tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32066851289864869292024-03-16T00:07:48.374-07:00Layers of Thoughtan eclectic blog with an affinity for the speculativeAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10360453947198770223noreply@blogger.comBlogger959125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3206685128986486929.post-33042067208698249532016-03-14T14:57:00.001-07:002016-03-14T14:57:46.196-07:00Giveaway:THE SECRETS OF SOLACE by Jaleigh Johnson<p><b><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-aY44-DzjOC8/Vucz1LDmJMI/AAAAAAAAND4/sajQxIk8bfY/s1600-h/The-Secrets-of-Solace---Jaleigh-John.png"><img title="The Secrets of Solace - Jaleigh Johnson" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; float: left; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin: 0px 15px 10px 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="The Secrets of Solace - Jaleigh Johnson" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-n6hrEqsWkAs/Vucz1i2lqVI/AAAAAAAAND8/oXXWhfjMOfU/The-Secrets-of-Solace---Jaleigh-John%25255B1%25255D.png?imgmax=800" width="230" align="left" height="343"></a></b></p> <p>We have a giveaway for <strong>THE SECRETS OF SOLACE</strong> by Jaleigh Johnson. There are two copies for US addresses, and are courtesy of Random House. This giveaway is also attached to the <strong>Lucky Leprechaun Giveaway Hop</strong> which runs from March 15th to the 22nd. The hop is hosted by <em>BookHounds</em>.</p> <p>Now for a bit more about this middle grade stand alone sequel. Which means that the book is part of a series but can be read without having to read the others in the series. It is also recommended for children above the age of 10. But is of course fun for adults too.</p> <hr> <p><b>From Jaleigh Johnson, the acclaimed author of the <i>New York Times</i> bestseller <i>The Mark of the Dragonfly,</i> comes another thrilling adventure in the magical world of Solace.</b></p> <p>Lina Winterbock lives in the mountain strongholds of Solace. She’s an apprentice to the archivists, the wise men and women whose lives are dedicated to cataloging, studying, and preserving the objects that mysteriously fall from the sky in the scrap towns.<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-GVBv7MKPH2k/Vucz1x1XU1I/AAAAAAAANEA/p5bvyHjoMhg/s1600-h/lucky-leprechaun---20164.jpg"><img title="lucky leprechaun - 2016" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; float: right; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin: 10px 0px 10px 15px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="lucky leprechaun - 2016" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-tbLrnDmcpnc/Vucz2fUEqqI/AAAAAAAANEE/h3YjauusWWg/lucky-leprechaun---2016_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="240" align="right" height="148"></a></p> <p>Lina should be spending her days with books, but the Iron War has changed everything. The strongholds are now a refuge, and the people Lina once counted on no longer have time for her, so she spends her days exploring the hidden tunnels and passages of her home. The strongholds are vast and old, with twisting paths, forgotten rooms, and collapsed chambers, some of them containing objects that have been lost and forgotten even by the archivists.</p> <p>And in one of the forgotten chambers, Lina discovers a secret.</p> <p>Hidden deep in a cavern is a half-buried airship like nothing she has ever seen before. She’s determined to dig it out and restore it. But Lina needs help, and she doesn’t know anyone she can trust with her secret.</p> <p>Then she meets Ozben, a mysterious boy who has a secret of his own—a secret that’s so dangerous it could change the course of the Iron War and the world of Solace forever. </p> <p>Hardcover | $16.99 | Mar 08, 2016 | 384 Pages | Middle Grade (10 and up) | Random House <p><b>JALEIGH JOHNSON</b> is a lifelong reader, gamer, and moviegoer. She loves nothing better than to escape into fictional worlds and take part in fantastic adventures. She lives and writes in the wilds of the Midwest, but you can visit her online at <a href="http://www.jaleighjohnson.com">jaleighjohnson.com</a> or on Twitter at @JaleighJohnson. <hr> Please be an email reader of <em>Layers of Thought</em> to enter this contest. Sign up to receive blog updates in <a href="http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=LayersOfThought&loc=en_US">Your Email Box</a> by linking on the previous text. Or do so in the box on the right side bar for the blog. <p>Please fill out the Google form.<iframe height="700" marginheight="0" src="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/19huk0PpG0xgMO7U8hO__Cl4cWF4P1AzhE_AIy9GmZjw/viewform?embedded=true" frameborder="0" width="500" marginwidth="0">Loading...</iframe> <p>Now for the other bloggers offering bookish giveaway for this hop. Just click on the blog names to visit each.</p><!-- start LinkyTools script --><script src="http://www.linkytools.com/basic_linky_include.aspx?id=266390" type="text/javascript"></script><!-- end LinkyTools script -->Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10360453947198770223noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3206685128986486929.post-85060015143604122122016-02-27T21:39:00.001-08:002016-02-27T21:39:06.867-08:00Giveaway: The Last Days of Magic by Mark Tompkins<p><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-nhySKg1jc7I/VtKH8NN08tI/AAAAAAAANCg/4hve-gR3vj4/s1600-h/The-Last-Days-of-Magic---Mark-Tomkin.png"><img title="The Last Days of Magic - Mark Tomkins" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; float: left; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin: 0px 15px 10px 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="The Last Days of Magic - Mark Tomkins" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-3vfrwU7ZOgw/VtKH8mXoDOI/AAAAAAAANCk/dPvfvObIAwo/The-Last-Days-of-Magic---Mark-Tomkin%25255B1%25255D.png?imgmax=800" width="230" align="left" height="347"></a></p> <p>We have a giveaway for <strong>THE LAST DAYS OF MAGIC</strong> by Mark Tompkins for US residents, courtesy of Penguin Random House.</p> <p>In addition to the book for the giveaway the winner will receive a promotional tarot card set pictured below. All packaged up in a gold envelope. </p> <p>Fun stuff!</p> <p>What’s even better is this giveaway is attached to the <strong>Leap Into Books Giveaway Hop</strong> where you can enter other bookish giveaways by linking on the blogs’ titles listed at the bottom of this post. The hop runs from Feb. 28 till March 7 and is hosted by <em>BookHounds</em>.</p> <hr> <p>Here’s more about the book:</p> <p>What became of magic in the world? Who needed to do away with it, and for what reasons? Drawing on myth, legend, fairy tales, and Biblical mysteries, <strong>The Last Days of Magic</strong> brilliantly imagines answers to these questions, sweeping us back to a world where humans and magical beings co-exist as they had for centuries. <p><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Cl-1Jz2fiSs/VtKH9NkJLAI/AAAAAAAANCo/XlyTItMIQEk/s1600-h/Leap-Into-Books-Hop-20165.jpg"><img title="Leap Into Books Hop 2016" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; float: right; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Leap Into Books Hop 2016" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-xDQAY04go_s/VtKH9VrcCrI/AAAAAAAANCs/VN7nwM6CwNw/Leap-Into-Books-Hop-2016_thumb9.jpg?imgmax=800" width="240" align="right" height="222"></a> <p>Aisling, a goddess in human form, was born to rule both domains and—with her twin, Anya—unite the Celts with the powerful faeries of the Middle Kingdom. But within medieval Ireland interests are divided, and far from its shores greater forces are mustering. Both England and Rome have a stake in driving magic from the Emerald Isle. Jordan, the Vatican commander tasked with vanquishing the remnants of otherworldly creatures from a disenchanted Europe, has built a career on such plots. But increasingly he finds himself torn between duty and his desire to understand the magic that has been forbidden. <p><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-DvH82aiplbc/VtKH-Avi53I/AAAAAAAANCw/szfzq9R2ZQI/s1600-h/Last-Days-of-Magic-and-Tarrot-Cards-.png"><img title="Last Days of Magic and Tarrot Cards giveaway" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; float: left; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin: 5px 15px 10px 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Last Days of Magic and Tarrot Cards giveaway" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-xVlxZiMYkCY/VtKH-t84rRI/AAAAAAAANC0/ZdA7J1OZQJ4/Last-Days-of-Magic-and-Tarrot-Cards-%25255B1%25255D.png?imgmax=800" width="240" align="left" height="180"></a> <p>As kings prepare, exorcists gather, and divisions widen between the warring clans of Ireland, Aisling and Jordan must come to terms with powers given and withheld, while a world that can still foster magic hangs in the balance. Loyalties are tested, betrayals sown, and the coming war will have repercussions that ripple centuries later, in today’s world—and in particular for a young graduate student named Sara Hill. <p><strong>The Last Days of Magic</strong> introduces us to unforgettable characters who grapple with quests for power, human frailty, and the longing for knowledge that has been made taboo. Mark Tompkins has crafted a remarkable tale—a feat of world-building that poses astonishing and resonant answers to epic questions. <p>Hardcover | Viking | Mar 01, 2016 | 400 Pages <p>Please be a reader of the blog to enter this contest. Sign up to receive blog updates in <a href="http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=LayersOfThought&loc=en_US">Your Email Box</a> by linking on the previous text. Or do so in the box on the right side bar for the blog. <p>To enter the contest please fill out the Google form:</p> <p> <iframe height="760" marginheight="0" src="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1bfNMD_fMQrlbivjqluWbmy_kCaXFNFBnexghyReOkjc/viewform?embedded=true" frameborder="0" width="500" marginwidth="0">Loading...</iframe></p> <p>To visit the other blogs hosting giveaways for this hop link on the blog’s title below: <!-- start LinkyTools script --><script src="http://www.linkytools.com/basic_linky_include.aspx?id=264859" type="text/javascript"></script><!-- end LinkyTools script -->Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10360453947198770223noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3206685128986486929.post-58111099049790609772016-02-25T14:01:00.001-08:002016-02-25T14:01:33.344-08:00Incoming Books: February 25, 2016<p><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Qzm-UeFPfiM/Vs95W9qZUbI/AAAAAAAAM-k/UYYVGs4mt6g/s1600-h/TheLastDaysofMagicMarkTomkins5.png"><img title="The Last Days of Magic - Mark Tomkins" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 0px 15px 10px 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="The Last Days of Magic - Mark Tomkins" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-2G3i2yoL0uQ/Vs95XQxFdSI/AAAAAAAAM-o/G9VoBdFliKo/TheLastDaysofMagicMarkTomkins_thumb5.png?imgmax=800" width="230" align="left" height="347"></a></p> <p>We have our Incoming Books post for February 25, 2016.</p> <hr> <p align="center"><strong>Penguin Random House</strong></p> <p><strong>The Last Days of Magic</strong> by Mark Tompkins</p> <p>What became of magic in the world? Who needed to do away with it, and for what reasons? Drawing on myth, legend, fairy tales, and Biblical mysteries, <strong>The Last Days of Magic</strong> brilliantly imagines answers to these questions, sweeping us back to a world where humans and magical beings co-exist as they had for centuries.</p> <p>Aisling, a goddess in human form, was born to rule both domains and—with her twin, Anya—unite the Celts with the powerful faeries of the Middle Kingdom. But within medieval Ireland interests are divided, and far from its shores greater forces are mustering. Both England and Rome have a stake in driving magic from the Emerald Isle. Jordan, the Vatican commander tasked with vanquishing the remnants of otherworldly creatures from a disenchanted Europe, has built a career on such plots. But increasingly he finds himself torn between duty and his desire to understand the magic that has been forbidden.</p> <p>As kings prepare, exorcists gather, and divisions widen between the warring clans of Ireland, Aisling and Jordan must come to terms with powers given and withheld, while a world that can still foster magic hangs in the balance. Loyalties are tested, betrayals sown, and the coming war will have repercussions that ripple centuries later, in today’s world—and in particular for a young graduate student named Sara Hill.<br><br><strong>The Last Days of Magic</strong> introduces us to unforgettable characters who grapple with quests for power, human frailty, and the longing for knowledge that has been made taboo. Mark Tompkins has crafted a remarkable tale—a feat of world-building that poses astonishing and resonant answers to epic questions.</p> <p>Hardcover | Viking | Mar 01, 2016 | 400 Pages <p><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-kxSCqXUGTsc/Vs95Xszl5pI/AAAAAAAAM-s/iFWS-wnNzrE/s1600-h/KingfisherPatriciaAMcKillip3.png"><img title="Kingfisher - Patricia A McKillip" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 5px 0px 10px 15px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Kingfisher - Patricia A McKillip" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-HEk_UoV02SE/Vs95YMksVuI/AAAAAAAAM-w/iopWviC7_mo/KingfisherPatriciaAMcKillip_thumb3.png?imgmax=800" width="160" align="right" height="251"></a> <p><strong>Kingfisher </strong>by Patricia A. McKillip</p> <p>In the new fantasy from the award-winning author of the Riddle-Master Trilogy, a young man comes of age amid family secrets and revelations, and transformative magic.</p> <p>Hidden away from the world by his mother, the powerful sorceress Heloise Oliver, Pierce has grown up working in her restaurant in Desolation Point. One day, unexpectedly, strangers pass through town on the way to the legendary capital city. “Look for us,” they tell Pierce, “if you come to Severluna. You might find a place for yourself in King Arden’s court.”</p> <p>Lured by a future far away from the bleak northern coast, Pierce makes his choice. Heloise, bereft and furious, tells her son the truth: about his father, a knight in King Arden’s court; about an older brother he never knew existed; about his father’s destructive love for King Arden’s queen, and Heloise’s decision to raise her younger son alone.</p> <p>As Pierce journeys to Severluna, his path twists and turns through other lives and mysteries: an inn where ancient rites are celebrated, though no one will speak of them; a legendary local chef whose delicacies leave diners slowly withering from hunger; his mysterious wife, who steals Pierce’s heart; a young woman whose need to escape is even greater than Pierce’s; and finally, in Severluna, King Arden’s youngest son, who is urged by strange and lovely forces to sacrifice his father’s kingdom.</p> <p>Things are changing in that kingdom. Oldmagic is on the rise. The immensely powerful artifact of an ancient god has come to light, and the king is gathering his knights to quest for this profound mystery, which may restore the kingdom to its former glory—or destroy it…</p> <h6></h6> <p>Hardcover | Ace | Feb 02, 2016 | 352 Pages </p> <p><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-5a_3OJT1FIQ/Vs95YvmPTFI/AAAAAAAAM-0/-FLIxgZSG40/s1600-h/TowerofThornsJulietMarillier3.png"><img title="Tower of Thorns - Juliet Marillier" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 5px 15px 10px 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Tower of Thorns - Juliet Marillier" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-q9TtPSfTcVU/Vs95ZbEBGNI/AAAAAAAAM-4/tXOfsy9XTTw/TowerofThornsJulietMarillier_thumb3.png?imgmax=800" width="160" align="left" height="242"></a> </p> <p><strong>The Tower of Thorns</strong> (Blackthorn and Grim #2) by Juliet Marillier</p> <p><b>Award-winning author Juliet Marillier’s “lavishly detailed”* Blackthorn & Grim series continues as a mysterious creature holds an enchanted and imperiled ancient Ireland in thrall.</b></p> <p>Disillusioned healer Blackthorn and her companion, Grim, have settled in Dalriada to wait out the seven years of Blackthorn’s bond to her fey mentor, hoping to avoid any dire challenges. But trouble has a way of seeking out Blackthorn and Grim.</p> <p>Lady Geiléis, a noblewoman from the northern border, has asked for the prince of Dalriada’s help in expelling a howling creature from an old tower on her land—one surrounded by an impenetrable hedge of thorns. Casting a blight over the entire district, and impossible to drive out by ordinary means, it threatens both the safety and the sanity of all who live nearby. With no ready solutions to offer, the prince consults Blackthorn and Grim.</p> <p>As Blackthorn and Grim begin to put the pieces of this puzzle together, it’s apparent that a powerful adversary is working behind the scenes. Their quest is about to become a life and death struggle—a conflict in which even the closest of friends can find themselves on opposite sides. </p> <p>Hardcover | Roc | Nov 03, 2015 | 432 Pages</p> <p><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-mBRXRr4vMZI/Vs95Zglx8MI/AAAAAAAAM-8/MEFmXzBcs2s/s1600-h/DreamingDeathJKathleenCheney3.png"><img title="Dreaming Death - J Kathleen Cheney" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 5px 0px 10px 15px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Dreaming Death - J Kathleen Cheney" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-UMr6uIwMFS8/Vs95aADPG4I/AAAAAAAAM_A/lOJEuxkLvws/DreamingDeathJKathleenCheney_thumb3.png?imgmax=800" width="160" align="right" height="242"></a> </p> <p><strong>Dreaming Death</strong> by J. Kathleen Cheney</p> <p>Shironne Anjir’s status as a sensitive is both a gift and a curse. Her augmented senses allow her to discover and feel things others can’t, but her talents come with a price: a constant assault of emotions and sensations has left her blind. Determined to use her abilities as best she can, Shironne works tirelessly as an investigator for the Larossan army. </p> <p>A member of the royal family’s guard, Mikael Lee also possesses an overwhelming power—he dreams of the deaths of others, sometimes in vivid, shocking detail, and sometimes in cryptic fragments and half-remembered images.</p> <p>But then a killer brings a reign of terror to the city, snuffing out his victims with an arcane and deadly blood magic. Only Shironne can sense and interpret Mikael’s dim, dark dreams of the murders. And what they find together will lead them into a nightmare…</p> <p>Paperback | Roc | Feb 02, 2016 | 432 Pages <p><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-vYaQq0tfrOI/Vs95a2QPl1I/AAAAAAAAM_E/qznrxG-7MOQ/s1600-h/SlavemakersJosephWallace3.png"><img title="Slavemakers - Joseph Wallace" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 5px 15px 10px 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Slavemakers - Joseph Wallace" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-HRloniONDyc/Vs95bIh01hI/AAAAAAAAM_I/K20CoRi0vmU/SlavemakersJosephWallace_thumb3.png?imgmax=800" width="160" align="left" height="282"></a> <p><strong>Slavemakers</strong> (#2) by Joseph Wallace (ARC)</p> <p><b>The new postapocalyptic thriller from the author of <i>Invasive Species</i></b> <p><b>IT’S THEIR TERRITORY NOW.</b></p> <p>Twenty years ago, venomous parasitic wasps known as “thieves” staged a massive, apocalyptic attack on another species—<i>Homo sapiens</i>—putting them on the brink of extinction. </p> <p>But some humans did survive. The colony called Refugia is home to a population of 281, including scientists, a pilot, and a tough young woman named Kait. In the African wilderness, there’s Aisha Rose, nearly feral, born at the end of the old world. And in the ruins of New York City, there’s a mysterious, powerful boy, a skilled hunter, isolated and living by his wits. </p> <p>As the survivors journey through the wastelands, they will find that they are not the only humans left on earth. Not by a long shot.</p> <p>But they may be the only ones left who are not under the thieves’ control…</p> <p>Mass Market Paperback | Ace | Dec 01, 2015 | 384 Pages <p><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-XmrVD6_tvxo/Vs95bl8lPNI/AAAAAAAAM_M/YvmE683bNYM/s1600-h/GhostStoryPeterStraub2.png"><img title="Ghost Story - Peter Straub" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 5px 0px 10px 15px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Ghost Story - Peter Straub" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-if4KmkBMmDA/Vs95cLAmtRI/AAAAAAAAM_Q/8G4YhLU3jWU/GhostStoryPeterStraub_thumb2.png?imgmax=800" width="160" align="right" height="240"></a> <p><strong>Ghost Story</strong> by Peter Straub</p> <p><b>#1 <i>New York Times</i> bestselling author Peter Straub’s classic tale of horror, secrets, and the dangerous ghosts of the past…</b><br><b></b><br><i>What was the worst thing you’ve ever done?</i><br><i></i><br>In the sleepy town of Milburn, New York, four old men gather to tell each other stories—some true, some made-up, all of them frightening. A simple pastime to divert themselves from their quiet lives.</p> <p>But one story is coming back to haunt them and their small town. A tale of something they did long ago. A wicked mistake. A horrifying accident. And they are about to learn that no one can bury the past forever…</p> <p>Paperback | Berkley | Feb 02, 2016 | 528 Pages <p><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-CtaFF3-sjXI/Vs95csowzHI/AAAAAAAAM_U/8yKSpfqMG8I/s1600-h/TheDeomistsThomasESniegoski3.png"><img title="The Deomists - Thomas E Sniegoski" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 5px 15px 10px 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="The Deomists - Thomas E Sniegoski" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-01RzzAgkvF8/Vs95dFLWLuI/AAAAAAAAM_Y/IyT_gXvEaxY/TheDeomistsThomasESniegoski_thumb3.png?imgmax=800" width="160" align="left" height="242"></a> <p><strong>The Demonists</strong> by Thomas E. Sniengoski (ARC) <p><strong>There is more to our world than meets the eye—darker things, crueler things. Exorcist John Fogg and his wife, psychic medium Theodora Knight, know what lurks in the shadows. But even they’re not prepared for the worst Hell has to offer…</strong></p> <p>It was supposed to be a simple exorcism, a publicity stunt to firmly establish John and Theodora’s thriving paranormal investigation empire in the public eye. But something went wrong, leading to an on-air massacre that unleashed a malicious host of demons and left Theodora catatonic, possessed by countless spirits.</p> <p>John sets out on a desperate quest to find a cure for his wife, but his obsession brings him face-to-face with an even more terrifying problem: Theodora’s possession is only one piece of a deadly plot that is threatening the entire world. Because an ancient evil is about to make Earth its battlefield—and without John and Theodora’s intervention, there is no chance for salvation…</p> <p>Paperback | Roc | Apr 05, 2016 | 336 Pages</p> <p><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-nWmwIB0JJy0/Vs95dg5nzBI/AAAAAAAAM_c/B5aZ126kz2Q/s1600-h/IRobotToPreserveMickeyZuckerReichert.png"><img title="I, Robot To Preserve - Mickey Zucker Reichert" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 5px 0px 10px 15px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="I, Robot To Preserve - Mickey Zucker Reichert" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-HFwk1d00g_A/Vs95eKY-nNI/AAAAAAAAM_g/NKjGrCaXRGI/IRobotToPreserveMickeyZuckerReichert%25255B1%25255D.png?imgmax=800" width="160" align="right" height="242"></a> </p> <p><strong>I, Robot: To Preserve</strong> (#3) by Mickey Zucker Reichert</p> <p><b><i>2037: Robotic technology has evolved into the realm of self-aware, sentient mechanical entities. But despite the safeguards programmed into the very core of a robot’s artificial intelligence, humanity’s most brilliant creation can still fall prey to those who believe the Three Laws of Robotics were made to be broken…</i></b></p> <p>N8-C, better known as Nate, has been Manhattan Hasbro Hospital’s resident robot for more than twenty years. A prototype, humanoid in appearance, he was created to interact with people. While some staff accepted working alongside an anthropomorphic robot, Nate’s very existence terrified most people, leaving the robot utilized for menial tasks and generally ignored. </p> <p>Until one of the hospital’s physicians is found brutally murdered with Nate standing over the corpse, a blood-smeared utility bar clutched in his hand. As designer and programmer of Nate’s positronic brain, Lawrence Robertson is responsible for his creation’s actions and arrested for the crime.</p> <p>Susan Calvin knows the Three Laws of Robotics make it impossible for Nate to harm a human being. But to prove both Nate’s and Lawrence’s innocence, she has to consider the possibility that someone somehow manipulated the laws to commit murder…</p> <p>Hardcover | Roc | Feb 02, 2016 | 368 Pages <p><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-4a0uizzVyt8/Vs95e5HUFoI/AAAAAAAAM_k/VFuvXYIiL6M/s1600-h/TheThornofDentonhillMarshallRyanMare.png"><img title="The Thorn of Dentonhill - Marshall Ryan Maresca" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 5px 15px 10px 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="The Thorn of Dentonhill - Marshall Ryan Maresca" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-oCloG3BHc64/Vs95fcLhYrI/AAAAAAAAM_o/9u2XB5yFGJI/TheThornofDentonhillMarshallRyanMare%25255B1%25255D.png?imgmax=800" width="160" align="left" height="258"></a> <p><strong>The Thorn of Dentonhill</strong> (Maradaine #1) by Marshall Ryan Maresca</p> <p>Veranix Calbert leads a double life. By day, he’s a struggling magic student at the University of Maradaine. At night, he spoils the drug trade of Willem Fenmere, crime boss of Dentonhill and murderer of Veranix’s father. He’s determined to shut Fenmere down. </p> <p>With that goal in mind, Veranix disrupts the delivery of two magical artifacts meant for Fenmere’s clients, the mages of the Blue Hand Circle. Using these power-filled objects in his fight, he quickly becomes a real thorn in Fenmere’s side. </p> <p>So much so that soon not only Fenmere, but powerful mages, assassins, and street gangs all want a piece of “The Thorn.” And with professors and prefects on the verge of discovering his secrets, Veranix’s double life might just fall apart. Unless, of course, Fenmere puts an end to it first.</p> <p>Explore the back alleys of the city in this street-level fantasy adventure, the first novel of the Maradaine series. Then see Maradaine from a new perspective, with Maresca’s a second, concurrent series set in the same city: <i>A Murder of Mages</i> begins the Maradaine Constabulary novels, featuring an unlikely partnership of two detectives in the city’s constabulary.</p> <p>Mass Market Paperback | DAW | Feb 03, 2015 | 400 Pages <p><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-CvJeA4BrAZs/Vs95fkWtGkI/AAAAAAAAM_s/KFcwdzPJG64/s1600-h/TheSongofHartgroveHallNatashaSolomon.png"><img title="The Song of Hartgrove Hall - Natasha Solomons" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 5px 0px 10px 15px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="The Song of Hartgrove Hall - Natasha Solomons" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-nmmCGQcpMO8/Vs95gYASDcI/AAAAAAAAM_w/Lpf_yl332KA/TheSongofHartgroveHallNatashaSolomon%25255B1%25255D.png?imgmax=800" width="160" align="right" height="239"></a> <p><strong>The Song of Hartgrove Hall</strong> by Natasha Solomons</p> <p><b><b>A captivating novel that evokes the author’s <i>New York Times</i> bestseller <i>The House at Tyneford <br></i></b></b><br>Natasha Solomons’s breathtaking new novel has it all: a love triangle, family obligations, and rediscovering joy in the face of grief, all set against the alluring backdrop of an English country estate perfect for fans of <i>Downton Abbey<br></i><br><i>It’s a terrible thing to covet your brother’s girl</i></p> <p>New Year’s Eve, Dorset, England, 1946. Candles flicker, a gramophone scratches out a tune as guests dance and sip champagne— for one night Hartgrove Hall relives better days. Harry Fox-Talbot and his brothers have returned from World War II determined to save their once grand home from ruin. But the arrival of beautiful Jewish wartime singer Edie Rose tangles the threads of love and duty, and leads to a devastating betrayal.</p> <p>Fifty years later, now a celebrated composer, Fox reels from the death of his adored wife, Edie. Until his connection with his four-year old grandson – a music prodigy – propels him back into life, and ultimately to confront his past. An enthralling novel about love and treachery, joy after grief, and a man forced to ask: is it ever too late to seek forgiveness?</p> <p>Paperback | Plume | Dec 29, 2015 | 416 Pages <p><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-yuLcjJ0WQyM/Vs95gg2D45I/AAAAAAAAM_0/Ur5HroUyDrc/s1600-h/ViennaNocturneVivienShotwell3.png"><img title="Vienna Nocturne - Vivien Shotwell" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 5px 15px 10px 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Vienna Nocturne - Vivien Shotwell" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-aIIOHZvflW8/Vs95hHL5wQI/AAAAAAAAM_4/lYjBDegPAi8/ViennaNocturneVivienShotwell_thumb3.png?imgmax=800" width="160" align="left" height="246"></a> <p><strong>Vienna Nocturne</strong> by Vivien Shotwell</p> <p><strong>Vienna Nocturne</strong> recounts the turbulent life and brilliantly successful career of young British opera singer Anna Storace, a child prodigy who is taken by her parents to Italy at age thirteen to advance her career. In love with life and wildly ambitious, Anna wants everything–to be famous, to be loved–and this leads her to make some fatal choices. We watch her turn from a carefree young girl to a passionate young woman, and it is during this transformation that her affair with Mozart blossoms. The story of their love, no less powerful for being forbidden, is reminiscent of the passionate thwarted romances described in<i> Loving Frank </i>and <i>Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet</i>. Written in melodious prose by a young author studying opera at Yale, <i>Vienna Nocturne</i> is dramatic story of a woman’s battle to find love and fame in an 18th-century world that controls and limits her at every turn. <p>Paperback | Anchor Canada | Oct 27, 2015 | 304 Pages <p align="center"><strong>Tor - Macmillan</strong></p> <p><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-NTAKg9_hD78/Vs95hc0RJOI/AAAAAAAAM_8/Jr5lJ4NWAP4/s1600-h/SolarExpressLEModesitt4.jpg"><img title="Print" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 5px 0px 10px 15px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Print" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-qdpLytyo1GM/Vs95h7AVBmI/AAAAAAAANAA/Mj1gGKJtP0g/SolarExpressLEModesitt_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" width="160" align="right" height="240"></a> </p> <p><strong>Solar Express</strong> by L.E. Modesitt, Jr.</p> <p>You can't militarize space. This one rule has led to decades of peaceful development of space programs worldwide. However, increasing resource scarcity and a changing climate on Earth's surface is causing some interested parties to militarize, namely India, the North American Union, and the Sinese Federation. <p>The discovery of a strange artifact by Dr. Alayna Wong precipitates a crisis. What appears to be a hitherto undiscovered comet is soon revealed to be an alien structure on a cometary trajectory toward the sun. Now there is a race between countries to see who can study and control the artifact dubbed the "Solar Express" before it perhaps destroys itself. <p>Leading the way for the North American Union is Alayna's friend, Captain Christopher Tavoian, one of the first shuttle pilots to be trained for combat in space. But, as the alien craft gets closer to its destination, it begins to alter the surface of the sun in strange new ways, ways that could lead Alayna to revolutionary discoveries-provided Chris can prevent war from breaking out as he navigates among the escalating tensions between nations. <p><strong>Solar Express</strong><em> </em>is a thrilling, new, hard science fiction novel from <i>New York Times</i> bestselling author L. E. Modesitt, Jr. <p>Tor Books | November 2015 | Hardcover | 448 pages <p><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-DXlD_XJbpLM/Vs95iDhYnNI/AAAAAAAANAE/lMfoVJsl9fY/s1600-h/TheBandsofMourningbyBrandonSanderson.jpg"><img title="The Bands of Mourning by Brandon Sanderson" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 5px 15px 10px 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="The Bands of Mourning by Brandon Sanderson" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Jhg6mwlyvMQ/Vs95irA1xFI/AAAAAAAANAI/MEPLHY2K0jg/TheBandsofMourningbyBrandonSanderson%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="160" align="left" height="240"></a> <p><strong>The Bands of Mourning</strong> (Mistborn #6) by Brandon Sanderson</p> <p><b>The #1 <i>New York Times</i> bestselling author returns to the world of <i>Mistborn </i>with the follow-up to </b><i><b>Shadows of Self</b></i><br><i></i> <p>With <strong>The Alloy of Law</strong><em> </em>and <strong>Shadows of Self</strong>, Brandon Sanderson surprised readers with a <i>New York Times </i>bestselling spinoff of his Mistborn books, set after the action of the trilogy, in a period corresponding to late 19th-century America. <p>Now, with <strong>The Bands of Mourning</strong>, Sanderson continues the story. The Bands of Mourning are the mythical metalminds owned by the Lord Ruler, said to grant anyone who wears them the powers that the Lord Ruler had at his command. Hardly anyone thinks they really exist. A kandra researcher has returned to Elendel with images that seem to depict the Bands, as well as writings in a language that no one can read. Waxillium Ladrian is recruited to travel south to the city of New Seran to investigate. Along the way he discovers hints that point to the true goals of his uncle Edwarn and the shadowy organization known as The Set. <p>Tor Books | January 2016 | Hardcover | 447 pages <p><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-wzIjniapX2Q/Vs95jD2mh4I/AAAAAAAANAM/4gHN2e1Q3ME/s1600-h/BarskLawrenceM.Schoen5.jpg"><img title="Barsk - Lawrence M. Schoen" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 5px 0px 10px 15px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Barsk - Lawrence M. Schoen" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Tya5TQd16mo/Vs95jVb3c9I/AAAAAAAANAQ/j0uMm_kuezw/BarskLawrenceM.Schoen_thumb3.jpg?imgmax=800" width="160" align="right" height="242"></a> <p><strong>Barsk: The Elephants’ Graveyard</strong> by Lawrence M. Schoen</p> <p><b><i>The Sixth Sense</i> meets <i>Planet of the Apes</i></b><b> in a moving science fiction novel set so far in the future, humanity is gone and forgotten in Lawrence M. Schoen's <i>Barsk: The Elephants' Graveyard</i></b> <p>An historian who speaks with the dead is ensnared by the past. A child who feels no pain and who should not exist sees the future. Between them are truths that will shake worlds. <p>In a distant future, no remnants of human beings remain, but their successors thrive throughout the galaxy. These are the offspring of humanity's genius-animals uplifted into walking, talking, sentient beings. The Fant are one such species: anthropomorphic elephants ostracized by other races, and long ago exiled to the rainy ghetto world of Barsk. There, they develop medicines upon which all species now depend. The most coveted of these drugs is koph, which allows a small number of users to interact with the recently deceased and learn their secrets. <p>To break the Fant's control of koph, an offworld shadow group attempts to force the Fant to surrender their knowledge. Jorl, a Fant Speaker with the dead, is compelled to question his deceased best friend, who years ago mysteriously committed suicide. In so doing, Jorl unearths a secret the powers that be would prefer to keep buried forever. Meanwhile, his dead friend's son, a physically challenged young Fant named Pizlo, is driven by disturbing visions to take his first unsteady steps toward an uncertain future. <p>Tor Books | December 2015 | Hardcover | 384 pages <p><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-DSdhi_o_b2o/Vs95jyZSvHI/AAAAAAAANAU/YYh1kmj-beM/s1600-h/ADaughterofNoNationAMDellamonica4.jpg"><img title="A Daughter of No Nation - AM Dellamonica" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 5px 15px 10px 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="A Daughter of No Nation - AM Dellamonica" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Pv5-oZNoGVs/Vs95kJx1zmI/AAAAAAAANAY/JewXPZWC_ak/ADaughterofNoNationAMDellamonica_thu.jpg?imgmax=800" width="160" align="left" height="240"></a> <p><strong>A Daughter of No Nation</strong> (Hidden Sea Trails #2) by A.M. Dellamonica</p> <p>As soon as Sophie Hansa returned to our world, she is anxious to once again go back to Stormwrack. Unable to discuss the wondrous sights she has seen, and unable to tell anyone what happened to her in her time away, Sophie is in a holding pattern, focused entirely on her eventual chance to return. <p>With the sudden arrival of Garland Parrish, Sophie is once again gone. This time, she has been called back to Stormwrack in order to spend time with her father, a Duelist-Adjudicator, who is an unrivaled combatant and fearsome negotiator. But is he driven by his commitment to seeing justice prevail, or is he a sociopath? Soon, she discovers something repellent about him that makes her reject him, and everything he is offering. <p>Adrift again, she discovers that her time spent with her father is not without advantages, however, for Sophie has discovered there is nothing to stop her from setting up a forensic institute in Stormwrack, investigating cases that have been bogged down in the courts, sometimes for years. Her fresh look into a long-standing case between two of the islands turns up new information that could get her, and her friends, pulled into something bold and daring, which changes the entire way she approaches this strange new world. . . . <p>Tor Books | November 2015 | Hardcover | 352 pages <p><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-lVZ6FykwO7s/Vs95kubid8I/AAAAAAAANAc/7LrTOx-n-78/s1600-h/GoodGirlsGlenHirshberg5.jpg"><img title="Good Girls - Glen Hirshberg" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 5px 0px 10px 15px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Good Girls - Glen Hirshberg" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-eccU_mLV9T0/Vs95k5kPL7I/AAAAAAAANAg/X8xDEtn2kC8/GoodGirlsGlenHirshberg_thumb3.jpg?imgmax=800" width="160" align="right" height="261"></a> <p><strong>Good Girls</strong> (Motherless Children Trilogy #2) by Glen Hirshberg</p> <p>Still in college, Rebecca is the “responsible one.” She keeps her friends from getting too crazy—though Human Curling is kind of out there. She’s a safety valve for Joel, her foster father, and helps out at Halfmoon House, which he runs with his wife, Amanda—Rebecca’s foster mother, who makes sure her children able to protect themselves. To take care of themselves. <p>Mostly Rebecca takes care of everyone else. She works at the university’s crisis center, doing whatever she can to help the troubled souls who call the hotline. Until the night he calls. <p>Jess has lost so much: her job, her home…her daughter Natalie, no longer human thanks to the creature who called himself the Whistler. She tried desperately to save Natalie, but in the end, Jess herself pulled the trigger and killed her child. </p> <p>Deep in mourning, Jess flees, with the remnants of her family: the man she loved, seriously injured; her infant grandson, somehow still innocent and pure. And Sophie. </p> <p>Natalie’s best friend, Jess’s almost-daughter, and a mother herself, though her son is dead. Sophie’s alive but not alive—half-mad, half vampire, half a person…and Jess’s responsibility.</p> <p>The Whistler is hunting Jess. She killed his Mother…and Natalie, who was his “destiny.” But he’s not so single-minded that he can’t have a little fun along the way, take what he needs from Rebecca’s friends and family…take Rebecca for his own…. <p>Fates collide in a small town where fear and love are two sides of the same coin and life and death lie far too close together. <p>Tor Books | February 2016 | Hardcover | 352 pages <p><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-iAfba-QGwBo/Vs95lRUulRI/AAAAAAAANAk/6NSEq-bEhPQ/s1600-h/BigfootlooseandFancyFreeRandyHenders%25255B1%25255D.jpg"><img title="Bigfootloose and Fancy Free - Randy Henderson" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 5px 15px 10px 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Bigfootloose and Fancy Free - Randy Henderson" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-sNIM5WIjQ-w/Vs95lpZwfDI/AAAAAAAANAo/OVNGPJxxp3Q/BigfootlooseandFancyFreeRandyHenders.jpg?imgmax=800" width="160" align="left" height="240"></a> <p><strong>Bigfootloose and Finn Fancy Free</strong> (Finn Fancy Necromancy #2) by Randy Henderson</p> <p>In this sequel to Randy Henderson's acclaimed debut novel,<strong> Finn Fancy Necromancy</strong>, Finn Gramaraye is settling back into the real world after his twenty-five-year-long imprisonment in the otherworld of the Fey. He's fallen in love with a woman from his past, though he worries she may love a version of him that no longer exists. He's proved his innocence of the original crime of Dark Necromancy, and he's finding a place in the family business--operating a mortuary for the Arcane, managing the magical energies left behind when an Arcane being dies to prevent it from harming the mundane world. <p>But Finn wants more. Or different. Or something. He's figured out how to use the Kinfinder device created by his half-mad father to find people's True Love, and he'd like to convert that into an Arcane Dating Service. It's a great idea. Everyone wants True Love! Unfortunately, trouble always seems to find Finn, and when he agrees to help his friend, the Bigfoot named Sal, they walk right into a Feyblood rebellion against the Arcane Ruling Council, a rebellion being fomented by unknown forces and fueled by the drug created by Finn's own grandfather. <p>Tor Books | February 2016 | Hardcover | 432 pages <p><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-CfcLZPQuwN0/Vs95mDeuixI/AAAAAAAANAs/0suLrhys41o/s1600-h/UFOHuntersBookTwoWilliamJBirnes4.jpg"><img title="UFO Hunters Book Two - William J Birnes" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 5px 0px 10px 15px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="UFO Hunters Book Two - William J Birnes" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-B6ObmOdsFVM/Vs95mRhsNII/AAAAAAAANAw/dcXS8Q8N0Qo/UFOHuntersBookTwoWilliamJBirnes_thum.jpg?imgmax=800" width="160" align="right" height="240"></a> <p><strong>UFO Hunters Book Two</strong> (#2) by William J. Birnes</p> <p>A young girl digs up a thousand-year-old humanoid skull from a cave in northern Mexico. But the skull contains no human DNA. <p>An amateur videographer taking footage of lights over Mount Shasta, California, captures a giant floating triangle on tape. It's not a plane. It's not a helicopter. What is it? <p>These questions and more are answered in <strong>UFO Hunters Book Two</strong>. Using eyewitness accounts and information from footage never before seen on television, author William Birnes takes readers on the hunt for the real truth about flying saucers, what they are, and why they're here. This is the second companion to the popular HISTORY series and should delight fans in every way. <p>Tor Books | January 2016 | Hardcover | 368 pages <p><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-8KFyqG1VILY/Vs95m7UsVWI/AAAAAAAANA0/rRx2CwH1sDA/s1600-h/TheSilverWitchTPBPaulaBrackston5.jpg"><img title="The Silver Witch TPB - Paula Brackston" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 5px 15px 10px 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="The Silver Witch TPB - Paula Brackston" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-EPFUAm4yBUY/Vs95nBxxM5I/AAAAAAAANA4/RRcWOgKlJYA/TheSilverWitchTPBPaulaBrackston_thum.jpg?imgmax=800" width="160" align="left" height="239"></a> <p><strong>The Silver Witch</strong> by Paula Brackston (paperback)</p> <p>A year after her husband's sudden death, ceramic artist Tilda Fordwells finally moves into the secluded Welsh cottage that was to be their new home. She hopes that the tranquil surroundings will help ease her grief, and lessen her disturbing visions of Mat's death. Instead, the lake in the valley below her cottage seems to spark something dormant in her – a sensitivity, and a power of some sort. Animals are drawn to her, electricity shorts out when she's near, and strangest of all, she sees a new vision; a boatful of ancient people approaching her across the water. <p>On this same lake in Celtic times lived Seren, a witch and shaman. She was respected but feared, kept separate from the community for her strange looks. When a vision came to her of the Prince amid a nest of vipers she warned of betrayal from one of his own. Prince Brynach both loved and revered her, but could not believe someone close to him wished him harm, even as the danger grew. <p>In her own time, Tilda's grief begins to fade beside her newfound powers and a fresh love. When she explores the lake's ancient magic and her own she discovers Seren, the woman in her vision of the boat. Their two lives strangely mirror each other's, suggesting a strong connection between the women. As Tilda comes under threat from a dark power, one reminiscent of Seren's prophecy, she must rely on Seren and ancient magic if death and disaster are not to shatter her life once more. Paula Brackston does it once again with <i>The Silver Witch</i> crafting an enchanting tale as timeless as it is engrossing. <p>St. Martin's Griffin | February 2016 | Trade Paperback | 320 pages <p><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-6WlY34ii0rI/Vs95neQ_IGI/AAAAAAAANA8/eZcS_v_uYV4/s1600-h/TheReturnoftheWitchPaulaBrackston5.jpg"><img title="The Return of the Witch - Paula Brackston" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 5px 0px 10px 15px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="The Return of the Witch - Paula Brackston" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-IXsUdQ9OKPs/Vs95nxtY4II/AAAAAAAANBA/SYb5LtA3Xew/TheReturnoftheWitchPaulaBrackston_th.jpg?imgmax=800" width="160" align="right" height="243"></a> <p><strong>The Return of the Witch</strong> (The Witch’s Daughter #2) by Paula Brackston (ARC)</p> <p>Paula Brackston's debut novel, <strong>The Witch's Daughter</strong>, was the little book that could--with a captivating story, remarkable heroine, and eye-catching package, it has now netted over 200,000 copies in all formats. Now Paula returns with its sequel <i>The Return of the Witch</i>, another bewitching tale of love and magic, featuring her signature blend of gorgeous writing, a fabulous and intriguing historical backdrop, and a headstrong and relatable heroine readers will cheer for. <p>After five years in the Summerlands, Gideon has gained his freedom. Elizabeth knows he will go straight for Tegan, and that she must protect the girl she had come to regard as her own daughter. In the time since she the dramatic night in Batchcombe woods, Tegan has traveled the world learning from all manner of witches, and she is no longer the awkward teenager and novice spellcaster she once was. However, her skills are no match for Gideon's dark, vengeful power, and he succeeds in capturing her. Will Elizabeth be able to find her? Will they be able to defeat their nemesis once and for all? <p>In a breathless journey that takes them through history to the 17th and 19th centuries, witch pursues warlock. Three people steeped in magic weave a new story, but not all will survive until the end. <p>Thomas Dunne Books | March 2016 | Hardcover | 320 pages <p align="center"><strong>Simon and Schuster</strong></p> <p><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-uG0oXvtPVO4/Vs95oX7YebI/AAAAAAAANBE/lNsbdUkoX6c/s1600-h/TheGameandtheGovernessKateNoble5.jpg"><img title="The Game and the Governess - Kate Noble" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 5px 15px 10px 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="The Game and the Governess - Kate Noble" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-wE65o-F3Rfo/Vs95ojuv8oI/AAAAAAAANBI/tH4IZW2IrcQ/TheGameandtheGovernessKateNoble_thum.jpg?imgmax=800" width="160" align="left" height="261"></a> </p> <p><strong>The Game and the Governess</strong> (Winner Takes All #1) by Kate Noble</p> <p><strong>Trading Places</strong> meets <strong>Pride and Prejudice</strong> in this sexy, saucy romance—first in a new series from the author of YouTube sensation <i>The Lizzie Bennet Diaries</i>.