Catching up with Matthew Lang! On Golems and his new release Dragonslayer (guest post, and excerpt)

Dragonslayer (Twitterlight #1) by Matthew Lang

DSP Publications
Cover Artist: Tiferet Design

Sales Links:

Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is happy to have Matthew Lang back again to tell us what’s going on in his literary life and fill us in on Dragonslayer. Welcome, Matthew.

♦︎

Catching up with Matthew Lang – Where are my golems?

It’s been a bit over the year since we sat down with Matthew and his novella, Better with Bacon, and he talked a bit about his writing processes, his characters and his future plans. Now he’s back with a new book, Dragonslayer and we decided to catch up and see what’s been happening since we last spoke.

Last time you were here you talked about finishing up your Golem story. Your current book is called Dragonslayer. Did something happen to the golems? Are there golem dragons? Or do the golems slay the dragons?

Ha! No, the golems don’t slay the dragons, but now I’ve got plot bunnies. The golem story is actually a different story that’s under consideration at a few publishers. Dragonslayer was on the backburner last year, but well, it got published first. The golems are hopefully coming at some point though. There may also be more dragons.

You also talked about experimenting with writing a dating simulation game. Did that happen to?

I just started toying with it again, actually. I was looking at doing something with Bushrangers in Australia, but the amount of research that would require made me try something…simpler. At least until I work out what I can do in Twine or RenPy. Honestly, I’ve written less than 3000 words there just to try to work out how to branch stories out and bring them back in to make something manageable. It’s an entirely different to a novel, but I’m hoping that one day I’ll be able to bring you all a different way to experience a gay romance.

You say you had Dragonslayer on the backburner last year. What made you put it aside?

It had been sitting with Voyager for a while to see if they wanted it, but it had been a few years and I couldn’t get hold of anyone there. I was pitching the golem story and DSP weren’t looking for Urban fantasy stories, but they were looking for fantasy and well… now they’re publishing Dragonslayer. I did take some time to go over it again though. Most of it stood up, but I think my writing’s matured over the last few years and some of it needed refining.

Based on the blurb—and cover—Dragonslayer has a modern man as a protagonist in a medieval fantasy world and plot. Why did you make that choice?

Oh wow. Um. This is going to sound pretentious, but I wanted to interrogate the ‘rescue the princess’ narrative and other fantasy story tropes, and the best way I could think of to do it was to bring in a character outside of fantasy society with modern ideals who wouldn’t accept everything at face value. Of course, I didn’t think of it in those terms. I just wanted to see how a modern gay man would react to a rescue the princess quest. As in an actual female royal princess. I’m only really able to be pretentious with the benefit of hindsight. Or lots of pre-planning.

If you want the full story, that was actually something I talked about on the first stop of this blog tour over at MM Good Book Reviews, so people can check that out if they haven’t already.

Do you usually write to answer questions like that? To explore and explain how people react?

I guess? I mean, that’s what stories are at the end of the day, isn’t it? Take a specific person, put them in a specific place under specific circumstances and see how they react. And maybe it’ll be entertaining, maybe it’ll be emotionally resonant, maybe we’ll learn something. The best writing, I think, does all three. I just find that writing let’s me question things society considers normal. For Better with Bacon I wanted to look at bisexuality, bi-erasure and to lesser degrees the way romance as a genre dwells heavily in miscommunication or poor communication and wanted to see what would happen if my characters were actually able to adult. Turns out it’s a much shorter story when everyone can adult, but that’s okay. For Dragonslayer I wanted to look at things like damselling of princesses, and in a sense I wanted to write a story where dragons were scary again. There’s a long standing trend that I’ve noticed where we as a culture take scary things and make them our friends. We make them cute. We make them not scary. Maybe it’s a way to live with the fear – we imagine that we could befriend it. Tame it. Harness its power. I wanted to write a story where the monster was a monster, and being afraid was survival.

Are there any scenes that didn’t make it into the story?

Absolutely. I think I’ve redrafted Dragonslayer more times than any other story I’ve written. My initial draft was written when I was watching lot of Man Vs. Wild and I made Adam far too competent because I thought it would be great to show him doing cool survival stuff. Not necessarily straining elephant poo though a sock for drinking water, but you know, hunting and building shelters and all that. Turns out having a competent, survival wise and combat ready hero made for a very dull story. It wasn’t quite Gary-Stuish but him being too competent and having time to plan at the beginning meant he didn’t get much of a character arc originally. I threw out that draft after about 60,000 words of going absolutely nowhere. There were entire chapters in the Caverns of Aergon—the place where Princess Esmeralda is from—and we don’t see inside of them in the finished book. It just wasn’t needed.

We did some spying on your new bio on the DSP Publications site, and it mentions people being able to have their own adventures in the world of Twitterlight—which is the setting for Dragonslayer. What does that mean, exactly?

