Certain Dark Things by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

I will admit straight out that it's the cover of Certain Dark Things by Silvia Moreno-Garcia that had me pick up the book. That. Art. Though I'm somewhat fatigued by vampires in standard urban fantasy settings, what had me keen to dip into Moreno-Garcia's writing was the setting, as well as a dip into a culture vastly different from my own. I will also admit that I played an inordinate amount of Vampire: The Masquerade as a young adult, so everything about the book's premise tickled me.

The story itself isn't all that complex – a vampire on the run, Atl, meets up with an unhoused young man, Domingo, and together the two of them form an unlikely alliance as she does her best to get out of Mexico City. For Reasons. I'm not going to get spoilery.

The two couldn't be more different from each other, and yet somehow Domingo in his naïveté creeps past Atl's defences. With them, we explore a dark, gritty urban setting that feels almost dystopian, drawing on Mexico's complicated history and social discourses. I like also that Moreno-Garcia has given a fresh spin to the vampire mythos, drawing on deeply rooted Meso-American mythology but blending in transplanted European notes to create a heady mix of cultures.

The pacing balances moments of quieter introspection with bursts of action, so I'd probably put this novel in the category of supernatural thriller. Overall, a wonderful read that has placed Moreno-Garcia firmly on a "yes, I'll pick up her other books when I see them in the wild" list.

Wicked Magic (The Vampires of Oxford #1) by Margot de Klerk

I've lost count of the number of requests I receive from authors of slayer-vampire type stories, but from the get go, Wicked Magic by Margot de Klerk won me over. Perhaps it is because I've got a soft spot for Oxford or the fact that she has the same surname as my grandmother, but yeah, sometimes I say yay to reviews based purely on a whim. This was one that I do not regret.

Look, this is stock-standard urban fantasy, so if you're a fan of Supernatural, Buffy, et al, you'll be on familiar turf with our dear Nathan Delacroix, a generational vampire hunter. Just shy of his 18th birthday, he has so many expectations to live up to, and balancing his school work with his nascent career as a hereditary vampire hunter is anything but easy.

Added to this is the wee complication that he's friends with the very creatures he's being trained to hunt – namely his uncle, who was turned into a vampire during a botched hunt. Not only that, but Nathan is having second thoughts about this whole vampire hunter thing, and with both his parents so heavily involved in the family business, it's tricky for Nathan to communicate his complicated feelings surrounding the matter.

While he navigates the typical issues young men his age face, he also finds himself embroiled in a bigger problem that threatens the fragile equilibrium of the supernatural community. In a society where extremists lurk in the shadows, Nathan must navigate a difficult middle path, often facing dangers that would make ordinary folks run for the hills.

If you're looking for a YA urban fantasy read that will effortlessly take you on a trip to an atmospheric UK university town, then I recommend Wicked Magic. The plot is well thought out, the characters are engaging, and the often snarky dialogue between characters a delight. I'll happily read more of De Klerk's writing. This one gets five black bats from me.

Ravensblood (Ravensblood #1) by Shawn Reppert

It can be argued that mages in a contemporary setting has been done to death, but there's something about Shawna Reppert's Ravensblood that drew me in. The story has a sort of Harry Potteresque feel, but imagines a world where magic has been normalised – and what the possible impact it would have on society.

There's the division between light and dark mages, with enough grey areas between to make me happy that this story had some morally ambiguous areas. And then there's the fact that I'm a sucker for redemption arcs and broody anti-heroes of a gothic bent. Which makes this novel very much a not-so-guilty indulgence for me between other, more serious reads.

And if there wasn't a bit of Severus Snape in Corwyn Ravenscroft then I'll eat my magic mouse.

This the first in a series, so I'm glad to see there are more books to follow up, as I've grown rather attached to both Cass and Corwyn. The story thus far is quite simple – Cass lost her taste for dark magic and returned to serving the light – and more specifically the Guardians – a sort of special force to protect society, but she still has a huge stigma attached to her due to her association with the notorious Corwyn – or Raven as she calls him. Cass's partner, Zack, is an Aussie with attitude, but he's a man of honour who stands by Cass when others are quick to judge her.

Corwyn is the right-hand man of the dark mage William, who hides behind his magical wards while biding his time to bring about a new age that sees him as the great overlord.

Look, I'm not going to spoil what happens, but there's a lovely redemption arc narrative here, with the whiff of a not-quite love triangle. I like the fact that the dark and light mages are portrayed as human – not just convenient caricatures. Not all the good guys are squeaky clean and some of the bad guys are pretty decent people too – just that their outlooks on life set them at polar opposites. And I reckon that's probably what kept me reading.

While Reppert doesn't cover any fresh ground in terms of tropes, she tells a good story with heart, and motivated me to purchase book 2 in this series the moment I was done. Consider me invested and looking forward to what happens next.

Knucklebone by NR Brodie

With a dearth of traditionally published speculative fiction in South Africa, I'm tickled pink to get hold of NR Brodie's Knucklebone*. I've been reading her non-fiction for a while, and I love her style, so I was dead keen to see what her fiction would be like, and I was not disappointed.

Set in Joburg, Knucklebone is a fast-paced occult-noir primarily from the point of retired cop Ian, and his unintended partner Reshma, as they are plunged into a shadowy world of witches, sangomas and poaching/animal parts smuggling rings.

Brodie brings her setting to life with a large, varied cast of memorable characters, many of whom have in-your-face attitudes that I enjoyed immensely. Her writing is precise without losing the ability to evoke, and she keeps her chapters short, so the story moves along at a breath-taking pace. So if you're like me and don't have extended periods to read, this novel is perfect. Of course, if you're anything like me, you'll be tempted to read just one more chapter before bed.

The brevity and fast pace does have its down side, however. While the story picks up pace as it winds to its conclusion I feel that it loses some of its impact near the end with the introduction of a whole passel of new characters who all play small roles before exiting stage left. I understand that they each contribute to the resolution, but gained the sense that it diluted some of the punch that the climax would have had, especially for Ian as a central character. I'd have liked to have seen a bit more development or, failing that, a paring down of the number of characters.

This being said, it was not a dealbreaker for me, since I was already on board for the ride. Brodie dips into South Africa's melting pot of cultures to produce a story that dances with many traditions, both African, Eastern and Western, and the end result is a delicious melange. Knucklebone is the kind of novel that will appeal to lovers of both fantasy and thrillers, in my opinion, and if you like your fiction with a more than healthy dollop of magic, then dip into this one.

* This is a hint to South African publishers that there are oodles of talented SFF authors in the country worth investing in, so do open your doors to queries in these genres.

A Discovery of Witches (All Souls Trilogy #1) by Deborah Harkness

Title: A Discovery of Witches (All Souls Trilogy #1)
Author: Deborah Harkness
Publisher: Viking Penguin, 2011

This is one of those books that I really, really wanted to love, because I have this thing for academics who stumble onto earth-shattering secrets. Also, I still hold out a hope that I'll find depictions of vampires in fiction that will fill me with happiness. I'd heard that this book was basically Twilight for academics and I'd hoped that the comparison would be a load of pigs' bollocks.

Unfortunately the comparison to Twilight is all too apt, and anyone who's read Meyer's books will see the similarities. And, possibly, love it for all the same reasons (if they're a fan). I'm not a fan of Twilight even if I have to grudgingly admit that I'm glad it's spurred people who wouldn't ordinarily read into picking up more books other than Meyer's.

I digress...

Deborah Harkness can write, and she does so well, but by gum, where the hell was her editor to rein her in? A large part of this book was food porn, as Diana Bishop pontificates over what to feed her vampiric consort. The story takes aaages to get off the ground, and, much like my suffering through Outlander, I kept reading in the hope of seeing the story take off.

It doesn't.