</p> <p>Three friends. One Wager. Winner takes all.</p> <p>The Earl—‘Lucky Ned’ Ashby. Pompous, preening, certain that he is beloved by everyone.<br>The Miller—John Turner. Proud, forced to work as the Earl’s secretary, their relationship growing ever more strained. The Doctor—Rhys Gray. Practical, peace-loving, but caught in the middle of two warring friends.</p> <p>Their wager is simple: By trading places with John Turner and convincing someone to fall in love with him, Ned plans to prove it’s him the world adores, not his money. Turner plans to prove him wrong.</p> <p>But no one planned on Phoebe Baker, the unassuming governess who would fall into their trap, and turn everything on its head…</p> <p>Three best friends make a life-changing bet in the first book in a witty, sexy new Regency trilogy from acclaimed author Kate Noble, writer of the wildly popular Emmy award–winning web series <i>The Lizzie Bennet Diaries.</i> </p> <p>Pocket Books | 432 pages | July 2014 | Mass Market Paperback</p> <p><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-8T-Y9I6ifuk/Vs95pKqNsBI/AAAAAAAANBM/J5ToCzppfjY/s1600-h/TheLieandtheLadyKateNoble5.jpg"><img title="The Lie and the Lady - Kate Noble" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 5px 0px 10px 15px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="The Lie and the Lady - Kate Noble" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-kP0C1Wd05Nk/Vs95p1NTxaI/AAAAAAAANBQ/pqWkXEs5HyY/TheLieandtheLadyKateNoble_thumb3.jpg?imgmax=800" width="160" align="right" height="261"></a> </p> <p><strong>The Lie and the Lady</strong> (Winner Takes All #2) by Kate Noble</p> <p>Following <strong>The Game and the Governess</strong> comes the second novel in the witty, sexy Winner Takes All series of Regency romances from Kate Noble, the writer behind the wildly popular, award-winning web series <i>The Lizzie Bennet Diaries.</i></p> <p>Clerk John Turner thought only of winning a bet when he switched places with his friend, Lord Edward Granville, at a country house party. But while posing as a lord, he fell for a lady—the Countess Letitia! Now she's learned the truth, and he must win her back as plain John Turner. He'd better hope that love truly conquers all... </p> <p>Lady Letty was publicly humiliated when it came out that she had fallen for the man, not the master. When she meets him again, she's determined to avoid him, but some things are too intoxicating to be denied. Letty knows what choice she must make to survive, but if she turns her back on her dashing rogue—again—will she lose her chance at love forever? </p> <p>Pocket Books | 384 pages | December 2015 | Mass Market Paperback</p> <p><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-6dGdJvlk6MQ/Vs95qHFhfOI/AAAAAAAANBU/HRf1YI7qpik/s1600-h/MySweetAudrinaVCAndrews5.jpg"><img title="My Sweet Audrina - VC Andrews" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 5px 15px 10px 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="My Sweet Audrina - VC Andrews" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-m8NZLPGsBJU/Vs95qlPF-QI/AAAAAAAANBY/4kZ78z1v5t8/MySweetAudrinaVCAndrews_thumb3.jpg?imgmax=800" width="160" align="left" height="261"></a> </p> <p><strong>My Sweet Audrina</strong> (#1 Audrina Series) by V.C. Andrews</p> <p>V.C. Andrews has enthralled millions with her suspenseful, gothic family sagas, including the bestselling Dollanganger series that began with <strong>Flowers in the Attic</strong>. Now, one of her strangest, most beloved classics <strong>My Sweet Audrina</strong>—a haunting story of love and deceit, innocence and betrayal, and the suffocating power of parental love—is soon to be a major Lifetime movie event.</p> <p>The idea of her sister hovered above them all.</p> <p>Audrina fiercely desired to be as good as her sister. She knew her father could not love her as he loved that other girl, for her sister was so special, so perfect—and dead.<br>Upstairs in a locked room awaited her sister’s clothes and dolls, her animals and games—and her sacred rocking chair. Now Audrina will rock and rock and rock to reclaim all of her gone sister’s special gifts.</p> <p>And then finally she’ll learn the secrets everyone else knows but her. </p>Pocket Books | 560 pages | December 2015 | Media Tie-In Mass Market Paperback <p><strong><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-LbdVlyn9fbY/Vs95rCVXo1I/AAAAAAAANBc/tKM-3YltXCk/s1600-h/SagesEyesVCAndrews5.jpg"><img title="Sage's Eyes - VC Andrews" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 5px 0px 10px 15px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Sage's Eyes - VC Andrews" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-YK8Dyza3iYs/Vs95rgc_9sI/AAAAAAAANBg/BWU7GCF8v7k/SagesEyesVCAndrews_thumb3.jpg?imgmax=800" width="160" align="right" height="263"></a> </strong></p> <p><strong>Sage’s Eyes</strong> by V.C. Andrews</p> <p>From V.C. Andrews, bestselling author of <i>Flowers in the Attic</i> (the first in a series of Lifetime movie events about the Dollanganger family), comes the tale of a young girl kept under the watchful eye of her adoptive parents, as if they fear who—or what—she’ll become… </p> <p>Sixteen-year-old Sage is a lonely child. Her adoptive parents watch her obsessively, as if studying her for warning signs of…something. And maybe they’re right to—even <i>she</i> can’t make sense of the strange things she sees and hears. She possesses knowledge that other teenagers don’t, that her parents and teachers—no adult—could possibly have. So when Sage finally makes a friend who understands her alarming gift, he becomes her confidant, a precarious link to the truth about who she really is. For Sage and the alluring new boy at school share many things in common. Perhaps, they’ll learn, far too many things. </p>Pocket Books | 400 pages | January 2016 | Mass Market Paperback <p align="center"><strong>Harper</strong></p> <p><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-WUUGUJmwHLw/Vs95sH_IkyI/AAAAAAAANBk/UiCCHOcJE58/s1600-h/BloodofInnocentsMitchellHogan5.png"><img title="Blood of Innocents - Mitchell Hogan" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 5px 15px 10px 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Blood of Innocents - Mitchell Hogan" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-JeG2216cq_c/Vs95seuiutI/AAAAAAAANBo/moae1ZfDJsw/BloodofInnocentsMitchellHogan_thumb3.png?imgmax=800" width="160" align="left" height="242"></a> </p> <p><strong>Blood of Innocents</strong> (Sorcery Ascendant Sequence #2) by Mitchell Hogan</p> <p>A novice sorcerer may hold the key to saving his world—or be the instrument of its destruction—in this second book in The Sorcery Ascendant Sequence, a mesmerizing saga of high fantasy that combines magic, malevolence, and mystery. <p>Anasoma, jewel of the Mahruse Empire, has fallen. <p>As orphaned, monk-raised Caldan and his companions flee the city, leaving behind their hopes for a new beginning, horrors from the time of the Shattering begin to close in. <p>With Miranda’s mind broken by forbidden sorcery, Caldan does the unthinkable to save her: he breaks the most sacrosanct laws of the Protectors. But when the emperor’s warlocks arrive to capture him, Caldan realizes that his burgeoning powers may be more of a curse than a blessing, and the enemies assailing the empire may be rivaled by more sinister forces within. <p>And soon, the blood of innocents may be on Caldan’s own hands. <p>Harper Voyager | 02/02/2016 | Pages:<strong> </strong>592 | Trade Paperback <p><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-oNcaUy1g4go/Vs95s-wcT2I/AAAAAAAANBs/m_XpqNnqcDE/s1600-h/DaughterofBloodHelenLowe5.png"><img title="Daughter of Blood - Helen Lowe" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 5px 0px 10px 15px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Daughter of Blood - Helen Lowe" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-gnSbHf37gp4/Vs95tQqnCmI/AAAAAAAANBw/QmaqSFN9V5Y/DaughterofBloodHelenLowe_thumb3.png?imgmax=800" width="160" align="right" height="259"></a> <p><strong>Daughter of Blood</strong> (Wall of Night #3) by Helen Lowe</p> <p>A Gemmell Award-Winning Series. <p>Malian of Night and Kalan, her trusted ally, are returning to the Wall of Night—but already it may be too late. The Wall is dangerously weakened, the Nine Houses of the Derai fractured by rivalry and hate. And now, the Darkswarm is rising . . . <p>Among Grayharbor backstreets, an orphan boy falls foul of dark forces. On the Wall, a Daughter of Blood must be married off to the Earl of Night, a pawn in the web of her family's ambition. On the Field of Blood, Kalan fights for a place in the bride's honor guard, while Malian dodges deadly pursuers in a hunt against time for the fabled Shield of Heaven. But the Darkswarm is gaining strength, and time is running out—for Malian, for Kalan, and for all of Haarth . . . <p>Harper Voyager | 1/26/2016 | Pages:<strong> </strong>768 | Mass Market Paperback <p align="center"><strong>Misc.</strong></p> <p><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-lwyslgeZZD8/Vs95toPx-kI/AAAAAAAANB0/ynSmOvC_UzI/s1600-h/TheNapkinArtofTimBurtonTimBurton6.jpg"><img title="The Napkin Art of Tim Burton - Tim Burton" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 5px 15px 10px 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="The Napkin Art of Tim Burton - Tim Burton" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-S0R02u4BYV4/Vs95uHLWH_I/AAAAAAAANB4/cDEm350vCpU/TheNapkinArtofTimBurtonTimBurton_thu.jpg?imgmax=800" width="160" align="left" height="147"></a> </p> <p><strong>The Napkin Art of Tim Burton</strong> by Tim Burton</p> <p>This mini companion to the award winning <strong>The Art of Tim Burton</strong> provides a glimpse into the mind of a man who spends much of his life on the road. Often finding himself in random surroundings, Burton conveys thoughts, ideas and memories with simple sketches on the most convenient surface available a napkin. </p> <p>Artwork by: Tim Burton, Design Editing by: Holly Kempf, Co-editing by: Leah Gallo </p> <p>Hardcover | 140 pages | October 29th 2015 | Steeles Publishing, Inc. <p><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-bPPqG1gIhcE/Vs95uq4kQqI/AAAAAAAANB8/ev_ugWPnTc0/s1600-h/TheOldFashionedRobertSimonson3.png"><img title="The Old Fashioned - Robert Simonson" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 5px 0px 10px 15px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="The Old Fashioned - Robert Simonson" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-gApJe2ngBgE/Vs95u1PqBsI/AAAAAAAANCA/4wsTiJJvpvY/TheOldFashionedRobertSimonson_thumb3.png?imgmax=800" width="160" align="right" height="230"></a> </p> <p><strong>The Old-Fashioned</strong> by Robert Simonson</p> <p><b>A complete history of one of the world’s most iconic cocktails–now the poster child of the modern cocktail revival–with fifty recipes for classic variations as well as contemporary updates.</b></p> <p>No single cocktail is as iconic, as beloved, or as discussed and fought-over as the Old-Fashioned. Its formula is simple: just whiskey, bitters, sugar, and ice. But how you combine those ingredients—in what proportion, using which brands, and with what kind of garnish—is the subject of much impassioned debate.</p> <p><i>The Old-Fashioned </i>is the spirited, delightfully unexpected story of this renowned and essential drink: its birth as the ur-cocktail in the nineteenth century, darker days in the throes of Prohibition, re-ascension in the 1950s and 1960s (as portrayed and re-popularized by Don Draper on <i>Mad Men</i>), and renaissance as the star of the contemporary craft cocktail movement.</p> <p>Also featured are more than forty cocktail recipes, including classic variations, regional twists, and contemporary updates from top bartenders around the country. All are accessible, delicious, and elegant in their simplicity, demonstrating the versatility and timelessness of the Old-Fashioned formula. </p> <p>With its rich history, stunning photography, and impeccable recipes, <i>The Old-Fashioned</i> is a celebration of one of America’s greatest bibulous achievements. It is a necessary addition to any true whiskey- or cocktail-lover’s bookshelf, and destined to become a classic on par with its namesake beverage.</p> <p>Hardcover | Ten Speed Press| May 13, 2014 | 176 Pages</p>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10360453947198770223noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3206685128986486929.post-56980827361359962802015-12-09T13:50:00.001-08:002015-12-09T13:50:14.549-08:00Review: PLANETFALL by Emma Newman<p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-lL_dSc6stjc/VmiiFMrtVFI/AAAAAAAAM50/sbtO9BYPM4A/s1600-h/PlanetfallEmmaNewman5.jpg"><img title="Planetfall - Emma Newman" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 0px 15px 10px 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Planetfall - Emma Newman" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-iHvHzsIyLcI/VmiiFUGQbBI/AAAAAAAAM54/s5BVu-icfvA/PlanetfallEmmaNewman_thumb3.jpg?imgmax=800" width="230" align="left" height="358"></a> <p>Review by John for <strong>PLANETFALL</strong> by Emma Newman. <p><b>John’s quick take:</b> <em>A novel and excellent story detailing a woman’s poignant struggle against mental illness, set within a science fiction tale of a fragile human colony struggling to survive and to uncover the truth of humanity’s place within the cosmos.</em> <p><b>John’s description:</b> After Lee Suh-Mi had a vision of a world far beyond Earth that was calling out to humanity, her friend Renata Ghali and a large group of faithful followers gave up everything to leave the troubled Earth behind on a voyage of exploration, knowing that they could never return. Suh-Mi guided them to a distant planet where an advance party makes planetfall and finds a strange alien structure. <p>Suh-Mi apparently disappears into the structure and consequently many of the following group are lost while trying to land on the planet. Renata and the other survivors set up a colony beside the enigmatic alien structure, believing that Suh-Mi is speaking to God and will return to them when she is ready. But now twenty two years have passed and it feels to Renata like a web of secrets and lies are crushing her. She is party to information which would surely destroy the colony, but feels like she can no longer bear the weight of that burden. <p>When a young stranger who bears a striking resemblance to Suh-Mi appears next to the colony, most of the colonists go into a frenzy of excitement believing this must be a sign of Suh-Mi’s imminent return. But for Renata the stranger’s appearance pushes her beyond her breaking point. <p><b>John’s thoughts:</b> I love good science fiction and this book fits the bill. But what I particularly like about it is that the intriguing science fiction story is just the backdrop and the real story is the struggle of Renata to maintain her grip on her sanity. Newman’s description of what Renata is going through and the demons that she is trying to keep under control is really powerful and it makes for a compelling read. <p>Apart from the science fiction aspects and the powerful character study, the novel also has a cast of believable supporting players that have some depth to them. All too often in science fiction novels I find that characters are rather two dimensional and that stories rely too much on the science and the novelty – I’m pleased to say that is not the case with this book. <p>There is one aspect of story that I feared I was going to find bothersome and that was the potential religious overtone. Thankfully that didn’t turn out to be an issue. The foundation of the plot was the search for knowledge and for answers from greater beings, but that didn’t result in a story that was overtly religious in nature – which is something that would have really have turned me off. So potential readers need have no fears on that front. <p>Did the novel have any negatives for me? Well, the ending came rather quickly and lots of things were wrapped up in a very small number of pages. That was mostly ok but I’m still not sure if I actually enjoyed and appreciated the ending. Don’t let my possible concerns on that front put you off though. This is a very good novel and I’d rate if four stars. <p>Roc | Trade Paperback | $15.00 | 336 pages | November 3, 2015</p> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10360453947198770223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3206685128986486929.post-55352341897619630842015-12-01T11:17:00.001-08:002015-12-03T16:45:36.949-08:00Review: PUNCH BOWLS by Kelley and Tenaglia<p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-_SqhoGEZFh0/Vl3yOmviCRI/AAAAAAAAM40/Vq-t9cDOsxk/s1600-h/Puch%252520Bowls%252520%252526%252520Pitcher%252520Drinks%252520-%252520Kelley%252520%252526%252520Tenaglia%25255B1%25255D.jpg"><img title="Puch Bowls & Pitcher Drinks - Kelley & Tenaglia" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 0px 15px 10px 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Puch Bowls & Pitcher Drinks - Kelley & Tenaglia" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-u4Ux2EMFGlE/Vl3yO0Vg2iI/AAAAAAAAM44/3JtlTUKPKkY/Puch%252520Bowls%252520%252526%252520Pitcher%252520Drinks%252520-%252520Kelley%252520%252526%252520Tenaglia_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="230" align="left" height="298"></a> </p> <p>Review by Shellie of <strong>PUNCH BOWLS & PITCHER DRINKS</strong> by Jeanne Kelley and Sarah Tenaglia.</p> <p><em>A sweet and tasty little book that has loads of punches with relatively easy recipes and great pictures.</em></p> <p>A thing about trying and tasting punch recipes is that you either have to have a party, drink a whole punch bowl yourself, or break down the ingredients into smaller portions. To save my sanity and liver I resorted to the later - and regardless of the lack of a party I had fun doing so. How could you not, especially if the recipes are tasty?</p> <p>I tried the authors’ versions of some classic drinks - <strong>Pimm’s Punch</strong> (a low-alcohol version of the Pimm’s Cup which I love and gives the drinker a taste of an English summer); the <strong>Old Fashioned Manhattan Punch</strong> (a delicious cross between the two classic cocktails which also uses orange juice as an ingredient); a <strong>Skinny Moscow Mule</strong> (a low-cal version of the Moscow Mule with diet ginger ale and vodka); and <strong>Jungle Juice</strong> (a variation on the potent College Punch that is a combo of six juices and four different kinds of booze). The last one really packed a punch (pun intended), but all of them were refreshing and delicious.</p> <p>As for the book’s appearance and usability, it’s a hardcover and a small book so it’s easy to handle. It only has 112 pages. But it packs a wallop with 50 different punches. Almost every recipe has an additional corresponding page with a pretty idea-laden photograph of the punch. With each recipe there’s a short description, the ingredients listed logically, then simple yet specialized directions.The authors have also included tips for ice molds (which are suggestively and gorgeously pictured throughout the book) and directions on how to make the specialized simple syrups (a homemade water and sugar blend) needed for the punches. There is also a page that lists punches by types of alcohol and lastly an index that includes names of each punch as well as the individual ingredients so that you can find each punch by its name or content.</p> <p>The recipes are broken down into <em>Classic Cocktail-Inspired Punches</em> (which includes the above punches that I tried), a section on wine called <em>Sangrias and Champagne-Based Punches,</em> <em>Tropical and Exotic Drinks</em>, <em>Lazy Sundays</em> (including a boozy iced tea called <strong>Palm Springs</strong>), <em>Height of Summer</em> (that has an interesting-sounding <strong>Spiked Spa Water</strong>), <em>Fireside Cocktails</em> (including <strong>Aztec Chocolate Punch which </strong>is a spicy hot chocolate drink with tequila), and <em>Nonalcoholic Punches</em> (which includes an orange juice and ice cream combo called <strong>Fifty-Fifty Punch</strong>) which are perfect for a children’s get-together.</p> <p>As you can see that this is a fun book that I had a blast researching it. It’s a perfect gift for a host or hostess which can come in handy during the upcoming holidays or for any party or season. I give <strong>PUNCH BOWLS</strong> a 4-star rating.</p> <p>Mar 03, 2015 | 112 Pages | Hardbound | Crown Books</p> <p>I received this book from <a href="http://www.BloggingForBooks.org">Blogging for Books</a> for this review.</p> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10360453947198770223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3206685128986486929.post-44986826337358839972015-11-14T14:58:00.001-08:002015-11-20T13:24:20.393-08:00Giveaway: PLANETFALL by Emma Newman and Gratitude Hop<p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-e7JsUNGZvOE/Vke8k3E7riI/AAAAAAAAM28/aOPw83hWA_I/s1600-h/Planetfall%252520-%252520Emma%252520Newman%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img title="Planetfall - Emma Newman" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 0px 15px 10px 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Planetfall - Emma Newman" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-PNizo_9I4NM/Vke8lUnzEvI/AAAAAAAAM3A/7EZjf2oQTW4/Planetfall%252520-%252520Emma%252520Newman_thumb%25255B3%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="230" align="left" height="358"></a> </p> <p>We have a giveaway for <strong>PLANETFALL</strong> by Emma Newman. It’s science fiction. We have one copy to send to a US address.</p> <p>This giveaway is attached to the <strong>Gratitude Giveaways</strong> Hop. The hops lasts from November 15 to 30. Please be a follower to enter. </p> <p>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</p> <p>Here’s a bit more about the book via the publicist:</p> <p>A breathtaking combination of psychological suspense and science fiction, there are few novels like Emma Newman’s <strong>PLANETFALL</strong>. Beautifully crafted and heartbreaking, it’s a thought provoking look at the lengths people will go to keep secrets through the chronicle of a woman’s struggle against mental illness and fear of losing everything she loves in an alien landscape. <p>Renata Ghali and a small team braved the unknown and followed Le Suh-Mi to a new world. More than twenty-two years have passed and a colony has been formed at the base of a strange alien structure where Suh-Mi resides in isolation. As the colony’s 3-D printer, Ren creates the tools necessary for human survival while harboring a devastating secret. Then a stranger appears, far too young to have been part of the first planetfall. And he bears a remarkable resemblance to Suh-Mi. <p>Emma Newman is the author of the Split Worlds series and has been nominated for two British Fantasy Awards for her work. In addition to writing, Newman is the host of the Hugo Award-nominated podcast <i>Tea and Jeopardy</i> which features “tea, cake, geekery and mild peril.” <p>Roc | Trade Paperback | $15.00 | 336 pages | November 3, 2015 <p><a href="http://www.iamareader.com/2015/10/gratitude-giveaway-hop-november-15th-to-30th.html"><img title="gratitude-hop1" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; margin: 5px 0px 10px 15px; display: inline" border="0" alt="gratitude-hop1" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-XduV8XWCZP8/Vke8lqWa7II/AAAAAAAAM3E/KloFFgdzF-I/gratitude-hop1%25255B6%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="250" align="right" height="188"></a> </p> <p>To enter this giveaway please be a follower. There are a number of ways that you can keep up-to-date with <em>Layers of Thought</em>, including reviews, giveaways, author interviews, guest posts, and more. But the best ways to keep up with all the blog posts are via Facebook or email, so I recommend those. <p><strong>Ways to “follow”:</strong> <ol> <li><a href="https://www.facebook.com/shellie.nunn">Facebook</a> (For blog updates in your feed add me as a friend.) <li><a href="http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=LayersOfThought&loc=en_US">Your Email Box</a> <li><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/LayersOfThought">Feed Reader</a> <li><a href="http://twitter.com/layersofthought">Twitter</a> <li><a href="https://plus.google.com/115344957165311118662/posts">Google+</a> <li><a href="http://pinterest.com/layersofthought/">Pinterest</a> <li><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1987170-shellie-layers-of-thought">Goodreads</a> (Add me as a friend. However, there are no giveaway updates here only reviews and books received.)</li></ol> <p>Please fill out the Google form to enter the giveaway: </p><iframe height="500" marginheight="0" src="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1AxKZJUC1gYHOPIscbBUbrjAv7ty3rMXu0XuYakCdXwg/viewform?embedded=true" frameborder="0" width="560" marginwidth="0">Loading...</iframe> <p>Now for a listing of all the other blogs offering giveaways for the hop:</p><!-- start LinkyTools script --><script src="http://www.linkytools.com/basic_linky_include.aspx?id=261689" type="text/javascript"></script> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10360453947198770223noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3206685128986486929.post-16665495585876951752015-10-22T13:23:00.001-07:002015-11-20T13:23:38.889-08:00Incoming Books: October 22, 2015<p><strong><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-GnicPPhk1TU/VilFeIwvq4I/AAAAAAAAMv4/HfcslNrD8Eo/s1600-h/Lost%252520Ocean%252520Johanna%252520Basford.png"><img title="Lost Ocean Johanna Basford" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; margin: 0px 15px 10px 0px; display: inline" border="0" alt="Lost Ocean Johanna Basford" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/--lcwKJvLjHY/VilFehHbS_I/AAAAAAAAMv8/wrlfi4Y4Ios/Lost%252520Ocean%252520Johanna%252520Basford_thumb.png?imgmax=800" width="240" align="left" height="240"></a> </strong></p> <p>We have our Incoming Books post for October 22, 2015.</p> <p>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</p> <p><strong>Lost Ocean</strong> by Johanna Basford</p> <p>From the creator of the worldwide bestsellers <strong>Secret Garden</strong> and <strong>Enchanted Forest</strong>, a beautiful new coloring book that takes you on a magical journey beneath the waves.</p> <p>With <strong>Lost Ocean</strong>, Johanna Basford invites color-inners of all ages to discover an enchanting underwater world hidden in the depths of the sea. Through intricate pen and ink illustrations to complete, color, and embellish, readers will meet shoals of exotic fish, curious octopi, and delicately penned seahorses. Visit coral reefs and barnacle-studded shipwrecks, discover intricate shells and pirate treasure. <strong>Secret Garden </strong>and<strong> Enchanted Forest</strong> fans and newcomers alike will welcome this creative journey into an inky new world.</p> <p>Penguin Random House | Paperback | $16.95 | Oct 27, 2015 | 80 Pages <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-j8yYGk2uwBI/VilFfUquWiI/AAAAAAAAMwE/rqscnfi32l0/s1600-h/Hilo%252520-%252520Judd%252520Winick%25255B1%25255D.png"><img title="Hilo - Judd Winick" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; margin: 5px 0px 10px 15px; display: inline" border="0" alt="Hilo - Judd Winick" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Y7VeuYbZn2s/VilFfks6oHI/AAAAAAAAMwM/sD5AdBEZgJQ/Hilo%252520-%252520Judd%252520Winick_thumb%25255B1%25255D.png?imgmax=800" width="160" align="right" height="237"></a> <p><strong>Hilo Book 1: The Boy Who Crashed to Earth</strong> by Judd Winick</p> <p>Introducing <strong>HILO</strong>—a funny, action-packed, full-color new middle-grade graphic novel series that <strong>Bone </strong>creator Jeff Smith calls “delightful.” </p> <p>D.J. and his friend Gina are totally normal kids. But that was before a mysterious boy came crashing down from the sky! Hilo doesn’t know where he came from, or what he’s doing on Earth. (Or why going to school in only your underwear is a bad idea!) . . . But what if Hilo wasn’t the only thing to fall to our planet? Can the trio unlock the secrets of his past? Can Hilo survive a day at school? And are D.J. and Gina ready to save the world?</p> <p><strong>HILO</strong> is Calvin and Hobbes meets Big Nate and is just right for fans of Bone and comic books as well as laugh-out-loud school adventures like Jedi Academy and Wimpy Kid!</p> <p>Penguin Random House | Hardcover | $13.99 | Sep 01, 2015 | 208 Pages | Middle Grade (8-12) <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ivqbgfJzDuw/VilFgRXdyUI/AAAAAAAAMwU/NXEoAJjWqRY/s1600-h/Host%252520-%252520Robin%252520Cook%25255B2%25255D.png"><img title="Host - Robin Cook" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; margin: 5px 15px 10px 0px; display: inline" border="0" alt="Host - Robin Cook" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-_T2fqaupcio/VilFguJkDsI/AAAAAAAAMwc/s2HnWv1h9JU/Host%252520-%252520Robin%252520Cook_thumb%25255B2%25255D.png?imgmax=800" width="160" align="left" height="242"></a> <p><strong>Host</strong> by Robin Cook</p> <p>The explosive new thriller from <i>New York Times–</i>bestselling author and master of the medical thriller, Robin Cook.</p> <p>Lynn Peirce, a fourth-year medical student at South Carolina’s Mason-Dixon University, thinks she has her life figured out. But when her otherwise healthy boyfriend, Carl, enters the hospital for routine surgery, her neatly ordered life is thrown into total chaos. Carl fails to return to consciousness after the procedure, and an MRI confirms brain death.</p> <p>Devastated by Carl’s condition, Lynn searches for answers. Convinced there’s more to the story than what the authorities are willing to reveal, Lynn uses all her resources at Mason-Dixon—including her initially reluctant lab partner, Michael Pender—to hunt down evidence of medical error or malpractice.</p> <p>What she uncovers, however, is far more disturbing. Hospitals associated with Middleton Healthcare, including the Mason-Dixon Medical Center, have unnervingly high rates of unexplained anesthetic complications and patients contracting serious and terminal illness in the wake of routine hospital admissions.</p> <p>When Lynn and Michael begin to receive death threats, they know they’re into something bigger than either of them anticipated. They soon enter a desperate race against time for answers before shadowy forces behind Middleton Healthcare and their partner, Sidereal Pharmaceuticals, can put a stop to their efforts once and for all.</p> <p>Penguin Random House | Hardcover | $26.95 | Oct 20, 2015 | 416 Pages</p> <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-MapAZ5bCubM/VilFhAGrGfI/AAAAAAAAMwk/xscVwdmo6-Y/s1600-h/The%252520Moreau%252520Quartet%252520-%252520S.%252520Andrew%252520Swann%25255B1%25255D.png"><img title="The Moreau Quartet - S. Andrew Swann" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; margin: 5px 0px 10px 15px; display: inline" border="0" alt="The Moreau Quartet - S. Andrew Swann" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-LdzBuWuyBZs/VilFhj4zzuI/AAAAAAAAMws/tcyZ7l1AJX8/The%252520Moreau%252520Quartet%252520-%252520S.%252520Andrew%252520Swann_thumb%25255B1%25255D.png?imgmax=800" width="160" align="right" height="261"></a> </p> <p><strong>The Moreau Quartet Vol. 1</strong> by S. Andrew Swann</p> <p>Combining the first and fourth novels of S. Andrew Swann’s genre-spanning series, <strong>The Moreau Quartet: Volume One</strong> centers on moreau private detective Nohar Rajasthan, and includes a new afterword by the author.</p> <p>It’s 2053, and the U.S. has long since genetically engineered life successfully. “Moreaus,” humanoid and animal hybrids, and “frankensteins,” genetically manipulated humans, live as second-class citizens. </p> <p>Nohar Rajasthan is a moreau, a humanoid of tiger stock. Raised by a human after his parents’ death, Nohar ekes out a career as a private eye. Mixing science fiction with detective thrillers, Nohar’s story leaps off the page with all the nonstop excitement and danger of an action blockbuster. </p> <p>In <strong>Forests of the Night</strong>:<i> </i>When Nohar accepts a commission from a frankenstein to investigate the death of the campaign manager of a local politico, all hell breaks loose. Nohar finds himself targeted by everyone from local cops to federal agents to a drug-running gang to an assassin with a 100% kill rate.</p> <p>In <strong>Fearful Symmetries</strong>: Nohar retired from the private eye business ten years ago, and just wants to spend his remaining time in the peace and quiet of his wilderness homestead. So when a human lawyer asks him to take on a missing moreau case, he refuses—and soon after is attacked by a paramilitary team. Now Nohar must find the missing moreau and discover why some- one wants him dead. </p> <p>Penguin Random House | Mass Market Paperback | $8.99 | Aug 04, 2015 | 448 Pages <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-TXsdPumbcVU/VilFiPnU1fI/AAAAAAAAMw0/EMF5eiNkKPs/s1600-h/Maplecroft%252520-%252520Cherie%252520Priest%25255B1%25255D.png"><img title="Maplecroft - Cherie Priest" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; margin: 5px 15px 10px 0px; display: inline" border="0" alt="Maplecroft - Cherie Priest" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-jhWp9GzM2qg/VilFinn_YJI/AAAAAAAAMw8/q0DtpE4pJnI/Maplecroft%252520-%252520Cherie%252520Priest_thumb%25255B1%25255D.png?imgmax=800" width="160" align="left" height="240"></a> <p><strong>Maplecroft</strong> by Cherie Priest</p> <p><i>Lizzie Borden took an axe and gave her mother forty whacks; and when she saw what she had done, she gave her father forty-one….</i></p> <p>The people of Fall River, Massachusetts, fear me. Perhaps rightfully so. I remain a suspect in the brutal deaths of my father and his second wife despite the verdict of innocence at my trial. With our inheritance, my sister, Emma, and I have taken up residence in Maplecroft, a mansion near the sea and far from gossip and scrutiny.</p> <p>But it is not far enough from the affliction that possessed my parents. Their characters, their very <i>souls</i>, were consumed from within by something that left malevolent entities in their place. It originates from the ocean’s depths, plaguing the populace with tides of nightmares and madness.</p> <p>This evil cannot hide from me. No matter what guise it assumes, I will be waiting for it. With an axe. </p> <p>Penguin Random House | Paperback | $15.00 | Sep 02, 2014 | 448 Pages <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-12IQFZ-47cY/VilFjCUOcHI/AAAAAAAAMxE/HUdBYGToikE/s1600-h/Chapelwood%252520-%252520Cherie%252520Priest%25255B2%25255D.png"><img title="Chapelwood - Cherie Priest" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; margin: 5px 0px 10px 15px; display: inline" border="0" alt="Chapelwood - Cherie Priest" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-wOds4YLoSio/VilFjUz7qrI/AAAAAAAAMxM/XFbrtBfb8ZU/Chapelwood%252520-%252520Cherie%252520Priest_thumb%25255B2%25255D.png?imgmax=800" width="160" align="right" height="240"></a> <p><strong>Chapelwood</strong> by Cherie Priest</p> <p>From Cherie Priest, the award-winning author of<em> </em><strong>Maplecroft</strong>, comes a new tale of Lizzie Borden’s continuing war against the cosmic horrors threatening humanity…</p> <p>Birmingham, Alabama is infested with malevolence. Prejudice and hatred have consumed the minds and hearts of its populace. A murderer, unimaginatively named “Harry the Hacker” by the press, has been carving up citizens with a hatchet. And from the church known as Chapelwood, an unholy gospel is being spread by a sect that worships dark gods from beyond the heavens. </p> <p>This darkness calls to Lizzie Borden. It is reminiscent of an evil she had dared hoped was extinguished. The parishioners of Chapelwood plan to sacrifice a young woman to summon beings never meant to share reality with humanity. An apocalypse will follow in their wake which will scorch the earth of all life.