Nerine Dorman's Blog, page 84

State of Doing… Not Being, evidently.

I suppose at some point I should write about all the cool stuff I’ve been doing lately. Like that book release I had in February which I neglected to make any mention of on my blog. [slaps self through face with pap snoek]

Yes, I had a book release, and it’s called Camdeboo Nights. Yes, it’s a weird-sounding title but the Camdeboo is an actual place here in Africa. It’s very dry and it’s in a region known as the Karoo, and the Camdeboo is pretty much smack bang in the middle of South Africa, in the middle of nowhere. Desolate. Empty. Yet so very rich in mystery.

So staying with that, I've already gone visiting at a few blogs, most notably an interview with author Carrie Clevenger over at Wicked li'l Pixie's spot, a stop at Calisa Rhose's blog, and this week I'm author of the week at Kim Larocque's blog. So, if you're yet to catch any of those posts, they're all neatly rounded up for you 'cos I'm kinda nice like that.

No go get Camdeboo Nights direct from the Lyrical Press website, at Amazon or on Kobo. Hey, even Kalahari has it.

Some exciting stuff happening with my Books of Khepera series. I’m getting fantastic peeks into what my illustrator Daniël Hugo is up to for book two’s cover, and I’m in the midst of sorting out the file for Khepera Redeemed, to get it ready for layout and eventual release late-April if all goes smoothly. I’m of half a mind to get stuck into finishing book three soon, but I’m kinda letting my muse lead me where he will right now, so everything is subject to change. But if you’ve yet to dip into Jamie’s world, you can pick up book one, Khepera Rising, at Amazon, Smashwords, Kobo and in print.

Because I’m very nice that way and try to give you as many different formats as possible to keep everyone happy. Curious what other people have said about the story? There’s plenty of reviews up at Goodreads. Go check ’em out then add the book to your TBR pile if it tickles your fancy.

Dawn’s Bright Talons, that very odd fantasy novel in a pseudo-Victorian setting has been sitting on full sub now for a very long time. That is all I can say about it, apart from mentioning that I’ve chewed both my arms off at the elbow and am now using a straw to type this blog post. I pray I have good news. One day. In the meanwhile I'm going to pretend like this novel never happened and we'll all be happier for it.

Raven Kin is now almost halfway with the revises. Yes, it’s taking its sweet time and I’ve still not decided whether I’ll bother going on the submission mill with it or just do it myself, because to be quite honest, I don’t see agents or editors lining up to play with a talking griffin as the narrator. So, between you, me and all those Skandranon fans, this is a little homage to non-human protagonists. Yes, I blame you, Mercedes Lackey. I’ve always wanted to write griffins, and I hope my readers will soon get to meet Silas.

Occasionally I get a small chance to write, mostly during down-time at the office or over my lunch hours. I’ve been blessed in that I’ve finished two short stories this past month. The first is entitled Painted Wolves and it’s written in response to a call for subs related to werewolves. I’ll know muuuch later this year whether anything is happening with this. My protagonists are two African wild dog sisters who’ve been dispersed from their birth pack, as per custom. They bump into a mysterious Egyptian lone wolf, and things get a bit weird after that.

The other story I just penned was by invitation for an A-to-Z bestiary. I drew the letter P and I’ve written a story about a púca, but obviously I’ve added an African spin to this mostly Irish legend. Am not quite sure when that one’s coming out or whether it’s even been accepted yet, but I’ll keep you posted.

I’ve got other short fiction out there or on the verge of being available. You can check out a creepy spook story called All That Remains which I wrote for Chaosphere volume #4 . I return to the seaside town where I grew up in this one, and draw on mystique of a house that used to belong to the little old lady who lived down the road…

Then Probatio Diabolica features a journalist who bites off more than she can chew; the story appears in the Urban Occult anthology (edited by Colin F Barnes). You can get it on pre-order now but it releases March 25.

Another anthology to be released soon, The Demonologia Biblica , features a my dear friend Jamie the black magician in action. Yes, I’ve been missing the lad, and in Old Scratch he has his hands full with a troublesome exorcism. And yes, he's in top form, so be warned.

The fact that I’m writing (and selling) short stories like hot cakes fills me with endless amounts of the lulzies. You see, I always thought I needed to write and sell short stories first before I got round to writing and selling novels. Evidently I do things backward. Now, just to secure me a literary agent AFTER I have an offer from a large publishing house. Now wouldn't THAT be a hoot?