Ah, well. I’m a gamer nerd, as I think I mentioned last time. And since Dragonslayer was sitting on the backburner for ages and I wasn’t sure if I was going to pitch it elsewhere, I started using it as a setting to run some games of Dungeons and Dragons for some of my friends. Since Dragonslayer now coming out as a book, I’m probably going to release a version of the world for other people to play their own games in. I like the idea of there being an explicitly queer friendly and inclusive setting for people to inhabit while they play a game, and I’ve created one almost by accident. I don’t know if people know much about D&D, but it’s essentially collaborative storytelling. I find it’s a great way to challenge yourself as a storyteller, and I like to think it’s made me a better writer. I’ll have more of that on my website when it’s ready. The nice thing, I suppose, is that my friends really seem to like the world of Dragonslayer and most of the pre-ordered the book to scour for world lore. Even the straight guys. I hope I don’t scar them for life with all the mansex.

EXCERPT

Many bumps and swipes from branches later, the group finally emerged at the top of a cliff, next to a thundering waterfall. The break in the vegetation was so sudden that Adam reared back, tugging at the reins frantically as the lizard thundered toward the brink, causing Zoul to turn and chirp at him quizzically. At the sound, the others reined in just ahead.

“Come, we’re nearly there,” Darius said, raising his voice to be heard over the sound of the waterfall cascading over the edge of the precipice.

“Nearly where? It’s a sheer drop!” Adam objected, forcing himself to relax his death grip on the reins long enough to rub the sweat from his eyes, leaving a muddy smear across his forehead.

“We have a waystation at the foot of the cliff,” Darius said patiently. “It’s used by our scouts, so there will be supplies there.”

“And we’re going to what? Walk straight off the cliff?”

“Not off. Over,” Xavier said, urging his mount forward. “Just hold on tight and make sure you’re clipped in.”

With that, the magister leaned low over his lizard’s back and disappeared over the edge of the cliff, the others in tow.

“Did they just…? They didn’t just…? But that’s….”

“They’re cave lizards,” Duin said, his voice low and strangely gentle. “Look at Zoul’s feet. He will not fall, and if you do not panic, you will not fall either. And if you do not panic, I will not fall with you.”

Adam glanced down at the great lizard’s feet and noticed for the first time that they were sprawled like outspread hands and, instead of claws, ended in bulbous toes more reminiscent of a frog’s than a lizard’s. Pausing to check that he was still securely fastened into his saddle, Adam took a deep, steadying breath.

“Hold on tight, all right?” he said.

“As if my life depends on it,” Duin replied gravely.

“It sort of does, you know.”

“Yes, I know.”

Adam laughed at that, a short sharp laugh, tinged with hysteria at the edges. “This is crazy. I can’t believe I’m seriously about to ride off the edge of a cliff.”

“Not off, over,” Duin repeated. “Or down, to be more precise.”

“I don’t know how you can be so calm about this.”

Adam felt the furred man shrug. “It was a normal part of growing up,” Duin said. “I rode a hatchling up and down the cavern walls for hours on end when I was younger—before I was cast into the light, I mean.”

“Cast into…. You mean here, the surface?”

Duin nodded. “Yes. Trust me, we will be fine.”

Some of the furred man’s calm must have rubbed off on him, because Adam’s legs trembled only slightly as he squeezed his knees gently, urging Zoul into a slow walk that took them step by reptilian step closer to the edge. For a moment, Adam saw only the lack of ground that was fast approaching, and then the view opened up, with the red of the sky and the sun hanging over the horizon in the exact same place it had been when they started their trek. Below them, a sea of never-ending foliage stretched out to meet the dusk, the wending curves of the river disappearing into the mass of green. Strange bellowing cries rang out from the forest below, and small flights of the rhomboid fliers were flitting through the foliage. Then the pressure of Duin’s body on his reminded him that gravity would soon be coming into play, and he dropped down so he was nearly flat against Zoul’s back.

“That view was beautiful,” he murmured as Duin’s grip on his belt firmed and the man’s body pressed more closely against his own.

“It was? I… suppose it was. I never thought of it that way before.”

“Maybe you just see it too often,” Adam suggested.

“No,” Duin said slowly. “I do not think I ever have. When I look at the land, I see ambush sites, hunting grounds, places to forage, and cover where I can travel without being seen. I have never stopped just to look at the view.”

“Oh.”

“Thank you.”

“For what?”

“Helping me see it.”

Adam smiled tightly. “Keep me alive long enough to keep seeing it and I’ll consider us even.”

~*~

Thanks for reading and sticking it out this far down the post! As part of the launch celebration, I’m giving away an ebook from my backlist here. To enter the giveaway, just leave a comment below and tell me about a monster or creature that used to be scary, but has now become softer, fuzzier, and friendlier. Bonus points if you think it’s one that could use a reinvention as its original scary self! One random commenter will win a book here—and I’ll be over at Love Bytes tomorrow, the 27^th of September with another chance to win.

Dragonslayer

A Twitterlight Story

Kill the dragon, marry the princess, and rule the kingdom. It’s a fantasy come true… if you’re straight.

Adam is a chemistry student and martial artist, active in his local chapter of the Society for Creative Anachronism. But none of that prepares him to be the savior of a faraway land locked in perpetual dusk.

In a world of shape-shifters, necromancy, and religious politics, Adam is fated to slay the golden dragon, Khalivibra, and defeat its mind-controlling sorcery to help Princess Esmeralda of Aergon retake her city. Tradition dictates he’ll rule by her side—but Adam is much more interested in Duin, a warrior who changes to beast form in the light of the sun… or fire.

