Kyra Halland's Blog, page 21
May 13, 2015
Couple Interview: Silas and Lainie
With three books out in the Daughter of the Wildings series, I figure it's time for a couple interview with Silas and Lainie. This is about book 3-ish, and virtually spoiler-free (except that they're together, which I don't consider a spoiler because the books are partly romance and because if you know any of my work, you know the hero and heroine always end up together):
1. How did you meet?
Silas: I had just arrived in Bitterbush Springs and found myself in the middle of a shootout. During the shootout I sensed a burst of magic close by. At the time, I was on the hunt for the source of some magical power I'd been sensing, so when the gunfight was over I went looking for the person the magic had come from.
Lainie: When the shooting started, I got scared and hid behind a barrel, and put up a magical shield. My brother Blake got killed in a shootout just a few months before, so it really scares me when the bullets start flying. When the shootout was over, Silas came over to where I was and asked me if I was okay, and escorted me on my errands in town in case there was any more trouble.
2. What was the first thing you noticed about the other person?
S: The first thing I noticed about Lainie, of course, was her power. Bright and strong and clean, with a feel or flavor to it that was different from the Granadaian power I was familiar with. When I first saw her, hunkered down behind that barrel, I took her for a boy, because of her slim build and the men's clothes she was wearing. As soon as I got a closer look at her pretty face and her figure, though, it was clear she was all woman.
L: He was tall, and so handsome, and looked just a little bit dangerous, but he was so kind and polite to me.
3. Did you know when you met that you would end up together?
S: No idea at all. I was just passing through on the hunt for a renegade mage. Since she was an untrained mage, my legal duty was to either send her back to Granadaia for training or Strip her of her power. I knew that neither of those options would endear me to her. And anyhow, marriages between mages have to be approved by the Mage Council, and I knew that a Wildings-born mage from a mostly Plain family would not be considered an appropriate match for me.
L: I had no idea, either. I was smitten with him almost right away, but he was just passing through town on business of his own; there was no reason for him to hang around and no reason why he should be especially interested in me.
4. What do you like best about the other person?
S: Well, she's smart, strong, brave, pretty, an amazing cook, an even more amazing lover --
L: (blushing) Silas!
S: But more than any of that, she's just.. her. She's Lainie. That's what I like best about her.
L: (still blushing) Silas is all those things - except handsome, not pretty, and not that much of a cook except for critter on a stick, as he calls it. But he's so kind to me, and so patient while he teaches me to use my power, and he sacrificed a lot to keep me safe. And also, I'm not sure how to say this, but he lives, you know what I mean? I mean, he'll think about things before he acts -- usually -- and see what the lay of the land is, but when he's ready he jumps right in and does it. He doesn't spend his life hemming and hawing off to the side. But yeah, mostly, he's him. And that's what I like about him.
5. What is something you enjoy doing together? (Besides the obvious!)
S: What else is there?
L: (blushing even harder) Silas, really!
S: We like doing pretty much everything together. Training in magic, traveling, hunting - we've taken a few jobs to track down missing family members and the like, shooting practice, bathing --
L: Oh gods, I'm so embarrassed.
S: Sorry, darlin'. *smooch*
L: But you get the idea. We're a team. We're partners. I can't think of anything we don't like to do together. Even lately, when money's been tight and we have to be on the lookout for other mages who might know about us and the laws we've broken and such, we'd rather be in it together than out of trouble and not together. You know what I mean?
6. How has the other person changed you?
S: Before I met Lainie, I was already committed to protecting the Plain settlers of the Wildings. But since I met her, it's become much more personal. Lainie isn't Plain, of course, but her Pa is, and the people she grew up among, and she's definitely of the Wildings, not of Granadaia. On the other hand, since the people in her own hometown tried to hang her for being a mage, I'm a little less patient with the Plain settlers' hatred of mages. I don't know if that's affected my commitment to protecting them, but I see them less as the victims in the struggle between mages and Plains than I used to. Mages have done a lot of wicked things, but Plains aren't entirely innocent, either.
The other way she's changed me is that I used to not be afraid of much of anything. But now the thought of her being hurt or killed or captured scares me to death. I wouldn't want to live in a world without her.
L: Silas showed me that not all mages are inhuman monsters with no heart and no soul, which is what I'd always been taught, and he helped me to accept my own power and be proud of who and what I am. He's teaching me to use my power to help people, not hurt them. My life has changed a lot, living on the run with him, on the wrong side of the mages' law, instead of still being at home, working on the ranch and marrying the man my Pa meant for me to marry. But I don't regret any of it.
7. What are the biggest differences between you? How important are these differences?
L: Well, he's from an elite family of Island mages, and I was born to Plain parents who don't have a lot -- I mean, for folks in the Wildings, my Pa does all right with his ranch, but he worked his way up from nothing and compared to a rich mage family in Granadaia, I guess we're still pretty poor. And Silas is thirteen years older than me and knows way more than me about a lot of things.
S: None of that seems very important, though. The biggest difference that matters is that she always wins at Dragon's Threes and I never do. She had to ban me from playing for money. Oh, and she can control powers found in the Wildings that I can't. That doesn't bother me; I think it's mighty impressive, and it's come in handy a time or two.
8. What do the two of you have in common?
S: Magic. A love for the Wildings, for the beautiful country out here and the freedom. A commitment to protecting Plain folks from mages who want to take away their rights and freedoms. A hope that one day, mages and Plain folk can live peacefully side-by-side in the Wildings. And our love for each other.
L: That pretty much covers it. Well, and we both like horses, and think the same things are funny.
