Dragon’s Bane Update

First, a bit of housekeeping: The recent Goodreads giveaway was a success. Not quite as many participants as the 2015 giveaway, there were still a large number of entrants interested in Dragon’s Rook. The winners are Jessica from the Netherlands, and Sheila from New Mexico. Signed paperback copies have been mailed, and should arrive soon.

Second, questions have been asked by readers concerning the availability of Dragon’s Bane, the second half of The Lost Sword duology. They have served as prods to speed up the completion of the story:

1) I just finished Dragon’s Rook and loved it. Any news on when the sequel will be available for purchase? I can’t wait!

(T)hank you for the kind review! We writers pour pieces — minutes, hours, years — of our lives into our work, so when readers receive it well, we are encouraged to continue.

As for when Dragon’s Bane will be available, I had hoped it would be completed and published by January 2016, but life matters took me away from it for a long while. (I won’t bore you with the details.) However, I hope to have it ready soon.

Today’s revisions included (SPOILER ALERT) a reunion scene between two characters who each thought the other was dead. 🙂

2) I just finished Dragon’s Rook, really liked it. I was wondering when the sequel is coming?

First, thank you for reading the book!

Second, I’m pleased that you enjoyed it.

Third, I wanted the book completed and published this year. However, due to life circumstances, my writing has been quite slow. Dragon’s Bane is about one-third complete, and there are copious notes regarding unwritten scenes.

The ending scene was written about fifteen years ago — believe it or not! — but it may change. I’m exploring a couple of potential plot twists that never occurred to me during the writing of the first book, but which may deepen the story even further.

Below is a taste, a scene from the first third of the book, a confrontation between Lady Yanámari and her mother, Queen Una:

The eyes widened, the fury grew, and as it did, Queen Una fully materialized, her form solid, even the tiny creases around her eyes and mouth delineated. She released Yanámari and stepped back, lifting her arms from her sides and lowering her head, looking at Yanámari from beneath dark brows.

As the queen opened her mouth to speak, Yanámari laughed. The sight was too comical: flowing black garments, menacing stare, threatening posture. A bit too much like the Hôk Nar Brethren. In the past two days, she had seen more amazing things than this.

Beside, what true power resorted to manipulation and magic?

There was something external about magic, as if the one who practiced it and the one upon whom it was practiced were both tools of a capricious power that must be cajoled and lured with secret rites and careful spells. Is that where her mother had been all these years? Learning the dark arts? What an absurd expenditure of time.

Where was she when I was a child and longed for a mother? When I might have loved her?

But there was no hope of traveling that road—the cart had already passed.

(c2016, KB)

For more information or to read reviews, visit keananbrand.com.

 

The Shock of Night: The Darkwater Saga, Book 1, by Patrick Carr

Welcome! Step inside for Day 2 of The Shock of Night blog tour. (My brief introduction to this month’s feature novel for the CSFF Blog Tour can be read here.)

Due to life-related factors, today’s entry will be equally brief. Others in the tour have delved into the writing itself and the spiritual and theological aspects of this fantasy-mystery tale, but I was struck by the inclusion of a PTSD-stricken protagonist (although such modern terminology was not used). In Carr’s previous series, the hero was an alcoholic young man who was abused since childhood — not typical fantasy fare.

In this series, the hero — Willet Dura — is a would-be priest who was sent to war, but his mind has shut out an important chunk of those experiences. Not only is part of his memory missing, he sleepwalks, and his job as one of the king’s reeves means he encounters death in many forms. In fact, he has a strange fascination with it, and he questions the dead about what they know now that they’re, well, dead.

I like that I can connect with Carr’s fictional folk. He knows that externals do not make up a man’s character, that not everything is what it seems, and that anything and anyone can change.

And they do.

Dura’s study of the dead takes a step toward the further-weird when he gains the ability to read the thoughts of the living.

I wrote yesterday that this is fantasy for grownups, but I think teens would like it, too.

And for readers who don’t want only mystery-solving or action scenes, there’s a quiet romance between Dura and Gael, a well-off young lady whose uncle is scheming up an advantageous marriage that doesn’t include Dura.

