone wants to keep her quiet, and it’s the last person she ever suspected.

Blue Haven is a science-fiction thriller that explores what innovation can achieve—and destroy—despite the best intentions. King’s imaginative world building and use of moral ambiguity make this page-turning novel a thought-provoking thrill that’s impossible to put down

Blue Haven by Lisa King – Book Tour ReviewBlue Haven by Lisa King | Book TourBlog Tour: Blue Haven by Lisa KingBook Review: Blue Haven Buy from Amazon
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Self Published Fantasy to Add to your TBR – Vol 4

Hello, Welcome to volume 4 of self-published fantasy authors to add to your massive TBR. Today’s list includes grimdark titles to fun Urban Fantasy. All will bring tons of enjoyment and get you addicted to these authors.

5 Self Published Fantasy Writers to Add to Your TBR

Self Published Fantasy to Add to Your TBR Vol. 2

Self Published Fantasy to Add to Your TBR -Vol. 3

Author Rachel AaronNice Dragons Finish Last

As the smallest dragon in the Heartstriker clan, Julius survives by a simple code: keep quiet, don’t cause trouble, and stay out of the way of bigger dragons. But this meek behavior doesn’t fly in a family of ambitious magical predators, and his mother, Bethesda the Heartstriker, has finally reached the end of her patience.

Now, sealed in human form and banished to the DFZ–a vertical metropolis built on the ruins of Old Detroit–Julius has one month to prove that he can be a ruthless dragon or kiss his true shape goodbye forever. But in a city of modern mages and vengeful spirits where dragons are considered monsters to be exterminated, he’s going to need some serious help to survive this test.

He only hopes humans are more trustworthy than dragons…

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Author Virginia McClainBlade's Edge

Two friends.
Two forbidden powers.
One chance to change everything.

When Mishi is taken from her orphanage home, she fears she’ll never see her best friend Taka again. And when Taka is taken to the infamous Josankō that same day, it seems as if more than distance will keep them apart.

Suddenly alone in their fight to survive, each girl must come to terms with her true nature—Mishi as warrior, Taka as healer. Years after their separation, the girls’ journeys lead them each to uncover the horrifying secret that the Rōjū council has spent centuries killing to keep.

Now the Rōjū council wants Taka and Mishi dead and they’ll have only one chance to save their people.

How much will Mishi and Taka sacrifice in order to protect all they hold dear?

Nominated as a finalist for the 2019 SPFBO

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Author Ben GalleyChasing Graves

Welcome to Araxes, where getting murdered is just the start of your problems.

Meet Caltro Basalt. He’s a master locksmith, a selfish bastard, and as of his first night in Araxes, stone cold dead.

They call it the City of Countless Souls, the colossal jewel of the Arctian Empire, and all it takes to be its ruler is to own more ghosts than any other. For in Araxes, the dead do not rest in peace in the afterlife, but live on as slaves for the rich.

While Caltro struggles to survive, those around him strive for the emperor’s throne in Araxes’ cutthroat game of power. The dead gods whisper from corpses, a soulstealer seeks to make a name for himself with the help of an ancient cult, a princess plots to purge the emperor from his armoured Sanctuary, and a murderer drags a body across the desert, intent on reaching Araxes no matter the cost.

Only one thing is certain in Araxes: death is just the beginning.

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Author Zamil AkhtarGunmetal Gods

They took his daughter, so Micah comes to take their kingdom. Fifty thousand gun-toting paladins march behind him, all baptized in angel blood, thirsty to burn unbelievers.

Only the janissaries can stand against them. Their living legend, Kevah, once beheaded a magus amid a hail of ice daggers. But ever since his wife disappeared, he spends his days in a haze of hashish and poetry.

To save the kingdom, Kevah must conquer his grief and become the legend he once was. But Micah writes his own legend in blood, and his righteous conquest will stop at nothing.

When the gods choose sides, a legend will be etched upon the stars.

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Author Michael R. FletcherBlack Stone Heart

A broken man, Khraen awakens alone and lost. His stone heart has been shattered, littered across the world. With each piece, he regains some small shard of the man he once was.

He follows the trail, fragment by fragment, remembering his terrible past.

