Diane Bator's Blog, page 28
May 19, 2022
THE MIDDLING AFFLICTION, Book One of The Conradverse Chronicles Series by Alex Shvartsman
THE MIDDLING AFFLICTION
Book One of The Conradverse Chronicles Series
AN EXPERIMENT IN POP CULTURE CRITICALLYACCLAIMED AUTHOR,
ALEX SHVARTSMAN
Set for release this May and published by CAEZIK SF & Fantasy, an imprint of Arc Manor Books!
The novel will be available in eBook and print form across all platforms!
GUARD BROOKLYN, FIGHT MONSTERS, TAUNT BAD GUYS
What would you do if you lost everything that mattered to you, as well as all means to protect yourself and others, but still had to save the day? Conrad Brent is about to find out.
Conrad Brent protects the people of Brooklyn from monsters and magical threats. The snarky, wisecracking guardian also has a dangerous secret: he’s one in a million – literally.
Magical ability comes to about one in every 30,000 and can manifest at any age. Conrad is rarer than this, however. He’s a middling, one of the half-gifted and totally despised. Most of the gifted community feels that middlings should be instantly killed. The few who don’t flat out hate them still aren’t excited to be around middlings. Meaning Conrad can’t tell anyone, not even his best friends, what he really is.
Conrad hides in plain sight by being a part of the volunteer Watch, those magically gifted who protect their cities from dangerous, arcane threats. And, to pay the bills, Conrad moonlights as a private detective and monster hunter for the gifted community. Which helps him keep up his personal fiction – that he’s a magical version of Batman. Conrad does both jobs thanks to charms, artifacts, and his wits, along with copious amounts of coffee. But little does he know that events are about to change his life…forever.
When Conrad discovers the Traveling Fair auction house has another middling who’s just manifested her so-called powers on the auction block, he’s determined to save her, regardless of risk. But what he finds out while doing so is even worse – the winning bidder works for a company that’s just created the most dangerous chemical weapon to ever hit the magical community.
Before Conrad can convince anyone at the Watch of the danger, he’s exposed for what he really is. Now, stripped of rank, magical objects, friends and allies, Conrad has to try to save the world with only his wits. Thankfully though, no one’s taken away his coffee.
"Shvartsman delivers real magic action and surprise twists...You're going to want more."—Esther M. Fiesner, Nebula-award winning author of the national bestseller, Warchild.
PRAISE FOR THE MIDDLING AFFLICTON:
"With the fast-paced first Conradverse urban fantasy, Shvartsman (Eridani’s Crown) delivers a laugh-out-loud, snarky adventure, throwing out pop culture references and wry observations with dizzying frequency....His supernatural New York City is vibrant and authentic, and Conrad fits right in with wisecracking fan favorite heroes like Harry Dresden and Simon Canderous. The result is a thoroughly satisfying romp."—Publishers Weekly
"Shvartsman delivers real magic action and surprise twists...You're going to want more."—Esther M. Fiesner, Nebula-award winning author of the national bestseller, Warchild.
ABOUT ALEX:
Alex Shvartsman is the author of The Middling Affliction (2022) and Eridani’s Crown (2019) fantasy novels. Over 120 of his stories have appeared in Analog, Nature, Strange Horizons, etc. He won the WSFA Small Press Award for Short Fiction (2014) and was a two-time finalist (2015 & 2017) for the Canopus Award for Excellence in Interstellar Fiction.
His translations from Russian have appeared in F&SF, Clarkesworld, Tor.com, Asimov’s, etc. Alex has edited over a dozen anthologies, including the long-running Unidentified Funny Objects series. He’s the editor-in-chief of Future Science Fiction Digest.
Alex resides in Brooklyn, NY. His website is http://www.alexshvartsman.com
To request additional review copies or an interview with Alex Shvartsman, please contact Mickey Mikkelson at Creative Edge Publicity by email: mickey.creativeedge@gmail.com or by phone at 403.464.6925.
We look forward to the coverage.
May 17, 2022
Welcome back to Alex Dunlevy and his upcoming release The Stone Skimmers.
Alex abandoned a career in finance at the age of forty-nine and spent a few years staring at the Mediterranean, contemplating life and loss. Finally, he accepted what his heart had always known. So, he joined a local writing group and he began to write.
He has now completed three novels in a series of crime thrillers set on the island of Crete and featuring British protagonist Nick Fisher. The Unforgiving Stone was the October 2020 debut. Beneath the Stone followed in 2021. Both were awarded B.R.A.G. medallions and rated 4.5 out of 5 by Amazon readers. The Stone Skimmers is the third in this series, released in May 2022.
Alex has also published a collection of short stories, The Late Shift Specialist. These are quite different from his crime writing. Uniquely personal - they are quirky, funny or sad - and written straight from the heart.
He has also been toying with other ideas which will now receive more serious attention. These include a black comedy set in the world of corporate finance and a bitter-sweet coming-of-age story set in the 1960s.
Born in Derbyshire, England, Alex now divides his time between Wiltshire, England and Crete, Greece, where he has an old, stone house in the central south of the island, between the Amari Valley and the Libyan Sea.