But probably one of the contributing factors to me focusing on my short fiction instead of longer works is my editing work. I’m currently wrapping the edits for Bloody Parchment volume #3 (eKhaya, Random House Struik) and once that’s done, I’ll be giving my all to my next editing assignment with DC Petterson. I’m really looking forward to working on Lupa Bella (Dark Continents Publishing), which is a werewolf tale that draws on ancient Italian folklore. It’s suitably visceral, on many levels. I’ve also got the Dark Harvest anthology looming (Dark Continents Publishing), not to mention arranging this year’s Bloody Parchment short story competition. Yeah, and there are other ideas in the pipelines too. Which I can’t talk about right now or else I’ll have to kill you.

On a completely different front, I can now safely say I’m playing music again. Last year April I picked up my classical guitar after not playing for more than half a decade. I’m still nowhere near where I was when I was studying music and doing the whole rigmarole with exams, but I feel like I’m feeding part of my soul that I neglected for a very long time. I have memorised a few pieces, and have even performed at a small private function. Where I’m going with this I don’t know, but it’s enough right now for me to say that music keeps me from doing stupid things, and at least for an hour every day I stop caring about all the usual BS like my home loan, annoying people, job security, sadness… You pick whichever works for you.

But back to writing… I’ll give you a hint about a WiP that’s growing slowly… Shhh… It has fairies in it. ;-) But they’re not the nice kind, okay?

Ayn Rand's Normative Ethics by Tara Smith #review

Title: Ayn Rand’s Normative Ethics—The Virtuous Egoist
Author: Tara Smith
Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2006

Often, when mentioning Ayn Rand to my friends, I’m met with open scorn. People generally assume that Rand’s Objectivism philosophy stands for cold-hearted selfishness, as frowned upon by every “decent, moral citizen”. After all, isn’t altruism the way forward? Doesn’t selfishness ultimately lead to one’s downfall? How can selfishness be considered a virtue for a virtuous person. The question that’s often asked is: “What makes a person good?”

Surely your life must benefit others? Is it even possible that Rand’s rational egoism can result in an individual living a moral life governed by ethical decisions? It is easy to assume that people are, first and foremost selfish, a societal default setting if it were.

Often it’s insinuated that an egoist acts without a code of ethics, and without any consideration for others. It’s easy for people to write off Rand’s philosophy without taking a closer look. With this book, Tara Smith encourages readers to consider virtues as Ayn Rand defines them and promotes as beneficial to a rational egoist. Because, Rand states, a rational egoist will naturally live a virtuous life if she values flourishing.

Rationality, honesty, independence, justice, integrity, productiveness, and pride might all come across as self-evident virtues. The majority of these will be promoted by your bog-standard adherent of the Abrahamic faiths, or indeed a humanist. And, you might ask, how the hell does pride fit into the picture? Tara Smith takes each of these virtues as set down by Rand, and elaborates on them. In this process, she also shows how these virtues share a basic, undeniable interconnectedness. One needn’t rely on a world religion in order to live a moral life. And one can be a giving person, if certain conditions are met—and one’s actions do not impact negatively on one’s own wellbeing.

Smith also examines how a person with these virtues must act, and also looks at how other virtues (often taken for granted) act within this context: kindness, charity, generosity, temperance, courage, forgiveness, and humility.

Ayn Rand holds up the magnifying lens to all these virtues and how they work within the framework of rational egoism. Underlying all of this is the notion of value, and how a rational individual will not trade something of greater value for the lesser. In this regard, Rand’s Normative Ethics was recommended to me as a follow-up to Smith’s Viable Values: A Study of Life as the Root and Reward of Morality, and provides supplementary reading.

Smith also discerns between popularly held conceptions of virtues, and how a rational egoist would approach them. Rationality is perhaps one of the most important, because it requires that we deal with facts—life as it is—as opposed as how we’d like to perceive it. Just because we want something to be true doesn’t make it so. She also underlines that we should seek rationality, not because we should live rational lives, but because we understand why rationality is so important in order for us to flourish.

Why flourish, you might ask? There’s more to life than simply breathing, and by flourishing we add value to our life. Life isn’t simply to exist. After all, if our entire raison d’etre was to simply breathe and live without pain we might as well live such exciting lives as a tree in a forest or fungus growing on a compost heap. Similarly, we should live moral lives, not because it is expected of us, but because a moral life will result in our continuing flourishing. Before we go further, it’s important to establish what Rand means by flourishing.

By flourishing, Rand suggests that we attain value within our lives, and actively pursue to better our quality of life—to create value. That which is valuable to us isn’t merely money, or a big house: we also value friendships, music, good health, art or the wherewithal to travel and see new destinations. In achieving these goals, we enrich ourselves, and, by extension, have a positive influence on our environment and the people around us.

After looking at how rationality is the master virtue, Smith touches on honesty, and how this applies in our factual assessment of our situations and future plans, and also in how we present ourselves to others. She looks also at the conditions of honesty—for example, it’s perfectly acceptable to lie to Nazis about whether you’re hiding a Jewish friend. After all, the Nazis are not upholding rational virtues in the bigger scheme of things. By being truthful to the Nazis, you basically state that you agree with how they go about doing things.