Adam hopes he and Duin might end up together when their ordeal ends. But first, the reluctant hero, the spell-casting heir to the throne, the beast-shifting object of Adam’s desire, a six-legged cave lizard, and any allies they can gather must do the impossible… and live to celebrate their victory.

About the Author

Matthew Lang likes being on the run. Sometimes for health, but more often to see another country or culture. Preferably in person, but more frequently in his mind’s eye through the written word. Matthew likes his men hot and spunky, his focaccia more Italian than British, and his vampires to combust when exposed to sunlight. His nurses say that rumours of him escaping his straightjacket are absolute nonsense and he definitely hasn’t been let loose amongst the population of Melbourne, Australia, no matter what the internet says.

Connect with Matthew: Twitter | Facebook | Website

Follow the Tour!

18^th September MM Good Book Reviews – The Origin of Stories

20^th September Sue Brown Stories – Why Fantasy?

25^th September Nicki J Markus – The Offering

26^th September Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words – Catch up with Matthew Lang

27^th September Love Bytes – How to Cook Tarantula in 7 easy steps

28^th September My Fiction Nook – The Winged Traveller Guide to Aer Goragon

1^st October DSP Blog – Do Haerunwoln Have Pouches?

A Barb the Zany Old Lady Audiobook Review: Consorting with Dragons by Sera Trevor and Philip Alces (Narrator)

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

When I started this audiobook I never expected to take such a wonderful, heartwarming journey through a realm of magic and dragons, kings and nobles, love and jealousy, all told to me by a Brit with an amazing ability to take me to a magical kingdom where dragons are the ultimate authority and a young man falls in love with a prince.

Lord Jasen of Grumhul, an impoverished young nobleman with a gambling rascal of a father, travels to the Draelands to secure a rich husband to settle his father’s debts. Once a year, all the young eligibles of the kingdom—male and female—come to the Draelands to spend a few weeks being groomed for the wealthy lords and ladies who will show up to make their marriage offer.

Jasen is there because his father won a place for him, but he doesn’t expect to make a match at all. His province is poor, and it’s the only one in the kingdom that isn’t dragon-blessed. Dragons are not allowed in Grumhul so when Jasen meets one and later dreams of one, he’s completely charmed.

Without realizing who he’s speaking to one day, Jasen befriends a handsome young man as he’s out scouting the countryside. It turns out he’s met King Rilvor, and more importantly, the king has met him. Over time it becomes clear they each care for the other, but there’s evil and negativity among Jasen’s peers and no one wants to see the king choose him, so he’s sabotaged and undermined.

This was such a delightful story, I find it hard to describe. It made me feel good. In fact, there was excitement and adventure and I shook my head at some of Jasen’s more unworldly moves and his poor decisions, but it wasn’t a dark tale. I looked forward to each new page, each new chapter, each new adventure, and oh, how I couldn’t wait to see this lovely fairy tale end with the king choosing the young nobleman over all others. And the dragons? Simply a bonus. Bright and colorful, intelligent and making the smart choice, it was evident that Jasen was the dragon’s choice for their king as well.

