Category: Fantasy

Kevin Klehr on his character Connor and his new release Social Media Central (author guest blog)

Social Media Central by Kevin Klehr
NineStar Press

Release Date:  April 9, 2018
Cover Artist: Natasha Snow

 

Buy Links:  NineStar Press | Amazon

Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is happy to have Kevin Klehr here today  talking about Social Media Central! Welcome, Kevin!

 

 

INTRODUCING CONNOR – PHOTOGRAPHER AND TROUBLEMAKER

KEVIN KLEHR

 

Connor is smart, so it makes him the perfect troublemaker to get under the skin of the government in my new sci-fi novel, Social Media Central. He is also one of the social media socialites in Astra City, a place where hardly anyone ventures outside because they live their lives in front of a screen.

Connor spends most of his time as the official photographer at the parties he, along with fashion blogger, Madeline Q, and love blogger, Shaun, throw for guests seeking fame on Social Media Central. Uploading a photo from one of these events is sure to help you gain many followers, although nowhere near as many as Connor, Shaun or Madeline Q.

This socialite photographer also knows what’s wrong with the society he lives in and through his fame, challenges the status quo. But he has no idea how much danger he puts himself and his friends in once he criticises the government.

Connor is also gay, but he’s not someone who’s confident enough to stroll up to a charismatic guy and flirt, even with his high social standing. And he’d rather let his photos tell a story once they’re uploaded – it’s just not his story he’s telling.

The novel is actually told through the eyes of Tayler, a loner geek who doesn’t log onto the all-knowing all-seeing social platform. Through a chance meeting with Madeline Q he is thrust into the world of the socialites, finding his own star rising once he hangs around his new associates. But it’s Tayler who has to deal with the dangers posed by Connor’s rebellious actions.

I began writing this novel back in 2015. I know that’s not long ago but much has changed with online media in that short space of time. Small things like live video on Facebook and Twitter are taken for granted now, yet when I wrote the concept of streaming live in this book they were not yet introduced.

But what I find more interesting is the lack of real issues being discussed on Facebook, at least on my feed anyway. A friend admitted she no longer writes about politics as she often ends up in debates she wasn’t expecting. Another person I’ve unfriended complained when I shared a political post. Yet, Facebook was one of the platforms these discussions used to take place on. I know everyone’s personal algorithm is different but I’m going from my online experience.

In a way, Social Media Central is about how the medium has become a celebration of the mundane (cat videos etc.), and how a future society may look that is more influenced by social status and seeking validation, than keeping perspective on what’s going on in the real world.

That’s why Connor, as a character, is important to this story. He is the over thinker that tries to bring balance back to Astra City.

Website – www.kevinklehr.com

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/DramaQueensWithLoveScenes

Twitter – https://twitter.com/kevinklehr

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/klehrkevin/

Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4298144.Kevin_Klehr

Social Media Central – trailer – https://youtu.be/__cxd3lNadY

                                                           https://vimeo.com/259627648

 

 

 

A MelanieM PreRelease Review: Magic Runs Deep by Alex Whitehall

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

 

For the last five years, Veier has been chained to a king’s throne in his bear form. When a neighboring kingdom overthrows the crown, Veier’s imprisonment ends, but true freedom is not so easily earned. With blood on his hands, he needs someone with patience, strength, and trust to help him become the person he was before and prove to the invaders that he isn’t the monstrous king’s loyal pet.

Elrid, the invading king’s brother and a powerful mage, is everything Veier despises. He’s also the only thing between Veier and execution, because he thinks he can help Veier change from an aggressive bear shifter into a reasonable man. While the pair have a rough start, with long talks and mutual leaps of faith, they begin to care for each other.

However, the closer Veier gets to his freedom, the closer he is to losing Elrid. He must find balance in his heart and his life if he wishes to truly claim the freedom he’s been given—and the man he loves.

I just loved everything about Magic Runs Deep by Alex Whitehall.  Here is a fantasy novel where the author managed to combine  some very dark and realistic elements like PTSD, the horror of torture , the  effects of long term prisoner captivity under the worse conditions, with that prisoner’s recovery and love.    That the prisoner is an Ursinae or bear shifter, the one to save and help him recover a mage and brother to a king, and that some of the methods used include magic?  In the hands of author Alex Whitehall, that seems normal.  Whitehall seamlessly blends modern methods for dealing with PTSD and the magical to come up with a unique combination of spells and universe for this story that entranced me.

