When Good Things Go Bad

Be careful what you wish for,

 bad things always come attached, especially in fantasy.

Yeah, I know that's not how the saying goes, but that's what usually happens in the second book of a trilogy. Karina Sumner-Smith's Defiant polishes that premise mirror bright. Her narrative gets a little bogged down in detail at times. But that's fine with me--if there's plot moving information. I grew up in a slower moving age. Problem is style rather than info dump.

In the opening of the second book of the Towers Trilogy, Xhea's strange dark magic has disappeared while she recovers from her leg shattering injuries in Radiant. Edren,  the tower that rescued her, is basking in the magical power radiated by the ghost Shai. This set up soon launches into the discovery of a planned attack on the lower city tower by enemies unknown. 

The plot is off to the races with who planned to attack Edren and why. Xhea learning to control her magic after the attackers capture her. Edren leaders chasing after the wrong towers in preemptive attacks. The most alarming problem of the book? How Xhea and Shai cope when the bond between them is severed.

A rousing good tale from an Canadian author who doesn't get the credit or reviews she deserves. At least this hermit doesn't see much buzz about it online. You can look at the free sample on

Amazon        Barnes & Noble

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My Writing Rut

I've read all sorts of writer blogs complaining about marketing their books. Now I'm living it. 

More like, I'm scratching at the cosmos in search of reviews myself. *funny, growly faces*

There Be Demons blog tours are just getting off the ground. My fate will be known by the end of the month. Do wonder how the reviews will fall since I made the conscious decision to develop the routine daily lives the Gargoyle Gang had to break out of to learn how to fight the demons. May have made the wrong decision since most teens have been conditioned by movie explosions.

You can read the sample of There Be Demons on Amazon or read the short story prequel -- Night for the Gargoyles -- for free.

As for the writing bit, I've gone back to the novella I was writing before I decided to publish There Be Demons -- Trial by Lies.

Makes me wonder why an old lady is writing YA.

Dark Things Haunt the Shadows

And sometimes they jump right out into the open, especially in R. S. Belcher's fantasy worlds. Nightwise is a lovely, lovely fantasy, though very dark. Just right for Halloween.

Belcher's hillbilly anti-hero walks tall through all the mayhem thrown at him, almost too easily, but it's all great fun. At another level, Nightwise is a fast moving morality tale of a tortured soul trying to do the right thing.

Just one example of Belcher's writing:
"It [the demon] was nine feet tall, four feet wide a column of black leathery skin leaking medical waste from fist-size sphincters all across its body. Glowing red eyes, mouths, barbed breasts, hooked penises, and human arms were scattered across the surface of its trunk with no semblance of reason."

Sorry to say, he makes my demons look tame in comparison. Creepy fantasy at its best.
You can find the book at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

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Interesting Stuff

Haven't been doing much on the web except doing promo for There Be Demons. Figure that's only of interest to writers. If you're interest in what worked for me, you can always PM me on my author page of Facebook or comment.

One nice thing: ten people have liked my cover on Net Galley. Don't know if I've snagged any reviews yet.

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My Writing Rut
isn't so rutty.
Some progress is being made.

There Be Demons is almost published, release date 26 September. It's up on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and kobo -- and a bunch of other places Wooden Pants distributes their books. It's still a long slow process because I'm slogging through the promo. Don't think all the links work much, but I'm jumping through the hoops anyway.

You can find There Be Demons on:  Amazon     Barnes & Noble     kobo

I'm Back Again

Goggle let me in, I think.

So What's Been Happening

in

My Writing Life?

Well, I've got a new book coming out, There Be Demons. 

  

Demon invaders from Gehenathh overrun the city of Trebridge. Gillen, the lodestar of the four gargoyles protecting the city, asks for reinforcements. The Angeli commanders send him four untrained teens from the projects. What could go wrong?

After her parents’ divorce, Britt Kelly is forced to live in the projects, often dreaming of getting revenge on her father who abandoned his family. When the Angeli commanders draft her and her friends to fight beside the gargoyles in The Demon Wars, she battles Gillen as often as she does the demons.

The fate of Trebridge and humankind hangs in the balance.

I'll have more information soon. Tentative release date: 26 September 

Then, I'm itching to write too.

Found this wonderful bug book which should give me lots of info for Cahal to spout, scent trails and beetles like from Doom for a Sold Soul. I think I'm going to have fun with this one. This will all go in the third book of the War with Demons trilogy.

My Reading? 

Been mostly rereading. Read a couple Bailey Cantrell mysteries but put them on the trade pile. Am itching to reread Tamara Pierce's Beka Cooper trilogy...when I get through the pile of magazines.

 

Making the Deplorable Undead Acceptable

Recent Reads:

Still thinking about a day in the life of Anita Blake as Laurell K. Hamilton depicts it in Dead Ice. Actually, it's several days, but who's counting.

This time around, zombies are the center of attention in stead of the problems caused by multiple sex partners. I especially liked the concept of an honorable zombie as a plot twist as she seeks the origins of zombie porn videos. Our favorite corpse raiser's powers are growing stronger which generates some interesting problems.

Well crafted book. Hamilton keeps the pieces of Blake's world in sync. I especially liked the way old series characters were brought to the fore. You can read a sample and more in-depth reviews on:

Kindle      or      Nook

[No I don't get any money if you click.]

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Writerly Things

Writers, want to sell more of your books? Silly question, huh. You might take a look at The Savvy Writers blog on the myths about selling books on social media. Lots of good information there.

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Wading Through a Dystopian World

Wish the food delivery system didn't upset my moral values. No, I'm not planning on becoming a vegan soon--But...

Read an article in the New York Times [print] food section recently that gave a break down of what the various "humane" labels mean. Seems an 180 pound pig has less than 12 ['3x4'] square feet to not move around in. Don't think my butt or legs would fit in those dimensions.

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My Writing Rut

Transferring the edits of On the Run's going well. While there's a lot of red ink on the pages, most of the edits make sense. Also learned some things. Seems the connotations of the word "bitch" have changed over time. Guess it's much more insulting now than when I was a teen. Live and learn.

Did come up with some new insults though. What do you think of "rageholic"? Harpy and old bag just didn't seem to do the trick in describing one character, though I use them too.

Still, haven't quite decided what to do when I get the edits transferred. Will probably do the self-publish thing, but I have a nagging desire to shop the story. I'd like to think it was worth at least a shot at the minor leagues.

Then, there'are my Trapper Tremaine stories. Got a nice start on a maybe novella. I'm thinking I like the idea of going back and writing short stuff.