One thing that leans this story toward the grownup end of the readership is precisely that romance, and the other decisions and sacrifices that must be made. These characters aren’t teenagers in a coming-of-age tale, but are already adults who’ve been shaped by war and torment, hardship and abuse. Even allies can be at odds with one another, and pride and ignorance still cause folk to stumble, but — as a forty-something reader — it’s refreshing to encounter a fantasy yarn for readers older than sixteen. 😉

For other perspectives of The Shock of Night, visit these other stops on the blog tour:

Thomas Clayton Booher
Beckie Burnham
Carol Bruce Collett
Carol Gehringer
Victor Gentile
Rani Grant
Rebekah Gyger
Bruce Hennigan
Janeen Ippolito
Carol Keen
Rebekah Loper
Jennette Mbewe
Shannon McDermott
Meagan @ Blooming with Books
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Joan Nienhuis
Nissa
Audrey Sauble
Chawna Schroeder
Jessica Thomas
Robert Treskillard
Shane Werlinger
Phyllis Wheeler
Nicole White
Michelle R. Wood

 

The Shock of Night

This month’s feature novel for the CSFF Blog Tour is fantasy for grownups, but without the “grit” / “edginess” (sex scenes, foul language, gratuitous violence) of some other, more famous series. It’s unnecessary here.

The Shock of Night, the first book in The Darkwater Saga by Patrick Carr, is fantasy-meets-murder mystery. Its protagonist is Willet Dura, one of the king’s reeves, who has a strange interest in the dead: He wants to know what they know, see what they see.

What he gains, though, is an ability to read the pasts and the thoughts of the living.

A gift he isn’t supposed to possess.

A gift that could unlock his own forgotten past.

A gift that could cost him his life.

———- * ———- * ———-

The novella By Divine Right is a prequel to the series and is free on Kindle, but all the necessary details can be picked up by readers in The Shock of Night.

Still, FREE. How can you pass that up? 😉

———- * ———- * ———-

I’ll be discussing the book over the next couple of days. Meantime, read more about it at these other stops along the tour:

Thomas Clayton Booher
Beckie Burnham
Carol Bruce Collett
Carol Gehringer
Victor Gentile
Rani Grant
Rebekah Gyger
Bruce Hennigan
Janeen Ippolito
Carol Keen
Rebekah Loper
Jennette Mbewe
Shannon McDermott
Meagan @ Blooming with Books
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Joan Nienhuis
Nissa
Audrey Sauble
Chawna Schroeder
Jessica Thomas
Robert Treskillard
Shane Werlinger
Phyllis Wheeler
Nicole White
Michelle R. Wood

 

The First Principle – day 3

A young adult perspective on this month’s CSFF Blog Tour novel:

Marissa Shrock‘s The First Principle wasn’t exactly what I expected. For one thing, It read like a spy thriller rather than like other books I’ve read in the same genre, which was refreshing since Christian-young-adult-dystopian-sci-fi is a pretty narrow genre.

There aren’t many pauses in the action – but that’s once you get to the action. The suspenseful moments are almost stressfully so, but the story gets off to a bit of a slow start, since Vivica doesn’t gain a big, personal conflict that the reader cares about until a couple of chapters in when she discovers her pregnancy. Even then, there’s still more pages to traverse before the suspense actually sets in.

The story itself deals with issues that are very real in the world today and that many people don’t want to talk about. In fact, this is the first story I’ve read that actually handles the issues of abortion and teen pregnancy with more than a passing mention. Not only that, but neither of those issues is glossed-over or given a prepackaged answer; rather, Vivica’s situation is discussed fully and with a lot of questions and struggles, and the Biblical response is presented in a good way. Also, the story isn’t kept “clean” and “safe” for the sake of not offending anyone; rather, it is allowed to handle realistic scenarios realistically.

The conversion scene in this book is also well-handled. When a character does finally accept Christ as Savior, there is no big to-do. Problems don’t all magically get better. Consequences are still consequences and the world is still an uncomfortable place. There are no rose-colored glasses involved, just inner peace and grace that the character sometimes has to struggle to accept.