Essentially, Diana Bishop is the last scion of a long line of respected witches, who prefers logic and reason to employing her unpredictably strong magic. She prefers the life of quiet academia to the adventures that resulted in her parents' untimely sticky end. And then she meets pretty-boy vampire Matthew, and the two proceed to a tsundere-style relationship until they finally admit their love for one another.

Matthew dominates and bullies, and is the typical alpha male I'm sure scores of avid female readers of urban fantasy love and crave. Except he does absolutely nothing for me. We're introduced to a bunch of other species. We're introduced to a Chosen One trope, though Diana's hardly a Harry Potter. She manifests all sorts of super powers but doesn't seem to be too fazed.

And then there's the effing book. I call it the effing book because FFS if I were a bookworm. Actually, I lie, I'm a complete book freak, and if there was a supposedly magical manuscript that only I could find or call up in the stacks ... and I'd let it slip through my fingers, I'd be a lot more freaked out by the mystery and a lot more adamant to get to the bottom of it than Diana Bishop, who seems to be more concerned about yoga, rowing and the freaking SALAD she's feeding a vampire than she is about the effing book everyone's getting their knickers in a twist about.

Okay, that was a effing long sentence, but yeah, I spent half my time while reading wanting to throw my iPhone at the wall out of pure frustration.

The bottom line is there's stuff that's going down, but the characters spend most of their time waffling, even when there's clear and present danger ... and they have zero sense of urgency. There's talk about family planning FFS... The effing book that's mysteriously vanished... and they're swanning about in the French effing countryside. Eating ... and comparing notes on fine wines. ARGH.

I think Harkness is probably a very fine travel or foodie writer. If you like that sort of detail on nearly every page, you'll love this book, I suppose. I just got really tired of waiting for things to get off the ground ... and then even when they did (and by now these super-duper magical occurrences were happening as effortlessly as they would in that TV series Charmed) ... and there's a monster a minute, with whiffs of inter-species xenophobia to boot...

Mainly, I feel that the book got off to a promising start but was then bloated with unnecessary detail to the point where I suspect the author wasn't really sure *how* she was going to end the novel... But that's just my inner editor whispering thoughts into my head. Don't mind me. I'll just sit here in my corner whimpering on about how Twilight killed the vampire.

A Melancholy Humour by DC Petterson, revised edition

DC Petterson and I go a way back. We've been in writers' groups together, and years ago, when I was still editor over at Lyrical Press, I had the pleasure of working on his first novel-length work, A Melancholy Humour. The wheel turns, and Mr Petterson's rights reverted to him, so when I started working through Crossroad Press, I was overjoyed to have him as one of the select authors with whom I still work.

I've edited two of his novels that occur in the same universe. Lupa Bella, though it was released second, is actually a kind of prequel to A Melancholy Humour. You don't need to read either in any specific order, because each stands on its own. Each tracks Petterson's envisioning of the Good Walkers and the Bad Walkers, the Italian legends of the Benandanti and the Malandanti. Flavoured with werewolves and Italian witches, these stories go to some truly dark places, and hark back to classic-era horror in the style of Stephen King.

And I'm not making the comparison lightly. Petterson is a deeply thought-provoking author whose world is dark, tactile and evocative of something wild that lurks beneath the skin. There's a lot more going on here than you'd expect from the average wolf shifter story.

This time we once again worked with the very talented Milan Colovic, who did the cover art for Lupa Bella initially. We feel he's totally in tune with our vision.

Without further ado, the back cover copy:
Monsters walk the streets of Chicago. So do werewolves. 

Violence swirls around a vulnerable street waif caught between sorcery and madness. Vicious murders on Chicago’s near north side pull Vincent Thiess out of retirement as a police profiler. He must untangle conflicting threads from the Church, the FBI, medieval folklore and his own tortured past. 

Behind the facade of an old Italian neighborhood, do werewolves really prowl? As Vincent struggles to separate reality from nightmare, ancient truths from modern deception, he must protect his family and solve the mystery of the young woman at the center of it all—and keep himself from falling desperately in love.

If this piques your interest, the feel free to add the book on Goodreads, or purchase at Amazon or Smashwords.

Heart Of Fire looks at life and death… and things that make us what we are by J Damask

Today I hand over my blog to the wonderful J Damask, author of the Jan Xu Adventures that I had the privilege of working with many years ago when I was still editing for Lyrical Press. This month, J Damask is celebrating the long-awaited continuation of her Jan Xu stories, Heart of Fire.

Heart Of Fire has had an exciting journey. Third book of the Jan Xu Adventures series, it was first accepted by Masque Books and then later by Fox Spirit Books. Its publishing journey is parallel to its gradual transformation from concept to story.  It has been a journey of ups and downs.

Writing the book took a lot from me. I explored issues that impacted my life: Buddhism, Chinese traditions and customs, and death. I wanted to explore the cycle of life and death as part of the story. It is an urban fantasy novel, but it also weaves in things that matter to us, to our hearts and identities as human beings. The songs that sing to us might just be universal in the end: love, family, trust and compassion.

In this third novel of the series, Jan is confronted with more trouble. She rescues a foreign wolf, setting off a series of events and incidents that affect her health, her family and her pack. Throw in the machinations of Chinese vampires and the Western drakes – and Jan has to fight for her life, literally.

The book starts with the celebration of the Lunar New Year or Spring Festival, one of the festivals I love as a Chinese girl growing up in Singapore.  I have always enjoyed the eating, the feasting, the variety of food, and (when I was a little girl) the red packets filled with money. Now, since I am married, I have to give the red packets to children. There are families getting together to have the reunion dinner and share stories while they eat. My own memories consist of going to my grandparents’ and playing with my cousins. The same goes with Jan and her large pack-family. Family, in her case, is the bonding factor that keeps her going.

Life is then followed by the grim reality of death. Someone in Jan’s family suddenly dies and she grieves deeply. How does she deal with the pain of loss? This is where I weave in Buddhism. My father is Buddhist and I grew up listening to his chanting at nights.  The mantra I use in the novel is om mani padme hum, the “jewel in the lotus”.
But, of course, there will be action in the novel. The political and manipulative drakes begin to assert a stronger influence in the story. Familiar characters will also appear, causing no small amount of head ache for Jan and her pack, testing her leadership and straining the ties in her family.

Heart Of Fire can be purchased from:
Amazon UK, Amazon US, Spacewitch

Bio:
J. Damask (Joyce Chng) lives in Singapore. Heart Of Fire is the third book of the Jan Xu Adventures series. She blog at A Wolf’s Tale and tweets at @jolantru. 

Featured author: J Hamlet – The Chaos Theology #1

Today I'm playing host to author J Hamlet, author of The Chaos Theology. So, take a look, and check out the Rafflecopter giveaway at the end of this post.


Title: Hand of Chaos
Series: The Chaos Theology #1
Author: J Hamlet
Publication Date: September 4, 2013
Genre: Dark Urban Fantasy

Synopsis
Exhausted, cynical, and confused, Anna is always there to report for duty. She's part of a clandestine government team that defends the nation against supernatural terrorism—a job that understandably leaves her life in shambles and drives her to drink a little more than she should. Toss in a fear of intimacy with a desire to have friends and lovers like a normal person and, well, Anna is a troubled soul wrapped in a special agent with arcane, magical powers. Waking up hungover at five–­thirty in the morning with a zombie­–infested apartment building in the heart of DC to deal with, she knows she's got the makings of the worst morning possible.

Her team is its own challenge. A battle­–scarred Nigerian shaman, a bookish shape­shifter, an inept summoner, and a brilliant but cantankerous wizard round it all out. Her partner, an immortal and cursed Paladin, is the only person she knows more jaded than herself. Getting them all to work together is never easy, with Anna often caught in the cross fire.