There was a woman.

There was a sword.

There was an end to sorrow.

Khraen walks the obsidian path.

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The post Self Published Fantasy to Add to your TBR – Vol 4 appeared first on BEFOREWEGOBLOG.

An Interview with #SPSFC Finalist Cameron Coral of Steel Guardian

Can a gentle robot win the fight for humanity’s last hope?

BWG: What do you think makes a good story?

I love stories that transport us to interesting new worlds where characters face hardship. For me, the point of fiction is to see how the characters react. How does our protagonist solve the problem, and what would I do in their place? One of my favorite books is Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451. It’s fascinating to imagine a world where books are not only burned, but your job is to set them ablaze. The unfolding of events within this dystopian society is endlessly fascinating to me.

BWG: How did you get into writing? Were there any catalysts in your life that set you on your path to loving the written word?

I was a late bloomer with reading (among other things like riding bikes and swimming). But when the hamster wheel in my brain clicked, I gobbled up every book I could set my hand on from Stephen King to Ray Bradbury, Frank Herbert to Judy Blume. Loving books so much inspired me to want to write, I suppose. My family instilled a hard work ethic in me, but they wanted me to go a traditional route—law, science, corporate, or government jobs. I only realized later in life that writing books could lead to a career. It wasn’t until Amazon made it easy to publish books on their platform that I got interested in pursuing a writing path.

BWG: What comes first for you, the plot or the characters, and why?

The theme comes first. I like to ask “what if” questions. Steel Guardian was inspired by asking, what if a robot had to take care of a baby? Once I land on a theme, then the protagonist and antagonist(s) surface. I work hard on giving the characters interesting traits and meaningful goals. The last thing I work on is an outline of the plot.

BWG: How was your first SPSFC? If you have other books, Do you think you will submit them to future contests?

I was thrilled to be in the first SPSFC and to place as a finalist! The most amazing part was having so many judges reading the books. Each judge or judging group posted reviews on their websites, and several of them left reviews on Amazon and Goodreads. Feedback on the story is like gold to me. I was most pleased about getting the book into the hands of new readers. I would definitely submit books in future SPSFC contests.

 

BWG: What was the best part of the SPSFC experience?

Having Steel Guardian read by judges who truly appreciate science fiction and fantasy. Many of the reviews have inspired me in new ways with new ideas for future books and series. It’s been a blast to connect with the other SPSFC finalists too!

 

BWG: For readers unfamiliar with your work, can you tell us about your SPSFC entry?

Steel Guardian asks, “What if a robot had to take care of a baby?” Block is a simple hotel CleanerBot model and flees Chicago after the AI Apocalypse. All Block wants to do is clean and find a new hotel where he can do his job, but he stumbles upon an abandoned baby. His programming compels him to take the child somewhere safe and find a human who is worthy. Along the way, he meets a human named Nova, who forms an unlikely alliance with him. Together, they face mortal danger from bands of scavengers, militaristic SoldierBots, and Combat Mechs. A cyborg Bounty Hunter will stop at nothing to find Block and the child – an infant who holds the key to humanity’s future.

BWG: Where did you get the idea for your book?

My niece, Hannah, was born around the time I was thinking about the robot and baby question. She was absolutely adorable and became my muse for the baby that Block takes care of. I dedicated the book to her. I grew up loving post-apoc literature and films such as The Stand, Mad Max, and Oryx and Crake, so I wanted to combine the gritty, survivalist world with that of a timid robot who’s trying to stay alive in a scary world with scary, militarized robots.

 

BWG: What was your most brutal scene to write, and why?

The beginning sequence was challenging. I wanted to set the stage with some worldbuilding and establish Block as the protagonist. I worried about him being a robot. Would he be relatable? There’s a turn of events that happens early in the book that some people dislike. When I started writing, it wasn’t planned that way, but that’s the way the story came out as I was writing. My only hope is that people keep reading because there’s so much goodness among the post-apoc mayhem in not only Steel Guardian, but the rest of the series too.

BWG: What is a significant way your book has changed since the first draft?

I reworked the ending a few times to make it more unpredictable. I’m thankful for having had a great editorial team who suggested the finale needed more oomph.