As I stated earlier, the narration was outstanding, so if you are looking for a nice way to spend some time in a peaceful happy place, this is a great choice. I highly—no, very highly—recommend this to all who enjoy fantasy, magic, and the world of dragons.

~~~

Cover by Natasha Snow shows Lord Jason dressed in court finery against a background of the castle with a dragon flying above. It perfectly depicts the heart of the story.

Sales Links: Amazon | Audible

Audiobook Details:

9 hours 13 minutes

Audible Audio, Unabridged edition, 9 pages
Published July 10th 2018 by Tantor Audio (first published July 28th 2014)
Original TitleConsorting with Dragons
ASINB07F3DHTVK
Edition LanguageEnglish

Fantasy Spotlight on Incubus Honeymoon (Arcana Imperii #1) by August Li (guest blog )

Incubus Honeymoon (Arcana Imperii #1) by August Li

DSP Publications
Cover Artist: Blake Dorner

Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words Interview with August Li

Trans and Enby Characters, Own Voices, and the Challenges Therein

I’ve written a lot of blog posts to promote this book. I was happy to see Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words offered a series of interview questions and that I wouldn’t have to think up an entire subject on my own. The interview starts with the statement “You can answer any or all of the questions.”

I only ended up answering one. You’ll see why.

How much of yourself goes into a character?

Quick answer: it depends. Empathy aside, a writer really has to draw on their own experiences, and if not specific experiences, then similar emotional events. Everyone has love, loss, frustration, and inspiration to draw from. A writer doesn’t need to deal with exactly what the character does if they can find a time when the emotional impact was similar. That and some research is usually plenty.

The easiest characters are those closest to me in personality—in this book, Dante with his anger at the world’s inequity and injustice, coupled with a sense of futility, that nothing he can personally do will fix anything, came easily from my feelings about the world at the moment. I also work hard to make sure the nonhuman characters exhibit motivations that set them apart, so the differences are more than cosmetic.

But the truth is one of the characters in this book is more personal to me than probably any I’ve yet written.

I’ve always been very open about being trans, and I’ve even, to an extent, documented some of my physical transition. Yet it’s been many years now since I came out, but I’ve never used my Own Voice and written a trans or nonbinary character until now. Why?

One thing that made me hesitate is that I don’t necessarily want to shape people’s notions of trans and nonbinary people, and maybe especially not with this character. Jet can be kind of nasty. Jet uses their skills to harm people they don’t like or don’t agree with, rather than trying to understand those people or come to any kind of an understanding. While not a bitter or unhappy person, Jet is defined by what they hate—granted, that’s tyranny, racism, inequality, etc.—more than by what they love. Jet does not go high. Jet is not opposed to the use of force. Jet smokes a lot of weed and has a lot of sex with whoever strikes their fancy. Altogether, a hell of an introduction to a nonbinary person for those who have never met one in real life or fiction. I wondered if I was doing the right thing. I debated on making Jet a cis person or toning down their more… controversial actions. But I couldn’t do it. Jet IS a nonbinary person; Jet IS a resistance fighter and one who thinks the ends justify the means. Jet likes to stir up shit and fuck with people. Remove any of these characteristics, and they are a different person. And in my opinion, they’d have suffered a tremendous loss. I’m curious how others feel about writing underrepresented characters who are morally ambiguous.

I also didn’t want to use it as a crutch. There are almost as many gay romances as straight at this point, and it’s hard to stand out amongst them. God knows it’s hard to stand out in mainstream fantasy. Trans and nonbinary characters are starting to get more attention—finally; yay!—but it’s still a much smaller pool. And it’s easier to be a bigger fish in a smaller pool. I really didn’t want that. I didn’t want my book to get attention just because there’s a nonbinary and an asexual character; the book and the characters mean too much to me. The solution to that was a simple, though brutal, one: I made sure this was the best book I could possibly write. I did everything in my power to construct a world and a plot that would compel readers, that is hopefully complex but not confusing. I revised and revised, weighing each word. My editorial team helped a lot too. A lot. Bottom line, I wanted to write a damn good urban fantasy. Some of the characters are queer. While that matters, I don’t want it to qualify the previous statement. I hope I’ve succeeded in what I set out to do.

Finally, and this is probably going to get a little personal, so if you’d rather skip to the blurb or ogle that gorgeous cover art by Blake Dorner, no foul. I won’t go into a lot of detail, but there’s some pain tied up with all of this for me. Since I came out as trans, I’ve lost people. People who I thought would always have my back turned against me. I wasn’t allowed to visit my grandfather before he died, and I won’t get to see my grandmother either. But on the other hand, I have a publisher, Dreamspinner Press, who changed my name on my entire backlist without me even asking. I have a community of friends who helped me raise money for surgery. I’ve met the person I hope to spend the rest of my life with. Still, it was scary to come out, and using my Own Voice and writing a trans character was similarly scary. It brought back some of the bad. But it brought back a lot of the good too, and I can’t wait to write more trans and nonbinary characters. As a reader, do you like reading about these characters? What are some of your favorite books featuring them?

Book Blurb:

As the so-called magical creatures go, I’m low on the hierarchy, and my powers aren’t much good to human mages. I’m a lover, not a fighter, through and through. I’m also selfish, lazy, and easily bored. But I’m damned good at what I do.

Too bad that won’t get my arse out of this sling.

