Tuesday, July 19, 2016
Samantha defends Brianna
Monday, July 11, 2016
Review of The Goddess's Choice
I got a very favorable review of The Goddess's Choice today. Check it out on The Lucky Devil Blog. If you have read the novel, you should check it out.
Wednesday, June 10, 2015
The Release of The Soul Stone
I'm happy to announce that Book II in the Kronicles of Korthlundia series, The Soul Stone, will be released by Black Rose Writing on June 25. Cover and blurb follow. It is available for pre-order at a 10% discount from Black Rose Writing. Use the promo code: Preorder2015. If you like an autographed copy, you can pre-order it from my website: The Soul Stone. If you enjoyed The Goddess's Choice, I think you'll find you'll love The Soul Stone.
Blurb:
In this sequel to The
Goddess’s Choice (Reliquary Press, 2012),
the Crown Princess Samantha and Sir Robrek struggle to solidify their rule
in the aftermath of the king’s murder and Duke Argblutal’s attempt to usurp the
throne. They are thwarted at every turn by those who seek power for themselves
and desire to prevent their marriage. Just when they think their problems are
solved, a deadly curse begins to spread throughout Korthlundia and Samantha
becomes pregnant.
In my sword and sorcery
novel, The Soul Stone, Samantha must fight off priests,
enemies, and her closest advisors while Robrek discovers the reason the goddess
chose him as king, to defeat the Soul Stone, a stone capable of sucking
the soul out of its victims, which threatens to
obliterate all life in the joined kingdoms. Their archenemy, the Bard
Alvabane, awakens the Soul Stone and plans to use its power to reclaim
Korthlundia for her people (a people driven out over a thousand years ago by
the hero Armunn). Armunn had to sacrifice his life and soul to contain the Soul
Stone. Will Robrek have to do the same? Will the young couple have only a few
short months to love each other?
Tuesday, June 9, 2015
High Maga by Rita Gastriech
Today, welcome Karin Rita Gastreich, author of High Maga. Gastreich has just released an audio version of the novel narrated by Darla Middlebrook. Read about the book below and enter the rafflecopter for free prices. As a female author of heroines, I was particularly excited to learn about the blog, Heroines of Fantasy. If you lack fantasy with strong female character as much as I do, be sure to check it out.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
High Maga
Sisters in magic, Eolyn and Adiana seek to revive a craft
once forbidden to women. When war strikes at the heart of the kingdom, their
fledgling community of magas is destroyed; its members killed, captured or
scattered.
In hopes of defending her people, Eolyn tries to escape the
occupied province and deliver to King Akmael a weapon that might secure their
victory. Trapped by the invading army, Adiana is taken prisoner and placed at
the mercy of the ruthless Prince Mechnes.
Even as their world is torn asunder, Eolyn and Adiana cling
to a common dream. Courage and perseverance guide them toward a future where
the Daughters of Aithne will flourish in a world set free from the violence of
men.
“War propels the book forward, and the characters are at
their best when the events engulfing them are at their worst.” –Publishers
Weekly
Purchase Links:
Amazon (audio book): http://www.amazon.com/High-Maga/dp/B00QMQLA3W/
Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/high-maga-karin-rita-gastreich/1119380439
Kobo:
https://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/high-maga
About the Author:
KARIN RITA GASTREICH writes tales of ordinary women and the
extraordinary paths they choose. Inspired by a lifetime of exploring lush
forests and breathtaking landscapes, Karin’s stories blend elements of epic
fantasy, historical fiction, and romance. The worlds she creates are a strange
amalgamation of medieval Europe and colonial Central America, with misty
forests, vast savannas, and steamy jungles. They are populated by brave
heroines, noble heroes, and twisted villains. From ancient woodlands to
uncharted seas, readers will experience gripping battle scenes, heart wrenching
loss, hard-won triumphs, and the ultimate magic of love. Karin’s fantasy novels
Eolyn and High Maga are available from Hadley Rille Books. Her short stories
have appeared in Zahir, 69 Flavors of
Paranoia, and World Jumping. She
runs an on-line discussion forum about women in genre fiction at Heroines of Fantasy. Follow Karin’s
adventures into fantastic worlds, both real and imagined, at krgastreich.com.
