AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Ewa Zwonarz

1. When/why did you decide to become a writer?

As a child, I loved writing poems for my mom and was often told that I had a wild imagination. Some of my family members even ventured as far as commenting that I had my head stuck in the clouds. And they were actually quite correct. I was infatuated with the sky, which lead me on a lifelong search of the secrets to our creation. Early on I realized that religion and science could only offer part of the answer and it was my responsibility to ask the difficult questions such as who we are and why are we here. Overtime, I amassed many bits of stories and experiences and they began to arrange into kaleidoscopic patters constellating in my head. While they were my own, they contained within them the common archetypes of humanity. It was at that point, around 2005, that I decided I wanted to learn how to write books in order to convey all those stories to those on similar searches. I was, and still am, hoping for a mind share of sorts, for the stories to add fuel to the conversation that questions our origins. “Moonchild” was my first thread in that lineage of stories, and it aptly so deals with the bit of our history that occurred before the flood, the repercussions of which we still feel today. The book was supposed to be a training wheel, a practice book, through which I would learn how to write a story that came to me in a flash a decade ago, which I am yet to write. But soon, I fell in love with the process and reliving the part of my teenage life when the story is set. Sharing it with a couple of friends, they encouraged I keep on working on it and that eventually led to its release. The craft itself became a transformational process of self-discovery. I know this is a long answer, so to sum it all up, I write because I have to. All these stories live inside me and they want to come out to again be reborn in other people’s minds. I write because I love it. I write because through the process of writing, I get to live an expanded life that otherwise would not be available to me.

2. What authors inspired you when you were younger? What books do you enjoy reading today?

When I was about thirteen, I found first four books of a Norwegian saga on my mom’s bookshelf. The story was so captivating I read all four within a week, only to realize there were a total of forty-seven of them. It was quite a feat to get my hands on the remaining forty-three but when I finally did, I got so consumed, I would hold the book on my lap in my math class, not wanting to disconnect from the world the author, Margit Sandemo, had conjured up. The books exposed me to Nordic mythology, which I have great affinity for to this day. Simultaneously I was reading historical and archaeological books on Egypt and Sumer that were extremely hard to find in my little provincial town in the early 90s. But thanks to my friend, based on whom I model Ben in Moonchild, I was able to get access to a few unique pieces. Today I try to explore a wide variety of authors. The bulk of my library consists on non-fiction books exploring unification themes in theoretical physics (my favorite being Walter Russell), memoirs, such as “Initiation” by Elisabeth Haich, travel books and the occasional novel that grips me from the first page, such as “Shadow of the Wind” by Carlos Zafon.

3. What was the inspiration behind your novel Moonchild?

There were several. The biggest one that drives the plot is my fascination with the myth of the fallen angels. The Bible offers mere few teaser lines concerning who they were that leaves you, or at last left me, wanting more. Who were those glorious male beings who lusted after human women? What could their stories be like? After some digging, I was able to get my hands on the Apocrypha and Book of Enoch and the yarn began to unravel. Add to that a sprinkle of imagination and voila – the story of Moonchild began to come to life in individual scenes popping in my head at random intervals. A very significant influence on the story came from music. It was the catalyst and the cohesive glue that tied the pieces together – the mental bits of stories and myths that swirled in my mind got lined up and linked up via the successive unfolding of emotion that music so brilliantly coaxes out. Bands like Fields of the Nephilim, Love Like Blood and Tiamat were some of the biggest influences. I included the soundtrack to “Moonchild” on my website in case readers would be interested in supplementing my words with the melodies that inspired me to write them.

4. Will we ever see these characters again?

It is one of those sad moments for a writer when a story concludes; there is this emptiness you feel, this void. The characters still exist but soon they become more of a shimmering afterglow than substantial beings tugging at your mind, asking for attention, or wakig you up in the middle of the night to share their secrets with you. Evelina, Ben, Daniel, Punk, and of course Sariel have become immortal in the sense that their story once cast down, shall live forever, so they got their wish and they feel satisfied as far as I can tell. As to the question of continuing their saga, there is always a possibility. I have outlined eleven books I’d like to dive into and eventually birth, so unless I hit at wall at twelve and Eve comes knocking at my door, I think that the “Moonchild” story is complete.

5. Why did you decide to make a character an angel?

This goes back to my fascination with the myths of the fallen angels. Here I’d like to digress for a second and mention that what we call myths these days is something to be perceived as false, a mere remnant of history, more of a symbolic representation, if you will. But for old cultures and societies myths were the unifying factor, the only thing that was true in an ever-changing reality. Myths aimed at explaining the unexplainable, growing the spiritual or etheric dimension on early cultures. I can only imagine what thoughts were going through our ancestors’ minds as they beheld the glory of an eclipse, the terror of a thunderstorm or witnessed a rainbow appear before them. It is important to mention that here, because if we remember that myth comes from a true, authentic place, it is here is where the myth of the fallen begins to transform from some half-imagined legend to something that might be closer to reality that we may have thought.
There are so many versions as to what happened back thousands of years ago. But the fact that there was some form of foreign presence on Earth is a thread that seems to weave through many histories, from Mesoamerican through Arabic, European, African and Asian. As soon as you cross the threshold of biblical records and keep going back in time, you discover amazing things. But back to your question about choosing the angel… ever since I was young I liked exploring the dark. So anything that people shied away from, I was drawn towards. It was a form of escape perhaps but also a hunt for secrets. I figured that a good way to shield information is to make people afraid to look. But I loved the mystery of what lurked in the shadows and suspected that due to much fear that obstructed the view, a lot of unexplained phenomena must have gotten skewed and misinterpreted. Let’s add another dimension to the dark mystery – the alluring draw of innocent love. Because Eve is fifteen and at the point where her nascent womanhood is blossoming, there is this erotic tension underlying her search for truth. Her finding her way in the dark links with her discovery of what it means to surrender to a male force, a force I wanted to symbolize by light – the light of the Moon. Its dark side thus represents the feminine and it’s lit up side by the masculine. From an occult (which means hidden) and spiritual standpoint, the feminine is usually represented as deep, dark and mysterious, while the male is bright and radiant. And this is where I wanted her to go and what I wanted Eve to explore – the darkness representing her own inner, yet unexplored nature – and have that be touched by the light of an angel, a very different kind of angel than the one we meet in prayer. As far as I can remember, when I was her age, my idea of love was extremely idealistic and simultaneously tinged with a taste of the forbidden. What teenager hasn’t fantasized about meeting a vampire or a demon? As much as we might be frightened by the prospect, there is something alluring about it. It beckons us to step away from the circle of familiarity and explore our own boundaries, seeing how far we can go. So, I thought it would only be fitting to have Eve fall in love with the fallen, the one she cannot even touch, the one who comes to her in her dreams, carrying with him a cloak of that familiar darkness which at once fascinates and frightens. 

