Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Excerpt: TIDES OF MARITINIA by Warren Hammond

Tides of Maritinia - Warren Hammond

We have an excerpt of the first chapter for Tides of Maritinia by Warren Hammond. It’s science fiction.

There is also a current giveaway for Tides of Maritinia here on the blog if you care to enter.


Chapter 1

I was an assassin.

And a virgin.

I didn’t mean to say I’d never had sex; stabbing flesh with flesh was the best kind of stabbing there was.

I was a virgin because I hadn’t knifed for real. Never put blade to skin and loosed a river of blood. Never sliced through muscles and organs. Never drove a blade deep to the core.

Never put my lips to the flame and blew out another’s soul.

Never until Maritinia.

***

Kneeling on the restaurant’s rooftop, I scanned the watery horizon until I spotted a few slivered strokes of brown against the endless sprawl of rolling emerald and gold. The boats came from the Empire’s Ministry, sunlight glinting off five domes at the horizon’s edge.

This was the last flotilla of the afternoon. He would be on one of those boats. My target. Colonel Drake Kell.

My throat was dry. Strange that it could get so dry on a world that was nothing but water. I tried to tell myself it wasn’t fear. But it was.

I wiped sweat from my forehead. Again. Pol must have noticed. "You need to relax, Jakob. You’ve trained for this."

"I know," I replied, my words traveling down the little channel in my thoughts. That was how I communicated with the consciousness living inside my skull. Pol was what I called him. Short for Political Officer.

"You’re ready for this," he said.

I sucked in a deep, calming breath and tried to believe he was right. He should know. He’d been through this before. Countless times. For centuries, he—or one of his many duplicate consciousnesses—had been coaching operatives like me. More than a coach, though, he was a companion and a comrade. A confidant. A source of strength.

No way I could do this without him.

Crouching to stay hidden, I moved away from the wall, shoes crunching on broken tile. From the corner of my eye, I spotted a crab disappearing under a roof shingle. This planet was infested with the damn things.

A few more steps, and I’d moved far enough that nobody would see me if they looked up from the quay. I stood straight and stretched my arms to the cloudless sky, muscles gleefully unknotting.

I paced back and forth. Had to get the blood pumping. Get the circulation circulating.

Feeling refreshed, I moved back to the whitewashed wall, dropped back down to my knees, and checked for crabs before propping my elbows on the stone.

Chin resting in my right hand, I looked to the east. The flotilla was closer but still a long ways off. "You see how slow they move, Pol?"

Of course he did. He saw through my eyes and heard through my ears. "You must be patient."

"How can they stand to move so slow? How do they ever get anything done?"

"You know they have no choice."

I knew. The Sire’s wisdom had been drilled into me all my life. I was from Korda, home world of the Sire. A world at the center of an empire of ten thousand worlds.

I’d traveled a long way to get to Maritinia, an ocean-covered planet on the farthest fringe of the Outermost Ring. Like all the other worlds in the Outermost Ring, it was too far from the Empire’s Core to be controlled at gunpoint. The Empire was far too vast to station armies and fleets in every corner.

A more clever solution was required: population control by means of technology control.

For the Maritinian people, that meant no technology. None at all. No plastics or metals. No electricity. No computers or robots or engines. Nothing beyond wheel, pulley, and lever.

Assert technological control and with it came political control. Such was the wisdom of the Sire.

"But look at them, Pol," I said with a grin. "Couldn’t we just slip them a couple outboard motors?"

"You say that because you’re impatient. The Sire’s wisdom is long-term. Besides, they have the squids."

Yes. They had the squiddies. I supposed that was better than paddling. Not much faster, though.

A small contingent of roughly one hundred of the Empire’s finest soldiers and administrators could manage a tech-restricted world like this one. It led to a remarkably stable system. It had worked since the Empire’s founding three thousand years ago.

But not anymore. Not here. Maritinia had gone rogue.

And one of my mission’s numerous goals was to find out why.

But first the traitor had to die.

If only those boats would hurry up. Infuriating things moved like drugged snails.

The waiting was the worst part. So much nerve-wracking, hair-pulling, crazymaking time to fuss and worry. Fourteen months since the Eyes and Ears of the Empire gave me my orders. Fourteen months. Maritinia was that far.

But those fourteen months were the easy part—I was training. I was doing. I’d made landfall eight days ago, though. Eight days with nothing to do but wait. And watch the tide go in and out. And think.

A sharp pinch made me jerk my elbow away from the wall. I rubbed the sore spot and looked down to see a pair of pincers retreating under a stone. Damn crabs got me again.

"You got too close. You have to be more careful."

"Oh, there’s a helpful nugget. I wish you could feel pain, Pol. I really do."

I unbuttoned my sleeve and reached inside to rub the skin near my elbow. "I hate this place."