I also like that not everything ends happily or easily, yet enough of it does end well enough that the reader can be satisfied, and that forgiveness is a big theme, yet so are consequences and responsibility.

I have one major complaint, that being that the title of The First Principle is never actually explained or even referenced in the book anywhere that I can find. What is the first principle exactly?

Overall, though, this is the best Christian-young-adult-dystopian-sci-fi that I’ve read so far, and while I’ve begun to tire of dystopias in general, I am looking forward to any sequels that may follow The First Principle.

Here is where I digress from the book a bit and talk about the genre: as I’ve said above, it’s a very narrow genre, and the seemingly-endless flood of dystopias on all fronts is especially beginning to grate.

Therefore, I would like to issue a note to authors in which I remind them that variety of concept is a good thing (you don’t just have to write whatever’s selling right now) and refer them to Amish Vampires in Space for an example of a story with a serious tone and message but also a mild dose of humor – mainly due to the creative blending of genres – and a noticeable lack of everything-going-to-pot-in-the-government.

I’m not saying everybody needs to start writing books like that one; just that it’s time to do something creatively different genre-wise from what’s being done right now.

~Jamie, age 17

For other perspectives on the novel:

Julie Bihn
Thomas Clayton Booher
Beckie Burnham
April Erwin
Victor Gentile
Carol Keen
Shannon McDermott
Meagan @ Blooming with Books
Megan @ Hardcover Feedback
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Joan Nienhuis
Nissa
Jalynn Patterson
Chawna Schroeder
Jessica Thomas

 

The First Principle – day 2

(read Day 1 here)

When I learned the genre of this month’s CSFF Blog Tour book, my immediate response was negative: “Noooo! Not another YA science fiction futuristic dystopian!”

For the sake of family and neighbors, the wailing was internalized.

However, I read a sample of the book and then the back cover copy, and decided to give this one a shot.

And I’m glad I did.

The First Principle by Marissa Shrock is a smooth, easy read, and could easily be finished in one day, although I read it over the course of several. The ill-tempered editor in the back of my brain did not stomp around and throw his arms in the air, which left me free to enjoy the novel.

Well, to be honest, there were times when he looked up from his desk, his eyes narrowed. Those occurred in the first portion of the book — in the first long dialogue between ex-boyfriend and baby-daddy Ben and protagonist Vivica — and at two or three other places later in the story, probably because teenage speech and behavior annoys him. 😉

Shrock gives us an intelligent lead character with skills as a computer hacker, and these come in handy as Vivica graduates from using her abilities to aid herself and her friends at school to escaping those who want to abort her child.

The rebels she joins are not all secret agents. Many are everyday, likable, good people, much to her surprise, and they are endeavoring to be nonviolent toward other humans even as they refuse to bow to the tyranny of a totalitarian government. However, the media and the government leaders label them terrorists and assassins.

Hidden and aided by different rebels along the way — Ben included — Vivica uncovers a plot by government insiders to frame the rebels while staging a coup.

But not only is the national leadership in turmoil — there’s a mole inside the Emancipation Warriors. Is it Jared Canton, or is he, too, being framed?

And who keeps revealing Vivica’s information to the very people from whom she’s running?

The First Principle is recommended reading for teens to grownups, male or female.

Tomorrow, my niece will be giving her evaluation off the novel. Meantime, feel free to visit these stops along the tour:

Julie Bihn
Thomas Clayton Booher
Beckie Burnham
April Erwin
Victor Gentile
Carol Keen
Shannon McDermott
Meagan @ Blooming with Books
Megan @ Hardcover Feedback
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Joan Nienhuis
Nissa
Jalynn Patterson
Chawna Schroeder
Jessica Thomas

 

The First Principle – day 1

“I know you’ve all heard what happened today during fourth hour…(A) young lady was placed into a juvenile detention center for attempting to change the results of a government-issued pregnancy test in an attempt to avoid the required termination. Though pregnancy is rare due to the success rate of our vaccination program, we would like to remind you that the Posterity Protection and Self-Determination Act was implemented for the good of our country…”

“That’s bull.” Darius Delano crossed his arms…”What gives the government the right to tell her she can’t have a baby?”