Independence is, according to Smith, a virtue. She goes on to underscore the differences between being able to live by the efforts of one’s own work, or being a parasite, or moocher, dependent on others. Once again, we look at the exchange of values and a system of free trade, and that values are not always tangible. For example, a woman who decides to stay home to raise children can provide value as much as her engineer husband who provides her the means with which to do so, and she should not be looked down upon.

Justice is another important factor that Smith examines within Rand’s writing. Much can be said for justice, and Smith examines it within the framework of meting out to others what they deserve. If you buy an item or a service from another person, you pay what that item or service is worth. In the same way, if someone goes out of his way to damage you, you’re within your rights to defend yourself and protect that which you value.

According to Smith, Rand ascribes a slightly different slant to integrity than the standard assumptions. At its core, integrity requires of an individual not to sacrifice his or her convictions or values to satisfy the whims or opinions of others. This is especially pertinent after one has established one’s values based on that which is rational, which will lead to your flourishing (and not at the expense of others as some are wont to accuse the rational egoist). A person of integrity displays qualities of devotion to their chosen path, and is consistent in his or her purpose.

Courage, says Rand, goes hand in hand with integrity. The true test of one’s integrity only really comes into play when an individual finds him or herself in a situation of danger, or where there is some sort of risk to the self or what one values. To have courage is not to be without fear, because it can be argued that she who doesn’t fear does not take full cognisance of the dangers involved in a potentially volatile situation. A courageous person therefore doesn’t allow her fears to get between her and her values.

Almost a no-brainer when suggested, Rand clearly encourages productiveness. Not so much that it can generally be agreed that sloth is a cardinal sin, no matter what one’s outlook, but that productiveness is essential to anyone considering the science and art of flourishing. Productiveness is more than creating objects of material value: it is also the mental alacrity required to conceive of objects, and to have the necessary ability to realise them as physical objects or actions that fill a specific purpose, to add value to one’s life, and by default, the lives of others.

Chapter 10 interested me because Smith examines the virtues charity, generosity, kindness and temperance—ones that are so often bandied about within a sacred context that they have lost meaning, or that cause individuals to fall within a set of behaviours that are congruent with altruism. Rand and Smith both agree that altruism is of no use to the rational egoist and her flourishing.

In conclusion, a rational egoist places value in herself. This does not require her to fall into a mire of solipsism. If you value yourself, you will value your relationship with others and their wellbeing, but not to the point where you trade something of greater value for that which is of a lesser value. Self-interested motivations do not detract from a person’s capacity to value others. The reason why Rand highlights rationality as the greatest virtue over all others is precisely so that we can make decisions that are in all our best interests, to benefit ourselves and, by default the people around us, in the long term.

Quid Pro Quo by LA Witt and Aleksandr Voinov #review

Title: Quid Pro Quo
Authors: LA Witt and Aleksandr Voinov
Publisher: Riptide Publishing, 2013

The more I read the Riptide offerings, the more I absolutely adore what this publisher is bringing out, and in Quid Pro Quo, LA Witt and Aleksandr Voinov are in top form, their writing bearing the hallmarks of the confluence of sex and power in a heady short story.

Lines like this:
“Help me, I’m trapped in a Harlequin novel titled The Billionaire and His Rentboys,” Jared muttered under his breath.

Well, *that* just made me laugh out loud and pretty much summed up the entire premise quite succinctly. Quid Pro Quo doesn’t pretend to be anything else. It’s raw, hot sex, with our rich boy known only as Rolex, paying *a lot* to see our two dah-lings get it off.

And if you finished reading this and did *not* squirm just a little and fan yourself, there’s no way in hell you still have a pulse. So, there’s not going to be much more to this review than a big thank you to the two authors for offering me some cheap thrills, and writing great gay erotica in a way that makes even this slightly bi woman get a bit hot and bothered.

What's her name? by Mary Abshire

Today  I hand over my blog to fellow Lyrical Press author Mary Abshire, who's here to tell us a little more about her Project Eve series and share a blurb and excerpt. Welcome, Mary!

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The first book in my Project Eve series is The Awakening. It's a bit of a mystery as a young woman wakes up at a dump with dead bodies surrounding her. She's the only one living. Strangely, she doesn't remember her name or have any memories. Two investigators, one human and one vampire, find her.

In little time, she finds a few clues. She finds two receipts in her pocket and a special dagger in her boot with the initials SB. Jonas, the human investigator, decides to call her Stephanie. Throughout the story, they search for the person responsible for the murders and try to joggle her memories. What they learn surprises all of them. She's unlike any creature in the world, which makes her valuable to some and dangerous to others.