I missed Korda. Illustrious home of the Sire. A civilized world. We’d tamed that fickle Mother Nature millennia ago. Smothered her by blanketing the globe with so many cities that they’d merged into one enormous metropolis that wrapped the entire planet in stone and steel. It was a beautiful place. A testament to the engineering skills of the Empire.

Looking to the setting sun, seeing the swaths of pink and purple sweeping the sky, I supposed this place had some natural appeal. But as far as I was concerned, it was the kind of appeal best appreciated in a painting.

Turning my gaze eastward, I saw that the flotilla of skiffs was finally getting close. Wouldn’t be much longer now.

I felt the tension in my gut, springs winding tighter and tighter.

To distract myself, I turned my attention to a pair of barges coasting in from the north. They rode low in the emerald water, their holds pregnant with kelp. Gliding to a stop, the barges were boarded by sweat-soaked Jebyl dockhands, who began the tough work of wrestling sopping bails of kelp down bamboo ramps to the pier, where woolly mammoths flapped their ears while awaiting their cargo.

I always knew that life in the Outermost Ring was different, but this world, with its winds and rains, and its rotten-fish stench, and its disfigured beggars, and barefoot children was so … so … crude.

At times, I wondered if the Empire should even bother retaking this planet. But all the ten thousand worlds served their purpose. The Sire smiled upon those who contributed, no matter how small. How these people could’ve shunned Him, I didn’t know.

The sun dropped below the watery horizon, the cool of dusk already on the air. Me, I was still sweating.

Sun departed, the rolling swells of the sea had lost their sparkle, and emerald water faded to a mosslike green. The golden kelp fields could hardly be called golden anymore. More like brown mustard now. And the domes of the Empire’s Ministry in the distance had lost their luster, brilliant silver dimmed down to the dull gray of concrete.

It was as if the sun had pilfered this world’s only riches on its way out.

Only the skyscreens still shone brightly, the stern-faced Admiral Dii Mnai—the self-appointed ruler of Free Maritinia—looking down on Maringua, his capital city. The man was a mystery to us. After seizing control, he’d severed communication with the rest of the Empire, and we’d not had much information on him beforehand. For a world like Maritinia, there had never seemed a need.

The voice came from deep inside my head. "Jakob? You’re going to miss the colonel."

I jerked my eyes back to the docks. "I know. I know." Eyes on the docks.

"Do you see him?" asked Pol.

I did. Colonel Kell was easy to spot, his walking pace seemingly twice as fast as anybody else’s. Of course, to me his bustling stride was normal. Kell was from Korda just as I was, his internal metronome forever swinging at a citified tempo. I watched him and his two guards move along the quay, coming in my direction.

"Are you ready, Jakob?"

Dread welled up from deep inside. Brittle nerves felt ready to snap. But I swallowed hard and answered in the affirmative. I can do this, I told myself. I can.

My knees creaked and cracked as I stepped across roof tiles and down a set of stairs that led to a meandering marketplace. I strolled past the first two fish stalls before turning right and exiting onto the quay just in time to fall in step about ten feet behind the colonel and his guards.

Kell moved with authority, head up, shoulders square, each step perfectly placed. His bootheels clacked sharply on the stone, precisely the way you’d expect of a lifelong military officer, one who clearly still knew how to handle himself. He was a real man, this Kell, a decorated veteran of the Secession Skirmishes, commander of dozens of ops, a true leader, and later a diplomat.

I was no match for Kell. My training wasn’t good enough or long enough. What in Sire’s name had I gotten myself into?

Until fourteen months ago, I was just an Analyst Second Class, a fancy title for a simple bureaucrat. A pastry-eating, coffee-and-cream-drinking, clock-punching pencil pusher complete with a wardrobe full of nothing but dark-toned suits that needed to be let out an inch per year.

A lifelong slacker foolishly trying to live up to Daddy’s expectations. I was a pretender. A fraud …

"I wouldn’t get too close, Jakob."

"Right." I slowed down, taking one step for every two of my hyper heartbeats. Letting Kell reel out a ways, I allowed the crowd to swallow every bit of him except for his cap, which bobbed regularly into view.

From experience, I knew early evening was a busy time on the quay. Tethered boats would take on supplies. Wheelbarrows full of fish would head for the markets, eel tails hanging over the edges. Herds of mammoth would be shepherded into their stables by gangs of young boys adept at the most deaf-making whistling I’d ever heard.

But tonight all that commotion was invisible to me.

The only thing I could see was the traitor’s cap.

The only thing I could hear was the insistent hammer of my heart.

The time was near. Time to do the job I was sent to do.

Assassinate the colonel.

Nobody could see me do it. Nobody could ever find his body. Because once he was dead, I was going to take his place.

Meet the new Colonel Drake Kell.