</p> <p>Unless she stops it…</p> <p>Penguin Random House | Paperback | $16.00 | Sep 01, 2015 | 448 Pages <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/--DGN3L0O6vc/VilFj29oUSI/AAAAAAAAMxU/D60_waSKMZI/s1600-h/The%252520Witch%252520-%252520Jean%252520Thompson%25255B3%25255D.png"><img title="The Witch - Jean Thompson" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; margin: 5px 15px 10px 0px; display: inline" border="0" alt="The Witch - Jean Thompson" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-CYpX12uSw5Y/VilFkQ-mAtI/AAAAAAAAMxc/q37eK1uI2iw/The%252520Witch%252520-%252520Jean%252520Thompson_thumb%25255B3%25255D.png?imgmax=800" width="160" align="left" height="242"></a> <p><strong>The Witch and Other Tales Retold</strong> by Jean Thompson <p>Jean Thompson—author of the National Book Award finalist<i> Who Do You Love</i> and the <i>New York Times</i> bestseller<i> The Year We Left Home</i>—is a writer at the height of her powers. Capturing the magic and horror in everyday life, Thompson revisits beloved fables that represent our deepest, most primeval fears and satisfy our longings for good to triumph over evil (preferably in the most gruesome way possible). From the wolf in “Little Red Riding Hood” to the beauty asleep in her castle,<i> The Witch and Other Tales Retold</i> triumphantly brings the fairy tale into the modern age. <p>Penguin Random House | <a href="http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/">Paperback</a> | $16.00 | Sep 29, 2015 | 272 Pages <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Ni52VGzg5wo/VilFkhXF8DI/AAAAAAAAMxk/UAk31hcfQss/s1600-h/Shadows%252520of%252520Self%252520-%252520Brandon%252520Sanderson%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img title="Shadows of Self - Brandon Sanderson" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; margin: 5px 0px 10px 15px; display: inline" border="0" alt="Shadows of Self - Brandon Sanderson" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-78YL5mUAong/VilFldprCbI/AAAAAAAAMxs/yJBjo_Kg3K8/Shadows%252520of%252520Self%252520-%252520Brandon%252520Sanderson_thumb%25255B3%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="160" align="right" height="243"></a> <p><strong>Shadows of Self (Mistborn #5)</strong> by Brandon Sanderson</p> <p>The #1 <i>New York Times</i> bestselling author returns to the world of <strong>Mistborn</strong><em> </em>with his first novel in the series since <strong>The Alloy of Law</strong>. <p>With <strong>The Alloy of Law</strong>, Brandon Sanderson surprised readers with a <i>New York Times </i>bestselling spinoff of his Mistborn books, set after the action of the trilogy, in a period corresponding to late 19th-century America. <p>The trilogy's heroes are now figures of myth and legend, even objects of religious veneration. They are succeeded by wonderful new characters, chief among them Waxillium Ladrian, known as Wax, hereditary Lord of House Ladrian but also, until recently, a lawman in the ungoverned frontier region known as the Roughs. There he worked with his eccentric but effective buddy, Wayne. They are "twinborn," meaning they are able to use both Allomantic and Feruchemical magic. <p><strong>Shadows of Self</strong> shows Mistborn's society evolving as technology and magic mix, the economy grows, democracy contends with corruption, and religion becomes a growing cultural force, with four faiths competing for converts. <p>This bustling, optimistic, but still shaky society now faces its first instance of terrorism, crimes intended to stir up labor strife and religious conflict. Wax and Wayne, assisted by the lovely, brilliant Marasi, must unravel the conspiracy before civil strife stops Scadrial's progress in its tracks. <p><strong>Shadows of Self</strong> will give fans of <strong>The Alloy of Law</strong> everything they've been hoping for and, this being a Brandon Sanderson book, more, much more. <p>Tor Books | October 2015 | Hardcover | 384 pages | $ 27.99 <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-5U8mFrLYOd8/VilFluy9UrI/AAAAAAAAMx0/TABIamZ3imo/s1600-h/A%252520Borrowd%252520Man%252520-%252520Gene%252520Wolfe%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img title="A Borrowd Man - Gene Wolfe" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; margin: 5px 15px 10px 0px; display: inline" border="0" alt="A Borrowd Man - Gene Wolfe" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-12SLMmiscWI/VilFmJgTpqI/AAAAAAAAMx8/y2gufD6p3_Y/A%252520Borrowd%252520Man%252520-%252520Gene%252520Wolfe_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="160" align="left" height="240"></a> <p><strong>A Borrowed Man</strong> by Gene Wolfe</p> <p><strong>A Borrowed Man</strong>: a new science fiction novel, from Gene Wolfe, the celebrated author of the <em>Book of the New Sun</em> series. <p>It is perhaps a hundred years in the future, our civilization is gone, and another is in place in North America, but it retains many familiar things and structures. Although the population is now small, there is advanced technology, there are robots, and there are clones. <p>E. A. Smithe is a borrowed person. He is a clone who lives on a third-tier shelf in a public library, and his personality is an uploaded recording of a deceased mystery writer. Smithe is a piece of property, not a legal human. <p>A wealthy patron, Colette Coldbrook, takes him from the library because he is the surviving personality of the author of <i>Murder on Mars</i>. A physical copy of that book was in the possession of her murdered father, and it contains an important secret, the key to immense family wealth. It is lost, and Colette is afraid of the police. She borrows Smithe to help her find the book and to find out what the secret is. And then the plot gets complicated. <p>Tor Books | October 2015 | Hardcover | 304 pages | $ 25.99 <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-zOpOVQ0aKU4/VilFmUkontI/AAAAAAAAMyE/KMebhgLEScI/s1600-h/Radiance%252520-%252520Catherine%252520Valente%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img title="Radiance - Catherine Valente" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; margin: 5px 0px 10px 15px; display: inline" border="0" alt="Radiance - Catherine Valente" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-oyTYhHnGEVs/VilFm2_PZsI/AAAAAAAAMyM/HRNYTr2I-XU/Radiance%252520-%252520Catherine%252520Valente_thumb%25255B3%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="160" align="right" height="242"></a> <p><strong>Radiance </strong>by Catherynne M. Valente</p> <p><strong>Radiance</strong> is a decopunk pulp SF alt-history space opera mystery set in a Hollywood-and solar system-very different from our own, from Catherynne M. Valente, the phenomenal talent behind the <i>New York Times</i> bestselling<strong><em> </em>The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making</strong>. <p>Severin Unck's father is a famous director of Gothic romances in an alternate 1986 in which talking movies are still a daring innovation due to the patent-hoarding Edison family. Rebelling against her father's films of passion, intrigue, and spirits from beyond, Severin starts making documentaries, traveling through space and investigating the levitator cults of Neptune and the lawless saloons of Mars. For this is not our solar system, but one drawn from classic science fiction in which all the planets are inhabited and we travel through space on beautiful rockets. Severin is a realist in a fantastic universe. <p>But her latest film, which investigates the disappearance of a diving colony on a watery Venus populated by island-sized alien creatures, will be her last. Though her crew limps home to earth and her story is preserved by the colony's last survivor, Severin will never return. <p>Told using techniques from reality TV, classic film, gossip magazines, and meta-fictional narrative, <strong>Radiance</strong> is a solar system-spanning story of love, exploration, family, loss, quantum physics, and silent film. <p>Tor Books | October 2015 | Hardcover | 432 pages | $ 24.99 <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-LzUuegl9aMs/VilFnDGWP8I/AAAAAAAAMyU/dSjJE_9I7lo/s1600-h/Against%252520a%252520Brightening%252520Sky%252520-%252520Jaime%252520Lee%252520Moyer%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img title="Against a Brightening Sky - Jaime Lee Moyer" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; margin: 5px 15px 15px 0px; display: inline" border="0" alt="Against a Brightening Sky - Jaime Lee Moyer" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-7APrUdy78VU/VilFnl3_YYI/AAAAAAAAMyc/cSqAkthNEDQ/Against%252520a%252520Brightening%252520Sky%252520-%252520Jaime%252520Lee%252520Moyer_thumb%25255B3%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="160" align="left" height="242"></a> </p> <p><strong>Against a Brightening Sky (Delia Martin #3</strong>) by Jamie Lee Moyer</p> <p>By 1919 the Great War has ended, peace talks are under way in Paris, and the world has been forever changed. Delia Martin, apprentice practitioner of magical arts, and her husband, Police Captain Gabriel Ryan, face the greatest challenge of their lives when fragments from the war descend on San Francisco. <p>As Delia prepares to meet friends at a St. Patrick's Day parade, the strange ghost of a European princess appears in her mirror. Her pleasant outing becomes a nightmare as the ghost reappears moments after a riot starts, warning her as a rooftop gunman begins shooting into the crowd. Delia rushes to get her friends to safety, and Gabe struggles to stop the killing-and to save himself. <p>Delia and Gabe realize all the chaos and bloodshed had one purpose-to flush Alina from hiding, a young woman with no memory of anything but her name. <p>As Delia works to discover how the princess ghost's secrets connect to this mysterious young woman, and Gabe tracks a ruthless killer around his city, they find all the answers hinge on two questions: Who is Alina...and why can't she remember? <p><strong>Against a Brightening Sky</strong> is the thrilling conclusion to Jaime Lee Moyer's glittering historical fantasy series. <p>Tor Books | October 2015 | Hardcover | 336 pages | $ 25.99 <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-m-DOmfpKCv4/VilFoFjbU2I/AAAAAAAAMyk/Ltr0ZyhQKwY/s1600-h/One%252520Year%252520After%252520-%252520William%252520Forstchen%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img title="One Year After - William Forstchen" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; margin: 5px 15px 10px 0px; display: inline" border="0" alt="One Year After - William Forstchen" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-RkIr7c5mXK8/VilFoZX--CI/AAAAAAAAMys/KmzDRSH7_-A/One%252520Year%252520After%252520-%252520William%252520Forstchen_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="160" align="left" height="240"></a> <p><strong>One Year After</strong> by William Forstchen</p> <p><i>New York Times</i> bestselling author William R. Forstchen brings a sequel to his hit novel <strong>One Second After</strong>. Months before publication, <strong>One Second After</strong> was cited on the floor of Congress as a book all Americans should read, a book discussed in the corridors of the Pentagon as a truly realistic look at the dangers of EMPs. An EMP is a weapon with the power to destroy the entire United States in a single act of terrorism, in a single second; indeed, it is a weapon that the <i>Wall Street Journal</i> warns could shatter America. <strong>One Second After</strong> was a dire warning of what might be our future...and our end. Now, <strong>One Year After</strong> returns to the small town of Black Mountain, and the man who struggled so hard to rebuild it in the wake of devastation. It is a thrilling follow-up and should delight fans in every way.</p> <p>Forge Books | September 2015 | Hardcover | 304 pages | $ 25.99</p> <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ZMZqOR8dOQo/VilFon3m4uI/AAAAAAAAMy0/rD47aS9VBho/s1600-h/Updraft%252520-%252520Fran%252520Wilde%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img title="Updraft_9780765377838_HC.indd" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; margin: 5px 0px 10px 15px; display: inline" border="0" alt="Updraft_9780765377838_HC.indd" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-HdnI_AKSJtc/VilFpCZ9myI/AAAAAAAAMy8/lP9IO7qGuNY/Updraft%252520-%252520Fran%252520Wilde_thumb%25255B3%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="160" align="right" height="243"></a> </p> <p><strong>Updraft</strong> by Fran Wilde</p> <p>Welcome to a world of wind and bone, songs and silence, betrayal and courage. <p>Kirit Densira cannot wait to pass her wingtest and begin flying as a trader by her mother's side, being in service to her beloved home tower and exploring the skies beyond. When Kirit inadvertently breaks Tower Law, the city's secretive governing body, the Singers, demand that she become one of them instead. In an attempt to save her family from greater censure, Kirit must give up her dreams to throw herself into the dangerous training at the Spire, the tallest, most forbidding tower, deep at the heart of the City. <p>As she grows in knowledge and power, she starts to uncover the depths of Spire secrets. Kirit begins to doubt her world and its unassailable Laws, setting in motion a chain of events that will lead to a haunting choice, and may well change the city forever-if it isn't destroyed outright. </p> <p>Tor Books | August 2015 | Hardcover | 368 pages | $ 25.99</p> <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-8uaLvIJyYpU/VilFpWQmzRI/AAAAAAAAMzE/Q4qPnowtpSQ/s1600-h/Forbidden%252520-%252520Cathy%252520Clamp%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img title="Forbidden - Cathy Clamp" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; margin: 5px 15px 10px 0px; display: inline" border="0" alt="Forbidden - Cathy Clamp" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-vcxDO9aERWw/VilFpzUtbCI/AAAAAAAAMzI/TxZcaGYEfaY/Forbidden%252520-%252520Cathy%252520Clamp_thumb%25255B3%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="160" align="left" height="242"></a> </p> <p><strong>Forbidden (Luna Lake #1)</strong> by Cathy Clamp</p> <p><i>USA Today</i> bestselling author Cathy Clamp reboots the Sazi universe in <strong>Forbidden</strong><em>, </em>a tightly-paced, high-tension urban fantasy thriller. <p>Ten years have passed since the war that destroyed the Sazi Council and inflicted a horrible "cure" on thousands of Sazi, robbing them of their ability to shapeshift. <p>Luna Lake, isolated in Washington State, started as a refugee camp for Sazi orphans. Now it's a small town and those refugees are young adults, chafing at the limits set by their still-fearful guardians. <p>There's reason to fear: Sazi children are being kidnapped. Claire, a red wolf shifter, is sent to investigate. Held prisoner by the Snakes during childhood, Claire is distrusted by those who call Luna Lake home. <p>Before the war, Alek was part of a wolf pack in Chicago. In Luna Lake he was adopted by a parliament of Owls, defying Sazi tradition. The kidnappings are a painful reminder that his little sister disappeared a decade ago. <p>When Claire and Alek meet, sparks fly--but the desperate race to find the missing children forces them to set aside their mutual attraction and focus on the future of their people. </p> <p>Tor Books | August 2015 | Trade Paperback | 352 pages | $ 14.99</p> <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-yeNADSaK6Kw/VilFqIYWWzI/AAAAAAAAMzU/2hzGDsDAc34/s1600-h/The%252520Ultra%252520Thin%252520Man%252520-%252520Patrick%252520Swenson%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img title="Ultra Thin Man_9780765336958_TP.indd" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; margin: 5px 0px 10px 15px; display: inline" border="0" alt="Ultra Thin Man_9780765336958_TP.indd" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-mExOUOzmXUk/VilFqtgJQkI/AAAAAAAAMzY/l_AMEbC9t38/The%252520Ultra%252520Thin%252520Man%252520-%252520Patrick%252520Swenson_thumb%25255B3%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="160" align="right" height="254"></a> </p> <p><strong>The Ultra Thin Man</strong> by Patrick Swenson</p> <p>In the twenty-second century, a future in which mortaline wire controls the weather on the settled planets and entire refugee camps drowse in drug-induced slumber, no one—alive or dead, human or alien—is quite what they seem. When terrorists manage to crash Coral, the moon, into its home planet of Ribon, forcing evacuation, it's up to Dave Crowell and Alan Brindos, contract detectives for the Network Intelligence Organization, to solve a case of interplanetary consequences. Crowell and Brindos's investigation plunges them neck-deep into a conspiracy much more dangerous than anything they could have imagined. <p>The two detectives soon find themselves separated, chasing opposite leads: Brindos has to hunt down the massive Helkunn alien Terl Plenko, shadow leader of the terrorist Movement of Worlds. Crowell, meanwhile, runs into something far more sinister—an elaborate frame job that puts our heroes on the hook for treason. <p>In this novel from Patrick Swenson, Crowell and Brindos are forced to fight through the intrigue to discover the depths of an interstellar conspiracy. And to answer the all-important question: Who, and what, is the Ultra Thin Man? </p> <p>Tor Books | July 2015 | Trade Paperback | 336 pages | $ 16.99</p> <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-T_chXhouu8A/VilFq0OlhHI/AAAAAAAAMzk/KW5zfzoYA9U/s1600-h/All%252520Those%252520Vanished%252520Engines%252520-%252520Paul%252520Park%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img title="All Those Vanished Engines - Paul Park" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; margin: 5px 15px 10px 0px; display: inline" border="0" alt="All Those Vanished Engines - Paul Park" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-J1JxuhB65ME/VilFrcLmVtI/AAAAAAAAMzs/j2SBAKk3kLk/All%252520Those%252520Vanished%252520Engines%252520-%252520Paul%252520Park_thumb%25255B3%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="160" align="left" height="242"></a> </p> <p><strong>All Those Vanished Engines</strong> by Paul Park</p> <p>In <strong>All Those Vanished Engines</strong><em>, </em>Paul Park returns to science fiction after a decade spent on the impressive four-volume <i>A Princess of Roumania</i> fantasy, with an extraordinary, intense, compressed SF novel in three parts, each set in its own alternate-history universe. The sections are all rooted in Virginia and the Battle of the Crater, and are also grounded in the real history of the Park family, from differing points of view. They are all gorgeously imaginative and carefully constructed, and reverberate richly with one another. <p>The first section is set in the aftermath of the Civil War, in a world in which the Queen of the North has negotiated a two-nation settlement. The second, taking place in northwestern Massachusetts, investigates a secret project during World War II, in a time somewhat like the present. The third is set in the near-future United States, with aliens from history. </p> <p>Tor Books | July 2015 | Trade Paperback | 272 pages | $ 15.99</p> <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-6ajr3mqEkec/VilFrgb7QgI/AAAAAAAAMz0/foyCHTC_VYo/s1600-h/The%252520Three-Body%252520Problem%252520-%252520Cixin%252520Lui%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img title="The Three-Body Problem - Cixin Lui" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; margin: 5px 0px 10px 15px; display: inline" border="0" alt="The Three-Body Problem - Cixin Lui" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-dD1bpByyoDE/VilFsB9R8rI/AAAAAAAAMz8/CkbKcGu3824/The%252520Three-Body%252520Problem%252520-%252520Cixin%252520Lui_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="160" align="right" height="240"></a> </p> <p><strong>The Three-Body Problem</strong> by Cixin Liu</p> <p><strong>The Three-Body Problem</strong><em> </em>is the first chance for English-speaking readers to experience this multiple award winning phenomenon from China's most beloved science fiction author, Liu Cixin. <p>Set against the backdrop of China's Cultural Revolution, a secret military project sends signals into space to establish contact with aliens. An alien civilization on the brink of destruction captures the signal and plans to invade Earth. Meanwhile, on Earth, different camps start forming, planning to either welcome the superior beings and help them take over a world seen as corrupt, or to fight against the invasion. The result is a science fiction masterpiece of enormous scope and vision. </p> <p>Tor Books | November 2014 | Hardcover | 400 pages | $ 25.99</p> <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-7wwG-NNCzCU/VilFsaT3X8I/AAAAAAAAM0E/kXq6sy7GaOY/s1600-h/The%252520Sleeping%252520King%252520-%252520Dees%252520%252526%252520Flippin%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img title="The Sleeping King - Dees & Flippin" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; margin: 5px 15px 10px 0px; display: inline" border="0" alt="The Sleeping King - Dees & Flippin" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/--ouMwdp0SrY/VilFs4dqgTI/AAAAAAAAM0M/9swIzF_iqBY/The%252520Sleeping%252520King%252520-%252520Dees%252520%252526%252520Flippin_thumb%25255B3%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="160" align="left" height="243"></a> </p> <p><strong>The Sleeping King</strong> by Dees and Flippin</p> <p><strong>The Sleeping King</strong> is the start of a new fantasy series by <i>New York Times</i> and <i>USA Today</i> bestselling author, Cindy Dees. <p>Dees has won a Golden Heart Award, two RITAs for Category Suspense and Adventure and has also twice snared RT's Series Romantic Suspense of the Year. She is a great storyteller, and the adventures in her more than fifty novels are often inspired by her own life. Dees is an Air Force vet-the youngest female pilot in Air Force history-and fought in the first Gulf War. She's had amazing adventures, and she's used her experiences to tell some kickass stories. <p>But as much as she love romances, Cindy's other passion has been fantasy gaming. For almost twenty years she's been involved with Dragon Crest, one of the original live action role-playing games. She's the story content creator on the game, and wanted to do an epic fantasy based on it, with the blessing and input of Dragon Crest founder Bill Flippin. <p><strong>The Sleeping King</strong> is the first in an epic fantasy series, featuring the best of the genre: near immortal imperial overlords, a prophecy of a sleeping elven king who's said to be the savior of the races . . . and two young people who are set on a path to save the day. </p> <p>Tor Books | September 2015 | Hardcover | 496 pages | $ 25.99</p> <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-BETqapABgyA/VilFtJA93CI/AAAAAAAAM0U/ObMkRSiChqs/s1600-h/Dead%252520Man%252527s%252520Reach%252520-%252520D%252520B%252520Jackson%25255B6%25255D.jpg"><img title="Dead Man's Reach - D B Jackson" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; margin: 5px 0px 10px 15px; display: inline" border="0" alt="Dead Man's Reach - D B Jackson" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-KZZHmOJ7aSs/VilFtjDd8ZI/AAAAAAAAM0c/CVBN0tvnY3M/Dead%252520Man%252527s%252520Reach%252520-%252520D%252520B%252520Jackson_thumb%25255B4%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="162" align="right" height="244"></a> </p> <p><strong>Dead Man’s Reach (Thieftaker Chronicles #4)</strong> by D. B. Jackson</p> <p>Let the battle for souls begin in <strong>Dead Man's Reach</strong><em>, </em>the fourth, stand-alone novel in D.B. Jackson's acclaimed <em>Thieftaker</em> series.</p> <p>Boston, 1770: The city is a powder keg as tensions between would-be rebels and loyalist torries approach a breaking point and one man is willing to light the match that sets everything off to ensure that he has his revenge. <p>The presence of the British Regulars has made thieftaking a hard business to be in and the jobs that are available are reserved for Sephira Pryce. Ethan Kaille has to resort to taking on jobs that he would otherwise pass up, namely protecting the shops of Torries from Patriot mobs. But, when one British loyalist takes things too far and accidentally kills a young boy, even Ethan reconsiders his line of work. Even more troubling is that instances of violence in the city are increasing, and Ethan often finds himself at the center of the trouble.</p> <p>Once Ethan realizes why he is at the center of all the violence, he finds out that some enemies don't stay buried and will stop at nothing to ruin Ethan's life. Even if that means costing the lives of everyone in Boston, including the people that Ethan loves most. </p> <p>Tor Books | July 2015 | Hardcover | 368 pages | $ 28.99</p> <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-UKtVEFxBkrA/VilFuCJL9XI/AAAAAAAAM0k/694ETc9u9nc/s1600-h/The%252520Drafter%252520-%252520Kim%252520Harrison%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img title="The Drafter - Kim Harrison" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; margin: 5px 15px 10px 0px; display: inline" border="0" alt="The Drafter - Kim Harrison" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-s3--5URyYjY/VilFudx0yFI/AAAAAAAAM0s/uSHHHrr2VZ0/The%252520Drafter%252520-%252520Kim%252520Harrison_thumb%25255B3%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="160" align="left" height="242"></a> </p> <p><strong>The Drafter (The Peri Reed Chronicles #1)</strong> by Kim Harrison</p> <p>In the first explosive book in the Peri Reed Chronicles, Kim Harrison, #1 <i>New York Times </i>bestselling author of the Hollows series, blazes a new frontier with an edge-of-your-seat thriller that will keep you guessing until the very end. </p> <p><i>Detroit 2030.</i> Double-crossed by the person she loved and betrayed by the covert government organization that trained her to use her body as a weapon, Peri Reed is a renegade on the run. Don’t forgive and never forget has always been Peri’s creed. But her day job makes it difficult: she is a drafter, possessed of a rare, invaluable skill for altering time, yet destined to forget both the history she changed and the history she rewrote. When Peri discovers her name is on a list of corrupt operatives, she realizes that her own life has been manipulated by the agency. Her memory of the previous three years erased, she joins forces with a mysterious rogue soldier in a deadly race to piece together the truth about her fateful final task. Her motto has always been only to kill those who kill her first. But with nothing but intuition to guide her, will she have to break her own rule to survive? <p>Gallery Books | Hardcover | 432 pages | September 2015 </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-_UE4mBEPp4M/VilFu1fm3qI/AAAAAAAAM00/dm3PoThnHx0/s1600-h/A%252520Crucible%252520of%252520Souls%252520-%252520Mitchell%252520Hogan%25255B5%25255D.png"><img title="A Crucible of Souls - Mitchell Hogan" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; margin: 5px 0px 10px 15px; display: inline" border="0" alt="A Crucible of Souls - Mitchell Hogan" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-m-iZPiSCbc4/VilFvalyj8I/AAAAAAAAM08/vw9RiRAIH5Q/A%252520Crucible%252520of%252520Souls%252520-%252520Mitchell%252520Hogan_thumb%25255B3%25255D.png?imgmax=800" width="160" align="right" height="242"></a> </p> <p><strong>A Crucible of Souls</strong> by Mitchell Hogan</p> <p>An imaginative new talent makes his debut with the acclaimed first installment in the epic Sorcery Ascendant Sequence, a mesmerizing tale of high fantasy that combines magic, malevolence, and mystery. <p>When young Caldan’s parents are brutally slain, the boy is raised by monks who initiate him into the arcane mysteries of sorcery. <p>Growing up plagued by questions about his past, Caldan vows to discover who his parents were, and why they were violently killed. The search will take him beyond the walls of the monastery, into the unfamiliar and dangerous chaos of city life. With nothing to his name but a pair of mysterious heirlooms and a handful of coins, he must prove his talent to become apprenticed to a guild of sorcerers. <p>But the world outside the monastery is a darker place than he ever imagined, and his treasured sorcery has disturbing depths he does not fully understand. As a shadowed evil manipulates the unwary and forbidden powers are unleashed, Caldan is plunged into an age-old conflict that will bring the world to the edge of destruction. <p>Soon, he must choose a side, and face the true cost of uncovering his past.</p> <p>Harper Voyager | Trade Paperback | 09/22/2015 | Pages:<strong> </strong>512 | $17.99 <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-xYSWILmyIC0/VilFvpvDKaI/AAAAAAAAM1A/nFqIL2HscrQ/s1600-h/The%252520Humanity%252520of%252520Monsters_FINAL%25255B8%25255D.jpg"><img title="The Humanity of Monsters_FINAL" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; margin: 5px 15px 10px 0px; display: inline" border="0" alt="The Humanity of Monsters_FINAL" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-UPEm7IBXk0g/VilFwFOCmnI/AAAAAAAAM1M/5rcrTWM81zs/The%252520Humanity%252520of%252520Monsters_FINAL_thumb%25255B4%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="164" align="left" height="240"></a> <p><strong>The Humanity of Monsters</strong> edited by Michael Matheson <p>We are all of us monsters. We are none of us monsters. <p>Through the work of twenty-six writers, emerging to award-winning, <cite>The Humanity of Monsters</cite> plumbs the depths of humane monsters, monstrous humans, and the interstices between: <p>Monstrous heralds of change, the sight of whom only children can survive. Monsters born of the battlefield, in gunfire and frost and blood, clothed in too-familiar flesh. Monsters, human and otherwise, born of fear, and love, and retribution all, wrapped tight and inextricable one from the other: the Fallen outside of time, lovers and monsters in borrowed skin, creatures from beyond the stars, and humans who have travelled to them. <p>In stories by turns surreal, sublime, brutal, and haunting, there are no easy answers to be found. Only the surety that though there be monsters, you will name them false. And when you meet those who truly are, you will not know them. <p>Paperback | 336 pages | November 10, 2015 | ChiZine Publications | $16.99 Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10360453947198770223noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3206685128986486929.post-54041202152878300552015-10-14T13:28:00.001-07:002015-10-14T15:06:37.239-07:00Giveaway: INHERIT THE STARS by Tony Peak<p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Ldh2SL6ydcg/Vh66933dmxI/AAAAAAAAMuM/l1ge1TaCetI/s1600-h/Inherit%252520the%252520Stars%252520-%252520Tony%252520Peak%25255B3%25255D.png"><img title="Inherit the Stars - Tony Peak" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 0px 15px 10px 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Inherit the Stars - Tony Peak" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-VNJbdBOzz34/Vh66-WqDC3I/AAAAAAAAMuQ/8azWa0miDSs/Inherit%252520the%252520Stars%252520-%252520Tony%252520Peak_thumb%25255B3%25255D.png?imgmax=800" width="230" align="left" height="370"></a> <p>Giveaway for <strong>INHERIT THE STARS</strong> by Tony Peak, attached to the <strong>Spooktacular Giveaway Hop</strong>. We have one copy for a US address. It’s the first in an action-packed space opera. Please be a reader of <em>Layers of Thought</em> to enter this giveaway. Ways to follow the blog are below. <p>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ <p>About <strong>INHERIT THE STARS</strong>: <p>Readers are introduced to Kivita Vondir, a girl who has always dreamt of salvaging. Now, it’s become an addiction, getting through pit stops filled with cheap alcohol, and even cheaper companionship. <p>But when she rescues an alien artifact, in the shape of a fabled gemstone, she finds far more than a lucrative take. Suddenly and inexplicably, she can hack computers and pilot starships by sheer force of will alone—a power that everyone in this galaxy (and the next) wants. <p>As she tries to avoid a massive galactic manhunt, Kivita teams up with two unlikely allies: Sar, her former lover turned rebel, and his enigmatic new girlfriend. Only, as the gem’s mysteries are revealed and danger draws near, Kivita begins to wonder if her ex has truly changed, or if he’s just waiting for the right moment to betray her once again… <p><b></b> <p>Roc Mass Market | 464 pages | November 3, 2015 | Trade Paperback <p><b>Tony Peak</b>’s work appears in eighteen different speculative fiction publications and anthologies. He is an Active Member of SFWA and an Affiliate Member of HWA. He possesses a keen interest in progressive thinking, wine, history, Transhumanism, and planetary exploration. Visit him online at <a href="http://www.tonypeak.net">www.tonypeak.net</a>. <p>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ <p><a href="http://www.iamareader.com/2015/08/spooktacular-giveaway-hop-2015-sign-ups.html"><img title="Spooktacular2015" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 5px 0px 10px 15px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Spooktacular2015" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-GybK_VuCYZI/Vh66-tKPSDI/AAAAAAAAMuY/ZesMfhlr4D4/Spooktacular2015%25255B6%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="250" align="right" height="188"></a> <p>This giveaway is part of a blog hop hosted by<em> I Am A Reader, Not A Writer</em> where you can link to a variety of other blogs to enter other giveaways. Links are at the bottom of this post. You can access our host’s web page by clicking on the hop’s badge. <p>To enter this giveaway please be a follower. There are a number of ways that you can keep up-to-date with <em>Layers of Thought</em>, including reviews, giveaways, author interviews, guest posts, and more. But the best ways to keep up with all the blog posts are via Facebook or email, so I recommend those. <p><strong>Ways to “Follow”</strong> <ol> <li><a href="https://www.facebook.com/shellie.nunn">Facebook</a> (For blog updates in your feed add me as a friend.) <li><a href="http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=LayersOfThought&loc=en_US">Your Email Box</a> <li><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/LayersOfThought">Feed Reader</a> <li><a href="http://twitter.com/layersofthought">Twitter</a> <li><a href="https://plus.google.com/115344957165311118662/posts">Google+</a> <li><a href="http://pinterest.com/layersofthought/">Pinterest</a> <li><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1987170-shellie-layers-of-thought">Goodreads</a> (Add me as a friend. However, there are no giveaway updates here only reviews and books received.)</li></ol> <p>Please fill out the Google form to enter the giveaway: <p></p><iframe height="500" marginheight="0" src="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1TZgyStBXDjN6DNpcwHCFF3lAAJaEveUwPQ3GwUMmSkQ/viewform?embedded=true" frameborder="0" width="560" marginwidth="0">Loading...</iframe> <p>And now for the other blogs that are part of this blog hop. Click on the active links via the blog titles to access their posts. Have fun and good luck!</p><!-- start LinkyTools script --><script src="http://www.linkytools.com/basic_linky_include.aspx?id=260690" type="text/javascript"></script> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10360453947198770223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3206685128986486929.post-1769156931387826032015-09-19T19:48:00.001-07:002015-10-14T15:06:37.228-07:00Giveaway: TWELVE KINGS IN SHARAKHAI by Bradley P. Beaulieu and Stuck in a Good Book Hop<p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-NOwCZeIaFEA/Vf4elgacmGI/AAAAAAAAMr8/BixUgbhcCxo/s1600-h/TwelveKingsinSharakhaiBradleyP.Beaul%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img title="Twelve Kings in Sharakhai - Bradley P. Beaulieu" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 0px 15px 10px 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Twelve Kings in Sharakhai - Bradley P. Beaulieu" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-sC4j5sSx0d0/Vf4emFAVYvI/AAAAAAAAMsA/y8IJ2tepQXY/TwelveKingsinSharakhaiBradleyP.Beaul%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="230" align="left" height="345"></a> <p>We have a giveaway for <strong>TWELVE KINGS IN SHARAKHAI</strong> by Bradley P. Beaulieu. It’s book one of the <em>Song of Shattered Sands</em> series. There is one copy for a US address. It’s epic fantasy. <p>This giveaway is attached to the <strong>Stuck in a Good Book Giveaway Hop</strong>. Please see more about the hop below. And to enter this giveaway please be a follower of <em>Layers of Thought</em>. Ways to follow are listed below. <p>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ <p>Here’s more about <strong>TWELVE KINGS IN SHARAKHAI</strong>: <p>Sharakhai, the great city of the desert, center of commerce and culture, has been ruled from time immemorial by twelve kings -- cruel, ruthless, powerful, and immortal. With their army of Silver Spears, their elite company of Blade Maidens and their holy defenders, the terrifying asirim, the Kings uphold their positions as undisputed, invincible lords of the desert. There is no hope of freedom for any under their rule.</p> <p>Or so it seems, until Çeda, a brave young woman from the west end slums, defies the Kings' laws by going outside on the holy night of Beht Zha'ir. What she learns that night sets her on a path that winds through both the terrible truths of the Kings' mysterious history and the hidden riddles of her own heritage. Together, these secrets could finally break the iron grip of the Kings' power...if the nigh-omnipotent Kings don't find her first<b>.</b></p> <p>DAW | Hardcover | 592 pages | September 1, 2015 <p><a href="http://www.stuckinbooks.com/2015/08/stuck-in-good-book-giveaway-hop-sign-ups.html"><img title="StuckinaGoodBookHop" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline" border="0" alt="StuckinaGoodBookHop" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-pxoyT-CJnso/Vf4emfy_igI/AAAAAAAAMsI/nREHztYn_xY/StuckinaGoodBookHop%25255B5%25255D.png?imgmax=800" width="500" height="156"></a></p> <p>This giveaway hop is hosted by <em>Stuck In Books</em> and <em>I Am A Reader</em> which can be accessed by clicking on the above banner. </p> <p>To enter this giveaway please be a follower. There are a number of ways that you can keep up-to-date with <em>Layers of Thought</em>, including reviews, giveaways, author interviews, guest posts, and more. But the best ways to keep up with all the blog posts are via Facebook or email, so I recommend those. <p><strong>Ways to “Follow”</strong> <ol> <li><a href="https://www.facebook.com/shellie.nunn">Facebook</a> (For blog updates in your feed add me as a friend.) <li><a href="http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=LayersOfThought&loc=en_US">Your Email Box</a> <li><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/LayersOfThought">Feed Reader</a> <li><a href="http://twitter.com/layersofthought">Twitter</a> <li><a href="https://plus.google.com/115344957165311118662/posts">Google+</a> <li><a href="http://pinterest.com/layersofthought/">Pinterest</a> <li><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1987170-shellie-layers-of-thought">Goodreads</a> (Add me as a friend. However, there are no giveaway updates here only reviews and books received.)</li></ol> <p>Please fill out the Google form to enter the giveaway: <iframe height="500" marginheight="0" src="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/18V_ReSfFCox0tSM_UeyFRJmdyPvBGuwIfVmkIMsB_gs/viewform?embedded=true" frameborder="0" width="560" marginwidth="0">Loading...</iframe> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10360453947198770223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3206685128986486929.post-30226081782527046062015-09-14T11:33:00.001-07:002015-09-14T11:33:03.226-07:00Excerpt: BOOKBURNERS – Anywhere But Here by Brian Francis Slattery<p><b><i><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-fqXNh4--Wu8/VfcS2WtgvSI/AAAAAAAAMqM/9novqnuZHFY/s1600-h/BookburnersEpisode2cover5.jpg"><img title="Bookburners Episode 2 cover" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 0px 15px 10px 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Bookburners Episode 2 cover" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-UKxiCIpKCOY/VfcS220jrQI/AAAAAAAAMqQ/8PlhlMhd7Xc/BookburnersEpisode2cover_thumb3.jpg?imgmax=800" width="230" align="left" height="368"></a> </i></b></p> <p>We have an excerpt from <strong><em></em><a href="https://www.serialbox.com/serials/555d1163ada6e26d95b9e785"><b>BOOKBURNERS</b></a> – Anywhere But Here</strong>. It’s Season 1 Episode 2 of <a href="https://www.serialbox.com/">Serial Box</a>’s serialized book that is released in segments. And don’t worry there are no spoilers.</p> <p>For more information about the series and how to read the entire publication, take a look at the information at the bottom of this post. But for now here is an early released excerpt to entice your interest in the book:</p> <p>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</p> <p><strong>Anywhere But Here -<em> </em>Episode 2 </strong>by Brian Francis Slattery, Max Gladstone, Margaret Dunlap, and Mur Lafferty <blockquote> <p>“Where are we going?” Sal said. <p>“Madrid, it appears,” Asanti said. She was poring over a stack of papers at her desk. <p>“Though where exactly is unclear,” Liam said. <p>“We have the coordinates.” <p>“Yes,” Liam said sarcastically. “We have the coordinates.” <p>Menchú nodded. “Good.” He turned to Asanti. “Any idea what we might be facing?” <p>Asanti didn’t look up from her papers. “Madrid has been officially purged of magic for over five hundred years.” She gave a sad chuckle. <p>“The Inquisition?” Sal asked. <p>“Oh, no,” Asanti said. “The Inquisition was just a witch hunt, and not of real witches. Nothing to do with magic at all.” She turned a page. “But even so, Madrid seems dry. There was a brief flurry of magical activity during the Spanish Civil War, and the usual spotty records of underground societies during the Franco years and after. But they seem like dabblers. There’s no indication that any of them got hold of anything truly magical. No books or artifacts or anything else that I’m aware of.” <p>“So whatever we’re dealing with, it’s rogue,” Grace said. <p>“That’s right. Possibly predating the Inquisition, when they declared the place clean.” <p>“Arabic?” Liam said. <p>“Could be,” Asanti said. “But that’s a guess. Not even a hunch.” <p>“So we don’t know what we’re facing,” Grace said. “At all.” <p>“Afraid so,” Asanti said. <p>“This isn’t going to be like Eyjafjallajökull, is it?” Grace said. <p>Asanti looked up at last, slightly irritated. “No, this is not going to be like Eyjafjallajökull,” she said. <p>“The volcano in Iceland?” Sal said to Liam. <p>“Yep,” Liam said. “You know those eruptions in 2010? No one could fly in Europe for days? Apparently not entirely the result of natural forces.” <p>Grace interrupted. “There was a dragon. Seven stories high. Living under the volcano. Which had been there for over a thousand years, and was the subject of several local legends. But were we told any of this when we got on the plane?” <p>“My Icelandic was rusty,” Asanti said. “It won’t happen again. It’s certainly not going to happen in Madrid.” She said it with a sudden authority that made Sal believe her. Grace did, too. She backed down. <p>“Well, whatever is happening in Madrid,” Liam said, “I haven’t heard anyone call the police about it yet.” <p>“Thank God,” Menchú said. <b></b> <p>“What happens if the police get involved?” Sal said. <p>“You’re a cop,” Liam said. “You should know. Things get a little messy. Let’s just say the sooner we get there, the better.” He sighed. “Why can’t they just take the books out to a barn up the back ass of nowhere and open them up there? Everything would be so much easier.” <p>“How’s your Spanish?” Grace said. <p>“I can order at a Mexican restaurant,” Sal said. “That’s about it.” <p>Grace shook her head. “Americans,” she said, under her breath. <p>They headed out to the airport.</p></blockquote> <p>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ <p>Here’s a blurb about this serialized urban fantasy: <p>Magic is real, and hungry—trapped in ancient texts and artifacts, only a few who discover it survive to fight back. Detective Sal Brooks is a survivor. Abruptly thrust into the battle between nefarious forces trying to unleash this power onto the world and those trying to stop them, she joins a Vatican-backed black-ops anti-magic squad: Team Three of the Societas Librorum Occultorum. Together they stand between humanity and magical apocalypse. Some call them Bookburners. They don’t like the label. <p>Here’s a bit more about the series: <p>This September, new publisher Serial Box is bursting onto the scene and bringing the TV model of media production and delivery to the book world with<em> </em><b>BOOKBURNERS</b>, an urban fantasy adventure following a black-ops anti-magic squad backed by the Vatican. Wandering from police procedural to New Weird and dabbling in most genres in between, <b>BOOKBURNERS </b>will keep you hungry for more, week after week. <p>Written by a team of authors including <a href="https://twitter.com/spyscribe">Margaret Dunlap</a> (<strong>Eureka</strong>), <a href="https://twitter.com/mightymur">Mur Lafferty</a> (<strong>The Shambling Guide to New York City</strong>) and <a href="http://www.bfslattery.com/bfsCMS/">Brian Francis Slattery</a> (<strong>Lost Everything</strong>), the group is led by rising genre star <a href="https://twitter.com/maxgladstone">Max Gladstone</a> (<strong>Three Parts Dead</strong>). <p>While the series officially launches on September 16th with the release of Episode 2, there is the <a href="https://www.serialbox.com/episodes/5553de56ada6e220e644e9be">first episode</a> up for all to enjoy on SerialBox.com. <p>They aim to bring book lovers everything they like about television: <ul> <li>New episodes each week <li>Series are produced by a team of writers collaborating to create the most exciting, dynamic stories <li>Episodes are easily ingestible with a 40-minute average read-time <li>Each episode is an exciting adventure but together they build into a complete narrative—just like your favorite shows</li></ul> <p>Each episode will be available via SerialBox.com and their iOS app (via Apple), as well as <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/bookburners/id1036628079?mt=11">iTunes</a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Bookburners-Badge-Candle-Max-Gladstone-ebook/dp/B014LJZROO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1441720575&sr=8-1&keywords=bookburners">Amazon</a>, <a href="https://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/bookburners-episode-1">Kobo</a>, <a href="https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Max_Gladstone_Bookburners_Badge_Book_and_Candle?id=x26DCgAAQBAJ">Google Play</a>, and <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/bookburners-max-gladstone/1122628632?ean=2940151211215">B&N</a>. <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-SemPTpt7J8I/VfcS3GGtCTI/AAAAAAAAMqY/199BH_y_jo4/s1600-h/BookburnersEpisode2cover11.jpg"><img title="Bookburners Episode 2 cover" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 5px 0px 10px 15px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Bookburners Episode 2 cover" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-KfZjQHBenhI/VfcS3k1DEtI/AAAAAAAAMqg/qhuspluv1TA/BookburnersEpisode2cover_thumb7.jpg?imgmax=800" width="160" align="right" height="256"></a> <p>And here’s the blurb about the first episode: <p><b>Chapter 1: </b><b>Badge, Book, and Candle</b> <p>NYPD Detective Sal Brooks is no rookie—but even the most hardened cop would think twice when they see their brother open a book and become…well…something entirely <i>not</i> their brother. <p>When her attempts to solve the case cross paths with a mysterious team led by a priest, she starts to realize that the world is far more than what is seems, and, just maybe, magic is real—and hungry. <p>Follow along as Sal learns the life changing lesson: some books have teeth.</p> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10360453947198770223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3206685128986486929.post-14962087024606139022015-09-01T13:22:00.001-07:002015-09-18T14:57:21.008-07:00Press Release: THE STREETS by Robert Dunbar<p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-j951PccahzQ/VeYI9dqvN_I/AAAAAAAAMow/58EH1lwBAjI/s1600-h/TheStreetsRobertDunbar14.jpg"><img title="The Streets - Robert Dunbar" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 0px 15px 10px 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="The Streets - Robert Dunbar" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-UNiIy3DKWZg/VeYI964lRhI/AAAAAAAAMo0/JztX6vPSq8M/TheStreetsRobertDunbar_thumb10.jpg?imgmax=800" width="250" align="left" height="375"></a> </p> <p><strong>THE STREETS</strong> has just been released. It’s the third novel in Robert Dunbar’s <em>The Pines Trilogy</em>. </p> <p>It can be read independently of the other two novels <strong>THE PINES</strong> and<strong> THE SHORES</strong>. However, for an optimal reading experience you might want to start with the first two in the series. You can pick up all three books at Amazon in various formats.