The Ursinae had their own magic as do the Kingdoms themselves.  I could cheerfully dwell in this land for many books, hoping to learn more not just about Veier’s shifter history but all the neighboring Kingdoms across the lands.  If they are half as fascinating as the ones that Whitehall created for the ones we got to know here, I’m all in for as many stories as the author wants to tell.

These characters were amazing!  They were so well rounded and pulled so many emotions from me in their journey to  helping Veier recover from his heinous imprisonment and the scars he now carries inside and out.  As it should be, his recovery is painful, slow, full of anger and fear.  And the reader is on this agonizing path with Veier every step of the way. So is Elrid, the mage who sees the tragedy in Veier’s fate if he can’t be helped and the man fighting to regain who he was.  I was so absorbed in Veier’s tale I totally forgot what time it was and read into the early hours.

There are other equally important storylines flowing here.  Unrest in a kingdom slow to accept new rulers, people hesitant or afraid of the shifter among them, a man eager to go home again and afraid of what he would find…all these narrative threads are carried through, their importance to the overall plot arc handled beautifully, never impeding or overtaking the main plotlines but adding interest to them,  like spice does to a great meal.

But the heart and center here is Veier and Elrid and what a story that is.  It’s heartwarming, sometimes heartstopping, and always rewarding.   This is one for my “happy shelf”, when I need a book to pull out to put a smile on my face and a lightness in my heart.    How I loved this couple.  I think you will too.  I highly recommend Magic Runs Deep by Alex Whitehall.

Cover art:  Shayne Leighton.  I like the cover, has some very nice elements on it, including the character of Veier.

Sales Links: Riptide Publishing | Amazon

Book Details:

book, 183 pages
Expected publication: April 9th 2018 by Riptide Publishing
Original TitleMagic Runs Deep
ISBN 1626497478 (ISBN13: 9781626497474)
Edition LanguageEnglish

A MelanieM Review: The Dragon’s Legacy by Robin White

Rating: 2 stars out of 5

Valgaforis wants to be left in peace. And if he must be bothered, he would prefer goblins to humans. But these humans come searching for something that sounds like it just might help him figure out what happened to the rest of his kind. He can tolerate some bothersome humans for a little while to answer that burning question.

Things just seem to keep going wrong for Alessio. While on the hunt for the regalia of his bloodline, which will finally secure him the throne, he stumbles across Erik, who’s somehow already discovered the dragon cave Alessio seeks. Erik, a native of the Northland, offers to help, and Alessio gratefully accepts, despite the unexpected complications added to his already difficult journey.

Along the way they encounter spirits, hobs, a river bride, and even trolls. In fact, the only thing they don’t seem to encounter is the dragon Alessio expected to find when they finally reach their destination…

The storyline and the characters of The Dragon’s Legacy by Robin White show promise.  I just can’t resist a dragon or dragon shifter story.  And this sounded like a wonderful fantasy tale.   I think it could be as all the elements are here just waiting to be enlarged into the fantasy saga it hopes to be.

With any story, especially a fantasy one, you need a solid foundation of world building to rest it on and this one lacks that.  You get bits and pieces of the culture and the reason why Alessio and group is off on his mission but you have gaping holes in his history and in Valgaforis’ as well.  Those are never answered either by the end of the story to the reader’s dissatisfaction.  You need to pull all the threads together, answer at least the important questions in the readers minds to make the story a cohesive whole in order for any book to be an enjoyable reading experience.

I appreciated little touches here and there.  The fact that the dragon joined in on the quest with no one any the wiser was a cute aspect to the story, over too soon for my tastes.   And I liked the whole dragon’s sword bit but that should have been explored more as it was a huge part of the storyline.

But the biggest loss here is that of character development.  Each character lacked depth and that “realiness” that comes with a layered personality and time given over to making us believe in them as a person/beings.  Same goes for the relationships here.  All have that shallowness about them that feels one dimensional.  It lets you appreciate some of the nicer points of the story but removes you from any emotional contact or connection to anyone within the story.

This is the first story I’ve read by Robin White and I would certainly read others, based on the promise this one displays.

Cover art: Aisha Akuju:  The cover art is stunning with the dragon’s hoard.  Love it.