Do one—granted, uncharacteristic—good deed, and now I’m held hostage to an arrogant faerie prince, trying to track down the one who summoned him while dodging gangbangers, gun runners, and Nazis. Add the powerful mage guilds scrambling to gather firepower for some doomsday event they’re sure is around the corner, and my cushy life of leisure might be nothing but a memory. On top of that, something’s compelling me to change on my most fundamental level. I’m not sure what I’ve got myself mixed up in, but nothing will ever be the same.

Bloody hell.

===

Featuring a new twist on urban fantasy combined with fast-paced action and intrigue, the Arcana Imperii series books are standalone adventures, each completely accessible to new readers.

About the Author

August Li plays every game as a mage. He thinks the closest thing to magic outside of games and fantasy is to bring things into existence from nothing, which he does in words and images. As a proud trans man, he hopes to bring diversity and representation to all those who want to see themselves in the art and stories they enjoy. He’s a perfectionist, travel enthusiast, and caffeine addict.

Gus makes his home on the coast of South Carolina, where he spends his days in search of merpeople, friendly cats, and interesting pieces of driftwood. He collects ball-jointed dolls, tattoos, and languages. He believes in faeries and thinks they’re terrifying… but still wants to meet one.

Links:

Social media links:

Fox-Hat’s Den on Facebook

A MelanieM Review: Hard Contact (Guild Enforcer, #1) by Ali Atwood

Rating: 2.5 stars out of 5

Hard Contact is the first book in the Guild Enforcer Series, a sexy, action-packed gay romance with no cliffhangers and a HEA ending.

On the surface, Ty Lighthorne is a successful bounty hunter based in Boston. Undercover, he’s part of a covert task force regulated by the Fae Justice Guild. Ty and the team pursue paranormal criminals who’ve escaped to the human realm to avoid punishment. Since Ty is a hybrid, half human and half Fae, he’s totally at home in both dimensions.

Reed Harrison’s dream of becoming a piano soloist was in his grasp until tragedy ripped his world apart. When the justice system fails him, he devises his own method of retribution reinventing himself as a licensed bounty hunter.

Ty and Reed are polar opposites, but events force them into partnership and the sexual sparks fly. Reed maintains his distance because he’s all about the mission—hell-bent on revenge. Ty is a mix of toughness and devil-may-care with a strong allegiance to the Justice Guild. He knows better than to trust anyone with his secrets. A hot-blooded affair could threaten both their futures.

Hard Contact is the first novel I’ve read by this author so I’ve no idea if its representative of her other stories. For me, Hard Contact shows promise but it just didn’t deliver on them. So let’s start with the positives.

What drew me to pick up and read the story was the synopsis. I loved the idea of a half fae/half human detective pairing up with a human partner to hunt down a murderer. Even better when one has a personal connection to the case and said murderer. Add to that a sexual attraction and evolving romance? You have me hooked but good!

Atwood’s main characters are nicely done. I liked Ty and Reed. Ty Lighthorne is given an interesting background (more on that later) as is Reed. That they both end up working for the same bonds company? Ok, and on the same job? Alllllright. But things start to break down shortly after that. Nice central characters and great plot.

Which leads to insta love and other issues which I’m starting in on below.

Multiple povs. Which I normally don’t have a problem if done correctly. However here one (two others are Ty and Reed) is the killer’s and it really has no purpose other than titillation. It pops up a couple of times but his character is never fully developed. This element feels more like a narrative dud than a narrative do, if you know what I mean.

Then there is the world building here which is supposed to supply the novel (and therefore the characters) with a sturdy foundation. Instead, its more like a shaky one. You never get a good handle on the concept of Middle Earth here (flying cars? Werewolves?) Plus there are huge holes in the author’s backstory for Ty and the creation of the Guild Enforcers. So no one would notice a pattern of children disappearing at certain age from good homes around the US? Or the children themselves rebelling? Wanting to return home? That whole element is full of narrative cracks that need so much work and many more pages if not chapters.

So much that just doesn’t ring true.

And then there’s the important “non entities”. Ty is a member of a trio of 3 enforcers who are legend. We see the other two briefly and then not at all other than. Kapow! Look at them go sort of thing. Shakes head.

Secondary character development is important. I can’t stress that enough. You don’t want your main characters to live in a bubble. Ty and Reed sort of do here to their and the story’s detriment.

And one last issue. Having humans know about the Middle Earth is a huge “No”. Apparently its cause for jail time, etc. So what does our hero do? Yes, of course, blithely take Reed through a portal without permission and show him Middle Earth. Smh. Yes, there is no continuity here. Just one big narrative crater after another.

Hard Contact is the first in a series but I’m leaving my reading at one book. There’s just not enough here to make me want to continue.

Cover art: Books by Khaleesi. The cover certainly doesn’t say fantasy but could be for any murder/mystery story. Interesting but a fail for this story.

Sales Links: Amazon

Book Details:

ebook, 178 pages
Published June 22nd 2018
ISBN13B07CZPQ165
Edition Language English

New Release Blitz for Nectar and Ambrosia (Amaranthine Inheritance #1) by E.M. Hamill (excerpt and giveaway)

Title: Nectar and Ambrosia

Series: Amaranthine Inheritance #1

Author: E.M. Hamill

Publisher: Star Bard Books

Release Date: June 30, 2018

Heat Level: 1 – No Sex

Pairing: Male/Female, Male/Male

Length: 81576

Genre: Fantasy, urban/mythical

Add to Goodreads

Synopsis

Callie, a Classics major, flees home to protect her family from a monster straight out of mythology. Visions lead her to Nectar and Ambrosia: the weirdest pub on Earth, where inter-dimensional travelers with attention seeking issues get drunk in between the A-list celebrity lives they create. They can’t pretend to be gods anymore—not since a treaty with the current Supreme Deity promising they won’t intervene in human affairs.

