Diane Bator's Blog, page 2
January 10, 2024
It Came From The Trees And other violent Aberrations, by Canadian author, Joel McKay
It Came From The Trees
And other violent Aberrations
The newest segment of modern horror by Canadian author,Joel McKay
The book is published by Birchwood Press and is availableworldwide in print and e-book format
Tree planters on the run from parasiticinsects. A physicist who has become the target of a murderous airline.Teenagers trapped in a museum with an eldritch horror. An escaped pit fighterthrust into a desperate stand at a sagging mountain fortress. And a lucklesscowboy sailing across a sea of grass to the bloody resurrection of an eldergod. Welcome to Joel McKay's It Came from theTrees and Other Violent Aberrations, a collection of fivepage-turners as strange, disparate and bloody as their titles suggest.
So, grab a stiff drink, turn the lights down low, settle into your favoritereading nook and enjoy this brief but memorable collection of tales from one ofthe newest voices in Canadian pulp fiction.
It Came From theTrees: and Other Violent Aberrations eBook : McKay, Joel: Amazon.ca: KindleStore
More from Joel McKay:
All Charlotte Deerborn wanted was a niceThanksgiving dinner with family and friends. Too bad for her no one else wantedto be there. By the time the turkey is carved, old grievances, bad behavior andcrass remarks have transformed her dinner party into a disaster. And then awerewolf shows up to do some carving of its own.
Wolf at the Door is a fast-paced, absurdist takeon modern creature horror, levering humor and action to highlight how onefamily comes to grips with what really matters in life.
Wolf at the Door - Kindle edition by McKay, Joel. Literature& Fiction Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.
About Joel McKay:
Joel McKay is an economic development professional, author and formerpublic relations executive and journalist. He is based in Prince George, B.C. wherehe is the CEO of Northern Development, and sits on the boards of the Universityof Northern B.C. and Destination B.C.
Joel is passionate about British Columbia, especially its vast andrelatively misunderstood north. His writing focuses on the people, places andissues relevant to northern and rural communities, typically with a healthydose of the absurd or supernatural. His short story 'Number Hunnerd', a fishtale set in B.C.'s Cariboo, was published in Tyche Books anthology Water:Selkies, Sirens and Sea Monsters in 2021. His novella, Wolf at the Door, waspublished in the spring of 2022 and focuses on a disastrous family Thanksgivingdinner. His forthcoming fiction, a short western horror story titled 'Hands',will be published by Brigids Gate Press in the summer of 2022.
Joel was previously Director, Communications at Northern Development. Duringthat time he led the creation and publication of the 'Small Town PR Playbook',a first-of-its-kind how-to book for rural public relations in Canada that wonthe Don Rennie Award from the Canadian Public Relations Society for excellencein government communications. Prior to that, he was Assignment Editor atBusiness in Vancouver Newspaper where his journalism earned him a Jack WebsterAward for Business, Industry and Economics in 2011, and a nomination for asecond Jack Webster Award for Multimedia Reporting in 2012.
He has received the Distinguished Alumni Award from Kwantlen PolytechnicUniversity for his professional achievements, and in 2021 was awarded theChairman's Award from the B.C. Economic Development Association for hiscontributions to rural development. He has been named a Top 40 Under 40 by thePrince George Chamber of Commerce, and in 2021 and 2022 was named one of the500 most influential business leaders in British Columbia by Business inVancouver Media Group.
Torequest additional review copies or an interview with Joel McKay, pleasecontact Mickey Mikkelson at Creative Edge Publicity:mickey.creativeedge@gmail.com / 403.464.6925.
Welook forward to the coverage!
January 6, 2024
Meet Canadian Author, C.B. Czech - Outlaw Writer!
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Welcome to C.B. Czech – Outlaw Writer!
I started wanting to write a very long time ago, and overthe years, scribbled little story ideas on all sorts of scraps of paper, mostof them lost now. In my mid 50’s, I seriously put pen to paper and wrote a fewshort stories on a variety of subjects and gave serious thought to eitherturning them into short plays, or a collection of short stories. Not knowingwhere to turn, it was just sheer luck that I saw a post on Facebook for aninformal monthly author meet up at a Calgary coffee house. That changedeverything. From that first meeting, the stories literally fell out of me. Myprocess is very much like watching a movie in my mind and simply recording whatI see and hear. Even when I edit, it becomes more of a movie making exercise asI rewind, re-state, add or delete a character, etc. With a great deal of helpfrom other more experienced writers and editors, I published ‘Two Summers’,first to eBook and then eventually to print. ‘Touch’ followed close behind andI am currently writing the sequel, ‘The Two’, which I hope to publish in thefirst half of 2024.
