Kyra Halland's Blog, page 18

Science Fiction and Fantasy September Sale!

This weekend, Sept. 12-13, check out the Science Fiction and Fantasy September Promo! Lots of great science fiction and fantasy books are on sale at Amazon for only 99 cents! Epic fantasy, urban fantasy, science fiction, dystopian fiction, YA or adult, there's something for everyone. The Lost Book of Anggird is part of the sale, so if you haven't yet read this epic tale of adventure, romance, forbidden books, and lost magic, now's your chance to get it for cheap! The Fire Mages, by Pauline M. Ross, which I just read and really enjoyed, is also on sale! There's also a section of free first books in series. Don't miss out on this chance to load up your ereader with some great new books for only 99 cents each!

And while we're at it, here are a couple of authors who aren't part of the sale but are helping promote it, so go check them out too!
Floyd Looney (science fiction)
K.M. Carroll (paranormal romance)

If you want to get The Lost Book of Anggird from another retailer, it's also 99 cents through Monday, Sept. 14, at the following stores:
Barnes & Noble | iTunes | Kobo | OmniLit ($1.00)
Smashwords | Google Play | DriveThruFiction

Reading Roundup

I've been reading some awesome books lately, so it's time for another Reading Roundup! (Links go to Goodreads.) A Guardian Reborn (The Guardians #3), W.H. Cann

Like the previous two books in the Guardians series, in A Guardian Reborn, shiny spaceships, futuristic technology, and exciting space battles blend with magic (unsullied by pseudo-scientific explanations) and wizards good and evil in an engaging mix of high fantasy and space opera with a touch of romance. The formal, slightly old-fashioned narrative style and omniscient viewpoint might make this book a little difficult for some readers to get into at first, but the engaging characters, tensions between the evil Empire and the Republic battling to preserve freedom in the galaxy, and the exciting battles both magical and involving space ships and laser cannons kept me reading.

Fans of Star Wars will especially enjoy these books, as will fantasy fans looking for a setting very different from the usual low-tech fantasy and science fiction fans in the mood for a little magic. (Full review) Savage Storm (Rys Rising #2)
New Religion (Rys Rising #3)
Love Lost (Rys Rising #4)
by Tracy Falbe

I'd read the first book in the Rys Rising series and liked it, though I struggled a little bit with it, not being familiar with the world which was previously introduced in the Rys Chronicles series (Rys Rising is the prequel series). In Savage Storm, though, the saga really takes shape and takes off. Exciting and adventurous, with memorable characters, high stakes, and a broad, epic sweep. The action continues to rise in New Religion, then Ms. Falbe brings it all back home in epic style in Love Lost, the intense, exciting, heart-wrenching conclusion to the series, filled with vivid characters, a colorfully-drawn landscape, awe-inspiring magic, intense battles, romance, heartbreak, ambition, and heroism.
The Fire Mages (Brightmoon Annals), Pauline M. Ross

The Fire Mages is another standalone novel set in Pauline Ross's Brightmoon World, the world of her first novel, The Plains of Kallanash. I enjoyed Plains very much, and Fire Mages even more. Though set in a different country and culture, with different characters, The Fire Mages has another original social structure and interesting magic system. If you enjoy high fantasy in a unique setting with cool magic and well-conceived, multi-dimensional characters, I highly recommend The Fire Mages. (Full review) Monster Hunter International (Monster Hunter International #1), Larry Correia

Wow, this was awesome. A diverse cast of memorable characters, great monsters and fantasy creatures (these aren't Tolkein's Elves and Orcs!), a battle to save the world from evil creatures from beyond, lots of shooting stuff and blowing stuff up, courage and heroism and a touch of romance, all told in a fun narrative style that kept me up reading way too late four nights in a row. And one of the best opening paragraphs in fiction, EVAR! Lots of fun.
Our Husband, Stephanie Bond

Something light and fluffy as a change of pace from the more heavy-duty reading I've been doing lately. Three women discover they're married to the same man when they come to visit him in the hospital after he's in an accident. He dies, then it turns out he was murdered! Though they're naturally jealous and suspicious of each other, a shared sense of confusion, grief, and betrayal brings the women together and grows into friendship as they try to figure out who really killed their husband. No big surprises, but still fun.

City of Mages Snippet: Meet Silas's Mother!

I'm getting near the end of this major revision of City of Mages . Today I'll be working on the big climax and battle scene, which in this book seems to need a lot less work than in previous books, even though it's still quite complex. In the meantime, here's a little snippet from yesterday's work, in which Lainie meets her mother-in-law for the first time:

The servant stepped aside, then Lainie went into the room. This was a pretty room, about the size of the front parlor, kitchen, and dining room in her Pa's house, done up in blue and white and gold. To the right stood a group of three chairs of white and gilt-gold wood cushioned in light blue, placed to form three sides of a square. On the center chair, facing Lainie, sat a woman dressed in a flowing, deep blue gown made of a rich, shimmering fabric, trimmed with clouds of black lace. Her figure was matronly but firm and trim. Her rusty-black hair, the same color as Silas's, darker than brown but not true black, cascaded in thick curls down one shoulder nearly to her waist. A large white flower was tucked into her hair above her other ear. Her eyes and skin were also dark like Silas's, and she was wearing cosmetics -- not as much as the house ladies wore, that made their faces look painted on, but enough to make her natural beauty stand out even more. She hardly looked old enough to be Silas's mother, Lainie thought. Jewels glittered at her ears, throat, and fingers, including an enormous dark blue gem on her left forefinger.

"Come closer, girl," Lady Venedias said in a cool, commanding tone.

