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Book Review: Everflame by Dylan Lee Peters

It’s Book Review Wednesday, my very favoritist day of the week! Today’s book is an unusual one, involving talking bears, evil humans, and the fate of the universe…

 

Everflame

Long ago, when the earth was young, four ancient beings created man to be the bastion of the earth and its creatures, but when the Great Tyrant came and chased the Ancients away, the world was transformed into a place of fear and isolation. Over time, humans lost their connection with a world they had been created to protect, they forgot the ways of their ancient creators, and accepted the Tyrant’s lies as truths from the mouth of a god.

Now, deep in the forests that surround Gray Mountain, two bears find a small child that is abandoned and left for dead. The bears name him Evercloud, raise him as a member of their kingdom, and teach the boy of the Ancients, all underneath the light of the Everflame, the flame that burns atop Gray Mountain as a monument to the integrity and spirit of the bears.

As Evercloud grows, rumors reach the bear kingdom of the Ancients’ return, and now the young man must leave his home to find them, and help save the world he holds dear.

Will Evercloud lose himself in the darkness of the Great Tyrant’s lies, or will he have the courage to judge his own heart, the strength to master the darkness, and the faith to follow his purpose until it burns within his heart like the Everflame?

 

My Review: 3 Stars

There is a lot about this story to make it great, but there is a lot that made it iffy.

For example, the first few chapters are dedicated to the bears, how they find the child, how one bear has to fight to be king, and more. Those chapters could have been made shorter, particularly the part about the fight. It added nothing to the story, and didn’t flesh out the characters any more. The bear who found the child could have started out as the king, and it wouldn’t have affected the backstory at all.

There could have been some pretty epic moments in the story, but due to the amateur quality of the writing, I felt no tension or drama. Only the death of one character really caused any sort of reaction in me, and he wasn’t even a main character. I almost missed another important death because there was very little attention paid to it.

The quality of the writing definitely earns a 3-star rating at best. There are lots of grammar and punctuation mistakes, though thankfully no misspellings. I understand that this is the first book written and published by the author, but it was just a bit too bland for me to give it a good review.

That being said, the characters were fairly interesting–particularly the one who becomes the villain. While they could all have been developed much better, there was enough to make me like them at least in passing.

 

Here’s a Taste:

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” said the tall man as he and the short man stood with Evercloud by the stream, watching two large bears come lumbering toward them.

“Put the knife on him,” whispered the short man to the tall man.

The tall man grabbed Evercloud and held the knife to his throat. “You make the bears play nice and we’ll play nice, got it?”

Whiteclaw and Riverpaw stopped just a few yards short of Evercloud and the men. They saw the knife, up to Evercloud’s throat, and they both began to growl.

“It’s okay,” said Evercloud to the bears. “They just want to be sure that they can trust you. Speak to them.” Whiteclaw shook his head very slightly at Evercloud, not wanting to give away that bears could speak or even understand speech. “Really, it’s okay. They helped me in the village. They’re just protecting themselves.”

“Take the knife away from his throat or I’ll crush your heads,” said Riverpaw to the men.

Whiteclaw spun on his son. “What are you doing?”

For a moment, everything was silent. The two men were wide-eyed in amazement. Then they began to whisper to each other.

“The bears are talking, right?”

“Yes, the bears are talking.”

“They’re going to kill us.”

“Say something to them, would you?”

“Um,” started the tall man. “We mean you no harm…nor your friend here. Um…are we correct in assuming that you are friends to those who search for the Ancients and reject the Great Tyrant?”

This time Whiteclaw spoke, however reluctantly. “I don’t know. Are we correct in assuming that you will not do anything that will force us to kill you?”

The short man came up behind the tall man and whispered into his ear. “Tell him yes.”

The tall man spoke, “Yes.”

“Then, yes,” said Whiteclaw.

“So what do we do now?” asked the tall man, obviously unsettled by the events that were taking place.

“Well, first,” said Whiteclaw. “I suggest that you remove the knife from Evercloud’s neck and tell us who you are.”