On the surface, that’s the core conflict of The First Principle, a young adult science fiction novel with a dystopian flavor and set in the near future. However, author Marissa Shrock has added other layers to the story in which nations as we know them been divided up into new regions, federations, unions, and republics. The United Regions of North America are comprised of Canada, Mexico, and the United States, and their “term law” — as the Posterity Protection and Self-Determination Act is known colloquially — restricts the number of children allowed, and underage mothers must have abortions.

Additionally, religion — specifically Christianity — is frowned upon, and the faithful must practice in secret. Only the heavily-edited Revised Freedom Version of the Bible is allowed, and even it is later collected up and burned.

While reading, one might be reminded of the state of Christianity in China right now, or how restrictive the birth laws are in that country. The futuristic North America that Shrock describes actually exists right now in many countries, and often in more brutal forms.

But there is hope in this story.

When Vivica — the intelligent, headstrong, sixteen-year-old daughter of the governor of the Great Lakes Region — learns she is pregnant, the law-abiding, non-believing teenager begins thinking and acting in ways she never expected as she strives to protect her unborn child.

My eldest niece and I read The First Principle as part of the CSFF Blog Tour, and we will be sharing our impressions of the book over the next couple of days. Meantime, you are invited to visit these other stops on the tour:

Julie Bihn
Thomas Clayton Booher
Beckie Burnham
April Erwin
Victor Gentile
Carol Keen
Shannon McDermott
Meagan @ Blooming with Books
Megan @ Hardcover Feedback
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Joan Nienhuis
Nissa
Jalynn Patterson
Chawna Schroeder
Jessica Thomas

 

Excellence v. Mediocrity

From an article by novelist Athol Dickson on his site, discussing excellence v. mediocrity in writing:

It’s true many novels by Christians are poorly written. That’s also true of many other kinds of novels. In fact it’s true of most novels of every kind, but it’s not a particular indictment of mediocre writers or the readers who enable them. Most people don’t really care about excellence in architecture, sculpture, painting, or dance . . . or government, commerce, marriage, or anything else in life that ought to matter.

What interests me, is why. In our discussion about the “Worst Books” list, some of my author friends speculated that so many people dislike those novels because they were forced to read them in school and disliked them then. But these books truly are works of genius—most of them are, anyway—so why didn’t we love them in the first place?

It’s a thought-provoking read, not only for writers who happen to be Christians, but for any writer who strives for excellence.

As an editor, I am constantly confronted by the “good enough” work of fellow writers who just want me to sign off on their manuscripts rather than helping them shape those manuscripts into polished books. The constant fight to challenge other writers toward excellence can be wearisome, but it’s not a fight I can ignore.

Just this past week, I had an e-mail conversation with a rookie novelist whose work is being published soon. He acknowledges that it needs more crafting, but it’s been praised so highly by so many people—I was his only negative reviewer—that he’s going ahead with publication, because (as he put it himself) it’s good enough.

Not to sound overly pessimistic, but I’ve been feeling like the “lone voice crying in the wilderness”—and then I read Mr. Dickson’s eloquent, thought-provoking post. I’m dropping a copy into my archives so I can pull it out whenever I need encouragement. Or a kick in the pants.

originally posted October 18, 2012

 

Filthy Lucre

“Filthy lucre” is an Old World, Bible-language insult regarding ill-gotten money. Some folks think money itself is evil. Some, as do I, think the love of money is the real evil.

Yet, however one may view it, money has become a necessity.

Therefore, allowing readers keep a couple extra bucks in their pockets, the e-book price for the novel, Dragon’s Rook, has been reduced to $2.99 (US). Yay!

Comprised of Dragon’s Rook (2015) and Dragon’s Bane (2016), The Lost Sword is a slightly different slant on epic fantasy. It has a grand scope, yes, and there are swords and dragons, prophecies and portents, chosen heroes and dastardly villains, but there are subtler themes underlying the tale: what is courage, honor, free will, servitude, freedom? What is faith, trust, love? How does one live one’s own life despite the expectations of others or the calling of a being greater than oneself? How does one live for oneself, and yet live for the sake of others?