9. What are the greatest challenges you have faced in your relationship?
S: Well, besides the fact that our marriage is illegal under Granadaian mage law, and I also broke the law by not making her go to school in Granadaia or Stripping her, and she can do a few things with magic that are supposed to be impossible and just in case they aren't they're also illegal, and we've got renegade mages and Plain folks trying to kill us and mage hunters hunting us, and we've spent a good amount of time homeless and broke... nothing, really.
L: I've almost lost him a few times, and I've almost died a time or two. It's scary, knowing how much danger we're in, but it also makes us appreciate each other more. No matter how bad things are, we're just glad to be together. And there was a time when I was afraid he didn't really want to be with me, he just got himself stuck with me because my Pa made him marry me. But he's showed me pretty well that isn't true and he does want to be with me.
10. What does your family think of your partner, and what do you think of your partner's family?
S: My family has not met Lainie, and likely never will, since I've pretty much cut myself off from all relations with them. I doubt they would approve of her, a Wildings girl born of Plain parents; her power came from her grandmother, the illegitimate daughter of a married mage and a Plain servant. As for her family, her Pa is a good man. I have a lot of respect for him, and I mean to keep the promise I made him to take good care of his daughter. Her mother and brother are both dead, but I'm sure I would have liked them as well.
L: My Pa didn't like Silas at first, because he's a mage. But after he rescued me from Carden and saved my life and put himself on the wrong side of the mages' law to do what was best for me, I think Pa started to respect him. If they had time to get to know each other better, I think they'd get on pretty well. Silas's family... I know he don't think much of them, and from what he's told me, they sound like the kind of mages I was taught to hate and be afraid of. But if they raised a son like him, I have to think they can't be all bad.
11. What role does magic play in your relationship?
L: Magic's what brought us together. Mages is what we are.
S: I would love her even if she wasn't a mage --
L: And I would love him if he wasn't a mage, too.
S: But working together so closely, and both of us knowing what it's like to have power and use it, I think that brings us closer together than we would be, otherwise.
12. What are your plans for the future?
S: Keep our freedom and stay alive.
L: Well, that, and it would be nice if we could find a place to settle down and live in peace, get some land of our own, raise some cattle. And if we could get the fertility block removed from Silas -- the Mage Council puts it on all mage children, and it can't be removed until the Mage Council approves their marriage -- if we could find a way to get the block removed and have some kids together, I'd really like that. I've always wanted to have children. But even if we can't, maybe we can find an orphan to adopt -- there aren't many, folks in the Wildings take care of their own, and if a child loses their parents, their other kin or friends and neighbors will step in and care for them. But if we could find one, we could have a family that way.
S: I'd like that, too, but first we have to stay out of the Mage Council's hands and not get ourselves hanged by any Plain folks.
13. "The whole is greater than the sum of the parts." How is this true for the two of you?
L: Working together, we've helped some people, and stopped some powerful and dangerous renegade mages. We've done some good.
S: Working together, teaching each other, loving each other, we make each other stronger. Like Lainie said, we're a team. We're partners. And together, we can do great things.
1. How did you meet?Silas: I had just arrived in Bitterbush Springs and found myself in the middle of a shootout. During the shootout I sensed a burst of magic close by. At the time, I was on the hunt for the source of some magical power I'd been sensing, so when the gunfight was over I went looking for the person the magic had come from.
Lainie: When the shooting started, I got scared and hid behind a barrel, and put up a magical shield. My brother Blake got killed in a shootout just a few months before, so it really scares me when the bullets start flying. When the shootout was over, Silas came over to where I was and asked me if I was okay, and escorted me on my errands in town in case there was any more trouble.
2. What was the first thing you noticed about the other person?
S: The first thing I noticed about Lainie, of course, was her power. Bright and strong and clean, with a feel or flavor to it that was different from the Granadaian power I was familiar with. When I first saw her, hunkered down behind that barrel, I took her for a boy, because of her slim build and the men's clothes she was wearing. As soon as I got a closer look at her pretty face and her figure, though, it was clear she was all woman.
L: He was tall, and so handsome, and looked just a little bit dangerous, but he was so kind and polite to me.
3. Did you know when you met that you would end up together?
S: No idea at all. I was just passing through on the hunt for a renegade mage. Since she was an untrained mage, my legal duty was to either send her back to Granadaia for training or Strip her of her power. I knew that neither of those options would endear me to her. And anyhow, marriages between mages have to be approved by the Mage Council, and I knew that a Wildings-born mage from a mostly Plain family would not be considered an appropriate match for me.
L: I had no idea, either. I was smitten with him almost right away, but he was just passing through town on business of his own; there was no reason for him to hang around and no reason why he should be especially interested in me.
4. What do you like best about the other person?
S: Well, she's smart, strong, brave, pretty, an amazing cook, an even more amazing lover --
L: (blushing) Silas!
S: But more than any of that, she's just.. her. She's Lainie. That's what I like best about her.
L: (still blushing) Silas is all those things - except handsome, not pretty, and not that much of a cook except for critter on a stick, as he calls it. But he's so kind to me, and so patient while he teaches me to use my power, and he sacrificed a lot to keep me safe. And also, I'm not sure how to say this, but he lives, you know what I mean? I mean, he'll think about things before he acts -- usually -- and see what the lay of the land is, but when he's ready he jumps right in and does it. He doesn't spend his life hemming and hawing off to the side. But yeah, mostly, he's him. And that's what I like about him.
5. What is something you enjoy doing together? (Besides the obvious!)
S: What else is there?
L: (blushing even harder) Silas, really!
S: We like doing pretty much everything together. Training in magic, traveling, hunting - we've taken a few jobs to track down missing family members and the like, shooting practice, bathing --
L: Oh gods, I'm so embarrassed.