6. Were any of the characters personalities or emotions taken from real life?

Yes! [laughs] In fact, all except for Sariel, which was an amalgam of research and fantasy. Since “Moonchild” was my first book, I wanted to give it everything I had to make it come across as authentic, so I drew from my life a lot. It is interesting that some readers have remarked that some of Eve’s decisions seemed unrealistic. Well, I was her in many of the circumstances described, so that surely gave me a new way of evaluating myself as a teen – impulsive, rash and quite naïve, haha! Eve is actually at once a toned down version of my teen self in one way and exaggerated in another. While I was much more moody and emotional in real life, I kept my inner meanderings to myself, tucked deep within the shell of my private world. With her, I wanted her inner meanderings to have an outlet and actually take place. I didn’t want her to just hold the porcelain plate. I wanted her to smash it.  Ben was indeed my best friend during my teen hood and someone who imbued in me the passion for diving deep into antiquity and questioning everything. He was someone I felt I’ve known for lifetimes when we met, and an avid supplier of awesome music tapes! Rock and Art were also my buddies and I tried to describe them in a way so that if they ever were to read the book, they could instantly recognize themselves. Punk was also based on a real character, but only in part. In real life, I’ve only gotten a chance at one conversation with him. But he left such impression I wanted to bring him back to life and journey with him for a while. Daniel as a nineteen-year-old was all imagined but Daniel as a boy in the hospital was completely real. What I describe as our first encounter when we were both children absolutely happened. Eve’s domestic situation was also reflective of my own. I grew up in a stormy household and while I am happy to have thriving relationships with both of my parents now (are not together anymore), there was much childhood trauma that needed mending, and actually writing “Moonchild” was part of that unraveling and re-stitching process for me. I realized that they did the best they could, regardless at how many people have gotten hurt in the process. I had a lot of fun growing my family legacy, most of which was built from scratch. It was actually mom who gave me the idea to make her father a Siberian shaman and I loved it from the first mention.

7. What other genres would you like to try your hand at?

I would like to try my hand at so many things. For me, it begins with the story and the genre becomes a frame, and it takes a bit of experimenting and adjusting before it’s set. I certainly love mystery – the hunt for truth can be exhilarating – and mixing it with a personal heroes’ journey. All of my protagonists in my future projects have a dramatic arc undergoing deep shifts in their psyches, the outside world mirroring their inner struggles. Next I am giving another coming of age story a shot, this one being more of an R-rated adventure, drama, thriller, however. The character is older than Eve and in a sense could be a continuation of Eve’s unfolding as a woman. In fact, in my next two books, the main character gets progressively more mature and could be seen as a growing female archetype. Up ahead I have plans to write a full on fast paced thriller featuring many exotic locales, sports vehicles, guns, futuristic technology and military jets. The frame has been set already. But I also want to write the trilogy that inspired me to write in the first place, and that will yet again, though more explicitly, tackle the themes of our origins. Once that is complete, my dream is to write one more trilogy for children, revisiting shadowy realms, as well as the means to redeem our innocence though our communion with nature.

8. What would you do if you were Eve?

I think I would do exactly as she did. Looking back at that period of my life, as I was writing the story, I kept thinking that if I had any regrets, they would be about the things I didn’t say or do rather than the things I actually did. If I could go back and had another chance, I would try to live more boldly and fully. I would doubt myself less and initiate more. I would take more risks. This is how I choose to live my life now. It’s like I can’t get enough of life; it passes so quickly! This is why the story goes the way it does. This is how I would’ve lived it out if I could bring the supernatural to manifest in my world, while keeping the true essence of my actual experience that shaped me to be who I am today, intact.

9. How did it feel to be picked as one of Amazon's best books of 2014?

I was? I didn’t even know until you mentioned it! Wow, it feels absolutely amazing. In fact, just yesterday (March 5, 2015) I was notified that “Moonchild” was a winner in the BookBzz contest in the Young Adult category. The feeling one gets when their work gets acknowledged at such scale is indescribable. To give you a hint, I was jumping and screaming with my mom in my living room like a little child! I was breathless afterwards, and so so grateful.

10. Would you like to see Moonchild as a film? If yes, who do you want to see play your characters?

I would love that! In fact my sister is a young film director and she reserved her rights for it already, haha. For character casting, I would love to see a cast of new faces with Sariel perhaps coming from the rock star world, with his long jet-black hair and chiseled chest. My goodness, I’m getting giddy just thinking about how cool it would be to bring this story onto the screen and work on such project. Yes, it would be absolutely awesome!

11. Where do you see yourself and your career in the next ten years?

Hopefully my books would have found their way to many bookshelves. The most rewarding thing for me to experience in the coming decade would be to connect with my readers and understand how the stories impacted their perceptions and lives. So, in an ideal world, there would a community forming around the discussion of our origins, perhaps involving other authors as well. As for me, I would love to have the ability to travel more to those remote places that still contain the spirit of the old and be able to swathe the old stones with fresh stories to honor the past and bring back their essence.

12. What would you be doing if you weren't writing?

Living half of my life in Silicon Valley, it is difficult not to be drawn into the whirlwind of innovation and technology that’s so prevalent here. This place is teeming with genius. I’m one of these odd people who in order to feel fulfilled, needs to grow both aspects of my brain – the analytic and creative – the structure of the first and the flow of the latter supporting and nurturing one another. So when I don’t write, I am engaged in growing businesses. But if I were to craft a whole other career for myself, perhaps I could be an archaeologist.

13. Can you tell KSR what you're working on next?

Yes, I am working on an adventure-drama-thriller story titled “Venus” whose protagonist is also a female. The story features the most dynamic year of her youth, her personal journey cast on a backdrop of a show that takes place in a remote location and challenges her still young and forming values and beliefs. Beside a myriad of colorful characters, the story will also feature clandestine group of individuals with deep knowledge of astrology and the occult.

14. What authors, dead or alive, would you like to collaborate with?

I would love to have a coffee chat with Carlos Zafon in a Barcelona cafe, spend a weekend strolling through nature and picking Einstein’s brain and enter the mind of Walter Russell, even if for a nano-second. As to writing a book with someone, I would certainly love to explore that. Writing is a bit of a lonely craft, but all in good light. It requires digging deep and unearthing parts of ourselves we never knew we had, and blending that with the amorphous imagination unfolding in the moment. It is about facing inner obstacles and fears and pushing our limits in order to know ourselves better. It is also a tremendous discipline. It would be very interesting to share that journey with someone, some day. If I were to team up with someone, I would love that person to really understand and be able to explicate that internal aspect of the art. Having said that, I can’t think of a person than Julia Cameron, the author of “Artist’s Way,” whose book launched me on my own journey.