Author web links:
Karin’s web site: http://krgastreich.com
Heroines of Fantasy: http://heroinesoffantasy.blogspot.com
Twitter: @EolynChronicles
About the Narrator:
Darla’s voice is a versatile instrument used with skill. It
is a voice filled with intelligence and warmth.
Her sound can range from mature to youthful female, and she can also
produce convincing male timbres.
Narrative is presented in a conversational, down to earth,
matter-of-fact manner and also displays a broad emotional range across a large
repertoire of characters (female, male, young, old and "creature"). All of that while still conveying a sense of
wonder when telling the story.
With experience of 34+ years as a Speech-Language
Pathologist, more than 20 years as a stage & film actor and over 20 years
as a trained singer with knowledge and insight into the mechanics of the voice
and speech, Darla Middlebrook brings a wealth of experience to bear to develop
character voices (male, female, mature, extremely elderly, creepy, bright
exotic, etc) with an impressive emotional range.
Currently, Darla is one of many voice actors who narrate
podcasts for AIRS-LA (an audio internet service for individuals with visual
challenges) in addition to narrating audio books.
Narrator Web Links:
Website: http://www.darlasvoice.net/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/damiddlebrook
Twitter: @GypsyCatVoice
Html Code for the
Rafflecopter Giveaway:
Excerpt
The Scene That
Inspired the Cover Art for High Maga
By Karin Rita Gastreich
In developing the cover for High Maga, I had the great privilege of working with Hadley Rille
Books artist Thomas Vandenberg. Thomas took his inspiration from one of the
early chapters in the book, when Eolyn and her allies confront a Naether Demon
for the first time. Naether Demons are creatures that were banished to the
Underworld generations ago. In High Maga,
they are summoned back to the world of the living by the sorceress Rishona.
Today I’d like to share an excerpt from the chapter that
inspired the cover art. I hope you enjoy it!
High Maga, Chapter 9 (Excerpt)
Eolyn burst into the
adjacent clearing and stopped short at the sight of a beast that swayed on long
glowing limbs, a set of gaping pits where the eyes and mouth should have been.
In one ebony-clawed hand it held Sirena, her chest torn open from throat to
sternum, the shredded bodice black with blood.
Eolyn’s vision blurred.
Her heart imploded. She clutched at her ribs, breath reduced to ragged gasps,
knees buckling beneath her. Sir Borten caught one arm and hauled Eolyn to her
feet. Their eyes met.
All
your senses open.
The knight released her
and approached the monster with sword drawn.
Eolyn forced back the
grief that had scattered her thoughts.
All
your spirit focused on the task at hand.
Mariel crouched in the
shadows, clutching Eolyn’s staff. Tears streamed down the girl’s face. Her
shoulders shook like leaves on the wind.
“Mariel.” Eolyn’s voice
was calm. “Set down my staff and climb the beech behind you, as quick and high
as you can.”
“But Maga Eolyn—”
“Do as I say. If this goes
badly, you are not to come down until dawn.”
With a sob the young maga fled up the tree.
Eolyn called the staff to her. The water crystal ignited, casting an ivory
light over the dwindling fire, illuminating the creature in full. The beast
groaned, a needy howl born of insatiable hunger.
Eolyn stepped forward,
coming around to Borten’s left.
“Stay behind me,” he
ordered.
“Your sword may not be
enough,” she replied.
Sir Delric crashed out of
the woods with a warrior’s cry. Borten sprang forward and they attacked as one,
blades flashing in the silvery light. The creature reared up on hind legs and
caught Delric in its clawed arms, ripping the stocky man’s throat open and
tossing him aside.
Borten stumbled back, fear
and confusion on his face.