Website: www.alexdunlevy.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Alex-Dunlevy-583302162346450
Twitter: www.twitter.com/@AlexDunlevy
Instagram: www.instagram.com/alexdunlevyauthor
Latest Release
I am about to release (May 16) the third novel in my Nick Fisher series. These are intelligent (I hope!) crime thrillers set in and around the island of Crete, Greece, and featuring British protagonist Nick Fisher. The latest one is titled The Stone Skimmers and follows The Unforgiving Stone and Beneath the Stone. It is topical, absorbing and exciting.
Working On Now
After launching The Stone Skimmers, I will be taking a break. Then, I intend to focus on something different for a while: a darkly comic novel set in the world of corporate finance which I will probably call Dead Cat Bounce. There will be more Nick Fishers in due course, I’m sure.
Who Encouraged Me?
There have been four major sources of encouragement. Since I was a teenager, my late brother David encouraged me to write. He was an artist and a songwriter and was keen for me to develop my creative side, even as I insisted on pursuing a career in business. Sadly, he didn’t live to see my books - just some bad poetry! Also, my former partner and long-time friend Stevie Brown was always a burr under my saddle. Every time we met, she would ask me pointedly when I was going to start writing. More recently, it has been the members of the writing group I joined in Wiltshire and my good friend Leonie, a Kiwi who has ambitions herself to be a published writer.
Strengths as an Author
· Readable and engaging; readers find my books easy to read and hard to put down
· Good quality prose with few errors
· Good scene setting
· Original stories and strong characters
Writing Routine
I try to write most weekdays and to write 1,500 words, however long that takes. On the rare occasions when it takes less than four hours, I carry on until the four hours are up. Once in a while, I might write well over two thousand words in that time. I normally start at ten and write till two or later. A carrot and stick approach works best for me. I live in Crete much of the time, so I can promise myself a trip to the beach once I’ve done my work. I will write at weekends, too, if I get behind. For any book, I have a day-by-day, week-by-week programme through to launch. This isn’t set in “stone” but is only changed with great reluctance and much guilt (even though it’s only for my benefit!) There were four changes to the programme for The Stone Skimmers - it was a tough one...
Five Years Hence
I would like to have extended the Nick Fisher (series of crime thrillers set in Crete) to at least five novels, but I would also like to have written at least two novels in different genres. I have solid ideas for these and have already written 50k words of one of them. One is to be a black comedy set in the world of corporate finance and the other a bitter-sweet, coming-of-age story based around a European tour in 1964. I also enjoy writing short stories, even though they are a tough sell, and would like to release a second collection. If I achieve all this, I will have nine books published, five years from now. In my dreams, one or more of these would have been picked up by a mainstream publisher or spotted by a TV or film producer!
THE UNFORGIVING STONE
Nick Fisher and his son have not spoken for years.
But, when the boy brings the girl he is about to marry to the island of Crete, Nick is persuaded to travel to the remote south-west coast, seeking a reconciliation.
Instead, he discovers that a body has been found on the beach. His son has disappeared and is now prime suspect in a murder case.
In a race against time, ex-cop Nick must call upon his old skills and instincts to find his son, then convince the Greek police of his innocence. To do that, he must seek out other suspects and track down the one who was driven to kill. The one who reached their breaking point.
Only success can save his son. It might even restore Nick’s own self-belief.
https://www.amazon.ca/Unforgiving-Stone-Nick-Fisher-Novels-ebook/dp/B08KTN2MK5
BENEATH THE STONE
When Nick Fisher agrees to work with Leo’s feisty, young protégée Náni Samarákis, he doesn’t bargain on facing death or finding love or hurting his son again.
A missing person case morphs into a grisly murder when a body part is found in the sea. But who would carve up the body and why? Were they the killers or was it that mysterious, hooded man, if he even exists? And why does the tracker dog lead them to a stone wall?
In a dark village with a tortured past where resentment festers, Nick and Náni must work together, despite their differences, to peel back layers of complex relationships, some leading back to wartime Crete.
Only then will they find out why a young man had to die.
https://www.amazon.ca/Beneath-Stone-Alex-Dunlevy-ebook/dp/B0913H88KP
THE STONE SKIMMERS
When fishermen find the body of a young African off the coast of Crete, local police are stumped. But Bel Saidi, an investigative journalist, thinks it validates her theory: migrant smugglers are using a new route.
Nick Fisher is recruited to an elite team tasked with verifying the route, identifying those involved and bringing them to justice. But, after more tragedy, things become complex and dangerous. They need to grasp the true motives of the shadowy figures operating from Turkey and Albania and the ruthless owners of that powerful motor yacht, ploughing its way across the Mediterranean.
Nick must watch himself with old flame Bel. And he needs to control his anger and sharpen those technology and firearms skills. They might get one chance to bring these guys down. Will intuition, a nose for a scam and good, old-fashioned guts be enough, this time?
https://www.amazon.ca/Stone-Skimmers-Nick-Fisher-Novels-ebook/dp/B09YP2KB7X
THE LATE SHIFT SPECIALIST
A collection of seventeen short stories. These are not crime writing. Uniquely personal, they are funny, sad or quirky but always written straight from the heart.
https://www.amazon.ca/Late-Shift-Specialist-Alex-Dunlevy-ebook/dp/B08PPQN1M7
May 14, 2022
Twisted Reveries Book Three, thirteen chilling stories of gothic macabre by Meg Hafdahl
Twisted Reveries Book Three
More Tales of The Macabre
Thirteen more chilling stories of gothic Macabre by Bram Stoker Nominee, Meg Hafdahl
Released and published by Inklings Publishing
The book is available worldwide in paperback and e-format
In Twisted Reveries 3, Bram Stoker Award nominated horror author Meg Hafdahl continues her twisted tradition of female-driven tales with a razor-sharp bite. This third collection is steeped in the gothic and antique terrors of years past. Among an intriguing cast of characters, we meet a suffragette who has a sudden brush with telepathy; a deaf widow haunted by her own, devious past; and a young girl fixated on vanquishing the monster who killed her.Travel into bygone eras and experience thirteen chilling stories that will undoubtedly make you question the shadowed, terrifying memories of the past.