About Warren Hammond: Warren grew up in the Hudson River Valley of New York State. Upon obtaining his teaching degree from the University at Albany, he moved to Colorado, and settled in Denver where he can often be found typing away at one of the local coffee shops.

Warren is known for his gritty, futuristic KOP series. By taking the best of classic detective noir, and reinventing it on a destitute colony world, Warren has created these uniquely dark tales of murder, corruption and redemption. KOP Killer won the 2012 Colorado Book Award for best mystery.

Warren's latest novel, Tides of Maritinia, released December of 2014. His first book independent of the KOP series, Tides is a spy novel set in a science fictional world.

Always eager to see new places, Warren has traveled extensively. Whether it’s wildlife viewing in exotic locales like Botswana and the Galapagos Islands, or trekking in the Himalayas, he's always up for a new adventure.  www.warrenhammond.net

Friday, November 21, 2014

New Release: THE COLLECTED STORIES OF FRANK HERBERT

The Collected Stories of Frank Herbert

Just released a few days ago is this exciting short story collection for science fiction lovers – The Collected Stories of Frank Herbert.


Frank Herbert, the New York Times bestselling author of Dune, is one of the most celebrated and commercially successful science fiction writers of all time. But while best known for originating the character of Paul Atreides and the desert world of Arrakis, Herbert was also a prolific writer of short fiction. His stories were published individually in numerous pulps and anthologies spanning decades, but never collected. Until now.

Frank Herbert: Collected Stories is the most complete collection of Herbert’s short fiction ever assembled—thirty-seven stories originally published between 1952 and 1979, plus one story, “The Daddy Box,” that has never been appeared before.

FRANK HERBERT (1920-1986) was the Hugo and Nebula Award–winning creator of the Dune saga, and the New York Times bestselling author of the first five novels in the series, including Dune and Children of Dune.

Tor Books | November 2014 | Hardcover | 704 pages | $29.99

Pick up a copy at your favorite local independent book store!

Thursday, November 20, 2014

Interview: Elizabeth Haydon author of THE TREE OF WATER

Tree of Water - Elizabeth Haydon

We have an intriguing Question & Answer with author Elizabeth Haydon author of THE TREE OF WATER. It is written by the author in the character of  the ‘translator’ of Ven’s journals. Ven is the main character in this stand-alone middle grade fantasy novel.

We also have an excerpt and a giveaway for THE TREE OF WATER which you can access by linking on this text.


Interview with Elizabeth Haydon, documentarian, archanologist and translator of Ven’s journals, including The Tree of Water

Little is known for sure about reclusive documentarian and archanologist Elizabeth Haydon.

She is an expert in dead languages and holds advanced degrees in Nain Studies from Arcana College and Lirin History from the University of Rigamarole. Her fluency in those languages [Nain and Lirin] has led some to speculate that she may be descended of one of those races herself. It should be noted that no one knows this for sure.

Being an archanologist, she is also an expert in ancient magic because, well, that’s what an archanologist is.

Being a documentarian means she works with old maps, books and manuscripts, and so it is believed that her house is very dusty and smells like ink, but there is no actual proof of this suspicion. On the rare occasions of sightings of Ms. Haydon, it has been reported that she herself has smelled like lemonade, soap, vinegar, freshly-washed babies and pine cones.

She is currently translating and compiling the fifth of the recently-discovered Lost Journals when she is not napping, or attempting to break the world’s record for the longest braid of dental floss.

We had the chance to ask her some questions about the latest of Ven’s journals, The Tree of Water. Here is what she shared.

1. Dr. Haydon, can you give us a brief summary of The Tree of Water?

Certainly. Ven Polypheme, who wrote the, er, Lost Journals of Ven Polypheme, lived long ago in the Second Age of history, when magic was much more alive and visible in the world than it is now. His journals are very important finds, because they tell the story of ancient magic and where it still may be found in the world today.

In the first three journals we saw how Ven came to the mystical island of Serendair and was given the job of Royal Reporter by the king of the island, a young man named Vandemere. The Royal Reporter was supposed to find magic that was hiding in plain sight in the world and report back about it to the king. As you can imagine, this could be a fun but dangerous job, and at the beginning of The Tree of Water, we see that Ven and his friends are hiding from the evil Thief Queen, who is looking to find and kill him.

Amariel, a merrow [humans call these ‘mermaids,’ but we know that’s the wrong word] who saved Ven when the first ship he sailed on sank, has been asking Ven to come and explore the wonders of the Deep, her world in the sea. Deciding that this could be a great way to find hidden magic as well as hide from the evil Thief Queen, Ven and his best friend, Char, follow her into the Deep. The sea, as you know, is one of the most magical places in the world—but sometimes that magic, and that place, can be deadly.

The book tells of mysterious places, and interesting creatures, and wondrous things that have never been seen in the dry world, and tales from the very bottom of the sea.