15. Thank you for participating in the interview. Can you please leave the readers with three things that may surprise them about you?

One might be that I am a total health fanatic. Most of the work I do is not physical so I need to counter it with heavy and ever-growing physical fitness routines and paying close attention to what I eat in order to be able to focus properly. I used to teach raw food preparation classes and retreats, I’m a certified personal trainer and hold a yoga teacher certification but never pursued either as a full on career. Another thing might be that I used to play bass in a goth band back when I lived in Poland. I was the only girl. I still like to listen to the dark music, including some death metal bands. I find these musicians incredibly precise and fast, what might sound like noise to someone, to me is an apex of creative speed. And finally, I love hula-hoop dancing and used to study circus arts and perform, through that part was short lived due to time constraints. I still dance and find movement to fuel my creativity and inspire new ideas.
Thank you Kelly so much for your wonderful questions and having me. I feel deeply honored by this invitation and wish you all the best in your current and future endeavors.

Find Ms. Zwonarz online via:

Official site (has all social links)

BOOK REVIEW: "Moonchild" by Ewa Zwonarz

In this coming-of-age tale that blends myth, mystery, and the magic of storytelling, we enter the world of a fifteen-year-old seeker named Eve. Growing up in rural Poland, Eve's small-town existence is radically transformed by a series of lucid dreams, influenced by the moon, in which she is exposed to Sariel, a fallen angel. Sariel's cryptic messages, and demands for Eve to free him, draw her deeper and deeper into an ancient story of love, loss, and redemption. Eve's desire to heed the callings of her inner-life are confronted and challenged by family secrets and growing dysfunction, and her increasing alienation from her peers at school. Determined to find out who she really is, and the truth about her family legacy, Eve undertakes a quest, guided by a strange boy who calls himself Punk, in which dreams and reality merge, and a buried past is brought into the light.

Teenage angst, fallen angels, magical quests. For me, those are the only phrases I'd ever need to get me to read a novel. But let me tell you more about my opinions of Moonchild.
It begins with a very normal and likable character, who quickly starts going through some not-so-normal things when she has lucis dreams of an angel.
The quest Eve goes on is literal, but it is also very symbolic: trying to find herself through her family's long-buried secrets. This seems to me almost a parallel to what many teenagers go through when they are "finding themselves" while in high school.
The fantasy elements are whimsical, occasionally eerie and always beautifully written. Ms. Zwonarz's skill at the keyboard is stunning; her words immediately capture you until the book is done. The characters' personalities are all three-dimensional. They become like friends as you go deeper into the book.
This was a whimsical ride everyone who loves the YA fantasy genre should take!

*If you can, read the book while listening to the playlist Ms. Zwonarz has on her website (link below). It is an entirely different experience!*

4/5--a beautiful book!

Purchase Moonchild via:

Official site (has all purchase links)

AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Katrina Sisowath

1. When/why did you decide to become a writer?

I always wanted to write, but could never think of a story. Plus I was really busy running a pre-school and raising two small children. A drastic change of circumstances along with long-term health problems meant that for 3 years I was almost immobile. So I had a lot of time to read and I found myself slowly crafting a plot in my head, getting excited about the story itself and the characters.

2. What authors inspired you when you were younger? What books do you enjoy reading today?

I loved all the classics—Shakespeare, George Eliot, Jane Austen, Tolkien, C.S.Lewis, the Brontë Sisters, Edmund Spenser and Agatha Christie. I was an early reader and always had my nose in a book, but my parents were strict about what reading material I was allowed to get my hands on. As I got older I started to enjoy Historical Fiction and Fantasy. I still enjoy those two genres the most, though I will read anything that catches my eye.

3. What was the inspiration behind your novel Serpent Priestess of the Annunaki?

I’ve been drawn to Zecharia Sitchin, Laurence Gardner, Michael Baigent and Graham Hancock for many years. They all write about the Annunaki, Ancient Civilisations and a bloodline that once ruled and, according to some, is still in existence, though it is either non-powerful, or ruling from behind the scenes, depending on who you ask. Nicholas deVere called this group the ‘Imperial Order of the Dragon’. The more I read about it, the more I found myself thinking it should be written as a story, starting with the Sumerian account of the Annunaki Pantheon. There isn’t too much on these characters outside of the non-fiction books, yet their stories are fascinating.
Serpent Priestess is centred on Ninkha (Ninkharsag) and her husband Enki, who were given the task of creating workers on Earth to mine gold and gems for the Annunaki. They called the workers ‘lulu amel’, or humans. There is conflict with others when they go beyond their mandate to create workers who can obey orders and instead breed humans who can think and reason.

4. What can readers expect from the sequel and how many books do you plan on writing in the Dragon Court series?

The book that is next in the series is due to be released sometime in Feb/Mar. It is about Cronous and Rhea and the destruction of Atlantis. I’ve based the story on the Emerald Tablets of Thoth the Atlantean (which appeared sometime in the 6th to 8th century A.D). I’ve also read Plato’s account, Paul Schliemann and the theorists who claim that Cronous was the original-or the prototype for the- ‘Antichrist’.  I’ve taken all of those theories and placed them up alongside the claims of other authors of the ‘Imperial Order of the Dragon’ to create a story that, I hope, offers a plausible explanation of who Cronous really was and how those heinous acts that are attributed to him came about. Next in the Series is Innana and her wars. After that I’d like to venture further into Asia to write about the Serpent Cult there (the Serpent Cult was the religious arm of the Dragon Court) with figures such as Lara Kidul in Indonesia, and Himiko in Japan, before tackling the Annunaki presence and its descendants in Africa. Then I’ll come to Europe to write about people like Rene d’Anjou and Elizabeth Bathory. I know what the last book in the series is about---it’s been outlined, but there are a few to go before I can start writing it
So I guess while Dragon Court is fantasy, it’s based on mythology, alternate history and secret societies lore.