I describe myself as an “Outlaw” writer because I writechildren’s stories, YA, thrillers, dark tales, spiritual and even religiousfiction. I won’t stick to a particular genre and I have no interest in seekinga literary agent or traditional publisher.
Website: www.checkwithczech.com
Buy links are also on my website, but here they are FYI:
Amazon/KDP paperback books: https://www.amazon.ca/s?i=stripbooks&rh=p_27%3AC.B.+Czech&s=relevancerank&text=C.B.+Czech&ref=dp_byline_sr_book_1
Rakuten/Kobo ebooks: https://www.kobo.com/ca/en/search?query=C.B.%20Czech&ac=1&acp=c.b.%20czech&ac.author=C.B.%20Czech
Q & A With C.B Czech
My main characters form as I watch the movie in my mind,preceding much of the plot. This occurs during the idea rumination. As thestory develops, I bring secondary characters in as I need them to revealcertain facts to the reader. This is especially true in novels. The charactersin short stories are mostly fully visualized before pen hits paper.
Choosing a villain has become easy; I concentrate on whattheir essence is, what motivates them, why are they ‘bad’, etc and it becomeseasy to use arrogance, for example, as the prime mover to describe thecharacter. I try to find their weakness and use it to inform who they are.
My reading choices do reflect in my writing. Many of theauthors I have loved to read are those who are able to project the visualaspects of their stories in my mind, and I try to do likewise.
My favorite characters to write are innocent souls. I’vewritten a few children’s stories that feature animals as the characters andthat really appeals to me. The protagonists in both of my published works areinnocent souls.
I’m about ¾ finished the manuscript for ‘The Two’, which isthe sequel to my novel, ‘Touch’. On my back burner are a Steampunk RomanticFantasy and a Dark Western about a wicked man on a supernatural path toredemption. I’m really anxious to complete these, publish a compilation ofshort stories and start on a possible novel that takes place in the silent filmera.
Research involves collecting a lot of pictures, watchingdocumentaries, using Google Earth to visit faraway lands and reading everythingI can on the subject at hand.
TWO SUMMERS
A coming of agestory about a thirteen year old Canadian boy who, without parental consent,takes off with his older American cousin on a motorcycle trip to California in1975. The story resumes in 1977 when a family that he met in California comesto Calgary for their summer vacation. Two Summers is rife with music andexperiences of the times and brings the boy guidance right at the time in hislife when he needs it.
TOUCH
A man who suffers incredible tragedy and loss, awakens from a coma with a supernatural ability, and embarks on a journey that repurposes his life. He must defy critics, skeptics and new found enemies, drawn ever forward by dreams and visions, along with a little help from old and new friends.January 4, 2024
Courage: Find Your Fire and Ignite Your Life, a relaunch of inspiration by singer/songwriter, Glenda Benevides
Courage
Find YourFire and Ignite Your Life
Arelaunch of inspiration by Grammy Award considered singer/songwriter, GlendaBenevides
If you are alive and breathing, you are growingno matter what you believe or what is happening.
Who am I?
Ask yourself this ever-evolving, truth-seeking question every day andponder it with curiosity. Embracing yourself as you are is a key factor inbeing able to move anything forward in this world as an empowered manifestationof the honest YOU.
Take the time to step back and reevaluate yourlife. This action will support your efforts to embrace your own thoughts,inspirations, and honest desires and sort out the inner monologue that isworking against you. Look at your own truth and intentionally let go of others’opinions.
The walls of fear take the wind out of the sailsof courage. Own what are truly your feelings. Speak up and speak out withpassion and fervor, and love who you are.
Music from GlendaBenevides:
GLENDA'S MUSIC CREATES ACTION!
EVERYTIME, YOU BUY A SINGLE, EP,MERCH OR COURAGE BOOK. I PLANT A TREE FOR YOU!
YES, every time you buy a song, I'm planting a tree!It'sSimple: You buy my song or EP and I plant a Tree for you.
I giveback by planting a tree for all music purchased. Together we can be In actionand apart of the solution! Thank You!