Their target, Ethan Morgan, is one pissed off necromancer. His brother was KIA by his own government, the victim of an experimental magical weapon they decided to test on the battlefield. Now bent on revenge and sponsored by one of hell's most powerful demons, Ethan has a plan of his own to make us all pay. Anna and her team are fighting against the wake of destruction, but Ethan is always one step ahead. With the number of bodies he leaves and reanimates growing exponentially, Anna's wondering if they'll stop him before he engulfs everyone in an undead horde.

Buy Links
Amazon  |  Goodreads

Author Bio

Everyone needs a hobby. And, like most people, I hope one day that my hobby will liberate me from my mind–­numbing day job. I chose writing. Not one of the easier ones. I chose it at the tender age of 14, churning out terrible science fiction novels that heaped on the cliches and barely hidden tropes of all space operas. Thankfully, those creations reside in the prison of an old Commodore 64 hard drive and several 3.5" disks (kids, ask your parents) in a landfill somewhere. And, let me be clear, the world is better for it.

Along the way, I kept writing. Through college. Through grad school. Through the beginning of my career, such as it is. I like to believe I picked up skills. I wanted to write novels that had things I wanted to see. Hand of Chaos, my debut novel, brings together elements of a spy thriller and a police procedural with dark and urban fantasy. I followed that with Scarred Earth, a serial alien invasion novel I'm releasing entirely through tumblr. I'm probably going about this all wrong, but I don't know any other way.

Social Media Links
Website  |  Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Goodreads  |  Pinterest  |  Tumblr

Giveaway: There is a giveaway for this tour. A $50 Amazon/B&N Giftcard or a Book Depository shopping spree of the same value.

Open Internationally. Ends 9/15.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Red House by Sonya Clark

Title: Red House
Author: Sonya Clark
Publisher: Lyrical Press, 2012

This is not a review per se, more like a bit of long-overdue praise for Sonya, who’s one of the authors I worked with when I was still editing for Lyrical Press. So yes, I unashamedly give this book five stars because that’s how much I adore her writing, and I’ll stand by my rating. I give praise where it’s due.

Red House is book two in Sonya’s Mojo Series, which starts with the aptly named Mojo Queen (so if you’re looking to get started, pick up that one first, you won’t regret it).

Once again, in Red House, Sonya blends all the elements I love: Southern Gothic, music, magic and mysteries, all laced with memorable characters (like Daniel, the country music loving vampire ancestor) and fantastic dialogue.

Roxie does root work. This means she does everything from making mojo hands through to house cleansings. But things haven’t gone well for her since she lost her house in the flood, and in way she’s lost her mojo almost literally. And it doesn’t help that the first job she takes on to get her groove back is possibly even more challenging than the one she was faced with in book one.

All actions have consequences, especially the magical ones, and it’s how characters deal with these situations that gives me a quiet thrill. So that’s all I’ll say about the plot, and suggest that if you’re looking for urban fantasy with authentic-feeling characters who face real-life issues along with supernatural ones, then go read this book. If you’re a long-term fan of the Supernatural TV series or Charlaine Harris’s Sookie Stackhouse novels, then Sonya Clark’s tales will hit the mark.

Blood, Smoke and Mirrors by Robyn Bachar #review

Title: Blood, Smoke and Mirrors
Author: Robyn Bachar
Publisher: Samhain Publishing, 2010
Link

While some reviewers bitched about our protagonist, Cat, being too stupid to live, I’ll disagree because I felt Cat made some honest mistakes. Yes, she’s somewhat self-centred, but hell, I know a couple of crazy cat ladies who’re somewhat similar. They’re not bad people, and I feel part of the story’s charm is seeing how Cat’s bad choices dump her in hot water. Whether she’ll learn from her bad choices, now that’s going to be worth finding out. If anything, author Robyn Bachar could have worked a little more on Cat’s motivations, but other than that, it was a case of sitting back to watch her muddle through her problems.

Because for all her self-centredness and bad choices, Cat’s an incredibly loyal, caring person for those close to her, even if it’s to her detriment. She’s a down-to-earth, everywoman kind of lass who’s found herself in a situation where she has a position of power thrust upon her.

Cat found herself in a bad situation in the past when she fried some guy who attacked her—only it goes against her path to harm others, hence the business of her being outcast. The double whammy came in when her boyfriend, Lex, who’s some sort of a hotshot enforcer among the supernaturals, a guardian, was the one who turned her in.

Basically, Lex is the honourable Southern gentleman sort, whose hang-ups for doing things right can make him a bit of a pain in the hoo-ha, if you get my drift. Which is exactly why Lex and Cat’s relationship went south in the first place—because he so stubbornly clings to his role as guardian to the detriment of personal happiness. And yes, this is a major stumbling block in their relationship. Put two stubborn people convinced of their own point of view together and you’re bound to get misunderstandings. We’ve all been there.

We pick up with Lex coming back into Cat’s life as well as the fact that she’s been nominated to take on the role of ambassador between earth and the realm of Faerie. And from there things get a wee bit more complicated when some of the demons from Cat’s past get resurrected. The lady’s got major beef with her past issues. So much so that it can and does cloud her judgment.

Then when Cat reckons she’s got a handle on the whole vibe about taking on the role of Titania, there’s trouble with the vampires. I won’t say what sort of trouble, but as always, Cat goes into a situation without taking full cognisance of the full ramifications of her choices. And yes, it’s a rather lovely mess.

Overall, I really, really enjoyed this book and I hope there’s more where this came from. Bachar offers a very good balance of romance and narrative, with just enough of both elements. The world-building is imaginative and well realised, and makes me want to spend more time in her setting. Her characters come across as real people, with doubts and faults. The writing is solid and, while the actual story arcs could have used a bit of tightening, I thoroughly enjoyed the ride and would definitely pick up another by this author.

Saving Gabriel by Zoe E Whitten #excerpt

Recently I beta-read Saving Gabriel by Zoe E Whitten, and when she let me know that the title was released, I was more than happy to have her over here. Today she's sharing an excerpt, and if angels and YA fiction are your thing, then you're probably going to dig this. 

* * * *

Blurb:
Gabriel is a fallen guardian angel who assigns himself to hard luck cases despite being banned from heaven. When his current ward, Rosalinda Fernandez, is targeted for a soul harvest by another fallen angel, Gabriel is tasked by the archangels to investigate the real purpose behind the plot. All he has to do is keep his ward safe without falling in love with her. There's just one small problem: after years of watching Rosalinda grow into a proud young woman, Gabriel is already deeply in love. Even if he can expose the plot surrounding Rosalinda, will Gabriel's growing relationship with her lead to damnation for both of them?

Excerpt:
Rosalinda
As I crossed the lot, I wished I could call my mother to get a ride. But she was busy at work, being a card dealer at Caesar’s Palace. She couldn’t leave work for any reason, and even if she could, she’d have to ride a bus to find me. I’d catch pneumonia before she showed up, so it made sense to find a bus and make it home before she did.

Once I got to the dark entrance, I dug in my bag and took out my phone. It was about the nicest thing I owned, a touch screen Android phone that let me listen to my music and snap pictures whenever the mood struck me. We couldn’t afford a good plan, so I couldn’t use it to chat online like some of my friends at school did with theirs. But nobody teased me when I took out this phone, something that couldn’t be said with the monochrome hand-me-down brick that Mom “gifted” me in my freshmen year of high school.

When I opened my email app, the white background lit up with added light, and I turned the screen out toward the door to search for the address. I found the faded lettering that confirmed this had been a Circuit City, and the address below it. But I didn’t read the address before I noticed the pair of bare feet at the fading edges of my phone’s meager light output.

I raised my head and tilted the phone up, the light barely strong enough for me to make out a pair of legs clad in dark jeans. The man inside those skintight jeans took a step forward, making it easier to see his rippled bare stomach. His skin was dark brown, almost black in the inky darkness surrounding him. The light from my phone bounced off of his skin as if he were oiled down.