Demons and werewolves add to the action and suspense in the book. One of my favorite scenes is when she meets Jackson. I pictured the scene in my head and he instantly became a favorite of mine. Originally, I hadn't planned on having werewolves in the story. After I finished the book, I went back to beef it up and added Jackson. I'm so glad I did because werewolves played a big role in the second book.

Getting back to SB, nobody knows who she is, where she's from or how she came to be what she is. She's one big walking mystery and everyone has an interest in her. By the end of the book, she discovers her name and the person responsible for the murders at the dump. But the end leaves the reader wanting more. I didn't give all the answers. Sorry.

I left several items out of The Awakening because I had the second book, The Quest, planned in my head already. She knows who the murderer is and the reason why over thirty people died, so now she wants justice.

The same cast return in The Quest. The mystery continues and there's more tension along with an order for her death. The person who stole her memories appears and provides shocking news. But she continues to seek retribution. She's determined and no body will stop her. Not an assassin. Not a servant to Lucifer. Not even the vampire God of the Underworld.

If you like action, mystery, suspense, and various supernatural creatures, I invite you to check out my Project Eve series.

Blurb:

Retribution. At any cost.

Now that she knows her name and what she is, she wants justice for everything she’s lost. Though her memories elude her, she takes a job for a half-demon Senator and, aided by werewolves from a local clan, intends to uncover evidence that will convict the Senator of more than thirty murders.

Getting to the Senator and finding the necessary evidence is more difficult than she anticipates, especially when there is a bounty for her death. If that were not enough, the vampire who stole her memories returns and reveals unexpected truths. But she’s not going to let anything stop her. Not a sadistic assassin or a servant or Lucifer. Not even her ex-lover, the vampire God of the Underworld. Nothing will stop her from claiming retribution...even if the price is her life.


An excerpt:

From the main level, I rode an elevator to the basement. As I walked through the tunnel, toward the capital, clusters of government employees passed by. Unlike the other days when I came to work, men and women wore suits and chatted with serious looks on their faces. None of them carried lunch bags in their hands. I wondered if they'd come from a meeting or were going to one.

I reached the elevator to get to the subbasement and hit the button. While I waited for my ride, I scanned the area around me. The empty hall showed no signs of trouble and the voices of those who'd passed recently faded. I breathed in a relieving breath, finding myself alone and safe.

The ding of the elevator alerted me to its presence. The doors opened and a crowd of men and women in professional attire walked out. I stepped aside, staying clear of their path.

“Good evening, Shelley,” said an evil voice from behind me.

Since I had vampire hearing and hadn't heard her approaching, the bitch must have misted to appear near me. My blood boiled with anger. I hated the charmed bracelet on my ankle, preventing me from utilizing my demon and angel abilities.

With my jaw clamped so tight my teeth could've chipped, I glanced over my shoulder. She stood alone and dressed in a red suit.

“I didn't hear you coming,” I said in a rude tone.

Her lips formed a devilish smile. “You won't.”

Heat flamed within me, causing me to perspire. My clothes, damp from my dash through the rain, began to feel even wetter. The demon in me wanted out, wanted to rip her to shreds. Fortunately for her, the angel in me held the demon back.

After a few nods from the people passing, I strode onto the empty elevator. The bitch followed me and stood at the opposite side with her arms crossed. Alone with the Senator, I picked up her demon scent mixed with some other citrus type of perfume. The two odors mixed with the sight of the Senator made my stomach churn.

Once the doors closed, we faced each other. She had a feral look in her eyes, but I felt no fear. I had zero doubt I could kill her with my bare hands. She knew I could too, given she knew I had vampire strength. Her charmed bracelet couldn't freeze all supernatural abilities.

“I'm surprised you decided to show up this evening.” Galluzzi smirked.

I clenched the strap of my purse tighter. She obviously knew about the attack on me at Boss's house. Did she think she could provoke me?

I stepped closer to her and stood a foot from her face, glaring at her. “I'm not easy to get rid of.”

Emotion drained from her face. “No, you're not, but I have my ways.” She lifted her chin, displaying her arrogance. “Setbacks are normal in life, but I always win.”

Sweat trickled down the back of my neck. What would happen if I killed her in the elevator? Every bit of me wanted to see her dead now, instead of hung out in front of the world as a criminal. She deserved far worse. She deserved death.

Buy links:Lyrical Press WebsiteAmazon Kindle Barnes & NobleiTunes

A dash of Something Wicked with Joe Vaz.