ToPlant More Trees! https://onetreeplanted.org
About Glenda Benevides:
Glenda Benevides was born in Oakland Ca and has been singingprofessionally since 16. Deeply influenced by classic vocalist Sarah Vaughan toRachelle Ferrell to Staple Singers, her soul expression and intention is of theheart. Glenda has toured from Japan to the EU to the UK on through Canadaleaving the no stone unturned to light a fire on the dance floor.
Glenda’s career has included singing andperforming for the South African Film Festival in Cannes France, The Bravatheater for a women’s fundraiser gala in San Francisco, the Popkomm Musicconference in Berlin, a Beverly Wilshire, Los Angeles solo performance for bestselling author Harv Ecker (Millionaire Mind seminars) and a guest appearance atthe Crown Plaza in Santiago, Chile to a Presidential fundraiser for DennisKucinich at the Kuumbwas Jazz Center in Santa Cruz, CA and in 2017 a rally forAlabama Dem Senator Doug Jones.
Glenda has also produced many of her liveperformances, a web series, music videos and has been the creative director andproducer for many private events such as an exclusive fundraising gala for TheShakespeare Society of America, Foundation for Climate Restoration and donatesa percentage from her music sales to One Tree Planted.
Glenda started her own record company GoodWitch Records in 2004, along with Mirror Speaks the Truth productions for musicin film and tv. She wrote and developed a tv script called Never GiveUp and started Global Badass Goddess online Magazine and podcast in 2018,which features woman from around the world sharing stories of inspiration and empowerment. She now has the Glenda BenevidesMusic podcast to share stories from extraordinary artist in their trials andtriumphs.
Glenda is the author of Courage, Find YourFire and Ignite Action in Your Life along with Own The Goddess Within e-bookand workshop and has worked and sung with Toto, Jeffrey Osborne, Pink Martiniand Broadway artist of "Aida" fame, Damian Perkins, Steve Smith ofDirty Vegas, just to name a few.
Awards include: AOF Action on Film International LA Film Festival X 2014 award winnerfor Best Score, Original composition Change - Orphans in the Storm.
YOUTUBE: youtube.com/c/glendabenevides
W: glendabenevides.com
IG: glendabenevidesmusic
LINKED IN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/glendabenevides/ BUY MUSIC: https://glendabenevides.bandcamp.comSPOTIFY STREAM: https://open.spotify.com/artist/ 7iEMzMaMTNsw7uw1Ivq59S
To request additional reviewcopies or an interview with JP McLean, please contact Mickey Mikkelson atCreative Edge Publicity: mickey.creativeedge@gmail.com / 403.464.6925. We look forward to the coverage.
January 3, 2024
Bad Deal for America, a look inside the games politicians are playing with America's money by Dr. David D. Schein
BAD DEAL FOR AMERICA
An inside lookinto the games politicians are playing with America’s money by criticallyacclaimed author,
Dr. David D.Schein
Releasedand published by the Claremont Management Group!
The book isavailable worldwide in all formats
Now a new audio book!!!
Bad Deal for America explores the high-stakes game U. S.politicians are playing with the taxpayers’ money. The major players,themselves like a deck of cards, have shown us in their own words that thepolitical system is broken. Readers can follow the money to see how some havelived high on the hog while masquerading as public servants. Told in anentertaining and unique way, this book is a call to arms to fulfill the idealsof the founding fathers by holding the political class responsible. The newaudio book features performances by professional actors and readers. A mustlisten, even if you have already read the book.
ABOUT DR.DAVID SCHEIN:
Dr. David D. Schein is an author, professor,consultant and public speaker. He is a tenured Professor and the Cameron EndowedChair of Management and Marketing at the University of St. Thomas' CameronSchool of Business. He is also the President and General Counsel of ClaremontManagement Group, a Human Resources consulting firm in Houston, TX. He oftenspeaks on employment and consumer matters. While Conservative radio loves to bash IvyLeague academics, Dr. Schein is an Ivy League graduate and a full-timeacademic, plus a solid conservative. He has radio experience and hosts thepodcasts “Saving America” and “Business Law 101.”
To requestadditional review copies or an interview with Dr. David Schein, please contactMickey Mikkelson at Creative Edge Publicity: mickey.creativeedge@gmail.com /403.464.6925.
