Goof-ups and Murderous Mayhem Create Reading Magic

Humor plus huge doses of magic, mayhem, and murder create a ripping story in R. S. Belcher's Nightwise The Night Dahlia. Laytham Ballard, the wizard protagonist, is hired by a powerfyl fae lord to find his missing daughter. Unfortunately, Ballard creates chaos wherever he goes, in spite of his good intentions.

In the opening chapters, it soon becomes clear that Ballard is powerful in his own right and may be the perfect man to solve the cold case. At the same time, it becomes clearer that if something can go wrong, it will.

The Night Dahlia has Ballard returning to his old stomping grounds in Los Angeles, CA where he once was a member of the wizardry cops, aka the Nightwise. Ballard's flip commentary as he digs into the porn film scene for clues keeps readers on their toes, and sometimes, holding their breath. Belcher adds depth to the plotline by tieing the current missing person case to a cold seriel murder case the kicked him out of Nightwise.

So much for the mystery part of the book. Belcher's paranormal creatures are both pertinent and creative, even giving an explanation for serial murderer Charles Manson's powers of persuation. More important, Belcher makes clear why Ballard's abandoned friends still accept him.

The book's a stand-alone, even thougn it takes place late in Ballard's life. His banter about his past goof-ups explain necessary backstory and keeps everything in perspective. You can learn more about Nightwise on

Kindle           Nook           kobo/Rakuten

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My Writing Rut

I'm still in my rut.....if I consider all the stuff I'm not getting done. On the other hand, Running from Demons is up and staggering. Still no reviews yet, and it's too soon for any sales to show up. That's partly my fault. I used "the pre-order" time to chase the formatting of the book rather than the sales.

The short blurb:

Pillar Beccon can't remember belonging anywhere, especially not in the Freemage commune where she grew up. After she graduates from high school, she jumps at the chance to learn why her mother ran away from her family home far to the East. But danger haunts her journey as a demon seeks to destroy her.

Running from Demons tells the story of Pillar's search to find a place to call her own. The book continues the chronicles of Andor, a land where the mundane world clashes with one of magic and demons. If you love paranormal stories of discovery and mayhem, this is the story for you.

If you review books from Net Galley, you can get an ARC copy      here      for free. If you'd like to read the longer blurb and/or a sample you can click      here.

Bad to the Bone, So Bad, a Devil Wants Him

Clive Barker's Harry D'Amour is the classic bad guy with a heart of gold, so bad his actions, though logical, isolate him from most of his associates.

Yeah, not all heros are played up as good guys. Clive Barker came to the top of the gotta read list when I searched for something different to read, and I ended up grabbing The Scarlett Gospels. Wanted to get out of my comfort zone since it felt like I was reading the same authors over and over again. Well, The Scarlet Gospels was different, but not that much since R. S. Belcher has join my "'panwriterdom" of writers I buy without even looking at the book blurb. 

Lots of good stuff going on in The Scarlet Gospels, something you'd expect from a writer this prominent with so many books in his portfolio. Thought the characterization a little weak, but there was just enough sympathy/curiousity to keep me at least skimming through the pages. Norma, the character who sees ghosts, kept pulling me through the more cliched parts, a bad thing for a thriller, when you start getting the feeling been there, seen that. Harry D'Amour, indeed, is seedy beyond the max, but he never quite jelled for me like Jack Reacher does.

Found the trip into Hell interesting in light of my own demons, but thought the description rather bland. Liked the political turmoil of the plot line a lot though.

Worse point. I skimmed way too much of the book. Even was beginning to wonder if I was getting too sleepy to early, feeling older than I felt before I started reading the book.

Take a look at a sample and other reviews for yourself on

Amazon       Nook        kobo

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Other Interesting Reading

The "By the Book" of the New York Times Book Review section gave me a memory-chuckle again this week. Anthony Boudain, a food writer, made a comment about cooking snobbery--one of his favorite food writers was never a snob about food, even though he wrote about French cuisine. Don't know about you, but I've always equated French cuisine with snobbery.

My mind skipped to the snobbery of literary writing circles towards genre writing circles. Like, wondering how often to you get put down because you read genre fiction? I know I drew all sorts of comments the one month I tried to work on my college's literary journal, even heard the words "genre hacks" more than a few times. Did think it was ironic that I was the only one in the group that had been published...as a freshman. 

That's definitely not important now. But I did chuckle again when I saw the ad for Anne Rice's new book Ramses the Damned: The Passion of Cleopatra. No, I'm not going to say that Anne Rice is an literary writer. But I did get a chuckle from the copy saying it was a blend of "historical fiction, fantasy, and romance."