Lainie walked forward. Though the chairs on either side of Lady Venedias were empty, Silas's mother did not invite her to sit. Closer in, Lainie could now see fine lines on the woman's face and a bit of slack skin beneath her chin. Maybe she was in her early fifties; old enough to be Silas's mother but not old enough to have another child several years older, the sister Silas had mentioned, unless she had started very young.

"I wanted to see this person who claims to be married to that son of mine," Lady Venedias said. She gave Lainie a slow, cool, assessing look up and down. Lainie's cheeks burned; she felt even shabbier under that look, her pretty dress poor and plain compared to Lady Venedias's elegance, but she forced herself not to look down or away.

"I find myself skeptical that Siyavas married you of his own free will," Lady Venedias finally said. "You don't look like the sort of girl for whom he would throw everything away."
After the awkward beginning, it really doesn't go all that badly. This is actually one of my favorite scenes in the book.

Back to work now :-)

Author Spotlight: Shari Sakurai

Today I am happy to welcome author Shari Sakurai, interviewing her character Adam Larimore from her dystopian/sci fi novel, Perfect World:

1. What is your full name? Is there anything significant about your name?
Adam: My full name's Adam Victor James Larimore. The Larimore family name is very well known due to the fact that my father, Victor James Larimore, was one of the wealthiest men in the country. 

2. How old are you?
Adam: I'm 22 years old. 

3. Tell us about your family. What do you like and not like about them?
Adam: Father was the only real family I had. My mother was a surrogate and was only interested in the money that father paid her once she had given birth to me. I've never met her and nor do I want to.

My father made all of his money in creating computer software mainly for the Government and L.S.A (London Security Agency). We never really got along to be honest. As he paid for my creation he saw me as an investment rather than his son. He was pretty cold towards me most of the time, unless I did something to anger him which I did rather frequently! He was obsessed with his work and we didn't spend that much time together outside of the office. After learning that I had been created to inherit his company and wealth we fought most of the time. I remember him making more of an effort with me when I was a child, but his business-like approaching to parenting meant that I never really knew him. 

4. Who was your first kiss, and what did you think of it?
Adam: My first kiss was with a guy I met in one of the illegal underground nightclubs that I used to go to. Seth I think his name was. We'd been talking for a while and I was sure he wanted to kiss me, but he was kind of nervous about it so I took the initiative and kissed him *laughs* it was kind of awkward as I don't think he'd kissed anyone before either! We kept bumping teeth and he didn't know what to do with his arms - at one point he just had them by his sides! It was quite cute but nothing special really! 

5. What is your occupation?
Adam: Supervillain! *smirks*

6. What are your best and worst qualities?
Adam: My best qualities are my intellect - I've never met anyone smarter than me - and I'm very self-assured and have a good sense of humour. 

I can be very arrogant and ruthless, but I would say my worst quality is not being able to deal with my emotions. I tend to hide behind my strong personality rather than talk honestly about my feelings. 

7. What quality do you value most in a romantic partner?
Adam: Honesty and openness. Most of the people in my life whom I've been closest to have lied to me so I really value someone who can just be honest with me. 

8. What is your favorite thing to do?
Adam: I love to visit places of historical importance that were left in ruin by the great tsunamis. I've spent quite a lot of time at the ruins of the Tower of London collecting artefacts that had been displaced by the waves and restoring them. I find the past fascinating and it's really sad that a lot of our history has been cast aside and forgotten in the wake of the disaster.   

9. What is your greatest fear?
Adam: That Eric will discover the truth about me and what agreements I made in order to get revenge against Ivan and the L.S.A. I'm terrified of losing him and know that I will if he ever learns everything about my past. 

10. What is your most treasured possession?
Adam: It's a photograph of me and my father. It was taken outside of Larimore Systems' headquarters when I was about eleven years old. There was a problem with a new program that the company was developing and I had been able to resolve it. He was so proud of me that day. It's one of the few occasions that I can recall us actually getting along.  Perfect World (Perfect World series, Book 1)
It is the year 2115 and the world is very different. With climate changes, natural disasters and war shaping the landscape, England has become a nation made up of several super cities and wasteland in between.

Eric Rawlins is a genetically engineered superhero created by the London Security Agency (L.S.A) to defend and protect the city against both national and international threats. With his superior abilities, celebrity status and beautiful girlfriend, Eric appears to have the perfect life. However, it is an illusion created by the L.S.A in order to control him.

Eric’s nemesis is the charismatic Adam Larimore. The only son of billionaire business tycoon Victor Larimore, Adam is gifted with a genius level IQ as well as the same longevity as Eric.

When the actions of the L.S.A throw the two of them together Eric finds himself questioning everything that he has ever known as well as discovering the true course of events that led to Adam turning to a life of crime. As they become closer Eric realises that the L.S.A may be the real threat to London. But can he trust Adam or is he part of Adam’s plan for revenge against those who have wronged him?

Perfect World:
Amazon | Website 

Read on for an excerpt from Perfect World: “So what were you doing this morning?”

“Trying to figure things out,” Eric replied.

“Did you make any progress?”

“Some,” Eric didn’t feel like elaborating and Adam didn’t push for an answer. He looked up and down the expanse of coastline and spotted a small food outlet some distance away behind the sea wall. It looked open.

“Are you hungry?” He asked the villain. “I could get us something if you like.”

“A picnic on the beach,” Adam chuckled. “How romantic.”

This had not been Eric’s intention at all and the awkwardness that flooded him prevented him from mustering any kind of direct reply. “What would you like?” He settled for instead.

“I don’t mind. Whatever they have. Here,” Adam dug in the pocket of his jeans and handed Eric some notes. “They’ll be monitoring your payment card,” he explained. “And I’m sure every sensor in the country is looking out for mine.”