5. Is there any symbolism behind how the dragons interact with their masters?

The legends of the Seraphim (fiery serpents with wings) in connection to the Nephilim, or Annunaki, the decision of their descendants to name themselves the Order of the Dragon, the prevalence of Dragons all over the world in mythology and legend—that led me to include them  in the tale of Serpent Priestess. How their bond developed from Dragon and Annunaki as separate beings to the mixing of genes was due to images such as these:--How did these beings come to be? Why do we feel trepidation at the thought of reptilian beings? Where/When did they originate? And what were they really? Are these statues metaphorical or literal? In Serpent Priestess there is some genetic manipulation in order to create the lulu amel, so I took it one step further and had the Annunaki experiment with other life forms. David Icke certainly has a lot to say about reptilian beings, and as someone crafting a story I have to look at all angles and decide what to include and how to present it (and hopefully make sense, even if it is fantasy).

6. What sparked your interest in the Greeks, Romans, etc.?

I’ve always loved mythology, and grew up reading the Greek and Roman myths. The Sumerian Pantheon was something I discovered in adulthood, as it’s not given the same amount of exposure or garners the same amount of interest, which is a shame.

7. What other genres would you like to try your hand at?

A high-fantasy novel that’s not based on mythology and alternate history, but on a world that I’ve created from scratch would be interesting. I would also say horror and sci-fi are probably the most likely of the other genres that I could try and maybe pull off, only because there will be elements of both in the Dragon Court series.

8. What would you do if you were Ninkha?

Would I have become attached to the Lulu Amel and decided to better their lives, not listening to those who warned of the risk to my fellow Annunaki? Probably. It is easy to want the best for those we love while being blind to consequences.

9. If you could go back in time and be a part of some ancient culture, which would it be and why?

That is a really tough question. I love history and the study of ancient cultures, yet so much was flawed in each one.  Our modern world is not perfect, yet it is better in so many ways for us than it was for our ancestors. The short answer is it would depend on whether I was a high-born or low-born female as there were some cultures that granted high-born women certain rights, yet their impoverished sisters had none.

10. Would you like to see Serpent as a film? Who do you want to see play your characters?

I would like to see it as a film, though I have no idea who should play the characters. There are too many good actors and actresses to choose.

11. Where do you see yourself and your career in the next ten years?

Still writing and hopefully enjoying a successful career as an author. I know the stakes are very high and the likelihood of being able to be a full-time writer without needing a second career is slim, but you have to set yourself goals and always work on achieving them.  I hope to have sets of posters of the characters out soon to complement the books, so eventually I will have enough material to start going to conventions. In 10 years’ time my daughters will be old enough to help out at gigs (provided they don’t declare their independence and bunk my plan).

12. What would you be doing if you weren't writing?

Hmmm, I honestly don’t know (is that a good sign?).

13. Can you tell KSR what you're working on next?

The Doom of Undal—which is the second book in the series. Though I’m twiddling with the idea of writing accompanying novellas for some of the characters in Serpent Priestess and Doom of Undal, as there were so many with stories of their own, yet there just wasn’t space to include them in the book. It may also help people who are unfamiliar with the Annunaki to understand Serpent Priestess better.

14. What authors, dead or alive, would you like to collaborate with?

I would have loved to have met Laurence Gardner as he possessed a tremendous amount of information on the topics I’m researching. He probably wouldn’t have collaborated on a work of fiction, though. Graham Hancock is someone I would love to bounce ideas off of and maybe work with. He is able to write both fiction and non-fiction.

15. Thank you for participating in the interview. Can you please leave the readers with three things that may surprise them about you?

--I spent a lot of my childhood in Asia, so I love Asian food. The spicier, the better. I find food in Europe too bland and am not a fan of potatoes, gravy, cheese or bread.
--However, I hate the weather in South-East Asia. It was just too hot and I never became acclimatized.
-- I have often tried and failed to learn to ride a motorbike. My younger brother learned it easily and once at the beach, decided to give his poor older sister an impromptu lesson. I drove it down the beach just fine and then had trouble turning around and ended up in the sea. Lucky for me the beach was shallow for quite a ways out.

                  
P.S. Serpent Priestess of the Annunaki has been added to this list on Goodreads. If anyone sends some votes my way, I would be more than ecstatic, especially as it’s up against really good books by established authors.
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/78740.Hugo_2015_Eligible_Works?ref=ru_lihp_up_ulv_0_mclk-exp71cell164_exp69cell157-up2099249340

Find Katrina Sisowath online via:

Official site (has all other links)

BOOK BLITZ: "Doorway To Destiny" by Vanessa Finaughty & TC Southwell

With eight novels by TC Southwell and three novels and two anthologies by Vanessa Finaughty, this box set offers fantasy and sci-fi lovers escapism that will keep you up long past your bedtime. Dive into fantastic worlds and meet fascinating characters whose trials and tribulations will enchant and inspire. Discover how a vengeful assassin reshapes the fate of three kingdoms and share in a quest to discover the origins of mankind, then follow the tale of a young queen's fight to be free with the aid of a combat cyborg. Two short story anthologies spice up the fare with dragons, sorcerers and magic galore, and a child of another god strives to save his world from mankind's ravages. When a mortal dark god treads a tragic path as he rises to destroy the Overworld, a brave young girl risks her life to try to change his savage ways. Each hero and heroine takes a definitive step through a doorway to destiny as he or she seeks to right wrongs and save worlds.

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Extract from Legends of Origin, Book 1: Sanctuary for the Devil by Vanessa Finaughty

Thirty-three-year-old Liam MacAskill hurried across the desert sand, imposing mountain peaks at his back, their size dwindling as he progressed. He did his best to ignore the howling wind ripping at his clothes and whipping his dark hair into his face, often stinging his eyes and blinding him. He ignored the relentless rain and hailstones, pelting his face and adding to the bruises and gashes he knew must cover him from head to toe. He also paid no heed to the throbbing in his wounded leg, knowing that to acknowledge its existence would empower it to control him. How pathetic it would be to escape Sah’s wrath only to be ended by a minor wound such as the one his captors had given him during his escape.
It was a flesh wound, really. Nothing more. Just the tip of a guard’s sword had slashed Liam’s left thigh, and it hadn’t hindered his escape in the least. In fact, the flash of pain he’d felt as the wound had been inflicted had made new adrenaline course through him, enabling him to overpower three guards – all at least twice his size, and armed with Earth technology, too. Making his way over the mountain range bordering the enemy palace was what had made the wound a problem.
Gensshei Mountains were usually easy to traverse, he’d been told – if you had a horse to carry you along the winding pathways for the three days it took to reach the other side. Liam had been forced to climb its towering peaks, causing his injured leg to go into spasm so many times he’d lost count, albeit saving him two days’ journey. The soldiers would have pursued on horseback along the mountains’ main path, splitting up to explore the narrower, lesser-used paths. He doubted they would have expected him to attempt the climb – or survive it.
A soft chuckle escaped Liam, and he choked it back, increasing his pace and lowering his head further to protect his face from the hail, although his neck ached from being in that position for almost twenty-four hours. He had not come this far to give himself away with insane, foolish laughter. Liam had nothing to laugh about, and he could be wrong – his enemies could, right at that moment, be climbing the mountains towards him. His leg throbbed more the closer he got to his destination.
The end of the desert came into sight.
Waves thundered just over the sand dunes ahead.
He was almost there. Almost safe. Just over the dunes, a short way down the beach, was the sanctuary he sought.
The sky darkened rapidly now as night came, and Liam found a new surge of energy as lightning fragmented the sky and a sharp thunderclap vibrated the ground. Everything forgotten but the need to reach the dunes, he drew his royal blue coat tighter around him, crossed his arms to keep it in place, then increased his pace to a jog, his bones protesting every movement. He had a bad feeling, and, the sooner he reached safety, the sooner it would go away. He hoped.