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Going back to the point of The Scarlett Gospels putting me to sleep. Got Laurell K. Hamilton's new book. Stayed up until 1AM reading, even though her editors didn't do a good job of using the cutting room floor. Which makes me wonder why Hamilton's books haven't been turned into "film". Plenty of streaming services on there distorting books ala Crossroads, Texas.

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My Writing Rut

Have decided marketing books is an addtiction. I look at the promo stats even though I'm not doing any promotions. [Yeah, sales stopped.] Which means I'm wasting lots of time not writing. Not that I'm worried. It's the cookie baking time a year around our house. I do Greek 
cookies and 
baklava for Christmas presents. No one in my family needs any more stuff and buy what they need when they need it.

Would be negligent, though, if I didn't plug my short stories, you can check them out by clicking here. Showdown at Crossings is a prequel to There Be Demons. It tells the tale of Granny Nan's death. Britt Kelly, the protagonist of There Be Demons, worrys Granny Nan's advice like a sore tooth as her world crashes around her ears.

You can also access my 99c and Free short ebook versions on kobo.

How A Strong Villain Raises Sympathy for Main Characters

The to-read pile rewarded me again. This time with Nora Roberts' Divine Evil. Don't know why I don't read her books more often. Her mystery and paranormal ones keep me reading, and I know there is one trilogy on my keeper/reread shelves, though I can't remember which one it is other than it's the haunting of a small town by a spirit of pure evil trying to break through into our dimension.

Yeah, there are three romances connected to the battle, but they carry the substance of real relationships.

I think I just surprised myself. Makes me wonder, even more, why I don't read more of Roberts' books. I usually pick them up as a last resort in used bookstores when I want to buy something to help the owners' cash flow.

Divine Evil gives readers another example that returning to your home town can be dangerous to your health...even though a gorgeous hunk is waiting to fall in love with you again. I can be snide here because the book is not a romance, whatever Roberts reputation might lead a readier to think. This is a horror cross-over. It's dark, violent, and gory. I say this because the ritual killings happen on scene, though Roberts doesn't concentrate on the gore, just people's reactions to the aftermath. Some might think the violence excessive. I'd say it primes the fear pump and make the reader care more for the protagonist because her possible fate is known, not suggested.

Clare Kimbal has achieved fame as an upcoming sculptor, but she returns to her home town to confront the nightmares that have haunted her since her childhood -- after witnessing a mysterious ritual in a forest and discovering her father's body after his suicide. As Clare settles in, she becomes the target of the leader of the local evil worshiping cult. The tension between the two sides makes the book, but more important, the fast, twisting plot line is a lot more complicated with the secondary characters adding their own twists.

Oh. How fast does the plot move? Fast enough that the 500 pages felt more like the usual 300-50.

Characters? Nicely done ... Roberts' skills really shine when she contrasts the leader of the cult's public persona versus his cult one. The depiction of Clare carries the book well, but Roberts integrates the relationships and motivations of  the secondary characters to add depth to the story line.

The setting is a nice little small town, but Roberts makes the case that it's better for your health to stay out of them. All to often dangerous evil lurks under the their calm veneers. Recommended because the book has more substance to it that it first seems because the villain isn't the villain the reader thinks it is. Gotta love a book that takes care of the threat but leaves an open ending for mayhem in the future.

Read excerpts and more reviews on Amazon and B&N Nook.

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An Interesting Link

Have you noticed all the new interest in the Harry Potter series lately. I was surprised when it rose to the top of the New York Times series listings again. People must be getting excited about the upcoming play. Anyway, T P Keane wrote a fun blog on creating a Hogwarts ambiance at home. You might want to take a look if you're the artsy/crafty type or have a birthday party coming up for a fantasy reader. --  Seems like she's been doing a series on creating signature items that might even make some nice presents.

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My Writing Rut

Surprise. Surprise!

I completed two chapters of On the Run last week, finishing the Academy part of the book. Pillar is turning out to be more than I thought. In fact, my next chapter is returning to Grylerrque's viewpoint. I know someone's going to complain about the difficulty of my demon names, but I think the name is close enough to Albuquerque to fly.

I'm still in the drafting stage. But it's nice to see the ending in sight ... like maybe before Christmas. Yeah, I've already started to collect huts for the Christmas baking.

Really like exploring the lives of my characters rather than posting stuff all over the web. Will keep up on Facebook -- if only because I don't want to miss any of the the new Bloom County strips by Berk Breathed. Yeah, the gang is taking on the foibles of our modern times, including two spaces after a punctuation. Check out the new strip here.