</p> <p>If you enjoy dark and tasteful fiction then these are a must read. And even better they’re perfect for that obligatory feeling that we all desire in the Fall, since who doesn’t enjoy a thrilling read as the weather starts to cool?</p> <p>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</p> <p>Here’s what the author says about his latest book: </p> <p><b>THE STREETS</b> is the final part of Robert Dunbar's <b>THE PINES TRILOGY</b><b>:</b></p> <p><i>In a </i><i>desolate city, as ravaged and dangerous as a post-Apocalyptic wasteland, horrors prowl the back alleys. Struggling to survive, </i><i>a group of young people find themselves trapped in a decaying asylum ... where unspeakable evil lurks. </i><br><i></i><br><i>Do the streets offer escape? </i><i>Or death? </i></p> <p><b>And the prologue: </b></p> <p><i>Just as there are broken people, there are broken places on this earth.</i></p> <p><i>Some have always been broken. </i></p> <p><i>All cities have such neighborhoods at their edges, and </i><i>this city is all edges... block after block of bleakly hopeless outskirts.</i></p> <p><i>People don't bury dead cities. They abandon them. They abandon them to the poorest of the poor, to the lost and the doomed.</i></p> <p><i>A few streetlights may still glimmer, but the life of this city ebbed long ago.</i></p> <p><i>It might resemble the site of some cataclysm or as though chains of time had tightened, crushing it. Yet it is not truly old, not as such things are measured. No true cataclysm occurred, and the extinct civilization that built it staggers on, even now unaware of its own demise. </i></p> <p><i>Rot phosphoresces where wounds are deepest, and here decay is well advanced, but some form of life festers still. Things scurry. They twitch in shadows. They splash through flooded alleys and lurk along the docks.</i></p> <p><i>And they travel in packs.</i></p> <p>334 pages | Uninvited Books | September 1, 2015 </p> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10360453947198770223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3206685128986486929.post-46605664492305516922015-08-12T13:24:00.001-07:002015-09-18T14:57:03.983-07:00Giveaway: MAGIC BITES by Ilona Andrews<p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-HZZUUwjRHqU/VcurfEEEiYI/AAAAAAAAMmI/v9nx5v6EUEY/s1600-h/MagicBitesIlonaAndrewsmmpb6.png"><img title="Magic Bites - Ilona Andrews mmpb" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 0px 15px 10px 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Magic Bites - Ilona Andrews mmpb" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-T2x56vJrvvs/Vcurf_HV6eI/AAAAAAAAMmQ/DuaPmqirics/MagicBitesIlonaAndrewsmmpb_thumb6.png?imgmax=800" width="230" align="left" height="386"></a> </p> <p>In honor of the publication of the 8th Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews we have three copies of the mass market paperback <strong>MAGIC BITES</strong> (the first in the series) for US addresses. They are courtesy of Penguin Random House publicity.</p> <p>It’s urban fantasy/paranormal romance from an intriguing husband and wife writing duo penning under the name of Ilona Andrews.</p> <p>I’ve read one of their recent books (<strong>BURN FOR ME</strong>) and enjoyed it a lot. It was fun, well paced, and had great romantic tension. So I was definitely excited to offer this giveaway to US readers of <em>Layers of Thought </em>as a way to introduce you all to this series. And the good news is if you enjoy the first book you can “binge read” up to book 8!</p> <p>Now for the giveaway – you can read the publisher’s blurb about the first book in the Kate Daniels series below:</p> <p>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</p> <p>Kate Daniels is a down-on-her-luck mercenary who makes her living cleaning up magical problems. But when Kate’s guardian is murdered, her quest for justice draws her into a power struggle between two strong factions within Atlanta’s magic circles. Pressured by both sides to find the killer, Kate realizes she’s way out of her league—but she wouldn’t want it any other way…</p> <p>Mass Market Paperback | Published by Ace | Mar 27, 2007 | 272 Pages<a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-MYyDEQ-6SNc/VcurgrWYyUI/AAAAAAAAMmY/m1WMbaqSKG4/s1600-h/MagicShiftsIlonaAndrews3.jpg"><img title="Magic Shifts - Ilona Andrews" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 5px 0px 10px 15px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Magic Shifts - Ilona Andrews" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-SPvQRorSV6o/VcurhCG7atI/AAAAAAAAMmc/BhlYrjxSQlE/MagicShiftsIlonaAndrews_thumb3.jpg?imgmax=800" width="160" align="right" height="242"></a></p> <p>And here’s the cover for <strong>MAGIC SHIFTS </strong>(Kate Daniels #8): </p> <p>Hardcover | Published by Ace | Aug 04, 2015 | 352 Pages</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p>To enter this contest please fill out the Google form below. Good luck!</p><iframe height="500" marginheight="0" src="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/18p_zF3mErsjiFOM_zSAPmznX2XWa8ij4yMe5v5LVmDM/viewform?embedded=true" frameborder="0" width="560" marginwidth="0">Loading...</iframe> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10360453947198770223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3206685128986486929.post-60039500752593106072015-08-07T12:47:00.001-07:002015-09-18T14:57:43.938-07:00Incoming Books: August 7, 2015<p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-8PD4BYrlKtA/VcUK-6oHW6I/AAAAAAAAMgE/0za_yL79l6E/s1600-h/TheMonstrousEllenDatlow5.jpg"><img title="The Monstrous - Ellen Datlow" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 0px 15px 10px 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="The Monstrous - Ellen Datlow" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-c8CbXKKqupg/VcUK_ClnBbI/AAAAAAAAMgI/h4Tflzzs6-A/TheMonstrousEllenDatlow_thumb3.jpg?imgmax=800" width="230" align="left" height="345"></a></p> <p>We have our Incoming Books feature for August 7, 2015.</p> <p>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</p> <p><strong>The Monstrous</strong> edited by Ellen Datlow</p> <p>From the best horror editor in the business comes a landmark horror anthology. Take a terrifying journey with literary masters of suspense, visiting a place where the other is <i>somehow</i> one of us. These electrifying tales redefine monsters from mere things that go bump in the night to inexplicable, deadly reflections of our day-to-day lives. Whether it’s a seemingly devoted teacher, an obsessive devotee of swans, or a diner full of evil creatures simply seeking oblivion, the monstrous is always there—and much closer than it appears.</p> <p>October 2015 | Trade Paperback | Tachyon Publications | 384 pages <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-88lMk89vrQ4/VcUK_sYN3xI/AAAAAAAAMgU/PLoctFtEv2c/s1600-h/AvelynnMarissaCampbell1.jpg"><img title="Avelynn - Marissa Campbell" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 5px 0px 10px 15px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Avelynn - Marissa Campbell" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-sn-rEBwDBvk/VcULAPDtksI/AAAAAAAAMgY/EXJ5RkV0F7E/AvelynnMarissaCampbell_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="160" align="right" height="245"></a> <p><strong>Avelynn </strong>by Marissa Campbell <p><em>This dazzling debut brings the Dark Ages to light and illuminates one Saxon noblewoman's romance with a Viking warrior and her struggle to find her path in a changing and dangerous world.<br></em><br>869. For eighteen years, Avelynn, the beautiful and secretly pagan daughter of the Ealdorman of Somerset, has lived in an environment of love, acceptance, and equality. Somerset has flourished under twenty years of peace. But with whispers of war threatening their security, Avelynn's father makes an uncompromising decision that changes her life forever. <p>Forced into a betrothal with Demas, a man who only covets her wealth and status, Avelynn's perception of independence is shattered. With marriage looming, she turns to her faith, searching for answers in an ancient ritual along the coast, only to find Alrik The Blood-Axe and sixty Viking berserkers have landed. <p>In a year of uncertainty that sees Avelynn discover hidden powers, stumble into a passionate love affair with Alrik, and lead men into battle, Avelynn must walk a fine line as her deceptions mount and Demas' tactics to possess her become more desperate and increasingly brutal. <p>Avelynn and Alrik are caught in the throes of fate as they struggle to find the way back to themselves and onwards to each other. <p>St. Martin's Griffin | September 2015 | Trade Paperback | 352 pages <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Usspc1MFYNw/VcULATOMz8I/AAAAAAAAMgk/Zqld504ol7Y/s1600-h/TheEndofAllThingsJohnScalzi1.jpg"><img title="End of All Things_9780765376077_HC.indd" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 5px 15px 10px 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="End of All Things_9780765376077_HC.indd" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-01VbvKIuz5A/VcULA5T7FbI/AAAAAAAAMgo/sml4FivZBN4/TheEndofAllThingsJohnScalzi_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="160" align="left" height="242"></a> <p><strong>The End of All Things</strong> (Old Man’s War #6) by John Scalzi <p>Hugo-award winning author, John Scalzi returns to his best-selling Old Man's War universe with <i>The End of All Things</i>, the direct sequel to 2013's <i>The Human Division.</i> <p>Humans expanded into space...only to find a universe populated with multiple alien species bent on their destruction. Thus was the Colonial Union formed, to help protect us from a hostile universe. The Colonial Union used the Earth and its excess population for colonists and soldiers. It was a good arrangement...for the Colonial Union. Then the Earth said: no more. <p>Now the Colonial Union is living on borrowed time-a couple of decades at most, before the ranks of the Colonial Defense Forces are depleted and the struggling human colonies are vulnerable to the alien species who have been waiting for the first sign of weakness, to drive humanity to ruin. And there's another problem: A group, lurking in the darkness of space, playing human and alien against each other-and against their own kind -for their own unknown reasons. <p>In this collapsing universe, CDF Lieutenant Harry Wilson and the Colonial Union diplomats he works with race against the clock to discover who is behind attacks on the Union and on alien races, to seek peace with a suspicious, angry Earth, and keep humanity's union intact...or else risk oblivion, and extinction-and the end of all things. </p> <p>Tor Books | August 2015 | Hardcover | 384 pages </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-9ohQm1kvde0/VcULBAp1eKI/AAAAAAAAMgw/AeccP877QWI/s1600-h/ChasingthePhoenixMichaelSwanwick1.jpg"><img title="Chasing the Phoenix - Michael Swanwick" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 5px 0px 10px 15px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Chasing the Phoenix - Michael Swanwick" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-9vkcZJSM4JE/VcULBsaIFfI/AAAAAAAAMg4/kHJJ2ZpZ2rc/ChasingthePhoenixMichaelSwanwick_thu.jpg?imgmax=800" width="160" align="right" height="243"></a> </p> <p><strong>Chasing the Phoenix</strong> by Michael Swanwick </p> <p><i>Chasing the Phoenix</i>: a science fiction masterpiece from a five-time Hugo Award winner Michael Swanwick! <p>In the distant future, Surplus arrives in China dressed as a Mongolian shaman, leading a yak which carries the corpse of his friend, Darger. The old high-tech world has long since collapsed, and the artificial intelligences that ran it are outlawed and destroyed. Or so it seems. <p>Darger and Surplus, a human and a genetically engineered dog with human intelligence who walks upright, are a pair of con men and the heroes of a series of prior Swanwick stories. They travel to what was once China and invent a scam to become rich and powerful. Pretending to have limited super-powers, they aid an ambitious local warlord who dreams of conquest and once again reuniting China under one ruler. And, against all odds, it begins to work, but it seems as if there are other forces at work behind the scenes. <i>Chasing the Phoenix </i>is a sharp, slick, witty science fiction adventure that is hugely entertaining from Michael Swanwick, one of the best SF writers alive. </p> <p>Tor Books | August 2015 | Hardcover | 320 pages </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-r-vsQohTjy4/VcULCHMGsHI/AAAAAAAAMhA/z79IOdZFEE4/s1600-h/DarkForestCixinLiu.jpg"><img title="Dark Forest - Cixin Liu" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 5px 15px 10px 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Dark Forest - Cixin Liu" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-g_rJgWjvv4w/VcULCe_hNYI/AAAAAAAAMhI/BgEx8WwK_Nk/DarkForestCixinLiu_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="160" align="left" height="240"></a> </p> <p><strong>The Dark Forest</strong> (Three-Body #2) by Cixin Liu, translated by Joel Martinsen <p>This near-future trilogy is the first chance for English-speaking readers to experience this multiple-award-winning phenomenon from Cixin Liu, China's most beloved science fiction author. In <i>Dark Forest</i>, Earth is reeling from the revelation of a coming alien invasion-in just four centuries' time. The aliens' human collaborators may have been defeated, but the presence of the sophons, the subatomic particles that allow Trisolaris instant access to all human information, means that Earth's defense plans are totally exposed to the enemy. Only the human mind remains a secret. This is the motivation for the Wallfacer Project, a daring plan that grants four men enormous resources to design secret strategies, hidden through deceit and misdirection from Earth and Trisolaris alike. Three of the Wallfacers are influential statesmen and scientists, but the fourth is a total unknown. Luo Ji, an unambitious Chinese astronomer and sociologist, is baffled by his new status. All he knows is that he's the one Wallfacer that Trisolaris wants dead. </p> <p>Tor Books | August 2015 | Hardcover | 512 pages </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-EQamRqZ_w7g/VcULC4maqmI/AAAAAAAAMhU/VxtbuOD_Lr0/s1600-h/ThePhilosopherKingsJoWalton1.jpg"><img title="The Philosopher Kings - Jo Walton" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 5px 0px 10px 15px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="The Philosopher Kings - Jo Walton" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-7_4jsOKq6J8/VcULDrAK1cI/AAAAAAAAMhY/Zv_3lXVu-GI/ThePhilosopherKingsJoWalton_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="162" align="right" height="241"></a> </p> <p><strong>The Philosopher Kings </strong>(Thessely #2)<strong> </strong> by Jo Walton</p> <p>From acclaimed, award-winning author Jo Walton: <i>Philosopher Kings, </i>a tale of gods and humans, and the surprising things they have to learn from one another. Twenty years have elapsed since the events of <i>The Just City.</i> The City, founded by the time-traveling goddess Pallas Athene, organized on the principles espoused in Plato's <i>Republic</i> and populated by people from all eras of human history, has now split into five cities, and low-level armed conflict between them is not unheard-of. <p>The god Apollo, living (by his own choice) a human life as "Pythias" in the City, his true identity known only to a few, is now married and the father of several children. But a tragic loss causes him to become consumed with the desire for revenge. Being Apollo, he goes handling it in a seemingly rational and systematic way, but it's evident, particularly to his precocious daughter Arete, that he is unhinged with grief. <p>Along with Arete and several of his sons, plus a boatload of other volunteers--including the now fantastically aged Marsilio Ficino, the great humanist of Renaissance Florence--Pythias/Apollo goes sailing into the mysterious Eastern Mediterranean of pre-antiquity to see what they can find--possibly the man who may have caused his great grief, possibly communities of the earliest people to call themselves "Greek." What Apollo, his daughter, and the rest of the expedition will discover…will change everything. </p>Tor Books | June 2015 | Hardcover | 352 pages <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-vokDS5Us2hc/VcULD1rrtAI/AAAAAAAAMhg/tFQuFdZD5Bs/s1600-h/TimeSalvagerWesleyChu1.jpg"><img title="Time Salvager - Wesley Chu" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 5px 15px 10px 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Time Salvager - Wesley Chu" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-AiyyOjZBP2E/VcULEfcuvGI/AAAAAAAAMhs/kYjwC44P7sY/TimeSalvagerWesleyChu_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="160" align="left" height="243"></a> </p> <p><strong>Time Salvager </strong>(Time Salvager #1) by Wesley Chu</p> <p><i>Time Salvager: </i>a fast-paced time travel adventure from Wesley Chu, the award-winning author of <i>The Lives of Tao.</i> <p>In a future when Earth is a toxic, abandoned world and humanity has spread into the outer solar system to survive, the tightly controlled use of time travel holds the key maintaining a fragile existence among the other planets and their moons. James Griffin-Mars is a chronman--a convicted criminal recruited for his unique psychological makeup to undertake the most dangerous job there is: missions into Earth's past to recover resources and treasure without altering the timeline. Most chronmen never reach old age, and James is reaching his breaking point. <p>On a final mission that is to secure his retirement, James meets an intriguing woman from a previous century, scientist Elise Kim, who is fated to die during the destruction of an oceanic rig. Against his training and his common sense, James brings her back to the future with him, saving her life, but turning them both into fugitives. Remaining free means losing themselves in the wild and poisonous wastes of Earth, and discovering what hope may yet remain for humanity's home world. </p>Tor Books | July 2015 | Hardcover | 384 pages <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-acHkFoe8er4/VcULEuXiVsI/AAAAAAAAMhw/u9P7PDrUG-c/s1600-h/MidianUnmadeed.JosephNassiseandDelHo%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img title="Midian Unmade - ed. Joseph Nassise and Del Howison" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 5px 0px 10px 15px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Midian Unmade - ed. Joseph Nassise and Del Howison" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-gYKkEuboxpM/VcULFLjic_I/AAAAAAAAMh4/nxJ_nSU0zLg/MidianUnmadeed.JosephNassiseandDelHo%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="160" align="right" height="243"></a> </p> <p><strong>Midian Unmade</strong> edited by Joseph Nassise and Del Howison</p> <p>Clive Barker's <i>Nightbreed</i> has been controversial since the moment it was released in a version edited by the studio and roundly condemned by Barker, who wrote and directed the movie. A virtually instant cult film based on Barker's novella <i>Cabal,</i> it was nominated for three Saturn Awards and won several prizes at European film festivals. <p><i>Midian Unmade</i> tells the stories of the Nightbreed after the fall of their city, Midian. Driven from their homes, their friends and family members slain before their eyes, the monsters become a mostly-hidden diaspora. Some are hunted; others, hunters. Some seek refuge. Others want revenge. <p>Contributors include: Karl Alexander, author of the classic novel <i>Time After Time</i>; actor, writer, and director Amber Benson (Tara Maclay on <i>Buffy the Vampire Slayer</i>); <i>New York Times</i> bestselling author Nancy Holder; Hugo and John W. Campbell Award winner Seanan McGuire; Bram Stoker Award winner Weston Ochse; David J. Schow, winner of the World Fantasy Award and writer of the screenplay for <i>The Crow</i>; <i>New York Times</i> bestselling writer Stephen Woodworth; and many more--23 stories in all. <p>With an introduction by Clive Barker, this is an outstanding collection of original horror short stories in a dazzling variety of styles. </p>Tor Books | July 2015 | Hardcover | 304 pages <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-BdbAIlgGlKM/VcULFdW44xI/AAAAAAAAMiA/XvZEW_K3svo/s1600-h/DarkOrbitCarolynIvesGilman1.jpg"><img title="Dark Orbit - Carolyn Ives Gilman" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 5px 15px 10px 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Dark Orbit - Carolyn Ives Gilman" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-_nI0kOTLhMA/VcULF5H9cTI/AAAAAAAAMiM/sTxITpBUhto/DarkOrbitCarolynIvesGilman_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="160" align="left" height="242"></a> </p> <p><strong>Dark Orbit</strong> by Carolyn Ives Gilman</p> <p>From Nebula and Hugo Award-nominated Carolyn Ives Gilman comes <i>Dark Orbit, </i>a compelling novel featuring alien contact, mystery, and murder. <p>Reports of a strange, new habitable planet have reached the Twenty Planets of human civilization. When a team of scientists is assembled to investigate this world, exoethnologist Sara Callicot is recruited to keep an eye on an unstable crewmate. Thora was once a member of the interplanetary elite, but since her prophetic delusions helped mobilize a revolt on Orem, she's been banished to the farthest reaches of space, because of the risk that her very presence could revive unrest. <p>Upon arrival, the team finds an extraordinary crystalline planet, laden with dark matter. Then a crew member is murdered and Thora mysteriously disappears. Thought to be uninhabited, the planet is in fact home to a blind, sentient species whose members navigate their world with a bizarre vocabulary and extrasensory perceptions. <p>Lost in the deep crevasses of the planet among these people, Thora must battle her demons and learn to comprehend the native inhabitants in order to find her crewmates and warn them of an impending danger. But her most difficult task may lie in persuading the crew that some powers lie beyond the boundaries of science. </p>Tor Books | July 2015 | Hardcover | 304 pages <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-QtTI4yUoVMs/VcULGBvdB1I/AAAAAAAAMiQ/FVcppFQibwM/s1600-h/TheHouroftheInnocentsRobertPaston1.jpg"><img title="The Hour of the Innocents - Robert Paston" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 5px 0px 10px 15px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="The Hour of the Innocents - Robert Paston" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Y6FQLCLKBbs/VcULGhTUbWI/AAAAAAAAMiY/4KowEZPkiUo/TheHouroftheInnocentsRobertPaston_th.jpg?imgmax=800" width="160" align="right" height="242"></a> </p> <p><strong>The Hour of the Innocents</strong> by Robert Paston</p> <p>1968. Vietnam. Social turmoil. Drugs. <i>Music.</i><br><i></i><br><i></i>Four young musicians are determined to escape a ravaged industrial landscape by playing rock and roll...and they play it with a passion and brilliance that contrasts with their poverty. Music is the only hope they have. <p>Set against a fleeting age when music seemed about to change the world, Robert Paston's<i> The Hour of the Innocents</i> tells the story of the band known as The Innocents and captures the true drama of the late 1960s--not the glitter of famous names, but the yearning of the heartland guitarists and drummers who <i>believed…</i>and the lovers, friends, and lives crushed along the way. </p>Forge Books | June 2015 | Trade Paperback | 320 pages <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-pAmYW2Jl3EQ/VcULG8qoKOI/AAAAAAAAMig/wkBms-9u4N8/s1600-h/UltimaStephenBaxter.jpg"><img title="Ultima - Stephen Baxter" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 5px 15px 10px 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Ultima - Stephen Baxter" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-xgOv1Ze_fj0/VcULHWW1jtI/AAAAAAAAMio/uhb5bGq3kUQ/UltimaStephenBaxter_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="160" align="left" height="242"></a> </p> <p><strong>Ultima</strong> (Proxima #2) by Stephen Baxter </p> <p>On the planet of Per Ardua, alien artifacts were discovered—hatches that allowed humans to step across light-years of space as if they were stepping into another room. But this newfound freedom has consequences….</p> <p>As humanity discovers the real nature of the universe, a terrifying truth comes to light. We all have countless pasts converging in this present—and our future is terrifyingly finite. There are minds in the universe that are billions of years old and now we are vulnerable to their plans for us….</p> <p>It’s time to fight back and take control.</p> <p>Hardcover | 512 Pages | 4 Aug 2015 | Roc Adult </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-EDv5ECNChFE/VcULHmlg_VI/AAAAAAAAMi0/8WM3znMXGDM/s1600-h/MagicBitesIlonaAndrewsmmpb1.png"><img title="Magic Bites - Ilona Andrews mmpb" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 5px 0px 10px 15px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Magic Bites - Ilona Andrews mmpb" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Zl7hsB3eY38/VcULIAqBKxI/AAAAAAAAMi4/0Ngen3o5mMg/MagicBitesIlonaAndrewsmmpb_thumb1.png?imgmax=800" width="160" align="right" height="269"></a> </p> <p><strong>Magic Bites</strong> by Ilona Andrews</p> <p>Mercenary Kate Daniels cleans up urban problems of a paranormal kind. But her latest prey, a pack of undead warriors, presents her greatest challenge.</p> <p>Mass Market Paperback | 272 Pages | 27 Mar 2007 | Ace </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-VQPdJe2hu2k/VcULIoY4CsI/AAAAAAAAMjE/wxO5YUj3rJ4/s1600-h/AliceChristinaHenry1.jpg"><img title="Alice - Christina Henry" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 5px 15px 10px 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Alice - Christina Henry" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-x--8yH4SgI4/VcULJMcQ8RI/AAAAAAAAMjI/gywOGD2bbwU/AliceChristinaHenry_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="160" align="left" height="242"></a> </p> <p><strong>Alice</strong> by Christina Henry</p> <p><em>A mind-bending new novel inspired by the twisted and wondrous works of Lewis Carroll…</em></p> <p>In a warren of crumbling buildings and desperate people called the Old City, there stands a hospital with cinderblock walls which echo the screams of the poor souls inside.</p> <p>In the hospital, there is a woman. Her hair, once blond, hangs in tangles down her back. She doesn’t remember why she’s in such a terrible place. Just a tea party long ago, and long ears, and blood…</p> <p>Then, one night, a fire at the hospital gives the woman a chance to escape, tumbling out of the hole that imprisoned her, leaving her free to uncover the truth about what happened to her all those years ago.</p> <p>Only something else has escaped with her. Something dark. Something powerful.</p> <p>And to find the truth, she will have to track this beast to the very heart of the Old City, where the rabbit waits for his Alice. </p> <p>Paperback | 304 Pages | 4 Aug 2015 | Ace </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-kGE5_cGhSng/VcULJhZtxeI/AAAAAAAAMjU/KeNpHcvIfT8/s1600-h/ThePriceofValorDjangoWexler1.jpg"><img title="The Price of Valor - Django Wexler" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 5px 0px 10px 15px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="The Price of Valor - Django Wexler" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-t-85NRJ41ck/VcULKHxyDyI/AAAAAAAAMjY/sPiMwVRmJpI/ThePriceofValorDjangoWexler_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="160" align="right" height="242"></a> </p> <p><strong>The Price of Valor</strong> (Book Three of the Shadow Campaigns) by Django Wexler </p> <p>In the latest Shadow Campaigns novel, Django Wexler continues his “epic fantasy of military might and magical conflict”* following <i>The Shadow T</i>hrone and <i>The Thousand Names</i>, as the realm of Vordan faces imminent threats from without and within.</p> <p>In the wake of the King’s death, war has come to Vordan.</p> <p>The Deputies-General has precarious control of the city, but it is led by a zealot who sees traitors in every shadow. Executions have become a grim public spectacle. The new queen, Raesinia Orboan, finds herself nearly powerless as the government tightens its grip and assassins threaten her life. But she did not help free the country from one sort of tyranny to see it fall into another. Placing her trust with the steadfast soldier Marcus D’Ivoire, she sets out to turn the tide of history.</p> <p>As the hidden hand of the Sworn Church brings all the powers of the continent to war against Vordan, the enigmatic and brilliant general Janus bet Vhalnich offers a path to victory. Winter Ihernglass, newly promoted to command a regiment, has reunited with her lover and her friends, only to face the prospect of leading them into bloody battle.<br>And the enemy is not just armed with muskets and cannon. Dark priests of an ancient order, wielding forbidden magic, have infiltrated Vordan to stop Janus by whatever means necessary… </p> <p>Hardcover | 528 Pages | 7 Jul 2015 | Roc </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-KKZh-9hv0Pc/VcULKb_y_bI/AAAAAAAAMjg/sclQUqkIF4k/s1600-h/QueenofFireAnthonyRyan1.jpg"><img title="Queen of Fire - Anthony Ryan" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 5px 15px 10px 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Queen of Fire - Anthony Ryan" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Ug0hUnmL0e0/VcULKpgzB1I/AAAAAAAAMjo/nFhMlI2C6Os/QueenofFireAnthonyRyan_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="160" align="left" height="242"></a> </p> <p><strong>Queen of Fire</strong> (Book Three of the Raven’s Shadow novels) by Anthony Ryan </p> <p>In the thrilling conclusion to the “deftly and originally executed” (<i>Booklist) New York Times </i>bestselling trilogy, Vaelin Al Sorna must help his Queen reclaim her Realm. Only his enemy has a dangerous new collaborator, one with powers darker than Vaelin has ever encountered…</p> <p>“The Ally is there, but only ever as a shadow, unexplained catastrophe or murder committed at the behest of a dark vengeful spirit. Sorting truth from myth is often a fruitless task.” </p> <p>After fighting back from the brink of death, Queen Lyrna is determined to repel the invading Volarian army and regain the independence of the Unified Realm. Except, to accomplish her goals, she must do more than rally her loyal supporters. She must align herself with forces she once found repugnant—those who possess the strange and varied gifts of the Dark—and take the war to her enemy’s doorstep.</p> <p>Victory rests on the shoulders of Vaelin Al Sorna, now named Battle Lord of the Realm. However, his path is riddled with difficulties. For the Volarian enemy has a new weapon on their side, one that Vaelin must destroy if the Realm is to prevail—a mysterious Ally with the ability to grant unnaturally long life to her servants. And defeating one who cannot be killed is a nearly impossible feat, especially when Vaelin’s blood-song, the mystical power which has made him the epic fighter he is, has gone ominously silent… </p> <p>Hardcover | 656 Pages | 7 Jul 2015 | Ace </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ZuK8PV7raIY/VcULLGr8LRI/AAAAAAAAMjw/Y_tgqwyepDs/s1600-h/TheClockworkCrownBethCato1.jpg"><img title="The Clockwork Crown - Beth Cato" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 5px 0px 10px 15px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="The Clockwork Crown - Beth Cato" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ptVhW3MOXhs/VcULLcMKYJI/AAAAAAAAMj8/xvj17UwFpio/TheClockworkCrownBethCato_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="160" align="right" height="242"></a> </p> <p><strong>The Clockwork Crown</strong> (Clockwork Dagger Duology #2) by Beth Cato </p> <p>Rich in atmosphere, imagination, and fun, the action-packed, magic-filled sequel to <em>The Clockwork Dagger</em> is an enchanting steampunk fantasy, evocative of the works of Trudi Canavan and Gail Carriger. <p>Narrowly surviving assassination and capture, Octavia Leander, a powerful magical healer, is on the run with handsome Alonzo Garrett, the Clockwork Dagger who forfeited his career with the Queen’s secret society of spies and killers—and possibly his life—to save her. Now, they are on a dangerous quest to find safety and answers: Why is Octavia so powerful? Why does she seem to be undergoing a transformation unlike any witnessed for hundreds of years? <p>The truth may rest with the source of her mysterious healing power—the Lady’s Tree. But the tree lies somewhere in a rough, inhospitable territory known as the Waste. Eons ago, this land was made barren and uninhabitable by an evil spell, until a few hardy souls dared to return over the last century. For years, the Waste has waged a bloody battle against the royal court to win its independence—and they need Octavia’s powers to succeed. <p>Joined by unlikely allies, including a menagerie of gremlin companions, she must evade killers and Clockwork Daggers on a dangerous journey through a world on the brink of deadly civil war. </p> <p>Harper Voyager | 06/09/2015 | Trade Paperback | Pages:<strong> </strong>384 </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-188OHKcYLkY/VcULLxyCMhI/AAAAAAAAMkE/k9GoYQ5u0yI/s1600-h/TheFifthHouseoftheHeartBenTripp1.jpg"><img title="The Fifth House of the Heart - Ben Tripp" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 5px 15px 10px 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="The Fifth House of the Heart - Ben Tripp" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-S1ay5KNMbuo/VcULMQFxIzI/AAAAAAAAMkI/Kj8BHwfWuHU/TheFifthHouseoftheHeartBenTripp_thum.jpg?imgmax=800" width="160" align="left" height="240"></a> </p> <p><strong>The Fifth House of the Heart</strong> by Benn Tripp</p> <p>Filled with characters as menacing as they are memorable, this chilling twist on vampire fiction packs a punch in the bestselling tradition of ’<i>Salem’s Lot</i> by Stephen King.<br>Asmodeus “Sax” Saxon-Tang, a vainglorious and well-established antiques dealer, has made a fortune over many years by globetrotting for the finest lost objects in the world. Only Sax knows the true secret to his success: at certain points of his life, he’s killed vampires for their priceless hoards of treasure.</p> <p>But now Sax’s past actions are quite literally coming back to haunt him, and the lives of those he holds most dear are in mortal danger. To counter this unnatural threat, and with the blessing of the Holy Roman Church, a cowardly but cunning Sax must travel across Europe in pursuit of incalculable evil—and immeasurable wealth—with a ragtag team of mercenaries and vampire killers to hunt a terrifying, ageless monster…one who is hunting Sax in turn.</p> <p>Gallery Books | 400 pages | July 2015 | Trade Paperback </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-3_Wpu5Ububk/VcULMqACJ-I/AAAAAAAAMkU/JuyHZwfKjHI/s1600-h/TheCurseofCrowHollowBillyCoffey2.jpg"><img title="The Curse of Crow Hollow - Billy Coffey" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 5px 0px 10px 15px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="The Curse of Crow Hollow - Billy Coffey" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ZU6tNzD3Jhk/VcULMzA7hjI/AAAAAAAAMkY/Jhqal-BwERg/TheCurseofCrowHollowBillyCoffey_thum.jpg?imgmax=800" width="160" align="right" height="246"></a> <p><strong>The Curse of Crow Hollow</strong> by Billy Coffey</p> <p>Everyone in Crow Hollow knows of Alvaretta Graves, the old widow who lives in the mountain. Many call her a witch; others whisper she’s insane. Everyone agrees the vengeance Alvaretta swore at her husband’s death hovers over them all. That vengeance awakens when teenagers stumble upon Alvaretta’s cabin, incurring her curse. Now a sickness moves through the Hollow. Rumors swirl that Stu Graves has risen for revenge. And the people of Crow Hollow are left to confront not only the darkness that lives on the mountain, but the darkness that lives within themselves.</p> <p>Paperback | 384 pages | August 4th 2015 | Thomas Nelson <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-crt72wcEApo/VcULNX1H5bI/AAAAAAAAMkk/DeBBx-MM_sM/s1600-h/GoldThroneandShadowMCPlanck2.jpg"><img title="Gold Throne and Shadow - MC Planck" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 5px 15px 10px 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Gold Throne and Shadow - MC Planck" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-bxCQ7OTIjAM/VcULNwpyF7I/AAAAAAAAMko/X0ZUx8FE9-4/GoldThroneandShadowMCPlanck_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" width="160" align="left" height="242"></a> <p><strong>Gold Throne in Shadow</strong> (World of Prime #2) by M. C. Planck</p> <p>The continuing adventures of Christopher Sinclair, mechanical engineer turned priest of war.<br>Christopher, raised from the dead and promoted to a moderate rank, takes command of the army regiment he trained and equipped. Sent south to an allegedly easy posting, he finds himself in the way of several thousand rabid dog-men. Guns and fortifications turn back the horde, but Christopher has other problems that cannot be solved with mere firepower: a wicked assassin; hostile clergymen; dubious allies including a bard, Lalania, with a connection to a mysterious group of scholars; and worst of all his own impolitic tongue. But all of these pale into mere distractions once he discovers the true enemy: an invisible, mind-eating horror who plays the kingdom like a puppet-master’s stage. Lalania claims she can help—but will it be enough? <p>325 pp | Paperback | October 2015 | Pyr <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-R5tUfcu1B-Q/VcULOJIpTWI/AAAAAAAAMk0/LVxrqhZVVWc/s1600-h/ASchoolforBridesPatriceKindl2.jpg"><img title="A School for Brides - Patrice Kindl" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 5px 0px 10px 15px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="A School for Brides - Patrice Kindl" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-hYGTV4XYILU/VcULOgLN1hI/AAAAAAAAMk4/IveRjcnflYM/ASchoolforBridesPatriceKindl_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" width="162" align="right" height="244"></a> <p><strong>A School for Brides</strong> (Keeping the Castle #2) by Patrice Kindl </p> <p>The Winthrop Hopkins Female Academy of Lesser Hoo, Yorkshire, has one goal: to train its students in the feminine arts with an eye toward getting them married off. This year, there are five girls of marriageable age. There’s only one problem: the school is in the middle of nowhere, and there are no men. Set in the same English town as <i>Keeping the Castle, </i>and featuring a few of the same characters, here’s the kind of witty tribute to the classic Regency novel that could only come from the pen of Patrice Kindl!</p> <p>Hardcover | 272 Pages | 14 Jul 2015 | Viking Books for Young Readers | 12 and up </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-lW5uYcNteFc/VcULO5TFSII/AAAAAAAAMlA/Y6kUVUR_6e8/s1600-h/mygrandmotheraskedmetotellyoushessor%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img title="my-grandmother-asked-me-to-tell-you-shes-sorry - Fredrik Backman" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 5px 15px 10px 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="my-grandmother-asked-me-to-tell-you-shes-sorry - Fredrik Backman" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Y0uGCLhI05A/VcULPS_QzjI/AAAAAAAAMlI/E-N15FFsKZQ/mygrandmotheraskedmetotellyoushessor.jpg?imgmax=800" width="160" align="left" height="240"></a> </p> <p><strong>My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry</strong> by Fredrik Backman</p> <p>From the author of the internationally bestselling <i>A Man Called Ove</i>, a charming, warmhearted novel about a young girl whose grandmother dies and leaves behind a series of letters, sending her on a journey that brings to life the world of her grandmother’s fairy tales.</p> <p>Elsa is seven years old and different. Her grandmother is seventy-seven years old and crazy, standing-on-the-balcony-firing-paintball-guns-at-men-who-want-to-talk-about-Jesus-crazy. She is also Elsa’s best, and only, friend. At night Elsa takes refuge in her grandmother’s stories, in the Land of Almost-Awake and the Kingdom of Miamas where everybody is different and nobody needs to be normal.</p> <p>When Elsa’s grandmother dies and leaves behind a series of letters apologizing to people she has wronged, Elsa’s greatest adventure begins. Her grandmother’s letters lead her to an apartment building full of drunks, monsters, attack dogs, and totally ordinary old crones, but also to the truth about fairytales and kingdoms and a grandmother like no other.</p> <p><i>My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry </i>is told with the same comic accuracy and beating heart as Fredrik Backman’s internationally bestselling debut novel, <i>A Man Called Ove</i>. It is a story about life and death and an ode to one of the most important human rights: the right to be different. </p> <p>Hardbound | Atria Books | 384 pages | June 2015</p> <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-qeDPJwLYa8o/VcULPrCRlCI/AAAAAAAAMlQ/Oc2NDi3NIZ4/s1600-h/StillProcrastinatingJosephR.Ferrari2.jpg"><img title="Still Procrastinating - Joseph R. Ferrari" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 5px 0px 10px 15px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Still Procrastinating - Joseph R. Ferrari" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-a57fiLUecv4/VcULQMp-nWI/AAAAAAAAMlc/R2TBgYkO9gk/StillProcrastinatingJosephR.Ferrari_.jpg?imgmax=800" width="160" align="right" height="246"></a> </p> <p><strong>Still Procrastinating</strong> by Joseph Ferrari</p> <p>Find out <em>why</em> you put things off-and learn to conquer procrastination for good!</p> <p><em>"What if I make a bad decision?" "What if I fail?" "I'm better under pressure."</em> There are all sorts of reasons people procrastinate. What are yours? This book draws on scientific research on procrastination conducted over more than twenty years by the author and his colleagues, to help you learn what stops you from getting things done so that you can find the solutions that will really work.</p> <p>Contrary to conventional wisdom, chronic procrastination is NOT about poor time management, but about self-sabotaging tendencies that can prevent you from reaching your full potential. This book gives you the knowledge and tools you need to understand and overcome these tendencies so you can start achieving your goals-not next week, next month, or next year, but TODAY!</p> <p>Paperback | 256 pages | September 1, 2010 | Wiley <p></p> <p></p> <ul></ul> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10360453947198770223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3206685128986486929.post-57918829544904075452015-07-28T11:11:00.001-07:002015-07-28T11:11:17.464-07:00Giveaway: THE WILD GIRL by Kate Forsyth<p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-C-DYDNWcA_8/VbfFv8n6cII/AAAAAAAAMd4/mgrm81-tSCE/s1600-h/TheWildGirlKateForsyth5.jpg"><img title="The Wild Girl - Kate Forsyth" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 0px 15px 10px 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="The Wild Girl - Kate Forsyth" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-61zFzurRTGo/VbfFwcGHF-I/AAAAAAAAMd8/S0gkM85FsKY/TheWildGirlKateForsyth_thumb3.jpg?imgmax=800" width="230" align="left" height="349"></a> </p> <p>We have a giveaway for <strong>THE WILD GIRL</strong> by Kate Forsyth. There’s one copy for a US or Canadian address. It’s historical fiction with a fairytale theme. And for a sample of Kate Forsyth’s wonderful writing you can <a href="http://www.layersofthought.net/2015/07/excerpt-wild-girl-by-kate-forsyth.html">read an excerpt for <strong>THE WILD GIRL</strong> by linking on this text</a>.