<><><>

Liam stood atop the dune, panting and staring down at the tableau before him in dismay. The beach below, which should have been soft, white sand, was covered in what looked like broken glass. Dark coldness crept into his heart, spreading its tendrils to chill him further. He looked down at his bare feet, already bleeding from the climb and walk through the desert’s sand. This was bad.
Gathering his senses, Liam made his way down the dune, slipping and sliding a few times. He bent to examine the shimmering sand, and frowned. It was glass. Shattered glass, covering his only route to safety. Safety, about a kilometre down the beach, where Gensshei Mountains wrapped around to meet the ocean. The dunes on either side were too steep for him to climb in his current condition, making this glittering carpet his only route. Liam cursed under his breath. How could this be? Despair grasped his mind as he straightened to gaze around in panic-induced madness.
The shattered pieces were all clear glass and all clean looking, with no indication of where they had come from. Liam’s frown deepened as he pondered his predicament. If he turned back now, he was a guaranteed dead man. He would never make it over the peaks a second time, and would walk straight into Sah’s men if he turned back to go along the path. Those being his only two options, Liam sucked in a deep breath, and, the decision not quite taken form yet, dashed onto the glass fragments in the direction of Tridor Monastery… where he could claim sanctuary under this land’s laws of God.
Liam barely noticed as sand dunes melted into scattered rocks, then solid rock face. His injured leg threatened to cave in, but he sprinted forward, focussed on speed and his destination. Being able to focus so single-mindedly was one of the many benefits he’d gained from daily meditation for the last three years – a requirement at the dojo where he had trained in Ki Aikido and Ninjitsu, amongst other martial arts. He’d hated it at first, but it had been a condition of employment at the private investigation company he had worked for up until recently… Up until he’d met Joshua.
The hail stopped abruptly, and, along with it, the hail and wind, almost as if nature held its breath to see if he’d make it, and his surprise slowed him for a moment, but he rectified that quickly. His coat came loose as he came around the beach’s curve, where a small natural harbour blocked the way forward. The wind came back with a vengeance and whipped his coat up into his face, causing him to stumble. Just then, his leg gave in and he collapsed on the sand, his lungs on fire and his heart beating wildly. He couldn’t feel his feet, which he figured was probably for the best.
Liam pulled himself onto his hands and knees. He glanced at the harbour’s enormous waves in front of him. Lightning struck in the distance. On the harbour’s far shore, something glistened as it snaked inland – a river? He blinked and it was gone. He looked to his right. The narrow stretch of sand that extended towards his right, leading back towards the mountains – what would be considered part of the ‘holy land’ the monastery stood on – was free of glass. Odd. A frown creased his brow again. When he tried to stand, Liam realised that his feet would take no more punishment. He caught a glimpse of one as he collapsed again; he couldn’t see his flesh for blood. He decided not to look at them again.
With a shuddering breath, Liam began to crawl towards the monastery. Walking along the stretch of sand bordering the harbour and up the short, gradually inclining pathway that led up the mountain towards the monastery would have taken a mere few minutes. Crawling along it, however, and in the middle of a strange mixed-weather storm, was another story. Liam grimaced as he dragged his feet along the sand. He was injuring himself further, but he didn’t care. The only thing he cared about was reaching the monastery. Everything would be okay then. The healers would heal him with their magic when he got there. Every time he moved forward, he was convinced he could go no further. Eventually, his knees gave in on him, too, and he heaved himself onwards with his elbows, determined to reach safety.
Liam finally reached the bottom of the mountain pathway. Without pause, he dragged himself along it. If he stopped, however briefly, he wouldn’t find the strength to continue. He knew this without a doubt. After what felt like days of torture, worse, even, than that he had endured at Sah’s hands, the monastery came into view, partly hidden by hanging tree branches and bushes. Built mostly into the mountain, the stone-walled monastery rose three storeys, with a round two-storey tower, the top floor windowless, extending from the roof in the centre.
Tears of relief streamed down Liam’s cheeks to mingle with rain water as he dragged himself towards the monastery at a faster pace, all pain forgotten. If he could just reach the front steps, he would be able to claim sanctuary. He collapsed just a few paces from the steps, his aching arms unable to take any more punishment. Just as the bitterness of failure was about to consume him, a voice called out nearby, “Look! Over there!”
Without warning, the wind picked up, tearing at Liam’s clothes as if trying to claim him for itself. Seconds later, gentle hands turned him onto his back, and he looked into the concerned blue eyes of a blond monk.
“He’s hurt! Call the healer!”
A second voice shouted something back that Liam couldn’t hear above the howling wind. He reached up, grabbed the monk’s collar and rasped, “Sanctuary. I claim sanctuary.”
Then he fell back and passed out.

<><><>

The blond monk, Arthean, looked down at the stranger, perplexed. From whom did he claim sanctuary? He was the second stranger in the last week to claim sanctuary here, and the first had fallen into a coma before they could question him. Before that, the last time anyone had claimed sanctuary at Tridor Monastery had been at least thirteen years ago, at which time it had done the unfortunate soul no good, as the Lord of the Land at that time had been a godless man named Kyain who had no respect for the law and had invaded the premises to claim his prize. Since sanctuary had meant nothing under Kyain’s rule, nobody had attempted to claim it after that, and, after the war that had seen the fall of Kyain and the rise of Sah, nobody had needed sanctuary. Sah ruled fairly, and none had ever opposed his rule.
So from what, then, did this stranger claim sanctuary? Arthean shivered violently and glanced back down the pathway to his left, then towards the harbour below. Both were empty. He stared down at the man again; his expensive-looking coat was torn so badly that it was now worth no more than rags, his right trouser leg was blood stained, wet sand crusted his eyes, his face was covered in red, rapidly swelling lumps – presumably gifts from the hailstones earlier – and his feet were caked in so much blood and sand that it was difficult to see the full extent of his injuries. Whatever he claimed sanctuary from, it was understandable.
Certhon – Tridor’s healer – arrived with two monks and placed the stranger on a stretcher to carry him inside. Arthean followed, sensing an omen in the second stranger’s arrival, as he had with the first. An omen more powerful than any he’d been sent in all of his thirty-five years. Whether it was good or bad was yet to be seen.