 

 

Find the book on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Everflame-Dylan-Peters-ebook/dp/B008QZMX7E

Read Dylan’s thoughts on his website: www.dylanleepeters.com

Connect with him on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-Dylan-Lee-Peters/109222362447009

Tweet at him: @dylanleepeters

 

Writing Has Taught Me to Accept My Decisions

It can be pretty tough to make choices, especially big ones that will affect your future or that of your children!

As a (fairly new) parent, I’ve had to make tough choices over the last few years. Now that the kids are becoming teenagers, the choices are going to get harder. I have to think not only about their future, but also about our future once the kids have left home. These are decisions I feel supremely unqualified to make, yet I am forced to make them.

But thankfully, writing has helped me learn that I can make the right decisions!

Think about it: in your novel, you are deciding where the story goes. Many of the decisions are subconscious, but ultimately it is YOU making them. You decide if a character lives or dies, if they get the girl or boy in the end, if they kill that person or not, and so on.

Every story is made up of hundreds or thousands of tiny decisions: turn left or right, open that door or not, accept or refuse an offer, etc. As the writer, you are making the decision for the character. Where that decision ultimately leads, that’s what the story is all about. But you do have to make that decision.

Those decisions don’t always lead to good things for the character, but they are good for you. You know that you need to take the character on the journey, so the decisions you make help them to walk down the path. By the end, they have learned what the consequences of their choices are, and so have you.

So, in large part thanks to writing, I’ve learned that even a small bad choice NOW can be fixed in the long run. After all, the hero that nearly dies because he made the wrong turn can kill the dragon and save the princess in the end.

That sort of takes a huge weight of burden off my shoulders. The small decision I make today may have negative consequences, but it won’t be the end of the world. As the hero of my own story, I can make decisions that will help me to have that “and they lived happily ever after”, no matter how far off I stray.

When it comes time to make those decisions, I still have to be smart and use the information that I have. But even if I make the wrong choice now, everything is fixable. It helps me to accept the decisions I make, making life much easier to swallow one day at a time.

Book Review: Lifemaker by Dean Wilson

It’s Bonus Book Review Saturday, and today we’re going way off the beaten path with a steampunk novel. It’s the Part 2 to Hopebreaker, a book I reviewed a few months ago.

 

Lifemaker

The Regime is on the hunt, forcing the Resistance to take refuge aboard the Lifemaker, an advanced submarine that houses a special cargo: a handful of women who can still give birth to human children.

To evade the Regime’s own submersibles, all parties must work together, but tensions are high, and not everyone on board is looking out for the greater good.

As they descend into the deeps, they quickly learn that not all monsters work for the Regime.

 

My Review: 4 Stars

I read Book 1 more out of duty than desire, but when I opened the pages of Lifemaker, I was pretty quickly hooked by the story.

In Book 1, the main character, Jacob, is fairly unlikeable. It made the book a bit hard to read, and it felt like the author was trying to push readers away from bonding with the main character. But now, in Book 2, he still has the same brash, abrasive, combative personality, but he is much more likeable. Within a few chapters, I was actually rooting for him instead of praying that I would get the book over with.

I love the concept of steampunk, and the way the author described the various vehicles and machines was beautifully simple. No fancy, in-depth explanations of complicated machines only an engineer would have a hope of understanding. Instead, the book focused more on the characters, and that’s what made me like it so much.

The intro is a bit clunky and awkward, and it takes a while to build up steam (pun intended), but once the book gets going, it’s great. I had to give it a 4-star rating because the writing just felt “off” in a lot of places. I can’t explain why, but there was something about the sentence construction, the wording of certain phrases, and some of the expressions used that just didn’t sit right with me. Perhaps it’s the fact that the author is writing in more UK English than my American English brain is accustomed to.

Either way, VERY good Part 2, and definitely a book worth reading if you enjoy steampunk.

 

Here’s a Taste:

Jacob immediately regretted volunteering as soon as he jammed himself inside one of the submersibles. It so was tiny it made his quarters look and feel like a palace. Within minutes his legs already felt a hint of a cramp, which was not reassuring, given how much he would come to rely on them to pedal that ball of metal and glass.

Perhaps Taberah was also complaining in her submersible, but it did not seem like it. Jacob presumed she had used these contraptions before.

“You know how to steer it?” Rommond asked Jacob.

“It looks simple enough. Basically a bicycle in a ball.”