</p> <p>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</p> <p>Here’s more about the book via the publisher:</p> <p>One of six sisters, Dortchen Wild lives in the small German kingdom of Hesse-Cassel in the early 19th century. She finds herself irresistibly drawn to the boy next door, the handsome but very poor fairy tale scholar Wilhelm Grimm. It is a time of tyranny and terror. Napoleon Bonaparte wants to conquer all of Europe, and Hesse-Cassel is one of the first kingdoms to fall. Forced to live under oppressive French rule, Wilhelm and his brothers quietly rebel by preserving old half-forgotten tales that had once been told by the firesides of houses grand and small over the land. <p>As Dortchen tells Wilhelm some of the most powerful and compelling stories in what will one day become his and Jacob's famous fairy tale collection, their love blossoms. But Dortchen's father will not give his consent for them to marry and war, death, and poverty also conspire to keep the lovers apart. Yet Dortchen is determined to find a way. <p>Evocative and richly-detailed, Kate Forsyth's <i>The Wild Girl</i> masterfully captures one young woman's enduring faith in love and the power of storytelling. <p><b>Kate Forsyth</b> is the internationally bestselling and award-winning author of more than 20 novels. Her books have been published in 17 countries. Forsyth holds a doctorate in fairytale retellings from the University of Technology. She lives in Sydney, Australia. <p>To enter this giveaway fill out the Google form:</p> <p><iframe height="500" marginheight="0" src="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1hGQh-CE5IyiPZjRTgF2pQJoxbrjKJTLPjhJmWnpj9DI/viewform?embedded=true" frameborder="0" width="560" marginwidth="0">Loading...</iframe></p> <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-qMOh-PCcubQ/VbfFwh1546I/AAAAAAAAMeE/mi4k_35eDrI/s1600-h/THEWILDGIRLBLOGTOURBANNER4.jpg"><img title="THE WILD GIRL BLOG TOUR BANNER" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="THE WILD GIRL BLOG TOUR BANNER" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-1-KP-QkzWmY/VbfFxAcPpeI/AAAAAAAAMeM/mGy0mTBEWvk/THEWILDGIRLBLOGTOURBANNER_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" width="500" height="179"></a></p> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10360453947198770223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3206685128986486929.post-42502230705646636542015-07-27T12:32:00.001-07:002015-07-28T10:50:19.030-07:00Excerpt: THE WILD GIRL by Kate Forsyth<p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-tAaqGJ7bweQ/VbaHPmFcQMI/AAAAAAAAMdI/gGBtkEGS_Bg/s1600-h/TheWildGirlKateForsyth5.jpg"><img title="The Wild Girl - Kate Forsyth" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 0px 15px 10px 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="The Wild Girl - Kate Forsyth" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Bk4CmVJZidg/VbaHP-4NrhI/AAAAAAAAMdM/dVI1Qlm812A/TheWildGirlKateForsyth_thumb3.jpg?imgmax=800" width="230" align="left" height="349"></a> <p>We have an excerpt for <strong>THE WILD GIRL</strong> by Kate Fosyth. It’s historical fiction about the untold love story of Dortchen Wild and the boy next door, who just happens to be Wilhelm Grimm, one of the brothers behind the famous fairy tale collection. <p><a href="http://www.layersofthought.net/2014/10/review-bitter-greens-by-kate-forsyth.html">I loved Kate Forsyth’s <strong>BITTER GREENS</strong>, the fairytale story of Rapunzel mixed with historical fiction. You can read my 4.5/5 star review by linking on this text</a>. And I am just as excited by <strong>THE WILD GIRL</strong> as it’s getting many great reviews. <p>Below is an excerpt from Chapter 1 of the book: <p>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ <p>Wild by name and wild by nature,’ Dortchen’s father used to say of her. He did not mean it as a compliment. He thought her headstrong, and so he set himself to tame her. <p>The day Dortchen Wild’s father died, she went to the forest, winter-bare and snow-frosted, so no one could see her dancing with joy. She went to the place where she had last been truly happy, the grove of old linden trees in the palace garden. Tearing off her black bonnet, she flung it into the tangled twigs, and drew off her gloves, shoving them in her coat pocket. Holding out her bare hands, embracing the cold winter wind, Dortchen spun alone among the linden trees, her black skirts swaying. <p>It was Christmas Day. All through Cassel, people were dancing and feasting. Dortchen remembered the Christmas balls Jérôme Bonaparte had held during his seven-year reign as king. A thousand guests had waltzed till dawn, their faces hidden behind masks. Wilhelm I, the Kurfürst of Hessen, had won back his throne from the French only a little over a year ago. He would not celebrate Christmas so extravagantly. Soon the lights would be doused and the music would fade away, and he and his court would go sensibly to bed, to save on the cost of lamp oil. <p>Dortchen must dance while she could. <p>She lifted her black skirts and twirled in the snow. <i>He’s dead</i>, she sang to herself. <i>I’m free!</i> <p>Three ravens flew through the darkening forest, wings ebony-black against the white snow. Their haunting call chilled her. She came to a standstill, surprised to find she was shaking with tears as much as with cold. She caught hold of a thorny branch to steady herself. Snow showered over her. <p><i>I will never be free </i>. . . <p>Dortchen was so cold that she felt as if she were made of ice. Looking down, she realised she had cut herself on the rose thorns. Blood dripped into the snow. She sucked the cut, and the taste of her blood filled her mouth, metallic as biting a bullet. <p>The sun was sinking away behind the palace, and the violin music came to an end. Dortchen did not want to go home, but it was not safe in the forest at night. She picked up her bonnet and began trudging back home, to the rambling old house above her father’s apothecary shop, where his corpse lay in his bedroom, swollen and stinking, waiting for her to wash it and lay it out. <p>The town was full of revellers. It was the first Christmas since Napoléon had been defeated and banished. Carol-singers in long red gowns stood on street corners, singing harmonies. A chestnut-seller was selling paper cones of hot chestnuts to the crowd clustered about his little fire, while pot-men sold mugs of hot cider and mulled wine. <p>At last she came to the Marktgasse, lit up with dancing light from a huge bonfire. Not one building matched another, crowded together all higgledy-piggledy around the cobblestoned square with its old pump and drinking trough outside the inn. <p>Only the apothecary’s shop was dark and shuttered, with no welcoming light above its door. Dortchen made her way through crowds buying sugar-roasted almonds, gingerbread hearts, wooden toys and small gilded angels at the market stalls. She slipped into the alley that ran down the side of the shop to its garden, locked away behind high walls. <p>‘Dortchen,’ a low voice called from the shadowy doorway opposite the garden gate. <p>She turned, hands clasped painfully tight together. <p>A tall, lean figure in black stepped out of the doorway. The light from the square flickered over the strong, spare bones of his face, making hollows of his eyes and cheeks. <p>‘I’ve been waiting for you,’ Wilhelm said. ‘No one knew where you had gone.’ <p>‘I went to the forest,’ she answered. <p>Wilhelm nodded. ‘I thought you would.’ He put his arms about her, drawing her close. <p>For a moment Dortchen resisted, but she was so cold and tired that she could not withstand the comfort of his touch. She rested her cheek on his chest and heard the thunder of his heart. <p>A ragged breath escaped her. ‘He’s dead,’ she said. ‘I can hardly believe it.’ <p>‘I know, I heard the news. I’m sorry.’ <p>‘I’m not.’ <p>He did not answer. She knew she had grieved him. The death of Wilhelm’s father had been the first great sorrow of his life; he and his brother Jakob had worked hard ever since to be all their father would have wanted. It was different for Dortchen, though. She had not loved her father. <p>‘You’re free now,’ he said, his voice so low it could scarcely be heard over the laughter and singing of the crowd in the square. <p>Dortchen had to look away. ‘It doesn’t change anything. There’s nothing left for me, not a single thaler.’ <p>There was a long silence. In the space between them were all the words Wilhelm could not say. <i>I am too poor to take a wife</i>…<i>I earn so</i> <i>little at my job at the library…I cannot ask Jakob to feed another mouth</i> <i>when he has to support all six of us </i>. . . <p>The failure of their fairy tale collection was a disappointment to him, Dortchen knew. Wilhelm had worked so hard, pinning all his hopes to it. If only it had been better received…If only it had sold more… <p>‘I’m so sorry.’ He bent his head and kissed her. <p>Dortchen drew away and shook her head. ‘I can’t…We mustn’t…’ He gave a murmur deep in his throat and tried to kiss her again. She wrenched herself out of his arms. ‘Wilhelm, I can’t…It hurts too much.’ <p>He caught her and drew her back, and she did not have the strength to resist him. Once again his mouth found hers, and she succumbed to the old magic. Desire quickened between them. Her arms were about his neck, their cold lips opening hungrily to each other. His hand slid down to find the curve of her waist, and she drew herself up against him. His breath caught. He turned and pressed her against the stone wall, his hands trying to find the shape of her within her heavy black gown. <p>Dortchen let herself forget the dark years that gaped between them, pretending that she was once more just a girl, madly in love with the boy next door. <p>The church bells rang out, marking the hour. She remembered she was frozen to the bone, and that her father’s dead body lay on the far side of the wall. <p>She shook her head. ‘It’s too late.’ <p>At twenty-one years of age, she was an old maid, all her hopes of love and romance turned to ashes. <p>‘There must be a way. If the fairy tales would sell just a few more copies…’ His voice died away. They both knew that he would need to sell many thousands more before they could ever dream of being together. <p>‘One day people will recognise how wonderful the stories are,’ she said. <p>He took her hand and bent before her, pressing his mouth into her palm. She drew away from him, turning to the gate in the wall. She was shivering so hard she could scarcely lift the latch. She glanced back and saw him watching her, a tall, still shadow among shadows. <p><i>Happy endings are only for fairy tales</i>, Dortchen thought, stepping through to her father’s walled garden. She raised her hand to dash away her tears. <i>These days, there’s no use in wishing.</i> <p><em>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</em> <p><i></i> <p><b>From </b><a href="http://us.macmillan.com/thewildgirl/kateforsyth"><b><i>The Wild Girl</i></b></a><b><i> </i></b><b>by Kate Forsyth, on sale July 7, 2015, from Thomas Dunne Books, an imprint of St. Martin’s Press, LLC. Copyright © 2015 by the author and reprinted by permission of St. Martin’s Press, LLC.</b> <p><b>Kate Forsyth</b> is the internationally bestselling and award-winning author of more than 20 novels. Her books have been published in 17 countries. Forsyth holds a doctorate in fairytale retellings from the University of Technology. She lives in Sydney, Australia. <p>Stay tuned since we will be hosting a giveaway for <strong>THE WILD GIRL</strong> tomorrow. <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-OOOrOYePqkQ/VbaHQYIKljI/AAAAAAAAMdU/elkbf8YkcH0/s1600-h/THEWILDGIRLBLOGTOURBANNER4.jpg"><img title="THE WILD GIRL BLOG TOUR BANNER" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="THE WILD GIRL BLOG TOUR BANNER" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-xfcT7L8d5XI/VbaHQ9koTXI/AAAAAAAAMdc/SyXy8xF8Vpk/THEWILDGIRLBLOGTOURBANNER_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" width="500" height="179"></a> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10360453947198770223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3206685128986486929.post-66863182643941818912015-07-16T10:56:00.001-07:002015-07-16T10:56:12.763-07:00Two Thrilling YA Giveaways: STONE RIDER and DAMAGE DONE<p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-DuajdmALnxo/VafwMnWKKGI/AAAAAAAAMbk/qAMUtcKbr0w/s1600-h/Stone%252520Rider%252520-%252520David%252520Hofmeyr%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img title="Stone Rider - David Hofmeyr" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 0px 15px 10px 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Stone Rider - David Hofmeyr" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-1E1QEAJ7OvE/VafwNTLf_0I/AAAAAAAAMbs/2GUK4FLneTw/Stone%252520Rider%252520-%252520David%252520Hofmeyr_thumb%25255B3%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="200" align="left" height="302"></a> </p> <p>We have two books on offer for giveaway. Both are thrilling young adult novels – <strong>STONE RIDER</strong> by David Hofmeyr and <strong>DAMAGE DONE</strong> by Amanda Panitch. One copy of each book to a US and/or Canadian address.</p> <p>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</p> <p>More about <strong>STONE RIDER</strong> from the publisher:</p> <p>In the vein of the cult classic Mad Max series, crossed with Cormac McCarthy’s <i>The Road</i> and S.E. Hinton’s <i>The Outsiders, </i>this inventive debut novel blends adrenaline-fueled action with an improbable yet tender romance to offer a rich and vivid portrayal of misfits and loners forced together in their struggle for a better life.</p> <p>Adam Stone wants freedom and peace. He wants a chance to escape Blackwater, the dust-bowl desert town he grew up in. Most of all, he wants the beautiful Sadie Blood. Alongside Sadie and the dangerous outsider Kane, Adam will ride the Blackwater Trail in a brutal race that will test them all, body and soul. Only the strongest will survive.</p> <p>The prize? A one-way ticket to Sky-Base and unimaginable luxury.</p> <p>And for a chance at this new life, Adam will risk everything.</p> <p>Hardcover | Delacorte Press | Jul 14, 2015 | 336 Pages | Young Adult <p>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-BWEDwClrbC0/VafwN9rPMDI/AAAAAAAAMb0/zLJaRIU7a4Q/s1600-h/Damage%252520Done%252520-%252520Amanda%252520Pantich%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img title="Damage Done - Amanda Pantich" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 5px 0px 10px 15px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Damage Done - Amanda Pantich" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-kDSlo_XjH3Q/VafwOgb240I/AAAAAAAAMb8/io4Pr1C7NzU/Damage%252520Done%252520-%252520Amanda%252520Pantich_thumb%25255B3%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="200" align="right" height="302"></a> <p>And about <strong>DAMAGE DONE</strong> via the publisher: <p>22 minutes separate Julia Vann’s before and after.</p> <p>Before: Julia had a twin brother, a boyfriend, and a best friend.</p> <p>After: She has a new identity, a new hometown, and memories of those twenty-two minutes that refuse to come into focus. At least, that’s what she tells the police.</p> <p>Now that she’s Lucy Black, she’s able to begin again. And her fresh start has attracted the attention of one of the hottest guys in school, a boy who will do anything to protect her. But when someone much more dangerous also takes notice, Lucy’s forced to confront the dark secrets she thought were safely left behind.</p> <p>One thing is clear: The damage done can never be erased. It’s only just beginning. . . .</p> <p></p> <p>Hardcover | Random House Books for Young Readers | Jul 21, 2015 | 304 Pages | Young Adult <p>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ <p>Please fill out the Google form(s) for the book(s) of your choice. Good luck!</p><iframe height="500" marginheight="0" src="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1ZRY5O-DTK8QYmYihAFNDJa9QCQwiCnAvALaSf7VkWN4/viewform?embedded=true" frameborder="0" width="560" marginwidth="0">Loading...</iframe><iframe height="500" marginheight="0" src="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/15-gPuFTZJuVg0vHAUStIx5PCcK2LlVnoqaEFwKtj2H4/viewform?embedded=true" frameborder="0" width="560" marginwidth="0">Loading...</iframe> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10360453947198770223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3206685128986486929.post-83966898750759574772015-06-11T10:21:00.001-07:002015-07-28T10:49:02.312-07:00Incoming Books: June 11, 2015<p><strong><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-3oaGInDnN7Q/VXnDaNsbMRI/AAAAAAAAMU4/O7S6Xnt7YyM/s1600-h/Seveneves%252520-%252520Neil%252520Stephenson%25255B1%25255D.jpg"><img title="Seveneves - Neil Stephenson" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px 15px 10px 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline" border="0" alt="Seveneves - Neil Stephenson" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-fiD9NNLhmDU/VXnDalPuJfI/AAAAAAAAMU8/ShMjWqdEMbI/Seveneves%252520-%252520Neil%252520Stephenson_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="230" align="left" height="345"></a> </strong></p> <p>We have our Incoming Books feature for June 11, 2015.</p> <p><strong>Seveneves</strong> by Neal Stephenson</p> <p>From the #1 <em>New York Times</em> bestselling author of <em><em>Anathem</em>, Reamde, </em>and <em>Cryptonomicon</em> comes an exciting and thought-provoking science fiction epic—a grand story of annihilation and survival spanning five thousand years. <p><em>What would happen if the world were ending?</em> <p>A catastrophic event renders the earth a ticking time bomb. In a feverish race against the inevitable, nations around the globe band together to devise an ambitious plan to ensure the survival of humanity far beyond our atmosphere, in outer space. <p>But the complexities and unpredictability of human nature coupled with unforeseen challenges and dangers threaten the intrepid pioneers, until only a handful of survivors remain . . . <p>Five thousand years later, their progeny—seven distinct races now three billion strong—embark on yet another audacious journey into the unknown . . . to an alien world utterly transformed by cataclysm and time: Earth. <p>A writer of dazzling genius and imaginative vision, Neal Stephenson combines science, philosophy, technology, psychology, and literature in a magnificent work of speculative fiction that offers a portrait of a future that is both extraordinary and eerily recognizable. As he did in <em>Anathem, Cryptonomicon,</em> the Baroque Cycle, and <em>Reamde,</em> Stephenson explores some of our biggest ideas and perplexing challenges in a breathtaking saga that is daring, engrossing, and altogether brilliant. <p>William Morrow | 05/19/2015 | Hardbound | Pages:<strong> </strong>880 <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-4gGGSgb9rOc/VXnDayeUBZI/AAAAAAAAMVE/Ij_uXoKLU5g/s1600-h/The%252520Hanged%252520Man%252520-%252520PN%252520Elrod.jpg"><img title="The Hanged Man - PN Elrod" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; margin: 5px 0px 10px 15px; border-left: 0px; display: inline" border="0" alt="The Hanged Man - PN Elrod" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Q_Bw46OGCCY/VXnDbRewGGI/AAAAAAAAMVM/H7GIcz3V4hU/The%252520Hanged%252520Man%252520-%252520PN%252520Elrod_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="160" align="right" height="240"></a> </p> <p><strong>The Hanged Man</strong> by P.N. Elrod</p> <p>On a freezing Christmas Eve in 1879, a forensic psychic reader is summoned from her Baker Street lodgings to the scene of a questionable death. Alexandrina Victoria Pendlebury (named after her godmother, the current Queen of England) is adamant that the death in question is a magically compromised murder and not a suicide, as the police had assumed, after the shocking revelation contained by the body in question, Alex must put her personal loss aside to uncover the deeper issues at stake, before more bodies turn up. <p>Turning to some choice allies--the handsome, prescient Lieutenant Brooks, the brilliant, enigmatic Lord Desmond, and her rapscallion cousin James--Alex will have to marshal all of her magical and mental acumen to save Queen and Country from a shadowy threat. Our singular heroine is caught up in this rousing gaslamp adventure of cloaked assassins, meddlesome family, and dark magic. <p>Tor Books | May 2015 | Hardcover | 336 pages <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-9bs9KpILHcA/VXnDbyTdHBI/AAAAAAAAMVU/yaod_5xiMW8/s1600-h/Where%252520-%252520Kit%252520Reed%25255B1%25255D.jpg"><img title="Where - Kit Reed" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; margin: 5px 15px 10px 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline" border="0" alt="Where - Kit Reed" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-cnGsvBmcqXU/VXnDcSfjZuI/AAAAAAAAMVc/c06XTL2WtFg/Where%252520-%252520Kit%252520Reed_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="162" align="left" height="244"></a> <p><strong>Where</strong> by Kit Reed <p>In a coastal town on the Outer Carolina Banks, David Ribault and Merrill Poulnot are trying to revive their stale relationship and commit to marriage, and a slick developer claiming to be related to a historic town hero, Rawson Steele, has come to town and is buying up property. Steele makes a romantic advance on Merrill and an unusual 5 a.m appointment outside of town with David. But Steele is a no-show, and at the time of the appointment everyone in the town disappears, removed entirely from our space and time to a featureless isolated village--including Merrill and her young son. David searches desperately but all seems lost for Steele is in the other village with Merrill. </p> <p>Kit Reed's <i>Where </i>is a spooky, unsettling speculative fiction.</p> <p>Tor Books | May 2015 | Hardcover | 240 pages</p> <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-x89a-CCINX0/VXnDc6Yfw1I/AAAAAAAAMVo/cG4hhcQMojg/s1600-h/Of%252520Noble%252520Family%252520-%252520Mary%252520Robinette%252520Kowal%25255B1%25255D.jpg"><img title="Of Noble Family - Mary Robinette Kowal" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; margin: 5px 0px 10px 15px; border-left: 0px; display: inline" border="0" alt="Of Noble Family - Mary Robinette Kowal" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-0rBoxX0u7Es/VXnDdckOECI/AAAAAAAAMVs/WT898hXtF7Y/Of%252520Noble%252520Family%252520-%252520Mary%252520Robinette%252520Kowal_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="162" align="right" height="241"></a> </p> <p><strong>Of Noble Family</strong> by Mary Robinette Kowal</p> <p>Jane and Vincent have finally gotten some much-needed rest after their adventures in Italy when Vincent receives word that his estranged father has passed away on one of his properties in the West Indies. His brother, who manages the estate, is overwhelmed, and no one else in his family can go. Grudgingly, out of filial duty the couple decide to go. <br>The sea voyage is long and Jane spends enough time unable to perform glamour that towards the end of the trip she discovers that she is with child. They are overjoyed, but when they finally arrive at the estate to complete what they expect to be routine legal tasks, they realize that nearly everything they came expecting to find had been a lie. Also, the entire estate is in disarray, with horrifying conditions and tensions with the local slave population so high that they are close to revolt.</p> <p>Jane and Vincent's sense of peril is screaming out for them to flee, but Vincent cannot stand to leave an estate connected with his family in such a condition. They have survived many grand and terrifying adventures in their time, but this one will test their skills and wits more than any they have ever encountered before, this time with a new life hanging in the balance. Mary Robinette Kowal's <i>Of Noble Family </i>is the final book of the acclaimed Glamourist Histories.</p> <p>Tor Books | April 2015 | Hardcover | 576 pages</p> <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-XrHOuz5Xv2c/VXnDd0wA9ZI/AAAAAAAAMV4/wqcTqTM7aEw/s1600-h/Pirate%252527s%252520Alley%252520-%252520Suzanne%252520Johnson%25255B1%25255D.jpg"><img title="Pirate's Alley - Suzanne Johnson" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; margin: 5px 15px 10px 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline" border="0" alt="Pirate's Alley - Suzanne Johnson" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Bc7-CvYUoJc/VXnDeSRIXcI/AAAAAAAAMV8/IAqCdPmAF9w/Pirate%252527s%252520Alley%252520-%252520Suzanne%252520Johnson_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="160" align="left" height="239"></a> </p> <p><strong>Pirate’s Alley</strong> by Suzanne Johnson</p> <p>After vanquishing undead serial killers and discovering the dark secrets of her family history, wizard sentinel DJ Jaco must now stop the coming preternatural war in Suzanne Johnson's <i>Pirate's Alley.</i></p> <p>Wizard sentinel DJ Jaco thought she had gotten used to the chaos of her life in post-Katrina New Orleans, but a new threat is looming, one that will test every relationship she holds dear. </p> <p>Caught in the middle of a rising struggle between the major powers in the supernatural world--the Wizards, Elves, Vampires and the Fae--DJ finds her loyalties torn and her mettle tested in matters both professional and personal. </p> <p>Her relationship with enforcer Alex Warin is shaky, her non-husband Quince Randolph is growing more powerful, and her best friend Eugenie has a bombshell that could blow everything to Elfheim and back. And that's before the French pirate Jean Lafitte, newly revived from his latest "death," returns to New Orleans with vengeance on his mind. DJ's assignment? Keep the sexy leader of the historical undead out of trouble. Good luck with that. <p>Duty clashes with love, loyalty with deception, and friendship with responsibility as DJ navigates passion and politics in the murky waters of a New Orleans caught in the grips of a brutal winter that might have nothing to do with Mother Nature. <p>War could be brewing, and DJ will be forced to take a stand. But choosing sides won't be that easy. <p>Tor Books | April 2015 | Hardcover | 352 pages <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ZEYLwVdUAAY/VXnDe7hbeMI/AAAAAAAAMWI/FGsd-WTLZdQ/s1600-h/Hover%252520-%252520Anne%252520A%252520Wilson%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img title="hover HC final.indd" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; margin: 5px 0px 10px 15px; border-left: 0px; display: inline" border="0" alt="hover HC final.indd" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-U89NJbPs7wg/VXnDfR4yVvI/AAAAAAAAMWM/wQyrE5kxavY/Hover%252520-%252520Anne%252520A%252520Wilson_thumb%25255B3%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="160" align="right" height="237"></a> <p><strong>Hover</strong> by Anne A. Wilson <p>Helicopter pilot Lt. Sara Denning joins a navy battle group with little fanfare--and that's just the way she likes it. After her brother Ian's tragic death, her career path seemed obvious: step into his shoes and enter the Naval Academy, despite her fear of water. Sara's philosophy is simple--blend in, be competent, and above all, never do anything to stand out as a woman in a man's world. <p>Somewhere along the way, Sara lost herself--her feminine, easygoing soul is now buried under so many defensive layers, she can't reach it anymore. <p>When she meets strong, self-assured Lt. Eric Marxen, her defenses start to falter. Eric coordinates flight operations for a Navy SEAL team that requests Sara as the exclusive pilot. This blatant show of favoritism causes conflict with the other pilots; Sara's sexist boss seems intent on making her life miserable, and her roommate and best friend, the only other woman on the ship, is avoiding her. It doesn't help that her interactions with Eric leave her reeling. <p>The endgame of the SEALs' mission is so secret, even Sara doesn't know the reason behind her mandated participation. Soon, though, the training missions become real, and Sara must overcome her fears before they plunge her into danger. When Sara's life is on the line, can she find her true self again and follow the orders of her heart before it is too late? <p>Anne A. Wilson's <i>Hover </i>is a thrilling, emotional women's journey written by a groundbreaking former navy pilot. <p>Forge Books | June 2015 | Hardcover | 320 pages <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-KYOc_e8hgXo/VXnDgC6KzBI/AAAAAAAAMWU/3cN_Ka-RyQE/s1600-h/Sly%252520Mongoose%252520-%252520Tobias%252520Buckell%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img title="Sly Mongoose - Tobias Buckell" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; margin: 5px 15px 10px 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline" border="0" alt="Sly Mongoose - Tobias Buckell" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-sknAhQlLYxc/VXnDgWTmVSI/AAAAAAAAMWc/KL45S2MO7r4/Sly%252520Mongoose%252520-%252520Tobias%252520Buckell_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="160" align="left" height="240"></a> <p><strong>Sly Mongoose</strong> by Tobias S. Buckell <p><i>Sly Mongoose: </i>a thrilling science fiction tale by the <i>New York Times</i> bestselling author--now featuring brand-new cover art.</p> <p>Tobias S. Buckell is well known as the <i>New York Times</i> bestselling author of <i>Halo: The Cole Protocol</i>. Tor is proud to reintroduce his early science fiction novels to his many fans in handsome trade paperback editions featuring stunning new cover art.</p> <p>Welcome to Chilo, a planet blasted by corrosive rain, crushing pressure, and deadly heat. A planet where people live in floating cities high above the inferno. A select group of young men, including fourteen-year-old Timas, risk death to obtain the raw materials necessary for survival by travelling down through the acid clouds to mine the planet's surface. <p>Timas's life is turned upside down when a man named Pepper crash-lands on the city. Pepper is fleeing a bizarre alien intelligence, and he bears ominous news that a full-scale invasion cannot be far behind. <p>As Timas and Pepper try to convince the reluctant city government to prepare for war, floating cities all across Chilo fall silent one by one. Time is running out for Timas and Pepper to discover how to defeat an enemy that turns Chilo's own citizens into monsters, and to discover the secret hidden beneath Chilo's deadly clouds--a secret that could save the planet and may prevent interplanetary war. <p>Tor Books | May 2015 | Trade Paperback | 320 pages <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-VgukpZDnJAk/VXnDg0f69uI/AAAAAAAAMWk/n_ieAORgIpE/s1600-h/My%252520Real%252520Children%252520-%252520Jo%252520Walton%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img title="My Real Children - Jo Walton" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; margin: 5px 0px 10px 15px; border-left: 0px; display: inline" border="0" alt="My Real Children - Jo Walton" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-4XR-AKCDizY/VXnDhbu2hXI/AAAAAAAAMWs/5kWTPriXHOI/My%252520Real%252520Children%252520-%252520Jo%252520Walton_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="160" align="right" height="240"></a> <p><strong>My Real Children</strong> by Jo Walton <p>It's 2015, and Patricia Cowan is very old. "Confused today," read the notes clipped to the end of her bed. She forgets things she should know-what year it is, major events in the lives of her children. But she remembers things that don't seem possible. She remembers marrying Mark and having four children. And she remembers not marrying Mark and raising three children with Bee instead. She remembers the bomb that killed President Kennedy in 1963, and she remembers Kennedy in 1964, declining to run again after the nuclear exchange that took out Miami and Kiev. <p>Her childhood, her years at Oxford during the Second World War-those were solid things. But after that, did she marry Mark or not? Did her friends all call her Trish, or Pat? Had she been a housewife who escaped a terrible marriage after her children were grown, or a successful travel writer with homes in Britain and Italy? And the moon outside her window: does it host a benign research station, or a command post bristling with nuclear missiles? <p>Two lives, two worlds, two versions of modern history; each with their loves and losses, their sorrows and triumphs. Jo Walton's <i>My Real Children</i> is the tale of both of Patricia Cowan's lives...and of how every life means the entire world. <p>Tor Books | May 2015 | Trade Paperback | 336 pages <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-AjOtwTGnJ_k/VXnDh7oa81I/AAAAAAAAMW4/Jt3YCfs6C68/s1600-h/Now%252520and%252520in%252520the%252520Hour%252520of%252520Our%252520Death%252520-%252520Patrick%252520Taylor%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img title="Now and in the Hour of Our Death - Patrick Taylor" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; margin: 5px 15px 10px 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline" border="0" alt="Now and in the Hour of Our Death - Patrick Taylor" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Dvessc7wy3A/VXnDibSNDBI/AAAAAAAAMW8/Vhp7KrpzJb4/Now%252520and%252520in%252520the%252520Hour%252520of%252520Our%252520Death%252520-%252520Patrick%252520Taylor_thumb%25255B3%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="160" align="left" height="242"></a> <p><strong>Now and in the Hour of Our Death</strong> by Patrick Taylor <p>Nine years ago, the bloody conflict in Northern Ireland tore apart two young lovers, consuming their hopes and dreams and changing their lives forever. Now, in 1983, Davy McCutcheon and Fiona Kavanagh find themselves worlds apart. Davy, once a bomb-maker for the Provisional IRA, is serving a twenty-five-year sentence in a British prison. Having seen enough of death and violence, he wants nothing more to do with the struggle that cost him his freedom and his love. But old loyalties die hard and, despite himself, Davy is drawn into a dangerous conspiracy on behalf of his fellow Provos . . . .</p> <p>Meanwhile, Fiona has forged a new life for herself in Vancouver, British Columbia, far away from the war-torn streets of Belfast. Now a vice-principal at a local elementary school, she has a successful career, good friends, and a new man in her life. Yet she remains haunted by painful memories of her troubled homeland--and the love she left behind.</p> <p>Patrick Taylor's <i>Now and in the Hour of Our Death</i> is a moving and compelling portrait of ordinary men and women caught up in a conflict not of their making, and of the way the past holds onto us even as we try to move on into an uncertain future.</p> <p>Forge Books | May 2015 | Trade Paperback | 384 pages</p> <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-MM0TX2BYndw/VXnDi2TqUOI/AAAAAAAAMXI/wkIujURLpEA/s1600-h/Bitter%252520Greens%252520TPB%252520-%252520Kate%252520Forsyth.jpg"><img title="Bitter Greens TPB - Kate Forsyth" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; margin: 5px 0px 10px 15px; border-left: 0px; display: inline" border="0" alt="Bitter Greens TPB - Kate Forsyth" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-hT9sWcLmOB4/VXnDjjPI2pI/AAAAAAAAMXM/D0mdvhXSPbE/Bitter%252520Greens%252520TPB%252520-%252520Kate%252520Forsyth_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="160" align="right" height="240"></a> <p><strong>Bitter Greens</strong> by Kate Forsyth (Trade Paperback)</p> <p><i>The amazing power and truth of the Rapunzel fairy tale comes alive for the first time in this breathtaking tale of desire, black magic and the redemptive power of love.</i><i><br></i><br>French novelist Charlotte-Rose de la Force has been banished from the court of Versailles by the Sun King, Louis XIV, after a series of scandalous love affairs. At the convent, she is comforted by an old nun, Sœur Seraphina, who tells her the tale of a young girl who, a hundred years earlier, is sold by her parents for a handful of bitter greens...</p> <p>After Margherita's father steals parsley from the walled garden of the courtesan Selena Leonelli, he is threatened with having both hands cut off, unless he and his wife relinquish their precious little girl. Selena is the famous red-haired muse of the artist Tiziano, first painted by him in 1512 and still inspiring him at the time of his death. She is at the center of Renaissance life in Venice, a world of beauty and danger, seduction and betrayal, love and superstition. <p>Locked away in a tower, Margherita sings in the hope that someone will hear her. One day, a young man does. <p>Award-winning author Kate Forsyth braids together<i> </i>the stories of Margherita, Selena, and Charlotte-Rose, the woman who penned Rapunzel as we now know it, to create what is a sumptuous historical novel, an enchanting fairy tale retelling, and a loving tribute to the imagination of one remarkable woman. <p>St. Martin's Griffin | May 2015 | Trade Paperback | 512 pages <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-iqOr45dEHbs/VXnDkO7zWGI/AAAAAAAAMXU/teTATVg8Nlw/s1600-h/The%252520Big%252520Fix%252520-%252520Linda%252520Grimes.jpg"><img title="The Big Fix - Linda Grimes" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; margin: 5px 15px 10px 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline" border="0" alt="The Big Fix - Linda Grimes" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Q_TK0bHWWlI/VXnDlBZNYCI/AAAAAAAAMXg/78sbViMtK44/The%252520Big%252520Fix%252520-%252520Linda%252520Grimes_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="162" align="left" height="242"></a> <p><strong>The Big Fix</strong> by Linda Grimes</p> <p>Linda Grimes's sexy and hilarious urban fantasy series that began with <i>In a Fix</i> and <em>Quick Fix</em> continues in The Big Fix.</p> <p>Aura adaptor extraordinaire Ciel Halligan, who uses her chameleon-like abilities to fix her clients' problems--as them--is filling in on set for action superstar Jackson Gunn, whose snake phobia is standing in the way of his completing his latest mega-millions Hollywood blockbuster. There's only one thing Jack fears more than snakes, and that's the possibility of his fans finding out he screams at the sight of one. Going from hero to laughing stock isn't part of his career plan. <p>Seems like a simple enough job to Ciel, who doesn't particularly like snakes, but figures she can tolerate an afternoon with them, for the right price--which Jack is offering, and then some. What she doesn't count on is finding out that while she was busy wrangling snakes for him, his wife was busy getting killed. When Ciel goes to break the sad news to the star, she finds out Jack was AWOL from her client hideaway at the time of the murder. <p>Ciel begins to suspect Jack's phobia was phony, and that he only hired her to provide him with an alibi--but if she goes to the police, she'll have to explain how she knows he wasn't really on set. Up against a wall, Ciel calls on her best-friend-turned-love-interest Billy, and her not-so-ex-crush Mark, to help her set up the sting of a lifetime. <p>Tor Books | May 2015 | Hardcover | 320 pages <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Wk8TyhBw5wc/VXnDlUXpgHI/AAAAAAAAMXk/Nnl7iGePz04/s1600-h/Leviathan%252520-%252520Jack%252520Campbell%25255B1%25255D.jpg"><img title="Leviathan - Jack Campbell" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; margin: 5px 0px 10px 15px; border-left: 0px; display: inline" border="0" alt="Leviathan - Jack Campbell" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-K5ZqRVfehqI/VXnDlw668PI/AAAAAAAAMXs/XOe0bWa4NTY/Leviathan%252520-%252520Jack%252520Campbell_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="160" align="right" height="242"></a> <p><strong>The Lost Fleet: Beyond The Frontier: Leviathan </strong>(#5) by Jack Campbell</p> <p>Two Syndicate World star systems have fallen prey to a mysterious fleet of warships—a fleet controlled entirely by artificial intelligence—that is now targeting Alliance space. The warships are no mystery to Geary. They were developed by his government to ensure security, but malfunctioned. If the Syndics learn the truth, the war with the Alliance will resume with a vengeance. </p> <p>As the government attempts to conceal the existence of the A.I. warships—and its role in their creation—Geary pursues them, treading a fine line between mutiny and obedience. But it soon becomes clear that his fleet is no match for the firepower of the machine-piloted armada.</p> <p>With the help of the Dancer species of aliens, Geary has tracked the A.I. ships to their secret base in the supposedly mythical Unity Alternate star system where his fleet, the last hope of the Alliance’s future, will end the conflict at any cost…</p> <p>Hardcover | 336 Pages | 5 May 2015 | Ace | Adult </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-tHJ67jMGWO0/VXnDmU7dVfI/AAAAAAAAMX0/vt3i4IoTMrA/s1600-h/Uprooted%252520-%252520Naomi%252520Novik%25255B1%25255D.jpg"><img title="Uprooted - Naomi Novik" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; margin: 5px 15px 10px 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline" border="0" alt="Uprooted - Naomi Novik" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-f6yhu4sraRQ/VXnDmkhf1bI/AAAAAAAAMX8/9HqDkEyxIzM/Uprooted%252520-%252520Naomi%252520Novik_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="160" align="left" height="236"></a> </p> <p><strong>Uprooted</strong> by Naomi Novik </p> <p><i>“Our Dragon doesn’t eat the girls he takes, no matter what stories they tell outside our valley. We hear them sometimes, from travelers passing through. They talk as though we were doing human sacrifice, and he were a real dragon. Of course that’s not true: he may be a wizard and immortal, but he’s still a man, and our fathers would band together and kill him if he wanted to eat one of us every ten years. He protects us against the Wood, and we’re grateful, but not that grateful.”</i><br><b><i></i></b><br>Agnieszka loves her valley home, her quiet village, the forests and the bright shining river. But the corrupted Wood stands on the border, full of malevolent power, and its shadow lies over her life.</p> <p>Her people rely on the cold, driven wizard known only as the Dragon to keep its powers at bay. But he demands a terrible price for his help: one young woman handed over to serve him for ten years, a fate almost as terrible as falling to the Wood.</p> <p>The next choosing is fast approaching, and Agnieszka is afraid. She knows—<i>everyone</i> knows—that the Dragon will take Kasia: beautiful, graceful, brave Kasia, all the things Agnieszka isn’t, and her dearest friend in the world. And there is no way to save her.<br>But Agnieszka fears the wrong things. For when the Dragon comes, it is not Kasia he will choose.</p> <p>Del Rey | May 19, 2015 | 448 Pages | ARC <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-mgRpotmMZ-E/VXnDnLjadoI/AAAAAAAAMYE/z66T4NKiEu0/s1600-h/A%252520Discovery%252520of%252520Witches%252520TPB%252520-%252520Deborah%252520Harkness%25255B1%25255D.jpg"><img title="9780143119685_DiscoveryofWitches_CVF_REPRINT_2015-02-10.indd" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; margin: 5px 0px 10px 15px; border-left: 0px; display: inline" border="0" alt="9780143119685_DiscoveryofWitches_CVF_REPRINT_2015-02-10.indd" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-UUK3Tq_PgGc/VXnDnnB4tvI/AAAAAAAAMYM/LLF4iDGR1GE/A%252520Discovery%252520of%252520Witches%252520TPB%252520-%252520Deborah%252520Harkness_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="160" align="right" height="246"></a> </p> <p><strong>A Discovery of Witches</strong> by Deborah Harkness</p> <p>Deborah Harkness’s sparkling debut, <i>A Discovery of Witches</i>, has brought her into the spotlight and galvanized fans around the world. In this tale of passion and obsession, Diana Bishop, a young scholar and a descendant of witches, discovers a long-lost and enchanted alchemical manuscript, <i>Ashmole 782</i>, deep in Oxford’s Bodleian Library. Its reappearance summons a fantastical underworld, which she navigates with her leading man, vampire geneticist Matthew Clairmont.</p> <p>Harkness has created a universe to rival those of Anne Rice, Diana Gabaldon, and Elizabeth Kostova, and she adds a scholar’s depth to this riveting tale of magic and suspense. The story continues in book two, <i>Shadow of Night</i>, and concludes with <i>The Book of Life</i>, coming from Viking in July 2014.