Welook forward to the coverage!
January 2, 2024
Writing With Your Muse: A Guide to Creative Inspiration by critically acclaimed author, W.L. HAWKIN
WritingWith Your Muse
A Guideto Creative Inspiration
Aspiritual guide of creativity by critically acclaimed author,
W.L.HAWKIN
Released and publishedby Bluehaven Press!
The book will be available worldwide in digitaland print January 2024
Writingwith your Muse offerstechniques, strategies, tools, tips, and stories to help you tap into creativeinspiration. You don’t have to be psychic to be successful with thesetechniques, although that natural ability exists in all of us, and thesetechniques will help you develop your sixth sense. There’s even science to backit up. This book will help you if you hear words or see images but find itdifficult to get the text on the page, you’ve written and published but aresearching for something fresh and different, you have ideas but don’t know howor where to begin, you want to write but have no ideas, or you’re sufferingfrom a bad case of writer's block.
Thisbook is a must for writers searching for new ideas and methods to release theircreative energy. Hawkin is refreshingly honest about her own experiences,establishing her expertise with gentle humor and humility. The book is packedwith options and ideas to encourage writers to explore their own innerspiritual and creative sides. If writing is a journey, then Hawkin is theperfect guide to its unexplored and untamed reaches: inspiring, forthright, andinventive.” Marie Powell, author of The Last of the Gifted series
“I’m so thankful Hawkin wrote this unique and beautifulwriting book. It is, at once, a craft tool and a spiritual journey guided by askillful, compassionate mentor. Hawkin’s gentle approach to teaching (she's aformer academic and teacher) makes this stand out from other writing craftbooks.” Sionnach Wintergreen, author of Men of the Shadows series
MORE FROM W.L. HAWKIN:
“From Iron Age Ireland to modern-day Vancouver, Hawkin takes readers ona wild ride fueled by love, revenge, and ecstasy ... a tall, sexy drink ofsatisfaction.”—JP MCLEAN, DARK DREAMS SERIES
“Great characters that are incredibly well-built. A depth of emotionaldescription that will surprise you. Drama, lots of drama. A connection withNature that will have you looking around with new eyes. Great erotic scenes ofintimacy, many of which aren’t even “sexual” per se.”—JULIO CARLOS,SCRIBBLE’S WORTH
“This story reads like a journey, and one with exactly the kinds ofpeople you’d want to be on an epic adventure with—complex, intriguing, and withenough nuance and contradiction to, like the plot itself, add a frisson ofunpredictability at interesting moments.”—JUNIPER GREER-ASHE
ABOUT W.L. HAWKIN:
W. L. Hawkin writes the kind ofbooks she loves to read from her home in the Pacific Northwest. Because she’s agenre-blender, you might find crime, mystery, romance, suspense, fantasy,adventure, and even time travel, interwoven in her stories.
If you like “myth, magic, andmayhem” her Hollystone Mysteries feature a coven of West Coast witches whosolve murders using ritual magic and a little help from the gods. The books—ToCharm a Killer, To Sleep with Stones, To Render a Raven, To Kill aKing, and To Dance with Destiny—follow Estrada, a free-spirited,bisexual magician and coven high priest as he endeavors to save his family andfriends while sorting through his own personal issues.
Her standalone novel, Lure:Jesse & Hawk (2022) won a National Indie Excellence Award, a GoldReader's Choice award from Connections E-magazine, a Crowned HeartReview from InD’tale Magazine, and placed as a finalist inThe UK Wishing Shelf Book Awards. Lure is a small-town romantic suspense storyset on a Chippewa Reservation in the American Midwest near the fictional townof Lure River.
As an intuitive writer, Wendycaptures what she sees and hears on the page, and allows her muses to guide herthrough the creative process. In her newest book, Writing with your Muse: aGuide to Creative Inspiration, she explains her writing process and offerstips and techniques to help writers get their words on the page.
Wendy needs to feel the energy ofthe land so, although she’s an introvert, in each book her characters go on ajourney where she’s traveled herself.
If you don’t find her at Blue Haven Press, she’s outwandering the woods or beaches of Vancouver Island with her beautiful yellowdog.
To request additional review copies or aninterview with W.L. Hawkin, please contact Mickey Mikkelson at Creative EdgePublicity: mickey.creativeedge@gmail.com / 403.464.6925.
Welook forward to the coverage!
