B.L. Bruce's Blog, page 7
July 24, 2019
M. Wednesday to Debut YA Fantasy Novel ‘Moon Reign: A Fallen Star’
For hundreds of years, unicorns, their magic, and their origins have been condemned to legend throughout the galaxy. Until, an enigma reveals itself under a grievous spring moon. Nineteen-year-old Drystan and his dragon, Soren, witness what is said to be known as The Birth of a Unicorn the night prior to Soren’s unwilling farewell. Though doubtful, Drystan’s urgent need to reestablish his father’s depleting health drives his faith towards the healing powers of star magic, the most dynamic force in the universe embedded in unicorns. With support and help from loyal friends, he determinedly leaves home in hopes to locate the newborn unicorn. However, they were not the only one to have witnessed such a phenomenon. Soren, a kingdom away and slowly sinking into heartsick devastation, endeavors to stop the new people in his life to abandon their obstinate desires in capturing the unicorn for themselves. Walks of life conflicting intent unintentionally cross in a race against all odds and the direction of the universe. And, Drystan’s expedition of revival turns into a journey of self-discovery.
PRE-ORDER TODAY AT BARNES & NOBLE
Excerpt (Chapter 8)
“If what I studied is correct… There may be a unicorn on our planet.” He realized how far-fetched that sounded, hearing it vocalized. But he wasn’t the only one to believe. Swarms of hunters had invaded the city with ravenous desire. “Phaedra, father’s dying. If nothing is fixing him, then –”
“Listen. Hunting for star magic… is not… You’re going up against a rough breed of people if you go after it. You do realize that, yes? Hamond did not raise you to kill for such purposes.” She stared, perplexed and troubled.
“But I’m not doing this for a decoration on my wall. I don’t even have any intent on killing it.”
“Then the love of a unicorn will be yours to possess?”
“There’s only one way to answer that,” he said softly. “And maybe I am. What if I am? Is it not worth a try to save his life?” There was a small silence with her apprehension. “You believe in unicorns,” he tried. “And their magic.”
“I believe that dragons have magic, too. I’ve seen it.” Her comment made his brow squint. “But that doesn’t mean that it’s mine to possess.”
“Wild dragons. Not Soren, or…” He gulped. The name had slipped so naturally.
“Magic,” she said, cupping her hands on the table, “Is not everyone’s to dabble in. Especially magic like star magic.”
“But, you admit you know a unicorn is here on Arigae! You believe. Why allow the opportunity for it to be slaughtered when there’s an opportunity for it be kept safe?”
“Drystan,” fear bled from her voice, “For Hamond’s sake, I only wish you reconsider. You are all he and the dragons have left. You are his legacy. His only son, his only child. Let the physicians and I continue to help. There will be something to fix him.”
If she truly believed that the nurses and her medicinal practices were progressing his health, he didn’t know. And, though he wanted to believe they were, failure had proven otherwise. He flicked his eyes to the horns mounted on the wall, spiraled bones of porcelain. His imagination lingered.
Rarefied are those who have encountered a unicorn… He remembered all he had read from the books, Phaedra coincidentally reading his mind. “Drystan. Listen to me. Star magic can plague you in the most unnatural way.”
“You said it thrives on heart condition. For any other hunter viciously plotting its death? Sure, for them, maybe. You can’t categorize me like that.”
“No, I’m not. I’m saying this is not your hunt to be involved in. Things are only in the early stages. Things will turn…” She shook her head. “I foresee bloodshed. If the Birth was real.”
“It was real! We saw it and it’s out there. Unicorns sourced humanity with love. The legends are real. Why, of all people, are you trying to stop me?”
“Because it could mean your life.”
He paused, breaking the stillness with, “And it could also mean my father’s life.”
M. Wednesday is a Young Adult/ New Adult Fantasy novelist, and author of her debut book “Moon Reign: A Fallen Star.” She is active in the writing community with the goals of spreading love, magic, and encouragement through her involvement. Friend her on Instagram and dive into the world of her debut!
March 6, 2019
NATURE ADVENTURE DOCUMENTARY “THE DEVIL’S ROAD: A BAJA ADVENTURE”
Stay tuned as we embark on the next chapter of our journey.
FILM SYNOPSIS:
A group of adventurers set out across Baja California on a 5,000-mile journey to recreate the century-old expedition of two prolific and obscure naturalists.