The Doorkeeper of this threshold, Florian, rides herd on the rowdy Amaranthine and offers her shelter and a job. Callie likes the lonely, mysterious bartender more than she should. For Florian, her presence is a ray of light in the gray monotony of his sentence behind the bar, but he keeps a cautious distance—the truth of how he became Doorkeeper could change Callie’s perception of him forever.

When angels show up for a war council over Zeus’s irrational mutters about a comeback, Callie has uncontrolled visions of an apocalypse. Ex-gods realize she’s the first Oracle Priestess in generations. All Callie wanted was keep her parents safe, and now it seems she must sacrifice her future to keep the rest of humanity safe, too. Ambrosia could be the key to harnessing her visions— or it could cost her life.

War is coming. The threshold between worlds has never been more fragile. Callie must discover who is pulling Zeus’s strings and avert the final battle—before the immortal vying to become the next Supreme Deity kills her first.

Excerpt

Callie turned away, trying to decide if Florian and all his clientele were delusional or if it was some kind of big role-playing game for rich people. Folks could have a thing about dressing up in furry animal costumes. She supposed they could pretend to be gods and goddesses too. If it was a mythology RPG, they weren’t concerned with the classical part, except for the guy she saw yesterday afternoon. She was relieved to have a rational explanation for the horns.

Something moved outside the glass front door. Her heart seized in momentary panic. What if the monster still lurked out there?

Strange, visible turbulence seemed to ripple the panes. Callie squeezed her eyes shut to clear her sight and prayed it wasn’t the aura of an oncoming seizure. Cool relief extinguished the rising sparks of panic as the effect dissipated.

The door opened and revealed a spiky-haired, punk rock kid years too young to be in any bar. Callie was forced to squint in order see him clearly as he strode in, his outlines strangely blurred and soft. Sullen teenaged fluidity rolled in every line of his body. He surveyed the bar, narrow kohl-ringed eyes settling on the heavily intoxicated Zeus. A sneer comprised of equal parts contempt and satisfaction flickered over his mouth.

“There he is, the great king of the gods,” he muttered. He moved toward the bar, a glare of disdain sweeping over the other patrons. His eyes widened in appreciation as they passed over Callie, a little smirk growing as his gaze lingered too long on the front of her college t-shirt.

Despite her confusion on how he’d arrived, she gave him a thin smile and a cool nod, crossing her arms over her chest. He stopped short, an expression of shock on his face. Then a quick, sunny grin took over. His blurry outlines sharpened as he drew closer and she relaxed her squinted eyes, no longer struggling to focus on him. She decided it was a trick of the neon-tinted lights hanging in garish advertisement on the walls of the bar.

“My, my, my. Who have we here?” His voice, thick with Cockney vowels, dipped to an intimate tone as he approached. His body language changed to something more unsettlingly mature. He was older than he appeared. “Who do you belong to?”

“I’m Callie. I don’t belong to anybody, but I work for Florian,” she corrected him politely. “Can I get you something?”

“Well, for starters, tequila.” He smirked suggestively. “And your undivided attention.”

Callie resisted the urge to roll her eyes. No matter where she worked, the pickup lines were the same.

“I’m sorry, I’m busy working. I’ll ask Florian for your tequila. On the rocks, or a shot?”

“On the rocks, love.”

“I’ll need to see some ID first.”

“You are new here, aren’t you?” He flipped two fingers out, a driver’s license between them. She took it. No stranger to fake ID’s, this one appeared to be real, and passed him as twenty-one. Still…

“John Smith, huh?”

He captured Callie’s fingers as she returned the license and kissed the back of her hand in old-fashioned courtliness, sea-colored eyes glinting in mischief. An odd, visceral twinge from her early warning system made her startle as his lips touched her skin. Goose bumps flecked her arms. A totally alien sensation overwhelmed her senses: it was as if something crawled off her skin toward his mouth. She shivered in response and tried to pull her hand away. His grin widened as he tightened his grip, apparently delighted by her discomfiture.

“Oh, ho. That’s a lovely surprise. Don’t mind me. I’m incorrigible. Call me Puck.” He scribed an expansive circular gesture with his free hand. “Welcome to the watering hole of the damned bored.”

Callie forced a smile. “Thank you. Now, if you’ll let go of my hand, I’ll get your drink.”

Puck made a mocking bow over her hand and released it, smirking again as he backed away, still admiring her in undisguised interest. Between them, a well-dressed man stepped directly into Callie’s path. He swerved with a graceful spin and apologized as Callie’s sneakers squeaked to an abrupt halt on the concrete floor.

“Sorry, hon. Good evening, gods and goddesses!”

“Herm!” came a shouted group greeting from the room at large.

“And fairies,” the man belatedly added, nodding at the punk rocker.

Puck offered him an extended middle finger and a dangerous smile. Callie’s mouth fell open, recognizing the Armani-suited guy from the previous afternoon.

“Jeeze, homophobic much?” she muttered.

“Trust me love, I am all fairy and he is far from homophobic. Sexual orientation has nothing to do with him being a prick.” Puck glared at the man’s back with undisguised hatred before another lightning-quick mood change and a devilish grin took over. “Make that tequila a double.” He winked at her, eyes making another head to toe rake of her body before he disappeared into the clump of huge Scandinavian-looking, Corona-swilling dart players.

Callie’s hair still prickled on the back of her neck even after Puck left, and she rubbed it, troubled. She turned back to the room, stopped short, and stared. More customers sat at tables and in the shadows of the booths, each group just a little stranger than the last. None of them used the door.

And the Armani guy—he’d stepped into her path. Right out of the air.

Something intensely freaky was happening that she couldn’t rationalize away, no matter how hard she tried.

Was Florian telling the truth?