Joe Vaz and I go back a long way. I've had a short story called Last Woman Standing published in his Something Wicked magazine ages ago (issue #9 I think) but since I started with the SA HorrorFest Bloody Parchment short story competition and anthology, Joe has offered his support by judging the competition. Of course now I'm totally tickled pink that he's bringing out horror anthologies now (and is on volume two already), so I absolutely had to have him over to share a little Q&A about what he's up to. You can get volume one here.

So, Joe, while you were pulling together the anthology, did you discover (as some editors do) an underlying theme occur? 

Not during Vol One of the anthology, but probably because it was made up from the six individual issues of Something Wicked Magazine from 2011. I’d have to look at the issues themselves to see if there are any underlying themes, there usually is.

What are the hallmarks of a great story, in your opinion? 

I think believable characters that the reader can empathise with (or detest) are central to a good story everything else is bonus. Give me a character I care about, whether that’s because I like her or detest her, and you’ll have me interested in your story.

Having said that, the stuff that blows me away are stories that take me where I don’t expect to go. As I am sure you know, one of the downsides of slush reading is, over the years, you develop a sixth sense for obvious storylines, so, when a story surprises, it’s always a good thing.

If you had sixteen words to tell someone what the Something Wicked Speculative Fiction Anthology, Volume Two is all about, what would you say? (Yeah, this is a bitch of a question, I know)

Imagination. Adventure. Terror. Fear. Sorrow. Loss. Anger. Disbelief. Displacement. Revenge. Horror. Awe. Space. Gods. Empathy. Love.

I’m guessing that’s not what you wanted. :)

In sixteen words that make a sentence, I would say:
A place to let your imagination run wild; experience fantastical stories, great emotions and beautiful writing.

Your cover artist for volume one and two has walked a long way with Something Wicked. Tell us more about what makes the collaboration so outstanding.

Well for starters, Vincent Sammy is outstanding – his art is incredible and we were so blessed to be the first magazine to find him (and exploit him) because he is well on his way to becoming an international phenomenon. Just in the last year he has had art featured in a Hollywood movie (the Issue 8 cover, actually) and he has illustrated stories for Black Static and for Pandemonium’s Lost Souls anthology – (a hardcover copy of which is sitting right beside me as I type this – jealous? You should be).

The collaboration we have with Vincent is similar to the ones we have with our other cover artists, they all have an understanding of cinema language. As an actor, it’s the only way I know how to describe images when commissioning art, and it is no coincidence that four of the five primary cover artists all work within the film industry in some way (Pierre Smit is a scenic artist, Jesca Marisa is a director and animator, Hendrik Gericke is a matte painter and Vianne is a scriptwriter) in fact the only one that doesn’t work in film is Vincent.

Having said that though, Vincent has an inherent sense of mood and texture, he can deliver a pencil illustration that looks like a 19th-century photograph, complete with negative scratches and faded edges, or a holographic image or, well, anything really. Our communication is usually very sparse, I tend to describe a mood or a scene in the story, perhaps the angle of the shot, or the lighting, and Vincent adds his own touches and inspiration and then delivers a masterpiece – every time.

What does 2013 have in store for Something Wicked? 

2013 kicks off with a bang with Volume Two of our annual anthologies which is being co-published by eKhaya. They will be handling the digital and South African distribution of Volume Two.

Volume Two is currently available for pre-orders here.

And yes, Vincent has illustrated our cover.

Submissions? What are you looking for? When do they open for the next anthology? 

This is always such a difficult questions because my love of stories is so organic – technically we’re after science fiction and horror, but any kind of speculative fiction is good. Over the years we’ve published a couple of really dark and urban fantasies that blew me away (Freemantle Mons and Sky Painter by Michael John Grist and Jack of Spades, reversed by Cat Hellisen which is featured in volume two). I also love gothic, contemporary, humorous, supernatural and psychological horror.

Science fiction of all types, from surreal alternate reality stuff, to the mundane, from hard space-opera to political and social – I love it all.

At the end of the day it has less to do with the type of story and more to do with the story itself – if the story blows me away, I will publish it, regardless of genre.

We’ve haven’t got an official date for re-opening submissions, but it will be sometime in June. Subs will be open for a six-week period and we’ll be looking for twenty-four or so original, never-before-published stories for 2014’s Volume Three.

While we’re running our pre-order special, you can get all our books and magazines at hefty discounts, including exclusive and extremely limited hardcovers of Volume One and Two.
Special ends on March 25. See this link...

The Ward by SL Grey

Title: The Ward
Author: SL Grey
Publisher: Corvus, 2012

THE MALL didn’t scare me. I enjoyed it, but it didn’t get me with the same visceral kick to the guts The Ward did. This time round writing partners Sarah Lotz and Louis Greenberg (the two halves of SL Grey) hit their stride and deliver an overall tighter novel. And, as always, they make me care what happens to two unlikable characters. Granted, I admit to wanting something really bad to happen to one.