Amazon.com Link: Twisted Reveries III: More Tales of the Macabre - Kindle edition by Hafdahl, Meg. Literature & Fiction Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.
Amazon.ca: Twisted Reveries III: More Tales of the Macabre eBook : Hafdahl, Meg: Amazon.ca: Kindle Store
More Books in The Series:
About Meg:
Horror and suspense author Meg Hafdahl is the creator of numerous stories and books. Her fiction has appeared in anthologies such as Eve’s Requiem: Tales of Women, Mystery and Horror and Eclectically Criminal. Her work has been produced for audio by The Wicked Library and The Lift, and she is the author of two popular short story collections including Twisted Reveries: Thirteen Tales of the Macabre. Meg is also the author of the two novels; Daughters of Darkness and Her Dark Inheritance called “an intricate tale of betrayal, murder, and small-town intrigue” by Horror Addicts and “every bit as page turning as any King novel” by RW Magazine. Meg, also the co-host of the podcast Horror Rewind and co-author of The Science of Monsters, The Science of Women in Horror, The Science of Stephen King and upcoming The Science of Witchcraft, lives in the snowy bluffs of Minnesota.
Link to author page on amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Meg-Hafdahl/e/B01B0W4PHA/ref=dp_byline_cont_pop_ebooks_1
To request additional review copies or an interview with Meg, please contact Mickey Mikkelson at Creative Edge Publicity: mickey.creativeedge@gmail.com / 403.464.6925.
We look forward to the coverage !
May 12, 2022
Ann Simas releases book 4 of the Fossil Colorado series Now or Never
Welcome back to the prolific Ann Simas!!
Ann Simas lives in Oregon, but she is a Colorado girl at heart, having grown up in the Rocky Mountains. She has been an avid reader since childhood and penned her first fiction “book” in high school. She particularly likes to write mystery-thriller-suspense with a love story and paranormal or supernatural elements. She currently has 37 books in print and one novella that is out of print.
An award-winning watercolorist and a budding photographer, Ann enjoys doing needlework in her spare time. She is her family's “genealogist” and has been blessed with the opportunity to conduct first-hand research in Italy for both her writing and her family tree. The genealogy research from decade's old documents in Italian, she says, has been a supreme but gratifying challenge.
Website/Email
Social Media Links
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Ann-Simas-Author-410011319127684/
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/ann-simas
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7039844.Ann_Simas
Amazon: https://amazon.com/author/annsimas
How many hours a day do you write?
Before I start a book, I create a Characters Word document. After that, sometimes I have a little research upfront, but mostly, I’m anxious to begin putting down words. Normally, I write five to seven hours a day, but I have gone as long as 10-plus hours or as little as an hour, depending on the book and family events or time constraints. I love to write, so for me, any time I spend writing is a bonus. I’ve been blessed with a fertile imagination, which results in a ton of ideas, and that’s probably why my brain never seems to shut down.
What is your favorite childhood book?
Alice in Wonderland is probably my favorite, if you don’t count the Nancy Drew and Judy Bolton mysteries (and all the historical romances) I used to read and reread when I was a kid. I’m not sure why Alice in Wonderland is considered a kid’s book, because honestly, it takes an adult mind to understand half of what’s going on in the story (thanks, Lewis Carroll). I suppose we have Disney to thank for that, in part, because the movie is nothing like the book. I also read on the Internet that it’s classified as “literary nonsense genre,” and maybe it is, but I actually think Carroll was brilliant.
I didn’t read Aliceuntil I was in high school, but it has stuck with me all these years. Another book I like is Pinocchio, which I read as an adult, in Italian. That’s another book that is absolutely nothing like the cartoon version, but is definitely better than what Disney produced.
I’ve had a love affair with reading my entire life. I have over 1000 books in my home library, and I’ve read thousands more aside from those. Reading is a great pastime. That said, I only read nonfiction when I’m writing, and that’s mostly for research. I don’t read fiction because I don’t want to be influenced by others writers, even inadvertently. When do I read fiction? When traveling, mostly. I have my iPad loaded with books I want to read, and I also have a shelf of over 30 TBR books. One of these days….
What is the most difficult part of your artistic process?
Definitely, not having time to write, especially when I’m on a roll! Aside from that—and this doesn’t actually involve writing the books—marketing is the bane of my existence. As an indie author, I face constraints every day when it comes time to market my work. I sold my first book to Harlequin/Silhouette. That book was reprinted in 10 languages and it sold out worldwide, but it was still my responsibility to promote it. I think I still hold the record for books sold at our local Barnes & Noble.
Fortunately, I have a marketing background, which comes in handy. I know how to write news releases and where to send them, but it takes more than that to get my books noticed. I do as many events as I can, and I also speak to book groups and writers’ organizations. I feel it’s important to meet readers face-to-face, so I keep plugging along.