INTERVIEW WITH VANESSA FINAUGHTY:

1. What made you decide to put together a boxed set featuring both your work?

My co-author was invited to participate in a month-long iBooks promo for multi-author box sets, and she asked me if I would like to include my books. I obviously jumped at the chance – opportunities like that don’t come along often.

2. Can you tell the readers a little about what stories/novels you included in the set?

The first three books in my sci-fi fantasy adventure series, Legends of Origin, are included – the series revolves around the MC’s need to know mankind’s origins and his greater purpose in life. Also included are my two fantasy short story collections, Dragon Kin and other fantasy stories and Sorcery & Subterfuge – there’s a nice mix of light-hearted stories and more series ones, all of them including popular fantasy elements like dragons, magic and elves, and many introducing readers to new fantasy beings and creatures.

3. What is it about the mythological/fantasy world that intrigues you so much?

In fantasy worlds, the good guys almost always win in the end. That isn’t true for real life.

4. What inspires your writing?

Real events have inspired some of my short stories, but, when it comes to my fantasy stories and novels, each story usually starts with a vivid scene in my mind, and the rest just pops into my head as I write.

5. Use three words to entice readers into buying the boxed set.

Original fantasy adventure.

About Vanessa Finaughty:

Vanessa Finaughty is an author of many genres who now focuses on fantasy and science fiction. She’s published 15 books, of which 6 are fantasy. Vanessa grew up in Cape Town, South Africa, and still lives there with her husband of fifteen years, her baby daughter and plenty of furry, four-legged ‘children’.
Vanessa has always been passionate about books, and knew from a young age that she wanted to write them one day. She loves animals, coffee and the smell of wet grass, and hates liars, sweltering weather and long queues. Her interests include reading, photography, the supernatural, mythology, aliens and outer space, ancient history, life’s mysteries and martial arts, of which she has five years’ experience.

Find Vanessa Finaughty online via:

Official site
Blog
Twitter
Facebook

INTERVIEW WITH TC SOUTHWELL:

1. What made you decide to put together a boxed set featuring both your work?

My distributer, Smashwords.com, invited me to participate in Apple iBookstore’s major month-long promotion of multi-author box sets. As my friend and an up and coming indie fantasy/sci-fi author whose work I enjoy, Vanessa was obviously my choice of partner.

2. Can you tell the readers a little about what stories/novels you included in the set?

The box set has four of my series starters and the second books in those series, which are The Queen’s Blade, a six-book fantasy series about a vengeful assassin who changes the fate of three kingdoms, The Cyber Chronicles, a nine-book science-fiction/fantasy series about a damaged cyborg’s struggle to be free, The Broken World, a four-book fantasy series about an alien world’s rebellion against mankind’s ravages, and Demon Lord, an eight-book fantasy series about a mortal god’s struggle to use his dark power to do good.

3. What is it about the mythological/fantasy world that intrigues you so much?

It’s the ultimate escapism, as it transports its readers to alien worlds where they have exciting adventures with fascinating heroes and heroines who have magic powers or mind-boggling abilities.

4. What inspires your writing?

I’m a channeller, so the stories come to me complete, like a film in my head, and I write what I see, feel and hear. I have no control over the path the tales take or what my heroes and heroines do, which makes writing a grand adventure.

5. Use three words to entice readers into buying the boxed set.

Romantic fantasy adventures.

About TC Southwell:

T. C. Southwell was born in Sri Lanka and moved to the Seychelles when she was a baby. She spent her formative years exploring the islands – mostly alone. Naturally, her imagination flourished and she developed a keen love of other worlds. The family travelled through Europe and Africa and, after the death of her father, settled in South Africa.
T. C. Southwell has written over thirty fantasy and science fiction novels, as well as five screenplays. Her hobbies include motorcycling, horse riding and art, and she is now a full-time writer.

Find TC Southwell online via:

Official site
Blog
Twitter
Facebook

BOOK REVIEW: "Monsters All The Way Down" by Ryan McSwain

What would you do if you were waned for murders you didn't commit and the suspect sketch looked just like you? Worse still, you knew all the victims!
For Brennan Wade, when that happens, he goes on the hunt for the man framing him but what he finds just might push him over the edge...

Monsters All The Way Down by Ryan McSwain (Pithos Publishing) shocked me. I have read a lot of thrillers and watched a lot of crime shows/movies. Rarely does a suspect turn out like this, which is why I'd classify this as sci-fi as well as a thriller.
I can't review this as thoroughly as I do others because I can't give too many spoilers. This is a book you HAVE to read for yourself!
I can't say the characters are great, but there is great development of them all and the narration is wonderful. Joan, Brennan and even Tom are all unique, with individual personalities and a very strange story. At some points, I'd even go so far as to call it twisted.
You've never read anything like this!

5/5--wonderful!

Purchase Monsters All The Way Down via:

Amazon

Goodreads

AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Suanne Laqueur

1. When/why did you decide to become a writer?

I’ve always written, since I was a little girl. I don’t think you choose these things—they choose you. The decision to finally DO something with my writing was conscious, though. And very immediate. I had been blogging for some time on eatsreadsthinks.com. My social media network was growing bigger and bigger. I was getting more and more comfortable showing people the literary side of myself. I was sharing more and more of my writing. People kept saying I needed to get it in front of a wider audience and I brushed it off. But around this time last year, a sudden determination filled me. I’m doing this. What am I waiting for? What’s the worst that could happen?  Of course the doubts come in on the flank: what if no one likes it?  To which I answered, what if they do like it?

2. What authors inspired you when you were younger? What books do you enjoy reading today?

If I had to narrow it down to two influential authors, I would say Laurie Colwin and Rumer Godden. When I read Godden’s In This House of Brede, I was amazed at how she was able to create well over two dozen characters and make each one unique and vibrant and alive. And I loved her attention to detail when it came to settings and surroundings. Colwin’s Family Happiness blew me away with its thoughtfulness and depth of emotion regarding a sort of taboo subject—this very ordinary woman found herself having a love affair and struggling with emotions she didn’t have names for. I found myself thinking, “I want to write this way. Make ordinary people extraordinary. Take extraordinary circumstances and show how ordinary and universal they really are.”