S: Sorry, darlin'. *smooch*
L: But you get the idea. We're a team. We're partners. I can't think of anything we don't like to do together. Even lately, when money's been tight and we have to be on the lookout for other mages who might know about us and the laws we've broken and such, we'd rather be in it together than out of trouble and not together. You know what I mean?
6. How has the other person changed you?
S: Before I met Lainie, I was already committed to protecting the Plain settlers of the Wildings. But since I met her, it's become much more personal. Lainie isn't Plain, of course, but her Pa is, and the people she grew up among, and she's definitely of the Wildings, not of Granadaia. On the other hand, since the people in her own hometown tried to hang her for being a mage, I'm a little less patient with the Plain settlers' hatred of mages. I don't know if that's affected my commitment to protecting them, but I see them less as the victims in the struggle between mages and Plains than I used to. Mages have done a lot of wicked things, but Plains aren't entirely innocent, either.
The other way she's changed me is that I used to not be afraid of much of anything. But now the thought of her being hurt or killed or captured scares me to death. I wouldn't want to live in a world without her.
L: Silas showed me that not all mages are inhuman monsters with no heart and no soul, which is what I'd always been taught, and he helped me to accept my own power and be proud of who and what I am. He's teaching me to use my power to help people, not hurt them. My life has changed a lot, living on the run with him, on the wrong side of the mages' law, instead of still being at home, working on the ranch and marrying the man my Pa meant for me to marry. But I don't regret any of it.
7. What are the biggest differences between you? How important are these differences?L: Well, he's from an elite family of Island mages, and I was born to Plain parents who don't have a lot -- I mean, for folks in the Wildings, my Pa does all right with his ranch, but he worked his way up from nothing and compared to a rich mage family in Granadaia, I guess we're still pretty poor. And Silas is thirteen years older than me and knows way more than me about a lot of things.
S: None of that seems very important, though. The biggest difference that matters is that she always wins at Dragon's Threes and I never do. She had to ban me from playing for money. Oh, and she can control powers found in the Wildings that I can't. That doesn't bother me; I think it's mighty impressive, and it's come in handy a time or two.
8. What do the two of you have in common?
S: Magic. A love for the Wildings, for the beautiful country out here and the freedom. A commitment to protecting Plain folks from mages who want to take away their rights and freedoms. A hope that one day, mages and Plain folk can live peacefully side-by-side in the Wildings. And our love for each other.
L: That pretty much covers it. Well, and we both like horses, and think the same things are funny.
9. What are the greatest challenges you have faced in your relationship?
S: Well, besides the fact that our marriage is illegal under Granadaian mage law, and I also broke the law by not making her go to school in Granadaia or Stripping her, and she can do a few things with magic that are supposed to be impossible and just in case they aren't they're also illegal, and we've got renegade mages and Plain folks trying to kill us and mage hunters hunting us, and we've spent a good amount of time homeless and broke... nothing, really.
L: I've almost lost him a few times, and I've almost died a time or two. It's scary, knowing how much danger we're in, but it also makes us appreciate each other more. No matter how bad things are, we're just glad to be together. And there was a time when I was afraid he didn't really want to be with me, he just got himself stuck with me because my Pa made him marry me. But he's showed me pretty well that isn't true and he does want to be with me.
10. What does your family think of your partner, and what do you think of your partner's family?
S: My family has not met Lainie, and likely never will, since I've pretty much cut myself off from all relations with them. I doubt they would approve of her, a Wildings girl born of Plain parents; her power came from her grandmother, the illegitimate daughter of a married mage and a Plain servant. As for her family, her Pa is a good man. I have a lot of respect for him, and I mean to keep the promise I made him to take good care of his daughter. Her mother and brother are both dead, but I'm sure I would have liked them as well.
L: My Pa didn't like Silas at first, because he's a mage. But after he rescued me from Carden and saved my life and put himself on the wrong side of the mages' law to do what was best for me, I think Pa started to respect him. If they had time to get to know each other better, I think they'd get on pretty well. Silas's family... I know he don't think much of them, and from what he's told me, they sound like the kind of mages I was taught to hate and be afraid of. But if they raised a son like him, I have to think they can't be all bad.
11. What role does magic play in your relationship?
L: Magic's what brought us together. Mages is what we are.
S: I would love her even if she wasn't a mage --
L: And I would love him if he wasn't a mage, too.
S: But working together so closely, and both of us knowing what it's like to have power and use it, I think that brings us closer together than we would be, otherwise.
12. What are your plans for the future?
S: Keep our freedom and stay alive.
L: Well, that, and it would be nice if we could find a place to settle down and live in peace, get some land of our own, raise some cattle. And if we could get the fertility block removed from Silas -- the Mage Council puts it on all mage children, and it can't be removed until the Mage Council approves their marriage -- if we could find a way to get the block removed and have some kids together, I'd really like that. I've always wanted to have children. But even if we can't, maybe we can find an orphan to adopt -- there aren't many, folks in the Wildings take care of their own, and if a child loses their parents, their other kin or friends and neighbors will step in and care for them. But if we could find one, we could have a family that way.
S: I'd like that, too, but first we have to stay out of the Mage Council's hands and not get ourselves hanged by any Plain folks.
13. "The whole is greater than the sum of the parts." How is this true for the two of you?
L: Working together, we've helped some people, and stopped some powerful and dangerous renegade mages. We've done some good.
S: Working together, teaching each other, loving each other, we make each other stronger. Like Lainie said, we're a team. We're partners. And together, we can do great things.