Five years from now, where do you see yourself as a writer?
In five years, I will have reached my 50-book goal (Now or Never is my 37th book, not counting The Sugar Cup, which is the novella I sold to H/S). If I still have books I’m determined to write, my brain is still functioning properly, and my fingers continue to move across the keyboard at break-neck speed, I’ll write them. If not, well, I’ll enjoy re-reading what I’ve already written and maybe even get to the the books I have on the shelf.
How many unpublished and half-finished books do you have?
This question made me stop and count. Last week, I had four books in varying stages opened on my laptop. I’d work on one, then move to another, and another, then I said to myself, “This ain’t gonna work. Take them one at a time, in order of release date.” That meant I had to focus on Last Rites, which is book 6 in my Andi Comstock Supernatural Mysteries (October 2022). Hidden to Die, book 8 in m Grace Gabbiano Mysteries, releases on July 29. Merry Witchy Christmas, the first book in my Sugar Plum Creek Holiday Books, will release on November 18. The Sugar Plum Creek books will be slightly different than my Christmas Valley Romance series, which I felt reached its peak at 12 books.
After that? Fortune’s Cookie, January 2023. From there on, I have more than 60 story ideas rumbling around in my head. Most of them are already titled, and some even have a paragraph or two written. Probably another six are several chapters in and four more are in half-way mode. Either I should have started sooner to get serious about writing, or I’d better have another 20 years ahead of me to write. Just sayin’.
Was there a person who encouraged you to write?
Honestly, I couldn’t ask for more encouragement from my family. My husband is my first reader, and he keeps me on the straight-and-narrow concerning firearms, technical stuff, and mechanical aspects. But I digress.
Once upon a time, it started with my mom, who always championed my writing. She encouraged me to sign up to work on the school newspaper my freshman year in high school. By the time I was a senior, I served as editor. My high school English teacher once told me she was going to be harder on me than she was the other students because she knew I had the ability to write. Both Mom and Mrs. Barrett are gone now. I’m sorry neither of them got to read any of the books I have in print. I think they would have been proud of me.
FOSSIL, COLORADO BOOKS (A Short Series Featuring Exciting Romantic Thrillers)
HERE AND GONE (Book 1)
Hannah Clarke, a wife and mom one day, is a widow without a child the next. Two years later, living as H.L. Mason in Fossil, Colorado, her safe new world explodes with a revelation so shocking and horrifying she can hardly grasp it. By chance, she meets Sheriff Noah Ward, and though she’s leery of cops after being accused of killing her family, she needs help. Noah, a former Navy SEAL, agrees to do what he can, but they both soon discover that the case is far more insidious than parental abduction.
DISAPPEARING ACT (Book 2)
Georgina Flannery has a new name, a new occupation, and trust issues. She’s lived in six states in eight years, and she has no friends. Fossil, Colorado is her next destination, but she takes a wrong turn and ends up in a creek, only to be rescued by Brant Ward. Georgie prefers to keep men at a distance, but circumstances have taken that away from her and she’s forced to reveal her past to Brant. The more untangled her family dynamics become, the more twisted they get. When the ultimate secret is revealed, it’s incomprehensible. It also raises the question, will Georgie and Brant survive the evil pursuing them?
RUN OR DON’T (Book 3)
Juliette Ward has had a stalker for five months, but she doesn’t take him seriously until he leaves the head of a slaughtered bull elk in her driveway. Fossil, Colorado’s newest resident, security expert Beckett Ford, knows the minute he meets Jules, she’s the one. Jules hires Beck to find her stalker, but nothing prepares her for what the stalker will do next. Beck knows bad people exist, but when they’re bat-shit crazy, well, that’s not something he’s dealt with before. Together or apart, they face every obstacle the stalker puts in their path, but will they survive and have their happily-ever-after?
mybook.to/Run-or-Dont
NOW OR NEVER (Book 4)
Kit Piper is kidnapped by two men who weren’t interested in making sure they had the right victim. When they stop for food and a hooker, she sees her chance to escape and takes it. On the run, she stumbles on a cabin where Simon Ward is vacationing. Kit’s anxious to find the men who kidnapped her. She’s a cop and that’s what cops do, they investigate. Soon enough, she realizes something’s not right and Simon, also a cop, agrees. Is it possible they hadn’t kidnapped her by mistake?
May 10, 2022
The Journey continues! GALEN’S BLADE, a Starquest 4TH Age Adventure by Richard Paolinelli
GALEN’S BLADE
A STARQUEST 4TH AGE ADVENTURE
The Journey continues!!!!!
By Dragon Award Finalist, Richard Paolinelli
Released and published by Tuscany Bay Books!
The book is available digitally in all platforms!
The journey of Galen Dwyn continues in the second book of the Starquest 4th Age series.
While Dwyn lies in stasis, recovering from his injuries in his stand against Harmool's fleet, Rhea has assumed the title of Regent of Salacia while leading the search for her missing father, King Iodocus. She is also helping repair the damage done to the Alliance in her Uncle's and Mother's mad quest to launch a new Empire. A shocking assassination attempt is thwarted at the last second by Dwyn, who seems to be a changed man now that he has exited stasis to save his love.
