C.N. Faust's Blog, page 26
March 25, 2013
The Heretic Priest – Pre-Ordering Signed Copies
Hello my darlings,
So here is the deal – The Heretic Priest is set to come out August 1st. Don’t miss this chance for a great deal!
Pre-order between now and July 8th and get it SIGNED by yours truly!
Purchase an eBook copy of The Dragon’s Disciples for just .99 cents on Amazon and get 10% off your pre-order for The Heretic Priest.
Purchase a paperback copy of The Dragon’s Disciples for just $10.99 on Amazon and get 20% off your pre-order for The Heretic Priest!
How can you order? Go to my CONTACT page and shoot me an email. Be sure to put “Pre-order for The Heretic Priest” in the subject line. Be sure to let me know the number of copies you would like, your name as well as your shipping address, and who to make the signature out to. All payments will be made through PayPal, copies will run about $11.00 (unless one of the aforementioned discounts apply).
It’s going to an epic adventure, so don’t hestitate!
Your most adored,
C.N.F.
Review: “A Brief History of Ladies” by Elizabeth Cook
A Brief History of Ladies by Elizabeth Cook is an excellent, excellent novella. I was disappointed that there was not more of it, because the material was very rich, the dialogue smooth, and the humor light.
I am a huge fan (and consequentially very choosy) of historical settings. Cook did not fail to disappoint in any area. Her context was historically accurate, her characters true to their time period, and at the same time it was not dry or dull in any way. In fact, I breezed right through it the first time and had to go back and read it again. Again, I wish there had been a lot more, because I was a huge fan of her writing style. It is difficult to convey a story like hers without things getting stuffy or trite, but she manages to execute it very well.
The biggest issue that I had was that it was a little difficult to follow the plot line. For some reason, towards the middle things started to get a bit murky for me. Some editing and expansion could fix that easily.
All in all, it was a rewarding first novella. And I look forward to reading anything that Cook may continue to write.
March 23, 2013
Cool New Discovery – eBook Autographs!
Hello my darlings,
So, so, so. Apparently, there is this website called Authorgraph where I can list my eBook(s) and once it is in their directory, you (the reader) can search for it and request that I autograph it! Is that not cool? That is freaking awesome! You should really get me to do it. I am so excited. I want to try it out.
So if you click on THIS LINK then it will take you to where my book is listed and you can just click the button “request authorgraph” and once I sign it, it will be sent directly to your Nook/Kindle/etc (at least through my understanding).
Someone give it a try and let me know how it goes! I am super excited about this. As you can tell. It is almost three in the morning and I need more sleep than I have had.
Your most adored,
C.N.F.
Review for “A Dragon’s Passion” by Sandra Enriquez
Rating: 2 out of 5 starsTo “A Dragon’s Passion”’s credit, it was a fast read. However, I believe that this also worked towards its detriment. The fast pace is due to the sacrifice of other things – such as character depth, rich descriptions, and voice. The writing felt like it lacked personality – and since it was from the first person view this was a bit jarring. I had a really hard time getting into it. I also felt like the dialogue was too forced and simple.
The entire book felt overly simplified, more like a rough draft than a complete idea.
On the whole, it felt like the book was a nice outline for a story – but it needed to be fleshed out considerably. A good choice if you are looking for something light and easy to digest.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a non-reciprocal review.
March 21, 2013
Goodreads Giveaway Possibly
Hello darlings,
So, as The Heretic Priest draws to a close, I am mustering the courage to host a giveaway on Goodreads. I would probably be able to afford about three to five copies, which is what they recommend anyway. But I don’t know if I want to wait and see some more reviews come rolling in first or if I want to just assume that everyone will be scrambling for it upon release.
Lots of goods things have been happening lately. I have an author interview coming up in the very beginning of April, and aside from that I have 10 – 11 great people who have agreed to read and review The Dragon’s Disciples (which is why I’m wondering if I should wait on their reviews to press on). DD is also going to be featured on a couple other sites, and once the features go up I will of course post them here.
I’m just really, really impatient, mostly. That is the worst part about being so long winded. Your books take a year and a day to get through.
I am much more optimistic, however, than I was when I first started. DD has been received very positive feedback thus far, and I am going to be realistic – I don’t expect every review to be glowing, I know some people are not going to enjoy it. … I just kind of hope that everyone who is currently reading it loves it. I hope they love it a lot.
I suppose time will tell …
Your most adored,
C.N.F.
The Next Big Thing
Hello darlings,
I am still not entirely certain how these things work. But I am always flattered when I am nominated and this one looks like fun. So here it goes!
Thank you to Legends of Windemere for nominating me for this author-specific blog.
The Next Big Thing is part interview and part award, consisting of a series of questions about a writer’s latest work and how it came to be.
What is the working title of your book? The Heretic Priest (the Age of Waking Death #2)
What genre does your book fall under? Epic / gothic fantasy.
What is the one sentence synopsis of your book? The stakes get higher and allies break apart as the gods continue to pit their favourites against each other and watch Dragoloth fall.
Where did you get the idea for your book? When Pharun whirled into the room one day, sat down on my couch and told me that I should write down everything that had been going on in Dragoloth. But … seriously, all I do is write down what the characters tell me.
Who or what inspired you to write this book? As long as there is one other Pharun fangirl in the world, they are what inspires me.
How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
About a year, perhaps a little over. I keep procrastinating because I’m “too busy” or “uninspired”. Hopefully that can be remedied soon.
What other books would you compare this story with in your genre?