2. The main character in The Lost Journals of Ven Polypheme series is Charles Magnus "Ven" Polypheme. Tell us about him.

Ven was an interesting person, but he really didn’t think so. He and his family were of a different race than the humans who made up most of the population where he lived, the race of the Nain. Nain are an old race, a little shorter and stockier than most humans, with a tendency to be on the grumpy side. They live about four times as long as humans, are very proud of their beards, which they believe tell their life stories, don’t like to swim or travel, and prefer to live deep in the mountains.

Ven was nothing like the majority of Nain. He was very curious, loved to travel, could swim, and longed to see the world. He was actually a pretty nice kid most of the time. He had the equivalent of a baby face because only three whiskers of his beard had grown in by the time The Tree of Water took place, when he was fifty years old [around twelve in Nain years]. He had a great group of friends, including the merrow and Char, who were mentioned earlier. It is believed that his journals were the original research documents for two of the most important books of all time, The Book of All Human Knowledge and All the World’s Magic. The only copies of these two volumes were lost at sea centuries ago, so finding the Lost Journals is the only way to recover this important information.

3. What kind of research do you do for the series?

I go to places where Ven went and try to find relics he left behind. Usually this is with an expedition of archaeologists and historians. I am an expert in ancient magic [an archanologist] so I don’t usually lead the expeditions, I’m just a consultant. It gives me the chance to learn a lot about magic and lets me work on my suntan at the same time, so it’s good.

4. What is/are the most difficult part or parts of writing/restoring the Lost Journals?

Here’s the list, mostly from the archaeological digs where the journals have been found:

1] Cannibals

2] Crocodiles

3] Sunburn

4] Sand flies

5] Dry, easily cracking parchment pages

6] The horrible smell of long-dead seaweed

7] Grumpy members of the archaeological expedition [I could name names, but I won’t]

8] Expedition food [when finding and retrieving the journal for The Tree of Water, we ate nothing but peanut butter and raisin sandwiches, olives and yellow tea for six months straight]

9] When salt water gets into your favorite fountain pen and clogs it up. This is very sad.

10] Unintentionally misspelling a word in the Nain language that turns out to be embarrassing [the word for “jelly” is one letter different from the word for “diarrhea,” which caused a number of my Nain friends to ask me what on earth I thought Ven was spreading on his toast.]

5. What do you enjoy about this series that cannot be found in any of your other books?

Getting to write about a lot of cool magic stuff that used to exist in our world, but doesn’t anymore. And getting to travel to interesting places in the world to see if maybe some of it still does exist. Also getting to show the difference between merrows, which are real, interesting creatures, and mermaids, which are just silly.

6. What do you hope readers take away from this book?

I hope, in general, that it will open their eyes to the wonder of the sea, which takes up the majority of our planet, but we really don’t know that much about it down deep. There is a great deal of magic in the sea, and I hope that if and when people become aware of it, they will help take care of it and not throw garbage and other bad stuff into it. I have a serious dislike for garbage-throwing.

Probably the most useful secret I learned that I hope will be of use to readers is about thrum. Thrum is the way the creatures and plants that live in the ocean communicate with each other through vibration and thought. As Ven and his friends learn, this can be a problem if you think about something you don’t want anyone to know about when you are standing in a sunshadow, because everyone gets to see a picture of what’s on your mind. Imagine how embarrassing that could be.

7. Are there more books coming in this series?

Well, at least one. In the archaeological dig site where The Tree of Water was found was another journal, a notebook that Ven called The Star of the Sea. We are still working on restoring it, but it looks like there are many new adventures and different kinds of magic in it. The problem is that it might have been buried in the sand with an ancient bottle of magical sun tan lotion, which seems to have leaked onto some of the journal’s pages. This is a very sad event in archaeology, but we are working hard to restore it.

As for other books, it’s not like we just write them out of nowhere. If we haven’t found one of Ven’s journals, there can’t be another book, now, can there? We are always looking, however. We’ve learned so much about ancient magic from the journals we have found so far.

8. You are a best-selling author with other books and series for adults. What made you want to write books for young readers?

I like young readers better than adults. Everyone who is reading a book like mine has at one time or another been a young reader, but not everyone has been an adult yet. Young readers have more imagination and their brains are more flexible—they can understand magical concepts a lot better than a lot of adults, who have to deal with car payments and work and budget balancing and all sorts of non-magical things in the course of their days.

Besides, many adults scare me. But that’s not their fault. I’m just weird like that.

I think if more adults read like young readers, the world would be a happier place.

9. Tell us where we can find your book and more information about where you are these days.

You can find The Tree of Water anywhere books are sold, online and in bookstores. There are several copies in my steamer trunk and I believe the palace in Serendair also has one. I also sent one to Bruno Mars because I like his name.