May 5, 2015
April 2015 Wrap-up; What's Coming in May
The big event in April was, of course, the release of The Rancher's Daughter, book 3 of Daughter of the Wildings. It had a good launch, and at the same I ran a promotion on Beneath the Canyons, which even hit #1 in Western Science Fiction on Amazon for a few days! So now I can say I had an Amazon bestseller! :D Even better, Daughter of the Wildings has picked up some more readers. I've had the most fun ever working on these books (though all my books are fun and I love them all), and I'm so excited to be able to share them with more readers.
Book 2, Bad Hunting, was received so well I was kind of worried about book 3 living up to expectations, but so far, reader feedback has been very positive :D
I also did another roundup of books on my A-Z reading challenge, covering H-N. Now I'm on "O", which is Out of Exile by Derek Alan Siddoway (see Derek's guest post on medieval westerns from last December).
The plan for May is working on book 4 of Daughter of the Wildings, To The Gap. It takes place over several months on a cattle drive and is considerably longer than books 2 and 3, and I really can't say at this point when I expect to release it, but for now I'm going to make a wild guess and say July.
With half of the book in Daughter of the Wildings out, I'm starting to think about what comes after. There are so many different projects I want to work on it's hard to decide what to do next. Write another novel, or start revising one of the four or five completed projects that are printed out and waiting for revision? I also want to do more planning for a follow-up series for Daughter of the Wildings. I had gotten way behind on my schedule for Daughter of the Wildings, but now that I feel like I'm back on schedule and can get my work hours established again (maybe the hardest thing about working at home for yourself is keeping regular work hours) I can go back to what I had been doing and devoting an hour of that time to other projects.
Now, back to work :)
April 2015 Wrap-up; What's Coming in May
The big event in April was, of course, the release of The Rancher's Daughter, book 3 of Daughter of the Wildings. It had a good launch, and at the same time I ran a promotion on Beneath the Canyons, which even hit #1 in Western Science Fiction on Amazon for a few days! So now I can say I had an Amazon bestseller! :D Even better, Daughter of the Wildings has picked up some more readers. I've had the most fun ever working on these books (though all my books are fun and I love them all), and I'm so excited to be able to share them with more readers.Book 2, Bad Hunting, was received so well I was kind of worried about book 3 living up to expectations, but so far, reader feedback has been very positive :D
I also did another roundup of books on my A-Z reading challenge, covering H-N. Now I'm on "O", which is Out of Exile by Derek Alan Siddoway (see Derek's guest post on medieval westerns from last December).
The plan for May is working on book 4 of Daughter of the Wildings, To The Gap. It takes place over several months on a cattle drive and is considerably longer than books 2 and 3, and I really can't say at this point when I expect to release it, but for now I'm going to make a wild guess and say July.
With half of the book in Daughter of the Wildings out, I'm starting to think about what comes after. There are so many different projects I want to work on it's hard to decide what to do next. Write another novel, or start revising one of the four or five completed projects that are printed out and waiting for revision? I also want to do more planning for a follow-up series for Daughter of the Wildings. I had gotten way behind on my schedule for Daughter of the Wildings, but now that I feel like I'm back on schedule and can get my work hours established again (maybe the hardest thing about working at home for yourself is keeping regular work hours) I can go back to what I had been doing and devoting an hour of that time to other projects.
Now, back to work :)
April 28, 2015
Reading A-Z Challenge: H-N
Time for another update on my self-imposed A-Z reading challenge. (Part 1 is here.) The rules: Going A-Z by title, it has to be a book I already own on my Kindle (if I don't have a book for a particular letter, if I have a sample for one I can buy that), indie authors preferred. DNFs don't count; if I can't finish a book, I find another one from the the same letter. (Links go to Goodreads.)
The Hawk and His Boy
(The Tormay Trilogy #1), Christopher Bunn
Really lovely fantasy, set in a world filled with ancient magic both wondrous and terrible, written in beautiful prose. The story is in part about a young thief boy, Jute, who stumbles across a magnificent and terrifying destiny in the course of a thieving job, and is befriended by a mysterious hawk. Full review here.
I liked The Hawk and His Boy so much that I went off track and read the rest of the trilogy right away. The Shadow at the Gate and The Wicked Day are both also excellent.
Iron Flower
(The Legend of the Iron Flower #2), Billy Wong
The further adventures of Rose Agen, powerhouse female warrior. There's more magic in this book than in the first, as Rose, her lover Finn, and their scholar friend Derrick find themselves involved in the return of magic to the world. It reads more like three installments of a serial rather than a continuous novel. But it's lots of fun and the fights and the newly-rediscovered magic are exciting.
The Jongurian Mission
(The Jongurian Trilogy #1), Greg Strandburg
Young Bryn thinks he's going to spend the rest of his life moving rocks on his uncle's farm. Then his other uncle, an Adjurian trade official, shows up saying it's time Bryn saw the world. Bryn goes with his uncle to an important trade conference in the capital city, then on a trade mission to one-time enemy Jonguria, where things turn far more dangerous and deadly than you would expect from a simple trade mission. The worldbuilding, history, and political/economic aspects are very detailed and well-thought-out, and readers who appreciate fantasy with a heavy emphasis on those things will find this book interesting. Full review here.
Keepers of Arden: The Brothers, Volume 1
, L.K. Evans
I really enjoyed this fantasy tale of two brothers - Wilhelm, big, handsome, good-natured, popular with the ladies, and Salvarias, dark and strange, gifted with magical powers beyond his years and terrified of the evil within him. We follow the two from the terrible conception and birth of Salvarias, Wilhelm's much-longed-for baby brother, through their childhood and teenage years and into early adulthood, as the two become part of a battle between forces of light and darkness to conquer Arden. Full review here.