He took another slow step toward me as my gaze met his, and I gasped when his mouth split in a wide, lewd grin. I realized I’d just gotten away from a potential date rape with a boneheaded boyfriend and walked into another rape from a homeless guy.

I fumbled with my bag with one hand, the other still keeping the phone on the smiling man. I had to admit, he didn’t look homeless. His skin was clean, though perhaps a little slick with sweat. Given how cold it was, I guessed this oily sheen meant he was on drugs. Which explained why his pupils were so dilated, I couldn’t find his irises.

He was taller than me, and despite my bulky frame, he was also heavier. Worse, all his bulk was made of muscle. No muffin top or beer gut on him, just taut abs wound tight like steel springs. If this guy was homeless, he had to be using all his daily spare change collections on a gym membership and protein shakes.

My probing fingers found my wallet and I took it out. “I don’t have much money, but you can have it.” I didn’t want to sound scared, but my voice wavered all over the place.

The man chuckled. “I don’t want your money, Rosalinda.”

How did you know my name? I thought, but my mouth wouldn’t work to form the words. I was so scared, I couldn’t move. Then it occurred to me that I’d heard him though the glass door, but his voice wasn’t muffled. It was so illogical, like something that might happen in a dream.

The man reached out to push the door, and it swung open with a quiet hiss from the pneumatic pump. The door was locked. It must have been locked for years, but it just opened for him. At the back of my mind, I heard a voice yelling that this had to be a nightmare and I needed to wake up now.

The grinning man laughed again, a low and wicked rumble that sent ripples of fear down my back and wet my skin in a cold sweat. “I have no interest in your body for any reason either, so you don’t need to worry. I’m just here for your soul.”

Okay, that’s a line I’ve never heard before. My panicked thought made the man laugh, and I gasped, terrified that he could somehow read my mind.

I thought to run, but as I stepped back, the grinning man snapped a hand out to grab the front of my shirt. He yanked, and even knowing what was coming and resisting him, I was slung to the ground so fast I hit the pavement and rolled over twice. My panicked mind insisted that I was way too big to be tossed around this easily.

My phone slipped out of my hand, and I guess it landed screen down because everything got real dark real fast.

I came up on my feet, ignoring my pain and taking off at a full run. Behind me, I expected to hear slapping footfalls catch up to me. But there was no sound made before two hands connected with my shoulder blades and shoved me to the ground again.

I whimpered and rolled over, looking up at my smiling attacker. I could only see his brilliant white teeth, and even the whites of his eyes were impossible to find under his flared brow ridge.

In the shadow-pitched darkness, I barely recognized the outline of another man behind my attacker when a blade sprung out of his chest and his grin vanished.

The shining blade rose, seeming to reflect more light than I could find in the surrounding area. Black blood exploded from the growing wound, spraying me in a gruesome misty shower.

A thick drop splattered on my cheek, and I hit my limit for shocks. I drew in a breath and screamed, and then I got up and ran for my life.

At first, I thought the whooshing sounds were from my blood rushing too fast through my veins. My panicked panting had taken on a loud wheeze, and my stomach clenched with every step, threatening to revolt the moment I stopped to catch my breath. I’m not opposed to lifting weights or doing a few laps in the pool to keep my not-so-dainty butt from getting any bigger, but my body is not made for running, and just then it was punishing me for making a sudden unplanned effort at a marathon sprint.

I’d taken off back across the lot, crossed the road, and poured on extra speed to cross the vast expanse on unused land. Far off in the distance, the porch lights of a residential block twinkled like stars. They were my haven, my sanctuary to escape whatever crazed killer was hot on my heels.

I was no closer to safety when the whooshing noise got much louder. Horror filled my veins with ice once I recognized the sound wasn’t coming from me.

A chill wind struck my back, and I looked over my shoulder. My voice croaked in a dry-throated shout when I saw the outline of a man with giant wings swooping down on me.

I tripped on my own legs, and I was dropping to the ground when strong arms closed around my waist. I doubled over in this unbreakable embrace, crying out again when my feet left the ground and we rose into the sky. My eyes bulged as the twinkling porch lights grew smaller rapidly, and my stomach finally gave up on threats and sent a hot stream of bile to burn my too dry throat.

I’d barely emptied my stomach when I heard a voice command Sleep.

Panic and terror slid off of my mind like discarded clothing, and my eyes closed. Even though my mind was shutting down, I had a few seconds to ponder why the voice in my head was so familiar.

#

Gabriel
Trying to look everywhere else but my work, I managed to clean Rosalinda and dress her in clean underwear and pajamas before I settled her back on her bed. I’d still seen more than I was supposed to, and my cheeks were bright red when I slipped the sheet over my ward.

She made a quiet whimper and snuggled her pillow, evoking a smile from me. Then, despite her almost adult size, to me she once again looked like the little girl I knew the first time I’d saved her from herself.

She’d grown so much from the first time I’d met her, looking more like one of our people than her tiny-framed mother. She’d added a bit of padding over her muscles thanks to a steady diet of junk food, but she was just as pretty to me then as she’d been when I first caught her. I leaned over and brushed her black hair out of her face, and my touch made her sigh in her sleep.

Healing her minor bruises took less than a minute, but my hand lingered on her cheek as I stared at her. Her light brown skin was flawless, and her round face trapped my gaze and made my chest hurt. If I had a human heart, it would beat faster at the sight of my ward.

Perhaps to some humans, Rosalinda seemed too plain, but I thought her wide nose and strong chin made her look unique in a world obsessed with lean cheeks, thin noses, and pointy chins. I liked her thick eyebrows, unplucked and allowed to grow into their own natural curved shape. I liked her plump lips, never adorned with more than some waxy balm to keep them from chapping. To the human boys who courted her, she was just okay, but to me, she was a flawless work of art, a real gift from God who no one else seemed to appreciate.

As I sat there watching her sleep, a soft glow of color raised on her cheeks, giving her the appearance of a cherubim indulging in a happy daydream. She was so pretty to me that I wanted nothing more than to lean over and lay kisses on her cheeks and lips.

But the law was the law, and Rosalinda was as forbidden to me as the gates of heaven were. Acknowledging this hurt, and my smile melted into a frown as I stood up.

Covering Rosalinda with a blanket, I took her stained clothing and the now stained washcloth into the bathroom to clean everything in the tub. While I worked, my mind whirled at what I’d done. It was true that Israfel had broken the law, and had I not killed him, an avenging angel would have arrived shortly to dispatch him to hell. But that angel would have let Rosalinda die, and I could not let that happen.

I sensed the arrival of the angel before I saw him. My kind feel instant revulsion at the presence of angels. Their connection to heaven fills them with a positive energy that we had long ago been denied, and it hurts to feel that loving radiation and not be able to contain it within ourselves.

However, I did not feel any negative reaction. Because of my continuing acts of rebellion, I’d been hounded by angels so long, I’d overcome my aversion to them. So I continued working at scrubbing blood from Rosalinda’s shirt as if I were still alone, waiting for the angel to speak.

“It’s not like you to attack one of the fallen, Gabriel,” Michael said, condescending as ever. “You normally prefer policing human criminals.”

“I’ve committed no crime to require your presence,” I said, keeping my voice even.

“That’s not entirely true. You know how we feel about your interest in the child.”

“I’m simply doing my job,” I said.

“Your were fired from your job.”

My face tightened in an annoyed wince at the flat tone of Michael’s voice, but I covered it up with a slack expression quickly. “You dismissed me from my post. I chose to remain self-employed.”

“Still, killing Israfel in front of—”

“She’ll wake up tomorrow and think it was a dream,” I insisted. “I’ll leave no evidence to convince her it was real.” Michael said nothing. “It’s not like I could wait for you to save her. The archangel council stopped respecting her kind long before I fell from your favor.”

