This Weeks Featured Indies Will Take You on a Thrill Ride You Wont Forget

 

 

R.S. Payne

Wulfwaru and the Hag Child

Wulfwaru and the Hag Child is the second of a fantasy trilogy set on the Island of the Mighty – an alternative Britain where the Roman invasion failed, and Old Gods still influence events.

It all begins with an untimely death, as things often do in an uncertain world of Gods, monsters and men. Dark forces seek to use the Hag Child’s power to bring about a new age of fire and blood. The fate of the Island of the Mighty hangs in the balance once again, and all the omens are bad.


Sister Wulfwaru of the House of the One Goddess at Escafeld soon finds herself involved in a dangerous game, guided by a Silver Branch anruth who was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Gwythyr Cenedr swore a sacred oath to protect her, but can he protect himself?

Bio

Rebecca Siân Pyne lives in rural Ceredigion (where the only traffic jams are sheep) and shares a two hundred year old Mine Captain’s cottage with three dogs and a cat. The countryside and rich folklore traditions of West Wales are a constant inspiration and Wulfwaru and the Hag Child draws on Celtic legend and history.Born in Congleton, Cheshire, she was educated in South Yorkshire, before a BSc in Geological Oceanography at Bangor University (1991-1994) and an MSc in Micropalaeontology (Aberystwyth University, 1994-95). After nine months as a research assistant at the Geologisches Institut, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology ETHZ, Zürich, Switzerland, R. S. Pyne returnedto the UK to begin a Micropalaeontology PhD at the University of Aberystwyth (1996-99,awarded 2002). After employment as a museum curator and natural history gallery assistant at Sheffield City Museum and a scientific recruitment consultant, she spent two years as a Research Technician at Cardiff University’s School of Earth and Ocean Sciences.

She has been writing for ten years and is a member of The Fictioneers, a writer’s organization promoting speculative fiction. Working in the fantasy, horror, historical and science fiction genres, 60 short stories have appeared in print and electronic publications. Credits include:Albedo One, Aurora Wolf, Bards & Sages Quarterly, Dark Dispatches, Lisette’s Tales of the imagination, Medieval Nightmares, A-Z Cities of Death, Lacuna, Neo-opsis, Undead of Winterand others. Stories are in press with Bête Noire and Weird Tales.Wulfwaru and the Hag Child is the second in the Island of the Mighty trilogy. The first The Sword of the Horse Chieftain was published on Amazon Kindle in December 2011. In addition to two novels, R. S. Pyne’s catalogue includes four novelettes and fourteen short stories and story collections. You can visit her Amazon Author page  to find more of her works.

don't forget to follow her on twitter @DrPyne

Micheal Meyer

Covert Dreams

Life is good for B.J. He has a great job and a loving wife. But all of a sudden he begins experiencing a series of lifelike nightmares, where he knows intimate details of Munich, a city in which he has never been. He can speak German in his dream, a language he does not know. Everybody thinks he is losing it. Is he going crazy? To save himself, he knows that he has but one option: he must go to Munich to uncover the truth behind his dreams.

Stan Halsey, a professor in Saudi Arabia, sends for his wife to join him, but she suddenly disappears soon after her arrival, along with every trace of her very existence. There is absolutely nothing, not one single detail in any records anywhere, to prove that she is indeed a living person and that her spouse is not crazy for thinking so. Both the American government officials and the Saudi Arabian authorities insist that she does not exist. Stan Halsey, all alone in his quest, must act fast before he is forced out of the country.

What is real, and what is not? Who is really who, and why? The mounting suspense moves from Munich, to London, to Rome, and to the burning sands of Saudi Arabia with a horrifying swiftness.