December 31, 2023
Happy New Year 2024! What's In Store for Escape With a Writer?
Happy 2024!!
I, for one,am happy to turn the page on the calendar to a whole New Year and hope formany great opportunities to come my way!
This pastyear has seen too much heartache and a crazy rollercoaster ride in both my personaland career lives:
· I left a relationship and job thatwere not working and moved across Canada with 2 cats and my worldlypossessions - in a new car I hoped I wouldn’t have to buy but love.· I published All That Shimmers in May2024, and was part of 3 Aconite Café Anthologies where I created a newcharacter named Dash Allman, a beach bum PI who adores the late Jimmy Buffett.· I was thrilled when the publisher I’dworked with for 10 years suggested I train with her and take over publisherduties since she turned 80 last year. After getting every password she used andaccess to EVERYTHING, as well as getting my own business cards proclaiming meAssociate Publisher…she first suggested I get a part-time job. A month later,after getting a part-time job, she told me to get a full-time job and that shehad never offered me a job. · I began plans to build my ownpublishing imprint to release my newest books on my own terms and control.Lucky for me, I have some great self-published authors who were thrilled togive advice and help me out.· Thing One – my oldest – had a friendcreate a logo that I LOVE!· I already had a name thanks to myblog: Escape With a Writer.· I had a book in a shelf that I’vebeen editing and having Beta readers help out with so I can launch it February14, 2024. Personally, Valentine’s Day hasn’t meant much for me in a very longtime. I’m bringing back the love!· My contract with my current publisherends at the end of April 2024. Where thingsgo from there, we’ll see.The shortversion of it all, is that I’m taking back my life and creating the career I’vedreamed of since I was a kid. Reaching for the stars! Whether that takes me to new heights, or crashesand burns, remains to be seen.
Either way, I’mfocusing on doing what I love.
I hope youspend 2024 doing the same - Following your passions!
Lots more to come!!
Diane Bator
Join my newsletter @ https://dianebator.substack.com/
The Drama Llama Escaped December 9! Did you get your copy?
December 30, 2023
A God in Hiding, an Epic New Fantasy by Matthew Hughes
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A God InHiding
A new epic fantasy by critically acclaimednovelist, Matthew Hughes
The book is now available in e-format in North America
In a far-future world of wizards and walledcities, Lieve Reder has risen from being a small chandler’s daughter to becomethe captain of a riverboat owned by House Bernaglio in the oligarch-run city ofExley. She has ambitions to rise higher and when her employer, the widowPhilaria Bernaglio, asks her to travel to the remote desert town of Ur Nazim toretrieve a mysterious item her dead husband, Nulf Bernaglio ordered, she signson to the quest.
Accompanied by Dai, an artificial human createdby one of the mad thaumaturges of Olliphract to be part of the wizards’ deadlywar games, she sets out on the perilous
One challenge leads to another, leading Reder toembark on an even more dangerous quest, to the far northern rim of the worldwhere she must awaken a powerful godlet that just wants to be left to dream inpeace.
Along the way, she must contend with theassassins’ guild, secret agents of the Duke of Vanderoy, corruptible officials,a pair of quarreling, elderly wizard brothers, an ensorcelled flying reptile,ogres, cannibal weremen, and a surprise visitor who has the power to upend allof Phenomenality.
Through it all, Reder keeps her eyes on theprize: to move up in the world and make her own destiny.
Amazon.com: A God in Hiding eBook : Hughes,Matthew: Kindle Store
A God in Hiding eBook : Hughes, Matthew:Amazon.ca: Kindle Store
Praise forMatthew Hughes:
“I really enjoyed Barbarians of the Beyond.Matthew Hughes does Jack Vance better than anyone except Jack himself.” — George R. R. Martin
“Lock the door, turn off the phone, get into a comfychair, and deep-dive into a marvelous continuation of Jack Vance's DemonPrinces series. Matthew Hughes is a treasure and Barbariansof the Beyond is a terrific adventure.” — David Gerrold
“Matthew Hughes follows nimbly in Jack Vance'sfootprints, then breaks some fresh trail. First-class space opera.”— RobertJ. Sawyer, Hugo Award-winning author of Hominids
“Engaging and enchanting…a fine companion adventure toJack Vance’s The Demon Princes series, told with Matthew Hughes’s excellentsense of charm, ethical complexity and exotic worldbuilding. Let’s hope this isjust the beginning!” — Kurt Busiek
“Barbarians of theBeyond is just plain old-fashioned space opera fun with arelatable heroine who is sometimes fallible, rather than some Shaolin Templekung fu megamaster. I enjoyed it a lot.”