“With a propeller,” Rommond added. “Many thousand leagues beneath the sea.”

“Yeah, I forgot about the sea part.”

“Don’t,” Rommond cautioned.

“Don’t worry. Something tells me it’ll stick in my mind.”

He was shown how to use the two mechanical arms on the front of the vessel, which were powered by levers on either side of those that steered the craft. It was such a tight fit that the levers were very close to one another, making it very easy to pull the wrong one. So much for the Resistance’s fabled engineering, he thought. He patted his legs. It’s all about muscle and stamina now.

“Should this lamp be burning now?” Jacob asked. The oil-lamp had already been lit for several minutes, and it dangled above the dashboard, faintly illuminating the meagre controls. There was no room for a spare lamp, or spare fuel. There was barely enough space for the one, and for Jacob’s head, which banged against the lamp from time to time. Jacob could not help but think of the submersible as being like a coffin. He hoped it would not end up being true.

“Don’t worry,” Rommond said. “You’ll run out of air before that light goes out.”

With those final words, the door was closed and sealed air-tight. Though this was reassuring, to save Jacob being killed by the immense pressure, or by drowning, it also started the clock ticking away on the air supply, counting down to his untimely death. He glanced once at the chronometer on the ever so close dashboard, before feeling a sudden jerk as the submersible was pushed into a tube, which was then sealed off on the inside. Another door on the outside of the tube opened, flooding it with water, which buoyed the submersible and brought it into the black sea.

Then Jacob began pedalling, and the propeller set in motion. The submersible glided out of the tube and into the great emptiness of the ocean, which was not empty at all, but filled with many bobbing bombs, which Jacob and Taberah pedalled towards, instead of away from. Jacob decided to pedal at an even pace, to save his strength, but part of him felt like giving it his all, knowing that his all might end in several minutes’ time.

The gloom around him made him appreciate more the glimmer of his oil lamp.

“Hell, this is dark,” he said. He liked the darkness, but this was oppressing. It almost flooded his being. He was afraid that even when he returned to the light—or if he returned to the light—he would still feel that darkness in his soul.

He caught sight of Taberah’s submersible leaving another tube, illuminated by one of the Lifemaker’s blinding lights.

“The Lightmaker,” Jacob quipped. He was not sure who he was talking to.

Taberah led the way to the mines in front of the submarine. They were further away than Jacob thought, and the Lifemaker’s immense size was better appreciated when he had to pedal half its length to get to the front of it. He was already panting. It was a frightening feeling, because not only was he tired, but he thought the pants might be consuming more of that precious, and dwindling, supply of oxygen.

They reached the mines, which were slightly larger than the submersibles were, yet they looked monstrously large compared to how they looked from the Lifemaker. Taberah was already using the mechanical arms to stretch forth and gentle nudge one of the mines to the side.

Jacob glanced at the chronometer. Almost six minutes had passed, and only one of the mines was out of the way. To the Resistance, Jacob was a newfound ally; Time was not.

He fiddled with the levers that controlled the mechanical arms of his craft. They sprang into action, and their sudden, jerky movements made Jacob afraid that they might suddenly clatter off a mine, and so be the end of them, and him.

He heard the metal fingers scratching off the metal of the mine. Each scrape almost sounded like the countdown of a bomb. Five. The mine was not budging. Four. He had to pedal a little more, to push it forward. Three. He had to be careful he did not pedal too much. Two. He had to let it drift away a little of its own accord. One. He had to hope it did not collide with another mine behind it.

Zero. There was no explosion. He was still alive. But a different counter was ticking away. Only eight minutes of oxygen remained.

Taberah had already cleared two of the mines by the time Jacob was starting on his second. He saw her whizzing over to a third. It was just those last two to go. And then get back. Perhaps the mines were not the trouble. It was getting back in time.

 

 

About the Author:

Dean F. Wilson was born in Dublin, Ireland in 1987. He started writing at age 11, when he began his first (unpublished) novel, entitled The Power Source. He won a TAP Educational Award from Trinity College Dublin for an early draft of The Call of Agon (then called Protos Mythos) in 2001.

His epic fantasy trilogy, The Children of Telm, was released between 2013 and 2014.