“The swords,” he gasped.
“The swords do nothing.”
With horror Eolyn realized
truth of his words. Their blades had left no mark, though they had cut through
its flesh many times.
The animal lifted its
flattened face toward the sky, letting go a hollow scream. It charged Borten,
who scrambled backwards, reduced to dodging blow after blow.
Ehekaht,
faeom dumae!
Energy exploded from
Eolyn’s staff. The creature stumbled away from the knight, shaking its bald
head, striking at the empty air.
Naeom
aenre!
Fire burst from her palm
and consumed the animal in red flame. It fell to its knees, emitting an
ear-piercing, torturous scream. The pressure upon Eolyn’s
ears became intolerable. Her breath failed her. The magic slipped from her
control. The flames dried up, and the creature struggled to its feet unscathed,
its jade skin as luminous as ever.
Sunday, February 15, 2015
Book Trailer Love Fest
Check out these book trailers, including yours truly, and vote for your favorite.
Show your support of over 30 authors including USA Today bestsellers by voting in the first ever Book Trailer Love Fest. Watch the trailers, vote in the polls, and share the contest with your friends! The voting is live from February 15th to February 22nd. Winner will be selected on the February 23rd. This is a fun, free contest made to support all authors! So hop on over to booktrailerlovefest.com and get your vote on!
Here is a list of authors participating in the contest:
Voting begins . . . NOW!
Show your support of over 30 authors including USA Today bestsellers by voting in the first ever Book Trailer Love Fest. Watch the trailers, vote in the polls, and share the contest with your friends! The voting is live from February 15th to February 22nd. Winner will be selected on the February 23rd. This is a fun, free contest made to support all authors! So hop on over to booktrailerlovefest.com and get your vote on!
Here is a list of authors participating in the contest:
USA TODAY Bestselling Authors:
Amazon Bestselling Authors:
Award Winning Authors:
Also featuring these fabulous authors:
Susan Laqueur
J.R. Smith
Angelica Dawson
Katherine Jean Pope
Everett Robert
Charity Tober
Tam Linsey
W K Pomeroy
Jordan Mierek
Elle Jacklee
Tuesday, December 9, 2014
Reunion of Souls, Judgement’s Tale Part Three
Welcome my guest today, Will Hahn, and read an excerpt from his new book, Reunion of Souls, Judgement's Tale Part Three. At the end of the post is a Rafflecopter link to win a prize.
Excerpt
I’m delighted to be a guest here on Jamie’s site and hope to
make new acquaintances here. This excerpt is from the third installment in
Judgement’s Tale, epic fantasy set in the Lands of Hope. I realized in
preparing for this blog tour, it’s hard to find passages that stand on their
own! Epic fantasy is set around high stakes and interconnected themes. In the
first two parts of this tale, Games of Chance
and Strength of Conviction, you can
meet the players for the first time, and most introductions make good excerpts.
But now, by the third volume, it’s high time for the things that happen to mean something. It was fun to search the
tale and think about the new reader. I hope you enjoy what I’ve come back with.
This excerpt features a noble knight who so far has been
spoken of, but not seen. His name is Renan, and he’s been searching for the
fabled Castle of the Chosen Wanderers all his life. This legendary order was
supposedly created in ancient times to protect the helpless from danger, but in
the settled city of Conar no one believes it still exists. Renan at last leaves
his home forever to search further into the wild country than ever before for the
secret company of knights he believes must be there.
The knight urged
his mount over the outcrop and onto the small rocky niche, reined in and sat
back straight a moment. He had crouched, chest parallel to his horse’s neck,
scanning the stony mountain path for so long that his spine shouted its
protest, but he was eager to look around. To his left and below, the
mountainside with its nail-thin scratch of a path dropped away; further out,
the eastern ridge of the Marble Swords loomed high beneath his position, and
beyond that the knight could see the westernmost lands of the dread
Percentalion. Cloud-ships moved by at a level with his eyes, and eagles soared
only a little higher on the horizon. To his right, the stony path continued up
and into the vast peak, and a few paces further on it disappeared into a solid
wall of cloud, rising higher than he could see before him. The knight sat his
mount and contemplated the measureless mass of white, looking as solid as down.