“Thanks,” Eric had to admit he’d forgotten about that.

He sprinted up the beach towards the food outlet. The silver dome shaped kiosk was open as Eric had thought. A bored looking blond man in his twenties was leaning over the chrome counter.

“What can I get you?” He asked, not even bothering to meet Eric’s gaze.

Eric glanced at the menu hologram on the wall behind him.

“Two portions of the chicken lunch please,” he said finally.

“That’ll be fifteen pounds fifty,” the man barely looked up at him. The transaction took about ten minutes and it was only after it was complete that the guy realised whom he was serving. He asked for an autograph, which Eric was happy to give him.

Adam laughed when Eric rejoined him and told him what happened. He sat up as Eric finished speaking.

The lunch was simply prepared and served in a small reusable tray that could be returned the following day or kept for home use. The chicken lunch consisted of three pieces of chargrilled chicken, a light side-salad, some bottled water and a pot of fresh fruit. Both the bottle and pot were made of glass, which could be recycled.

Eric sat down beside Adam and handed him one of the trays. “Is this how you pictured spending your afternoon?” He asked as he unwrapped the knife and fork that came with the meal.

“Not really,” Eric admitted. “It’s…it’s nice though,” he gave Adam a small smile.

“Better than going alone?”

Eric speared a piece of chicken with his fork. “Yeah,” he nodded before taking a bite. He watched Adam as he ate, taking in how relaxed the villain seemed. It would appear that the afternoon away from London was doing him some good too.

“Can I ask you something?” Eric questioned after some consideration.

Adam set his cutlery down and stared curiously at Eric. He did not say anything and merely waited for Eric to continue.

“Did you really mean what you said to me? That you have feelings for me?”

“Must we keep going over this? You are never going to believe that I am sincere, that much is obvious.”

Eric swallowed hard. Suddenly lunch did not seem that appetising. He set the tray down and reached for the bottle of water. He twisted the cap in his hands but did not take a drink.

“I would like to,” he ventured finally.

Adam sighed and changed the subject. “I’ve missed coming here. I’ve often thought about coming back but it hadn't seemed right. This place holds a few happy memories and I used to worry that if I returned it might not have the same meaning for me anymore.”

“Do you miss your father?” Eric asked before he could stop himself. He cursed inwardly. He had to stop speaking before thinking around the villain.

“No,” Adam responded finally. “At the end I hated him.”

Eric didn’t believe him. They finished lunch in silence, both deep in their own thoughts.

It was starting to get a little cold and Eric wondered if they should be heading back. A breeze had picked up and neither of them was wearing a jacket. He almost felt disappointment at this. Being here with Adam felt different to life back in the city. Eric felt less the burden of his duty and his worry regarding the future. Here his problems seemed far away.

“We should probably get back,” he voiced his thoughts reluctantly.

“Yeah,” Adam nodded as they stood up. The younger man took a moment to try and brush some sand out of his long hair. Eric chuckled at his attempts before taking pity on him. He reached up to brush some grains aside at the same moment that Adam did and their fingers touched. Adam froze, his expression becoming hesitant when Eric’s hand automatically covered his own.

They remained in place for seconds that felt as though they were lifetimes. Eric hadn't made a decision concerning his feelings for Adam and worried that he was getting caught up in a moment that would end in regret. Adam appeared to sense this too and gently withdrew his hand. The shorter man turned away.

“Adam—” Eric trailed off when he caught sight of something moving in the distance. It was a stealth aircraft circling just above Perses’ landing site.

Eric knew without question that it was the L.S.A. Adam turned back around and the fear in his eyes said it all. They had nowhere to go.

About the author:

Shari Sakurai was born in Chichester, West Sussex, United Kingdom. After completing secondary school she moved away from further education to work in administration. 

Shari is very interested in other countries’ cultures and mythology; in particular Japan. Japanese themes and influences can often be found in her work.

Shari's debut novel Demon's Blood was released in ebook format on 25th January 2014. She has participated and won the National Novel Writing Month challenge for the past eight years.

Where to find Shari Sakurai:
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Wordpress 

Stuff I Learned for Daughter of the Wildings

J.J. DiBenedetto, author of the paranormal suspense Dream series (which I highly recommend!), did something fun on his blog today. He wrote a little about the research he did for one of the Dream books, and invited other authors to comment about interesting or unusual research they've done for their books. I talked about some of the research I did for To The Gap , then I decided to expand on that here.

Fantasy usually requires less research than, say, historical fiction, but there are a few things fantasy authors need some knowledge of, like horses, how different weapons work, and a basic understanding of social structures, economics, and forms of government. But Daughter of the Wildings, being set in a world loosely inspired by the American West of the 1880 (and thereby dipping its toe ever so slightly into historical fiction), needed a little more research than that.

Take Silas and Lainie's guns, for starters. I know nothing about guns, so I did a lot of research into them, especially six-shooter revolvers of the sort that would have been used in that period. Not to the extent of naming specific makes and models, which of course wouldn't exist in a fantasy world, but enough to make what the characters do with their guns realistic enough that the gun enthusiasts among my readers (hopefully) won't laugh at me and then stop reading. My search history now shows a lot of Googling for sites that sell authentic replica guns and ammo, as well as Youtube searches for videos about shooting and quick-draw techniques. (My rule of thumb for writers: if your Google searches don't put you on a government watch list, you're doing it wrong :-D)

I also researched clothes of the period, mostly when I was working with my cover artist, Mominur Rahman, to develop Silas and Lainie's look in the cover art. Wild West Mercantile and Western Emporium are two great sites to look at for replicas of authentic western clothing of the period (and maybe buy yourself a little something, too!).