“I suppose that’s fair.” A long pause followed, but Michael hadn’t left yet. I refused to look at him, to acknowledge his presence or my anger at him, still fresh from his betrayal despite all the centuries that had passed since that dark time.

Michael drew a long breath, an affectation that irritated me because angels don’t need to breathe. “Still, it does seem odd, doesn’t it?”

“Doesn’t what?”

“Israfel said he’d come for the child’s soul. I understand your decision to jump in and play the hero for your ward once again, but had you not interfered, we could have learned why Israfel needed her as a sacrifice. We might have learned what his motivation was and planned our affairs around him. But you killed him without seeking a confession, and now we have a mystery.”

“What mystery?” I snapped, unable to bite my tongue.

“The mystery of whether Israfel was acting alone. If he wasn’t, it seems probable that the child’s life is still in danger.”

* * * *

If you’re curious to see more of Rosalinda and Gabriel, the ebook Saving Gabriel is available on Amazon for mobi users, and Kobo and my blog bookstore through Gumroad for epub readers.

RED HOUSE: Play it loud – Sonya Clark #guest

December's a busy month, it would seem. Today I'm celebrating with one of my favourite authors, Sonya Clark, with whom I've worked on a number of titles. Her novel, Red House, the follow-up to Mojo Queen, has released this week. Over to you, Sonya...

Music serves as a gateway when I write. It's how I enter the world of the story, how I get to know the characters. It helps shade in the colors I see in my head so that I can (hopefully) bring the story more fully to life on the page. Like the first in the Mojo series, MOJO QUEEN, my latest release RED HOUSE is built on a foundation of Southern music. Blues, soul, and classic country were the primary genres that played in heavy rotation while writing this book.

Paranormal investigator Roxie Mathis is also a hoodoo practitioner. She didn't start out that way, but as my own love of blues seeped deeper and deeper into the story I changed her generic magical practice to hoodoo. Her vampire ancestor Daniel is more of a classic country fan and loves to belt out Conway Twitty tunes at karaoke. They both love Memphis soul. Roxie's maybe-boyfriend Blake is usually more of a Nine Inch Nails kind of guy but even he is beginning to develop an appreciation for artists like Roy Orbison and Elvis Presley.

There are three specific songs that were important to the writing of RED HOUSE. Bob Dylan's High Water (For Charlie Patton) matched Roxie's experience of losing her home in a devastating flood and the constant hum of dread and trauma that stayed with her afterward. Charlie Patton's original High Water, about the Mississippi flood of 1927, is mentioned in the book. Dylan's version is one of his more haunting songs, which is saying a lot. There's a relentlessness to it, much like a flood itself, that makes you want to grab onto to whatever you can as the guitar threatens to pull you under. Roxie's holding on as tight as she can but the loss of her home and her business may prove too much for her.

Blake Harvill has been a tough character to crack since the beginning. Originally intended to be a bad guy, somehow he wound up the love interest. In RED HOUSE I had to find a way to bring out his humanity. He may be a dangerous sorcerer but as he tells Roxie, he can't be Master of Darkness all the time. So I had to figure out some things about Blake, like what he wanted and why. Roy Orbison's In Dreams helped me do that. The song's melancholy wistfulness is a perfect fit for the parts of Blake he tries to hide.

The third song is a version of an old blues song that's been recorded by countless artists under various names, usually either Stagger Lee or Stack-O-Lee. The version I latched on to is one I discovered in the underrated movie Black Snake Moan, in which Samuel L. Jackson channels the late bluesman RL Burnside. Jackson gives a blistering performance of Stack-O-Lee that is also extremely not safe for work, kids, and probably pets. I would love to talk about why this song is important to the book, but it would pretty much spoil the ending. I will say this: every time I had doubts about the plot line this pertains to, I would turn it on and play it loud. Stack would chase those doubts away. Er, shoot them, actually.

The Mojo playlists I have saved include some of my favorite songs. It makes it easy to slip back into that world. Almost like conjuring a spell.

Blurb:
There's high water everywhere and she's about to drown on dry land.

Roxie Mathis lost her home and her livelihood to a devastating flood. She's lucky to be staying with her vampire ancestor Daniel but she wants to put the pieces of her life back together. Trouble is, Roxie's lost her mojo. The trauma of almost drowning and losing her home left a deep mark on her.

Blake Harvill left a mark on her too and she's been missing him in the four months since he left town. Now he's back with plans to stay. Roxie wants him like she's never wanted anyone else but can she trust the sexy sorcerer with her guarded heart?

Hired to evict ghosts from the bed and breakfast called Maple Hill, her confidence takes another hit when she encounters a violent spirit she's crossed paths with in the past. When the spirit traps innocent people in the house Roxie's going to have to tap reservoirs of magic she's never touched before. Like physics, everything in magic has an equal and opposite reaction, and Roxie can only hope her desperate spellwork won't kill her--or conjure up something even more dangerous.

Learn more at http://lyricalpress.com/red-house and www.sonyaclark.net.

Sonya will have a Twitter release party on December 5 from 8 to 10pm Central US time where she'll be playing the soundtrack, talking about the book, answering any questions about it, and giving away a copy. She'll use the hashtag #redhouse and her Twitter handle is @sonyabclark. 

Khepera Rising now unleashed upon the world... Again

Tonight I approved the print files, and on Friday the ebook files went through to Smashwords, so we're good to go on #1 of the Books of Khepera series (yes, I finally figured out what to call Jamie's epic saga). I decided to run with CreateSpace because a) it's not going to cost me a dime to get files set up and b) it will get the printed book on Amazon. With Smashwords I'll get the maximum amount of different digital file options (which is ideal) and once the file passes muster, it will show up on Amazon and B&N (still waiting for that).

I'll be honest. The Books of Khepera are not going to appeal to everyone. Readers feel very strongly about Jamie. They either love him deeply, or they despise him. He doesn't make any apologies for being a vain, opinionated bastard. In many ways he's everything I'm (thankfully) not, so in a sense he exists as my animus. Which is probably why he's never quite going to go away (even though Ash is stealing hearts left, right and centre). He's part of my story. 

The man isn't completely without redeemable qualities, however. Despite being hideously flawed, Jamie does good. And perhaps there's a little bit of Jamie in all of us. We lie to ourselves about our flaws and weaknesses. Sometimes we redeem ourselves. Other times we set ourselves up for spectacular failure.

On Friday I got smacked upside the head with the premise for a fourth book. This kind of sucks because book three, Khepera in Shadow, isn't done yet, and won't be for a while since I'm supposed to be writing Thanatos (the book that follows Inkarna), have a secondary world fantasy half on the boil, and am in the midst with edits for Camdeboo Nights. Then I still got a bee in my bonnet and wrote a short Jamie story today, just for shits and giggles. Not to mention that I'm also editing an anthology of dark fantasy entitled Dark Harvest, and I'll be starting on edits for the third Bloody Parchment anthology early 2013. Oh, and I need to prep print files for some of my shorter works... jawellnofine shut up already.

So, what's on the cards next besides surviving year-end at the Sisyphusian day job? I'm finishing Thanatos so that it can go through to beta. Then it's time to revise Khepera Redeemed. I've decided the best course of action is to alternate between revising old work and finishing new work. If I'm lucky, I can get both done before the end of this year. However, I'm not holding my breath.

Now, if you haven't read Khepera Rising, you can go get it in ebook format here (the first 20 percent is available as a free download, just by the by) and you can buy the dead tree version here. One huge-ass big disclaimer. This is the first novel I ever completed. (We'll not talk about all the aborted attempts I've mercifully burnt on a funeral pyre at the bottom of the garden.) Khepera Rising is not a perfect book (what book is?) but as my first published work, it gives an idea to my readers of where I've started. For a first novel, it's still something I'm proud of. During the rebooting phase I itched to get stuck into some developmental edits, but resisted the temptation. 