Lisa is a basket case with major self-esteem issues which has led her to attempt to commit suicide in the past. Her body dismorphic disorder means she is never satisfied with her appearance, and will go to great lengths to obtain what she considers the perfect body even if it means having surgery in the worst of the government hospitals. In that sense, she makes a perfect candidate for the Modification Ward.

Farrell shares Lisa’s obsession with outward appearance, though he projects it on to others. His chosen career as fashion photographer pretty much sums up the type of personality one can expect. Shallow and self-centred, he is also a control freak, so when he ends up severely ill, blind and at the mercy of heartless medical practitioners in the New Hope hospital (the distillation of everything that is wrong with government-funded South African health care), readers can only expect things to get worse.

What lies in wait beyond New Hope exists as a dark parody of the medical system, a world where patients are either donors or clients, and medical staff scuttle about like worker ants in a diabolical hive presided over by the scalpel-happy butchers. In a big way The Ward is about people getting their just deserts. Anyone who’s dipped into Clive Barker’s cenobite-populated Hellraiser universe will resonate with the goings on downside as Grey terms it. If you’ve ever had a horrific experience in hospital, it is echoed within the pages of The Ward, offering readers an inevitable downward spiral. Consider yourself duly warned.

This review appeared in the Pretoria News on February 18, 2013

The Persian Boy by Mary Renault #review

Title: The Persian Boy
Author: Mary Renault
Link

Very few novels have moved me to tears in the end, but this was one of them. Mary Renault succeeds in capturing the depth and breadth of Bagoas’s abiding devotion to Alexander, and brings history to life.

Slow-moving as this story is, it nevertheless succeeded in capturing my imagination despite the fact that I knew more or less how the tale was supposed to go, and that there was no happy ending. And big-ass disclaimer: I don’t think this story is going to be to everyone’s taste. Perhaps what makes it the most for me is that we view imperfect characters (such as Alexander and his eternal love Hephaestion) through Bagoas’s no doubt more than slightly rose-tinted glasses.

Renault also gives the impression that Alexander incessantly made war because he was driven by the need to explore and dominate the world, and that conquering other nations was eventually his raison d’etre and the only thing that kept him motivated.

Yes, the writing is textured and at times flowery, but it was absolutely everything that I enjoy in a story, with slow world-building. Renault brings across sensuality without letting the story become smutty. So, yes, this is a love story. As life is sometimes brutal, in which all story arcs do not tie up neatly, I understand that the novel itself, in remaining true to history, doesn’t have an epic resolution.

Alexander, it can be said, goes out with a whisper and a sigh, rather than the roar of battle. But I am awed, and my imagination has been captured. I shall definitely be reading more of Renault’s works, and if I can capture even a part of her grace of style in my own writing, I shall consider myself fortunate.

Six Historical Tales Cover Reveal by Rayne Hall

I met Rayne Hall through one of my authors, and let me say, I'm totally impressed with the titles she's putting out. Today she's here to tell us more about her latest Six Historical Tales... and a chat with the cover artist Nadine Boskovska. Welcome, Rayne!

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Interview with the Artist Nadine Boskovska

Rayne: You have created art for many book covers. What is it you enjoy about painting book cover illustrations?

Nadine: I simply love book covers and always enjoy making them. It is time consuming, it takes a lot of effort and energy to decide how the cover is going to look like and how to make it stand out from all of those covers on the shelves in the bookstore, but it certainly pays off to see the final result.

Rayne: Describe your creative process for 13 British Horror Stories, step by step from the moment when you received the brief to the completion of the picture.

Nadine: Right after receiving the short description from you about how you would like the cover to look like, I made a quick sketch and have sent it to you for a revision. After I got the approval, the painting process started. Few more update pictures followed and after we made the necessary alterations and the book cover was finished.

Rayne: What kind of book cover would enjoy doing next? Is there a genre, theme or style you've always wanted to paint?

Nadine: I enjoy doing fantasy book covers the most. They give me the freedom to experiment with shapes and combine different colours, to make the cover visually more appealing to the reader.

Rayne: Where can we see more of your art?

Nadine: My art can be fond on my online gallery.

* * * * 
Interview with the author, Rayne Hall

The ebook Six Historical Tales has been published for a while. Why did you decide to change the cover?

The old cover was okay, but not great. When using stock photos,  it's always a compromise between what I want and what kind of picture is available. Artists can paint exactly the picture we want, so the cover is right for the book. I published Six Historical Tales with a stock photo cover, and am thrilled to replace it with beautiful art.

How did you decide what you wanted on the cover?

A book cover need to attract the viewers' attention, and tell them what kind of story they will find inside. With a collection of stories, this is challenging, because each story is different. The cover somehow needs to convey not just what one story is about, but the overall tone of the book.