— Glen Cook
“…a tale that captures that special ‘golden age’ feel inwhich mankind has travelled far into the stars yet still behaves as though it’sthe Wild West.” — David White, RNR Magazine
About Matthew:
MatthewHughes is a Canadian author of science fiction and fantasy.
Hisspeculative fiction novels are: FoolsErrant, Fool Me Twice, Black Brillion, Majestrum,The Commons, The Spiral Labyrinth,Template, Hespira, The Other, TheDamned Busters, Costume NotIncluded, Hell to Pay, Song of theSerpent and Wolverine: Lifeblood (bothas Hugh Matthews), A Wizard’s Henchman, AGod in Chains, Baldemar, and Passengers& Perils.
Hismagnum opus is What the Wind Brings,a historical novel with magical realism elements. It was the first Canadian work to win theinternational Endeavour Award. He waitedmore than forty years to write the novel, and spent a year composing severaldrafts, made possible by a $25,000 grant from the Canada Council for the Arts.
Hismajor influence as a writer of speculative fiction is the Grandmaster JackVance. Booklist has called HughesVance’s “heir apparent.”
In2021, Vance’s estate (Spatterlight Press), published Hughes’s Barbarians of the Beyond, an authorizedcompanion novel to Vance’s iconic revenge series, The Demon Princes. The book promptedGeorge R.R. Martin to say, “Hughes does Jack Vance better than anyone exceptJack himself.”
Hisshort fiction has appeared in Asimov’s,Fantasy & Science Fiction, Lightspeed, Pulp Literature, Postscripts,Storyteller, Interzone, Amazing,Unfit, and several anthologies edited by Gardner Dozois and George R.R.Martin, including the bestseller, Rogues.
Hisworks have been short-listed for the Aurora, Locus, Nebula, Philip K Dick, A.E.Van Vogt, Neffy, Alberta Book Publishing, and Endeavour Awards.
In2020, he was inducted into the Canadian Science Fiction and FantasyAssociation’s Hall of Fame.
Beforeturning to writing fiction, he spent three decades as the top-rankedspeechwriter in British Columbia, writing for leaders of all three provincialpolitical parties and CEOs of the province’s largest corporations.
Since2007, he has traveled the world as a housesitter, living in twelve countries.
More information about him can be found at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matt_Hughes_(writer)
Torequest additional review copies or an interview with Matthew Hughes, pleasecontact Mickey Mikkelson at Creative Edge Publicity:mickey.creativeedge@gmail.com / 403.464.6925. We look forward to the coverage!
December 28, 2023
Eternity's Edge, a Christian saga by Zachary Hagen
ETERNITY’S EDGE
Book4 of the Eternal Chronicles Series
The journey continues that takes you to the very edge ofthe world in this Christian saga by critically acclaimed author,
Zachary Hagen
Civil war is the beginning of the end, but who willsurvive?
AfterTaking over the leadership of the Refuge, Elior and His friends have a time ofpeace, but when Taariq makes good on his promise to marry Viola and make herhis empress, no one could withhold the wrath of the people when they rebelagainst djinn rule.
The Refuge mustbecome a beacon of light in a world darkened by rebellion, but when aself-proclaimed “Holy Army” rises up, will Elior and his friends be able tokeep that light shining bright? Will Aelon’s call prove too much to handle?Will the past keep them from moving forward?
Eternity’s Edge is the penultimate book in the Eternal Chroniclesseries. Its pages will take you on an epic journey to the absolute Edge of theworld where the end of this spellbinding tale will begin.
Eternity's Edge (Eternal Chronicles Book 4) eBook : Hagen,Zachary: Amazon.ca: Kindle Store
More in The Series :
“Zachary Hagen's Eternity's Well (EternalChronicles Book 1) is a bold and delightful opening into a fantasy series thatis worth following” _ The Serial Reader
“The apparent audience is the teen and YAgroup, though the ideas supported by this novel should appeal to a wider group.Zachary Hagen is establishing a solid seat in the fantasy genre” _ GradyHarp, Top 100 Amazon Reviewer.