One thing I did a lot of research on was wages and the cost of things in the 1880s West. Money has to come from somewhere, and there has to be a rational basis for wages and prices, and this seems to be something that not a lot of fantasy authors pay much attention to. One of the most useful sites I looked at, that listed prices on items from canned goods to a new house in Deadwood, South Dakota, in the 1880s (based on newspaper ads of the time) is now, sadly, defunct. I was also able to dig up lots of information on other sites, too. This site, How Much Stuff Cost Long Ago, was really useful for calculating prices. So I did a lot of research and calculating and converting from dollars into the currency used in the series, and filled sheets and sheets of paper working out stuff like how much a meal would cost and how much a trail hand would earn on the cattle drive. Maybe it doesn't really make much difference, but I hope it gives a little more authentic feel to the world.

And then there's horses. Horse lovers, I've learned, are as particular about accuracy as gun buffs are. And I have the same amount of real-life experience with horses as I do with guns, which is to say, none at all. Fortunately, I have a number of online friends who know and love horses, who have also served as test readers on my books. They've given me a lot of information and corrected a lot of inaccuracies. And of course, there's always Uncle Google, for when I have questions like how far can a horse travel in a day (I already know a horse cannot gallop 90 miles in one day), and what's that horse color called? Do horses even come in that color? And how much does it cost to board a horse in a stable? When it came to the cattle drive in To The Gap, I was really at a loss, because I knew nothing about cattle drives except they involved herding large numbers of cattle from here to there. So I set out to find some good, accurate information about cattle drives in the late 19th century - not the fictionalized, and sanitized, versions we see in fiction and movies. Luckily, I came across The Log of a Cowboy, by Andy Adams. Adams was a working trail cowboy in the 1880s. Some years later, he became disgusted with the inaccurate portrayals of cowboy life in the popular culture of the time, so he wrote Log, a fictionalized account of a cattle drive based on his own experiences, which was published in 1903.

From Log of a Cowboy, I learned how cattle drives worked, what cowboys did on them and what daily life was like on the drive, how cattle behaved, and, best of all, what kinds of things could go wrong on a drive. I learned about river crossings and dealing with flooded rivers - and why most cowboys had a deep fear of drowning, the effects of bad weather on the cattle and the work, dealing with stampedes and rounding up the cattle after a stampede, tactics used by rustlers, and all sorts of other fun stuff. If you're interested in learning about that period of history, The Log of a Cowboy is available free online at Project Gutenberg and AmericanLiterature.com, and in various editions at Amazon. Keep in mind that it wasn't written for 21st-century sensibilities, so some readers might find some of the content offensive, even though it was perfectly acceptable for its time.

Some other helpful resources for Daughter of the Wildings research were the blog Wild West History, Legends of America, and Google Earth, which is great for researching physical settings.

Of course, Daughter of the Wildings isn't meant to be a factual account of life in the American West in the 1880s, and the heart of the story is not the research but Silas and Lainie's magical and emotional conflicts and journeys. But I hope that my research makes their world a more authentic, believable place and will help readers have a richer, more enjoyable experience.

Plus, I learned that cows can swim :-D

Author Spotlight: Elle Jacklee

Today I'm happy to welcome author Elle Jacklee, interviewing her character Skye from The Tree of Mindala. (Also check out my previous spotlight of Elle.) Take it away, Elle and Skye!

1. What is your full name? Is there anything significant about your name?
Skye. The one and only…

2. How old are you?
Let’s just say I’m a few centuries old and leave it at that, shall we?

3. Describe yourself to me.
Well, that depends... As a member of the Morphiad race, I can transform into anyone I’ve physically touched or who has touched me. Among the forms I’ve taken are: a human, a tiger, a Valkune, a Wyvicore, and the list goes on… Am I mistaken, or did you just lean back, out of my reach?

4. Do you have any special abilities?
Like all Morphiads, I can sense Umbrikas, the physical signatures unique to every sentient being that I’ve encountered. I like to think of them as the “inner shadow.”

5. When you walk into a room, what do you notice first?
Since I can sense Umbrikas long before I walk into a room, I already know who’s there, unless it’s someone I haven’t come in contact with before. The first thing I notice is anyone there whose Umbrika I didn’t detect.

6. What one physical attribute would you change?
My shock of iridescent hair. It tends to give me away, no matter what form I’m in. It has a way of showing up somewhere: feathers, mane, scales… You’d think being able to morph into different forms should come with the perk of anonymity…

7. What are you most proud of about your life?
That I made the sacrifice to leave my homeland, my own race, and almost everyone I knew and loved to protect someone who needed all the protection she could get. Hmmm, maybe I shouldn’t have mentioned that until The Triad of the Tree is available. I’ve said too much…

8. What's the worst thing you've ever done? Why?
Leaving my homeland, my own race, and almost everyone I knew and loved. Because of that, many who used to call me “friend” now think “traitor” when they think of me. Drat! Again, The Triad of the Tree… Well, the cat’s out of the cauldron now, as we say.

9. Is there anything you've always wanted to do but haven't done?
I yearn to visit the Prophecy Pond. But as only one visit to her mystical waters is allowed per lifetime, it’s best to save it for when I really need it, if that day should ever come. There are times, though, when I wonder if I’ve made wrong decisions… I can’t help but wonder if the Prophecy Pond would have urged me to choose differently, for everyone’s sake.

10. What are you most afraid of?
Losing Raina. She is the only one for me. Always has been. Always will be.

11. What’s your favorite thing about Wunderwood?
That everywhere I look… the trees, the flowers, the mountains, the waters… I see Mindala’s magic everywhere.