</p> <p>Paperback | 592 Pages | 27 Dec 2011 | Penguin Books | Adult </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Q7lwt5VxS-c/VXnDoEDrfpI/AAAAAAAAMYY/MJiTaQ6m7-4/s1600-h/Shadow%252520of%252520Night%252520-%252520Deborah%252520Harkness%25255B1%25255D.jpg"><img title="Shadow of Night - Deborah Harkness" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; margin: 5px 15px 10px 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline" border="0" alt="Shadow of Night - Deborah Harkness" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-2yq3AVdC_VE/VXnDotEJJfI/AAAAAAAAMYc/9yE0SyltUb8/Shadow%252520of%252520Night%252520-%252520Deborah%252520Harkness_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="160" align="left" height="245"></a> </p> <p><strong>Shadow of Night</strong> by Deborah Harkness</p> <p>J. K. Rowling, Stephenie Meyer, Anne Rice—only a few writers capture the imagination the way that Deborah Harkness has with her <i>New York Times</i>–bestselling All Souls trilogy. <i>A Discovery of Witches</i> introduces reluctant witch Diana Bishop, vampire geneticist Matthew Clairmont, and the battle for a lost, enchanted manuscript known as <i>Ashmole 782</i>.</p> <p>Picking up from <i>A Discovery of Witches</i>’ cliffhanger ending, <i>Shadow of Night </i>takes Diana and Matthew on a trip through time to Elizabethan London, where they are plunged into a world of spies, magic, and a coterie of Matthew’s old friends, the School of Night. As the search for <i>Ashmole 782 </i>deepens and Diana seeks out a witch to tutor her in magic, the net of Matthew’s past tightens around them, and they embark on a very different—and vastly more dangerous—journey.</p> <p>Paperback | 592 Pages | 28 May 2013 | Penguin Books | Adult </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-HIrYC0O_fBM/VXnDo99g7nI/AAAAAAAAMYk/qi0U8Bda6oI/s1600-h/The%252520Book%252520of%252520Life%252520TPB%252520-%252520Deborah%252520Harkness%25255B1%25255D.jpg"><img title="9780143127529_BookofLife_CVF.indd" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; margin: 5px 0px 10px 15px; border-left: 0px; display: inline" border="0" alt="9780143127529_BookofLife_CVF.indd" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-5IZ3bXr-KUA/VXnDpWVa_lI/AAAAAAAAMYs/Cknn03YZK0w/The%252520Book%252520of%252520Life%252520TPB%252520-%252520Deborah%252520Harkness_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="160" align="right" height="246"></a> </p> <p><strong>The Book of Life</strong> by Deborah Harkness</p> <p>Fans of the All Souls Trilogy sent this highly anticipated finale straight to #1 on the <i>New York Times</i> hardcover bestseller list. Bringing the series’ magic and suspense to a deeply satisfying conclusion, <i>The Book of Life </i>is poised to become an even bigger phenomenon in paperback.</p> <p>Diana and Matthew time-travel back from Elizabethan London to make a dramatic return to the present—facing new crises and old enemies. At Matthew’s ancestral home, Sept-Tours, they reunite with the beloved cast of characters from <i>A Discovery of Witches</i>—with one significant exception. But the real threat to their future has yet to be revealed, and when it is, the search for Ashmole 782 and its missing pages takes on even more urgency.</p> <p>Paperback | 576 Pages | 26 May 2015 | Penguin Books | Adult </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-E0VGd7Fx0xQ/VXnDp59CUBI/AAAAAAAAMY4/qHiYk2m6ygQ/s1600-h/The%252520Acolyte%252520-%252520Nick%252520Cutter%25255B1%25255D.jpg"><img title="The Acolyte - Nick Cutter" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; margin: 5px 15px 10px 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline" border="0" alt="The Acolyte - Nick Cutter" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-2PlzCVgnQNE/VXnDqZJeOwI/AAAAAAAAMY8/EApZ3kUxNwA/The%252520Acolyte%252520-%252520Nick%252520Cutter_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="160" align="left" height="234"></a> </p> <p><strong>The Acolyte</strong> by Nick Cutter <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p>Jonah Murtag is an Acolyte on the New Bethlehem police force. His job: eradicate all heretical religious faiths, their practitioners, and artefacts. Murtag’s got problems—one of his partners is a zealot, and he’s in love with the other one. Trouble at work, trouble at home. Murtag realizes that you can rob a citizenry of almost anything, but you can’t take away its faith. When a string of bombings paralyzes the city, religious fanatics are initially suspected, but startling clues point to a far more ominous perpetrator. If Murtag doesn’t get things sorted out, the Divine Council will dispatch The Quints, aka: Heaven’s Own Bagmen. The clock is ticking towards doomsday for the Chosen of New Bethlehem. And Jonah Murtag’s got another problem. The biggest and most worrisome . . . Jonah isn’t a believer anymore.</p> <p>Paperback | 304 pages | May 5th 2015 | ChiZine Publications </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-WU_iDa2VjO0/VXnDq-2xYSI/AAAAAAAAMZI/PUfhHVmFUxE/s1600-h/InterstellarNet%252520Enigma%252520-%252520Edward%252520M.%252520Lerner%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img title="InterstellarNet Enigma - Edward M. Lerner" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; margin: 5px 0px 10px 15px; border-left: 0px; display: inline" border="0" alt="InterstellarNet Enigma - Edward M. Lerner" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Sc5qWony1ts/VXnDrZxyxhI/AAAAAAAAMZM/qfooI48b0Rw/InterstellarNet%252520Enigma%252520-%252520Edward%252520M.%252520Lerner_thumb%25255B3%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="160" align="right" height="256"></a> </p> <p><strong>InterstellarNet: Enigma</strong> by Edward M. Lerner </p> <p>Humanity once feared that we might be alone in the universe. Now we know better. And we've learned there are worse things than being alone ... <p>Contact with other intelligent races in nearby star systems seemed to have answered the age-old question at the center of the Fermi Paradox: Where is everybody? But when Joshua Matthews lands a new job that will give him access to vast new troves of data on the subject, suddenly everything goes wrong for him. Someone is sabotaging his life. Finding out why leads in astonishing and dangerous directions. It is as if he has tugged on one thread, very gently--nd caused everything humanity knows about its place in the universe to unravel, awakening the enmity of unsuspected ancient powers. <p>Includes the 2015 Hugo-nominated novelette, "Championship B'tok." <p>Fox Acre | Paperback Edition June 30, 2015 | 440 pages Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10360453947198770223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3206685128986486929.post-61824613547556285512015-06-03T09:25:00.001-07:002015-07-28T10:52:21.375-07:00Peter Orullian: Music Playlist for TRIAL OF INTENTIONS<p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-LlzAyzu3Id4/VW8qXZkhY5I/AAAAAAAAMTY/4evtyTjnFtU/s1600-h/Peter-Orullian%25255B6%25255D.jpg"><img title="Peter-Orullian" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 0px 15px 10px 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Peter-Orullian" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-z9p_5UO6k-A/VW8qXwXVZ2I/AAAAAAAAMTg/gS8Uzv7ZJ2E/Peter-Orullian_thumb%25255B4%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="250" align="left" height="345"></a> </p> <p>We have a guest post from Peter Orullian. It’s a collection of some of the music that he thought would represent his latest novel – <strong>TRIAL OF INTENTIONS</strong>. It’s the second book of the Vault of Heaven series and it’s a dark epic fantasy with a musical magic system – meaning that some of the magic in the books is based upon music. Which is perfect for this guest post, since besides being a writer Peter is also a musician. <a href="http://www.layersofthought.net/2015/04/interview-peter-orullian-author-of.html">For more information on Peter Orullian click on this text to read our recent interview with him</a>.</p> <p>Here Peter shares his thoughts on the songs he’s chosen, along with imbedded YouTube videos. *Please note readers may have to visit the <em>Layers of Thought</em> website to access the videos or link to YouTube to access the music. Enjoy!</p> <p>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</p> <p align="center"><strong>Metal (& More): Playlist for TRIAL OF INTENTIONS</strong></p> <p>So, I got chatting with Shellie about what I should write for this guest post. And she made a fantastic suggestion: a playlist. And while it’s true I listen to pretty much everything, I’m going mostly metal with this. </p> <p>Now, I should be clear. I don’t listen to music when I write. Music isn’t a background thing for me. It requires my full attention. And that’s whether it’s vocal music or strictly instrumental. So, by “playlist,” what I really mean is songs that seem to have some natural tie or relevance to <strong>TRIAL OF INTENTIONS</strong>. </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-m9zepLzli6Q/VW8qYQfBJJI/AAAAAAAAMTk/8q_julNQ1C0/s1600-h/trial-of-intentions-by-peter-orullian-497x750%25255B9%25255D.jpg"><img title="trial-of-intentions-by-peter-orullian-497x750" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 5px 0px 10px 15px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="trial-of-intentions-by-peter-orullian-497x750" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-lsvU-3aorhU/VW8qY3ML4XI/AAAAAAAAMTs/wawZuK_q5EE/trial-of-intentions-by-peter-orullian-497x750_thumb%25255B5%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="200" align="right" height="302"></a> </p> <p>With that said, let’s get going. And note, I’m going to paste in some of the salient lyrics and talk as much as I can about how they create resonance with my book. In some instances, I’ll have to pull back a little to avoid spoilers and stuff in book three—which isn’t even out yet.</p> <p>First is “Still Water,” by Fates Warning. Check out these lyrics: </p> <p><i>Feeling the weight of unseen chains</i> <br><i>This routine is growing thin</i> <br><i>It's a narrow path that we walk</i> <br><i>And the walls are closing in, caving in</i> <p><i></i> <p><i>Is there room still for us to grow?</i> <br><i>Within the bounds we've come to know</i> <p><i></i> <p><i>Beneath the dust of our days</i> <br><i>Hides the key to our emotions</i> <br><i>And it's been a while since we've been moved</i> <br><i>Without going through the motions, no emotions</i> <p><i></i> <p><i>Is there time still for us to show?</i> <br><i>Feelings, we forgot long ago</i> <p><i></i> <p><i>Living life in still water</i> <br><i>Blinded by what we've become</i> <br><i>You get tired of screaming</i> <br><i>When you're not reaching anyone</i> <p>Now, this is most likely commentary on a dead or dying relationship. But, in my series there’s a collection of races sealed inside the Bourne who were sent there rather unjustly by the gods. Simply put: The gods didn’t think these races (called Inveterae) had any real potential, so they bound these races there with other truly vile races. The Inveterae became slaves, for all intents and purposes—“chained.” And at the end of the day, the point of creation--in the world I’ve created—is growth. These races aren’t able to achieve that in the Bourne. So, you can see the relevance of the lyrics. Check out the tune:</p> <p><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/H6gTvwwtOo4" frameborder="0" width="420" allowfullscreen></iframe></p> <p>Next is Metallica’s “Unforgiven.” I’m one who likes the Black album. And when this particular track is turned way the hell up on good speakers, it’s damned forceful. Consider these lyrics: </p> <p><i>New blood joins this earth,</i> <br><i>And quickly he's subdued.</i> <br><i>Through constant pained disgrace</i> <br><i>The young boy learns their rules.</i> <p><i></i> <p><i>With time the child draws in.</i> <br><i>This whipping boy done wrong.</i> <br><i>Deprived of all his thoughts</i> <br><i>The young man struggles on and on he's known</i> <br><i>A vow unto his own,</i> <br><i>That never from this day</i> <br><i>His will they'll take away.</i> <p><i></i> <p><i>What I've felt,</i> <br><i>What I've known</i> <br><i>Never shined through in what I've shown.</i> <br><i>Never be.</i> <br><i>Never see.</i> <br><i>Won't see what might have been.</i> <p>In the world I’ve created there’s a place known as The Scar. It’s a place left barren by war. And through a series of circumstances, young foundlings and babes are sent there to live with an exile. These are children abandoned by their parents. And their adoptive father, this exile, teaches them hard lessons, and to fight. It’s a tough regimen, and includes learning to distrust people. And many of the children don’t make it. They commit suicide. The emotional weight of their lives—compounded with the dire life in the Scar—simply becomes too much.</p> <p> <iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ckom3gf57Yw" frameborder="0" width="420" allowfullscreen></iframe></p> <p>Let’s reach back now, though, to Black Sabbath and “Children of the Grave.” Here’s a section of the lyrics:</p> <p><i>Revolution in their minds - the children start to march</i> <br><i>Against the world in which they have to live</i> <br><i>And all the hate that's in their hearts</i> <br><i>They're tired of being pushed around</i> <br><i>And told just what to do</i> <p>This is most pertinent to the Inveterate I mentioned above. In <strong>TRIAL OF INTENTIONS</strong>, I have a POV character who is Inveterae. And his primary objective in life it to try and liberate his people from the Bourne.</p> <p> <iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/F-CpuuseZ7s" frameborder="0" width="420" allowfullscreen></iframe></p> <p>Now let’s talk about Blind Guardian’s “Twilight of the Gods.” As I mentioned above, the gods that put my world in place have abandoned it. And in the absence of these gods, those races sealed behind the Veil are trying to find a way out—and they have an inkling that it might have something to do with the Vault of Heaven (the sky). And by the way, they’ve grown more bitter with the passing of the ages. In fact, most of the peoples of the Eastlands believe these cast off races are evil by nature. </p> <p>So, with that in mind, check out these lyrics: </p> <p><i>How've they dared to be</i> <br><i>Such misguided creatures</i> <br><i>How've they dared to be</i> <br><i>Of such evil nature</i> <br><i>Spiral up to doors all sealed</i> <br><i>No turning back</i> <br><i>Red door to Discordia</i> <p><i></i> <p><i>Steal the stars</i> <br><i>Deceive the day</i> <br><i>A sign of evil</i> <br><i>They're gone with a final warning</i> <p><i></i> <p><i>Witness the twilight of the gods</i> <br><i>Will they ever return</i> <br><i>A storm will take us</i> <br><i>And then wipe us out</i> <br><i>There's no retreat</i> <p> <iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ep1B_aIFPDE" frameborder="0" width="420" allowfullscreen></iframe></p> <p>What playlist would be complete with Maiden, right? This time, I’ll include “Wasted Years.” This song and some of its lyrics have several allusions to my series. One that jumps out at me is this: </p> <p><i>So understand</i><i><br>Don't waste your time always searching for those wasted years<br>Face up, make your stand</i> <p>The correlation is kind of obvious isn’t it? My character Tahn begins with a loss of memory for his first twelve years of life. And once it’s restored to him, he learns that he spent most of that time in a barren waste. And ultimately, he’s got to go to a place called Tillinghast to make a kind of accounting. With that, enjoy some Maiden.</p> <p> <iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cOVzXYEU3Bk" frameborder="0" width="420" allowfullscreen></iframe></p> <p>And how about Avenged Sevenfold and their track “This Means War?” Epic fantasy is riddled with conflict. Battles and war are often central to the narrative. My series has a major conflict looming. And one of those who appears to be trying to answer this threat of war is far from a decorated, experienced war hero. Consider these lyrics, then: </p> <p><i>No home to call my own</i> <br><i>No finding someone new</i> <br><i>No one to break the fall</i> <br><i>No one to see me through</i> <br><i>No name to carry on</i> <br><i>No promise for today</i> <br><i>No one to hear the call</i> <br><i>No tattered flag to raise</i> <p> <iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Jgk3u44W2i4" frameborder="0" width="420" allowfullscreen></iframe></p> <p>Next comes Five Finger Death Punch and their track “The Wrong Side of Heaven.” Take a look at these lyrics: </p> <p><i>Arms wide open, I stand alone.</i> <br><i>I'm no hero, and I'm not made of stone.</i> <br><i>Right or wrong, I can hardly tell.</i> <br><i>I'm on the wrong side of heaven, and the righteous side of hell.</i> <br><i>The wrong side of heaven, and the righteous side, the righteous side of hell.</i> <p>This describes more than one of my protagonists. Come to that, it also describes some of my antagonists, too. For my purpose today, though, let’s stick with my protagonists. Early in <strong>TRIAL OF INTENTIONS</strong>, one of my main characters makes an awful choice. It appears to be the right choice, but it can also easily be seen as wrong, or at the very least . . . reprehensible. These situations that challenge conventional definitions of what is moral and right are rich terrain for writers. Plus, the track rocks.</p> <p><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/o_l4Ab5FRwM" frameborder="0" width="420" allowfullscreen></iframe></p> <p>Now let’s turn to Within Temptation. Specifically, let’s look at their track “And We Run.” I’m one of those who digs the collaboration here with Xzibit. But regardless, read this:</p> <p><i>It burns into your heart</i> <br><i>The darkness that you fear</i> <br><i>You were never free</i> <br><i>And you never realized</i> <p><i></i> <p><i>Take your breath</i> <br><i>'Till nothing's left</i> <br><i>Scars of life</i> <br><i>Upon your chest</i> <br><i>And I know</i> <br><i>Wherever it goes</i> <p><i></i> <p><i>And we run</i> <br><i>With a lonely heart</i> <br><i>And we run, for this killing love</i> <br><i>And we run, 'till the heavens above</i> <p>This—as some of the other song choices in this playlist—could apply to more than one character or scenario in <strong>TRIAL OF INTENTIONS</strong>. But maybe the most salient is the character Kett. He’s an Inveterae—one of those unjustly imprisoned in the Bourne. For millennia, his people have lived there. Slaved there. And that bit about “Scars of life upon your chest” . . . that could literally refer to the branding that is done in the Bourne. Without giving too much away, I can tell you Kett wants out. And he wants to liberate his people. Along the way . . . well, let’s just say that the reference to “killing love” is very relevant. As is the whole reference to “heavens above.” I mean, my series is entitled The Vault of Heaven, right?</p> <p><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/awvqIi427_A" frameborder="0" width="420" allowfullscreen></iframe></p> <p>And, oh man, Stone Sour’s “Tired.” This song hits some chords with my series, and <strong>TRIALS OF INTENTIONS</strong>, in particular. Have a look at these lyrics: </p> <p><i>I just want to watch the whole world burn</i> <br><i>Lost a million times and I won't learn</i> <br><i>Show me someone innocent, I'll show you there's no proof</i> <br><i>I may be gone but I'm no fool</i> <p><i>I'm not close</i> <br><i>I'm not safe</i> <br><i>I don't know</i> <br><i>Don't know</i> <br><i>Am I better off in chains?</i> <p>The feeling in these lyrics of being lost, defeated, of wanting to simply see everything go up in flames because things seem hopeless . . . all that very much applies to the Children of the Scar (the orphans raised in a waste that I mentioned above), as well as those living inside the Bourne.</p> <p><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/AhiIZKaRixs" frameborder="0" width="420" allowfullscreen></iframe></p> <p>But let’s tackle it straight on with Devin Townsend’s “Suicide.” Check out these lyrics: </p> <p><i>So I hide my internal suicide</i> <br><i>All my pride just to keep it inside...</i> <br><i>KEEP IT INSIDE BOY!!!</i> <br><i>suffer...</i> <p>I deal with the topic of Suicide in <strong>TRIAL OF INTENTIONS</strong>, since young kids living in the Scar often make this choice. Their lives seem so hopeless. And not to put too fine a point on it, I recently had a friend make this choice. It affected me. It affected the book. I didn’t know my friend was suffering. He never said anything to me. So, this one hits home.</p> <p> <iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dssvRfh8QVk" frameborder="0" width="420" allowfullscreen></iframe></p> <p>By the way, I also could have included “Life” by Townsend. But I’ll save it for now. If you do go listen to it, though, you’ll see what I mean. </p> <p>Next let’s take a look at DGM and their track “Reason.” Great band doing some great things. To get into the relevance, first read these lyrics: </p> <p><i>I can't be there 'cause I run out of energy</i> <br><i>If you could only see</i> <br><i>Trying my best to convince you that</i> <br><i>I don't mind</i> <p><i></i> <p><i>There's nowhere to run</i> <br><i>Reason is calling</i> <br><i>No more pretending</i> <br><i>This time it's coming the end</i> <br><i>Coming the end</i> <p>There are several saliencies in this bit of text. First, one of the magical classes in my world are called Sheason. Quite literally when they use Resonance (the magical principle in my world), they are left depleted of their life’s energy. But at a higher level, Vendanj (the Sheason in my story) is trying to convince individuals and nations that the threat from the Bourne is real. It’s not a myth. And the invasion they face is world-altering. A final end.</p> <p><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/n7-YIZhwvKI" frameborder="0" width="420" allowfullscreen></iframe></p> <p>Okay, let’s move back to the Children of the Scar with Disturbed and their album The Lost Children. On that record, they have a track entitled “Hell.” Now, check out these lyrics:</p> <p><i>Read me tonight, when the warnings said leave a shudder upon you</i> <br><i>Running from all that you feared in your life</i> <br><i>Soul of the night, when the sun mislead paint a horror upon you</i> <br><i>Marking the moment, displaying in my ghost of a life!</i> <br><i>And I can't get round the way you left me out in the open</i> <br><i>To leave me to die!</i> <br><i>So how can I, forget the way you lead me through the path into Heaven</i> <br><i>To leave me behind!</i> <p><i>Now I can't stay behind</i> <br><i>Save me, from wreaking my vengeance</i> <br><i>Upon you, too chilling more than I can tell</i> <br><i>Burning, now I bring you Hell</i> <p>Where do I start. First, you may recall that the castoffs sent to the Scar are often just babes, who are left in a dead tree. And all these Children of the Scar are ghosts of a kind. On one hand, you now know that many of them choose a way to Heaven, suicide. But for Tahn, he’s on a path to learn more about who he is. And it could make him bitter, if he’s not careful. In fact, this also applies to another of my characters in <strong>TRIAL OF INTENTIONS</strong>—her name is Wendra, and she has the power of a music magic. These two characters are within their rights to wreak their vengeance for how they were mistreated as youths. There are accounts to settle.</p> <p><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cuqgs4xjV6c" frameborder="0" width="420" allowfullscreen></iframe></p> <p>No playlist of mine is complete without Nightwish. And here I’ll use “I Want My Tears Back.” Again, first take a look at these lyrics: </p> <p><i>Where is the wonder, where's the awe?</i> <br><i>Where's dear Alice knocking on the door?</i> <br><i>Where's the trapdoor that takes me there?</i> <br><i>Where the real is shattered by a Mad March Hare</i> <br><i>Where is the wonder, where's the awe?</i> <br><i>Where are the sleepless nights I used to live for?</i> <br><i>Before the years take me</i> <br><i>I wish to see the lost in me</i> <br><i>I want my tears back!</i> <br><i>I want my tears back now!</i> <br><i>A ballet on a grove</i> <br><i>Still growing young all alone</i> <br><i>A rag doll, a best friend</i> <p>These words really hit at what is sad about the Scar and the children sent there. But it equally applies to the children being sold into the Bourne for purposes I’ve not yet revealed yet in the books. The relevance is for children who grow up through compromised childhoods. Through the suffering and tears they miss the best part of what it means to be a child and move on to adulthood. On another level, though, I’ll apply it to characters in my world who may not have had a particularly challenging childhood, and can mourn a simpler time gone by—lost, if you will—when the world wasn’t so hard. And I include “ballet on a grove . . . a rag doll, a best friend,” because of the city of science in <strong>TRIAL OF INTENTIONS</strong>—it’s called Aubade Grove. And Tahn meets an old friend there from his childhood. Their adventure in the book is among my favorites.</p> <p><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LaGyduQBh7M?list=PLGh1Ukuadv37Xxer6cKlt7t-pE1dwsF7G" frameborder="0" width="420" allowfullscreen></iframe></p> <p>Okay, like Nightwish, Queensryche will appear on any my playlists of mine. Here, I’m including “Neue Regal” (New Rule). This is a haunting tune. A sample of the lyrics:</p> <p><i>I will light the way for us to find</i> <br><i>Order of a new kind</i> <br><i>Join us on the stay the road is mine</i> <br><i>Poets line in a rhyme of silence</i> <br><i>Gathered from the winter air</i> <br><i>Warms the children's eyes they see</i> <br><i>The time is near for the signs</i> <p>Here, there are two immediate relevancies. One is to the Quiet from the Bourne—those who wish to invade the Eastlands, ending their long imprisonment and issuing in a new era in the history of my fantasy world. But maybe the stronger tie with this lyric is the League of Civility, a society given to militant social reform. They aren’t the “bad” guys. In fact, on the face of it, their agenda seems quite reasonable. But their methods to achieve it are not, which includes indoctrinating children to their credo. It’s rather insidious. So, now, listen to Geoff rip.</p> <p><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0Tl2Q8YLHWQ" frameborder="0" width="420" allowfullscreen></iframe></p> <p>And one more from Queensryche, “The Mission,” from Operation Mindcrime. </p> <p><i>I search the past back to a time</i> <br><i>When I was younger</i> <br><i>A target for the new society</i> <br><i>Picked to displace the leaders</i> <br><i>Countering objectives</i> <br><i>Of this new underground reality</i> <p><i></i> <p><i>Waiting for days longer</i> <br><i>'til sister comes to wash my sins away</i> <br><i>She is the lady that can ease my sorrow</i> <br><i>My love for her</i> <br><i>Will help me find my way</i> <p>Uh, did Tate know I would one day write this book? Heh. Consider Tahn trying to reclaim his forgotten youth. Consider that he’s asked to take on a task—not as the chosen one, because others have been asked (and failed)—that puts him in the breech. He’s going to be at odds not just with the Bourne, but with the League of Civility. Not a desirable position. And amidst it all, he’s got two women in his life—a sister, and a stranger he comes to love—to help him. The whole “comes to wash my sins away” would be a huge spoiler if I explained its relevance. But trust me. It’s on point.</p> <p> <iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BPjVLEaExTY" frameborder="0" width="420" allowfullscreen></iframe></p> <p>I also have to include “Eyes of a Stranger.” (Can you tell I like Queensryche?) The germane lyrics: </p> <p><i>All alone now </i><br><i>Except for the memories</i> <br><i>Of what we had and what we knew</i> <br><i>Everytime I try to leave it behind me</i> <br><i>I see something that reminds me of you</i> <br><i>Every night the dreams return to haunt me</i> <br><i>Your rosary wrapped around your throat</i> <br><i>I lie awake and sweat, afraid to fall asleep</i> <br><i>I see your face looking back at me</i> <p><i></i> <p><i>And I raise my head and stare</i> <br><i>Into the eyes of a stranger</i> <br><i>I've always known that the mirror never lies</i> <br><i>People always turn away</i> <br><i>From the eyes of a stranger</i> <br><i>Afraid to know what</i> <br><i>Lies behind the stare</i> <p>Okay, so in <strong>TRIAL OF INTENTIONS</strong>, right in the prologue, Tahn recalls a tragic moment from his childhood. His memory has been restored to him, and the memories are rushing back. The result of all this is that he realizes he’s not who he thought he was. Not entirely. Yes, what he recalls is at least part of him. But the larger part is foreign, strange. It’s not all bad. But some of it is painful. And the sum total of his remembered past, and some of his recent choices, make him . . . complicated. For some, he’ll be a pariah. For others, a source of hope.</p> <p> <iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/A4duZjxusGM" frameborder="0" width="420" allowfullscreen></iframe></p> <p>Bear with me for another QR selection. This time: “Silent Lucidity.” The lyrics: </p> <p><i>There's a place I like to hide</i> <br><i>A doorway that I run through in the night</i> <br><i>Relax child, you were there</i> <br><i>But only didn't realize and you were scared</i> <br><i>It's a place where you will learn</i> <br><i>To face your fears, retrace the years</i> <br><i>And ride the whims of your mind</i> <br><i>Commanding in another world</i> <br><i>Suddenly you hear and see</i> <br><i>This magic new dimension</i> <p><i></i> <p><i>I- will be watching over you</i> <br><i>I- am gonna help you see it through</i> <br><i>I- will protect you in the night</i> <br><i>I- am smiling next to you, in Silent Lucidity</i> <p>I wanted to have at least one tune that wasn’t all heavy. This song is good and relevant to Wendra, my character who has lost a child, and tries to help another small boy. Wendra, you may remember, is my character with the powerful music magic ability. She feels a powerful responsibility to those people, kids included, who are being trafficked into the Bourne. She wants to help them. And early in <strong>TRIAL OF INTENTIONS</strong>, there’s a gentle moment when she sings—not with her unique ability—but just as a mother might. It puts me in mind of this song.</p> <p> <iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jhat-xUQ6dw" frameborder="0" width="420" allowfullscreen></iframe></p> <p>Okay, to close out we’ll look at some Dream Theater. Here’s “The Enemy Inside.” Consider these lyrics: </p> <p><i>Over and over again</i><i><br>I relive the moment<br>I'm bearing the burden within<br>Open wounds hidden under my skin<br>Pain as real as a cut that bleeds<br>The face I see every time I try to sleep<br>Is staring at me crying<br>I'm running from the enemy inside<br>Looking for the life I left behind<br>These suffocating memories are etched upon my mind<br>And I can't escape from the enemy inside</i> <p><i></i> <p><i>I'm a burden</i><i><br>I'm a travesty<br>I'm a prisoner of regret<br>Between the flashbacks and the violent dreams<br>I am hanging on the edge<br>Disaster lurks around the bend<br>Paradise came to an end<br>And no magic pill<br>Can bring it back again</i><i></i> <p>This one really hits on Tahn’s formerly hidden past. As it’s returned to him, it’s challenging for him in many ways. But also, he’s not simply a puppet or slave—either to his past or to those who have designs for his present. He makes his own decisions, and the heartbreaking choices are hard ones. They create new moments of pain to go with memories of friends from his past who he’s lost in many equally painful ways. All of this is hard to escape, because it’s part of him. Still, there’s also a part of his past that was good, and he wants to reclaim that for his life now. Not to mention that it may help in the conflict and threat of invasion that is looming. This is all complicated by Tahn’s murky origins. So much of everything feels tenuous. In the face of it, he pushes forward.</p> <p><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RoVAUUFjl0I" frameborder="0" width="420" allowfullscreen></iframe></p> <p>Last, but not least, how about Dream Theater’s “Outcry.” This is a huge, sweeping tune. The lyrics: </p> <p><i>The rebel in us all</i><i><br>Something is tired of being pushed around<br>But freedom has a price<br>The cost is buried in the ground<br>We suffered far too long<br>We gather now<br>Growing stronger<br>We will not be ignored<br>Anymore<br>Any longer<br>Our anthem will guide us<br>Rise up be counted<br>Stand strong and unite<br>Wait for the outcry<br>Resistance is calling tonight</i><i></i> <p>This is a war song. A battle cry. And finally, there are characters and nations in my world who tire of being preyed upon. They stand. Some will fall. Just as others have fallen in the past. But they know they have to try. And part of how they intend to do it is with what I call the Mor Nation Refrains—a set of powerful (magical) war songs. But they have to go to a xenophobic people to ask for their use. Nevertheless, nations are gathering to try and form an alliance to put down this threat once and for all.</p> <p> <iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0SR3YZ_hiBc" frameborder="0" width="420" allowfullscreen></iframe></p> <p>So, there you have it. You should know that I had to significantly pare this back, just because it was getting hellaciously long. I mean, I cut 56 bands from my initial list. But because I’m having fun doing these articles on music and fantasy (<a href="http://www.tor.com/2015/05/27/metal-music-for-five-fantasy-writers-and-their-worlds/ ">see my metal one on Tor.com, for example</a>), I’ll be doing more and I’ll pick up those 56 bands and more in future articles. </p> <p>Hope you dig. </p> <p>Your Rock Lord, </p> <p>Peter Orullian </p> <p>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</p> <p><strong>Peter Orullian</strong> has worked at Xbox for over a decade, which is good, because he’s a gamer. He’s toured internationally with various bands and been a featured vocalist at major rock and metal festivals, which is good, because he’s a musician. He’s also learned to hold his tongue, because he’s a contrarian. Peter has published several short stories, which he thinks are good. <strong>THE UNREMEMBERED</strong> and <strong>TRIAL OF INTENTIONS</strong> are his first novels, which he hopes you will think are good. He lives in Seattle, where it rains all the damn time. He has nothing to say about that. <p>Visit Peter at <a href="http://www.orullian.com">www.orullian.com</a>, or follow him at @peterorullian. <p>About <strong>TRIAL OF INTENTIONS</strong>: <p>The heart of grief lies somewhere between one man’s expectation and another’s intent. <p>Enemies come. But one enemy believes the gods were wrong about his exiled people. And he’s impatient. <p>Nations arm. But one man finds a realm paying for its gearworks with an awful currency. And he’s angry. <p>Politicians lie. But one leader lies because he would end the days of slums and porridge. And he’s ambitious. <p>Songs restore. But one woman will train to make her rough song a weapon. <p>And she’s in pain. <p>Magi influence. But one sage follows not his order’s creed; he follows his heart. And his heart is bitter. <p>And one young man remembers. He remembers friends who despaired in a place left barren by war. Friends who did self-slaughter. But he also remembers years in a society of science. A gentler place. So he leaves the rest, daring to think he can lead not in battle, but by finding a way to prevent self-slaughter, prevent war. <p>The heart of grief . . . is a trial of intentions. </p> <p>Tor Books | May 2015 | Hardcover | 672 pages</p> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10360453947198770223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3206685128986486929.post-62444704501961854842015-05-13T13:52:00.001-07:002015-07-28T10:47:39.038-07:00Giveaway: THE MACHINE AWAKES by Adam Christopher<p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ZvS4qjesZ30/VVO5hQJ7i3I/AAAAAAAAMR0/WWurf2R6N4c/s1600-h/TheMachineAwakensAdamChristopher5.jpg"><img title="The Machine Awakens - Adam Christopher" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 0px 15px 0px 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="The Machine Awakens - Adam Christopher" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-wbHj3SXFtog/VVO5iLlzYgI/AAAAAAAAMR4/Q8lJDRFM9_k/TheMachineAwakensAdamChristopher_thu.jpg?imgmax=800" width="230" align="left" height="343"></a> </p> <p>We have a giveaway for <strong>THE MACHINE AWAKES</strong> by Adam Christopher. There’s one copy of this dark science fiction novel for a US or Canadian resident. It’s the second in the <em>Spider War</em> series.</p> <p>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</p> <p>Here’s what the publisher says about the book:</p> <p>Award-winning editor, comic writer, and author Adam Christopher returns to the spine-tingling universe of <i>The Burning Dark</i> with <b>THE MACHINE AWAKES</b> . Robert Jackson Bennet, author of <i>American Elsewhere</i> and <i>The City of Stairs</i>, says, “Christopher mines the terror of a setting that feels both tremendously vast and nerve-wrackingly claustrophobic,” and acclaimed author Martha Wells declares <i>The Burning Dark</i> “A riveting SF mystery reminiscent of Shirley Jackson’s <i>The Haunting of Hill House</i>.” Old fans and new will not want to miss the latest from one of the most original and exciting writers in the science fiction genre. <p>In the decades since the human race first made contact with the Spiders—a machine race capable of tearing planets apart—the two groups have fought over interstellar territory. But the war has not been going well for humankind, and with the failure of the Fleet Admiral’s secret plan in the Shadow system, the commander is overthrown by a group of hardliners determined to get the war back on track. As humanity fights this destructive mechanical enemy, Special Agent Von Kodiak discovers a conspiracy far closer to home. <p>When the deposed Fleet Admiral is assassinated, Kodiak suspects the new guard is eliminating the old. But after the Admiral’s replacement is likewise murdered, all bets are off as Kodiak discovers the prime suspect is one of the Fleet’s own, a psi-marine and decorated hero—a hero killed in action, months ago. At the same time, his twin sister vanished from the Fleet Academy, where she was training to join her brother on the front. <p>As Kodiak investigates, he uncovers a conspiracy that stretches from the slums of Salt City to the floating gas mines of Jupiter. There, deep in the roiling clouds of the planet, the Jovian Mining Corporation is hiding something, a secret that will tear the Fleet apart and that the Morning Star, a group of militarized pilgrims searching for their lost god, is determined to uncover. But there is something else hiding in Jovian system. Something insidious and intelligent, machine-like and hungry…. <p>Tor | Hardcover | April 21, 2015 | 416 pages <p>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ <p>Please fill out the Google form to enter this contest. <iframe height="500" marginheight="0" src="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1rpMHI-emaJ_4qhT7lRIOwNaL0qmM9EVv7oxMRqpRbO0/viewform?embedded=true" frameborder="0" width="560" marginwidth="0">Loading...</iframe> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10360453947198770223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3206685128986486929.post-67041325601000507672015-05-07T12:34:00.001-07:002015-07-28T10:51:32.391-07:00On Short Fiction by Damien Angelica Walters<p><strong><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-UeGVhr7fJAs/VUu-H_2tuXI/AAAAAAAAMQc/idcOxhMSV0Y/s1600-h/DamienAngelicaWaltersAuthorPhoto4.jpg"><img title="Damien Angelica Walters - Author Photo" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 0px 15px 10px 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Damien Angelica Walters - Author Photo" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-JTjh-8B9t_M/VUu-JSTkN4I/AAAAAAAAMQk/19DrHz7C0hw/DamienAngelicaWaltersAuthorPhoto_thu.jpg?imgmax=800" width="260" align="left" height="256"></a> </strong> <p>We have a guest post by recently published Damien Angelica Walters in honor of her short horror story collection <strong>SING ME YOUR SCARS.</strong> <p><a href="http://www.apex-magazine.com/sing-me-your-scars/">You can read the title story “Sing Me Your Scars” at the publisher’s website (Apex Magazine).</a> I highly recommend it. <p>Below she writes about some of her favorite dark, short fiction which is, wonderfully, all by female authors<strong>.</strong> <p><strong>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</strong> <p><strong></strong> <p align="center"><strong>On Short Fiction </strong>by Damien Angelica Walters <p>I keep reading that short fiction is making a comeback. To that I say, did it ever go away? Looking at the books on my bookcases, I say no, but in the public eye, perhaps it did. I know I see more single-author collections on bookstore shelves now than I have in the past, and while many of the collections are by those already established, some are by debut authors. I think it’s a great time to be a fan of short fiction. <p>There are so many talented authors working in the field of dark fantasy and horror, and Shirley Jackson Award nominee Livia Llewelyn is one of my favorites. She writes horror, dark fantasy, and erotica and her collection, <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Engines-Desire-Tales-Other-Horrors/dp/1590213246">Engines of Desire: Tales of Love & Other Horrors</a></i>, contains ten stories as beautiful as they are brutal. In many ways, her prose reminds me of Tori Amos’ lyrics—poetic and gorgeous with a razor-sharp edge that will cut you so carefully you won’t even notice until after you’re bleeding. Livia doesn’t pull any punches with her fiction and she goes into dark places many writers would hesitate to go. <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-_AGHmhISEPk/VUu-JxJR8nI/AAAAAAAAMQs/FNu1RG0mYsw/s1600-h/Sing%252520Me%252520Your%252520Scars%252520-%252520Damien%252520Angelica%252520Walters.jpg"><img title="Sing Me Your Scars - Damien Angelica Walters" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; margin: 5px 0px 10px 15px; border-left: 0px; display: inline" border="0" alt="Sing Me Your Scars - Damien Angelica Walters" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-UaPUyli8RR0/VUu-K7zMwCI/AAAAAAAAMQ0/jz4ZdniZ4k8/Sing%252520Me%252520Your%252520Scars%252520-%252520Damien%252520Angelica%252520Walters_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="200" align="right" height="293"></a> <p>One of my favorite passages from “Omphalos” references events between a mother and daughter and isn’t necessarily disturbing on its own, but it holds an undercurrent of calculated cruelty which says much of the relationship of the characters. <i>“Long ago, like when she’d hide drawings you’d made and replace them with white paper, only to slide them out of nowhere at the last minute, when you’d worked yourself into an ecstatic frenzy of conspiracies about intervening angels or gods erasing what you’d drawn. You’d forgotten about that part of her. You’d forgotten about that part of yourself.” </i> <p>Another favorite is Helen Marshall. Helen Marshall writes elegant and disturbing stories, often with young protagonists. <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Gifts-One-Who-Comes-After-ebook/dp/B00UWCXJS6/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1429728957&sr=1-1&keywords=gifts+for+the+one+who+comes+after">Gifts for the One Who Comes After</a></i> has been nominated for a 2014 Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a Fiction Collection; her first collection <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Hair-Side-Flesh-Helen-Marshall-ebook/dp/B00UWCXOWW/ref=sr_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1429731303&sr=1-6">Hair Side, Flesh Side</a></i> won the 2013 British Fantasy Award for Best Newcomer. <p>Haunting is the perfect word to describe her work, and her stories are filled with imagery that send shivers down your spine. Take this bit from “In the Year of Omens” for example: <i>“A month later Leah found something in the trash: one of her mother’s sheer black stockings. Inside it was the runt-body of a newborn kitten wrapped in a wrinkled dryer sheet.”