About Zachary:
ZacharyHagen is a Christian fantasy author and editor. He lives with his wife,Claudia, and their dog, Flynn. When he isn't busy writing his next book orworking with an editing client, you can often find him walking around hisneighborhood or hiking.
Froma young age he was enthralled with the world of story. From the stories hisparents read to him from his blue bedtime story books (if you know, you know)to the first two series that he read, The Chronicles of Narnia and A Series ofUnfortunate Events, Zachary's tastes continued to develop throughout his yearsof reading.
Theinfluences for his first series, The Eternal Chronicles, include ChristopherPaolini, J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, and others.
More information canbe found about him at: ZacharyHagen Writes
To requestadditional review copies or an interview with Zachary Hagen, please contactMickey Mikkelson at Creative Edge Publicity: |403.464.6925.
We look forward tothe coverage!
December 27, 2023
From Sebastien de Castell comes Crucible of Chaos, a novel of The Court of Shadows
From Sebastiende Castell, the author of the internationally acclaimed Greatcoats and Spellslingerseries CRUCIBLE OFCHAOS:
A NOVEL OF THECOURT OF SHADOWS
A mortally wounded magistrate faces his deadliest trial inside anancient abbey where the monks are going mad and the gods themselves may be toblame!
Estevar Borros, one of the legendarysword-fighting magistrates know as the Greatcoats and the king’s personalinvestigator of the supernatural, is no stranger to tales of ghosts anddemons. When the fractious monks of theabbey rumored to be the birthplace of the gods begin warring over claims of anew pantheon arising, the frantic abbot summons him to settle the dispute.
But Estevar has his own problems: anear-fatal sword wound from his last judicial duel, a sworn knight who claimshe has proof the monks are consorting with demons, a diabolical inquisitor withno love for the Greatcoats, and a mysterious young woman claiming to beEstevar’s ally but who may well be his deadliest enemy.
Armed only with his famedinvestigative talents, his faltering skill with a blade and Imperious, hisornery mule, Estevar must root out the source of the madness lurking inside theonce-sacred walls of Isola Sombra before its chaos spreads to the country he’ssworn to protect.
Investigate alongside Estevar andthe most heroic mule ever to appear in print in this thrilling swashbucklingfantasy mystery by Sebastien De Castell, author of the internationallyacclaimed Greatcoats and Spellslinger series!
Crucible of Chaos : de Castell, Sebastien: Amazon.ca: Books
More From Sebastien de Castell:
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Praise For Sebastien:
“The Three Musketeers meets Joe Abercrombie via MarkLawrence: 'Guaranteed to increase household swashbuckling by 100%,”' says LibraryJournal
“Like the tremendousSpellslinger and Greatcoats series', THE MALEVOLENT SEVEN is another example ofthe brilliant and vivid world-building that Sebastien de Castell uniquelydelivers through his incredibly original characters and their rivetingadventures.—– Chad Stahelski, director of John Wick
“Malevolent Seven is amasterful blend of Sebastien de Castell’s unique brand of wry humour, elegantprose, and wonderfully imaginative worldbuilding. I devoured this book andloved every page”.—Nicholas Eames, bestselling author of Kings of theWyld
“With a contemporary style,relentless pace, and a unique and exciting magic system, the Malevolent Sevenis an action-packed adventure that not only questions the true nature of heroesbut the very meaning of good and evil”.—Michael J. Sullivan, bestsellingauthor of The Ryria Revelations
“Doesn't so much break thefourth wall as shatter it completely - A brutal and hilarious romp of rottersthat would make Deadpool proud.”—Peter Mclean, author of Priest of Bones
“Vigorous and action-packed. . . There is no way you can read this book without a grin on your face.”—–James Lovegrove, The Financial Times
About Sebastien:
Sebastien de Castell had just finished a degree inArchaeology when he started work on his first dig. Four hours later he realizedhow much he actually hated archaeology and left to pursue a very focused careeras a musician, ombudsman, interaction designer, fight choreographer, teacher,project manager, actor, and product strategist.