At the moment, I am on the beautiful island of J’ha-ha, searching for a very unique and magical flower. Thank you for asking these interview questions—it has improved my mood, since I have only found weeds so far today. I am hoping for better luck after lunch, which, sadly, is peanut butter and raisin sandwiches, olives, and yellow tea again.

All the best,

Dr. Elizabeth Haydon, PhD, D’Arc


Publisher’s Description:  The epic voyages continue in The Tree of Water, the fourth adventure in bestselling author Elizabeth Haydon’s acclaimed fantasy series for young readers, The Lost Journals of Ven Polypheme.

As Royal Reporter of the land of Serendair, it is the duty of young Charles Magnus "Ven" Polypheme to travel the world and seek out magic hiding in plain sight. But Ven needs to escape the clutches of the nefarious Thief Queen, ruler of the Gated City, whose minions are hunting for him. His friend, the merrow Amariel, has the perfect solution to his dilemma: Ven and Char will join her to explore the world beneath the sea.

As they journey through the sea, Ven finds himself surrounded by wonders greater than he could have ever imagined. But the beauty of the ocean is more than matched by the dangers lurking within its depths, and Ven and his friends soon realize that in order to save thousands of innocent lives, they may have to sacrifice their own. For everything in the ocean needs to eat…

Tor/Forge – Starscape | October 2014 | Hardcover | Middle-Grade Fiction | 400 pages | Includes 15 black-and-white illustrations throughout | Age Range: 10 to 14 | Grade Range: 5 to 9

Monday, November 17, 2014

Excerpt | Giveaway: THE TREE OF WATER by Elizabeth Haydon

Tree of Water - Elizabeth Haydon

We have an excerpt and giveaway for THE TREE OF WATER (The Lost Journals of Ven Polypheme #4) by Elizabeth Haydon.

It’s the fourth book in a series for middle grade readers and it’s fantasy. And it can be read as a stand-alone. Meaning you don’t have to read the other books in the series for it to make sense.

The giveaway is for US or Canadian residents.

Here’s the excerpt.


1.)  To Go, or Not to Go

The human boys had an expression back in the faraway city of Vaarn where I was born. It went like this:

Curiosity killed the cat

Satisfaction brought him back

I am a curious person. I was just as curious back in my early days in Vaarn as I am now, perhaps even more so, because my curiosity had not yet been given a chance to be satisfied.

The first time I heard this expression, I was very excited. I thought it meant that my curiosity could make me feel like I was dying, but it would let up if I discovered the answer to whatever was making me curious.

I told my mother about the rhyme. She was not impressed. In fact, she looked at me as if I had just set my own hair on fire on purpose. She patted my chin, which was woefully free of any sign of the beard that should have been growing there.

“That’s very nice,” she said, returning to her chores. “But just in case nobody told you, you are not a cat, Ven. Unlike you, cats have whiskers.”

My pride stung for days afterward.

But it didn’t stop my curiosity from growing as fast as my beard should have been.

My name is Charles Magnus Ven Polypheme, Ven for short. Unlike the human boys in Vaarn, I am of the race of the Nain. Nain are somewhat shorter than humans, and grumpier. They live almost four times as long as humans, and tend to be much less curious, and much less adventurous. They hate to travel, don’t swim, and generally do not like other people. Especially those who are not Nain.

I clearly am not a good example of my race.

First, I am very tall for a Nain, sixty-eight Knuckles high when I was last measured on the morning of my fiftieth birthday. I’ve already mentioned my uncontrollable curiosity, which brings along with it a desire for adventure. I have been blessed, or cursed, with quite a lot of that recently.

But as for the curiosity, while I’ve had a lot of satisfaction for the questions it has asked me, it doesn’t seem to matter. As soon as one burning question is answered, another one springs to mind immediately. As a result, I am frequently in trouble.

So now I am about to lay my head on a chopping block, on purpose, and a man with a very sharp knife is standing over me, ready to make slashes in my neck.

I’m wondering if in fact instead of being a live Nain, I am about to end up as a dead, formerly curious cat.

Because now I have three whiskers of my own.

Ven Polypheme had two sets of eyes staring at him.

One set was black as coal. The other was green as the sea.

Neither of them looked happy.

The green eyes were floating, along with a nose, forehead, and hair on which a red cap embroidered with pearls sat, just above the surface of the water beneath the old abandoned dock. The brows above the eyes were drawn together. They looked annoyed.

The black ones were in the middle of the face of his best friend, Char, who stood beside him on the dock. They looked anxious.

In the distance a bell began to toll. Ven looked to his left at the docks of the fishing village to the south of them, where work had begun hours ago. Then he looked behind him. The sleepy town of Kingston in the distance was just beginning to wake up.

Ven looked back down into the water.

“Come on, Amariel,” he said to the floating eyes. “I can’t really go off into the sea without him.”

A glorious tail of colorful scales emerged from below the surface, splashing both boys with cold salt water.