Dean also works as a journalist, primarily in the field of technology. He has written for TechEye, Thinq, V3, VR-Zone, ITProPortal, TechRadar Pro, and The Inquirer.

 

Find the book on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00RMZD6JI/

And Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00RMZD6JI/

As well as Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/lifemaker-dean-f-wilson/1121680313

Read Dean’s ramblings on his website: http://www.deanfwilson.com

Connect with him via Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/deanfwilson

Tweet at him: https://twitter.com/deanfwilson

 

The Most Important Rules for a Happy Life

An article from The Open Mind popped up on my Facebook feed the other day, listing the Dalai Lama’s 18 Rules of Living. These are all rules meant to help us be more mindful in your lives, not to mention find our true happiness.

All 18 rules are great, but here are the ones that really stood out to me:

Rule 2: When you lose, don’t lose the lesson.

I’ve posted many times about how failure and mistakes are the best thing that can happen to us. The Dalai Lama says the same thing in far fewer words. “Losing” is EXCELLENT provided you take something away from the experience and it makes you a better person.

Rule 4: Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.

I can’t remember what movie or TV show it was, but it involved how winning the lottery or gaining ultimate power was the worst thing that could have happened to a person. Once you get what you want, you realize that it’s not as awesome as you thought it would be. Just like they say “Never meet your heroes”, it’s usually better to NOT get what you want. You’ll definitely have to work harder for it if things aren’t just handed to you!

Rule 16: Once a year, go someplace you’ve never been before.

This is one that my beautiful wife has helped me to learn a lot more in recent years. I’m the kind of guy who LOVES comfort and routine, but in the last couple of years I have done a whole lot of new things and visited many new places thanks to her. In fact, I’m planning a summer trip to the Grand Canyon with my whole family, which–for anyone who knows me–is absolutely out of character for me. But I’m looking forward to it!

Rule 18: Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.

The harder you have to work for something, the better it feels when you actually achieve it. I am giving up A LOT to write, so once I do achieve some modicum of success, it will feel just that much better!

Book Review: Falcon’s Eye by Surya Vaidyanathan

For today’s Book Review Wednesday, we’re going for some old school high fantasy, complete with the lost princess and the secret magical powers. Sounds cliché, but surprisingly good!

 

The Falcon’s Eye

The queen of Aundour is assassinated. The Falcon’s Eye, a talisman of great power, is sealed within the infant heir to the throne, who is exiled for her own safety.

Sixteen years later, land pirate Ava is rescued from execution by a stranger who reveals that she’s being hunted for more than her crimes. Aundour’s sworn enemy seeks the amulet hidden beneath her birthmark, and the only place where she will be safe is with her real father, the king who sent her away.

A dormant power now awakens within her, a destructive force too strong for an untrained mind to handle. But Ava never asked for magic, wealth, or even a father. All she wants is to escape the lords and liars trying to control her. When the web of evil closes in, and Aundour’s fate hangs by a thread, Ava must make a choice: her need for freedom, or the kingdom doomed to fall without her?

 

My Review: 5 Stars

It’s rare that I give books five-star reviews, but this book definitely earns it overall.

The minute you’re introduced to the main character, you come to like her. She’s very prickly and defensive, but it makes sense given her back-story.

I have to say that the story was a wee bit cliché–lost heroine, daughter of the king, destined for greatness, etc. There was a lot of action in the beginning that sort of detracted from getting to know the character, and the book definitely dragged on way too much. It was nearly as long as one of the Malazan books, and longer than even the Wheel of Time books. It could have been shorter and with fewer diverging story lines, but overall it was well done. The writing was absolutely solid, with perhaps three typos in the entire book.

Overall, though it’s not my new favorite, it’s a book I would recommend to anyone looking for a great read.

 

Here’s a Taste

Ava and Durhaeus stopped at a small oasis a safe distance from Nardarac. Durhaeus led the tired horse to the water and let it drink while he filled his canteens. Ava retreated to one side and wrapped a borrowed cloak tightly around herself. He stoppered the canteens, led the horse to the trees, and tied it securely.