</i> <p>Since I know people are sensitive to such subjects, it’s important to note that this isn’t a story about animal abuse, and the main character tucks the kitten away in an old music box, but after I read the passage I could not get that image out of my mind. Then it’s revealed that the kitten has fish scales on its belly, another image not easily forgotten. <p>Molly Tanzer’s first novel <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Vermilion-Adventures-Lou-Merriwether-Psychopomp-ebook/dp/B00VN8UZPI/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1429731339&sr=1-1&keywords=molly+tanzer">Vermilion</a></i> was just released and it’s in my to-read pile, but I’d like to talk about her collection <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Pretty-Mouth-Molly-Tanzer/dp/1621050505/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8">A Pretty Mouth</a></i>, which was released in 2012 and was a British Fantasy Award nominee. The four stories and one novella it contains are connected by familial lineage. The Calipash family history unfolds in reverse chronological order and the stories are weird, beautiful, and often darkly whimsical. <p>This, from “A Spotted Trouble at Dolor-on-the-Downs” always makes me grin: <i>“The Lady Alethea was…in the bath. And when I say in the bath, I do not mean that she was laving herself in a tub full of frothy suds and rubber ducks. She was in the nude and fully submerged under the surface of the water, which trickled into the large basin out of the faucet, and though I did not like to look upon her so indisposed, when I noted some, let us call them </i>physical peculiarities<i>, I could not help but stare.” </i>I will not spill the story by revealing what those peculiarities are, but suffice to say that you would stare, too, if you were in that situation. <p>Aurealis and British Fantasy Award winner Angela Slatter writes dark fantasy and horror and her most recent release is <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Female-Factory-Twelve-Planets-Book-ebook/dp/B00SUS9ZDC/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1429732994&sr=8-7&keywords=angela+slatter">The Female Factory</a></i>, co-authored with Lisa L. Hannett. I am rather partial to her 2010 collection <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Girl-No-Hands-other-tales-ebook/dp/B005CI67IY/ref=sr_1_12?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1429733297&sr=1-12">The Girl with No Hands (and Other Tales)</a></i>. The sixteen stories within are imaginative and lyrical and, more often than not, heartbreaking. <p>In “The Chrysanthemum Bride,” Angela writes: <i>“She is sleek but a little plump; any spare food goes to her, to keep her beauty intact, for her family believe this is how she will save them. If she is lovely enough, a rich man will take her to wife or concubine, then, they pray, prosperity will flow to them, that emptiness will become fullness.”</i> So much pressure for a young woman. Without giving any spoilers, all I’ll say is that the end of the story and its revelations hurt my heart and made me angry. <p>Here are four stories by the above authors available to read free online: <p><a href="http://www.nightmare-magazine.com/fiction/feels-better-biting/">“It Feels Better Biting Down”</a> by Livia Llewellyn <p><a href="http://www.tor.com/stories/2013/03/the-hanging-game">“The Hanging Game”</a> by Helen Marshall <p><a href="http://lovecraftzine.com/magazine/issues/2012-2/issue-20-december-2012/herbert-west-in-love-by-molly-tanzer/">“Herbert West in Love”</a> by Molly Tanzer <p><a href="http://thedarkmagazine.com/bearskin/">“Bearskin”</a> by Angela Slatter <p>Other authors whose short fiction I love are A.C. Wise, Anna Taborska, Kaaron Warren, S.P. Miskowski, E. Catherine Tobler, Sunny Moraine, Alyssa Wong, Natalia Theodoridou, and JY Yang. And when it comes to multi-author collections, you can’t go wrong with anything edited by Ellen Datlow and Paula Guran. Their most recent anthologies are <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Doll-Collection-Ellen-Datlow-ebook/dp/B00MSYSSOG/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1429734289&sr=1-1&keywords=the+doll+collection">The Doll Collection</a></i> and <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/New-Cthulhu-More-Recent-Weird-ebook/dp/B00UVM7VR2/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1429734346&sr=1-1&keywords=paula+guran">New Cthulhu2: More Recent Weird</a></i>, respectively. <p>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ <p><strong>About Damien:</strong> Damien Angelica Walters’ work has appeared or is forthcoming in various anthologies and magazines, including <i>The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy & Horror 2015</i>, <i>Year’s Best Weird Fiction: Volume One,</i> <i>The Mammoth Book of Cthulhu: New Lovecraftian Fiction</i><i>, Cassilda’s Song</i>, <i>Nightmare,</i> <i>Black Static</i>,<i> </i>and<i> Apex</i>. <i>Sing Me Your Scars, </i>a collection of short fiction, is out now from Apex Publications, and <i>Paper Tigers</i>, a novel, is forthcoming from Dark House Press. You can follow her on Twitter @DamienAWalters or visit her website at <a href="http://damienangelicawalters.com">http://damienangelicawalters.com</a>. <p>About <strong>SING ME YOUR SCARS</strong>: In her first collection of short fiction, Damien Angelica Walters weaves her lyrical voice through suffering and sorrow, teasing out the truth and discovering hope. <p>Sometimes a thread pulled through the flesh is all that holds you together. Sometimes the blade of a knife or the point of a nail is the only way you know you're real. When pain becomes art and a quarter is buried deep within you, all you want is to be seen, to have value, to be loved. But love can be fragile, folded into an origami elephant while you disappear, carried on the musical notes that build a bridge, or woven into an illusion so real, so perfect that you can fool yourself for a little while. Paper crumples, bridges fall, and illusions come to an end. Then you must pick up the pieces, stitch yourself back together, and shed your fear, because that is when you find out what you are truly made of and lift your voice, that is when you <i>Sing Me Your Scars</i>. <p></p> <p>200 pages | Apex Book Company | February 15, 2015 | Ebook & Paperback</p> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10360453947198770223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3206685128986486929.post-50333597326180492562015-05-05T14:06:00.001-07:002015-07-28T10:47:39.018-07:00Giveaway: THE GIRL AT MIDNIGHT by Melissa Grey<p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/--y8EyX4DaL8/VUkw3NokLVI/AAAAAAAAMP8/BP7Qd66-fOM/s1600-h/The%252520Girl%252520at%252520Midnight%252520-%252520Melissa%252520Grey%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img title="Grey_9780385744652_jkt_all_r1.indd" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 0px 15px 10px 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Grey_9780385744652_jkt_all_r1.indd" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-TZZ5M-lk6V0/VUkw3yR19MI/AAAAAAAAMQE/qivW2xt_fi8/The%252520Girl%252520at%252520Midnight%252520-%252520Melissa%252520Grey_thumb%25255B3%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="230" align="left" height="347"></a> </p> <p>Giveaway for <strong>THE GIRL AT MIDNIGHT</strong> by Melissa Grey. We have one copy for a US or Canadian resident.</p> <p>It’s a young adult, romantic fantasy. And I do believe it has dragons.</p> <p>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</p> <p>For fans of Cassandra Clare’s <strong>City of Bones</strong> and Laini Taylor’s<strong><em> </em>Daughter of Smoke & Bone</strong>, <strong>The Girl at Midnight</strong> is the story of a modern girl caught in an ancient war.</p> <p>Beneath the streets of New York City live the Avicen, an ancient race of people with feathers for hair and magic running through their veins. Age-old enchantments keep them hidden from humans. All but one. Echo is a runaway pickpocket who survives by selling stolen treasures on the black market, and the Avicen are the only family she’s ever known.</p> <p>Echo is clever and daring, and at times she can be brash, but above all else she’s fiercely loyal. So when a centuries-old war crests on the borders of her home, she decides it’s time to act.</p> <p>Legend has it that there is a way to end the conflict once and for all: find the Firebird, a mythical entity believed to possess power the likes of which the world has never seen. It will be no easy task, though if life as a thief has taught Echo anything, it’s how to hunt down what she wants . . . and how to take it.</p> <p>But some jobs aren’t as straightforward as they seem. And this one might just set the world on fire.</p> <p>Delacorte Press | Apr 28, 2015 | 368 Pages | Young Adult | Hardcover</p> <p>To enter please fill out the Google form.</p><iframe height="500" marginheight="0" src="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1FaxLcmeaAzWNam03qYMJ2HRWDwBLH7H7AR-COwHHMJs/viewform?embedded=true" frameborder="0" width="560" marginwidth="0">Loading...</iframe> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10360453947198770223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3206685128986486929.post-24945635590770639852015-04-29T14:42:00.001-07:002015-07-28T10:49:02.295-07:00Incoming Books: April 29, 2015<p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-xfmDLC9BaD8/VUFPourXp9I/AAAAAAAAMK8/_SMIF7JxGv8/s1600-h/TheWildGirlKateForsyth5.jpg"><img title="The Wild Girl - Kate Forsyth" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 0px 15px 10px 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="The Wild Girl - Kate Forsyth" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-M6jBeyYhD6g/VUFPp-1LmsI/AAAAAAAAMLA/IDyKrflILVw/TheWildGirlKateForsyth_thumb3.jpg?imgmax=800" width="230" align="left" height="349"></a> </p> <p>We have our Incoming Books collection for April 29, 2015.</p> <p><strong>The Wild Girl</strong> by Kate Forsyth</p> <p>One of six sisters, Dortchen Wild lives in the small German kingdom of Hesse-Cassel in the early 19th century. She finds herself irresistibly drawn to the boy next door, the handsome but very poor fairy tale scholar Wilhelm Grimm. It is a time of tyranny and terror. Napoleon Bonaparte wants to conquer all of Europe, and Hesse-Cassel is one of the first kingdoms to fall. Forced to live under oppressive French rule, Wilhelm and his brothers quietly rebel by preserving old half-forgotten tales that had once been told by the firesides of houses grand and small over the land. As Dortchen tells Wilhelm some of the most powerful and compelling stories in what will one day become his and Jacob's famous fairy tale collection, their love blossoms. But Dortchen's father will not give his consent for them to marry and war, death, and poverty also conspire to keep the lovers apart. Yet Dortchen is determined to find a way. Evocative and richly-detailed, Kate Forsyth's <i>The Wild Girl</i> masterfully captures one young woman's enduring faith in love and the power of storytelling.</p> <p>St. Martin's Press | July 2015 | Hardcover | 496 pages</p> <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Ktgf8LDJ2Oc/VUFPrOTxjzI/AAAAAAAAMLM/DuyzXv4bG24/s1600-h/TheExileCTAdams4.jpg"><img title="The Exile - C T Adams" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 5px 0px 10px 15px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="The Exile - C T Adams" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-nCNtvsaeK0w/VUFPsagqf0I/AAAAAAAAMLU/ChWKW3zFtw4/TheExileCTAdams_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" width="160" align="right" height="240"></a> </p> <p><strong>The Exile</strong> by C.T. Adams</p> <p>Brianna Hai runs an occult shop that sells useless trinkets to tourists--and real magic supplies to witches and warlocks. The magical painting that hangs in Brianna's apartment is the last portal between the fae and human worlds.</p> <p>A shocking magical assault on her home reveals to Brianna that her father, High King Liu of the Fae, is under attack. With the help of her gargoyle, Pug, her friend David, and Angelo, a police detective who doesn't believe in magic, Brianna recovers what was stolen from her and becomes an unwilling potential heir to the throne.</p> <p>A suspenseful urban fantasy with a hint of romance, <i>The Exile</i> is the first solo novel by C. T. Adams, who is half of <i>USA Today</i> bestselling author Cat Adams. Like the Cat Adams Blood Singer novels, <i>The Exile</i> is set in a world where magic is real and contains Adams's trademark blend of suspense, action, humor, and strongly emotional writing.</p> <p>Tor Books | March 2015 | Trade Paperback | 320 pages </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-P8C4rtmoYlc/VUFPt763gnI/AAAAAAAAMLc/f5LUk5dOfS8/s1600-h/IcefallGillianPhilip4.jpg"><img title="Icefall -Gillian Philip" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 5px 15px 10px 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Icefall -Gillian Philip" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-xrrLKo-udcE/VUFPu1wnVhI/AAAAAAAAMLk/XNdpw9I9-vM/IcefallGillianPhilip_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" width="160" align="left" height="240"></a> </p> <p><strong>Icefall</strong> by Gillian Philip</p> <p>Death stalks Seth MacGregor's clan in their otherworld exile. Kate NicNiven is close to ultimate victory, and she is determined that nothing will keep her from it. Not even the thing that took her soul: the horror that lurks in the sea caves. But Kate still needs Seth's son Rory, and his power over the Veil. And she'll go to any lengths to get him. Seth's own soul is rotting from the wound inflicted by Kate, and survival for his loved ones seems all he can hope for. But might a mortal threat to his brother's daughter force him to return to his own world to challenge Kate? And will Rory go with him? Because Rory suspects there's a darkness trapped in the Veil, a darkness that wants to get out. But only one Sithe knows how near it is to getting its way: Seth's bound lover, the witch Finn. Nobody gets forever. But some are willing to try...</p> <p>From critically acclaimed author Gillian Philip, <i>Icefall</i> is the final installment in the Rebel Angels series.</p> <p>Tor Books | March 2015 | Hardcover | 448 pages</p> <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-IYFfa4mGmqg/VUFPwbYwytI/AAAAAAAAMLs/AVhqx3HZF1g/s1600-h/WindowWallMelanieRawn5.jpg"><img title="Window Wall - Melanie Rawn" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 5px 0px 10px 15px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Window Wall - Melanie Rawn" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-XQtDSXw12ws/VUFPxp5DQkI/AAAAAAAAML0/hxCXCadGboA/WindowWallMelanieRawn_thumb3.jpg?imgmax=800" width="160" align="right" height="243"></a> </p> <p><strong>Window Wall</strong> by Melanie Rawn</p> <p>For nearly two years, Cade has been rejecting his Fae gift, his prescient Elsewhens--simply refusing to see or experience them. But the strain is driving a wedge between him and his theater troupe, Touchstone, and making him erratic on stage and off. It takes his best friend Mieka to bully Cade into accepting the visions again. But when Cade finally looks into the possible futures, he sees a royal castle blowing up, though his vision does not tell him who is responsible. But he knows that if it is in his visions, he can take action to stop it from happening. And when he finally discovers the truth, he takes the knowledge to the only man in the Kingdom who would believe him: his deadly enemy the Archduke.Melanie Rawn's delightful creation of the world of Albeyn is a place where the magical races have joined with humans in a melting pot of powers, and everyone loves the theater of magic. In <i>Window Wall</i>, her irrepressible cast of characters mature--at least a little. Not that they'll ever settle down.</p> <p>Tor Books | April 2015 | Hardcover | 368 pages</p> <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-PK94Mjy73bs/VUFPyw-jn5I/AAAAAAAAML8/4yUA35MBoZc/s1600-h/TheMidnightWitchPaulaBrackston5.jpg"><img title="The Midnight Witch - Paula Brackston" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 5px 15px 10px 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="The Midnight Witch - Paula Brackston" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-fcVIEAlR5g0/VUFP0x4a8KI/AAAAAAAAMME/tsPNiaSMZOk/TheMidnightWitchPaulaBrackston_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="160" align="left" height="242"></a> </p> <p><strong>The Midnight Witch</strong> by Paula Brackston</p> <p>Midnight is the most bewitching hour of them all…</p> <p>From Paula Brackston, the New York Times bestselling author of <i>The Witch's Daughter</i> and <i>The Winter Witch</i>, comes a magical tale that is as dark as it is enchanting. Set in high society Edwardian England, <i>The Midnight Witch</i> is the story of a young witch who faces the choice between love and loyalty to her coven…</p> <p>"The dead are seldom silent. All that is required for them to be heard is that someone be willing to listen. I have been listening to the dead all my life." </p> <p>Lady Lilith Montgomery is the daughter of the sixth Duke of Radnor. She is one of the most beautiful young women in London and engaged to the city's most eligible bachelor. She is also a witch.</p> <p>When her father dies, her hapless brother Freddie takes on his title. But it is Lilith, instructed in the art of necromancy, who inherits their father's role as Head Witch of the Lazarus Coven. And it is Lilith who must face the threat of the Sentinels, a powerful group of sorcerers intent on reclaiming the Elixir from the coven's guardianship for their own dark purposes. Lilith knows the Lazarus creed: secrecy and silence. To abandon either would put both the coven and all she holds dear in grave danger. She has spent her life honoring it, right down to her engagement to her childhood friend and fellow witch, Viscount Louis Harcourt. </p> <p>Until the day she meets Bram, a talented artist who is neither a witch nor a member of her class. With him, she must not be secret and silent. Despite her loyalty to the coven and duty to her family, Lilith cannot keep her life as a witch hidden from the man she loves. </p> <p>To tell him will risk everything. </p> <p>St. Martin's Griffin | March 2015 | Trade Paperback | 448 pages</p> <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-wPI11zfVCjI/VUFP18f3JhI/AAAAAAAAMMM/OHy3b1eCeUE/s1600-h/OfIrishBloodMaryPatKelly5.jpg"><img title="Of Irish Blood - Mary Pat Kelly" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 5px 0px 10px 15px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Of Irish Blood - Mary Pat Kelly" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Z8Wi9IyxScc/VUFP3nJfM2I/AAAAAAAAMMU/x9Z3n2eGlZA/OfIrishBloodMaryPatKelly_thumb3.jpg?imgmax=800" width="162" align="right" height="242"></a> </p> <p><strong>Of Irish Blood</strong> by Mary Pat Kelly</p> <p>It's 1903. Nora Kelly, twenty-four, is talented, outspoken, progressive, and climbing the ladder of opportunity, until she falls for an attractive but dangerous man who sends her running back to the Old World her family had fled. Nora takes on Paris, mixing with couturiers, artists, and "les femmes Americaines" of the Left Bank such as Gertrude Stein and Sylvia Beach. But when she stumbles into the centuries-old Collège des Irlandais, a good-looking scholar, an unconventional priest, and Ireland's revolutionary women challenge Nora to honor her Irish blood and join the struggle to free Ireland. Author Mary Pat Kelly weaves historical characters such as Maud Gonne, William Butler Yeats, Countess Markievicz, Michael Collins, and Eamon de Valera, as well as Gabrielle Chanel, Gertrude Stein, James Joyce, and Nora Barnicle, into <i>Of Irish Blood, </i>a vivid and compelling story inspired by the life of her great-aunt.</p> <p>Tor/Forge | February 2015 | Hardcover | 512 pages</p> <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-hHSZqStj_wQ/VUFP4shnEiI/AAAAAAAAMMc/VvyyLUF9u4A/s1600-h/TheMistTornWitchesBarbHendee11.jpg"><img title="The Mist Torn Witches - Barb Hendee" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 5px 15px 10px 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="The Mist Torn Witches - Barb Hendee" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Spzy5i95j-g/VUFP59WgbcI/AAAAAAAAMMk/jzId6kvqKug/TheMistTornWitchesBarbHendee_thumb12.jpg?imgmax=800" width="160" align="left" height="257"></a> <strong>The Mist-Torn Witches</strong> by Barb Hendee</p> <p><i>National bestselling author Barb Hendee presents a dark, fascinating new world and the story of two sisters who will discover they have far more power than they ever envisioned….</i></p> <p>In a small village in the nation of Droevinka, orphaned sisters Céline and Amelie Fawe scrape out a living selling herbal medicines in their apothecary shop. Céline earns additional money by posing as a seer and pretending to read people’s futures. </p> <p>But they exist in a land of great noble houses, all vying for power, and when the sisters refuse the orders of a warlord prince, they must flee and are forced to depend on the warlord prince’s brother, Anton, for a temporary haven. </p> <p>A series of bizarre deaths of pretty young girls is plaguing the village surrounding Prince Anton’s castle. He offers Céline and Amelie permanent protection if they can use their “skills” to find the killer. </p> <p>With little choice, the sisters enter a world unknown to them—of fine gowns and banquets and advances from powerful men. Their survival depends on catching a murderer who appears to walk through walls and vanish without a trace—and the danger grows with each passing night.</p> <p>Mass Market Paperback | 336 Pages | 7 May 2013 | Roc | Adult </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/--lyS2K23T-E/VUFP7DwsM9I/AAAAAAAAMMs/bTca3jghdno/s1600-h/WitchesinRedBarbHendee6.jpg"><img title="Witches in Red - Barb Hendee" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 5px 0px 10px 15px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Witches in Red - Barb Hendee" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-AUDjFtb9Rqw/VUFP8B446iI/AAAAAAAAMMw/4ipXE7pzuV0/WitchesinRedBarbHendee_thumb9.jpg?imgmax=800" width="160" align="right" height="259"></a> </p> <p><strong>Witches in Red</strong> by Barb Hendee</p> <p><i>Céline and Amelie Fawe can see into anyone’s past and future simply by touching him. They have used their powers to secure sanctuary—and a fine apothecary’s shop—in the village around Castle Sèone. But their continued safety has a price….</i></p> <p>Far to the north, the men of an isolated silver mining community are turning into vicious “beasts” that slaughter anyone in sight. The mines belong to the noble family of Prince Anton—ruler of Castle Sèone and Céline and Amelie’s patron—and Anton’s tyrannical father has ordered his son to solve the mystery as a test of his leadership. He has no choice but to send the witches into the perilous north to use their abilities to discover the cause of the transformations. Given how much they owe the prince, the sisters have no choice but to go.</p> <p>Together with the overprotective Lieutenant Jaromir, Célene and Amelie enter the dark world of a far-off mining camp tainted by fear, mistrust, and enslavement—and haunted by men turning into massive mad wolves without warning. Now the two must draw upon strength and cunning they never thought they possessed not only to solve the mystery, but to survive….</p> <p>Mass Market Paperback | 336 Pages | 6 May 2014 | Roc | Adult </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-D3doVRlU0I0/VUFP9AenL_I/AAAAAAAAMM8/91b_b683LIs/s1600-h/TheGreatLeaderandtheFighterPilotBlai%25255B1%25255D.jpg"><img title="The Great Leader and the Fighter Pilot - Blaine Harden" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 5px 15px 10px 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="The Great Leader and the Fighter Pilot - Blaine Harden" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-FLXEdtf_IwM/VUFP-Rx33HI/AAAAAAAAMNE/3PP0LwkYlG4/TheGreatLeaderandtheFighterPilotBlai.jpg?imgmax=800" width="160" align="left" height="243"></a> </p> <p><strong>The Great Leader and the Fighter Pilot</strong> by Blaine Harden</p> <p>From the <i>New York Times</i> bestselling author of <i>Escape From Camp 14</i>, Blaine Harden tells the riveting story of Kim Il Sung’s rise to power, and the brave North Korean fighter pilot who escaped the prison state and delivered the first MiG-15 into American hands.</p> <p>In <i>The Great Leader and the Fighter Pilot</i>,<i> New York Times </i>bestselling author Blaine Harden tells the riveting story of how Kim Il Sung grabbed power and plunged his country into war against the United States while the youngest fighter pilot in his air force was playing a high-risk game of deception—and escape.</p> <p>As Kim ascended from Soviet puppet to godlike ruler, No Kum Sok noisily pretended to love his Great Leader. That is, until he swiped a Soviet MiG-15 and delivered it to the Americans, not knowing they were offering a $100,000 bounty for the warplane (the equivalent of nearly one million dollars today). The theft—just weeks after the Korean War ended in July 1953—electrified the world and incited Kim’s bloody vengeance.</p> <p>During the Korean War the United States brutally carpet bombed the North, killing hundreds of thousands of civilians and giving the Kim dynasty, as Harden reveals, the fact-based narrative it would use to this day to sell paranoia and hatred of Americans.</p> <p>Drawing on documents from Chinese and Russian archives about the role of Mao and Stalin in Kim’s shadowy rise, as well as from neverbefore- released U.S. intelligence and interrogation files, Harden gives us a heart-pounding escape adventure and an entirely new way to understand the world’s longest-lasting totalitarian state.</p> <p>Hardcover | 304 Pages | 17 Mar 2015 | Viking | Adult </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-oo9MhIWONII/VUFP_g_C-tI/AAAAAAAAMNM/GOWw0LxMn2w/s1600-h/TheClockworkDaggerBethCato5.jpg"><img title="The Clockwork Dagger - Beth Cato" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 5px 0px 10px 15px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="The Clockwork Dagger - Beth Cato" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-_p2G239fZ3k/VUFQAuX_gFI/AAAAAAAAMNU/g44F4D7A5KM/TheClockworkDaggerBethCato_thumb3.jpg?imgmax=800" width="160" align="right" height="242"></a> </p> <p><strong>The Clockwork Dagger</strong> Beth Cato</p> <p>Full of magic, mystery, and romance, an enchanting steampunk fantasy debut in the bestselling vein of Trudi Canavan and Gail Carriger. <p>Orphaned as a child, Octavia Leander was doomed to grow up on the streets until Miss Percival saved her and taught her to become a medician. Gifted with incredible powers, the young healer is about to embark on her first mission, visiting suffering cities in the far reaches of the war-scarred realm. But the airship on which she is traveling is plagued by a series of strange and disturbing occurrences, including murder, and Octavia herself is threatened. <p>Suddenly, she is caught up in a flurry of intrigue: the dashingly attractive steward may be one of the infamous Clockwork Daggers—the Queen’s spies and assassins—and her cabin-mate harbors disturbing secrets. But the danger is only beginning, for Octavia discovers that the deadly conspiracy aboard the airship may reach the crown itself. <p>Harper Voyager | 09/16/2014 | Trade Paperback | Pages:<strong> </strong>368 <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-uH9j58PuGZ0/VUFQB1B9n5I/AAAAAAAAMNc/4RYy4s_X8DA/s1600-h/SingMeYourScarsDamienAngelicaWalters%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img title="Sing Me Your Scars - Damien Angelica Walters" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 5px 15px 10px 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Sing Me Your Scars - Damien Angelica Walters" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Lodo7Ur0hJ8/VUFQDDHDEII/AAAAAAAAMNk/oXO0Dekp1rE/SingMeYourScarsDamienAngelicaWalters.jpg?imgmax=800" width="160" align="left" height="234"></a> <p><strong>Sing Me Your Scars</strong> by Damien Angelica Walters</p> <p>In her first collection of short fiction, Damien Angelica Walters weaves her lyrical voice through suffering and sorrow, teasing out the truth and discovering hope. Sometimes a thread pulled through the flesh is all that holds you together. Sometimes the blade of a knife or the point of a nail is the only way you know you're real. When pain becomes art and a quarter is buried deep within you, all you want is to be seen, to have value, to be loved. But love can be fragile, folded into an origami elephant while you disappear, carried on the musical notes that build a bridge, or woven into an illusion so real, so perfect that you can fool yourself for a little while. Paper crumples, bridges fall, and illusions come to an end. Then you must pick up the pieces, stitch yourself back together, and shed your fear, because that is when you find out what you are truly made of and lift your voice, that is when you <em>Sing Me Your Scars</em>. <p>200 pages | Apex Book Company | February 15, 2015 | Ebook <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/--Ix8sFKyHWo/VUFQEGP_RjI/AAAAAAAAMNs/x_JGBON14u8/s1600-h/BlindSpotChandlerMcGrew5.jpg"><img title="Blind Spot - Chandler McGrew" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 5px 0px 10px 15px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Blind Spot - Chandler McGrew" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Fy0on6hDw8k/VUFQFWPvRYI/AAAAAAAAMN0/lnj6tGUyNeg/BlindSpotChandlerMcGrew_thumb3.jpg?imgmax=800" width="160" align="right" height="248"></a> <p><strong>Blind Spot</strong> by Chandler McGrew</p> <p>In a small Maine valley, thirteen-year-old Pierce Morin, born blind and deaf, possesses a terrifying gift: He can hear evil whispering. And now he knows an elusive, deadly force is stalking the people he loves. <p>Meanwhile, Detective Jake Crowley, who’d long ago run away from the valley, has returned. A bizarre shootout in Galveston, Texas, finally draws him back Maine—to a woman he can barely face, to the unsolved mystery of his mother’s murder, and to a township that’s fallen under the spell of a serial killer. <p>For Jake, redemption lies in unlocking the mystery of Pierce’s gifts, and hoping the boy can show him a way to stop the terrors that plague him. But while young Pierce can begin the search, only Jake can finish it—by looking evil in the eye, and claiming a terrifying birthright. <p>369 pages | Astor + Blue Editions | March 23, 2015 | Ebook <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-J4U2Lj2AaX8/VUFQGmmU2pI/AAAAAAAAMN8/Ur46pYY_x_4/s1600-h/NightlifeHazardousMaterialsMatthewQu%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img title="Nightlife Hazardous Materials - Matthew Quinn Martin" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 5px 15px 10px 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Nightlife Hazardous Materials - Matthew Quinn Martin" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-_chHhbz48co/VUFQHvKAAiI/AAAAAAAAMOE/O-IHaTryrds/NightlifeHazardousMaterialsMatthewQu%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="160" align="left" height="249"></a> <p><strong>Nightlife: Hazardous Material</strong> by Matthew Quinn Martin</p> <p>The story of monster hunter Jack and his partner Beth continues in <i>Nightlife: As the Worm Turns</i>…but first, take a short stroll down one of Nightlife's darkest streets in this horror e-novella praised as “thrilling, edgy, and scary as hell” (Jason Starr, internationally bestselling author of <i>The Pack</i>).</p> <p>Twenty-seven-year-old Jarrod Foster has hit a dead end. He spends his days disposing of hazardous waste and his nights wondering where it all went wrong. While gutting an abandoned roller rink, Jarrod discovers a bricked up video arcade still stocked with vintage games…which, three decades ago, was the site of the largest mass shooting in New York history.</p> <p>Jarrod’s boss lets him keep one of the arcade games—an oddity called Polybius that no one seems to have ever heard of. Jarrod hopes to sell it and start a new life, but one grim night, he drops a quarter into the game…and the game drops Jarrod right into a nightmare.<br>As his life spirals into darkness, and his actions begin to mirror those of the long-dead spree killer, only one question remains…is Jarrod playing a game, or is the game playing him?</p> <p>Pocket Star | 128 pages | May 2015 | Ebook</p> <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-YBKtIuLn1K4/VUFQJIpC_0I/AAAAAAAAMOM/pSU1kGBF0u8/s1600-h/WithinTheseWallsAniaAhlborn5.jpg"><img title="Within These Walls - Ania Ahlborn" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 5px 0px 10px 15px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Within These Walls - Ania Ahlborn" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-skXKSSlCM2E/VUFQJ07UFFI/AAAAAAAAMOU/GXsxwQtrbq8/WithinTheseWallsAniaAhlborn_thumb3.jpg?imgmax=800" width="160" align="right" height="249"></a> </p> <p><strong>Within These Wall</strong> by Ania Ahlborn</p> <p>In her all-new supernatural thriller, bestselling indie horror author Ania Ahlborn asks: How far would you go for success? What would you be capable of if the promise of forever was real?</p> <p>With his marriage on the rocks and his life in shambles, washed-up true-crime writer Lucas Graham is desperate for a comeback, one more shot at the bestselling success he once enjoyed. His chance comes when he’s promised exclusive access to death row inmate Jeffrey Halcomb, the notorious cult leader and mass murderer who’s ready to break his silence after thirty years, and who contacted Lucas personally from his maximum-security cell. With nothing left to lose, Lucas leaves New York to live and work from the scene of the crime: a split-level farmhouse on a gray-sanded beach in Washington State whose foundation is steeped in the blood of Halcomb’s diviners—runaways who were drawn to his message of family, unity, and unconditional love. There, Lucas sets out to capture the real story of the departed faithful. Except that he’s not alone. For Jeffrey Halcomb promised his devout eternal life…and within these walls, they’re far from dead. </p> <p>Gallery Books | 464 pages | Trade Paperback | April 2015</p> <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ga5ACepVBZI/VUFQLBnzUsI/AAAAAAAAMOc/n0hgGWK5CLM/s1600-h/ApocalypseNowNowCharlieHuman5.jpg"><img title="Apocalypse Now Now - Charlie Human" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 5px 15px 10px 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Apocalypse Now Now - Charlie Human" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-UDJkeOonBV8/VUFQMZLvfGI/AAAAAAAAMOk/t2KQJO7louI/ApocalypseNowNowCharlieHuman_thumb3.jpg?imgmax=800" width="160" align="left" height="249"></a> </p> <p><strong>Apocalypse Now Now</strong> by Charlie Human <p>Baxter Zevcenko’s life is pretty sweet. He’s making a name for himself as the kingpin of his smut-peddling high-school syndicate, the other gangs are staying out of his business, <br>and he’s dating the girl of his dreams, Esme. </p> <p>But when Esme gets kidnapped, things start to get seriously weird, and the only man drunk enough to help is a bearded, booze-soaked, supernatural bounty hunter that goes by the name of Jackson ‘Jackie’ Ronin.</p> <p>Plunged into the increasingly bizarre landscape of Cape Town’s supernatural underworld, Baxter and Ronin team up to save Esme. On a journey that takes them through the realms of impossibility, they must face every conceivable nightmare to get her back, including the odd brush with the Apocalypse.</p> <p>320 pages | Titan Books | Trade Paperback | April 14, 2015</p> <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-5y9bUl0-Yew/VUFQNi6nbvI/AAAAAAAAMOs/-1qyFU1j_8Y/s1600-h/LookingforPotholesJoeWenke5.jpg"><img title="Looking for Potholes - Joe Wenke" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 5px 0px 10px 15px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Looking for Potholes - Joe Wenke" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-QnEc9ktUuYQ/VUFQPbx5JOI/AAAAAAAAMO0/2xWjuEPJg8U/LookingforPotholesJoeWenke_thumb3.jpg?imgmax=800" width="160" align="right" height="240"></a> </p> <p><strong>Looking for Potholes</strong> by Joseph Wenke</p> <p>Poetry by Joe Wenke. </p> <p>Trade Paperback | February 4th 2015 | Trans Uber | 93 pages <p> <p> <p> <p> <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-rqbsQgqMcDo/VUFQQm2TVwI/AAAAAAAAMO8/3J6I0U3LRLE/s1600-h/PuchBowlsPitcherDrinksKelleyTenaglia%25255B1%25255D.jpg"><img title="Puch Bowls & Pitcher Drinks - Kelley & Tenaglia" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 5px 15px 10px 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Puch Bowls & Pitcher Drinks - Kelley & Tenaglia" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-HlXpZ4RViqg/VUFQRjZ0irI/AAAAAAAAMPE/1b8vxjfcsFg/PuchBowlsPitcherDrinksKelleyTenaglia%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="160" align="left" height="208"></a> </p> <p><strong>Punch Bowls and Pitcher Drinks</strong> by Jeanne Kelley and Sarah Tenaglia</p> <p>Stir up delicious fit-for-a-crowd cocktails.</p> <p>Find inspiration in fresh fruit, smoky spices, and potent spirits, and mix a bowl or pitcher of punch for any occasion or season. Whether it’s a drink served in champagne flutes at a holiday party or in Mason jars and paper cups in the backyard, you’ll take cocktail hour to a whole new level with every one of these drinks:<br>• CLASSIC COCKTAILS, such as Pimm’s Punch<br>• SANGRIAS AND CHAMPAGNE-BASED PUNCHES, such as Meyer Lemon Drop Champagne Punch<br>• TROPICAL DRINKS, such as Kumquat-Tangerine Smash<br>• HEIGHT OF SUMMER, such as Watermelon-Tequila Punch<br>• FIRESIDE COCKTAILS, such as Aztec Chocolate Punch<br>• NONALCOHOLIC PUNCHES, such as Mixed Berry Lemonade</p> <p>Mar 03, 2015 | 112 Pages | Hardbound | Crown Books</p> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10360453947198770223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3206685128986486929.post-59880625761912323072015-04-22T13:14:00.001-07:002015-07-28T10:47:39.028-07:00Giveaway: THE SILVER WITCH by Paula Brackston<p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-UA36zmNay5o/VTgBLqDXtRI/AAAAAAAAMKI/t8Y-ALGr3OE/s1600-h/TheSilverWitchPaulaBrackston6.jpg"><img title="The Silver Witch - Paula Brackston" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 0px 15px 10px 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="The Silver Witch - Paula Brackston" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-wpVApZHrIBw/VTgBMe-CmII/AAAAAAAAMKM/9o_NJp8ftZQ/TheSilverWitchPaulaBrackston_thumb4.jpg?imgmax=800" width="232" align="left" height="351"></a> </p> <p>We have a giveaway for <strong>THE SILVER WITCH</strong> by Paula Brackston. There is one copy for a US address.</p> <p><a href=": http://issuu.com/stmartinspress/docs/silverwitchexcerpt">Here is a link for a 15 page excerpt for <strong>THE SILVER WITCH</strong></a>. Below the description is the Google document that you can fill out to enter the contest.</p> <p>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</p> <p align="left">Here’s the publisher’s description:</p> <p>A year after her husband’s sudden death, ceramic artist Tilda Fordwells finally moves into the secluded Welsh cottage that was to be their new home. She hopes that the tranquil surroundings will help ease her grief, and lessen her disturbing visions of Mat’s death. Instead, the lake in the valley below her cottage seems to spark something dormant in her – a sensitivity, and a power of some sort. Animals are drawn to her, electricity shorts out when she’s near, and strangest of all, she sees a new vision; a boatful of ancient people approaching her across the water. <p>On this same lake in Celtic times lived Seren, a witch and shaman. She was respected but feared, kept separate from the community for her strange looks. When a vision came to her of the Prince amid a nest of vipers she warned of betrayal from one of his own. Prince Brynach both loved and revered her, but could not believe someone close to him wished him harm, even as the danger grew. <p>In her own time, Tilda’s grief begins to fade beside her newfound powers and a fresh love. When she explores the lake’s ancient magic and her own she discovers Seren, the woman in her vision of the boat. Their two lives strangely mirror each other’s, suggesting a strong connection between the women. As Tilda comes under threat from a dark power, one reminiscent of Seren’s prophecy, she must rely on Seren and ancient magic if death and disaster are not to shatter her life once more. <p>St. Martin's Press | April 2015 | Hardcover | 320 pages <p>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ <p>Please fill out the Google form to be entered in the contest. <iframe height="500" marginheight="0" src="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1zO8h2Ha0XGgZTDZ7PXQiTyUHPlgWVchVNnC-mD6bGk8/viewform?embedded=true" frameborder="0" width="560" marginwidth="0">Loading...</iframe> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10360453947198770223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3206685128986486929.post-56550745634038459792015-04-17T13:58:00.001-07:002015-07-28T10:50:19.039-07:00Excerpt and Giveaway: ICEFALL by Gillian Philip<p><b><u><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-QHQfomiznj0/VTF0AF2VK1I/AAAAAAAAMJQ/sv303_isYwg/s1600-h/Icefall%252520-Gillian%252520Philip%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img title="Icefall -Gillian Philip" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 0px 15px 10px 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Icefall -Gillian Philip" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-80ylb9kBOK4/VTF0A21P-SI/AAAAAAAAMJY/ONl21F_oC2A/Icefall%252520-Gillian%252520Philip_thumb%25255B3%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="230" align="left" height="345"></a></u></b></p> <p>We have an excerpt and giveaway for <strong>ICEFALL</strong> by Gillian Philip. It’s the 4th and final book of the <em>Rebel Angels</em> urban fantasy series and there are 3 copies for US and Canadian addresses. </p> <p>Below is the excerpt and below that is the Google form to enter the contest.</p> <p>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</p> <p align="center"><strong>ICEFALL</strong> by Gillian Philip <p align="center">Hannah <p>The sound was so soft, I’d never have heard it if a breeze had stirred. The faintest whisper, like leaf against leaf, or steel against leather. <p>I hesitated, glancing behind me, hitching my backpack higher on my shoulder. I was probably imagining it. I had things to do, books to read, prospectuses to study. This was my final school year and I was impatient to know where my life was going. I didn’t have time for getting spooked by shadows. <p>All the same. <p>Turning, I scanned the street. Broad autumn daylight. Cool and overcast, it was true, but weak shafts of sun filtered through onto cracked concrete and corrugated iron. This was the dingy end of town, the deserted end. No reason that alley between the warehouses should look so dark. No reason, except my imagination. <p>Except I was fairly sure that was a footstep. <p>Nothing moved. Shadow leaked out of the alleyway, pooled between a parked car and a lorry: so very dark, when there wasn’t much sun. I couldn’t even hear a gull. Late afternoon and even the shabby corner pubs were quiet. Weird. Like being sealed in a capsule of stillness and fear. <p>I shrugged. Sniffed. Walked on. Stopped again. <p>The silence wasn’t empty. There was something inside it, something that could think and hate, something that could move. Something that <i>would</i> move, when it chose to. <p>I stood quite still. I could feel the cold fear in my spine, now, trying to make me run. I mustn’t run. <p><i>Too late to call Rory.</i> And anyway, did I want to? If this was anything more sinister than some suicidally ill-judged piss-take from cousin Lauren and her pals, I might only draw him into a trap. He was the one they mustn’t have. I was dispensable. In the long run. <p>Not that I thought much of that idea. In the short run. <p>I showed my teeth. There was still the chance this was only Lauren, and I didn’t want to make a fool of myself. Didn’t want to overreact or anything. <p>I didn’t think it was Lauren. <p>‘Come on, then.’ <p>My words echoed off blank walls. <p>‘I said come <i>on</i>. If you’re hard enough.’ <p>That was fine. That was fine, my voice had come out steady. It wouldn’t do that again, not now that a figure had stepped out of the alleyway. A woman, I guessed from the silhouette moving forward: tall, and kind of elegant. Yes, a woman: pale hair twisted into a braid, mouth curved in an apologetic smile. Sword held lightly, almost casually, and now she flipped its hilt so that the blade was held high, and drew it to her face in salute. <p>Lovely, I thought. Honestly, very graceful. With luck she’d do the whole thing as beautifully as that. Fast and painless. <p>Of course, I’d rather she didn’t do it at all. Letting my backpack slip from my shoulder, I swung it in a threatening arc. <p>‘Hannah Falconer McConnell.’ It wasn’t a question. <p>‘Yeah? And?’ <p>‘Come along, now,’ said the pale-haired woman. ‘Don’t make a fuss.’ <p>‘I will, though.’ <p>‘Please don’t make this any harder.’ <p>‘Uh-huh. Right.’ I lashed the backpack at her. <p>Pathetic. The bag was heavy, the movement clumsy. Stepping neatly back, the woman swung her sword, severing the strap. Lunging, I snatched it as it fell and raised it like a shield. Even more pathetic, but I’d like to have heard a better suggestion. <p>‘You’re being very silly,’ the woman told me. <p>I didn’t dignify that with a reply. Anyway, I only had time to thrust the bag forward to catch the swinging blade. It thunked through canvas and into textbooks and notepads and glossy university brochures. <p>Homework has always had its uses. <p>Sucking her teeth in exasperation, the woman tugged her sword loose as she grabbed the backpack with her free hand and wrenched it from my grip. <p>‘Now, shush. Let’s get it done. Quickly, I promise.’ <p>I stumbled back as my bag was flung to the ground. I don’t know what was stronger, the disbelief or the terror. This had happened so fast. I’d been walking home, pissed off at the thought of having to study at the local redbrick next year because <i>you can’t leave here, not on your own, you’re not going out of our sight</i>. And now I was never going to take a degree anywhere, because I was going to die. <p>This was not how I’d planned my life or my evening. I’d have liked to run, but there didn’t seem any point. <p>‘Shush,’ soothed the woman again, and drew back her blade on a line with my neck. <p>At the furthest point of her lazy backswing, she hesitated, and frowned, and glanced down. <p>My breathing was high-pitched, and my whole body was shaking, but I looked too. A sharp point of steel had appeared between the woman’s ribs, just to the left of her sternum, and as she growled in astonishment, a sinewy arm went round her neck and jolted her backwards. The blade tip poked further out of her chest; I watched it, mesmerised. <p>Her shock had turned to rage, too late. As she tried to turn, the silver light in her eyes faded. She dropped to her knees, her sword scraped and then clanged on the pavement. With a last irritated look at me, she pitched forward onto her face and died. <p>The man who stood over the corpse tugged at his sword. It wouldn’t come loose, and he had to put his foot on the woman’s back and jerk it hard out of her ribs. It came out with a horrible sucking <i>thwick</i> that made me want to be sick. Nothing altruistic. I was thinking it would have made the same noise coming out of me. <p>My saviour raised an eyebrow. <p>~ <i>That’ll teach her to keep an open mind.</i> <p>Someone was breathing hard and very fast. It wasn’t the newcomer, the man with the neat goatee, the unruly black hair and the brutal facial scars. Presumably it wasn’t the dead tart. Must be me, then. <p>Taking a deep breath, I smiled. <p>‘Sionnach,’ I said. ‘Have you got nothing better to do than be my bodyguard?’ <p>He shrugged, glanced down at the corpse. ~ <i>No.</i> <p>He frowned again. <p>~ <i>You okay?</i> <p>No, I’m about to fall over and I think I want to cry. ‘I’m fine. Fine.’ I let out a shuddering breath. <p>‘You shouldn’t walk home alone,’ he said aloud. ‘Where’s Rory?’ <p>‘In the library. He’s still got loads of catching up to do.’ <p>‘Well, we need him. Call him.’ <p>Seeing as I’d been dying to, I did what I was told. Of course, Sionnach didn’t give me time to catch my breath or rearrange my hair. When the love of my life appeared, running to my rescue, I was grunting and sweating from the effort of helping drag a corpse into a handy doorway. Sionnach let go of the woman’s limp arm and straightened, eyeing Rory accusingly as he skidded to a halt. <p>‘Sionnach.’ He was out of breath. <p>Sionnach shook his head. ‘Hannah was alone. Not again, hear?’ <p>‘No. Right. I know. God, Hannah, I’m sorry.’ <p>I pushed a damp rat-tail of hair behind my ear and smiled, trying to look cool, so glad to see him the fear of death was already slipping off me like snakeskin. I liked that tight knot of love in my gut. It let me know I was still a human being, and being hunted down in an alleyway wasn’t all there was to it. <p>Rory’s face split in a grin. It was pretty funny that he still got bossed around by Sionnach, now that he was an inch taller than him. Tall, feral, and full of mischief: an overgrown Lost Boy. His bright hair had darkened in the last couple of years, his face had grown thinner and harder, and his grey eyes had the shadowy glint of his father’s. But he still had the elfish beauty I’d fallen for on the most chaotic day of my life. Best of all, he still loved me. I hoped he always would. My Rory Bhan. My one-time lover. My cousin. <p>Sionnach coughed. ‘When you’re quite ready.’ <p>Rory looked abruptly away, and I forced a pout to stop myself laughing too. I liked to hear Sionnach being sarcastic. There hadn’t been much of the old Sionnach in the last three years. Not since he lost the other half of himself, not since Alasdair Kilrevin put a sword blade through his twin. <p>He went still, raising his head. ‘Someone’s coming. Do it now.’ <p>Shocked, Rory said, ‘What?’ <p>~ <i>Do it.</i> <p>Obediently Rory reached for thin air and the fragile thing that was hidden in it. Sionnach’s nerves were contagious. My own heart, which I reckoned had stopped five minutes ago when it got stuck in my throat, crashed back into my chest and into overdrive. Delayed shock, maybe, but it made my head spin. The fear was becoming panic, because I knew Sionnach was right—he always was—but Rory was struggling with the Veil. Beyond the defences of a Sithe fortress, that was unheard of. <p>‘Rory. What’s wrong?’ <p>Rory’s fingertips scrabbled, like he was trying to grab glass. He swore. I could feel his panic growing. <p>‘I thought it was thinning,’ I hissed. <p>‘It is. It was!’ <p>‘Come <i>on.</i> Veil or no Veil, somebody’s going to notice a <i>corpse</i>.’ <p>‘Yeah, no <i>kidding</i>.’ <p>Sionnach said nothing, only stared into the shadows. <p>This was stupid. It was meant to be withering, but the Veil had picked a fine time to get its strength back. Rory was getting no grip on it at all. For an instant he looked completely bewildered, but he clenched his fists, and his face darkened. <p>He had that cold look of his father’s now. Flattening his fingers he thrust them forward like a blade, snatching hold of something I couldn’t see. <p>Sionnach took a step towards the alleyway. ~ <i>Whoever it is, they’re close.</i> <p>With a growl, Rory hauled on his handful of Veil, and it began to give: like tearing oilcloth. He put his other hand to the rip, dragged it remorselessly wider. The sinews stood out on his wrist with the effort. <p>He grunted as the gash widened at last. Let go, and stood up. He froze. <p>Then he stumbled back, and would have fallen on his backside if he hadn’t crashed into me. <p>‘Rory…’ I began. <p>A tremor ran through his skin, and he’d gone very cold. I looked up and past him, towards the tear in the Veil. Something oozed from the gash, all chill and black fear. Instinctively I shuffled backwards away from it, dragging Rory. <p>For a moment he let himself be tugged away, then his muscles hardened and he wriggled out of my grip. On all fours he crawled back towards the hole, then clambered to his feet and seized the Veil’s torn edges in both hands. Even Sionnach was staring at Rory now, the intruder forgotten. <p>‘What’s that?’ he said. There was fear in his hoarse voice. <p>Rory couldn’t spare him an answer. The gap in the Veil couldn’t be more than a metre long, but I could just make out its distorted shadow where the weak sunlight caught it. It sagged inwards, bulging, like it was going to rip further. <p>I’d never felt anything like it, not in all the many times it had given way to Rory. It <i>always</i> obeyed him, but now I had a feeling the Veil had rebelled for the first time. You’d almost think that at its heart, caught in the membrane, there was a trapped darkness that wanted out. <p>I’d never been afraid of the Veil between the worlds, never. Even the first time Rory tore it for me, four summers ago that felt like decades, I’d been only gobsmacked, and mistrustful, and rationally angry. I’d never felt this lump of fear in my belly. Whatever the darkness was, it didn’t fascinate me. I only wanted it gone, but I was terribly afraid it <i>wouldn’t</i> go. The gap yawed, sagged further, stretched like a living thing. <p>We’d taken it by surprise. The Veil, I mean. The thought struck me, unexpected and bizarre. We’d woken something that hadn’t expected to wake; it had been disturbed unawares, but it wasn’t ready to explode from its restraining membrane. <p><i>And just as well,</i> was my instinctive thought. <p>Rory dragged the edges together and stood rigid, clutching the gap shut. I couldn’t so much see that it was closed as sense it, because the strange coldness was gone like a sigh. <p>It seemed an age before Rory loosened his fingers and stepped back. <p>I took a breath to say <i>And what are we going to do with the dead tart now,</i> but I never got the chance. Rory reached out, almost thoughtlessly, and tore the Veil again. <p>It ripped like gossamer. He used a light forefinger and he didn’t even have to take a breath. <p>I gaped at him, but Sionnach wasn’t struck dumb. He grabbed the dead woman’s arm and hauled her to the new rip in the Veil, bundling and shoving her through. Getting a hold of myself, I helped him, pushing the woman’s dangling foot through the gap as Sionnach threw her sword after her. With no fuss at all, Rory clasped the Veil’s edges and sealed it, and she was gone. <p>* * * <p>The three of us were panting for breath, staring at the space she’d filled, when the air was shattered by a tinny blast of unidentifiable R&B. <p>Sionnach turned. The music died abruptly; a phone clattered to the paving stones. As we gaped, a manicured hand shot round the corner to grab for it. <p>Nonchalantly Sionnach took a pace closer and trod hard on the hand. There was a yelp of angry pain as he bent to pick up the phone, turning it in his hand, thumbing the touchscreen with interest<i>.</i> <p>‘Come out,’ he said. ‘Lauren.’ He tilted an eyebrow at me. <p>‘Aw, hell,’ muttered Rory. I swore more creatively. <p>She stumbled to her feet, clutching her bruised hand, glaring at all three of us. Not a muscle of Sionnach’s face moved now, and I thought: <i>Uh-oh.</i> When his hand went to the hilt of the short sword hidden inside his leather jacket, Rory put a hand on the man’s arm. Sionnach scowled. <p>I forced a smile. ‘Hi, Lauren.’ <p>Rory’s breath sighed out of him. ‘Sionnach, watch where you’re putting your feet. Y’okay, Lauren?’ <p>‘Fine,’ she spat. <p>‘What did you just see, Lauren?’ asked Sionnach. <p>‘Nothing. Like I’d be interested. I wasn’t even looking.’ <p>‘Really?’ <p>‘You broke my best nail.’ She folded her arms aggressively. ‘Although that’s nothing compared to you dragging that wom—’ <p>This time Rory had to shove in front of Sionnach, seize his jacket, and pull it back across the emerging blade. He gave Lauren a tight smile. ‘The drunk one?’ <p>‘The—’ <p>‘Drunk one,’ I said. <p>‘She didn’t look drunk to—’ <p>Sidestepping Rory, Sionnach offered Lauren her phone back, his lips tightening in an almost-smile. The girl just stood there, glowering nervously. <p>Sionnach’s unconvincing smirk stayed in place as he thrust the phone forward again. I knew he was still wondering if he ought to kill Lauren, so this time I shouldered him sideways. Now Rory and I together were blocking him quite efficiently, but I knew the man could snake past us fast enough if he felt like it. <p>‘In the middle of the afternoon and all,’ said Rory. ‘Dead. Drunk.’ <p>Lauren eyed us, mistrust fairly oozing out of her. ‘Where did she go?’ <p>‘I dunno.’ Rory shrugged and pointed hopefully at the grubby stained-glass window of the nearest pub. ‘In there? Gosh, I hope she doesn’t come back!’ <p>Oh, very convincing. Not. I gave Lauren my sweetest smile. ‘I’m sure she won’t be back.’ <p>I knew fine Lauren wasn’t even half-convinced, but Sionnach hadn’t taken his eyes off her. Working on the girl’s brain, just like Rory. Between the pair of them, Lauren didn’t stand a chance. At last she rolled her eyes and blew out a sigh. <p>‘Stupid drunk.’ She nibbled crossly at her ragged nail. ‘She made me break my best—’ <p>‘Well,’ said Rory. ‘All over. Want to come back with us? Have a go on my Xbox?’ <p>~ <i>Rory.</i> Sionnach had stiffened, and he was giving him the kind of glower that used to be reserved for when Rory was a young brat and had a habit of running away. <p>~ <i>Sionnach,</i> said Rory, glaring back. ~ <i>It’s not a problem.</i> <p>~ <i>Yes. It is.</i> <p>I’d have backed Sionnach up, but I was unnerved. ~ <i>Sionnach, she saw something. We can’t just let her—</i> <p>~ <i>Live?</i> <p>~ <i>Sionnach!</i> <p>But Lauren heard none of that. She was still watching Rory with narrowed eyes. ‘Have you got <i>Grand Theft Auto</i>?’ <p>‘No, but he’s got the latest <i>Call of Duty</i>.’ I back-kicked Sionnach’s ankle. ‘Yeah, come on back with us.’ <p>‘Well, that’s a first.’ Lauren almost grinned at me. ‘Thanks.’ <p>Sionnach’s anger was coming off him in radioactive waves, but it was an offer Lauren couldn’t refuse and I wasn’t about to withdraw it. She was my cousin, even if not the one I was in love and lust with, and it was undeniably odd that I’d never invited her back to my new place. After all, I hadn’t bitten her face for at least three years, and she hadn’t gouged my eyeballs. Maybe we were both older and wiser; maybe it was just that we didn’t have to share a bathroom any more, or indeed a house. <p>I lived with my real family now, with my uncle and the exiled clann he captained, and I was happy. Probably happier than any of them, since I was the only one who wasn’t dislocated and homesick. My life would be pretty much perfect, in fact, if it wasn’t for college applications, and the high chance of being hunted down and murdered. <p>~ <i>Get rid of Lauren as soon as you can,</i> Sionnach told me. ~ <i>This is a mistake.</i> <p>~ <i>It’ll be fine.</i> <p>~ <i>We’re all going to regret it.</i> <p>Within about ten seconds, I already did. At school Lauren was inclined to eye Rory a little too closely and too long, and now, as we headed home through the deserted streets, she might have been surgically attached to his flank. Rory was way too polite and naive to tell her where to go, and Sionnach dropped back about fifty metres. <p>It pissed me off, and funnily enough it wasn’t jealousy. It was just that Sionnach belonged with us more than Lauren ever would. Nobody had the right to take his place. <p>I glanced over my shoulder, and Sionnach gave me one of his most beautiful grins. <p>~ <i>It’s okay.</i> <p>Well. He might not mind, but I did. <p>Nobody could say we lived in the best part of the city, but it was certainly the oldest. Half the old warren called Fishertown—‘town’ must have been a bit of stretch from day one—had been flattened to make way for warehouses and factory units and offices. What was left, when the heritage charities finally got their act together, was huddled on the far side of the industrial estate, cut off from the rest of the city: a few cobbled streets and low terraced cottages with quaint streetlights that I suspected weren’t the originals. Some Victorian shipowner had built a big house to the south, right up on the cliffs, overlooking his fiefdom. It was ramshackle now, dilapidated and unloved and unsold because the sea was eating at its foundations. Frankly I didn’t like to walk out on the headland and look back at the cliffs, riddled with tunnels and caves. At two in the morning, waking with a start, I could imagine the whole house collapsing into one of those holes. <p>Rory’s stepmother had found the house, or it had found her: love and real-estate lust at first sight. It had no name and they didn’t give it one; my friend Orach once told me that if you named something, you tied it to you, and it would tie you right back. Old and huge, unrenovated so that its rooms and halls were a warren of secret places, the house was set at the end of a dark winding drive in more than two acres of wild rhododendron-haunted garden. And there we all lived, and when I say <i>all,</i> I mean all. The place was treated as an open house by what seemed like an entire exiled race. I never knew who I’d find when I got home from school. <p>As Rory trudged up the drive with Lauren, I hung back under the untrimmed laurels and waited for Sionnach. He gave a soundless laugh as he caught up and put an arm round my shoulder, and together we negotiated the stuff piled in the hall. Motorbike helmets, mountain bikes, two pairs of muddy hillwalking boots, a sack of dry dog food. A case of empty wine bottles put out for recycling. Snowboards, waiting to be cleaned and waxed for the oncoming winter. I swore as I tripped on someone’s laptop bag. Minus laptop, and just as well, since I kicked it hard. <p>I’d never altogether get my head round the Sithe’s gregarious ways. They just didn’t seem capable of living in nice little nuclear units. Always had to be in great sprawling anthills of humanity, and the more the merrier, but somehow, if you wanted space and solitude, you could find it. You could even find peace and quiet. <p>At least, you could find a moment’s peace when Rory’s father and stepmother weren’t tearing verbal strips off each other. As we caught up with Rory and Lauren, waiting in the hall, my heart sank. The kitchen door was shut but we could hear every word. <p>‘You conceited ARROGANT stubborn UP-YOURSELF FAERY! <i>What makes you think you know better than me?</i>’ <p>‘Yeah, it’s not like <i>I’ve</i> had more <i>experience</i> of life. It’s not like I would know better because I’ve seen about a <i>thousand percent more</i> and know <i>ten thousand</i> times more than you do because I’ve been <i>around a bit longer.</i>’ <p>Rory had his hand on the kitchen door but he paused. If he walked in now, Seth and Finn might shut up, but then again they might not, and that would be even more embarrassing. He raised an eyebrow at me, and I shook my head. Sionnach sighed—half exasperated, half sorrowful—then edged past me and out towards the back garden and his workshop. <p>Smiling brightly, Rory and I looked at Lauren, and Rory said. ‘Sorry about this. Let’s go upstairs.’ <p>Lauren stared at the kitchen door. ‘For God’s sake. Is he violent?’ <p>‘Hoo!’ I laughed. ‘In his dreams. Take no notice.’ <p>‘Wait till they make it up.’ Rory rolled his eyes. ‘That’s when it gets <i>really</i> embarrassing.’ <p><i>‘I’ll prove it to you! I’ll show you what I saw, if you’ve got the guts to look!’</i> <p><i>‘Don’t bother. You were hallucinating. I don’t want to share your hallucinations.’</i> <p><i>‘Sometimes I could just SLAP YOU, SETH MACGREGOR!’</i> <p><i>‘Well, why don’t you? It’s NOT LIKE YOU USUALLY HOLD BACK.’</i> <p>The total hideous silence was broken after a few seconds by a snort of laughter. A clatter of crockery falling to the floor, the scrape of a table. A growl and more laughter. <p><i>‘If I didn’t love you so much I’d have to kill you.’</i> <p><i>‘Yeah, yeah. I’d like to see you try. Shut up and kiss me, woman.’</i> <p>‘Oh, for crying out loud,’ I said. ‘Let’s get out of here.’ <p>‘If my mum called my dad a fairy, he’d kill her,’ said Lauren as we climbed the stairs. ‘I’m amazed Doctor Evil puts up with it.’ <p>Rory stiffened, one foot on the top step and a dangerous look in his eye. ‘What did you call my father?’ <p>‘Sorry.’ Lauren shrugged. ‘Thought everybody did.’ <p>I felt a surge of violent resentment go through Rory. ‘Not in front of me they don’t. All right?’ <p>I gave him a mental nudge<i>. ~ Calm down, there, Laochan</i>. <p>~ <i>Like hell I will. Like any of them have been through what he’s been through. You don’t get scars if you spend your whole life on your fat backside, do you?</i> <p>~ <i>Your dad thinks it’s funny, you know.</i> I glanced at Lauren, who was watching us both as if we were mad. ~ <i>He doesn’t mind.</i> <p>~ <i>Well, I do.</i> But he shrugged. ‘Come on, Lauren, forget it. My room’s up here.’ <p>Actually I wasn’t telling the truth, there. Seth did mind. He was still self-conscious, and he was never going to have a perfect face again, but I reckoned he looked more beautiful now, as if life had given him a good slapping and he’d bounced back stronger and a whole lot wiser. The beatings he’d taken from the Wolf of Kilrevin had knocked his features slightly out of symmetry, and his right eyelid didn’t open as far as the left one since a deep vertical scar had been drawn down his face with a knife, but his eyes got a sort of mournful beauty from the aching homesickness. Ironic. Or maybe his non-existent gods just had a terrible sense of humour. <p>I got bored fast with Rory’s new game, since I couldn’t get near it. It was no great thrill watching him and Lauren sprawl on the bed and hog the controllers, so when I stood up and stretched, I was easily distracted by a black scrap in the sky. Opening the window I leaned on the sill and watched the raven soar and dive and loop impossible loops. That’d be Faramach. For all the mob of birds that hung around the cliffs, there wasn’t another one that took quite such delight in showing off. <p>Finn was with him. She stood right on the edge of the cliff, arms folded, watching him fly. Either the squabble with Seth was over or she’d stormed out: wouldn’t be the first time. But I reckoned they’d made it up, because she looked perfectly happy. Her hair whipped crazily in the breeze, but even out there on the bleak cliff-top she didn’t look cold. <p>She spent a lot of time out there—especially when Seth was working away from home—though it was barely more than wind-scoured grass and whin, and any fence must have crumbled away as the rock face did. All that was left of a formal garden was the mass of laurel and rhododendron that hugged the house and blocked the light from the downstairs rooms. I used to wonder why the clann didn’t cut the bushes back to get the view, but I’d worked it out now. It was the wrong sea, that was all. They loved it but they didn’t want the permanent aching reminder of the right one. No islands at the horizon here, just a fusion of sky and water. <p>Finn liked the cliffs, though. Sooner her than me. As I watched, she sat down on the cliff-edge, dangling her legs over, then leaned forward to follow Faramach’s aerobatics as he spiralled lower. My stomach lurched just watching her. <p>Faramach wheeled upwards again, but Finn went on staring down. There must be something else at the foot of those insane cliffs that fascinated her. <p>The sea had turned silver-blue, glittering and popping like a million flashbulbs, so brilliant it hurt my eyes. I didn’t want to spend any more of an afternoon like this with a couple of Xbox bores, and they hadn’t even started the game proper: they were still choosing weapons from a ridiculously massive arsenal. Boys would be boys and some girls would be boys too, and Finn would be much better company. <p>Unfortunately, though I stalked off unnoticed, I didn’t get far. To the left of the staircase the door of the TV room stood open, and Grian was leaning on the newel post glaring up at me, blocking my way through the hall. I glanced past him at the darkened space within. The volume on the TV was so high I could follow every word of the dialogue. <p>I eyed Grian again. Big and blond and a trueborn healer, and I didn’t know which of those gave him his permanent air of superiority. <p>‘Get in here,’ he said. ‘We want a word.’ <p>With a very bad grace I stomped down the remaining stairs and barged past him into the room. <i>We</i> didn’t seem to want a word at all. The rest of them, about a dozen or so, were slouched across sofas and armchairs, feet on the upholstery, drinking beer out of bottles and watching <i>Blackadder</i> on DVD. <p>Boys, I thought for the second time in a minute, would be boys. <p>‘You bunch of slobs,’ I said. ‘It’s a gorgeous day. At least open the curtains.’ <p>‘Hi Hannah.’ <p>‘Hey, Hannah.’ <p>‘Shut the door, girl.’ Sprawled across Iolaire’s lap, Jed waggled his fingers by way of greeting. <p>‘Somebody better pick up those peanuts,’ I told them, nudging the spilt bowl with my foot, ‘before Finn gets here.’ <p>‘She’s busy.’ Fearna sniggered. <p>‘They’re not still fighting?’ Iolaire glanced across. <p>‘Nah,’ I said, and ate a peanut. <p>A suggestive sigh drifted round the room. <p>‘Leave them alone.’ Braon appeared from behind me with a platter of chicken wings and a bottle of hot sauce. Not like her to do the cooking for this lot; she must have been really peckish. ‘Seth has to go back to work tomorrow. Course they’re fighting.’ <p>‘Aye,’ said Iolaire. ‘It’s an excuse to make up.’ <p>‘He shouldn’t go away,’ snapped Grian, flicking his hand across my scalp. ‘His place is here. It should be Seth keeping the lid on you and Rory, not me.’ <p>‘He has to work, Gri,’ said Braon mildly. ‘We all have to eat.’ <p>‘He can live off us.’ <p>Braon gave him a <i>you-can-tell-that-to-Seth</i> look. <p>Grian clicked the mute on the remote. ‘Can I get some backup here?’ <p>Iolaire helped himself to two wings, feeding one to the flat-out Jed and wagging the other at the huge flatscreen TV. ‘Leave her alone, Gri. There’s no harm in it.’ <p>‘There could be.’ Grian wouldn’t let it go. ‘Would you slobs focus? You know what the little cat’s dragged in.’ <p>‘Cheers, mate,’ I growled. <p>‘What was Sionnach thinking, letting you do that? And where is he anyway? I want a word.’ <p>I sighed, and nodded towards the garden and Sionnach’s joinery workshop. <p>Braon hesitated, took her teeth out of a wing. ‘Is he okay?’ <p>‘Okay as ever,’ I said. ‘We had a … bit of an incident. On the way home. <i>That’s</i> why we had to bring home the only witness, as it happens.’ <p>Grian stiffened, folding his arms as if his point was made. His lazy grin fading, Jed pushed Iolaire’s chicken wing away and levered himself up. <p>‘What kind of an incident?’ he said. <p>I bit my nails. ‘Oh, a woman. Darach, Sionnach said she was. He, um … he dealt with her. It’s okay.’ <p>‘Darach,’ spat Iolaire. ‘I know her.’ <p>‘You knew her,’ I said dryly. <p>There was a silence. <p>‘Did anyone get hurt?’ asked Jed sharply. <p>I shook my head. As an embarrassed afterthought, I added, ‘Except Darach.’ <p>‘Gods,’ said Iolaire. <p>‘Sionnach should have killed the girl,’ said Grian. <p>‘<i>The girl</i> is seventeen years old.’ I felt my cheekbones redden with anger. <p>‘<i>The girl</i> is a nosy cow. We could feel it as soon as she walked in. You and Rory are idiots.’ <p>‘You can take that and stick it—’ <p>‘<i>Suicidal</i> fecking idiots.’ Grian was yelling now. ‘Have you ever heard of keeping your heads down?’ <p>‘Anybody for <i>Big Bang Theory</i>?’ Iolaire interrupted brightly. ‘I don’t think the Witchsmeller’s that funny.’ <p>‘That’s ’cause it isn’t comedy, it’s history,’ muttered Diorras. ‘Christ, I should know.’ <p>‘Less of the funny, more of the news,’ snapped Grian. He fired the remote at the TV as if he wanted it to shatter, and yanked his phone from his pocket. ‘I checked the BBC website a minute ago. Want to see?’ <p>‘No,’ said Sorcha, lifting a beer bottle to her lips. <p>‘I do.’ Iolaire sat forward, dislodging Jed’s head and provoking a grunt of protest. <p>‘Watch,’ said Grian, and everybody did. <p><i>‘They kept themselves to themselves,’</i> a woman was telling a fuzzy microphone. Her hair blustered in the breeze across her pale face, and she combed it away then re-folded her arms. Behind her stood the shell of a council house, the neighbouring walls smeared with black smoke. <i>‘Very quiet and reserved. They seemed a nice couple. It’s a nice area.’</i> <p>The recording cut back to the balding reporter, swaddled in a dark overcoat, his face solemn. <i>‘The bodies were found in an upstairs room, and reports indicate the room may have been barricaded from the inside,’</i> his brow furrowed<i>, ‘and that items of weaponry were found with the couple. The police are not commenting at this stage. For Reporting Scotland, this is…’</i> <p>Grian clicked the mute button. The silence, for a moment, was so oppressive I thought it would smother the lot of us. <p>‘Sgarrag and Fraoch, in case you were wondering. Because they buggered off to live by themselves.’ Grian rapped the back of my skull with the remote. ‘Still fancy Durham University, do you, Hannah?’ <p>‘Shit,’ breathed Sorcha. <p>‘I hope,’ said Braon, and cleared her throat. ‘I hope they were dead before the house was fired.’ <p>‘They wouldn’t <i>burn</i> them to death,’ said Iolaire, not very convincingly. ‘They wouldn’t.’ <p>Nobody said anything. I guess nobody wanted to think about it too hard. <p>Sgarrag and Fraoch didn’t account for many on-screen seconds. The newsreader was doing the final-item funny now. I didn’t have to hear it to get the story: yet another sighting of the Beast of Ben Vreckan. The Beast itself featured in a uselessly blurry mobile-phone photo above the presenter’s right shoulder. <i>Aye, sure</i> said her cynically tilted eyebrow. <p>‘Hannah,’ said Iolaire, a pleading look in his eye. ‘Try not to bring strangers home, ’kay?’ <p>His thumb was caressing Jed’s close-shaved hair, and my anger melted away. Jed had shut his eyes, but I could tell from the tight set of his mouth that he wasn’t asleep. He was unhappy, that was all, possibly unhappier than anyone, and Rory’s reckless invitation to Lauren had put the already-distant prospect of home just that little bit further away. <p>‘Okay,’ I grunted. ‘But it’s only my cousin Lauren.’ <p>‘I’m sure it is.’ Grian’s attempt at conciliation came out through gritted teeth. ‘This time.’ <p>I turned to leave. ‘And next time,’ I said, ‘you can take it up with Rory. He’s the one that invited her.’ <p>‘Or maybe Seth can do some parenting instead of me, for a change.’ <p>‘You’ve got a lot to tell him to his face,’ I said spitefully. ‘Good luck with that.’ <p align="right"><b><font size="1">Copyright © 2013 by Gillian Philip</font></b> <p>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</p> <p>Here’s more about the series:</p> <p>The story began with <i>Firebrand</i> in the 16th century on the far side of the Veil that protected the Sithe’s peaceful world from our own troubled one. But Sithe Queen Kate NicNiven had her eyes set on more than her own kingdom and determined to tear down anything in the way of her ambitions. Seth and Conal MacGregor are two brothers with a complicated relationship who end up on the wrong side of both the Veil and Queen Kate. <i>Firebrand</i> followed the two as they fought to survive in a foreign land embroiled in religious wars, as well as protect the Veil and reclaim their birthright from the Queen. <p><i>Bloodstone</i> found the brothers in modern day England after spending centuries hunting for a mysterious gem demanded by Queen Kate. But in those years they also managed to slip through the Veil on a few occasions—and cause no small amount of violent havoc. Meanwhile, a young thief named Jed Cameron gets swept up in the struggle between worlds and is thrust into the fray of intrigue and betrayal. In the collision of two worlds, war and tragedy are inevitable, especially when treachery comes from the most shocking of quarters. <p>In <i>Wolfsbane</i>, the drama reached a shocking fervor. Rory, the son of Seth MacGregor, was angered by his house arrest and the looming death threat from Queen Kate—so the prophesied savior of the Sithe followed the footsteps of his father and crossed the Veil. On the other side he met Hannah Falconer, who would do anything to escape her worldly woes, even if it meant taking up with the strange and wild Rory. Meanwhile, Seth struggled ever more against the wicked Queen and when years of stalemate were shattered by a surprise attack, he was devastated to learn just who had betrayed him. <p>Now, in <b>ICEFALL</b>, the final installment in the Rebel Angels series, death stalks Seth MacGregor’s clan in their otherworld exile. Kate NicNiven is close to ultimate victory, and she is determined that nothing will keep her from it. Not even the thing that took her soul: the horror that lurks in the sea caves. But Kate still needs Seth’s son Rory, and his power over the Veil. And she’ll go to any lengths to get him. Seth’s own soul is rotting from the wound inflicted by Kate, and survival for his loved ones seems all he can hope for. But might a mortal threat to his brother’s daughter force him to return to his own world to challenge Kate? And will Rory go with him? Because Rory suspects there’s a darkness trapped in the Veil, a darkness that wants to get out. But only one Sithe knows how near it is to getting its way: Seth’s bound lover, the witch Finn. Nobody gets forever. But some are willing to try... <p>Rendered with complex characters full of life and a world fraught with intrigue, Philip has exquisitely brought the Rebel Angels urban fantasy series to a thrilling end. <p>Tor Books | March 2015 | Hardcover | 448 pages <p>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ <p>Please fill out the Google form to enter the contest.</p><iframe height="500" marginheight="0" src="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/13mqmaDIR9J4qvPVU9CYA0p5-1aGB7hTvLEkx77Gzafc/viewform?embedded=true" frameborder="0" width="560" marginwidth="0">Loading...</iframe> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10360453947198770223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3206685128986486929.post-82163971256783881292015-04-09T10:54:00.001-07:002015-07-28T10:52:21.385-07:00Interview: Peter Orullian author of THE UNREMEMBERED<p><strong><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-Gvbj7yM7VqQ/VSa8xrwGVFI/AAAAAAAAMII/cYaAuW9Eqxk/s1600-h/TheUnrememberedPeterOrullian5.jpg"><img title="The Unremembered - Peter Orullian" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 0px 15px 10px 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="The Unremembered - Peter Orullian" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-YfWKXWPCxLA/VSa8yPUhAdI/AAAAAAAAMIQ/-2ZJDToCYTU/TheUnrememberedPeterOrullian_thumb3.jpg?imgmax=800" width="230" align="left" height="347"></a> </strong> <p>We have an interview with Peter Orullian regarding his series <em>The Vault of Heaven</em>. Below he answers some questions about himself, on how he built the fantasy world contained in <strong>THE UNREMEMBERED</strong>, and more. <p>What’s interesting about Peter Orullian is that he’s a musician and a marketing professional as well as a fantasy writer. Below he fills us in regarding this interesting amalgam. Let’s welcome Peter! <p>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ <p><strong>How much of your writing is influenced by your musical abilities?</strong> <p>It’s an interesting question. On the one hand, my fantasy series—<em>The Vault of Heaven</em>—has a magic system based on music. And music is woven into the fabric of entire cultures. And even speech. Beyond all that, music and song matter in the everyday lives of many of my characters. <p>On another level, I care a lot about the musicality of language. Lyricism. And I try to infuse my writing with my sense of those things. Others will judge if I’m successful, but I’ve had readers and reviewers comment on that, so maybe I’m on the right track. <p>So, whether explicit or implicit, I think music in fiction matters to me. <p><strong>Tell us your top three favorite fantasy books and/or authors?</strong> <p>Before I answer, let me set a little context. I’m of the opinion that Fantasy is an umbrella genre under which you have all the “traditional” fantasy subgenres, e.g. epic, sword and sorcery, etc., but also horror and science fiction. Some call it “spec fiction”—short for speculative fiction. It’s related to what Clive Barker calls “the fantastical.” <p>And while there are certainly writers of epic fantasy and other closely-related subgenres that I like quite well, if you ask me my favorites, then I probably say: <p><u>Dan Simmons</u>. Everything he writes. But in particular, <strong>Summer of Night</strong> is just a beautiful, amazing book. It helped me realize that ten and eleven-year-old protagonists are among my favorite. They still believe in the magic, even as they fight passing into the world of what’s “real.” <p><u>Stephen King</u>. King takes a bad rap sometimes because he’s so damn successful. And it’s not that I love every book of his. But students of fiction note his level of craft is startlingly high. And his collection <strong>Night Shift</strong> changed my life. <p><u>Robert Louis Stevenson</u>. Stevenson was the Stephen King of his day, so to speak. And <strong>Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde</strong> both chilled me, kept me up late reading, and introduced me to the “duality of man” theme, which fascinates me to no end. <p><strong>When writing, what is your favorite part of the process? Creating the fantasy world? O</strong><a name="_GoBack"></a><strong>r do you have any favorite characters that you particularly enjoyed developing?</strong> <p>I think the creation process is most fun. There’s a certain satisfaction in polishing a story into something better than where it started. But those raw ideas that make you <i>have</i> to write them are what get me out of bed at 3:30 a.m. to write each day. <p>On characters, I love each one for a different reason. That’s hardly an original answer. What I can say, though, is that I think characters are defined more by the difficulties in their lives than their triumphs. To that end, the tortured backstories of my characters, and the painful scenes of their current lives in the books, give me the most satisfaction. Sounds twisted, doesn’t it? But if they outlive these things, whether physical danger or emotional wounds, they become stronger and more sympathetic. I kinda dig that. <p><strong>What are you trying to show readers when you write your fantasy?</strong> <p>Well, I don’t write “cause” fiction. I’ve no agenda, really. I do happen upon theme, though, but only in hindsight. When I’m done with a story, I can often stare at it and say, “Oh, so that’s interesting. There’s an undercurrent there.” In <strong>THE UNREMEMBERED</strong> it has a lot to do with choice and consequence. In <strong>TRIAL OF INTENTIONS</strong> it has a lot to with intentions. <p>All that said, with this series—<em>The Vault of Heaven</em>—I did have this notion of using some of what readers might find familiar in fantasy to ease them into my world, but with the deliberate plan to move them toward what I think is unique about my series. As an example, Tahn, one of my main characters, seems at first like an orphan farm boy. (You’ve heard that story, right?) But by the end of <strong>THE UNREMEMBERED</strong>, you start to realize that’s not the case at all. And in <strong>TRIAL OF INTENTIONS</strong> you realize nothing could be further from the truth. <p>The same holds true for the rest of my storylines in the series. I suppose I’m guilty of wanting more people to read fantasy, because I think the genre is a rich one. And I hope my work might just hook a few into giving fantasy a go. <p><strong>Sell us - why should someone read THE UNREMEMBERED and your soon-to-be-released book 2 of the series, TRIAL OF INTENTIONS?</strong> <p>Hmmm. Well, I’m probably not a great salesman. But I can tell you about some of what I really like about the books. <p><u>The music</u>. Music has been done before, of course. Even music magic has been done. But I’ve never seen it done the way I’m doing it, and I’ve had reviewers tell me the same. My music magic system is something I’m rather proud of. And I get a fair amount of email from readers saying how much they like what I’m doing there. So, if you like music, or if you like unique magic systems, you might dig it. <p><u>The science.</u> There’s not much of it in <strong>THE UNREMEMBERED</strong>. But in <strong>TRIAL OF INTENTIONS</strong>, there’s this whole science thing. I can’t say much without doing spoilers, so I’ll restrain myself. But if you like things like astronomy and physics and math and philosophy and cosmology . . . well, you get the idea. <p><u>The war</u>. And not for the reasons you might think. Yes, I have war. And there’s even an entire kingdom who excels at something I call gearworks, creating siege engines and the like—a war nation, if you will. But one of my main characters also spends time (and this is where some of the science comes in) trying to avert war. It was an interesting challenge to write simultaneous plotlines where some are unifying and escalating to war while others are using rational means to try and prevent it from happening in the first place. The discovery process in each of these was a blast to write. <p><u>The magic</u>. I’ve mentioned there’s a music magic system. But at a higher level, I spent time devising what I call a “governing dynamic” for my world and magic systems. In other words, you’ll find more than five discreet magic systems in my world (that’s just what I’ve built so far), but they all ladder-up to a unifying set of principles. And primarily it’s what I call: Resonance. It just stood to reason, to me, that a world would have governing laws, akin to celestial mechanics, that indicate how things will work. But also that cultures would tap into those governing laws in their own ways. They might not even all call those governing dynamics the same thing. But readers would be able to look across them all and say, “Yeah, I get it. It’s all operating on the same set of principles.” I dig that idea, too. <p><u>The self-slaughter</u>. This is intimated in <strong>THE UNREMEMBERED</strong>. And in <strong>TRIAL OF INTENTIONS</strong> it steps into the glare of the spotlight. I deal with suicide somewhat. Not constantly, of course. But there’s a very salient reason for it. And it’s at the emotional heart of one plot thread. It was tough, because I had a friend do this not long ago. Those scenes are raw. But I think they’re honest. <p>So, that’s a bit about what I think is interesting in the series. <p><strong>Beyond being a musician, writer and marketing professional - what do you like to do for fun?</strong> <p>Oh, plenty. I love sports. Most of my writer friends don’t. And I even take flack from them for it, but whatever. <p>I love the mountains. I have a Jeep, and I love going off-roading. Getting up to places other folks can’t. Remote places. <p>I love astronomy. I’d rather spend time staring at the stars than most other things. That’s just how much I love the night sky. <p>More than all this, though, I love spending time with my family. Kids are the awesome! <p>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ <p><strong>PETER ORULLIAN</strong> has worked in marketing at Xbox for nearly a decade, most recently leading the Music and Entertainment marketing strategy for Xbox LIVE, and has toured as a featured vocalist internationally at major music festivals. He has published several short stories. <i><strong>The Unremembered</strong></i> is his first novel. He lives in Seattle. <a href="http://www.orullian.com">www.orullian.com</a>. <p>About the book: <p>Powerful storytelling. Epic characters. <b>THE UNREMEMBERED</b> has been critically acclaimed, earning starred reviews and glowing praise. But in working on the second book in the series, Peter Orullian realized that some core truth was missing. He found that truth and further realized that to tell the story correctly, he needed to go back. To the very beginning. For one of the few times in our publishing history, Tor is choosing to relaunch a title in order to honor the author’s vision of a compelling recasting of this epic fantasy series. <p>The gods who created this world have abandoned it. In their mercy, however, they chained the rogue god—and the monstrous creatures he created to plague mortal kind—in the vast and inhospitable wasteland of the Bourne. The magical Veil that protected humankind for millennia has become weak and creatures of Nightmare have now come through. Those who stand against evil know that only drastic measures will prevent a devastating invasion. Tahn Junell is a hunter blissfully unaware of the dark forces that imperil his world. Then two strangers—an imperious man who wears the sigil of the feared Order of Sheason and a beautiful woman of the legendary Far—come to the Hollows, urging Tahn, his sister and his two best friends to leave. They will not say why, but the journey upon which they embark will change Tahn’s life…and the world…forever. <p>First released in 2012 <strong>THE UNREMEMBERED</strong> is now available in Trade Paperback. <p>Tor Books | April 2015 | Trade Paperback | 480 pages </p> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10360453947198770223noreply@blogger.com0