Their search takes them on a thrilling quest—by motorcycle, airplane, boat, and horseback—to recreate the historic, unprecedented expedition across Baja. Along the way, they bear witness to the vibrant culture and unforgettable people, endure the challenges of the road, and get a glimpse into this extraordinary place and its uncertain future.
The Devil’s Road is rich with adventure and shows the interplay between past and present. A film about discovery and change, it acts as an environmental call to arms that pays homage to the strange and awe-inspiring Baja California.
To learn more about The Devil’s Road: A Baja Adventure (Broken Wagon Films, 2019), follow the adventure at www.devilsroadfilm.com
Subscribe to our YouTube channel, and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter (@devilsroadfilm), and Instagram (@devilsroadfilm)!
[image error]Official movie poster for The Devil’s Road
WORLD PREMIERE OF NATURE ADVENTURE DOCUMENTARY “THE DEVIL’S ROAD: A BAJA ADVENTURE”
Our world premiere is happening right in our hometown of Santa Cruz at the Rio Theatre on Saturday, April 27th at 5:30pm.
Tickets are on sale now in advance, or can be purchased at the door the night of the event. For those in the area, I hope you’ll join us for this exciting red carpet event!
Sure to be a night to remember, this will be a red carpet event at the historic Rio Theatre in Santa Cruz. In this 650-seat venue, we will provide a classic cinema experience. Dress to the nines, walk down the red carpet, be photographed in front of our backdrop, and celebrate the release of our film four years in the making.
There will be refreshments at the concessions stand, a raffle to win cool prizes, and an opportunity to purchase merchandise.
After the credits roll, stay for an engaging Q&A session with the cast and crew.
PURCHASE TICKETS: https://thedevilsroad.brownpapertickets.com
FILM SYNOPSIS:
A group of adventurers set out across Baja California on a 5,000-mile journey to recreate the century-old expedition of two prolific and obscure naturalists.
Their search takes them on a thrilling quest—by motorcycle, airplane, boat, and horseback—to recreate the historic, unprecedented expedition across Baja. Along the way, they bear witness to the vibrant culture and unforgettable people, endure the challenges of the road, and get a glimpse into this extraordinary place and its uncertain future.
The Devil’s Road is rich with adventure and shows the interplay between past and present. A film about discovery and change, it acts as an environmental call to arms that pays homage to the strange and awe-inspiring Baja California.
To learn more about The Devil’s Road: A Baja Adventure (Broken Wagon Films, 2019), follow the adventure at www.devilsroadfilm.com
Subscribe to our YouTube channel, and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter (@devilsroadfilm), and Instagram (@devilsroadfilm)!
[image error]Official movie poster for The Devil’s Road
January 21, 2019
“Eclipse” – Excerpt from “The Starling’s Song”
ECLIPSE
You awakened me
long after midnight
to watch the moon.
Our heads rolled back,
feeling so insignificant
beneath the canvas of stars,
infinite cosmos.
We name the patterns together.
The world seemed to still
as the moon came into
and then back out of shadow.
The amber orb fell away from me.
I crawled back into my bed,
thinking just yesterday
there was a monarch
in the fountain.
So easily I am
punished by time.
c. B. L. Bruce, The Starling’s Song
December 20, 2018
Fire and Rain: Ecopoetry of California
“A captivating and visceral portrait of the California landscape by a talented cast of poets.”
– Kirkus Reviews
[image error]Pleased to announce that two of my poems, “Feel” and “Tempest,” were published in Fire and Rain: Ecopoetry of California poetry anthology from Scarlet Tanager Books.
The collective contributions to this anthology come together to weave a braid of voices examining and celebrating the dazzling variety of California’s unique biological zones.
This anthology will provide an arguably much-needed platform for the ecologies of California—from Sierra to Mojave Desert; valleys and streams; coast and forest—and will hopefully take its place in the canon of the finest writing and writers of our state
FEEL
Like every other summer afternoon
the sails unfurl in the blue spoon of bay,
white-capped but not enough to rouse
the silty sand. A pale half moon is
held up in the sky, coerced by those laws
we cannot see. A cattle egret flies east
from the lagoon, caring little for the
shrieking company of the terns,
in from the north and sheltering in the
marshes. A plover cries from the mudflat,
thrumming of waves heaving themselves
at the shoreline. Were you here I’d point out
the coyote’s tracks through the sand,
the distance between where each paw fell,
tell you he was running. I’d reveal the place
where, beneath the dune grass, the gull’s
body lay torn open and hollowed, say
to you, This, this is how I feel.
