I published my second book!

Okay first off, wow, I completely forgot about this blog! Sorry! Anyways, I'm still alive and still writing and working on far more projects than I will likely ever have time to finish. However, I thought I should let you all know that I published another book recently! It's not the second book in The Gemquist Chronicles, sadly that book is still being resurrected, but it is the first book in another series that I'm working on. The series is called Guilded Kingdoms and it's a series of interconnected, standalone high fantasy, fairy tale retellings. The first book came out the end of last October and I'm already working on book two!

So, fun thing about this book is that there are actually two paperback editions! Why two? Well, when I painted the maps and illustrations for the book (yes, there are maps and illustrations) I made a slight whoops while I painted the maps. It was a silly mistake, but I completely forgot to consider the greyscale value tones when I painted them and they ended up being too close together to work with the standard black-and-white interior printing that books usually us. So, I decided to go with colour interior printing and, if I was going to go with colour, I thought I might as well make the most of it and paint some illustrations as well and scatter them throughout the book. It ended up with 2 maps and 13 illustrations.........and then I found out just how much more colour interior printing was and my jaw about hit the floor. I knew it was going to cost more, but had no idea it was going to be more than double the cost to print in black-and-white. This meant that I ended up reworking all the interior artwork anyway to make sure they would work alright in black-and-white and I released two paperback editions instead of just one!

Without further ado, allow me to introduce From the Ashes, Guilded Kingdoms Book 1!

As mentioned, From the Ashes is the first book in a series of interconnected, standalone, high fantasy fairy tale retellings. The first one being a Cinderella retelling. Here's the synopsis:

A young artist desperate to be free.

For nearly seven years, Lael Verane has lived under the ever watchful eye of her stepmother. Forbidden from leaving the grounds of the estate and locked away whenever visitors come to call, Lael's only solace is in her art. There's just one problem: due to another of her stepmother's strange restrictions, art is not welcome at Avarill. 

A prince on a mission. 

Agents of the Crown have been dying and elves are disappearing from across Rynn. Prince Nathyn Trysele is determined to find out why. His only clue? A letter from the deceased spymaster, but he's convinced that the answers he seeks are buried somewhere in the Caeth night-markets.

But not everything is as it appears and, in a kingdom where art guilds and magic collide, deadly secrets lie buried that could tear the kingdom apart.

The ebook is available on Amazon for $4.99 and can also be read via Kindle Unlimited. For the paperback, the standard copy is $18.95 and the special, colour interior edition is $33.95. Be sure to click on 'see all formats and editions' to make sure you get the version that you want as Amazon defaults to only showing two. Otherwise, you can also use the links listed in 'My Books.' 

Amazon link

I'm Still Alive!!

Hi, all! Long time no post! I'm still around, but blogging just got away from me. So, here's a little update on what's new!

"Miss Gemquist and the Pearl of Peking" got a new look a couple years back. I decided I wasn't entirely happy with my original cover and so painted a new one in Corel Painter. I love it so much better!! So here's the new cover:

 

I know that it's been almost 3 years since book 1 was released, but, please don't despair! Book 2 is still in progress, it's just faced a major set-back. Last December, I was all getting ready to make the grand announcement that my second novel was finished and off to the editing/formatting stage when my computer had a catastrophic malfunction with the word processor 😭. I'd been just days away from finishing the actual writing, but the malfunction irreparably corrupted the file. I spent months taking my laptop to different PC repair places or techs that I knew, but no one could resurrect even a smidgen of the original file. So, I'm left with no other choice, but to begin the rewriting phase all over again.

So please bear with me! I don't know how long it will take me to do it, but I've no intention of just giving up. In the meantime, you can always reread the first book or recommend it to your friends and family! It's available on Amazon in either Kindle or paperback format or can be read for free with a Kindle Unlimited subscription! 

You can also follow me on my new website! 