 

Bio

I have resided in and have visited many places in the world, all of which have contributed in some way to my own published writing. I have literally traveled throughout the world, on numerous occasions. I have lived in Finland, Germany,Thailand, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Saudi Arabia, where COVERT DREAMS is set.I gained the wanderlust to see the world, to experience other cultures, at an early age,and this desire has never left me. If anything, it has only gained in intensity as I have aged. I try to travel internationally at least once a year. In the interim, I spend lots of time traveling around both my home state of California and other nearby states.I spent my early years in the small town of Lone Pine, California, the home of almost every western movie, in addition to a wide variety of other genres, made in the30’s, 40’s, 50’s, and 60’s. In fact, Hollywood still films parts of big-time movies there today. My dad, the town’s lifeguard at the time, personally knew John Wayne, Lloyd Bridges, and Lee Marvin, all of whom came to the town’s pool, the Memorial Plunge, at times to cool off after a hectic day of working in the sun. I was even an extra in a movie filmed there in 1957, MONOLITH MONSTERS, a B-cult favorite even today. I was ten years old at the time. Even though I resided in a small town hours from the big city, I was exposed to the excitement of action and heroes at a formative age, and, thus, my interest in writing novels of suspense such as COVERT DREAMS was born. As a recent retiree from a forty-year career as a professor of writing, I now live in Southern California wine country with my wife, Kitty, and our two other cats.

Note Worthy Splashes into June With Some Fantasy and a Few Bitchy Thoughts

 

 

     David A Lindsay  

Gaspar The Thief

 

Follow the adventures of Gaspar, a freelance thief who stubbornly refuses to swear fealty to the Thieves' Guild. Finding himself entangled in a series of mishaps and misfortunes mostly of his own making, and facing looming retribution from every quarter, he finally departs his native city.>Aided by Hubris, a seller of spells who similarly declines to pay his dues to Wizards' Hall, and Marna, a feisty thiefess with a quick tongue and a quicker temper, Gaspar hopes to lie low for a while, but events continue to go awry,leading from one catastrophe to the next in quick succession. Brigands, sells-swords, goblin warlords, scheming mages and even a tricksy wight all seem to have it in for him as he travels across the world of Lindor,blundering from one calamity to the next, and yet somehow always surviving to tell the tale. Told with humour, this is an exciting romp based in a fantasy world where anything can, and usually does, happen!

Author Bio 

 

The back story to 'Gaspar The Thief' may be a little different to many other current e-book releases in that it was actually written in the 1980s, when I was in my twenties. I had previously succeeded in having a few short stories published in arts magazines in the mid to late 1970s, a couple of them commercially. Thereafter, I wrote two full-length novels, Gaspar The Thief being the second one, but never did anything with them, and did not make even one submission to a publisher. Looking back now, I think there were two reasons for this. Firstly, I got married, had three children, and was very busy as a young court lawyer building a career. Secondly, and this was perhaps the main obstacle, I think I was too much of a perfectionist, and was never content that either novel was finished satisfactorily. This all changed when my wife bought me a Kindle recently, and I realised that this offered a new opportunity to share what I had written. Fortunately I had taken steps over the years to preserve the original word-processed files. However, these had been created on an old Amstrad green-screen 8256 (does anyone else remember these?). I had at one point had the files transferred to floppy disks, which had been very difficult, but at least they were now held on floppy disks. I still had to buy an external floppy drive to access these, of course, but I was much relieved to discover that they were still intact. That's when I sat down to read what I had written almost thirty years ago. This meant that I was able to read 'Gaspar The Thief' almost totally afresh. I had actually forgotten large parts of it. And that's when I discovered that it was much better than I had thought when I wrote it. I am still a perfectionist, but I was very pleasantly surprised by the standard of writing. Moreover, I did not think it had dated at all. Nevertheless, I still revised it twice from beginning to end and re-wrote a few parts before publication. Another aspect that some may find interesting is that it was not influenced at all by Sir Terry Prachett's Discworld novels, as I only started to read his books much later, in the 1990s, long after my book was finished. The greatest influence in my writing was probably Fritz Leiber's Fafhrd and The Gray ouser stories. Finally, here's a little personal background. I was born and brought up in Dundee, Scotland, but have lived in North East Fife, near St Andrews, for nearly 30 years now. I am married with three children, all of whom have now left home. I was a lawyer for 20 years, but for the last 12 years have owned and run a web design agency in the UK. My interests are Rotary, reading, gardening, music and travel.

Pedro L. Alvarez

Dragon Fire

At nineteen, Delcan wants nothing more than to break the bonds of what the world expects of him; winning the tournament at the Flarian Festival and earning a place as a squire is the only way he knows how. When he discovers his own father's secret past and his role in the kingdom's history, Delcan's life as a squire suddenly becomes complicated; when he falls in love with the princess, Aria, it turns deadly.