This is my writing in 2007. The novel was sold in 2008. It was first published by Lyrical Press on December 21, 2009. Dear Dog I've learnt a lot since then. Khepera Rising is a crazy poke at Cape Town's underbelly and the religious intolerance of fundamentalists we all love to hate. And Jamie's a total dick and he does some really stupid stuff. But he also does some pretty awesome stuff too. You've been warned.

Cover reveal: Khepera Rising rebooted

So yeah, finally I'm kicking myself into gear enough to get to the point where cover art is finalised for the Khepera Rising reboot. (Time to stop talking about doing stuff and actually *doing* it, hey?) Next up will be book two and, it can be hoped, me finding the time and the wherewithal to finish book three, which is currently in its final throes of the grand finale where all hell breaks loose.

So, without further ado, here's the blurb:
Jamie Guillaume is the man your mother warned you about, and South Africa’s wickedest man is about to raise more than hell. Haunted by the sinister Burning One and hunted by a pack of religious extremists, Jamie’s neck-deep in trouble.

Who does a black magician turn to when it seems like his carefully constructed world’s about to disintegrate?

Cover illustration is by the fantastic Daniël Hugo, who did the art for Blood and Fire. (And yes, he's fantastically awesome.) and the actual cover design (and interiors) is Donnie Light, who handled the layout for Inkarna. Thanks, guys, I hope to plague you with more work soon.

Want to know what Khepera Rising is all about? Here're some comments from folks on Goodreads who read the novel in its earlier incarnation:

Greg Hamerton: "Jamie is suitably tormented by his lack of evil intent and vacillation in the face of his growing dilemma. The detailing of Cape Town is convincing and the dark underbelly of the city disturbing in its believability."

Sonya Clark: "The further I got in this one the more I liked it. Set in South Africa, the main character is black arts magician James Guillaume. James starts out as a thoroughly unlikable prat but as he gets more than his fair share of bad luck and trouble thrown at him - deaths, beatings, being targeted by religious fundamentalists - despite his best efforts I found myself liking him."

AJ Hayes: "There are mysteries aplenty, villains both human and in/un-human, dirty deeds done dirt cheap, magic, murderous thugs in a VW Golf waving crosses and baseball bats. Beautiful girls, hookers, kindergoths and one love of his life. Aw heck, just read the thing. It's a grabber from page one to the end."

Camdeboo Nights cover reveal

This novel's been sneaking up on me somewhat. I wrote Camdeboo Nights many, many years ago, shortly after I sold my very first novel, Khepera Rising, back in goodness knows when (I don't really keep track of these things anymore). I wrote another novel between the two, but it will remain forever buried at the bottom of a box I kinda lost somewhere (and for very good reason). Camdeboo Nights is so old I'm already rebooting the Khepera books, but it's one of my favourites, and was a quarter finalist in the ABNA Awards thingie way back when (2009, I think, I might be wrong). Subsequently it did the whole submissions mill but then stalled when a publisher had it on full sub for half a year. They eventually said no... and then I just didn't do anything with the novel until Lyrical Press started accepting YA subs and it was a case of "Oh, ja, there's this novel on my hard drive I've done nothing with". (really, I forgot I had it--ooh, look! Bright-shiny.)

So here's the cover for Camdeboo Nights, to be published by Lyrical Press. I'll give you a little hint: I wrote part of it in Nieu Bethesda while on holiday with good friends. Incidentally, HJ Lombard, the photographer who provided the background image of the Karoo landscape, was on holiday with me at the time. (Thank you, HJ, for allowing me the use of the image, you're the best.) Now go check out his studio here. He's an awesome photographer.

Then, a little bit about the actual cover design. When I found out that Valerie Tibbs was doing my cover, I knew I was in good hands. She's done a number of covers for some of the authors I've edited, so I consider it an absolute honour to have her do the cover for this novel. Now, go check out her website here.

So, when's the novel releasing, and what is it about? I'll say this much: it's a YA urban fantasy road trip that involves an entire menagerie of supernatural oddness, that takes place in South Africa. I blend a little African myth and magic with the standard tropes we've all come to know and love. We're still busy with the edits (at time of writing, the MS has gone to line edits.) The release date will only be finalised once I've signed off on the galley, and that's a while yet. Good things should never be rushed. ;-)

In Conversation with a Vampire, Xan Marcelles. #guest

Xan Marcelles and I've had many long conversations. We're lucky enough tonight that we've hatched up one to share specially with you peeps. Today is the official day we celebrate the release of Crooked Fang, which is available in print and electronic format.

ND: So, dude, your story's been out for a bit now and I hear you're a hit with the ladies. What have some of them said about you?

XM: They seem to have a thing for bass players for some reason. And I dunno, like they think that I'm hot? I'm just a dude with fangs so [shrug]. I mean it's flattering and everything, but I don't see what the big deal is. I just like talking to everybody.

In Crooked Fang, I'm not as popular as you might think. I get assaulted in different ways, not all bad but still. Hah. Keeps things interesting.

ND: Haha, a dude with fangs. Let's put you on the spot then. How do you reckon you measure up compared to other popular vamps? If you were to be in the same room as say, Lestat, Edward and the Count himself. What would you have to say to these dudes?

XM: Count Dracula would probably scare the shit out of me. Considering he's like a million years old, really creepy looking and has a castle. But he's got a ton of weaknesses to balance the odds. The whole sun-thing, has to carry around dirt from his homeland, sleep in a coffin, dead to the world when he sleeps...yeah. I don't think I would say much to him at all besides this:

X: "How's it going?"
[Dracula hiss]
X: "Well alright then..."

Lestat I have a lot of respect for, I gotta say. Except he's French and kind of...French and probably talks with a snippy French accent. Not that I got a thing against the French. I'm sure he'd be all arrogant with me, or maybe not. Maybe we can jam and he could shriek some vox and make Serv (my singer) look like a kitten in the vox department. Lestat is undeniably cool, but if I had to guess who'd I'd get along with better? Louis. But. BUT. If I was put in a situation with Lestat I think it'd go like this:

X: "How's it going?"
L: [sneer]
X: "I heard you like to sing and tried to expose the entire vampire race. Plus, damn. Akasha. What a rush huh?"
[Lestat punches me in the gut or bites me or something]
X: "It sucks you can't get laid to relieve those frustrations, man."

I get murdered on the spot. The end of Xan.

Edward Cullen. Do I really have to answer this one? I think I'd just sit there and hum the tune of "One of These is Not Like the Others"...

No, really. Considering he's like fatally deformed and useless as a vampire. And thanks to him, I get to hear the sparkly vampire jokes. Maybe I'd punch him in the teeth. Maybe.

ND: Haha, oh shit I think I can almost smell a fanfiction mash-up at this point, that's if Rice would allow her fans to play nicely with her vampires. So, speaking of fanfiction, how would you feel about that? Especially if folks were to take it to the Fifty Shades degree?

XM: Fanfiction will happen whether you like it or not. It's the slash that I'm kind of like O_O; at. Or any variation thereof, you know? Like Blood and Fire. Ash and I...just eww. Seriously. I can't even.

I like females. I'm sorry. I apologize to the whole world for being straight as a board in advance. If fanfiction comes along, it'll be dealt with on a case-by-case basis. Because I think while it encourages people to be creative, it can border on plagiarism and that's not only uncool, it's illegal.

ND: Slash. Ugh. [scrubs eyeballs] So, if there were to be a merry mash-up (sans the slash), which characters would you be flattered to share space with?

XM: Damn. You really have me at a disadvantage because I don't know much about other characters in my genre. Give me a break, I'm fictional, right?

Ok. I have one. Shane McAllister in Jeri Smith-Ready's WVMP series. A musician, a quiet dude and a vampire. Well wait, we'd probably bore the readers by being stoic and musiciany. Although his maker Regina? I'd hit that. Goth chicks are hot.