The stories in the book cover different locations periods – Ancient Rome, Ancient Britain, Ancient Greece,  the Middle Ages, England in 1900 – so I picked one of the stories to represent them all. The character is Penelope who, in my story, does not want her husband Odysseus to come back. For the background, I chose olive trees and an evening sky.

A single half-body character against an uncluttered background works well because covers these days are viewed mostly online at thumbnail size. Anything complicated or cluttered just gets lost. So I wanted this cover to be simple yet detailed.

Choosing the mood was important. Most stories in the collection have a dark slant, and the cover needed to convey this somehow without giving the impression of horror. I asked the artist, Nadica,  for a warm colour scheme with a hint of ominous. I think she's conveyed this mood superbly.

How did you choose the artist?

I love working with artists, and have commissioned many book covers and illustrations. I get to know which artists are skilled and reliable, and what each of them is especially good at. Nadica has a knack for creating atmosphere and conveying mood. I can tell her what kind of mood I want. For 13 British Horror Stories, I asked for “atmospheric and creepy” and for Six Historical Tales I asked for “warm with a hint of ominous”.  Her paintings are awesome.

Where can we see the book?

Six Historical Tales is published as an ebook at Amazon, Kobo, Smashwords, and other retail sites.

Saint Patrick and the Serpent – a retelling of an ancient tale by Rab Swannock Fulton

In anticipation of St Patrick's Day and a celebration of all that is Irish, I've given storyteller Rab Swannock Fulton today's post.

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Galway Bay Folk Tales is
illustrated by Marina Wild.
For more see:
http://www.marinawild.com/Below is an extract from Galway Bay Folk Tales, the new book by Rab Swannock Fulton. The book retells the dark and strange myths, folklore and urban legends of Galway and the west of Ireland. One of the main characters in the book is Saint Patrick who with his nephew Lugnad travels from the North to the West of Ireland fighting against Druids, Pagans and  Immortals such as Cromm Crúaich.

Lugnad was the son of Patrick’s sister Limanin. On the mission around Ireland the old man would often come near to being overwhelmed with anger or despair; at other times pride and temptation would threaten him. It was Lugnad, with his steady youthful optimism who would guide Patrick back to calm reflection. So it was that Lugnad became known as Patrick’s navigator.

From the moment he arrived in Ireland Patrick pursued his mission relentlessly. With the arrival of the morning sun, Patrick and his black cowled followers fell on the drowsy pilgrims at shrine of Cromm Crúaich. Wielding wooden clubs and crucifixes they smashed the bodies of idols and idolaters.

Hearing the screams of men, women and children Cromm Crúaich hurried to do battle. He transformed into a monstrous snake with poison dripping from its teeth. The beast rushed towards an old man who was shouting out instructions and encouragement to the invaders. The old man turned around and laughed at the serpent. ‘Don’t bother me fairy!’ Enraged the Immortal snapped open its jaws and swallowed Patrick, but the evangelist ripped his way through the beast’s gut.


Wounded, the Immortal slithered away. Patrick returned to the battle filled with a blinding rage, only to have Lugnad put a hand on his shoulder. ‘Enough.’ Patrick raised his hands and the violence stopped. The pagans who survived were converted en mass and helped their Christian brethren strip the gold and silver from the pagan statues. As prayers of thanks were offered up to God and Christ, Patrick vowed his work was not yet done. ‘Cromm Crúaich’s shrine is broken. But I will not rest until Cruachan Aigli is conquered.’

In the granite bones of Ireland’s hills, atoms shifted imperceptibly as the news of the destruction of Cromm Crúaich’s shrine was transmitted across the Island. With one act Patrick altered utterly the realities of this world and worlds beyond. Kings and queens shivered with horror as they contemplated new and sudden opportunities for their own advancement or destruction. Even in the realm of infinite possibilities the paths of unborn ideas were realigned by notions of belief and unbelief.

Cromm Crúaich was broken, but Patrick was not yet satisfied.

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Galway Bay Folk Tales is published by The History Press. For details see Galway Bay Folk Tales on Amazon

Rab’s other work includes a retelling of the Irish Pooka legend in Transformation an e-book available from Dark Continents Publishing.

His work will also be included in the upcoming collection of short stories Dark Harvest.

For more see About Rab

New Zealand’s Ninety Mile Beach by Joanne Wadsworth

Today I hand over the reins to fellow Lyrical Press author Joanne Wadsworth who's talking location, location, location... Among other things, such as her novel, Protector.

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Let me introduce you to New Zealand’s Ninety Mile Beach. Above is a picture of one of the most isolated and gorgeous beaches in the world, and being a Kiwi writer, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to bring these kinds of locations to you in my new release. Ninety Mile Beach sits at the topmost peninsula of the North Island, and runs for 90 unbroken miles in a complete, straight line.