12. Since you’ve let the cat out of the cauldron, when will The Triad of the Tree be available?
Sometime this fall, as I understand it. Here is an excerpt:

Raina felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up as she stared at the spectacle in the sky. She glanced back at Thornton, who, after more than a year, lay still but for the rhythmic rise and fall of his chest and the occasional twitch of nose or eye. Baffled, she returned her gaze to the window.

Yesterday she'd seen the first black bolt rip through the sky. Well, the first since her grand-niece, Miranda Moon, had given Thornton the Essence of The Tree of Mindala, sending him into unconsciousness. But yesterday, the jagged Darkning had taunted her and Skye, her Morphiad companion, during the flight home from the Wunderwood Academy of Mystical Existence where Raina spends her days teaching. As they'd flown hurriedly to Silvercap, Raina had worried they were like fitziflies to a flame. They'd spoken no words. The booming thunder said enough. To Raina, the Darkning and thunder could mean only one thing: Thornton had awakened. The goodness in the Essence must have lost its war with the evil inside of him. He must be up to his old tricks. That could only spell terrible danger for Wunderwood. Again.

But when they’d arrived at Silvercap, where Raina and her entire family had taken up residence for more than a year now, they’d found Raina's father, Reed, reclined leisurely, book in hand, on a chaise beside Thornton's still-prone form. Her mother, Flora, had been fixing dinner in the kitchen, humming a cheery tune. It had appeared as though Thornton had nothing to do with the Darkning. Raina had been dismayed, to say the least. If Thornton was still in a coma, what could have been causing the Darkning?

Raina tore herself away, now, from her musings and the sad sky in the window to join the discussion that had begun yesterday when she’d broken the news of the Darkning to her parents.

“Could it mean that one of the Hoarders of Power is attempting to finish what Thornton started?” Flora asked.

“Well, at first I thought it had to have something to do with the HOPs, too,” Reed replied. “But then I began to notice something… else.” Reed paused, and his ominous silence gave Raina a sudden chill. “Have you happened to notice that your magic hasn't been the same lately?”

“What do you mean?” Flora asked, but her eyes said she already knew the answer. They all did. They just weren't quite ready to face it.

“Has it been stalling? Coming in fits and starts? As though it's... running out?” Reed pressed on.     

Flora nodded slowly.

“I thought it was just me,” Raina admitted, still not wanting to believe it. “I thought... I hoped... maybe I was sick? I was planning to visit Laurel about it. But if it's happening to all of us...”

“It can only mean one thing.” Grim certainty steeled Reed's features. “The Tree of Mindala is dying.”
The Tree of Mindala:

Miranda Moon's vivid imagination has gotten her into trouble more times than she can count. This time, she's been suspended from school. So her straight-laced younger brother, Marcus, blames her when they're relegated to their late grandparents' old cabin over Halloween weekend. But when Miranda finds a curious trinket, they're mysteriously whisked away to Wunderwood, where magic flows through the trees and everyone already knows their family name. A place even Miranda never imagined.

Just as they arrive, a sinister warlock, Thornton Crow, is freed from a long banishment. He resumes his deadly agenda to find The Tree of Mindala, the source of all the realm's magic. As Miranda and Marcus discover branches of their own family tree that they hadn't even known existed, they learn that Thornton has a score to settle with anyone in their bloodline. Especially them... Though justice has always had a way of being naturally restored in Wunderwood, Thornton's latest evil deed just may be the tipping point.

When Miranda discovers her own role in Thornton's release, she knows it's up to her to stop him from stealing not just magic, but also hope. With travel companions that could as easily be foes as friends, and only the cryptic words of a prophecy to guide her, Miranda must decide if she can carry out the task that will either save Wunderwood... or doom it forever.

The Tree of Mindala is available at Amazon.

Where to find Elle Jacklee:
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Amazon

City of Mages Revision Progress

With To the Gap out, I'm hard at work now on getting City of Mages  revised and edited and ready for release. It's funny, with each of my books (not just in Daughter of the Wildings, but all my books), as I start a revision I'm going, Yay, this book is one of my favorites!, and towards the end I'm thinking, Augh, I just want to get this book done and get on to the next one, it's one of my favorites. But really, all my books are my favorites, there's just different things I like about each one. City of Mages is fun because we finally get to see Granadaia, and because it focuses in so closely on Lainie. (Some quotes from Lainie from book 5, though the last one is actually from book 6.) I do have to say that of all the amazing covers for the series, this is one of my favorites.

Preparing the revision was pretty fast and easy (see this post for my revision process). The hardest part was trying to figure out, for the scene cards, if something was one mega-scene or should be divided into two smaller scenes. Last Thursday, I started the actual marking up with the red pen. This version of City of Mages is starting out at 44,000 words; I expect the final published version to come in somewhere around 60,000 words. I tend to "write short" and then I go back and layer in descriptions, fill out bits of action I'd only summarized, stuff like that. So far I've already added almost 1000 words.

Like with books 2-4, I'm starting out thinking this one won't need as much work as the others, and then that turns out to be wrong. To the Gap especially took me by surprise how hard it was. On the surface, the storyline is pretty simple, but there was a lot going on beneath the surface, the progression of Silas and Lainie's feelings and motivations and how they were thinking about things, that needed a lot of pacing and fine-tuning. On the other hand, the plot of City of Mages seems more complex, and there are some things going on beneath the surface that have been a little tricky to work out (who knows what when and how they know it and what they think about it, that kind of thing), but the emotional and motivational character arc is pretty simple.