Sales Links: Less Than Three Press

Book Details:

ebook
Expected publication: May 30th 2018 by Less Than Three Press
ISBN139781684312610
Edition LanguageEnglish
Other Editions
None found

A MelanieM Review: Dragon Magic by Megan Derr

Rating: 4.75 stars out of 5

Four strangers. A shared moment long forgotten. A bond forged in desperation.

On the first day of the Festival of Counting, the beginning of the royal census that takes place every ten years, the royal city is filled to overflowing. Everyone is happy, excited, and proud to be counted amongst those who live in the glorious kingdom of Orhanis.

Then a demon strikes, killing thousands in mere seconds and leveling the city. As the royal castle burns, only four men remain to drive the demon away—and in their desperation, accidentally bind themselves together in a legendary Oath, unable to part ways until they find and kill the demon once and for all.

Mahzan, the King’s Jester, an orphan who clawed his way to the top and hides a fearsome magic… Sule, the notorious North Captain, who sacrificed everything to live as a strong, capable, highly respected man… Cemal, a priest who traveled the continent bent on revenge and now lives lost… and Binhadi, the mercurial shadow mage with a dark history and bloody ties to the throne…

Four men used to standing apart, standing alone, who must learn to stand together if they hope to save themselves and all of Orhanis.

When it comes to fantasy, Megan Derr is  one of my go to authors.  I love her marvelous ability to transport me out of the mundane and into realms where dragons soar,  wounded mage’s seek reparation and love, and unique bands of warriors go forth on sagas that have continued to live on in my heart and mind long past those words…The End in book after book.

In Dragon Magic Megan Derr brings together another unusual band of mages.  This time, they will form not only a working relationship but a romantic one between the four of them.  Not something of a norm in her stories. Or in the stories I normally read because I haven’t found many authors that make a  polyamorous relationship work within a storyline to my tastes.  Here, among four strong mages, who fight the bonds between them from the beginning, watching the emotional ties form, along with the lust and love feels natural.  It helps that they can “feel” each others thoughts and emotions, so the instinctual walls  others erect start breaking down or are broken between the four of them from the start, laying their “secrets” out before the others.

Derr switches the story back and forth between the emotional vulnerability and revelations that is happening between the four as they become a true “family” and the perilous state they find themselves in while searching out the demons and those responsible for the destruction of the Capitol.  I expected to “like” one of the characters more than the rest, maybe Mahzan or Sule, but each mages here is a little broken each in their own way.  Each strong as well.  Turned out I loved them equally.  Semal and Binahdi  no less than Mahzan and Sule.  What great characters all.

The only thing that kept this from a 5 stars story was the odd little out of timeline break at the end.  I understand why the author did it but it still felt jarring.  And honestly asked more questions than it answered.  I didn’t need it.  And in my opinion the story didn’t either.  But that’s just me.

Either way, if you are a lover of high fantasy, Megan Derr or both,  Dragon Magic is a book you won’t want to miss.  And yes, once again she has created some wonderful demons for our mages to fight against.  Can’t miss out on those either!  Put this and this wonderful band of mages on your TBR list today!  I highly recommend it!

Cover art:Phillip Lloyd Simpson.  It’s colorful.  Don’t know that it’s my favorite of Megan Derr’s covers.

Sales Links:  Less Than Three Press | Amazon

Book Details:

ebook
Expected publication: March 28th 2018 by Less Than Three Press
ISBN139781684312016
Edition LanguageEnglish

Blog Tour for Bones of Belief (The Chronicles of Darius #13) by Jess Thomas (excerpt)

BLOG TOUR

Book Title: Bones of Belief (The Chronicles of Darius, Book 13)

Author: Jess Thomas

Publisher: Self-Published

Cover Artist: Jess Thomas

Genre/s: M/M Romance

Length:  111,215 words/645 pages

Release Date: March 1, 2018

Goodreads 

Blurb

The Jewel has many protectors and a large family, but it still isn’t complete. Trend, a white wizard, is in limbo and can be seen only by Vega, Enif, and Darius. Dorian, one of the newest clan members, can only hear him and none of them are able to tell anyone else about him. Darius knows he needs Trend to help complete the family and fulfill his destiny. He desperately wants to have him home, but there is a major problem, Hippson’s timeline. Meanwhile, Trend’s mate, Grendolin, has searched everywhere he knows in order to find him, including some very dark places, with no luck, but he never lost hope, never lost his belief that he will be with his true mate one way or another.