“Why not?” a girl’s voice demanded from the waves. “He’s a pest. And he isn’t nice to me.”

Char’s black eyes widened.

“I—I’m sorry ’bout that,” he stammered. “When I first met you, Ven didn’t tell me you were a mermaid—” He shivered as another splash drenched him again. “Er, I mean merrow. I’m sorry if I made you mad.”

“Hmmph.”

“Please let him come,” Ven said. “Captain Snodgrass gave him orders to keep an eye on me. So if I’m going to explore the sea with you, he kinda has to come along.”

Char nodded. “Cap’n’s orders.”

“He’s not my captain,” said the merrow. “I don’t take orders from humans. You know better, Ven. My mother will fillet me if she finds out I’m traveling with a human male. Especially if we are going to go exploring. There are very clear rules about not showing humans around the wonders of the Deep. And besides, it’s dangerous. You have no idea how many sea creatures think humans are tasty. I don’t want to get chomped on by mistake.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Ven watched Char’s face go white.

“We’ll be careful,” he promised. “Char will be on his best behavior.”

“I’ve seen his best behavior. I’m not impressed.”

“Look,” Char said. “If you get sick of me, you can always cover me with fish guts and toss me out as shark bait.”

The merrow stared coldly at him.

“Oh, all right,” she said finally. “But remember, there’s a reason they call bait for sharks chum. ‘Chum’ is another word for ‘friend.’” Her eyes stayed locked on Char. “And if you make a bunch of sharks angry, Chum—”

“I’ll be chum,” Char said. “Got it.”

“So if you’re coming, we have to find a fisherman named Asa with a red-bottomed boat.” Amariel pointed south to one of the far docks. “He’ll cut your gills, and we can get going.”

Both boys grabbed their necks.

The merrow rolled her eyes. “Oh, come on. Do you want to be able to breathe underwater or not? Gills are the only way I know of to do that. I’m tired of waiting. Decide whether you’re coming or whether I’m leaving.”

“We’re coming,” Ven said as he let go of his neck. “Sorry—it’s just instinct. Let’s go.”

Char nodded, but did not remove his hands.

The merrow disappeared below the surface of the water.

The two boys hurried south over the packed sand along the shore.

“Ya know, it’s not too late to change your mind, Ven,” Char muttered. “We could get a boat or somethin’, and follow her out to sea, like we did when we were chasing the Floatin’ Island, and then dive down to see whatever she wants to show us—”

“You can stay on shore if you want to, Char,” Ven said, trying to see the merrow in between the waves. “But I promised her a long time ago that I would explore her world with her. It’s now or never.”

“Have it your way,” Char said gloomily. “You always do anyway.”

They followed the pebbly path in the sand south until the fishing village came into sight. Several long piers led out into the harbor, with docks along each of them. Small boats lined the docks. At each boat fishermen were hauling nets filled with flapping fish and cages with crabs and lobsters onto the piers. Seagulls flew in great wide circles above, screeching and crying, then diving for food.

“So how did she happen to find this Asa, and how does she know he won’t just cut our throats?” Char asked as they picked their way among barrels and pieces of rope on the slats of the pier.

Ven shrugged. “No idea. But sailors and merrows have a pretty good connection.” He pointed about halfway down the pier, where a small green fishing boat with a red bottom bobbed lazily in the morning tide. A wrinkled man in a wrinkled hat sat on a barrel at the edge of the dock, cleaning his morning catch of fish. “Could that be him?”

Char squinted. “I guess so.”

“Come on. We may as well ask. If it’s not Asa, he probably knows where to find him. Fishermen all know each other.”

The two boys walked along the pier, stepping out of the way of men dragging lobster traps and heavy netting, until they got to the red-bottomed boat. They stopped behind the elderly fisherman, who did not seem to notice they were there.

Ven coughed politely.

“Excuse me, sir—are you Asa?”

The fisherman looked up from his work, his sky-blue eyes twinkling in the sun.

“Who’s askin’?”

“Er, my name is Ven, sir. I was told I might find a fisherman at this dock who could, uh, cut gills.”

The wrinkly man nodded. “Well, Ven, you’ve found ’im. But I can’t say as I’ve heard of any recent wrecks.”

Ven blinked. “Pardon?”

“Shipwrecks,” said the fisherman. “That’s the only reason I know of for a man to risk a slice in his neck—to salvage the treasure from the bones of a shipwreck.”

“Oh.” Ven and Char exchanged a glance, then looked off the edge of the dock.

In the water behind the boat, the beautiful tail of multicolored scales was waving at them from beneath the surface.

“Uh, we weren’t really planning to dive for treasure,” Ven continued, trying to block the sight of the merrow’s tail. “We just want to do some exploring.”

The fisherman’s eyebrows arched.