I still can't really say when City of Mages is going to be out. We're taking our younger son back to school at the end of this month, meaning a road trip of a couple of days, and in mid-October we'll probably be hosting a wedding reception for our older son and his wife (they have a bunch of other stuff to take care of first, and late-September/October is the best time of year for having outdoor events here), plus in addition to the time there's always the fatigue factor that I have to consider. I'd like to say late October, though it could go sooner or later, into November. In the meantime, I'll be working hard to get it out as soon as possible without short-changing the quality.

Back to work :-)

Author Spotlight: Fiona McShane

Introducing author Fiona McShane and her novel Bluebells, book 1 in the Wolf Land series, fantasy based in Irish history:

1. Tell us a little about yourself.
I wonder if this is a difficult question for every author? I always feel more comfortable expressing myself through my fiction rather than talking about myself in reality! But here goes: I live with my husband in a little cottage in rural Ireland - a house we are doing up VERY slowly.  I'm lucky, because I live with the man I love, and I get to spend a lot of time writing.

2. When did you start writing, and why?
Even before I could write, I was telling stories. Once I COULD write, I didn't stop.  My school teachers would have me read my stories out at school assemblies. I was incredibly shy and mumbled my way through!  It's only very recently that I've gotten past that shyness - at least enough to publish some of my work.

3. What do you write, and why? What do you enjoy about what you write? 
I love to read and write in many genres.  So far I have published in both the romance and paranormal genre.  The characters and their stories are always fully formed in my mind before I begin to write.  I know I'm finished a book when it's as close as possible to the story that's been playing in my mind.  And I enjoy every moment of the process.

4. What is your latest book or series? Any forthcoming books?
Wolf Land Book One: Bluebells is my latest release.  The second book in the Wolf Land series - Storyfalls - will be out this September.  

5. "Welcome To My Worlds": Tell us a little about the world of your latest book or series.
The Wolf Land series was inspired by my interest in that time period of Irish history - the late 1600s. The wolf 'problem' in the country was making it difficult for settlers to clear land. The forests were areas of freedom for the wolves and the tories (Irish rebels). Because I also have a love of fantasy, I thought: 
what if the reason that the wolf hunters found Ireland so difficult to clear was that our wolves were ... something different? And so the story began. 

6. Introduce us to some of your characters. What do you like about them?
I love all of my characters.  In my mind, they live.  I know what becomes of them long after the books end, and I wish I could tell you everything I know about them! 

In the Wolf Land series, the two main characters are Sorcha Moore and Rory Farrell.  At the Bealtaine festival, they share a kiss so special that the scent of bluebells fills the air.  The very next day, Rory leaves the village, breaking Sorcha's heart.  But their village is a special place - a place where unusual
wolves reign.  And in this village, despite all odds, their love remains constant.  It is this constancy that makes me love these two characters so much.  Even in horrific circumstances, they remain true to each other - and true to themselves.

7. A fun fact you would like your readers to know about you or your book.
When I was beginning to write the Wolf Land series, we adopted a stray dog.  It was full moon, and he howled like a wolf in his sleep.  He has done the same every full moon since then.  I've given him the nick-name Little Wolf.

8. Blog/site link, and where your book is available.
I will be launching a blog very soon.  Until then, I can be found on:
Twitter | Goodreads | Amazon author page 
You can buy my books on Amazon

Author Spotlight: Vanessa MacLellan

Introducing author Vanessa MacLellan and her new book, Three Great Lies, out today!

1. Tell us a little about yourself.
I'm a tattooed, vegetarian, outdoorsy woman with one head in the clouds and the other firmly settled in my hiking boots.  I'm an environmental engineer by day, author, runner, reader, gamer, naturalist by night (and weekends).

2. When did you start writing, and why?
When I was a wee lass I'd make up stories to tell my mother while she was gardening.  I think it started there.  My favorite subject was Baggy Piggy, who had a curly Q tail that never ended (I knew this, because I drew him incessantly with pink crayons).  I remember, before I could even write, 'writing' (aka doodling) on paper and then reading them to my great grandmother.  Storytelling is in my blood.  I guess that's enough of a reason why.

Though the fact that I enjoy it doesn't hurt.  I have little people in my head (doesn't every author) that want me to explore their worlds, flesh out their personalities and goals and give them something to do.  I can't take all the credit, it's partially their fault.

3. What do you write, and why? What do you enjoy about what you write?
I write speculative fiction.  Mainly fantasy, though I mix horror and magical realism in there.  I write fantasy because fantasy is what first got me excited about reading.  I remember my older sister, Audrey, handing me the first of the Pierce Anthony Xanth novels, and I was astounded at these magical places, characters with magical talents, all of the magical beasts.  Magic.  Magic.  Magic.  I wanted that.  To live there.  Be special.  Be something more than just human.

And I read as much fantasy after that as I could.  Tolkien, Eddings, Pratchet, Weiss and Hickman, Duncan.  You know the era and the authors.  That's what fueled me as a young reader.  I hope to fuel other readers too.

And the joy comes from creation and imagination.  Of speculating: What if? and expanding from that.  I am the master of my own universe, what is not to like?

4. What is your latest book? Any forthcoming books?
My debut novel, Three Great Lies, releases August 6th.  It's fantasy, with historical and literary trappings.  It carries a bit of a Finding My Place in Life theme.

Jeannette Walker, a modern scientist, ends up in ancient, mythological Egypt.  Though she constantly casts doubt on the existence of such a world, she has to learn to live in it.  While trying to save her mummy friend's soul from a wicked tomb robbing ring, she realizes a few important things about life.  What those are, well, you'll have to read the book!