The King's location is ascertained and a rescue mission mounted to retrieve him from the Wilds, a lawless area of space. An ambush splits their forces and Dwyn leads the ambushers away so that Rhea and her father can escape. Before Dwyn can find a way back to Alliance territory, an old enemy returns from the grave, and hold Rhea and the King hostage, while triggering a massive insurrection that overthrows the Alliance and installs a new Emperor.
Dwyn must now mount a second rescue while finding a way to rally a rebellion against this threat to peace in the Hominids' corner of the Andromeda Galaxy.
Amazon.com: Amazon.com: Galen's Blade: A Starquest 4th Age Adventure eBook : Paolinelli, Richard: Kindle Store
Amazon.ca: Galen's Blade: A Starquest 4th Age Adventure eBook : Paolinelli, Richard: Amazon.ca: Kindle Store
Galen’s Way! The stunning debut of the series!!!
Millions of years in the future, humanity has been driven out of the Milky Way and now calls the Andromeda Galaxy home. Lost in their murky past are the tales of great knights that held the line against the invasion of a dark force until the rest of humanity could escape their doom. The last and greatest of these knights was Galen Underwood.
Long after that heroic stand, a mercenary by the name of Galen Dwyn has been hired to rescue a kidnapped princess. Enticed by a healthy down payment and a chance to settle an old score, Galen accepts the job, only to find out it's a lot more than he bargained for.
Soon Galen finds himself weaving and dodging through a web of political intrigue as the very forces that chase him have set in motion plans that will throw the galactic alliance into civil war.
To his surprise, he also finds that the rescued princess might not be quite the spoiled brat he rescued from the clutches of her keeper.
Accompanied by the princess, his former mentor, and a snarky AI, Galen sets out to find a way to outsmart entire kingdoms, keep the princess alive, and avert the deaths of millions.
Of course, he'll also learn the reasons behind his namesake's chosen path, as he realizes that the only way to win is Galen's way.
From ReadersFavorite.com 5-star review by Steve Robson:
Galen’s Way: A Starquest 4th Age Adventure by Richard Paolinelli is a paradigm shift to a galaxy as distant in the future as it is in space: Andromeda, a place Captain Galen Dwyn calls home. As a mercenary in charge of the space ship Tempest, Galen finds himself drawn into intrigue by the lure of wealth beyond his imagination; a convoluted web of deceit, treachery, political plots, and galactic forces that will not only threaten his life but the lives of those he loves and the peace of all hominids. How Galen negotiates the challenges which are thrown at him will reveal his character and worth as an individual and will have implications that reverberate throughout the worlds of Andromeda, and into a future of uncertainty. Only the climactic end of this fast-paced action-adventure tale will determine the destiny of Galen’s Way; a revelation unexpected and shocking in its possibilities.
ABOUT RICHARD:
Richard began his writing journey as a freelance writer in 1984 and gained his first fiction credit serving as the lead writer for the first two issues of the Elite Comics sci-fi/fantasy series, Seadragon. In 2010, Richard retired as a sportswriter and returned to his fiction writing roots. Since then he has written several award-winning novels, two non-fiction sports books, and has appeared in several anthologies including eight of the 11-book Tuscany Bay Books’ Planetary Anthology Series and five Sherlock Holmes collections. He also writes a weekly Star Trek fan fiction series, The Calling, on his website, www.scifiscribe.com.
He has multiple novels planned for release this year including the upcoming novel, Galen’s Way, a space opera set in award-winning author John C. Wright’s Starquest Universe and it is due out in just a few weeks. Galen’s Way is the first of six planned novels connected to Starquest that Richard will be writing and releasing over the next two years. He also has three other standalone novels planned for release over the next year.
He also occasionally fills in as a guest co-host here on The Writer’s Block whenever Jim Christina’s horse runs off and leaves him stranded in the middle of the desert.
To request additional review copies or an interview with Richard Paolinelli, please contact Mickey Mikkelson at Creative Edge Publicity: mickey.creativeedge@gmail.com / 403.464.6925.
We look forward to the coverage!
May 7, 2022
KWELENGSEN DAWN, Book Two of the Logan’s World Series, is now available from author David M. Kelly
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KWELENGSEN DAWN
Book Two of the Logan’s World Series
The critically acclaimed series continues by author,
David M. Kelly
Released and published by Nemesis Press!
The book is available worldwide in digital formats
When you lose everything you love, the whole world becomes the enemy.
After his planet was invaded by ruthless Corporate forces, engineer Logan Twofeathers is trapped on Earth by the authorities, who are more afraid of starting a war than helping their people. He may be safe, but many others are still missing.
When security tries to arrest him on trumped-up charges, he must find his own way to return to Kwelengsen. His only option is to seek out someone from his past--a borderline psychotic, who might just be crazy enough to help.
Now, he must draw on all his strength and resilience as he undertakes a precarious and violent journey into the unknown, with enemies lurking in every shadow. The outlook is bleak, and all he has is his grit and sense of honor. Will that be enough?
The battle is over. But the war is about to begin.
Amazon.com: Amazon.com: Kwelengsen Dawn: Logan's World, Book Two eBook : David M. Kelly: Kindle Store
Amazon.ca: Kwelengsen Dawn: Logan's World, Book Two eBook : David M. Kelly: Amazon.ca: Kindle Store
Book One of the Logan’s World Series
You can turn your back on war, but sometimes it refuses to let you go.