“The sea’s no place to explore without a good reason, lads,” he said seriously. “Lots of bad stuff down there—believe you me. The only reason a man takes his life into his hands on a daily basis by going out there is to make a living for his family. Otherwise, we’d farm the land.” The blue eyes twinkled. “If we knew how.”

“Well, we’d really like to have gills, nonetheless,” Ven said. “We’ve been told you know how to, er, cut them without too much pain—and safely. Is that true?”

Asa exhaled, then nodded.

“I suppose that depends on how much is too much where pain is concerned,” he said. “That’s really up to you. It’s not my business what you’re doing. We mind our own business on the sea. If you want gills, and you’re willing to take the risk, I can cut ’em for you right quick.” He held up a thin silver filleting knife. “Then I have to get back to cleaning my catch. So, what’ll it be? Make haste, now.”

Char and Ven looked at each other once more, then nodded at the same time.

“We’re in,” said Char.

“All right then,” said Asa. He reached into the boat and took hold of the top of a small sea chest that held his tackle. He slammed it closed and put it on the dock in front of them. “Kneel down and put your heads on this chest, your left ears down.”

The boys obeyed.

“Well, ’s been good to know you,” Char whispered as they positioned their heads on the chest.

“Shhh,” Ven whispered back. “We’re not being executed, for pity’s sake.”

“You hope we’re not. You never know.”

Asa wiped the filleting knife on his trousers, then came and stood over Ven.

“Hold very still, now.”

Char winced and put his hand over his eyes.

Ven started to close his eyes as well.

Suddenly, from the end of the dock near town, a bright flash of rainbow-colored light blinded him.

And the world seemed to stop around him.

Copyright © 2014 by Elizabeth Haydon & Illustrations copyright © 2014 by Brandon Dorman


Publisher’s Description: The epic voyages continue in The Tree of Water, the fourth adventure in bestselling author Elizabeth Haydon’s acclaimed fantasy series for young readers, The Lost Journals of Ven Polypheme.

As Royal Reporter of the land of Serendair, it is the duty of young Charles Magnus "Ven" Polypheme to travel the world and seek out magic hiding in plain sight. But Ven needs to escape the clutches of the nefarious Thief Queen, ruler of the Gated City, whose minions are hunting for him. His friend, the merrow Amariel, has the perfect solution to his dilemma: Ven and Char will join her to explore the world beneath the sea.

As they journey through the sea, Ven finds himself surrounded by wonders greater than he could have ever imagined. But the beauty of the ocean is more than matched by the dangers lurking within its depths, and Ven and his friends soon realize that in order to save thousands of innocent lives, they may have to sacrifice their own. For everything in the ocean needs to eat…

Tor/Forge – Starscape | October 2014 | Hardcover | Middle-Grade Fiction | 400 pages | Includes 15 black-and-white illustrations throughout | Age Range: 10 to 14 | Grade Range: 5 to 9


To enter the giveaway please fill out the Google form:

Friday, November 14, 2014

Giveaway: TIDES OF MARITINIA by Warren Hammond and Gratitude Giveaways Hop

Tides of Maritinia - Warren Hammond

We have a giveaway for TIDES OF MARITINIA by Warren Hammond. It’s “a spy novel with a science fiction twist”  for international or US residents - depending on your preference for book format.

The giveaway is international in its ebook format. However, if you are in the US and win you can opt for a paper copy but it will be delivered in January since the paper copy will not be available until then.

This giveaway is also attached to the 5th Annual Gratitude Giveaways Hop. It’s hosted by I Am A Reader Not A Writer. You can find the other blogs that you can link to for bookish giveaways at the bottom of this post.


Here’s the publisher’s description:  

Maritinia is at the far edge of the Empire, a planet with little economic value in the Sire’s sphere of influence. 

And it’s just rebelled.

The people of Maritinia believe the Empire will not care that they’ve broken free. But the Empire is built on the belief that if an insignificant planet can revolt, then other, more important planets might follow suit.

So the Empire sends an agent to Maritinia with a mission: assassinate and replace one of the conspirators, and do enough to sow discord that when the soldiers do land, any opposition will be quickly crushed.

Thus Jakob finds himself immersed in the inner circle of the madman who led the rebellion. A raw recruit with only his political officer—a separate consciousness inserted into his brain—to speak with, Jakob is out of his element as an operative. And while he falls deeper into the conspiracy, he begins to question everything: the despotic admiral in charge of the coup, his feelings for a native woman, and—most troublingly—whether he still agrees with the will of the Sire.

In TIDES OF MARITINIA, author Warren Hammond thrusts readers into Maritinia, a far-flung planet on the outskirts of the omnipresent Empire. Maritinia is a planet of little consequence; its people are purposefully deprived of technology as a means of government control, its economy rests precariously on the export of kelp… and a group of rebels have just staged a coup.