I have one complete manuscript for a dark fantasy I'm currently shopping out, and am working on a modern super hero series.  There's always something I'm working on. 

5. "Welcome To My Worlds": Tell us a little about the world of Three Great Lies.
Ancient, mythological Egypt.  It never rains.  People's lives aren't equal.  Prayers constantly dance upon lips.  Beer is a meal.  Sand is a major filler in the bread.  Children of gods walk the street with the heads of animals and prophecy on their lips.

To Jeannette it's, of course, a total shock.  There are people about in public naked and jackals speak.  A mummy—a desiccated, lumbering thing—chases her through the crowded streets, accusing her of stealing his ba!  It's not necessarily a friendly place, but people are people, and even Jeannette is able to find friends in ways she never expected. 

6. Introduce us to some of your characters. What do you like about them?
Jeannette Walker is my protagonist.  She's mid-twenties, a scientists with a jilted past.  She still holds the hurt from a past betrayal and has learned to trust nobody and nothing.  I love her voice and her mind-chatter.  And she's got a good heart that struggles to show through her armor. 

Abayomi is the dead man walking, a reanimated mummy who seeks his lost ba container so he can continue on to the afterlife.  He's a perfect citizen who knows his place in the world and doesn't seek to unbalance tradition.  Until his friends are endangered, then his loyalty shines like a beacon.  True best friend material!

Sanura is the young daughter of Bast, cast out from her litter.  She's lost and alone and Jeannette saves her--saves her—and she'll never forget such gifts.  Sanura, like most young people, is soul-searching, trying to found out exactly why she's been cast away and what her purpose and place is in life.  Her journey is one everyone can connect with. She's the spirit of the story.

7. A fun fact you would like your readers to know about Three Great Lies.
A major aspect of the book (the stray dog theme) sprang to life at an agility dog show.  The midsummer day was baking hot and I had parked myself under a tree for the next show.  A Jack Russell Terrier was looking at me, with that intelligent tongue-lolling smile terriers have.  Honestly, the dog was smiling. 

And that was the original start of the novel:  "The dog was smiling at her."  It's since changed, but that line and scene are still in there, the theme planted throughout the novel.  The story just unfolded from that one dog's smile and here we are now.

8. Any challenges with getting Three Great Lies to where it is today?
Three Great Lies has been on a long journey.

In 2008, I wrote my fifth NaNoWriMo novel.  That was Three Great Lies.  It was titled simply "Egypt" back then.  It was a 50,000 word rough draft.  Then I added extra plot threads and themes, and it topped out at 140,000 words.  That's quite an addition!  Then there were years and years of critiquing and editing.

Finally in 2013, I begin seeking representation for Three Great Lies, and it was picked up by Hadley Rille Books (which was the most perfect place for this book to land). 

Now for the rough stuff.  As I was due my edits, my publisher had a stroke.  (Though he insists he was abducted by aliens to an alternate universe.)   It was terrible, we weren't sure if he would make it.  The entire press huddled together in worry and anticipation.  I was wavering between feeling devastated for my publisher's situation and worrying about the state of my book (and feeling so so guilty for that.)  But he did pull through and has worked tirelessly on my novel, by my side every step of the way.

Now, we're here, and my novel is published!  I think other authors might have pulled their book to seek other representation, but I knew Hadley Rille and my publisher were perfect for my book. 

9. What's your writing process?
First and foremost, Three Great Lies was a 'pantser' book.  I didn't have an outline.  I wrote forward from the smiling dog on guts and intentions.  I had this idea of where I wanted to go, with no map on how to get there.  Now, I am an outliner.  I think the process, for me, would have gone so much faster if I'd had a more solid idea of the substance of the story.  As it was, lots and lots and lots of editing and rewriting were necessary to make this book shine.

When I'm in the thick of writing and editing, I try to work on the novel every single day.  It keeps my writing sharp and my mind on the storyline.  It keeps me from losing plot threads and missing finer details.  For me, every day is the way (ooh, that even rhymes.)

And another thing I've learned:  Do not work heavily on writing in the summer.  I like to play outside too much and I feel guilty if I don't write.  Now, I just hold up my hands and let it all go.  Summer, for me, is play time.  No guilt for taking some time off writing.  Because, we're our worst guilt-trippers.

10. Blog/site link, and where your book is available.
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ 

You can find Three Great Lies at Amazon

Thanks for reading!  I hope you come by and check out my site and my novel.  It was a joy to write and I hope it brings joy to you as well.
Three Great Lies:

While vacationing in Egypt. . . 

Jeannette Walker, a cynical scientist jaded by swarms of tour groups and knick-knack shacks, is lured by a teenage tour guide to visit a newly discovered tomb. No other tourists there! Inside the chamber, she tumbles down a shaft and 3000 years back in time. 

Now, in a world where deities walk the streets and prophecy stinks up the air, Jeannette is desperate for normal and the simple pleasures of sanitation and refrigeration. However, a slave master hawking a cat-headed girl derails her homebound mission, and Jeannette—penniless in this ancient world—steals the girl, bringing down the tireless fury of the slaver. 

Saddled with a newly awakened mummy and the cat-headed girl, Jeannette, through her unparalleled experience gained from watching spy movies, contrives a plan to free them from the slaver's ire, but will she have to dive into the belly of the beast to succeed?