3. What was the inspiration behind your novel The Man I Love?

The characters were in my head for a good two decades. But they were like literary paper dolls. I just played with them, writing little vignettes. Fan fiction.
Then someone from my past came back into my life, twenty years after we had gone through a terrible experience and then completely disconnected afterward. I was completely unprepared for the emotional whirlwind that came with resolving this event from my youth. I went into a bad depression and I didn’t understand what was happening to me. Working it out in therapy, I came to realize that disconnecting from pain doesn’t end it. Maybe it hides but it’s never gone. It’s there waiting for you when you tear open that boarded-up door. Often with more power than it had before. You have to feel it—even twenty years later—or it will never leave you.
This was the story I wanted to write. Needed to write. Both to channel it away from me in a positive way, but also because I suspected this kind of experience is universal and I wanted to connect with others through it. I wanted to write a story about the effect of trauma. And not limited to trauma from a shooting or an accident or war—I wanted to write about emotional trauma. Abandonment. Loss. Heartbreak. Particularly emotional trauma that goes unresolved. Grief that’s left un-grieved. And that’s where one of the taglines for the novel comes from: “You never got over her. You just left.”

4. Will we ever see these characters again?

Absolutely. I’m currently working on a companion novella to The Man I Love which will tell Daisy Bianco’s side of the story.

5. Why ballet?

My mother was a ballet teacher and she started her studio in the basement of my house. As a very young child I would sit on the stairs and watch until I was old enough to participate and then dance quickly became my life. After I graduated high school, I attended Alfred University in upstate New York and earned a double degree in theater and dance. I knew I didn’t have the chops to make it as a professional performer but I slowly realized I had a gift for choreography and teaching. I taught for two years at the State University of New York at Fredonia, then came home to teach at my mother’s dance studio until she retired. I love the art of dance, and I love ballet because it’s the foundation. If your ballet technique is good, you can dance anything.

6. Were any of the characters personalities or emotions taken from real life?

Certainly the theater and dance aspects are taken from real life. And it’s emotionally autobiographical based on my own experiences with anxiety, depression and recovery. The line “Live the truth,” came to me when I was in a very dark time. Like this one ray of sunlight piercing through heavy clouds, I suddenly thought, “Live the truth of who you are and what you feel.” It was instantly calming. I wrote it down and pinned it up by my desk, knowing it was going to be something important but I didn’t know what yet.

7. What other genres would you like to try your hand at?

I’m working on a bit of historical fiction. A story that spans generations of one family through both World Wars. The amount of research required is daunting, I’m a little nervous about it but I think I can do it.

8. Why did you choose a school shooting, since it's such a sensitive topic?

I think it chose me. I needed a traumatic event that would drive Daisy and Erik apart. Something that would send them into a spiral and eventually push Daisy to do what she did.
One day I came across a YouTube video of Viviana Durante and Robert LaFosse. In it they are dancing the pas de deux “The Man I Love” from George Balanchine’s ballet Who Cares? Robert is blond and handsome and nothing like I picture Will Kaeger looking. However, Viviana is petite and dark-haired and just an exquisite dancer. I watched her in this video and she seemed to embody Daisy right away. And certainly the chemistry she has with Robert evokes the relationship Daisy has with her partner Will.
Anyway, I was watching the video and I came to the part where Viviana does this very difficult lift on Robert’s shoulder. And you can see, right around the 4:04 mark, that she overshoots the jump and she teeters on his shoulder. It’s this precarious three seconds where you can see Robert discreetly adjusting his weight and getting her back on balance. And something just popped in my head. I thought, “something happens here.” I don’t remember exactly when that thought coalesced into “she gets shot” but it did and I had my story. Sadly, instances of gun violence have become prevalent in our society today, with much focus on the assailants and their motives. But I’ve taken a more emotional slant on the issue by focusing on the victims and their connections to each other before and after the shooting.

9. What do you most want readers to take from the novel?

A friend of mine who is a psychiatrist just finished The Man I Love. She said one thing she often tells patients is that after a trauma, you have to decide if the event is going to be a dot on the timeline of your life, or if it’s going to define your entire life. You can’t bury your pain—it thrives in dirt. You have to feel it. You have to embrace going into the black because it’s the only way to come out the other side. But you can be in the black and still be a functioning human being. It’s not an either-or situation.
Human forgiveness works much the same way. People make mistakes. The ones we love often hurt us. Is the mistake something you can incorporate into the architecture of your love affair? Or does it define the entire relationship, in which case you will never be able to move on and grow.

10. Would you like to see The Man I Love as a movie? If yes, who do you want to play your characters?

This is tricky because everyone has their own image of the characters in their head. Sometimes I think Justin Timberlake would make a great Erik. And lately I’m following the rising star of ballerina Misty Copeland: her body and technique, the way she dances and looks and carries herself is totally Daisy to me.

11. Where do you see yourself and your career in the next ten years?

Doing this. Writing, blogging, creating, sharing. Enjoying a following and doing what I love.

12. What would you be doing if you weren't writing?

I’d love to have a little farm-to-market stand in the country.

13. Can you tell KSR what you're working on next?

I anticipate publishing my novella Give Me Your Answer True in January. And then I have an idea for a prequel which will tell the story of Erik’s family. Particularly his absent father.

14. Thank you for participating in the interview. Can you please leave the readers with three things that may surprise them about you?

I worked three weeks as a Verizon field technician which allowed me to finally add “pole dancer” to my resume.
I once rode in an elevator with Baryshnikov. I’m still recovering.
I love bed. Bed is the best place to read and if I could write comfortably in bed, I would.

Find Ms. Laqueur online via:

Book Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wq8WLkEzYwY
Website: www.suannelaqueur.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/suannelaqueur
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8317803.Suanne_Laqueur?
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Suanne-Laqueur/e/B00L2C9ML8/
Twitter: @suannelqr
Google+: https://plus.google.com/+SuanneLaqueur/posts
Email: swainblqr@gmail.com

BOOK REVIEW: "Transfixion" by J. Giambrone

Every so often, you read a book that makes you stay up till all hours of the morning just so you can finish it. Transfixion is that book.

Kaylee Colton is a high school girl and bibliophile. She has just received the latest book in her favorite series, Ghostliest, and all she wants to do is read it. No TV, no internet. Just good ol' ghost hunters Jasmine and Kurtz.
But then, the world ends.
Everyone has been hypnotized by the TV and computer transmissions. She watches as her older brother stabs their mother to death. On a quest for survival, she meets a bad boy named Dustin and they hole up with a few other survivors in the high school, but is it a futile attempt, add the rest of the world has gone insane?