Dragon Fire is the story of a farmer's son and a princess who dreamed of becoming a knight. It is a coming-of-age tale set in a world where the young have no hope and the old no longer believe in magic. With compelling characters and vivid language, it is an action-packed story of romance, hope, sacrifice, and the most unlikely of heroes.

Author Bio 

Pedro L. Alvarez was born in Cuba and immigrated with his parents to the United States at the age of 8. He grew up in West New York, NJ and has been writing short stories since the age of 14.

Pedro has a degree in English and in Journalism from Rutgers University and works for a large transportation and logistics company. He lives in New Jersey with his wife and two children.
Dragon Fire is his first novel.

• Dragon Fire Can also be found at the following retailers:  
• Kobo

• Smashwords
• Barns & Noble

Don't forget to follow Pedro On twitter  @DragonFireNovel

And Pintrest

Elizabeth Fairlight

The Little Book Of Bitchy Thoughts

 

 

The Little Book of Bitchy of Thoughts is medicine for the Modern Age,

straight from the cauldron of Elizabeth Fairlight. The author serves up a stinging philtre of pithy observations, acrid humor, and even the occasional honest aphorism. 

 Quotes from the book: 

If your child says, “Hey, lady,” to get the attention of a salesclerk, you're lower-class. If your child says, “Excuse me, Ma'am,” then you're middle-class, or higher. This is an infallible indicator. 

'Washington, D.C. is the third-world capital of a first-world country.'

 'Opera is only vaudeville with attitude.'

 'I'm always amazed by admonitions to love thy neighbor. Once God wises up to the fact that not everything on this Earth is worth loving, he would become a smarter God. It would be better to say, 'love thy neighbor, if thy neighbor is worthy of it.

Author Bio 

 

Elizabeth Fairlight has not worked on a fishing trawler, as a bullfighter, or shot big game.  She cannot net a purse, play the spinet, or paint flowers on china, though she has one very remarkable drawing-room talent, namely, keeping an open ear for the unwary pourer-outer.

Reviews

A review from LL Book Reviewer Shannon Yarbrough:

Anyone who has enjoyed the wit and sarcasm of such greats as Oscar Wilde or Groucho Marx will definitely enjoy Elizabeth Fairlight's The Little Book of Bitchy Thoughts. It takes a certain intellect and, of course, a smart sense of humor to be able to read it and appreciate it the way it was intended.

There are numerous quotes divided by such subjects as youth, class, fools, adulthood, marriage, children, lawyers, arguing, the arts, places, makeup, science, sports, drugs, and age. Enough to keep your toasts at parties witty or your email signatures baffling.
Rather than being rude and untactful, almost all of the quotes make you stop and really think about it, long enough to want to reread it a few times or even commit it to memory.
My favorite is a longer quote about writing: Writers who do what they're expected to do-namely get their MFA, then stay in the university system to teach and produce literary fiction-will always write timidly. If you're a writer, supporting yourself with odd jobs is better for you, but not just because you acquire more interesting source material. It's important because what it indicates about your personality. Independent writers live and write with greater courage, and they create greater works of art because of that courage.
Only available on Kindle at the time of this review, Fairlight's Bitchy Thoughts is worthy of a look if you need some laughs or even some enlightenment.

Fantasy Takes The Stage With This Weeks Featured Authors

                                          

                                                                Victoria A Jeffery

                                                    The Winter Wolves (Secret Doorway Tale)

 

 

 

Description:

Winter has come early, an unusually fierce winter that has nearly paralyzed the city, courtesy of the Winter Fairy Queen. Her reach has had consequences far and wide, especially in Other Land where winter's rage has been the cruelest.

Anne goes back to Other Land armed with armor made by the gnomes, her hammer and ring and a new weapon against the Queen, but will it work? The dreaded unlocked doorway appears right in her own bedroom and trouble immediately finds her when she embarks on her latest mission! The Queen soon sends word to capture Anne and bring her to the castle on the Ice Sea, where the Summer Queen is being held captive. Constant skirmishes and battles assault and weaken the free folk, making way for Queen Faye's great army from the north to strike the final blow on all those who oppose her rule. Anne and her friends must battle winter fairies and trolls and make their way to the safety of the Whitestone Lodge where Great Grandfather Whitestone, the other gnome Grandfathers and an army of gnome family clans have gathered. The gnome Grandfathers have a plan to defeat the Winter Queen, which involves placing Anne right into her clutches!