Lady Falls
(Black Rose Trilogy #1), Renee Bernard
Interesting concept, an orphan is adopted and groomed to be her guardian's means of revenge against someone who wronged him, but it kind of fell apart in the execution. The revenge ploy turned out to not nearly live up to the potential of how cool and devastating it could have been. I was also put off by the very explicit sex scenes involving the 17-year-old heroine. Otherwise, this could have been lots of fun. The subplot with the abused wife of one of the house party guests was much more interesting and well carried out.
A Mail-Order Bride for Jim Liley!
, Raymond Cook
Jim Liley is a young man growing up in a Colorado quarrying town in the late 1800s. When he's blinded in one eye in a quarry accident, he's afraid no woman will ever want to marry him. Kristy Greenfield's hometown in Illinois is becoming depleted of marriageable men as they all head west seeking their fortunes; will she end up growing old alone? Then Jim places a wife-wanted ad in the newspaper, beginning a sweet long-distance courtship with Kristy which leads to her making the momentous decision to head out west to marry him. The story of Jim and Kristy's courtship is engaging (no pun intended!) and the tale of Kristy's trip west is full of excitement and danger, and a large amount of work and research clearly went into this heartfelt book. Full review here.
Necromancer Awakening
(The Mukhtaar Chronicles #1), Nat Russo
Necromancer Awakening is an interesting and original fantasy novel with a very different kind of magic that also makes some profound reflections on topics such as faith, redemption, priesthood, and the relationship between life and death. Nicolas, an archaeology student in Texas, is plagued by horrifying visions whenever he's in the presence of death - and especially in the wake of his adoptive father's funeral. The visions lead to him being swept from Texas to another world, where he discovers the reasons for his visions - he's a necromancer, a wizard-priest who uses the power of death to purify the dead. Full review here.
The Hawk and His Boy
(The Tormay Trilogy #1), Christopher BunnReally lovely fantasy, set in a world filled with ancient magic both wondrous and terrible, written in beautiful prose. The story is in part about a young thief boy, Jute, who stumbles across a magnificent and terrifying destiny in the course of a thieving job, and is befriended by a mysterious hawk. Full review here.
I liked The Hawk and His Boy so much that I went off track and read the rest of the trilogy right away. The Shadow at the Gate and The Wicked Day are both also excellent.
Iron Flower
(The Legend of the Iron Flower #2), Billy WongThe further adventures of Rose Agen, powerhouse female warrior. There's more magic in this book than in the first, as Rose, her lover Finn, and their scholar friend Derrick find themselves involved in the return of magic to the world. It reads more like three installments of a serial rather than a continuous novel. But it's lots of fun and the fights and the newly-rediscovered magic are exciting.
The Jongurian Mission
(The Jongurian Trilogy #1), Greg StrandburgYoung Bryn thinks he's going to spend the rest of his life moving rocks on his uncle's farm. Then his other uncle, an Adjurian trade official, shows up saying it's time Bryn saw the world. Bryn goes with his uncle to an important trade conference in the capital city, then on a trade mission to one-time enemy Jonguria, where things turn far more dangerous and deadly than you would expect from a simple trade mission. The worldbuilding, history, and political/economic aspects are very detailed and well-thought-out, and readers who appreciate fantasy with a heavy emphasis on those things will find this book interesting. Full review here.
Keepers of Arden: The Brothers, Volume 1
, L.K. EvansI really enjoyed this fantasy tale of two brothers - Wilhelm, big, handsome, good-natured, popular with the ladies, and Salvarias, dark and strange, gifted with magical powers beyond his years and terrified of the evil within him. We follow the two from the terrible conception and birth of Salvarias, Wilhelm's much-longed-for baby brother, through their childhood and teenage years and into early adulthood, as the two become part of a battle between forces of light and darkness to conquer Arden. Full review here.
Lady Falls
(Black Rose Trilogy #1), Renee BernardInteresting concept, an orphan is adopted and groomed to be her guardian's means of revenge against someone who wronged him, but it kind of fell apart in the execution. The revenge ploy turned out to not nearly live up to the potential of how cool and devastating it could have been. I was also put off by the very explicit sex scenes involving the 17-year-old heroine. Otherwise, this could have been lots of fun. The subplot with the abused wife of one of the house party guests was much more interesting and well carried out.
A Mail-Order Bride for Jim Liley!
, Raymond CookJim Liley is a young man growing up in a Colorado quarrying town in the late 1800s. When he's blinded in one eye in a quarry accident, he's afraid no woman will ever want to marry him. Kristy Greenfield's hometown in Illinois is becoming depleted of marriageable men as they all head west seeking their fortunes; will she end up growing old alone? Then Jim places a wife-wanted ad in the newspaper, beginning a sweet long-distance courtship with Kristy which leads to her making the momentous decision to head out west to marry him. The story of Jim and Kristy's courtship is engaging (no pun intended!) and the tale of Kristy's trip west is full of excitement and danger, and a large amount of work and research clearly went into this heartfelt book. Full review here.
Necromancer Awakening
(The Mukhtaar Chronicles #1), Nat RussoNecromancer Awakening is an interesting and original fantasy novel with a very different kind of magic that also makes some profound reflections on topics such as faith, redemption, priesthood, and the relationship between life and death. Nicolas, an archaeology student in Texas, is plagued by horrifying visions whenever he's in the presence of death - and especially in the wake of his adoptive father's funeral. The visions lead to him being swept from Texas to another world, where he discovers the reasons for his visions - he's a necromancer, a wizard-priest who uses the power of death to purify the dead. Full review here.