Instead of fear, a deep, visceral excitement flip-flopped in her abdomen, butterflies on steroids.

She never pinpointed exactly when wonder began to crowd out her reservations. Rushing between the cooler and the tables, she caught snatches of conversation and shouted greetings when others appeared. Having to bite back questions when she delivered their beverages replaced the urge to roll her eyes. She fought to keep a professional demeanor rather than fangirl all over herself when Florian introduced the Armani guy to her as Hermes. Hermes! One of her favorite characters in Greek mythology.

Three hours into the shift, she took a quick bathroom break. Her back against the door, Callie put her hands over her mouth and muffled something that sounded suspiciously like a shriek. Whether it was fear or excitement, she couldn’t quite say. Her breath came fast and short until she got dizzy. She spun the tap on the sink and the shock of cold water on her face helped bring her back down.

“What the hell, Callie? Are you really going to believe this?” she muttered to herself in the mirror. She grabbed a paper towel to blot the moisture away and waded back out into the crowded bar.

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Meet the Author

Elisabeth “E.M.” Hamill is a nurse by day, unabashed geek, chocoholic, sci fi and fantasy novelist by nights, weekends, and wherever she can steal quality time with her laptop. She lives with her family, a dog, and a cat in the wilds of eastern suburban Kansas, where they fend off flying monkey attacks and prep for the zombie apocalypse.

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A MelanieM Review: Life Itself by Elizabeth Bones

Rating: 3.75 stars out of 5

Tavali is a mage, a master thief, and his antics have just accidentally released one hundred demons across the dimensional plane. Now Tavali must recapture the errant demons, accompanied by a sentient sword determined to make him see the task through.

But fixing a mistake is always far more difficult than making it, and even love, magic, and a bossy sword may not be enough to save the day…

I thought that Life Itself by Elisabeth Bones a charming fantasy story. Mostly adventure with some romance thrown in (one already established when the story begins), Bones weaves a tale of a young mage/thief who’s mission is to set right something he has caused to go tragically wrong. In this case, because he wanted to prove that he was more talented than others, he set loose 100 demons that had been imprisoned by a Goddess in a mirror. Now he’s tasked by said furious Goddess not to rest or return home until all have been recaptured.

It’s quite the undertaking and the Goddess has sent a sentient sword to keep him focused and moving always onto the next demon. Luckily for Tavali, he also picked up a loving partner, Suran, as well. So the hunt for the demons has two people and one imperious sword doing the Goddess’ bidding.

I found myself wishing Bones had been a little clearer on the world building here. Apparently, the sword takes them from world to world chasing the demons which scattered all over the galaxy or various dimensions as it were. By the time the story beings, Tavali is extremely weary having recaptured all but 8.

I would have liked to have more of past demon hunts or something but except for the one where Tavali meets his prince/lover we don’t get much back story. And that’s a shame. Most of Life Itself revolves around one demon hunt. Good thing its a good one.

Bones creates a wonderful child character, a life force magic, and a demon to contend with for Tavali. In many ways I almost wished for more of this girl and her world. I found her charming, courageous, and someone I absolutely connected with.

In fact, most of my issues with this story is that I wish it were longer so that the author could add in more elements to her world building, back history to her characters, and just perhaps give us those last demons that remained to be hunted down.

I will certainly be on the lookout for more stories by Elizabeth Bones and recommend this one to all lovers of adventure and fantasy.

Cover art: Aisha Akeju. I like the cover, its visually pleasing and speaks of magic.

Sales Links: Less Than Three Press | Amazon

Book Details:

ebook
Published May 23rd 2018 by Less Than Three Press
ISBN139781684312351
Edition LanguageEnglish

Release Blitz Twenty-One Arrow Salute by Kasia Bacon (excerpt and giveaway)

RELEASE BLITZ

Book Title: Twenty-One Arrow Salute (Order Series #Book 2.5)

Author: Kasia Bacon

Publisher: Self-published

Cover Artist: Ying Draws

Genre/s: NA Fantasy

Length: 23 000 words/ 100 pages

Release Date: June 11, 2018

Other stories in the series: The Mutt #1, The Highlander #2

Goodreads

Blurb

An archer’s heart is a hard target to hit…

Verhan Tŭrryés of Black Mountain is a handful.

Freshly enlisted in the Highland Regiment, he does all he can to steer clear of responsibility and commitment. Just not his cup of mead, that. Loose of tongue and even looser of morals, he rarely misses an opportunity to get into trouble—and into the other archers’ knickers, too.

In a unit composed almost entirely of Dark Elves, Hernan Seinnés, with his green eyes and auburn hair, is an outsider. When Verhan, up the creek again, is blackmailed into helping Hernan, he never expects to fall for him. But during the long hours spent training Hernan for the Honour Guard, feelings strike the Highlander right in the heart—and with the force of an arrow.

Unversed in relationships, Verhan finally plucks up enough courage to tell Hernan how he feels, only to drive the Asirhwӱnian away instead. If Verhan can swallow his pride, he might get one last chance to show Hernan what he means to him—and maybe this time he can hit the mark.

Buy Links – Available on Kindle Unlimited

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Excerpt

Taking a step too wide, Hernan faltered at the very end, finishing the last form atthe wrong angle. The error turned his stance rigid, his poise evaporating before my eyes.

“Not bad. For an Asirhwӱnian,” I grinned and winked. “Let’s repeat it a few more times without stopping. I want to try something. Close your eyes and picture the forms in your mind. I’ll be behind you, guiding your steps, alright?”

Hernan nodded.

Slowly, I approached him from the rear and placed my hands on his hips.