He thought of a clean canvas before an artist paints, and mused for a time
whether he was starting a new work, on himself. Or perhaps it would be his
shroud.
The knight had
worked his stallion slowly up this path since finding it four days ago. The
food and any grazing plants had given out yesterday; the temperature steadily
fell with each hour’s progress. More than once, the mounted man passed through
clouds, and couldn’t recall the last time he had felt dry. Now, outside this
looming portal of solid mist, he was soaked through his cape; drops fell from
his helm, onto his breastplate, and seeped between the links of his mail to
drench the tunic beneath. By rights, the man should have been shivering hard
enough to lose his seat, but Renan Altrindur felt only a kind of searing
elation within, a thumping certainty of nearness to his goal that burned from
his center and warmed him. The Castle was said to be far above the earth,
behind a wall of fog that always misled the unworthy, winding them around for
days until they came out elsewhere. He did not know if he would succeed or be
one of those so lost, but he did know that his human strength would not hold
out against the cold, the wet and the hunger for another night. He would come
to the fortress of the Chosen Wanderers today, or give his life in the attempt.
Urging Quester
forward, he steadily and fearlessly entered the wall of cloud. Expecting the
path to be just as thin, twisting and treacherous as before, Renan was
surprised and then thrilled as it began to widen ever so little, and level off
just so much. All around him the world was white, and the air seemed thicker
than water, yet curiously refreshing. He thought that he was drinking and
breathing at once, but could not muster a chuckle. The quiet of the mountain
enfolded him: he heard not even the hoofbeats of his horse. It seemed an hour,
but finally he saw not a thinning of the mist but the emergence of something so
real, so marvelously substantial, that even the mist could not obscure the
sight of it. A massive wall, blocks the size of a man, without mortar but
tighter than would allow a knife’s blade between them. And in the center of the
wall, an enormous portcullis of solid steel bars already rose, a foot-thick
bridge of petrified wood lowering before him. Renan had to remind himself to breathe;
then he urged Quester forward. On the middle of the drawbridge, the knight was
bathed in a pool of radiance and a voice from above arrested his progress.
“Who seeks
entrance?”
“I am Renan
Altrindur, knight of Conar,” replied the rider. “I seek to join the holy order
of the Wanderers.”
“There are no
families, no kingdoms, no allegiances within these walls, young knight. Do you
accept the rule of the Chosen Wanderers, forsaking all other bonds to clan and
country?”
“I do,” the
knight replied, and without a moment’s hesitation he reached to his left breast
and tore loose his family patch. A single green sword on a field of gold fell
to the wood beneath his charger’s feet.
There was a long
pause before the voice resumed.
“Your sincerity
shines clearly, Sir Renan. And yet… you are bound to marry.”
“I reject this
claim!” the knight cried with heat. “I have sought to join this holy order all
my life, it is my destiny as I know in my heart. I shall have no part of the
unworthy pact struck by my family, which was without my will and against
justice.”
“Aye, so we see,
you speak the truth. And yet the view of the Wanderer cannot lie, young knight.
It is troubling… but enter and take the path you have chosen.”
With a thankful
prayer to Conar on his lips, Renan spurred on, and entered the Castle of the
Chosen Wanderers.
BIO
Will Hahn has been in
love with heroic tales since age four when his father read him the Lays of
Ancient Rome and the Tales of King Arthur. He taught Ancient-Medieval History
for years, but the line between this world and others has always been thin; the
far reaches of fantasy, like the distant past, still bring him face to face
with people like us, who have choices to make.
Will didn't always
make the right choices when he was young. Any stick or vaguely-sticklike object
became a sword in his hands to the great dismay of his five sisters. Everyone
survived, in part by virtue of a rule forbidding him from handling umbrellas,
ski poles, curtain rods and more.