I drool just looking at all this untouched beauty, and I mean untouched, because Ninety Mile Beach is an area with next to no residents. I’m not kidding. There is a lighthouse overseer at the cape Ninety Mile Beach runs to, and apart from that, perhaps three houses along this entire stretch of land.

Now, to let you in on a secret--Ninety Mile Beach isn’t in fact 90 miles long. No. It’s a little shorter--very tricky. Let me tell you how the name Ninety Mile Beach came about. Around 1840-1860 (no one is actually quite sure on the exact date), missionaries traveled on horseback along this beach to estimate the distance. Back in the day, the average horse could travel 30 miles before needing to rest. (A fact I found most interesting since I’m not a horse-person.) Now, the clever missionaries took three days to travel the beach, thereby giving Ninety Mile Beach its fabulously incorrect name. Very dishonest of them, but they’re forgiven. So, to explain how they made this terrible error—it was because they walked their horses in sand, the pace of their travel so much slower.

Yep, these missionaries sadly covered only 18.4 miles per day, meaning, yes, you got it, Ninety Mile Beach is in fact 55 miles long. Still, this untouched beauty is what drew me to write about my own country in my new release.

PROTECTOR is a young adult, fantasy romance, and within my book, I get to bring you here to New Zealand, to places rich in history, and to locations I hold close to my heart. You’ll get to experience a hot cast of characters, with unparalleled conspiracy and intrigue at every corner, so if you get a chance to pick up the book, I truly hope you enjoy.


Blurb:
PROTECTOR
To love and protect…across worlds.

Eighteen-year-old Faith Stryker is prepared to leap out into the unknown world beyond her home shores of New Zealand to experience life. Only she never expected to encounter Magio, a planet with two warring countries, where its people reach adulthood at eighteen by coming into their strength and prophetic abilities. Only after Faith discovers she’s a Halfling--thanks to her warrior father she’s never met--does her own skill of forethought develop.

Peacio’s Prince Davio Loveria is sent to the young Faith Stryker by his grandfather, but not all goes as planned. Davio discovers Faith isn’t just a Halfling, she’s also his soul-bound mate--an intense relationship he cannot, nor will not, give up.

With two wars now waging…one of land and the other of the heart…can the young lovers find their place in the world?

Bio:
JOANNE WADSWORTH
Reading romance books captivated Joanne Wadsworth as a teenager, particularly when she tucked herself into bed at night and continued to dream those stories as she slept. She'd visualize the direction, taking the hero and heroine on an adventure unparalleled to what she'd read. Today she is devoted to writing romance, bringing her imagination to life within the lines of young adult, and thrilling romantic suspense. Born in New Zealand, Joanne works both as a writer and a financial controller, all while keeping up with her four energetic children and dreamy husband.

Visit Joanne Wadsworth at http://www.joannewadsworth.com

BUY THE BOOK: Amazon Kindle / B&N Nook / iTunes / Lyrical Press / Kobo.

Look for JOANNE WADSWORTH here: My Website and Blog / Twitter / Facebook Fan Page / Goodreads.

Excerpt
PROTECTOR

Davio leaned over me, all six foot four of him, his warm honey-brown hair falling forward to curl snugly around his neck, and I longed for him, just as I had during my first sighting of him in the classroom.

“What’s happening is the bond, my mate. It will become difficult for me to keep my distance both physically and emotionally unless I leave and end this now.”

My heart hitched. “You want to leave?” I swayed closer on impulse. “Is that how this bond works? We find each other and then you leave?” God preserve his people if it did.

“No, it is not. Those mated are bonded for life if we allow the link to grow. Except that would be the most unwise choice for us to take. You are, quite clearly, neither from my country nor from my world, and as such will have no allegiance to me or my people. I have no wish to join with one who does not wish to join with me in all ways. With that being the case, I will find another when the time is right. As should you,” he added solemnly.

I frowned. Hold on--did he just say he would be joining with another woman?

I bit my tongue. That was good? I should leave it at that, right?

Jeez, what was wrong with me for questioning that choice?

“I’m sorry. We just met, and you’re right. Go find your, your--” Strangely, I struggled to get the words out and finally gave up. “Well, have yourself a nice long life, and all that.” I patted his chest roughly.

That was more like me.

The clock ticked and time slowed.

He didn’t move.

“Look at me.” He tipped up my chin, directly staring at me. “This would never work.”

“I understand. It’s been pretty awful meeting you too.” I leaned back, only to feel the pressure of his hand move around my waist to the small of my back, preventing me.

I moved to grip his arm. “Okay, you were going.”