The story is rife with questions — most culled from my own struggles with similar issues — and there are rarely easy answers. (Which is a bit like talking to the Voice, the deity character who does not always reply when the mortals ask more information of Him than He has already given. 😉 )

At the risk of spoiling the second book, “the chosen ones” may not all survive or be in charge at the end. Their task may be far different than everyone — including the immortal Keepers — anticipates. That part of the tale has yet to be written, and I am pondering several different possibilities. However, readers can be assured the ending will not be dark but filled with hope, and it will fit the story that led up to it. That is a certainty.*

Captain Gaerbith is heir to a secret: the location of a lost sword he cannot touch. In a village far from the battlefield, Kieran the blacksmith remembers nothing before the day when, as a young boy, he was found beside a dead man, a dagger in hand.

Maggie is a healer’s apprentice, and earns her way as a laundress. Her shadowed past and crippled hand make her an object of suspicion and ridicule. Far to the north, the king’s daughter—Yanámari—plots to escape the royal city and her father’s iron control.

Etherium, the one metal capable of harming Dragons, can be wielded only by a true descendant of Kel High King. King Morfran seeks a Kellish smith who can recreate the lost sword, false proof of Morfran’s right to the throne.

Forces are aligning, old prophecies are fulfilling, and in the east a fire glows in Dragon’s Rook.

Dragon’s Bane is coming together nicely, and should be released next year. Dragon’s Rook is currently available from these e-book vendors:

Amazon (Kindle)
Barnes & Noble (Nook)
Kobo
iBooks (iTunes)
PageFoundry (now Inktera)
Scribd
Oyster
Smashwords**

The paperback is available via Amazon or CreateSpace for $17.99 (US). I am pleased with the look and feel of the print version. The dragon eye is almost 3D — well done, Suzan! — and the matte finish is soft, buttery, mimicking the texture of the leather background image.

* Anyone else a bit weary of “gritty” fantasy, pessimistic dystopia, and other bleak tales?
** Go here for a special Smashwords discount, available through August 31, 2015.

 

Books For Sale, Books For Sale!

As is common with editors and book reviewers, I have several books that are proofs / galleys (bound copies of uncorrected books before they are officially published and made available to the public).

However, I also have three published copies of each of these novels — pristine condition, never read, purchased to sell or give away at a book-related event — and I need to sell them ASAP, if at all possible.

Their prices have dropped a little since they were first published, so I’ll take a loss, but I’d rather they weren’t sitting forlorn on my shelf, but being read by folks who appreciate good writing and interesting stories.

1) Purple Moon by Tessa Emily Hall

On Amazon, the book is $11.84 + $3.99 s/h = $15.83, but I’ll send it to you for $13 flat.

Selena’s life isn’t turning out to be the fairy tale she imagined as a kid.

That hope seemed to vanish long ago when her dad kicked her and her mom out of the house. This summer might finally hold the chance of a new beginning for Selena … but having to live with her snobby cousin in Lake Lure, NC while waiting for her mom to get out of rehab wasn’t how Selena was planning on spending her summer. She soon begins to wonder why she committed to give up her “bad habits” for this.

Things don’t seem too bad, though. Especially when Selena gains the attention of the cute neighbor next door. But when her best friend back home in Brooklyn desperately needs her, a secret that’s been hidden from Selena for years is revealed, and when she becomes a target for one of her cousin’s nasty pranks, she finds herself having to face the scars from her past and the memories that come along with them. Will she follow her mom’s example in running away, or trust that God still has a fairy tale life written just for her?

2) Fatal Transaction by W. Richard Lawrence

Amazon is offering the book at $11.00 + $3.99 s/h = $14.99. I’ll send it to you for $12.00.

Sara, an expert computer hacker, knows better than to trust anyone certainly not the powerful and crooked business mogul for whom she works. But there is no future for the life of a thief. Determined to find a way out, Sara devises a scheme to double-cross her employer and steal millions through one final fatal transaction.