Can Darius beat the timeline? Must he follow the wishes of those in power who think they know better?

Darius’s quest of self-discovery continues as his talents grow to astounding proportions. Even the mighty Hippson and Bunthar don’t know what to make of Darius’s abilities or what the dreaded timeline holds for the Jewel, his mate, and the rest of the clan.

Become part of Darius’s clan and share his continuing journey in Bones of Belief.

Excerpt

For so long, I’d seen myself looking like a gray and leathery alien. In fact, I’ve seen myself looking like this since I was nineteen when I was part of a distant nightmare simply called The Pits. There, Cold Ones lived alongside dark wizards and all manner of evil things that destroyed planets for their own needs. Cold Ones enjoyed destroying anyone with strength and just for the sake of killing generally.

Although the Eiravian people were more advanced, they had sent me to a time on Earth when we lived and died by the sword, where gladiators and slaves had the misfortune to be simply entertainment. My appearance had drifted away to the point that I didn’t know it anymore. Now I tended to look at my appearance as I walked down the hall, the man who walked in the mirror’s reflection wasn’t someone I knew. It had been a long, long time since I’d seen who I really am. I was skinny, but the muscles and weight were coming back on, and the peach skin of my brothers and sisters had replaced the gray skin. My leathery appearance had disappeared in my reflection. The only thing that seemed the same was my blue eyes that appeared to glow power and a large scruffy beard.

Sometimes as I was walking down the hallway, I’d step backward and then forward, to actually see if my appearance stayed the same in the mirrors. The spell was breaking, and we would soon celebrate Finnal’s birthday. I always asked him what he wanted, and he’d always reply he got what he wanted. Therefore, this year I was going to give him what he asked for…me.

Buy Links – Available on KU

Amazon US

Amazon UK 

About the Author 

Author Bio: Jess Thomas was born in the mid-west and she has a natural love for nature and animals. A gentle creature born to loving parents who believed in seeing the world for all its beauty, she learned the imperfections in life were something to be treasured and seen as a learning experience. An artist from an early age, she went to art school where she got a degree in drawing and painting, photography, and in Art Education. In 2009 she laid down her paintbrush and she picked up writing and channeling her creative energy in a fresh direction. A new writer, she pours sensitivity and her love of the world she has created into her emotions and the characters who live there.

Social Media Links

Blog/Website

Pinterest

BLOG TOUR SCHEDULE

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A MelanieM Review: Flamecaller by Caitlin Ricci

Rating: 2 stars out of 5

When the emperor has his father killed, it’s the breaking point for Haruo, who sets out from the island of dragon shifters where he lives in search of revenge. The tournament being held to marry off the emperor’s son seems a perfect opportunity—what better way to get close to the father than through the son, after all.

Three things drew me to this story.  That incredible cover, the author, and that synopsis.  I have read Caitlin Ricci’s stories before and enjoyed them. That fact, combined with the intriguing plot,  had me eagerly starting into chapter one.

Sigh.

What I found was more along the lines of an author’s outline for a novella than an actual story that was complete with fleshed out characters, relationships that had some depth to them, back histories that went beyond the shallow, and a foundation that made some sense.

This surprised me considering the author, which is why Flamecaller seems more like an outline of a story than an actual one.   The potential here is marvelous, especially with regard to the emperor’s son.  But do we get any of the necessary background on him to make sense of his actions or subsequent feelings? No.  Does the author give the readers any understanding of how certain important plot elements as I will call them (no spoilers) run genetically through family lines?  No.  Nothing.  She just throws facts out there and leaves them unsupported and whole sections of her story moorless.   That goes for the whole island is crying thing as well and Haruo’s family.  See statement above.

I won’t even get started on that ending which is preposterous no matter how fairy tale-ish this story became.

No, my hope is that sometime in the future, this gets pulled back, and properly rewritten into the novel it’s crying out to be.  Unless you are a hardcore Caitlin Ricci fan, I’d wait and see if that happens to read this story imo.

Cover Art :Michelle Seaver.  This cover is absolutely gorgeous as well as pertinent to the story.  It’s one of the things that drew me to read the blurb.  Love it.

Sales Links:  Less Than Three Press | Amazon

Book Details:

ebook, 45 pages
Published March 14th 2018 by Less Than Three Press
ISBN139781684311965
Edition Language English