Publisher's Weekly Review:

MacLellan’s fun debut drops Jeanette, an American tourist in Egypt, into ancient Thebes. After she wakes Abayomi, a mummy who’s lost his key to the afterlife, her journey of discovery is filled with danger and thrills. A great sense of character evolution drives the plot, as Jeanette learns that her safe, mundane, passive modern life can’t compare to the active role she takes in freeing Sanura, a child of Bast, from slavery, or working to stop tomb robbing. Her friendships with Abayomi, Sanura, and others form organically, leading to an unlikely but well-handled romantic subplot. Supernatural elements help develop the world around Jeanette, but don’t overpower it. The descriptions feel like what a modern person in Jeanette’s situation would notice, rather than generic scene-setting. A strong conclusion sets this light fantasy a notch above its peers. (Oct.)

 Read on for an excerpt from Three Great Lies:

Three Great Lies Excerpt:

The torchlight caught an image of the Eye of Ra, omniscient and red, and a shiver crossed her skin.  With a glance back at the stairs—a little voice in her head urging her to ‘just get the hell out’—she faced the tunnel again.  She’d leave once she assured the kid wasn’t lost down here, injured and scared.

She grabbed her pack and slung it over her shoulder, careful of her injuries, and crept past the sarcophagus, certain the opening loomed wider than before.  Not looking in for fear of catching a peek at something dead and rotten, she stepped into the darkened hallway, calling out.  “Hello?”  Her voice hung flat in the narrow hall, the acoustics wanting.  It surprised her to find a network of passages and rooms.  Each dry, empty antechamber sucked the fluid from her mouth and mocked her with hostile silence.  As she wandered from one small chamber  to the next, she expected to find piles of offerings, maybe gold or jewels, or even pottery, but the rooms housed only one blocky sarcophagus. Otherwise empty, they had been left incomplete—or emptied under ill-intentioned methods.

“Kid.”  Her calls had turned into a mantra, lacking the passion of initial panic and had morphed simply into a word that slipped from her lips each time she entered a new room. “Kid?”  Her guide played an amazing impersonation of somebody who was just not there.

When she hit the end of the passages, having explored each alcove with no sign of life, she began retracing her steps to that first room she’d tumbled into.  The kid must have been on the upper level after all, and had not fallen down the threshold into crazy land like she had.  Just her luck.

Exhausted, dragging her feet across the stones, she almost tripped on the flat surface.  She just wanted to return to her hotel and sleep.  The dreaded knowledge of the long trip back in the bike’s sidecar—assuming she could even return that way—and the fact that she was running out of water, sapped away her optimism.  Trips were designed to be fun, a bit of adventure, a bit of pampering.  She was ready for the spa treatment now.  The tour planners had touted it as part of the package deal.  She’d never had a spa treatment: no foot rubs, no facials.  The knowledge that a hot bath and massage waited for her spurred her forward, though all she really wanted to do was close her eyes and open them again to her hotel room, the soft bed and bowl of fruit, the funky  scent of the detergent that tickled her nose to the edge of a sneeze.

Damn it.  This wasn’t what she wanted.

Frustrated, she stomped across the floor, her hard-soled hiking boots clomping as her mind soldiered through her options to make it back to El-Balyana, let alone Luxor.  With her thoughts leap-frogging from walking miles, to hijacking a camel, to the cost in dog lives of a taxi trip to her hotel, she didn’t see the figure standing near the opened sarcophagus as she rounded the corner.

When she did, she froze.

Within the eon caught between one blink and the next, she absorbed details of the monster from a bad B movie: short, about her height, wrapped in linen gauze.  Arms bound to its sides, it twisted and writhed, struggling to free itself from the linen embrace.

Then it moaned, a noise tapped straight from its slim chest, desperate and hungry, and Jeannette couldn’t contain her own scream.


Three Great Lies is available at Amazon.

July 2015 Wrap-up and Looking Ahead to August

July turned out to be one of those months where you're even afraid to wonder what's going to happen next, just in case the universe takes it as a dare. From the good (our older son's wedding and numerous family gatherings and visits) to the bad (a night at the ER with my husband - he's fine, but it was a little scary there) to the weird (dental work with the temporary crown from h3!!) and everything in between. And those are just the highlights. A few months earlier, I had figured I could get To the Gap  out in the early part of July. As it was, I still managed to upload Saturday afternoon the 31st, so technically I hit my July deadline.

Edit: No, Saturday was August 1 :-P So I missed my deadline by one day. Still, all things considered, only missing it by one day was pretty good.

I've been a little nervous about how To the Gap will be received. It's a little different from the other books, more focused on Silas and Lainie's relationship against the backdrop of a cattle drive and hints of a worsening situation in Granadaia, and it leads towards a crisis point in the series. But there's also a lot of fun things in it, and at least one really awesome (I hope!) fight scene.

All other projects got put on hold while I made it through everything going on last month and concentrated on edits on To the Gap. With that done, I'm going to take a few days to prepare the next revision of book 5, City of Mages , and see where I am with my other projects and decide what to tackle next. If things settle down and I can recoup some mental energy, I'd like to go back to working on two things at once. Well, not exactly simultaneously, but dividing my writing time between two different projects. I've got several things waiting for revision, but I'd really like to finally get The Healing Tree (working title; hopefully I can come up with something better for the real title) written, and I'm also working out ideas for a follow-up series to Daughter of the Wildings. It's nowhere near ready to begin writing, but I've got the basic concept and the plot idea for the first book.

I've been doing some reading, and I'll post roundups soon, but towards the end of the month, I was mostly playing tons of Pokemon Shuffle and Angry Birds when my brain got too fried to word any more.

And onward. I'm not even going to try to guess right now when City of Mages will be out. As soon as possible, is all I can tell you, maybe 2-3 months? In the meantime, I'm just going to lay low and hope the cosmos forgets I'm here and leaves me alone for a while. Even just typing that makes me feel like I'm saying, "Go on, I dare you!" *shudder*