 

BWG: There is usually research of some form when writing a Sci-fi novel. Were there any exciting bits of research or rabbit holes you went down writing the book?

Working out Block’s energy source was a rabbit hole. I discovered real-life research about microbial-powered batteries. Some bacteria produce their own electricity, which could make them useful in batteries and fuel cells. They haven’t found a scalable way to harness this yet, but I extrapolated and decided that Block would consume gas, oil, grease—all the leftover toxic stuff that won’t go away on its own.

BWG: What do you have coming up in the future?

There are two more books currently published in the Rusted Wasteland series: Steel Defender and Steel Protector. Both books introduce a new crew of robot allies and enemies. I’m writing Book 4 and am having so much fun creating the next adventure for Block. If you’d like to keep up to date on news about the series, you can subscribe to my email newsletter, where I send updates out once or twice a month. Sign up at: https://cameroncoral.com/sign-up/

 

 

 

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Review: The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston

“I’d always written how grief was hollow. How it was a vast cavern of nothing.
But I was wrong. Grief was the exact opposite. It was full and heavy and drowning because it wasn’t the absence of everything you lost – it was the combination of it all, your love, your happiness, your bittersweets, wound tight like a knotted ball of yarn.


Hello, again dear reader or listener, I hope you are well and weathering the heat as best you can. I’m actually a fan so I don’t overly mind it, but, if you’re looking for a comfortable summer read that’ll distract you from your woes, I have the treat that’s right for you!The Dead Romantics is an adult paranormal romance (mature language and topics, with very mild sexual content that’s barely explicit) but it can easily be read by YA readers as well.It’s also mostly a comedy even though it deals with grief and loss of loved ones, be it in the final sense or from relationships breaking apart. And it is also about relearning who you are after those losses. About self worth and how it is a pesky little gremlin of a creature that lives within most of us, telling us that we’re either not good enough or that the wrongful behaviors/actions of others against us is – deep down – our own fault. (It’s not, by the way, and I loved the way that it’s showcased here, in different ways for different people because we all need to realize it on our own).Protagonist Florence is a fun disaster of a character who is struggling with crippling self doubt, going through different kinds of grief, and very much not having a good time. She maintains a certain sass I always approve of and even though she does seem to wallow in her pain and struggles for most of the book, it’s all very understandable and frankly a good lesson in what it may look like having to go through those emotions and the need to cut yourself some slack, because they can be messy and not make sense.Ben, the male lead, is a charming cinnamon roll of a ghost and I felt for him throughout the book for many a reason. Obvious silly clichés as to his perfect looks and tall dreamy broadness aside that is. I could’ve done with a little less of that but that’s pretty minor and to be expected.Plot wise this book is fairly simple and, in this context, that ease worked well for what this story wanted to tell. It was mostly character work after all, trying to unravel all those odd ways our minds take us through whenever we deal with big and difficult times. That said, there was one reveal I didn’t see coming and it was another hit to the feels, but in a good way.Poston’s prose is flowing and atmospheric when needed, but she’s also a modern author with playful lines and fourth wall breaking winks at people who know a little more of what goes on under the surface in the book publishing world. Moreover she has planted a ton of Eastereggs for her readers, be they literary, meme culture, Disney, or Fall Out Boy songs, and it was delightful.I kept feeling like the Captain America, I understood that reference, gif.Ultimately though this is a book about the different facets/types of love as well. And what people leave behind for their loved ones, even when their departures may be unexpected.Maybe I enjoyed this book so much because I found a lot of the “lessons”/realizations in it to be very closely aligned to how I personally go about life/experience certain things. But I also think it’s good to read about broken characters who help each other heal gradually and by keeping the other company while they go through some things on their own.So dear reader/listener, in short, this is the perfect kind of summer read! It’s funny, if not hilarious at times, heartfelt and with a good dose of letting you know it’s ok to feel the things you feel and work through them at your own pace. But also teaching you to not forget that the people who love you are there for you if only you reach out.Also, did I mention the puns? There are so. many. puns. about death and ghosts, and gallows humor in general. It’s utterly delightful and it makes soft moments adorable and tougher moments endearing.8.5/10Until next time,Eleni A. E.




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