When Logan Twofeathers takes on the job of head of engineering on Kwelengsen, the first habitable planet discovered by Earth, he thinks he’s leaving conflict far behind. But when he investigates the loss of a deep-space communications relay, his ship is attacked and crash-lands back on the planet.
With his new home destroyed by the invaders, Logan is stranded deep in the frozen mountains with an injured sergeant who hates him almost as much as the enemy. Against the ever-present threat of capture, he must battle his way through icy surroundings in a treacherous attempt to find his wife.
And when he's forced to ally himself with a disparate group of soldiers and their uncompromising captain, Logan must face the reality that he may have lost everything—and everyone—he loves. Will he choose to fight? And what will it cost him?
Amazon.com: Kwelengsen Storm: Logan's World, Book One: Kelly, David M.: 9781777156923: Amazon.com: Books
Amazon.ca: Kwelengsen Storm: Logan's World, Book One : Kelly, David M.: Amazon.ca: Books
“That’s all changed with the Internet and digital publishing; and David Kelley is an excellent example of gifted, knowledgeable writers, producing first rate fiction. This series combines good old space opera with a light touch humour. Well plotted, well paced and with central characters you start to root for. Just superb writing.” – London Citizen
“I really enjoyed Mathematics of Eternity. The main character is far from perfect (physically) and through no fault of his own is dragged into an event that could change the lives of those still living on a partially-drowned Earth. The worldbuilding was amazing, the science plausible, and the story engaging. I would highly recommend it.” - Indie Sci-Fi Fantasy
ABOUT DAVID:
David M. Kelly writes fast-paced, near-future sci-fi thrillers with engaging characters, cynical humor, and plausible science. He is the author of the Joe Ballen series, Logan’s World series, and the Hyperia Jones series, and has been published in Canadian SF magazine Neo-opsis.
David’s interest in science and technology began early. At the age of six his parents allowed him to stay up late into the night to watch the television broadcast of Neil Armstrong stepping on to the surface of the moon. From that day he was hooked on everything related to science and space.
An avid reader, he worked his way through the contents of the mobile library that visited his street, progressing through YA titles (or ‘juveniles’ as they were known back then) on to the classics of Robert Heinlein, Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, and Harry Harrison.
David worked for many years in project management and software development. Along the way his interests have included IPSC combat (target) pistol shooting, crew chief on a drag racing team, and several years as bass player/vocalist in a heavy rock band. He also managed to fit in some real work in manual jobs from digging ditches and assembly lines jobs to loading trucks in a haulage company.
Originally from the wild and woolly region of Yorkshire, England, David emigrated to Canada in 2005 and settled in Northern Ontario with his patient and supportive wife, Hilary. Foot surgery in 2014 temporarily curtailed many of his favorite activities – hiking, camping, piloting his own personal starfighter (otherwise known as a 1991 Corvette ZR-1). But on the plus side, it meant a transition from the world of IT into life as a full-time writer—an opportunity he grasped enthusiastically.
David is passionate about science, especially astronomy and physics, and is a rabid science news follower. Never short of an opinion, David writes about science and technology on his blog davidmkelly.net. He has supported various charity projects such as the Smithsonian’s Reboot The Suit and the Lowell Observatory Pluto Telescope Restoration. He also contributes to citizen science projects such as SETI@home.
To request additional review copies or an interview with David M. Kelly, please contact Mickey Mikkelson at Creative Edge Publicity: mickey.creativeedge@gmail.com / 403.464.6925.
We look forward to the coverage!
May 5, 2022
Lucid House Proudly Announces Multiple Winners in the 2022 Book Excellence Awards
LUCID HOUSE PUBLISHING HAS MULTIPLE WINNERS AND FINALISTS IN THE 2022 BOOK EXCELLENCE AWARDS!
Lucid House Publishing, based in Marietta, Georgia, was recently notified that six of its authors’ books were named either a winner or finalist out of thousands of entrants in the 2022 Book Excellence Awards, an international competition for independent publishers and authors. In addition, Echo Montgomery Garrett, CEO and co-founder of Lucid House Publishing, won for Best Autobiography for a book she’d written under the banner of another publisher. Here are the winners and finalists that reflect the diverse interests of Garrett, a 40+ year journalist and the author of 22 non-fiction books.
Spellbound Under the Spanish Moss: A Southern Tale of Magic Authors: Connor Judson Garrett and Kevin N. Garrett
Category: Book Cover Design
Money Plain & Simple: What the Institutions and the Elite Don't Want You to Know Author: Stephen J. Spence
Category: Finances
Paradise Road: A Memoir
Author: Marilyn Kriete
Category: Adventure Non-Fiction
A Season in Lights: A Novel in Three Acts
Author: Gregory Erich Phillips
Category: Performing Arts (Film, Theatre, Dance, Music)
Fractals: The Invisible World of Fractals Made Visible through Theater and Dance
Author: Kimberley Cetron
Category: Performing Arts (Film, Theatre, Dance, Music)
Knock! Knock!: Lessons Learned and Stories Shared Authors: Douglas Thompson and Echo Montgomery Garrett
Category: Business
Here is Echo Montgomery Garrett’s other winner, under her co-author’s publishing company:
Big Lucky: Serial Entrepreneur Jim Markham's Secret Formula for Success
Authors: Jim Markham and Echo Montgomery Garrett
Category: Autobiography
To request review copies of Lucid House Publishing books or an interview with any of the winners or finalists, please contact Mickey Mikkelson at Creative Edge Publicity: mickey.creativeedge@gmail.com / 403.464.6925.