Ava took the canteen Durhaeus offered her and drank deeply. Just a few hours ago, she had been unsure whether she would live to see another day, and yet, now, she was alive. She was with a stranger who knew about her past and had saved her from both a prison and a man who had immobilized her without touching her. She handed the canteen back to Durhaeus, her hand unconsciously moving over her arm, where the hooded stranger had made it flare with agonizing pain. She remembered a tugging feeling inside, as if there was something within her trying to come out.

“We’ll rest here for a while,” said Durhaeus. “Nardarac will be too busy trying to control a riot and a fire. Are you cold?”

“I’m fine.” She sat down next to the horse and drew her knees up, making herself as small as possible. “Who was that back there?”

“I don’t know,” he replied.

“Yes, you do. Who was he? A Scorpion Brother? A Death Cleric?”

“He wasn’t any assassin’s guildsman.”

“He had to have been. No ordinary man could have done what he did.”

Durhaeus remained silent, twisting the strings of the canteen.

“Tell me,” said Ava. “I’m a hunted woman in many cities in Aesolys, but nothing to merit something like that.”

“This has nothing to do with you being Ava Noface.”

“Then what is it?”

“You should get some rest. I can keep watch.”

“I’m not tired. Answer me.”

“Are you hungry?”

“I was nearly killed today,” she snapped. “Twice. The only reason I’m still sitting here is because you haven’t killed me yet. I don’t know how you know about Cawhirith or claim to know my birth parents. I don’t know what that man did to hold me in place like that or how he made fire out of nothing, and I don’t care to know. Just tell me this: is he going to come after me again?”

“Yes,” said Durhaeus.

 

About the Author:

S. Nathan took to writing to calm the stories bubbling in her cauldron of a mind. Her love for fantasy stemmed from her interest in legends, folklore, and the seemingly impossible, and her interests in art and history only fanned the flames. Raised in both India and America, she has traveled all over Europe and Australia, getting a taste for different kinds of people, cultures, and the tales they tell. She is also an architect, UX designer, music junkie, and a pop culture nerd. The Falcon’s Eye is her first book.

 

Find the book on Amazon: http://amzn.to/1yN0BUz

Read S. Nathan’s ramblings on her website: www.sdotnathan.wordpress.com

Tweet at her: https://twitter.com/sdotnathan

Connect with her on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorsnathan?ref=bookmarks

 

Writing Has Taught Me Money Management

This may sound like a bit of a leap, but it’s ABSOLUTELY not!

I started my career as a freelance writer while working as a teacher. I had classes in the early morning, mid-afternoon, and late in the evening, with plenty of time between. Rather than wasting it traveling home for a nap or watching TV, I filled that time with writing.

Before a year had passed, I was supporting my family on the income I earned writing for a living. I was able to quit teaching and focus on writing, but that brought a whole new set of problems.

Being a freelancer means that you have to handle ALL of your own expenses. There’s no health insurance, no paid holidays, and no savings account. You have to manage your own money, a task that has been no end of stress since Day 1.

But thanks to the fact that I have to handle my money wisely, I have managed to put aside a pretty hefty amount of savings. I’ve taken vacations, visited my family, and even taken days off in the middle of the work week. I take my family out to eat and I live a good life.

And it’s all thanks to the fact that I write as a freelancer.

When I started writing novels, the challenge got a bit harder. Not only did I have to make the money I needed to continue living, but I had to invest a bit into my book–covers, editing, formatting, etc. So now I REALLY had to be careful with the money I spent, as I needed to have enough to spend on my book at the right time.

It’s done me a TON of good, and I’m incredibly grateful for the fact that I have to be cautious in what I buy and how I spend my money. I don’t throw it around like many others that I know, but since I’ve started writing, I’ve never run out of money. Sure, things have gotten tight and I don’t get as many days off as I’d like. But it’s a trade-off that I am willing to make every day!

The Odds are Totally Stacked Against You

Yesterday I came across a post on Kristen Lamb’s Blog that said something that hit me pretty hard. I’ll let her say it in her own words:

“Statistically, only 5% of the population is capable of sustained change. This means of ALL the people who want to run marathons, 5% will. Of ALL the people who join a martial arts class, only 5% will ever reach black belt. Of ALL the people who have a dream of being a career author, only about 5% will ever reach that goal and maintain it.

It’s been said that as much as 75% of the literate population would love to one day write a book. Out of hundreds of millions of possible authors, how many do you think actually take the idea seriously?