Series Review: 'Timeless Fairy Tales' by K.M.Shea

If you haven't noticed by now, I have a weakness for fairy tales and retellings. These stories are classics for a reason and I enjoy seeing how other reinterpret them.  The most recent series of retellings that I've read is K.M. Shea's series: 'Timeless Fairy Tales.'  So far, there are seven books available in this series with an eighth coming out in December of this year (I can't wait!). The series starts with the tale of 'Beauty and the Beast' and then starts moving its way through the other fairy tales, and while each story is a stand-alone book, the author has, ingeniously, woven them all together in the same world with a 'bigger picture' going on and each story giving you a little more information about a bigger plotline.  However, these fairy tales are not the ones you remember, yes, they are based upon them and the essence of the stories remain the same, but the details are very much different.  Being, technically, stand-alone books, you can read them out of order, however, I would not recommend doing so in as there is a deeper storyline going on than simply each fairy tale. As such, you will want to read them in order.  Series order is as follows:

1. Beauty and the Beast
2. The Wild Swans
3. Cinderella and the Colonel
4. Rumpelstiltskin
5. The Little Selkie
6. Puss and Boots
7. Swan Lake
8. Sleeping Beauty (expected publication: Dec. 2016)

There are also several mini-stories available on the author's website that tie-in to each of these books (and some of them into more than one.)  The books are available on Amazon as ebooks or as paperback copies.  However, although not all the books have been released as paperbacks, the author has told me that they will all be available that way eventually.  There's just a little back-log at the moment as she is re-editing some of the earlier books for re-release. 

I absolutely loved this series, and would definitely recommend it to anyone that enjoys fairy tales/retellings!

Book Review: Worlds of Ink and Shadow by Lena Coakley

I've seen mixed reviews from others about this book, but, personally, I really enjoyed it!  

The main characters of 'Worlds of Ink and Shadow' are the Bronte siblings (Charlotte, Emily, Anne, and their brother Branwell) and set while they are still in their teens.  Somehow, Charlotte and Branwell are able to cross-over into their written world, Verdopolis.  This 'how' is very important.  At first, the story is rather light-hearted with Charlotte and Branwell writing together and crossing-into into Verdopolis to interact with their characters (Branwell has written the villian, and Charlotte the hero), however, as the story progresses it starts to take a darker tone. More and more hints are dropped about just how it is that Charlotte and Branwell are able to cross-over, and eventually you learn the truth about it.  Things go from the siblings having fun with their written worlds/characters, to fighting to save each other.  I loved every minute of this transition!  

In the beginning, all the siblings have a lot of issues: Anne is too shy and is almost scared to speak up (even when she should), Emily is too reckless and bitter about something she doesn't understand, and Branwell and Charlotte are often bickering and envying each other; but they really do love each other, and as the story goes on they grow and come together in the end to make things right.  The ending is rather poignant, but there really is no other end fitting for it. 

I really, really enjoyed this book and love how the author actually used real worlds/characters that the Bronte's created when they were children.  The mixture of historical detail with the author's own imagination was just great! 

Book Review: Ink and Bone by Rachel Caine

First of all let me start by saying that, ordinarilly, Rachel Caine is an author that I avidly avoid.  I don't read paranormal fiction, and, typically, I'm not a fan of dark fiction either.  However that being said, I just had to try this one!  A dystopian fantasy in which the Great Library of Alexandria not only still exists but controls the world? How could I not try it!?

The world of Ink and Bone is a world where it is illegal to own original copies of books. You are allowed to read the facsimile copies the Library puts out in the Codex (think ultimate/universal e-book library), but to own an original paper-and-ink copy of a book could be punishable by death.  It's a world where there is a thriving black market for books and weird anti-Library cults that would sooner destroy books than let the Library have them.  The Libraries are protected not just by guards, but also automatons that at first glance just look like giant, metal sculptures. 

This is the world that the main character Jess Blackwell lives in.  He's from a family of black market book dealers and finds himself being sent by his family to infiltrate the Library by basically entering into a training competition to enter into Library service in some position or other.  Quite the pickle he's in huh?  If caught stealing books or doing anything that the Library disapproves of, the punishment is a horrible death.  

You become aware that there is a whole lot more than simply this that's going on in the book  and Jess is stuck in the middle of all of it.  However, I'll leave you to discover the fullness of the intrigue and unrest of the book on your own.

I wasn't really sure what I was going to find when I started reading this, but once I got into it I absolutely loved it!!  The world Rachel Caine has created is believable, compelling, twisted, and absolutely fantastic!  Although the book is certainly a darkish fantasy, it isn't disturbingly dark.  Just dark in that kinda creepy, mysterious, intriguing kind of way.  The book has a great mix of characters, and even the most dislikable character you still can't help but love.  They are well-written and their interaction is believable and not stilted or forced.  They are also not static characters, and it is great to watch how they grow together with all they go through.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and can't wait for book 2!