That first time I touched him, my heart downright assailed my rib cage, beating out a rhythm violent enough to cause me internal damage. To my dismay, I felt more riled up by that innocent contact than the last time I had my trousers around my ankles and a bulky sergeant pressed against the wall. Silently swearing, I tried shutting down those thoughts and refocusing.

And so we moved in a half circle, gliding through the air, in tune with one another.

The sweet spiciness of his scent reminded me of darhê. Hyperawareof the warmth emanating from his body, I lost all sense of time. It might’ve been a few minutes or an hour before we came to a stop.

As if bewitched, both of us remained still. It was Hernan who eventually turned his head to the side. He looked up at me over his shoulder.

The air seemed to shimmer around him, the edges of my vision distorted. I took in his smooth, flushed skin embellished with a few freckles. His slightly parted lips, plump and rosy. His wide, pale eyes, as green as a forest fern. All the colours that defined him filled me with a sense of wonder.

About the Author

A linguist and an avid reader with a particular fondness for fantasy and paranormal genres, KASIA BACON lives in London with her husband. When not tearing her hair out over a translating project, she writes stories about the shenanigans of emotionally constipated assassins and sexy Elves. Otherwise, she can be found shaking her loins at a Zumba class, binging on anime or admiring throwing knives on Pinterest. She has a mild coffee and lemon tart addiction. A lover of MMA and Muay Thai, she also enjoys nature and the great outdoors. She dreams of becoming independently wealthy, leaving the city and moving into her wooden mini-manor—located in the heart of stunning forests resembling those of the Elven Country depicted in her tales.

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Book BLAST- The King’s Sun (The Brass Machine #1) by Isaac Grisham (excerpt)

Book Title: The King’s Sun (The Brass Machine #1)

Author: Isaac Grisham

Publisher: Cooper Blue Books, LLC

Cover Artist: Dissect Designs

Genre/s: Fantasy and LGBT

Length: 95,000 words/298 pages

Goodreads

Blurb

Prince Kitsune trained all his life to become a leader in the king’s wars for supremacy, but the fearsome monarch dashes those dreams and banishes his devoted son. Not all is lost—to reclaim his birthright, Kitsune must kill the son of his father’s rival. A son possessed by fiery magic.

Outside of the capital walls for the first time, Kitsune struggles to survive accursed wilderness and political intrigue while executing his mission. He meets the enigmatic, dark-haired Myobu and discovers magical Yokai spirits, dark family secrets, and strange new feelings for his companion.

As the two men forge a path through the region, an unrealized and dangerous magic blossoms within Kitsune. It is the mysterious power of the Yokai spirits, capable of unspeakable destruction, and it grows stronger with each passing day. Could he use this gift to slay his target, or would it destroy all that he loves?

Prince Kitsune is banished from his homeland. To reclaim his birthright, he must kill the son of his father’s rival. A son possessed by fiery magic. While executing his mission, he meetings dark-haired Myobu and discovers magical Yokai spirits, dark family secrets, and strange new feelings for his companion.

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Excerpt

Inari Palace had been the center of the Kitsunetsuki Kingdom for well over nine centuries. If its people had always regarded it to represent a place to fear, Prince Kitsune could not tell. What he did know for certain was that his father, King Oni, was a powerful man who deserved the fear and respect given unto him.

Kitsune shared in the people’s reverence of King Oni of the Asher lineage. It was said that Oni’s father had fallen in love with and married one of the beautiful Yokai spirits that purportedly inhabited the land around Inari Palace. While Kitsune was doubtful that such spirits existed, he knew the mythology of his people’s religious beliefs. The offspring of such a pairing tended to manifest heightened intelligence and magical abilities that increased in complexity with age. The motives of such individuals were a mystery, and their agendas were unlike those of ordinary people. This allegedly stemmed from a lack of human morals.

No one had ever witnessed King Oni displaying acts of magic, but his wisdom and cleverness were renowned beyond the borders of Kitsunetsuki, as were his skills in war and battle. With his combined talents, two successful military campaigns had already been waged under his reign, resulting in the conquering of the Mogo Empire to the south and the Ruio Territory to the northeast. A third campaign was rumored to be launched within the next sun cycle. It was Kitsune’s greatest desire to fight alongside his father this time around.

Whether it was from the constant state of warfare or the demands of ruling the vast and expanding domain, King Oni was a man rarely seen by even his closest advisors. As a child, Kitsune looked forward to his birthdays not for the presents, but rather because they were the rare days his father would most certainly present himself—assuming he was not leading the military elsewhere. As he matured, Kitsune saw the king less and less often. Now he only knew his father existed from the messages, requests, and gifts sent via servants.

Such remoteness did not temper Kitsune’s admiration of his father. It only solidified his notion that the numerous obligations of running the kingdom could only be handled by a man as judicious and dutiful as the king. Understanding that such responsibilities demanded considerable time, Kitsune willingly accepted his position in his father’s life. Though they both resided within the palace, it had been well over a sun cycle since they’d seen each other face to face.

This was why it came as such a surprise when Kitsune was awoken late one morning by a servant knocking on his chamber doors with a simple message: King Oni demands your presence immediately.

About the Author

Ever since his elementary school librarian made his short story about a sick dog available for checkout, Isaac had wanted to be a writer. A lot of words had been put to paper since then, including tales about dinosaurs, space travels, and the afterlife. The King’s Sun, the first part of The Brass Machine, is his first published work.

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