5%

And of the tens of millions left over, how many sit down and write and finish a first draft?

5%

Of the millions remaining, how many actually read craft books, get critique and keep revising that first draft until they have a polished draft?

5%

Of those who finish that first novel then realize they have a train wreck and not a novel, how many suck it up and start over to write a better book that’s more likely to engage with readers?

5%

Of those who finally write a decent book, how many take time to also build a brand and platform? How many learn to blog effectively in ways that reach and cultivate readers?

5%

How many get in the regular habit of writing, researching and revising? They don’t just stop with the one book and keep on writing more books?

5%

Of those who publish the first book and don’t instantly become zillionaires, how many keep writing and improving?

5%

This profession is really hard. Toss a few hundred million people with a dream into one large funnel and most will not shake out at the end. Yet, if we look at the individual pieces of becoming “successful” it is astonishing how much we control.”

Take a look at that, do the math, and you’ll realize just how FEW people actually succeed in our line of work (authors)–but also in any line of work.

To become a successful author, the odds are completely stacked against you. Add all of those 5%’s of 5%’s together, and you end up with 0.00000000078% of people actually succeeding in the industry of being an author. Pretty staggering odds, right?

What’s the takeaway of all this? Simple: if you’re going to be one of that 5% that succeeds, it’s going to take every shred of willpower, determination, and grit you’ve got.

There are millions of other people struggling to be in that same 5% of success, and many of them are going to succeed because they are luckier, harder working, and better than you.

If you are going to make it into that niche of “success”, you’re going to have to give it everything you’ve got–and then some!

Book Review: The Transcendent by Nathan K. Battles

It’s Book Review Wednesday, my favorite day of the week! Today’s book review is a unique combination of video games, mythology, and sci-fi!

 

The Transcendent

Osiris had quite the reputation in the gaming community but was somewhat of a social square. But when he discovers a portal to a virtual reality that is more real than meets the eye his entire world is turned upside down and he learns he can do anything…even disappear.

The nation has eradicated most human rights and life is not as fun as it used to be…to some. To other’s…they are free to have all the fun, take all the risks, and live life on the edge-as long as they have the money to back it up.  After plunging headfirst into a world he didn’t quite understand, Osiris finds himself in the middle of a war between The Government and a vigilante group called The Realm Walkers.  He discovers that things are not always what they seem to be, even himself.

 

My Review: 3 Stars

I started this book with an open mind, and I found that the story itself was actually quite intriguing. This gamer gets pulled into a sort of real-life game, and he is given “missions” by a “narrator” just like in a real video game. I could tell that the author had spent plenty of time on video games.

But beyond the intriguing premise, there wasn’t much else going for the book. It’s written in a very amateur style, and the number of grammatical and punctuation errors is too high for my taste.

I found the story to be a bit incoherent. It kind of jumps from plot thread to plot thread without any real cohesion or connection, making it hard for me to understand what’s going on. It was definitely a first-time book, but without the guiding hand of an editor or proofreader to catch mistakes and plot holes.

 

Here’s a Taste:
The phone began screeching as the man yelled into the phone and he pulled it away from his ear to keep his eardrum from being blown out. “Didn’t I say shut up! Just be quiet and wait!” After passing a few stops, Osiris felt the drunken man stand up behind him and the bell rang, letting the bus driver know that someone was trying get off. As the bus rolled to a stop, the man stumbled to the front and got off. The man on the other end of the phone continued talking as the bus began to pull off. “Walk to the very back of the bus, there’s a brown, paper bag there. Inside the bag is a Satysphere Portable. It’s a bit beat up but it still works. I want you to get it and load up your copy of Gaia. I know you have it with you.”  Osiris looked around at everyone on the bus and stood to his feet, walking to the back of the bus. He sat down and sure enough, there was the brown, paper bag under the seat just like the man on the phone told him.
He reached into it and pulled out the portable, opening the back cover as he raised one eyebrow. “I don’t think my game will fit into this.”
The man sighed calling Osiris an idiot again. “Just pull the cord and get off the bus, walk down the closest alley. They’re coming for you.” After that, the man hung up and Osiris quickly stood to his feet, pulling the cord. The bus rolled to a stop and he hopped off, walking as fast as he could. He bumped into random people on the sidewalk as he kept looking back over his shoulder, trying to spot anyone that might be following him. When he didn’t see anything suspicious, he stopped for a few seconds to look around and saw an alley to the right. He sped up, made a sharp right into the alley, and began slowing down as he entered the shadows, walking through the unlit path.
It was dark, too dark.
After getting halfway down the alley, he stopped when he heard a noise behind him. His heart began to race as he took another step and heard shuffling behind him, someone was following him. He leaned forward to run but a hand reached out and tightly gripped his shoulder, so tight that it sent a sharp pain down his arm to the tips of his fingers. The hand spun him around and he fell on his back, looking up as he raised his torso off the ground to try to scoot away from the figure standing above him that was reaching into its coat. It pulled out what looked like a gun, pointing it down at him as he covered his face with his arms in a useless attempt to try to shield himself from the gunshot. While his field of vision was obstructed, he heard a struggle and the gun clattered to the concrete. He took his arms down from his face, and opened his eyes to try to see what was going on, when a bright flash filled the alley and everything went black.