Reading A-Z Challenge: H-N
Time for another update on my self-imposed A-Z reading challenge. (Part 1 is here.) The rules: Going A-Z by title, it has to be a book I already own on my Kindle (if I don't have a book for a particular letter, if I have a sample for one I can buy that), indie authors preferred. DNFs don't count; if I can't finish a book, I find another one from the the same letter. (Links go to Goodreads.)
The Hawk and His Boy
(The Tormay Trilogy #1), Christopher Bunn
Really lovely fantasy, set in a world filled with ancient magic both wondrous and terrible, written in beautiful prose. The story is in part about a young thief boy, Jute, who stumbles across a magnificent and terrifying destiny in the course of a thieving job, and is befriended by a mysterious hawk. Full review here.
I liked The Hawk and His Boy so much that I went off track and read the rest of the trilogy right away. The Shadow at the Gate and The Wicked Day are both also excellent.
Iron Flower
(The Legend of the Iron Flower #2), Billy Wong
The further adventures of Rose Agen, powerhouse female warrior. There's more magic in this book than in the first, as Rose, her lover Finn, and their scholar friend Derrick find themselves involved in the return of magic to the world. It reads more like three installments of a serial rather than a continuous novel. But it's lots of fun and the fights and the newly-rediscovered magic are exciting.
The Jongurian Mission
(The Jongurian Trilogy #1), Greg Strandburg
Young Bryn thinks he's going to spend the rest of his life moving rocks on his uncle's farm. Then his other uncle, an Adjurian trade official, shows up saying it's time Bryn saw the world. Bryn goes with his uncle to an important trade conference in the capital city, then on a trade mission to one-time enemy Jonguria, where things turn far more dangerous and deadly than you would expect from a simple trade mission. The worldbuilding, history, and political/economic aspects are very detailed and well-thought-out, and readers who appreciate fantasy with a heavy emphasis on those things will find this book interesting. Full review here.
Keepers of Arden: The Brothers, Volume 1
, L.K. Evans
I really enjoyed this fantasy tale of two brothers - Wilhelm, big, handsome, good-natured, popular with the ladies, and Salvarias, dark and strange, gifted with magical powers beyond his years and terrified of the evil within him. We follow the two from the terrible conception and birth of Salvarias, Wilhelm's much-longed-for baby brother, through their childhood and teenage years and into early adulthood, as the two become part of a battle between forces of light and darkness to conquer Arden. Full review here.
Lady Falls
(Black Rose Trilogy #1), Renee Bernard
Interesting concept, an orphan is adopted and groomed to be her guardian's means of revenge against someone who wronged him, but it kind of fell apart in the execution. The revenge ploy turned out to not nearly live up to the potential of how cool and devastating it could have been. I was also put off by the very explicit sex scenes involving the 17-year-old heroine. Otherwise, this could have been lots of fun. The subplot with the abused wife of one of the house party guests was much more interesting and well carried out.
A Mail-Order Bride for Jim Liley!
, Raymond Cook
Jim Liley is a young man growing up in a Colorado quarrying town in the late 1800s. When he's blinded in one eye in a quarry accident, he's afraid no woman will ever want to marry him. Kristy Greenfield's hometown in Illinois is becoming depleted of marriageable men as they all head west seeking their fortunes; will she end up growing old alone? Then Jim places a wife-wanted ad in the newspaper, beginning a sweet long-distance courtship with Kristy which leads to her making the momentous decision to head out west to marry him. The story of Jim and Kristy's courtship is engaging (no pun intended!) and the tale of Kristy's trip west is full of excitement and danger, and a large amount of work and research clearly went into this heartfelt book. Full review here.
Necromancer Awakening
(The Mukhtaar Chronicles #1), Nat Russo
Necromancer Awakening is an interesting and original fantasy novel with a very different kind of magic that also makes some profound reflections on topics such as faith, redemption, priesthood, and the relationship between life and death. Nicolas, an archaeology student in Texas, is plagued by horrifying visions whenever he's in the presence of death - and especially in the wake of his adoptive father's funeral. The visions lead to him being swept from Texas to another world, where he discovers the reasons for his visions - he's a necromancer, a wizard-priest who uses the power of death to purify the dead. Full review here.
The Hawk and His Boy
(The Tormay Trilogy #1), Christopher BunnReally lovely fantasy, set in a world filled with ancient magic both wondrous and terrible, written in beautiful prose. The story is in part about a young thief boy, Jute, who stumbles across a magnificent and terrifying destiny in the course of a thieving job, and is befriended by a mysterious hawk. Full review here.
I liked The Hawk and His Boy so much that I went off track and read the rest of the trilogy right away. The Shadow at the Gate and The Wicked Day are both also excellent.
Iron Flower
(The Legend of the Iron Flower #2), Billy WongThe further adventures of Rose Agen, powerhouse female warrior. There's more magic in this book than in the first, as Rose, her lover Finn, and their scholar friend Derrick find themselves involved in the return of magic to the world. It reads more like three installments of a serial rather than a continuous novel. But it's lots of fun and the fights and the newly-rediscovered magic are exciting.
The Jongurian Mission
(The Jongurian Trilogy #1), Greg StrandburgYoung Bryn thinks he's going to spend the rest of his life moving rocks on his uncle's farm. Then his other uncle, an Adjurian trade official, shows up saying it's time Bryn saw the world. Bryn goes with his uncle to an important trade conference in the capital city, then on a trade mission to one-time enemy Jonguria, where things turn far more dangerous and deadly than you would expect from a simple trade mission. The worldbuilding, history, and political/economic aspects are very detailed and well-thought-out, and readers who appreciate fantasy with a heavy emphasis on those things will find this book interesting. Full review here.