Killer story with Shane and Regina right here.

Plus, c'mon. They love music. They DJ at a radio station. My kind of crowd.

ND: Getting back to the novel, Crooked Fang, did you expect to have your living past so tied up with the undead present? We're dealing with a lot of time disjunction, you holding onto your "for now", while the rest of the world moves along. How do you cope?

XM: Definitely not. A man thinks that he can just up and leave everything behind--not true at all. It will bite you in the ass if loose ends aren't tied. And it hurts like hell. Seeing people get old, especially like when I haven't been around to have it happen gradually...man, it's a shock. It separates me more and more from who I used to be. I mean the first who. Not the second. I'm on my third who now.

I think a lot. A damn lot. And the more I think, the worse I feel, so it's an endless circle of thinking and maybe drinking because drinking helps numb the mind to the point of dumb. Not like it's gonna hurt me anyway. I throw myself into my band, or stupid me, I try and help somebody else out. That rarely works out well but I can't just stand by and let people in front of me be in pain.

It sucks being stuck in a place where I'm standing still, yet time goes on. And the thought of losing the rest of what I know makes me sick.

You want to know how I deal? One night at a time.

ND: So, where do you see yourself headed out to in say ten or twenty years? Where is your "for now" then? Hard questions, I know, but you're a lot deeper than your facade.

XM: New place. New identity. One night here whenever, I'll decide it's time, pack my shit and leave Pale Rider. Sooner rather than later if questions start popping up. Or, the alternative is to tell them all. Would they accept me? Could I stay anonymous as the bass player in this or that band?

Maybe twenty years ago I could've. These days, people have real nice cameras in their phones. The internet is nosy. People are suspicious and way more open-minded, which is a double-standard. And then there's the others like me. If I divulged and stayed put, eventually they would come for me and drag me off anyways. That's just how shit is. It's how it's always been and always will be. Even I have to submit just a hair to the big dogs. And there are very big and very old dogs.

So, my twenty years from now? I'll be someplace else and anybody I knew before will probably either be dead or no longer know where I am. I'll end up someplace in Mexico, or Russia, or any other location. But not here. Not in Colorado.

ND: Why have vampires remained so secretive? Why don't you guys take over the world? Do you really have something to fear from the humans?

XM: Hmm. How to answer that without giving too much away...

In my world, a vampire has to be a certain age, which varies with type, to make a new one worth a shit. Else you end up with...you know what I'm talking about. So, there really aren't too many of us, except for the Nesferata which seem to be spawning like termites. But even then, not nearly enough to take over the world, like you're saying. Making enough hellspawn to do something that crazy would dilute the strength in vamps so much across the board we wouldn't be able to fend off an old lady armed with a handbag. And most vamps aren't the type to need to be out there. We take our drinks in private to avoid consequence because that draws attention and even people can't kill people without penalty.

There's the weakness to sun. Fire, etc. It benefits my kind to just stay in the shadows or operate from places so high nobody questions a damn thing. At least that's what I know, been told, or can say freely.

ND: And now, to ease up on all the hardcore shit. So, your writer tells me there's wiggle room for another story. If and when that happens, what do you think your fans can expect? What would you like to do now that you've had a couple of misadventures?

XM: Well no. The rabbit hole just goes deeper. In Crooked Fang, all you saw was me and my immediate issues with maybe a little glimpse into the supernatural world, or whatever the hell people call it now. Paranormal? Way to make me feel better about myself. Anyways.

The second book I still have to deal with problems from the first. I can't just ignore some problems and hope they go away. Without giving spoilers from either book, I'll just probably get in even more trouble and be forced to look at my vampire self again. Maybe show more from those missing years when I was living the vampire lifestyle. I'm sure it'll be gouged out of me someway or another. Readers wanna know, and what readers want, readers get. Within reason, you know?

ND: So, any parting shots for your readers?

XM: Besides a huge, humble show of gratitude and appreciation? That they even bother to look at my site or read my book?

Well there's that, and there's me seeing a lot of lonely people in pain and I just wanna say to them, they aren't alone. Everybody is somebody; fat, skinny, young, old--it don't matter. For the people that were there in the beginning and still there now, shit...wow. You know. There's no words to express how good that makes me feel.

For the new ones coming along, hey, nice to meet you. Come talk at me on Twitter @crookedfang. Tell me what you think. Let's talk music or whatever. Listen to me bitch about Auto-Tune. Come see my website at www.crookedfang.com. Lots of fun ways to dig into what Crooked Fang is, who I am, etc. Blogs, merch, books, other shit.

I love you all. Keep it real.

Lates.

~Xan

Inkarna on an ereader near you

My “heart” novel I wrote in 2011 has finally hit an ereader near you. Yep, if you’re one of the growing newer generation of readers who’ve taken to onscreen reading, then you can now buy and download Inkarna before the print release.

Ash, the main character, appears to have captivated some of my early reviewers, and I’ve selected some of their thoughts on the novel to whet your appetite.

Ms. Dorman has a wonderful hand with description. I felt as if I were familiar with Cape Town when, in actuality, I've never set foot there. Ms. Dorman's love of South Africa is evident on each page. At just under 300 pages, this novel is rich and complex, dark and intriguing and well worth the time it takes to read it. It is not a fast read because attention must be paid to the details, the Egyptian terms and concepts and all the twists and turns of the never predictable plot. – Amy Lee Burgess, author

I FELT for this man. Beyond the sex-appeal of his external appearance, I became invested in his world and thoughts, feeling much like I'd emerged from underwater after a lovely and energetic swim when I finished the story. INKARNA is truly a one-of-a-kind story and dismisses the now rather common concepts of vampires, werewolves, and even demons. It is indeed the "different" novel you've been looking for. – Carrie Clevenger, author

This is one of those rare cases in which I've sat down to sample a new work and ended up finishing the novel in a single setting. Dorman's writing voice is so self-assured, it's as though she's speaking directly to the primal levels of a reader she already knows in and out. Dorman weaves a captivating paranormal tale using tragically, endearingly imperfect players drawn straight from the human morass, and if you haven't been there yourself, you'll feel right at home by the time she's done. – Serenity J Banks, author

And, if you don’t have a kindle, don’t despair. You can download the kindle app free for your cellphone or computer, or even an online reader via select internet browsers. All you need is a credit card and a twitchy mouse finger. Oh, and nook fans are catered for too.

Amazon (US) 

Amazon (UK)

nook 

Follow me on Twitter @nerinedorman for further updates or check out my website.

#Review: Fallen by Lauren Kate

Title: Fallen

Author: Lauren Kate

Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers, 2009

I’ve been meaning to lay hands on this book for a long time, mostly because books two and three have landed on my desk as review copies for the newspaper publisher I write for. What more could I ask for? Pretty cover art and an angelic theme? Plus I’d seen a lot of hype in the shops. A LOT of hype. From what I can see, gallons of marketing blood, sweat and tears went into Fallen to follow successfully in the wake of Tweelight. I’d even heard some folks telling me Luce and Daniel were to Fallen what Bella and Edward were to Twilight. I suppose to those peeps were right but it still doesn’t make this a good book.

Where do I even start? I feel like I’ve wasted hours of my life I won’t get back. My first gripe occurred when I noticed that I’d gone through more than three quarters of the novel and was still waiting for the story to happen. The writing is fair to middling, therefore there were not enough pretty narrative passages to cover up the fact that NOTHING HAS HAPPENED. And a great work of literary fiction this is not.