Desperate and on the run, she finds temporary sanctuary with the mysterious Derry Conway. As the FBI closes in and her former associates seek revenge, Sara tries to escape but finds all avenues blocked. Trapped, she sees only one road out Derry must take the fall and pay for her crimes. But will it work? Is her freedom more important than the life of an innocent man? Or will Sara make the ultimate sacrifice to save those she cares about?

If you’re interested in either or both of these books, send me a private message on Facebook, Twitter, or e-mail. Include your name and mailing address. Payment can be made via check or PayPal. Once the transaction is complete, I will mail the book(s) of your choice.

Many thanks, and happy reading!

 

Reading “The Warden and the Wolf King”

There are ninety-six chapters in The Warden and the Wolf King.

Ninety-six.

And there are five hundred nineteen pages of story.

Well, five hundred twenty, to be more precise.

Such a book may daunt some readers, but this is one fast read. I knocked out several chapters in each sitting, and didn’t realize it until the time came to replace the bookmark and go about the rest of my day.

I love it when that happens. It signals a great story and excellent writing, and a mind so absorbed that I forget the world around me. The first fourteen chapters were read at the dentist’s office as I anxiously awaited a procedure involving large steampunk needles and growling drills. However, the characters and the writing in this wide, engaging fantasy novel helped me relax, forget about what was coming, and actually become impatient for pauses between steps in the procedure so I could read more.

Stuff like this:

The little men and women sneaked toward the house as silent as the snow, then they divided into two groups. One group skittered like thwaps to the roof of the house and unfolded a large net while the others huddled against the side of the cottage. One of the Ridgerunners dangled from the eaves and nodded to one on the ground. It coughed conspicuously and then stomped noisily through the front door.

The silence was shattered by the troll’s terrible roar and Janner nearly jumped out of his cloak. The ridgerunner dashed out of the house with a shriek, and the troll emerged and stooped on the porch. The troll was smaller than the others Janner had seen. This one had a little tuft of black hair and was only as tall as the roofline, though its bare chest and shoulders were so massive they barely fit thorugh the doorway.

“Leave me ALONE,” the troll said, shaking its fist and stepping down from the porch. (p69)

Not to give away the future, but the young troll (Oood) and the teenaged Throne Warden (Janner) become friends.

Hey, a friendly troll can come in handy. Especially during trouble.

One of my favorite characters is Gammon, the Florid Sword. Think Zorro or the Scarlet Pimpernel or some other masked or caped or secret hero with a noble soul and a comic flair for the dramatic.

Suddenly, a dark figure burst into the tavern. All conversation ceased. Patrons peered at the caped man silhouetted in the light streaming through the door.

With a flourish of his cape, the man leaped ino the center of the room, struck a pose, and said, “Aha! Avast! ‘Tis I, the Florid Sword, and I seek Maraly Weaver with mine own eyes and noble intent!” (p132)

“We fly! Aha! Away!” cried the Florid Sword. He swished his blade through the air thrice, then removed his wide-brimmed hat and bowed low. “Resume the consumption of thy eggish scrumption!” He smiled. “I believe I made that word up. And it rhymed! Gleeful are the delights a new day bringeth!” (p133)

As one can see, this is not a tale for the somber and unamused, or the too-grown-up.

I’ve said it many times before, and I’m saying it again: If I can pick up any book in a series but the first one, and still be drawn in to the story and not lost, that bodes well for the rest. And to think that there are three other books in The Wingfeather Saga by Andrew Peterson? Awesome.

Read more about it at other stops on the CSFF Blog Tour:

Beckie Burnham
Pauline Creeden
Vicky DealSharingAunt
Carol Gehringer
Victor Gentile
Ryan Heart
Bruce Hennigan
Jason Joyner
Carol Keen
Krystine Kercher
Shannon McDermott
Meagan @ Blooming with Books
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Nissa
Writer Rani
Nathan Reimer
Chawna Schroeder
Jojo Sutis
Rachel Starr Thomson
Shane Werlinger
Phyllis Wheeler