Keepers of Arden: The Brothers, Volume 1
, L.K. EvansI really enjoyed this fantasy tale of two brothers - Wilhelm, big, handsome, good-natured, popular with the ladies, and Salvarias, dark and strange, gifted with magical powers beyond his years and terrified of the evil within him. We follow the two from the terrible conception and birth of Salvarias, Wilhelm's much-longed-for baby brother, through their childhood and teenage years and into early adulthood, as the two become part of a battle between forces of light and darkness to conquer Arden. Full review here.
Lady Falls
(Black Rose Trilogy #1), Renee BernardInteresting concept, an orphan is adopted and groomed to be her guardian's means of revenge against someone who wronged him, but it kind of fell apart in the execution. The revenge ploy turned out to not nearly live up to the potential of how cool and devastating it could have been. I was also put off by the very explicit sex scenes involving the 17-year-old heroine. Otherwise, this could have been lots of fun. The subplot with the abused wife of one of the house party guests was much more interesting and well carried out.
A Mail-Order Bride for Jim Liley!
, Raymond CookJim Liley is a young man growing up in a Colorado quarrying town in the late 1800s. When he's blinded in one eye in a quarry accident, he's afraid no woman will ever want to marry him. Kristy Greenfield's hometown in Illinois is becoming depleted of marriageable men as they all head west seeking their fortunes; will she end up growing old alone? Then Jim places a wife-wanted ad in the newspaper, beginning a sweet long-distance courtship with Kristy which leads to her making the momentous decision to head out west to marry him. The story of Jim and Kristy's courtship is engaging (no pun intended!) and the tale of Kristy's trip west is full of excitement and danger, and a large amount of work and research clearly went into this heartfelt book. Full review here.
Necromancer Awakening
(The Mukhtaar Chronicles #1), Nat RussoNecromancer Awakening is an interesting and original fantasy novel with a very different kind of magic that also makes some profound reflections on topics such as faith, redemption, priesthood, and the relationship between life and death. Nicolas, an archaeology student in Texas, is plagued by horrifying visions whenever he's in the presence of death - and especially in the wake of his adoptive father's funeral. The visions lead to him being swept from Texas to another world, where he discovers the reasons for his visions - he's a necromancer, a wizard-priest who uses the power of death to purify the dead. Full review here.
April 24, 2015
The Rancher's Daughter now available
The Rancher's Daughter, book 3 of Daughter of the Wildings, is now available at a multitude of fine ebook retailers, and the paperback edition will be coming in a few weeks. This marks the halfway point of the Daughter of the Wildings series, which feels amazing because there was a time early last year/late in 2013 when I was genuinely afraid I might not be around long enough to start releasing the series. But prayers were answered and it turned out to not be anything serious, and so far, so good.Rancher's Daughter, like all the books in the series, was lots of fun to write. It gets more involved with the A'ayimat, the indigenous people of the Wildings, who, yes, have blue-toned skin. It also introduces one of my favorite supporting characters in the series, the wealthy rancher Brin Coltor. He has an influence later on in the series, and even appears again. I've been kind of nervous about this release; Beneath the Canyons has been very well received, and Bad Hunting even more so, so I feel like I have a lot to live up to, and hope I don't let down the readers who've enjoyed the first two books. I put my very best into every book I release, and hope my readers will have as much fun reading my books as I did writing them.
And so, on to book 4, To the Gap. It involves a cattle drive, and required a lot more research than most of my books do, and was also a lot of fun to write. I don't think it needs as much work as the last book did, but then I think I say that about every book. I'm aiming for a release in mid-summer; we'll see how it goes.
The Rancher's Daughter is available at the following ebook retailers, and through Sunday, April 26, it's only 99 cents! (The regular price will be $3.99.) And to celebrate the release, Beneath the Canyons is also 99 cents, through Tuesday, April 28.
Amazon | iTunes | Kobo | Google Play | OmniLit | Smashwords | DriveThruFiction | Scribd | Barnes & Noble
The Rancher's Daughter is now available
The Rancher's Daughter, book 3 of Daughter of the Wildings, is now available at a multitude of fine ebook retailers, and the paperback edition will be coming in a few weeks. This marks the halfway point of the Daughter of the Wildings series, which feels amazing because there was a time early last year/late in 2013 when I was genuinely afraid I might not be around long enough to start releasing the series. But prayers were answered and it turned out to not be anything serious, and so far, so good.Rancher's Daughter, like all the books in the series, was lots of fun to write. It gets more involved with the A'ayimat, the indigenous people of the Wildings, who, yes, have blue-toned skin. It also introduces one of my favorite supporting characters in the series, the wealthy rancher Brin Coltor. He has an influence later on in the series, and even appears again. I've been kind of nervous about this release; Beneath the Canyons has been very well received, and Bad Hunting even more so, so I feel like I have a lot to live up to, and hope I don't let down the readers who've enjoyed the first two books. I put my very best into every book I release, and hope my readers will have as much fun reading my books as I did writing them.
And so, on to book 4, To the Gap. It involves a cattle drive, and required a lot more research than most of my books do, and was also a lot of fun to write. I don't think it needs as much work as the last book did, but then I think I say that about every book. I'm aiming for a release in mid-summer; we'll see how it goes.
The Rancher's Daughter is available at the following ebook retailers, and through Sunday, April 26, it's only 99 cents! (The regular price will be $3.99.) And to celebrate the release, Beneath the Canyons is also 99 cents, through Tuesday, April 28.
Amazon | iTunes | Kobo | Google Play | OmniLit | Smashwords | DriveThruFiction | Scribd | Barnes & Noble
April 21, 2015
Book Review: Demon Divided
Demon Divided (Gallows, book 2) by Sharon Stevenson
Urban fantasy isn't my usual reading, but I really liked Blood Bound , book 1 of the Gallows series, so I decided to keep reading and I'm happy to say that I liked Demon Divided even more.