Lucinda Price’s last squeeze dies amid mysterious circumstances when the icky black shadows come to haunt her. She gets sent to the Sword and Cross Reformatory School where she sees Daniel, whose hot/cold responses to her presence has her getting completely gaga over the lad. A typical love triangle occurs (well, of COURSE) when the scary goth kid Cam ends up being the bad boy (well, of COURSE). This push/pull situation between the two potential matches waffles on for a bit. The kids seem to get away with drinking booze and having parties after hours (at a reformatory? WTF?) Luce makes friends with the geeky nerd girl Penn and the rebel, Arianne, and has run-ins the BAD punk rocker (well, of COURSE). This type of obvious dualism in protagonists vs. antagonists is something I'd expect in Hollywood and not have the idea bashed over my head in fiction.

Then right at the end, stuff happens, people die and nothing is really explained. Oh, and there’s a Mexican stand-off of sorts, so far as I can tell. But I’m not sure. Actually, I’m not sure why a bunch of stuff happens and why the stuff that did happen waited to happen when it did. And what the hell was stopping it from happening in the first place? Confused yet? So am I. None of this was clear, and while I do like some mystery and magic, I like to understand the motivations of the different characters, even if there are no real resolutions. I’m still sitting here with a massive WTF scribbled in indelible marker all over my face.

While we’re at it, Lucinda Price makes Bella Swann look like a fascinating, three-dimensional female lead. The fact that she might have inadvertently led to the death of a young man doesn’t seem to haunt her. She obsesses about a dude who treats her like shit. She has no fire, no motivation, and is easily led by the people around her. She has no interests save for Daniel. I cannot relate to this character.

When I was a teen I remember falling in love, for sure, obsessing even about movie stars, musicians and boys, boys, boys, but for goodness sake, I had other interests too, like music, art and writing, and watching cool movies and going on holiday and one day being a famous rock star. Luce’s entire life seems to revolve around her seemingly unrequited love for Daniel. We get no sense of any personality lurking beneath the surface, other than she vaguely misses her best friend and family.

Lauren Kate’s writing is okay. It’s not spectacular and to give her credit, she doesn’t make me want to stab my eyes out with the red pen I use when I’m proofreading. She can carry a story but please oh my god please can someone help her with her plotting and building tension? Add looking beyond the obvious light/dark is good vs. evil? Yes, there are ways to get around this even if you’re writing about angels and demons, (Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman is a very good example). Fallen is not a good book. I don’t recommend it and I’m shuddering at the thought that I still have to review books two and three. You have better things to do with your time than read this book, like unblocking your toilet or flossing your teeth.

Review: Tithe by Holly Black

Title: Tithe

Author: Holly Black

Publisher: Simon Pulse, 2004

Kaye isn’t your average teen. At the age of sixteen, she’s seen the inside of more bars than she can be remembered, and follows her rocker mother around from venue to venue. This is until one night when her mother is attacked, and Kaye finds herself back at her grandmother’s while her parent tries to get her life back on track.

This is when we discover that Kaye is no stranger to the supernatural. She grew up in the company of so-called “imaginary” friends that were no other than faeries, and she is drawn into a world of magic that exists beyond the mundane reality she had taken for granted.

A chance encounter with a wounded warrior in a forest has unexpected repercussions as Kaye uncovers her past and the many layers of deception. She discovers herself in the middle of a power struggle between two faerie courts with her as a lynchpin in an ages-old struggle.

First off, I must say that this novel stands head and shoulders above some of what’s landed on my desk. There is no stereotypical love triangle or wimpy female protagonist at the whim of her alpha male love interest and his beta. Kaye is dreamy yet resilient. She’s not the good girl next door. Even better, she has a malicious edge to her, which is kept in check by her sense of justice.

There is nothing nice about the faeries in this novel. They’re neither good nor bad, which I absolutely adored. Roiben, a somewhat unwilling knight in service to the Unseelie queen, is the main love interest. Yes, his good looks and the slightly insta-desire that springs between him and Kaye is a little on the obvious side but Black handles it well. Not once does it feel forced.

The rather geeky (and human) Cornelius plays second fiddle to Roiben but, for the sake of spoilers, I won’t go into too much detail except to say that I enjoyed the interplay between him and Kaye immensely—the seeds of a genuine friendship are sown here.

The setting is absolutely fantastic. Black truly succeeds in painting a vivid landscape down to the tarnished sequins and rotten apples. If anything, read this novel for the descriptions. The world-building is lush without being heavy-handed.

I can’t find much to fault this novel. There were perhaps one or two scenes where I felt the author rushed a little and some details could have been clarified but it was easy to forgive her for writing fast. This is a lovely story that remains somewhat gritty and scratchy behind the eyes, and is unsentimental.

If faeries are your thing, read this one. I’ll close with my favourite line:

Waves tossed themselves against the shore, dragging grit and sand between their nails as they were slowly pulled back out to sea.

How can one not love prose like that?

Today multi-published author Gayla Drummond visits my world. Welcome, Gayla, and tell us more about Discord. Where did she get her name and how did she get into her line of business?

I love Greek mythology, but Eris (the goddess of strife, discord, contention, and rivalry) wasn’t a name choice I liked for a character. So Discord, or rather, Discordia it was. As the series develops, it will become clearer how right that choice for her name was. ;)

As for how she began working at Arcane Solutions, Discord’s mom took her car shopping. Discord had her first retro-cognition vision in a used car. She saw a murder and her father contacted the police. She met Damian, and that meeting led to her job at Arcane Solutions after he mentioned her to Mr. Whitehaven, who recruited her.

Elves? Tell us more about them without dropping spoilers.

I have a crush on movie-Legolas, so there are elves. Gorgeous, arrogant, sneaky snobs of elves with secrets who will lie their butts off at the drop of a hat.

You've got some gorgeous cover art there. Care to tell us more about it.

Thank you! I made it, using a couple of RF stock images and one of my storm-chasing House Hunney’s lightning photos. Did a ‘taste test’ with several people to get it just right. [pets cover]

You say you've got eight books in the series. Do you plot them all out in advance or do you let them grow organically?

(It’ll be nine total, did you mean 8 more?) I plot, but am perfectly willing to change outlines and let the series grow as it will. Well, as long as none of the characters decided to do anything stupid.

I made the mistake of putting out three titles in another series without letting them simmer. Ended up retiring them and now, with three years of world-building, I think I’m ready to start rebooting that one.

You self-publish your novels, which is quite a production. Why did you decide to go this route and what are some of the most important aspects of being a self-published author?

Ebooks and self-publishing were gaining momentum when I decided seriously pursue my dream of being a writer. At 37, I didn’t want to send out subs and wait, wait, wait for a chance to maybe be published. So I didn’t. I learned about Amazon’s KDP program, and that was that.

Quality is the most important aspect. I don’t think anyone should put out work and ask people to buy it unless they’ve had other eyes on it first. I’m speaking from experience, because when I released my first two ebooks, I did everything myself, and predictably, they sucked.

I don’t know why anyone even bought them, because I cringe when I read them now.

Willingness to learn and improve are important. No one is good at something the first time they do it. Practice helps. So does cussing when you’re on the third attempt at formatting and something is still messed up. ;)

How do you challenge yourself to improve your skills? Kinda like an author-gym, if it were. [smiles]

I write a LOT to hone my skills. I pay close attention to what my editors correct in each story. I went crazy with semi-colons in one. There was a threat involving a cast iron skillet suddenly descending upon my skull when I became overly enamored with dialog tags for another.

When they point out a problem, I do my best to break that bad habit immediately.

Now, for some quick questions:

Favourite sin? Lust.

Favourite past time other than writing? Reading.

Best holiday destination? Disneyworld!

All-time favourite novel? Right now, it’s The Silver Wolf by Alice Borchardt.

What song would you play loud and sing to if no one were listening? Wish I had an Angel by Nightwish.

Arcane Solutions is the first in the Discord Jones urban fantasy series (there are 8 more books planned).

It's currently available at Smashwords, AmazonUS, AmazonUK, AmazonDE, AmazonFR, AmazonIT, and AmazonES with more sites to come.