Will has written
about the Lands of Hope since his college days (which by now are also part of
ancient history). His current epic is Judgement’s
Tale; parts one and two, Games of
Chance and Strength of Conviction
came out in 2014 and part three, Reunion
of Souls is available starting December 26th.
LINKS
Will’s Weirdly
Whimsical Website is where he posts news about upcoming releases
and blogs about writing, classic fantasy works you’ve never read and the unique
photo-based series “It Figures.”
Will’s Tales of Hope
are available at many online retailers:
The RAFFLECOPTER LINK
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
Fall into Fantasy Giveaway
Welcome
to the Fall Into Fantasy Giveaway, hosted by urban fantasy & paranormal
romance author Ash Krafton…
Just like last year, more
than FIFTY AUTHORS of fantasy and paranormal books are giving away books and
swag. Hope you’re ready to start clicking and start winning because the
Rafflecopters await!
Included in the giveaway is my very own, The Goddess's Choice.
The Goddess’s Choice is based on a Norwegian fairy tale, “The Princess and the Glass Hill.” Though my favorite fairy tale as a child, it disturbed me that the female character has no name and no role other than being handed off as a prize. My novel remakes the crown princess of Korthlundia into a strong heroine who is every bit as likely to be the rescuer as the one rescued.
Included in the giveaway is my very own, The Goddess's Choice.
The crown princess Samantha fears she’s mad; no one but she sees colors glowing around people. The peasant Robrek Angusstamm believes he’s a demon; animals speak to him, and his healing powers far outstrip those of his village’s priests. Despite their fears, their combined powers make them the goddess’s choice to rule the kingdom of Korthlundia.
In my sword and sorcery novel, The Goddess’s Choice, Samantha’s ability enables her to discern a person’s character through their multi-colored aura, and Robrek’s makes him the strongest healer the kingdom has seen in centuries. But their gifts also endanger their lives. Royals scheme to usurp the throne by marrying or killing Samantha, and priests plot to burn Robrek at the stake. Robrek escapes the priests only to be captured by Samantha’s arch-enemy, Duke Argblutal; Argblutal intends to force the princess to marry him by exploiting Robrek’s powers. To save their own lives and stop the realm from sinking into civil war, Robrek and Samantha must consolidate their powers and unite the people behind them.
In order to ensure you get a
book you will love, we have divided our prizes into two groups—adult books and
YA books. Feel free to enter either giveaway or both. J
Giveaway runs until October 31st...plenty of time to get all your entries in...
The authors:
Tricia Schneider, Nicole
Zoltack, Marsha A. Moore, Mimi Sebastian, Terri Rochenski, Kiru Taye, Julie
Reece, Lori J. Fitzgerald, Debbie Christiana, Georgia Lyn Hunter, M. Pax, Sharon
Saracino, Shah Wharton, H. L. Burke, Angela Myron, Jocelyn Adams, James Garcia
Jr, Tina Moss, Danielle DeVor, Sharon Buchbinder, April Aasheim, CL Bledsoe,
Mara Valderran, Angela Yseult, Kallysten, Juli D. Revezzo, Aldrea Alien,
Loralie Hall, Allyson Lindt, Sotia Lazu, Angela Castillo, Valerie Twombly, R.M.
James, Shanyn Hosier, Ronesa Aveela, Sofia Grey,
Konstanz Silverbow, Melissa McPhail, Jamie Marchant, Brandy L Rivers, JC
Andrijeski, Stacey Nash, Nancy Corrigan, Scarlett Dawn, Jami Gray, Erica Crouch,
Janna Jennings, Tonya Macalino, Christine E. Schulze, Selah Janel, and Ash
Krafton.
The books:
The entry forms:
Make some new author friends
and see what they’ve been up to…they may have written your next favorite book. J
Good luck to everyone and
thanks for entering!
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