We look forward to the coverage!
www.LucidHousePublishing.comMay 3, 2022
Introducing debut the debut author of Enimnori: Arrival, Jeff Webber
Welcome to debut author Jeff Webber!
I am a former Software Engineer who grew up in Richmond Massachusetts, I am now retired and live with my wife and mother-in-law in Western Massachusetts. I have four grown children, one son and three daughters, all of whom still reside in Massachusetts. I have a B.S. in Mathematics from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and have done graduate work in both Applied Math and Computer Science. I’ve been an avid reader (mostly Science Fiction and Fantasy) since grade school. My first novel was a long time in the making (nearly 20 years) and has been split into two books (Enimnori: Arrival being the first) with the second (Enimnori: Discovery) due to be published in the fall of 2022. Book three (Enimnori:Challenge) is about 95% complete with book four (Enimnori:Crisis) about 25%
Social media:
facebook.com/Enimnori-by-Jeff-Webber-114795751119711
instagram.com/author_jeff_webber
tumblr: Enimnoribooks
medium: @jeffwebber1122
What would you say are your strengths as an author?
Mostly, the enormous number of books I've read along with an active imagination and a large vocabulary. I should also include one of my daughters who has a BA in English and an MS in Library Science as she has been a tremendous help.
How often do you write, and do you write using a strict routine?
I wrote VERY sporadically for about 20 years (on the first two books). Since retiring, I do something book related daily but have no schedule or fixed process.
Five years from now, where do you see yourself as a writer?
Hopefully I will have expanded my series into a dozen or more, possibly starting another series if I get a different inspiration.
If you could offer once piece of advice to a novice writer, what would it be?
Just do SOMETHING almost everyday. Also, at least for me, frequent feedback is critical, be it from a family member, friend or whatever.
What would you consider to be the best compliment a reader could give your book?
That's an easy one. "I enjoyed reading it."
What are you working on now?
At the moment I am going through the publishing process of book 2, finalizing book 3 and working on book 4.
ENIMNORI ARRIVAL
An act of desperation by young magician Brandon accidentally snatches Scott Hathaway from our world. Struggling to adapt to his new life, Scott becomes ensnared in dark local politics. He realizes he can use the knowledge he brought from his world to save his new friends, but at what cost?
Direct purchase links:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09P1TCTQS
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/enimnori-jeff-webber/1140531219?ean=9781636929156
https://books.apple.com/us/book/enimnori/id1599151854
April 30, 2022
Canadian author Julia Dovey launches a great new book, Lipstick Tattoo.
Welcome to BWL Publishing author, Julia Dovey!
Julia Dovey grew up in Aldergrove, BC. In eleventh grade she decided to write a book after a substitute English teacher gave a positive comment on a short story, and her first full-length and hilariously bad novel was finished in three months. She went on to get a bachelor’s in Creative Writing from the University of the Fraser Valley, where she kept writing novels of (hopefully) increasing quality. Today she hails from Abbotsford, BC, where she writes to the tempo of unceasing rain.
Website and social media:
Insta: https://www.instagram.com/julia_writes_things/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC32THCY7CvIXXBcjf0iYOZQ
Publisher page: http://www.bookswelove.com/dovey-julia
What genre do you write?
Currently I’m writing romance, with my first book being LGBTQ+ romance. However, I also love to write literary fiction and magical realism.
Do your reading choices reflect your writing choices?
For sure. When I was younger, I was an avid reader, and I read across a wide variety of genres. I loved literary fiction, romance, magical realism, and comedic writing. I learn something new every time I read, and it’s not surprising that my writing reflects what I consumed as a child/teen/young adult. A writing passage of mine may have been dually influenced by both Anne of Green Gables and Good Omens.
Which type of characters are your favorite to write?
Oh, interesting question. I suppose what I like to write are characters who put on this façade of being fine and dandy, but are hiding the fact that they’re trapped – from outside or inside sources. This “brave face” person is fun to write because I know, at some point, they’re going to snap and make a scene and shock everyone.
Do pictures, real life or plain imagination create the character you want readers to love?
Characters develop a few ways, for me. One way is certainly to base them off people I know. If they’re based off a friend, then (if I managed to portray them correctly) I know I’ve got a good shot at people loving them, because I sure love them! And the same goes for people who really salt my coffee – an irritating real-life person will hopefully make an irritating character.
However, a lot of the time I think my characters – or even my stories, for that matter –start off from a feeling rather than a concrete image. This feeling could manifest from something that happened to me, or to someone else, or even from an image or a song. I realize that I want to create a character who is feeling this specific feeling; it’s what’s creating their conflict. For example, the character of Bianca from Lipstick Tattoo had actually manifested from listening to dodie’s song “Cool Girl,” which is about a girl’s misguided struggle to be perfect and low-maintenance for her partner, and not be like “other girls.”
That being said, these are simply starting points. My character develops from there, as I write, and could be entirely divorced from their initial conception by the book’s final draft. I’ll get little ideas throughout the days that pass – “Oh, I want my character to be obsessed with this certain type of drink” “oh, I’d like my character to have THOSE eyes, specifically.”