 

About the Author:
Nathan K. Battles is a blooming author, born February 14, 1989. After discovering his natural talent at a young age, he began working on his first novel. After finishing his first novel, he began developing “The Transcendent” as he waited to see the final print of his first novel. After feeling dissatisfied with the final print of the first novel, he halted production of the book, and continued to work on “The Transcendent” because he wanted to see how it would end. He also likes to draw, fish, play pool, and play poker. He is currently learning Spanish and japanese, and hopes to one day, travel around the world site seeing with his family. He has two children, one girl and one boy. He is currently working on the second novel in The Transcendent Series, “The Transcendent: Project Titan”.

Find the book on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Transcendent-Nathan-K-Battles/dp/1312007869/

Connect with him on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KB.50plus

Tweet at him: https://www.twitter.com/NathanKBattles

Writing Has Taught Me to Be Wrong

I hate being wrong! I’m the kind of guy who loves to give unsolicited advice, offer words of wisdom, and be the smartest one in the room.

Unfortunately, that’s not always the case, and I am grateful for the fact that I have learned to be wrong. It’s a hard lesson to learn, but it’s vital if you want to be the best you can be–not just as a writer, but as a human being.

When I first started writing, I knew I had a great story. In the Days: A Tale of the Forgotten Continent is an epic adventure spanning an awesome continent with great characters. Boy, was I in for a surprise when I was told (by many people) that my story wasn’t as great as I had thought. Why not? No character growth, lack of development of the world, etc.

Blow to the gut, right?

So, being a man’s man, I sucked it up and took the comments to heart. When I wrote The Last Bucelarii (Book 1): Blade of the Destroyer, I tried to correct those errors, and I have continued to make improvements to my writing. As a result, I believe that the story that will soon be published is going to be a MUCH better creature.

If only all of us could learn to be wrong, we’d be much better for it.

In doing book reviews, I find myself in the position of critic for books and authors. I like to share my thoughts and opinions, including offering some advice on how I feel the authors could have improved their work.

Well, one author in the last few months REFUSED to be wrong. They insisted time and again that they had written their book that way on purpose, and nothing I said swayed their belief in their utter rightness.

Shame, because their story had a lot of potential, but the writing style kind of sucked. If they had taken the small (hopefully not too patronizing) advice I shared, they could have improved their writing in the future.

Be willing to be wrong, folks. You only ever learn and grow when you can accept that you are a fallible human being who f***s up every now and again!

 

Book Review: Cherry Blossom Ball by Erika Jayne

It’s Bonus Book Review Saturday and we’re headed into a world of fairies, werewolves, vampire Hunters, and who knows what else?

 

The Cherry Blossom Ball

Vampyre Hunter Dayamanti Karrieá and Half-Fae Freya Mackenzie have one thing in common – neither of them fit in in the supernatural world. As the annual Cherry Blossom Ball approaches, each of them receives an invite that fills them with dread. All guests from the supernatural educational system–nicknamed the House of Alternatives–have been chosen by the highest power, and once they accept the black and gold envelope, they have no choice but to attend. The reluctant women arrive at the ball and find it just as they imagined, until a murder is committed.