In spite of the planet’s status, the Empire needs to regain control. Naturally, they send Jakob Bryce, a hapless paper-pusher who has somehow become a secret agent of the Empire, with a simple mission: assassinate and replace one of the rebel conspirators, immerse himself in the inner circle of “New” Maritinia, and sow enough discord to bring down the unstable rebellion and make way for Empire troops to come in and clean house.

Hammond expertly constructs a vibrant world in TIDES OF MARITINIA, filled with brilliant detail, colorful characters, and a layered universe of class, politics, religion and warfare.

Harper Voyager Impulse | Ebook | 12/02/2014

Warren Hammond is the author of three books in the KOP series—KOP, Ex-KOP, and KOP Killer—which were hailed by The Denver Post as “an addictively readable mix of hard-boiled detective and science fiction.” Hammond grew up in the Hudson River Valley of New York State. Upon obtaining his teaching degree from the University at Albany, he moved to Colorado and settled in Denver, where he can often be found typing away at one of the local coffee shops. He lives there with his wife.


gratitude-2013

The Gratitude Giveaways Hop runs from November 15th to the 30th.

Please be a reader or follower of Layers of Thought to enter this giveaway. There are a number of ways that you can keep up-to-date on reviews, giveaways, author interviews or guest posts, and more. Below are your choices on ways to follow.

Ways to “Follow”

  1. Facebook (For blog updates in your feed add me as a friend.)
  2. Your Email Box
  3. Feed Reader
  4. Twitter
  5. Google+
  6. Pinterest
  7. Goodreads (Add me as a friend. However, there are no giveaway updates here only reviews.)

To enter this contest please fill out the Google form.

Now for the other blogs offering bookish giveaways. You can click on the blog’s title to access the site and follow the instructions to enter in their giveaway. Have fun and good luck!

Saturday, November 1, 2014

Giveaway: The Bodies We Wear by Jeyn Roberts

The Bodies We Wear - Jeyn Roberts

We have a giveaway for two copies of The Bodies We Wear by Jeyn Roberts for US and Canadian residents. It’s a young adult Dystopian novel. And it’s the first in a new series.

“What’s a Dystopian novel” you ask? It’s generally a novel that has a setting for “a community or society that is in some important way undesirable or frightening” according to Wikipedia.

This giveaway is also attached to the Dystopian Giveaway Hop hosted by My Shelf Confessions and I Am A Reader Not a Writer. It runs from November 1st to 7th. You can enter other giveaways for Dystopian books by linking on the blog titles that are listed at the bottom of this post.


Here’s the publisher’s description for the book:  A streetwise girl trains to take on a gang of drug dealers and avenge her best friend’s death in this thriller for fans of Scott Westerfeld and Robin Wasserman.

People say when you take Heam, your body momentarily dies and you catch a glimpse of heaven. Faye was only eleven when dealers forced Heam on her and her best friend, Christian. But Faye didn’t glimpse heaven—she saw hell. And Christian died.

Now Faye spends her days hiding her secret from the kids at school, and her nights training to take revenge on the men who destroyed her life and murdered her best friend. But life never goes the way we think it will. When a mysterious young man named Chael appears, Faye's plan suddenly gets a lot more complicated. Chael seems to know everything about her, including her past. But too many secrets start tearing her world apart: trouble at school, with the police, and with the people she thought might be her friends. Even Gazer, her guardian, fears she's become too obsessed with vengeance. Love and death. Will Faye overcome her desires, or will her quest for revenge consume her?

September 23, 2014 | Hardcover | Pages: 368 | Random House

Jeyn Roberts is the author of Dark Inside and Rage Within. Her first story was published in a middle-grade anthology called Let Me Tell You when she was sixteen. She graduated from the University of British Columbia with a degree in writing and psychology and received her MA from the prestigious creative writing graduate course at Bath Spa University. Jeyn is a former singer, songwriter, actress, bicycle courier, and tree planter. Her favorite authors include Betty Smith, JK Rowling, Ernest Hemmingway, Douglas Coupland, and Jonathan Stroud, and her 5 favorite books of all time are A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Girlfriend in a Coma, Memoirs of a Geisha, What's Eating Gilbert Grape, and Harry Potter. Jeyn lives in Canada.


Dystopian-Hop

Please be a reader or follower of Layers of Thought to enter this giveaway. There are a number of ways that you can keep up-to-date on reviews, giveaways, author interviews or guest posts, and more. Below are your choices on ways to follow.

Ways to “Follow”

  1. Facebook (For blog updates in your feed add me as a friend.)
  2. Your Email Box
  3. Feed Reader
  4. Twitter
  5. Google+
  6. Pinterest
  7. Goodreads (Add me as a friend. However, there are no giveaway updates here only reviews.)

To enter this contest please fill out the Google form.

Now for the other blogs offering Dystopian books for giveaway. Good luck!

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