The trick is to create characters that are cohesive, and not just scrapbooks of different things you like. It’s quite a feat to create a person from nothing, and a realistic, likeable person, at that.
Do your characters come before or after your plot?
I get a general idea for a plot concept, and the characters usually manifest after. I’ll have ideas of what characters are needed for this plot to work (“okay, I need the main character who struggles with X, the love interest who does X, maybe a friend character…”) and I develop them from there.
How do you choose a villain and how do you make them human?
A teacher once told me that you need to love your villains just as much as you love your protagonists. Not that these characters are inherently better people than your protagonists, but they’re just as much your characters and you need to give them the same amount of care in terms of developing, backstory, traits, what have you.
In Lipstick Tattoo, you can make the argument that there are a couple villains. However, the one I’m thinking of got just as much thought as my protagonist, and as a result, I got different reactions towards them from test readers. It was so interesting to see how this character was perceived, how some hated them without faltering, while others saw, somewhat, this character’s side.
As long as this villain doesn’t start garnering more sympathy than your protagonist (in a romance, this would not be great) it’s important to let your villain say their piece. Because outside of children’s shows, rarely do villains think they’re villains. They have the perspective that tells them they’re in the right, that they’re doing the good thing, or that they’re at least warranted in doing the bad thing. Unless a person has faulty brain wiring making them only find joy in causing pain, there’s always “their side” of the story, and there’s always some degree of logic. It doesn’t mean it’s right. It just means that you don’t look at a character who cheats on his wife and think “wow, he’s a cheater, what a piece of shit, he has no soul at all, and I’ll write him as such.” You look at them and listen to their side (“My wife and I haven’t been getting along lately, and this other girl laughed at my jokes, and I didn’t want to hurt my wife or deal with the consequences, so I cheated once and kept it from her”) and then decide what stance to take. (“He’s a human who probably has good aspects to him, but he was unforgivably selfish and deserves to be dumped.”)
More realistic, human villains tend to be more hateable, anyway. A large-than-life, cackling “mua-ha-ha” villain is this unbelievable force to be overcome, but they’re hard to hate because we just don’t encounter them much – we don’t have a frame of reference in which to react. On the other hand, villains that are more similar to people we deal with in real life hit us where it hurts. A person threatening to blow up Earth with a space cannon is scary, but not super hateable. A boss who calls your protagonist into work the day of her wedding upon threat of termination is technically less of a villain, but 100 times more hateable.
LIPSTICK TATTOO
Bianca used to write romances before Pete made her realize how silly they were.
His poetry focuses on reality. It means something. Romances – “saccharine cells for pity from bored housewives” – have no footing in real life.
But when Louise – a sophisticated journalism student with date purple eyes and a kiss tattoo – makes a chance reappearance, Bianca’s simple story takes an abrupt turn. Bianca is faced with two paths. One: save, paved, and colourless. The other: a twisting, vibrant trail into the dangerous unknown.
Buy link for Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0228620252?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860
Introducing the debut novel Enimnori: Arrival from Jeff Webber
Welcome to debut author Jeff Webber!
I am a former Software Engineer who grew up in Richmond Massachusetts, I am now retired and live with my wife and mother-in-law in Western Massachusetts. I have four grown children, one son and three daughters, all of whom still reside in Massachusetts. I have a B.S. in Mathematics from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and have done graduate work in both Applied Math and Computer Science. I’ve been an avid reader (mostly Science Fiction and Fantasy) since grade school. My first novel was a long time in the making (nearly 20 years) and has been split into two books (Enimnori: Arrival being the first) with the second (Enimnori: Discovery) due to be published in the fall of 2022. Book three (Enimnori:Challenge) is about 95% complete with book four (Enimnori:Crisis) about 25%
Social media:
facebook.com/Enimnori-by-Jeff-Webber-114795751119711
https://twitter.com/jeffwebber1122
instagram.com/author_jeff_webber
tumblr: Enimnoribooks
medium: @jeffwebber1122
What would you say are your strengths as an author?
Mostly, the enormous number of books I've read along with an active imagination and a large vocabulary. I should also include one of my daughters who has a BA in English and an MS in Library Science as she has been a tremendous help.
How often do you write, and do you write using a strict routine?
I wrote VERY sporadically for about 20 years (on the first two books). Since retiring, I do something book related daily but have no schedule or fixed process.
Five years from now, where do you see yourself as a writer?
Hopefully I will have expanded my series into a dozen or more, possibly starting another series if I get a different inspiration.
If you could offer once piece of advice to a novice writer, what would it be?
Just do SOMEHING almost everyday. Also, at least for me, frequent feedback is critical, be it from a family member, friend or whatever.
What would you consider to be the best compliment a reader could give your book?
That's an easy one. "I enjoyed reading it."
What are you working on now?
At the moment I am going through the publishing process of book 2, finalizing book 3 and working on book 4.
ENIMNORI ARRIVAL
An act of desperation by young magician Brandon accidentally snatches Scott Hathaway from our world. Struggling to adapt to his new life, Scott becomes ensnared in dark local politics. He realizes he can use the knowledge he brought from his world to save his new friends, but at what cost?
Direct purchase links:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09P1TCTQS
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/enimnori-jeff-webber/1140531219?ean=9781636929156
https://books.apple.com/us/book/enimnori/id1599151854