Shock ripples through the ball, as Dayamanti and Freya are surprised by the Supernatural Councils apparent lack of interest in the crime, they become determined to find out who committed the murder and if will they strike again. One thing you can be certain of–this year, it will be murder on the dance floor.

 

My Review: 3 Stars

I loved the opening of the book! It felt like Brandon Sanderson’s The Rithmatist, just with fairies instead of chalk wizards and a female protagonist. But within a few pages, I was to be disappointed.

The number of mistakes and typos was far too high for my preferences. I understand a few are to be expected, but there was a lot of missing punctuation, grammar mistakes, VERY obvious repetitions, and typos all around. I’d guess that it didn’t undergo the tender ministrations of a professional editor before being published, or at least that’s how it looks.

The story itself was a bit flat and two-dimensional. There was no real growth, no serious emotional investment in the characters. Why are we supposed to root for Dayamanti and Freya? The author gave me no reason to like them, and there was no depth to the characters. When there was a major death in the book–something that should have been very dramatic and full of feeling–I felt nothing.

Overall, the story had a lot of potential, but it was lacking in that depth of character and plot that could have made it excellent.

 

Here’s a Taste:

 

“Then we shall begin.” Standing with my legs slightly apart, I stare at Professor Roe as he continues.

“The whole point of the examination Ms Karrieá is not necessarily to win but to use all the skills that you have been taught in this class. To potentially put yourself in an advantageous position over your opponent, in this case me. You have no weapons other that your body.”

“Right, can we just get this over with?” My voice flat, as I bend my head from left to right.

Professor Roe quickly throws a punch towards my face; easily I knock aside, while using my right elbow to connect with his cheek. There is a satisfying thud; pulling his right arm towards my waist, I spin on my heels and make sure my left elbow makes contact with the nape of his neck.

Finally with a solid kick to the back of his knees, Professor Roe lands face first on to the floor.

I have to resist the urge to cheer and shout, I am the only student to get the Professor onto the floor in this mid-term.

Taking a step back, I start to roll my shoulders.

Probably should have warmed up before the exam.

Professor Roe pushes himself onto his knees and with a stern and focused look states in a strong clear voice states.

“Again”

“Fine” I groan.

I decide this time not to wait for Professor Roe to make the first move, in several quick steps I cross the space between us and my fist makes contact with his cheek, as follow through by forcing his nose into my knee, he grabs my legs and flips me onto my back.

I can’t breathe.

My chest hurts.

I have to move!

I need to move, I am sitting duck here.

“Come on Day! Move your ass.” Glancing behind Professor Roe, I look into the black eyes of Trey.

A smile forms on my face as I bide my time.

I just need Professor Roe to come a fraction closer.

He is now within striking distance, I use all my force and kick him hard in the chest, and Professor Roe stumbles backwards.

Springing to my feet I manage to brace myself before he tries several times to hit me in the face.

I block a left punch, right punch, an upper cut.

Without warning, he uses his foot to sweep me off balance, my arms start flailing in hopes to stop from falling and Professor Roe uses that moment to plant his fist directly into my nose.

Shit!

There is a loud crack and my eyes instantly start to water.

Pain radiates across my cheek and to the corner of my eye.

Wrapping my hand around his neck, I pull his head towards my raised knee and wait for the crack.

It’s loud and I can’t help but smile.

With a smooth and practised movement I sweep his legs out from beneath him and Professor Roe lands unceremoniously with a loud thud on the floor.

 

 

About the Author:

Erika Jayne (1986) was born in Bristol UK and moved to Wiltshire when she was still young.

An avid reader from a young age, it was this love of reading that led Erika Jayne to start writing her own novels.

Erika Jayne’s debut novel – Cherry Blossom Ball – is already sparking intrigue and a steady following around the globe.

Cherry Blossom Ball is the first novel in the House of Alternatives – which is being called a mesmerzing and haunting book series full of fantasy and mystery.

Find the Book on Amazon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cherry-Blossom-Ball-House-Alternatives/dp/1291950516/

Read her thoughts on her website: http://erikajayne2015.wix.com/erikajayneauthor

Connect with her on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/erikajayneauthor

Tweet at her: Twitter