His only defenceagainst the charge of unbridled dilettantism is that he genuinely likes doingthese
things and that, in one way or another, each of these fieldsplays a role in his writing. He sternly resists the accusation of being aRenaissance Man in the hopes that more people will label him that way.Sebastien's acclaimed swashbuckling fantasyseries, The Greatcoats. was shortlisted for both the 2014 Goodreads ChoiceAward for Best Fantasy. the Gemmell Morningstar Award for Best Debut, the PrixImaginales for Best Foreign Work, and the John W. Campbell Award for Best NewWriter. His YA fantasy series, Spellslinger, was nominated for the CarnegieMedal and is published in more than a dozen languages.
Sebastien lives in Vancouver, Canada with hislovely wife and two belligerent cats. You can reach him at www.decastell.com
Sebastien is available for interviews, mediaappearances, speaking engagements, and/or book review requests - please contact mickey.creativeedge@gmail.com by email or by phone at403.464.6925
We look forward to the coverage!
December 26, 2023
Critically acclaimed Author Scott Overton Draws a Picture of a Troubling Future in Indigent Earth
Criticallyacclaimed Author Draws a Picture of a Troubling Future
Willthe rich and powerful abandon the Earth?
Sudbury author ScottOverton has conjured up a compelling adventure story that explores today’ssocial divides taken to the extreme.
The inequality betweenEarth’s rich and poor has grown even larger since the Covid-19 pandemic.Studies proclaim that the world’s eight richest men own as much wealth as thepoorest half of the Earth’s population, and the planet’s two thousand billionairesaccount for more than 60% of the world’s total wealth. Where will it end?
Along with that, we’veall witnessed 2023 as a year of disastrous heat waves, droughts, wildfires, anddevastating floods. Climate change is here with a vengeance. What if it’s toolate to turn things around?
InOverton’s new science fiction novel Indigent Earth, the wealthy“one-percenters” have abandoned our ravaged planet 500 years earlier to go livein space colonies, leaving the survivors on Earth to live in stagnatingcommunities known as Allocations. Now the colonists plan to come back. EarthmanKillian Morningcloud dreams of the colonists’ return, hoping to become one ofthem. Colonist aristocrat and celebrity Natira Celestia is eager to visit Earthand meet the “noble savages” she’s sure must live there. Killian and Natira’scalamitous meeting will shatter their dreams and hurl them into a struggle forsurvival as they pursue the darkest secrets of the rich and powerful.
“It’s an entertaining andgripping adventure story,” says Overton, “but with strong themes ofcolonialism, and economic inequality. The truth is, being on the wrong side ofthe ‘privilege gap’ could happen to any of us in the years to come.”
Are things really so badthat those with the means might actually abandon the Earth? Overtonpoints out that we’ve been polluting our home planet for most of human history,but especially in the past century, when we’ve devastated plant and animalspecies, acidified vast oceans, and turned the very climate against us.
“I don’t want to believethere’s no hope of fixing these problems,” Overton insists. “But too many ofthe world’s most powerful people are still blocking the changes needed becausetheir personal fortunes are threatened. And since billionaires are nowdominating space industries, I don’t think my fictional scenario is implausible.”
Still, he stresses that IndigentEarth is an adventure, not a lecture. “Killian and Natira are about asdifferent as two people can be—both strong-willed with deep convictions, yetforced to work together. So, it was fun to write such a charged relationship.”
A well-known radiomorning host for more than 25 years in Sudbury, Overton has built a secondcareer as an author. His radio-themed debut novel Dead Air wasshortlisted for a Northern Lit Award in 2012, and his science fiction/thrillernovels The Primus Labyrinth, Naïda, and The Dispossession ofDylan Knox have been well-received too, with readers most often comparingthem to the work of Michael Crichton. The writer considered the ‘dean ofCanadian science fiction’, Robert J. Sawyer, said of Overton’s thriller AugmentNation: “Scott Overton is a terrific writer and his vision of tomorrow isboth realistic and frightening. Read this book!”
Indigent Earth and all of Overton’s books are also available onlinein eBook and print (find them at your favorite outlet using these universalbook links: https://books2read.com/IndigentEarth or https://books2read.com/ScottOverton ). If they aren’t in stock at your favorite local store,they can be ordered. Or ask for them at your local library.
MORE INFORMATION
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/ScottOverton.author
Twitter @SFtruenorth
Goodreads www.goodreads.com/ScottOverton
To requestadditional review copies or an interview with Scott Overton, please contactMickey Mikkelson at Creative Edge Publicity: mickey.creativeedge@gmail.com /403.464.6925.
We look forward to the coverage!