Probably the old Ravenloft novels (shout out if you remember those).
Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
There are way too many characters for this question. I am going to just hit the main ones.
Pharun – Jared Leto
Shrukian – Gerard Butler
Encarz – Ian McKellen
Olympia – Amy Lee
Felix – Leonard diCaprio
Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency? I will publish it through Amazon, but if an agency decides to express interest in picking up the series then I will not shed tears.
What else about your book might pique your reader’s interest? You get to meet the child of Shrukian and Olympia – so there’s that. This book not only picks up right where the last one left off, but it is going to segue so nicely into some earth-shattering, world shaking drama. There will be blood, there will be sorrow – there will be so much amazing I cannot cram it into one paragraph. You’re just going to have to read it.
March 19, 2013
Pharun Art- Digital Rendering
Hello my darlings,
It is two in the morning. There is homework I have not done, writing I have yet to do, notes that have not been taken, and emails / messages that have not yet been responded to. But by the gods … Pharun’s portrait has been finished! I got a little lazy with the dragon horns, I will admit. But other than that I really, really like this photo and I HAD TO SHARE IT BY ZEUS.
Yeah, I just didn’t think the black and white sketch did him justice.
Ok, now I swear I am going to bed.
Your most adored,
C.N.F.
**UPDATE** on Troubling Times… Cy is blessed by the gods
Thank the gods of Olympus!!!!!
Hello my darlings,
That is all good, right? That is good news? That means that they realized that it was just a clerical error, or some sort of misunderstanding, and that everything is cool, right? I was so relieved to receive that email just like, half an hour ago. You have no idea. I have been on edge all day. Every time my little phone played its obnoxious “you have a new email” fanfare I wanted to scream, especially when it turned out to be another housing advertisement or just a piece of junk mail.
But now everything is cool, and I feel like I can breathe again and proceed with Heretic Priest without a problem. Oh my stars, how happy I am. I will be much happier all day because of this.
Meanwhile, I wanted to extend a hearty THANK YOU to everyone who commented on my last forlorn blog post and gave me encouragement and comfort – you are all so awesome, and while I was waiting on this email to arrive your comments helped me to take a deep breath and not panic. 
It wasn’t so much the idea of legal action that scared me, I think it was mostly just the fear that I would have a giant roadblock in the way of sharing Dragoloth with the rest of the world. You all know how badly I want the rest of the world to love Dragoloth as much as I do.
I will definitely be making some offerings tonight. I think I promised individual sacrifices to the gods as well as one giant offering for all of them. And Zeus has stilled the winds (save for a slight pleasant breeze) and Apollo has warmed the earth to the point where I can give my thanks in comfort and peace. The gods are truly wonderful and I am truly blessed. There will be much thanksgiving and rejoicing in the house of Faust.
Oh, and as promised…
It’s Pharun Tuesday! YAY! (That needs to be a thing, too). Sorry if the picture looks a little smushed. I was trying to play with dimensions and … yeah. I don’t need to be on the internet.
Tomorrow will probably be a snippet of The Heretic Priest. So stay tuned.
Your most adored,
C.N.F.
Review: The Beginning of a Hero
Rating: Four stars
Beginning of a Hero is a compelling first novel that is an excellent introduction into its series. The story jumps headfirst into the action, not allowing itself to get tripped up on tiny details. It keeps an even pace throughout. Though I felt the beginning was a trifle slow, and it took a while for me to get into it. Once I had gotten through the first few pages, however, it was a smooth ride.
One of the things that won me over was the bouts of humor. Especially in the beginning. “This is not possible! I am a Paladin!” I thought I was going to die with delight.
While there are many differing opinions on the approach (it is written in second person as opposed to the more commonly used first or third) I myself did not find it difficult to get into at all. I certainly noticed that it was different, at first, but it neither bothered me nor hindered my progress or enjoyment of the story. The writing style was indeed refreshing and offered a crisp new perspective on the characters without irritating cliches.
Of the characters, there was only one I did not enjoy. I did not care much at all for the book’s protagonist Luke Callindor. It had nothing really to do with how he was written, I just didn’t like him as a person. I did, however, very much enjoy the lich. As an avid devourer of Fantasy and an enthusiastic lover of villains, I am all for Lich characters (there is a depressing shortage of them in fantasy, if you ask me) and I am VERY picky about how they are written. It was great to finally get to read a book where the villain was NOT an evil human magician / jealous witch / outcast elf.
The concept of zombies threw me off a little. I think it is because “zombies” I associate with all of the media that is currently buzzing with them (Walking Dead, Dawn of the Dead, etc)and I probably expected something more like “ghouls” to be used.
The visuals are another thing that is great about this book. Charles Yallowitz does an excellent job at painting the perfect picture. He does not “infodump”, or burden the story with heavy, unnecessary description. Rather he gives you a nice balance where he shares his vision but also allows some room for the reader’s own interpretation. They flow to the point where I can easily see them translating onto a movie screen, etc. If you love visuals this is a perfect book for you.
I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys intense fantasy action, zombies, adventure stories, loveable characters, and best of all – liches. I look forward to reading the next installment.
March 18, 2013
Review: The Dragon's Disciples by C.N. Faust
Reblogged from Legends of Windemere:
This is a long book, but it is entirely worth it. C.N. Faust has created an amazing world that you get to explore throughout the story. It is filled with religious and political intrigue that moves flawlessly from scene to scene, so you can't help but wonder what is going to happen next.
The most impressive part of this book is that every character has his or her own agenda.