Demon-hunting twins Shaun and Sarah Gallows are back, trying to track down the vampire maker responsible for the vampire they have locked up in the basement. (Why you need a locked cage in the basement - to keep the vampire in, of course.) Along the way, Shaun finds himself being suspected of the grisly murder of a drug dealer, and Sarah is in thrall to the demon who is possessing the vampire in the basement (you thought regular vampires were bad...) - and that's just the beginning of their troubles! There's also serial-killing ex-vampire zombies (again, you thought regular vampires were bad!), a winsome human psychic who Shaun knows is the wrong girl for him but that doesn't seem to make any difference, Shaun and Sarah's mom (as scary as anything else they have to deal with!), the evil and corrupt Melissa from book 1 and her evil and corrupt dad, and a werewolf who just wants to be patted on the head and told "good doggy". It's lots of dark, gruesome fun, written in a clear, sophisticated style with an undercurrent of wit; one of my favorite lines is "He'd shifted into his furry skin and was looking a lot less feral than he had in human form, even if he did have a zombie arm hanging from his mouth." And Shaun, my favorite character, is back in fine curmudgeonly, junk-food-inhaling form.
I did have some trouble remembering things from the first book and working out what was going on and why - the author doesn't stop to just explain things, she trusts the reader to be smart enough to figure it out on their own - but after a while I got the hang of most of it, and where I didn't, I just went along for the ride anyway, trusting that Ms. Stevenson knows what she's doing and it'll all come together eventually. And what a fun ride it is. Recommended both for fans of urban fantasy and those who aren't sure if they even like urban fantasy.
Book Review: Demon Divided
Demon Divided (Gallows, book 2) by Sharon StevensonUrban fantasy isn't my usual reading, but I really liked Blood Bound , book 1 of the Gallows series, so I decided to keep reading and I'm happy to say that I liked Demon Divided even more.
Demon-hunting twins Shaun and Sarah Gallows are back, trying to track down the vampire maker responsible for the vampire they have locked up in the basement. (Why you need a locked cage in the basement - to keep the vampire in, of course.) Along the way, Shaun finds himself being suspected of the grisly murder of a drug dealer, and Sarah is in thrall to the demon who is possessing the vampire in the basement (you thought regular vampires were bad...) - and that's just the beginning of their troubles! There's also serial-killing ex-vampire zombies (again, you thought regular vampires were bad!), a winsome human psychic who Shaun knows is the wrong girl for him but that doesn't seem to make any difference, Shaun and Sarah's mom (as scary as anything else they have to deal with!), the evil and corrupt Melissa from book 1 and her evil and corrupt dad, and a werewolf who just wants to be patted on the head and told "good doggy". It's lots of dark, gruesome fun, written in a clear, sophisticated style with an undercurrent of wit; one of my favorite lines is "He'd shifted into his furry skin and was looking a lot less feral than he had in human form, even if he did have a zombie arm hanging from his mouth." And Shaun, my favorite character, is back in fine curmudgeonly, junk-food-inhaling form.
I did have some trouble remembering things from the first book and working out what was going on and why - the author doesn't stop to just explain things, she trusts the reader to be smart enough to figure it out on their own - but after a while I got the hang of most of it, and where I didn't, I just went along for the ride anyway, trusting that Ms. Stevenson knows what she's doing and it'll all come together eventually. And what a fun ride it is. Recommended both for fans of urban fantasy and those who aren't sure if they even like urban fantasy.
April 18, 2015
Character Interview: Orl Fazar
Here's an interview with Orl Fazar, the drifter and renegade mage from Bad Hunting (Daughter of the Wildings Book 2):
1. What is your full name? Is there anything significant about your name? I'm known as Orl Fazar. Maybe it bears a resemblance to my real name, maybe it doesn't.
2. How old are you?I'm 33 years old.
3. Tell us about your family. What do you like and not like about them? They're mages. More powerful than some, maybe not as powerful as others. You might have heard of them. Or maybe not. My parents had ambitions for me, which I like to think I'm carrying out in my own way.
4. Who was your first kiss, and what did you think of it? It's been so long, and there's been so many women since then, I don't remember. It was probably a girl at school, but I was taken out of school when I was twelve or so, so I was pretty young.
5. What is your occupation? I'm just a simple, peace-loving mage, looking to make a better life for myself out in the Wildings away from the Mage Council. They call me a rogue mage, but just because I don't care for authority doesn't make me a renegade.
6. What are your best and worst qualities?Like I said, I'm just a simple mage, minding my own business, don't mean harm to no one. I'm pretty smart; you've got to be, living by your wits out here in the Wildings. I've beat some of the best gamblers in the Wildings at Dragon's Threes, using some, let's say, little tricks of my own. And no filthy blueskin's been able to get the better of me yet.
My worst qualities? Well, I reckon I've got my weaknesses like any man, but I don't think they do any harm.
7. What quality do you value most in a romantic partner?I'm on the lookout for a nice Wildings gal with mage power. Keep the gift in the family, so to speak. I do like a woman who's feisty. The harder they fight, the better I like it.
8. What is your favorite thing to do?Well, heh heh, see my answer to your last question. Other than that, I just enjoy being a peaceful fellow, not bothering anyone and not having anyone bother me.
9. What is your greatest fear?I don't really think I've got anything to be afraid of, except getting hauled before the Mage Council. I'll give up everything else before I let some damned hunter take me in.
10. What is your most treasured possession?My freedom and my power. Material possessions just don't mean much to a fellow like me, so long as I have those other things.