TEMPEST
Through the night the trees rocked
to and from, boughs bucked and pitched
against one another and I remember
thinking it sounded like weeping.
At first light I left the hilltop for
the shadows of the canyon. The river
was frenzied, filled with leaves
and waves and mud. I stood for a time
at that tempest, where it boils as it greets
the sea. When I turned to leave
I found the owl’s nest had fallen
from the branch that embraced it,
torn away from the old fir in the storm,
the knot of it resting at its roots.
Tonight the moon is full. I trace
its course through the sky beyond
the window in my sleeplessness, a square
of moonlight at the foot of the bed, later
waking to find it has shifted and I
am bathed in it. I am imagining the owl
in the tall four hundred-year-old Douglas fir,
standing sentinel in the black of the night
beneath a smattering of bright stars.
C. B. L. Bruce 2018
November 14, 2018
Desert Moon from “The Weight of Snow”
DESERT MOON
Gibbous moon over Sea of Cortez,
now black in the night.
I wake to sounds of whales surfacing
in the calm bay, stirred
from dreams of catching the dorado,
only to watch the dimming of the impossible colors:
indigo, mustard, viridian, crimson.
And I, haunted by my selfish guilt,
wishing to undo it
and give the fish back to the sea,
ask to what end do we betray the earth
if not through the armistice of death?
What of that difference
between lion and lamb?
We are not saints,
these last wild places
disappearing.
Desert wind twists through dry arroyo
and pires of cardon, dust-green saguaro cactus.
A gull, yet to roost, weeps from the sand.
c. 2014 B. L. Bruce, excerpt from “The Weight of Snow”
November 1, 2018
Calling all NaNoWriMo Authors!
To celebrate National Novel Writing Month, this month I am offering NaNoWriMo participants a special, discounted promotion on my publishing and graphic design services!
– BOOK COVER DESIGN – both to print and eBook specifications
– BOOK LAYOUT DESIGN – interior layout and formatting for both traditional printers and print on demand providers
– BOOK PRINTING (via on-demand services with CreateSpace, Ingram Spark, and more!)
– eBOOK CONVERSION (starting at $59*)
– ISBN, BARCODE and CIP BLOCK set up and assignment
– BOOK REVIEWS and contests for cash prizes and marketing to wide audiences
– ACCOUNT SET UP + DISTRIBUTION TO ALL MAJOR eBOOK RETAILERS (Apple, Google, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, etc.)
– SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING (promo design, social media banners, post to blog with nearly 10,000 readers, reviewers, and writers)
– PUBLISHING CONSULTATION SERVICES
FOR PRICING INFORMATION, please send an inquiry via the contact page.
To see my complete portfolio: https://bit.ly/2QcI6Jt
Visit my shop on Etsy!
Learn more at bribruceproductions.net.
June 24, 2018
SUMMER SPECIAL! Custom Book Covers
[image error]
*Mention this post to receive this discounted price.
April 28, 2018
In Celebration of #PoetryMonth
2014 INTERNATIONAL BOOK AWARDS FINALIST (POETRY CATEGORY)
2014 USA BEST BOOK AWARDS FINALIST (POETRY CATEGORY)
2014 SAN FRANCISCO BOOK FESTIVAL HONORABLE MENTION
The poems in The Weight of Snow are heartfelt, skillfully written, and keenly observed fragments of the natural world and our lives there. Bravo.
– Gary Young, Poet Laureate of Santa Cruz County, Pushcart Prize
winning author of No Other Life, Braver Deeds, and Pleasure
In The Weight of Snow, author B. L. Bruce explores the many plights of the human species, from the mysteries of the heart and the inescapability of death, to the depths of human emotion. Told from the perspective of a poetic naturalist, Bruce shares her appreciation of the wild, illuminating the profound in the mundane while chronicling the natural world as both an observer and as an irrefutable part of it. Her poems focus strongly on image and locality, conjuring the imaginations of readers and celebrating the beauty in the follies of the human condition and its capacity to grip the soul.
PAPERBACK AVAILABLE ON AMAZON $8.99
eBOOK AVAILABLE ON AMAZON, GOOGLE PLAY,
iTUNES, & BARNES & NOBLE $2.99