Will Anne's new weapon and the Grandfathers' plan work? Can they stop Queen Faye before she destroys Queen Titian and births her unending winter?

Bio Provided by the author.

Victoria A. Jeffrey grew up in Portland, Oregon, attended Portland Community College and studied graphic design. She is an author and an avid reader of science fiction, fantasy. She also enjoys reading historical fiction and non-fiction. She has written three collections of poetry and some short stories. She is currently working on the Secret Doorway Tales middle grade fantasy series and will begin working on an adult oriented science fantasy trilogy this summer. 

                                                             Gwen Perkins

                                                           The Universal Mirror

Description:

"Not blood nor bone shall magic touch."

On the island of Cercia, God is dead, killed by his followers and replaced with the study of magic. But the people are suspicious of magicians, believing them the cause of ill fortune. If the magicians aren't kept in check, they might wrestle God from his grave and take the universe for their own keeping. So the universities train magicians in the use of magic, as well as in the restrictions — or Heresies — that bind it. Magicians must not leave their homeland; they must not cast spells on the living—whether to harm or to heal.

Quentin, a young nobleman, and his friend Asahel are both magicians. But they come from very different backgrounds. Quentin belongs to an old bloodline, though his grandfather has whittled away the last of his family's fortune. Asahel, on the other hand, always smells of the sea, his face smudged with dirt. He was decidedly out-of-place at the universities that trained magicians, since most of them came from the upper classes. Everyone but Quentin had tormented Asahel; their curiosity was what bound them together. They both longed to explore magic, rather than cage it.

Now, Quentin longs to heal the woman that he loves, Catharine. Catharine was pitted and scarred from the Plagues which came to Cercia just before she reached womanhood. She wants no part of Quentin because of her self-hatred, disliking it if he so much as looks at her. The husband and wife rarely talk, and what little time they spend together is fraught with tension. But Quentin adores Catharine. If he is to save her from herself, he must be able to use his magic to heal.

Learning to heal will take an act of desperation, an unthinkable rebellion — practicing on the bodies of the dead. It is madness — but Quentin convinces Asahel to go along with his plan. Under cover of darkness, they dig up a grave to work a magic that affects life itself. Afterward, Quentin feels a terrible guilt for involving Asahel, who had defied authority by his friend's side. Both of them are unaware that the search for this lost magic will bring them both to the edge of reason, threatening their very souls. How far are they willing to go for the sake of knowledge? What will they destroy to obtain it?

Bio Provided by the author.

Surrounded by tree and mist, Gwen Perkins has always regarded the deep rainforest of the Olympic Peninsula the one place that she feels most at home. Gwen grew up in small towns across the Pacific Northwest, going to slug races and strawberry festivals when she wasn't scribbling on any scrap of paper she could come by. She boasts the dubious distinction of going to a public school with only eight students, learning Irish sea chanteys from a man who sang with the Clancy Brothers, and catching tadpoles during classes.

Her adult life is generally just about as much fun.

She lives in the City of Destiny (better known as Tacoma, Washington) with her partner, Laura, and their three children, Amaranth, Nynaeve, and Oisin. When she's not writing, she spends her days combing archives and chasing children…all in the name of history! Her hobbies include baking pies (sometimes referred to as others as attempted arson) and lampworking, or creating glass beads. These two things are not related. In between all of this, Gwen has written two novels in the Artifacts of Empire series: The Universal Mirror and The Jealousy Glass. The latter will be released in November 2012.

                                                                    Rachel Hunter

                                                          A Llathalan Annal: Empyreal Fate

 

 

Description: 

Filled to the brim with forbidden love, an ancient evil, and a nation in disrepair, Empyreal Fate is a tale of riveting bravery and mortal corruption.

The land of Llathala lingers on the brink of war between men and elves, a dark history surrounding each race. Stirred by tensions of the land, a shadow of the past reemerges, taking precedence in reality and consuming the very soul of mans’ mortal weakness. Darrion, the son of a poor laborer, is ensnared in a hostile world, forced to choose between loyalty to his king or the counsel of the elves. Yet Fate has other plans in store, tying his course to Amarya, an elven royalblood of mysterious quality and unsurpassable beauty. But this forbidden connection incites betrayal from members of their own kin, marking them as traitors to the crown. In a land torn asunder, only Fate’s decree can allow such love to coexist with an ancient enmity.

Behold: A Llathalan Annal: Empyreal Fate – Part One.

Bio Provided by the author.

Rachel Hunter has always been fascinated with words and the intricate way in which they combine. Since a child, she has been an avid writer, winding vibrant tales and elaborate stanzas on folded bits of paper.

As the years passed, her love of words never died; her adoration for reading fared no equal. Always with her nose in a book, Rachel took fondly to works spanning all genres. Yet it was the compelling grasp of fantasy and science fiction that wrenched her fascination above all.

In March of 2012, Rachel published her first short story with Trestle Press, titled, "Perfect Nothing", which recounted her harrowing relationship with an eating disorder and was also fueled by her passion for psychology. But her writing does not end there. While currently pursuing a degree in psychology and in the medical field at the University of Oklahoma, she aspires also to illuminate the creative spark of eager readers. In her desire to incite intrigue, she is simultaneously exploring new worlds and creating vast empires of her own. "Empyreal Fate" is only the first in her Llathalan Annal series. Indeed, it is only the beginning.

Like Rachel on Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/pages/Rachel-Hunter/170131499766376

Follow Her On Twitter:  http://www.twitter.com/young_author

                                                                             Peter Giglio

                                                                                           Anon

Description:

Rory Ellison, victim of his own misdeeds, wallows in misery. Then a door opens. Now he's got a new job, a dream assignment to rewrite the darkest mistake of his past, and a strange new companion in his head. Wielding powers beyond his comprehension and control, Rory returns to …

… Faith. She possesses the perfect husband, kids, and home. But when Rory falls back into her world, old wounds open wide, shattering her ideal life.

At the center of the mayhem stands Anon, a seemingly benevolent organization with a sinister past of its own. "Helping you realize your dreams sooner," the company promises. But what do they stand to gain? How far will they go to get what they want? And if they make dreams a reality, what about nightmares?

Only Michelle, a young girl with a strange gift, can defeat the evil threatening her family. But she must face fear, work with the ghosts of her enemy's past, navigate a maze of terror, and make the tough choice to grow up too soon in a world filled with evil and indifference.

Hold on tight! Anon—a tale of corporate and familial terror—is unlike anything you've ever read. 

Reviews:

All I can say is "Thank you!" Once I started, it really hurt to stop reading, for any reason. If you like gripping, non-stop GO in your reading material, then Anon is the book for you.
With twists of the paranormal, supernatural, religion, and a new breed of corporate corruption: Anon delivers much more than most. This is not a book that will be archived on my Kindle, Anon has a permanent place on my digital bookshelves.
I'm afraid if I started in on everything I loved about this book, that I would give too much away. I want to know what Faith and Michelle do next! And will we, the hanging readers with baited breath, ever get to know?
If there was a 6 star rating, I would definitely give it for Anon.
~Jessica A. Weiss, fiction author and owner of Wicked East Press

I found this novel to be an engaging read, heartbreaking at times, and filled with emotion and suspense. It is a captivating read and original, and I look forward to future works which build upon these characters' lives. I have read Peter's short stories before and always wanted "more." My wish has been fulfilled in "Anon."  -- Eric Guignard

Bio Provided by the author.

Peter Giglio lives in Lincoln, Nebraska, where he spends all of his time writing and editing. His novels include Anon, The Dark (with Scott Bradley), and Beyond Anon, the forthcoming sequel to Anon. His short fiction can be found in various professional publications, and he is the author of two acclaimed novels, Balance and A Spark in the Darkness. Also a screenwriter, Peter and longtime friend Scott Bradley have successfully adapted, under option, Joe R. Lansdale's "The Night They Missed the Horror Show." They are currently looking for a production deal for the work, endorsed and praised by Mr. Lansdale. 

Don't forget to like Peter on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/petegiglio

And follow Him on Twitter:  @PeterGiglio1

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