First of all, this is NOT your typical YA dystopian novel. It's not the future. It's right now, featuring kids just like us, including the endearing main character, Kaylee The Bibliophile. Dustin could be the bad boy you crush on in the back of the class, Sara your little sister, and the other kids your classmates.
Aside from the believability of the characters, there's the vivid way in which Mr. Giambrone tells the tale. You're inside Kaylee's mind, you're watching the "dupes" try and kill all the normal people. You're fighting along with her.
She's also got a psychological quirk, suddenly becoming mute after the events occur. It's a topic for discussion for sure one you've read the book.
There's everything from a to z in this story, and it will keep you up all night (I'm writing this at one in the morning). Your next obsession? Transfixion.

5/5--absolutely amazing! Must read!

Purchase Transfixion via:

Amazon

Barnes And Noble

Createspace (paperback)

BOOK REVIEW: "Mathion (Mavonduri Trilogy #1)" by Jeff Shanley

In an ancient time long lost to legend, a race of men known as the Wolven inhabited the land of Ánovén. To the north lay the land of Kânavad, home to a brutal, savage race we know today as Werewolves.
At the age of seven, the Wolven prince Mathion encountered a dying White Wolf, and received two gifts that would forever change not only his life, but the course of history itself. Centuries later, with a White Wolf at his side, Mathion gathers together a small band of warriors, consisting of both friends and family. Their mission: help the city of Kihar east of the river defend itself against an advancing army of werewolves.
Along the way, Mathion learns of a secret that he has carried with him all his life, and a power that can change the tide of a war that has raged between the Wolven and the Werewolves for over twenty thousand years. Little does he know that his enemy is well aware of this secret. And they will do anything to obtain the final piece of a puzzle that, if completed, could condemn the world to eternal darkness.
When someone close to him is captured alive by the enemy, Mathion attempts the impossible: to venture into the enemy's homeland itself, and infiltrate the Black City, the stronghold of Lord Azgharáth, the oldest and strongest of the werewolves. With this choice, events are set in motion that will hurtle these lands toward a final confrontation, and an epic journey is begun that will change everyone's lives forever.

Above is the description on Amazon for Mathion, the first book in Jeff Shanley's Mavonduri Trilogy. I put that instead of my own description because I could not have put a summary of the book as eloquently as it was put here.
I was recommended to Mr. Shanley by a mutual friend, David, and I'm so glad he briught us to work together!
Usually, when I hear that a book is influenced by Tolkien, I think, Here we go again. Mathion is not a book you'll read everyday, and I'm sorry for thinking for a second that it might be.
Imagine if Bram Stoker and Tolkien could have a lovechild. What would they write? They would write the Mavonduri Trilogy, an epic adventure full of danger and werewolves.
While the characters are very important, this is a story-driven book, not character-driven. It's vivid, it's enchanting and it's the perfect book for those of us who love fantasy and the paranormal.
There are many similarities between this and Lord of the Rings, but they are like acknowledging nods to the master of fantasy rather than blatant rip-offs.
This is a beautifully written book, and I am excited for #2!

4/5--unique!

Purchase Mathion via:

Goodreads

Smashwords

Amazon

BOOK REVIEW/AUTHOR INTERVIEW: "Wizard of Ends Book One" by Vanessa Finaughty

When Lashlor Leaflin offers to escort Queen Narraki Dragonsbane to the Jeltar Woods, he’s unwittingly caught up in a magical adventure of the type he would rather not have.

The sorceress Assassa believes the Land of Ends to be rightfully hers, but King Lanaran refuses to hand over his crown. In retaliation, the sorceress conjures creatures of darkness to hunt the queen and end her life. Lashlor helps where he can, but it isn’t easy when the Guards of Ends who protect the queen believe him to be false.

A confrontation with Assassa will be the death of him, Lashlor is certain. However, the king insists on his help and it soon becomes apparent that he may have no choice.

REVIEW:

In the Kingdom of Ends, wizards and other magic users are identified by a magical medallion hung about their necks. Lashlor is a wizard who refuses to use his power. But when an evil and powerful sorceress threatens the Queen's life and the King's throne, he just might be forced to act, even the entire kingdom believes him to be a fake.

Mrs. Finaughty's novel, a short tale I read in about thirty minutes, is a magical whirlwind. I almost wish it was longer!
You've got your typical characters: the crazy person who wants to be a ruler, a haughty king, a benevolent queen and your hero, the dashing and reluctant wizard. Usually, when charters are so basic, I quickly get bored.
These characters, however, are all so fitting with each other and this wonderful world they inhabit. Lashlor, especially, is endearing. You'll be rooting for him all 66 pages.
While I found the story, as I said, a little short for my liking, I still thoroughly enjoyed it. You know an author is talented even you can see a mini-movie in your mind as you read their words. That's what <em>Wizard of Ends</em> was like, having a private movie on my head.
I can't wait to read more from her!

4/5--excellent and visual!

GUEST POST:

Introducing Wizard of Ends, a new fantasy adventure series
Guest post by Vanessa Finaughty

Thank you for hosting me on your blog today, Kelly.

My new fantasy adventure series, Wizard of Ends, was inspired by my baby daughter, in a way. In fact, if I’m to be completely honest, she’s the only reason the series exists. I hadn’t written anything for almost two years before I found out I was pregnant, because I was ‘too busy with work’. At the time, I was working incredibly long hours, often until after midnight, which left no time for writing. So if I really was too busy with work, why, then, the quotes? They’re there because I’ve since learnt that you’re never truly too busy to do the things you enjoy the most. Certain things may make it harder to find time to write, but nothing in this universe has the power to make it impossible if it’s what you really want to be doing. Sometimes all we need is the right motivation – I found mine in my first child, and went from doing no personal writing in two years to writing three books in less than two years… and that with even less time to sit at the PC and write.

When my daughter was born, it hit me that it’s my responsibility to teach her there’s nothing she cannot do if she puts her mind to it and tries hard enough. How was I supposed to teach her that, though, if I was doing the opposite? Hence, I got down to business and wrote the third book in my Legends of Origin series, and then, for the first time in two years, I actually started writing a new book, a story clamouring inside my head for attention.

The first word of Wizard of Ends was written at a time when I needed something fun and light-hearted. The story is fast-paced and what I consider light reading, and I had loads of fun writing it. One ARC reviewer called it ‘refreshing’, which is exactly what I set out to create – a refreshing read that, while it won’t make you think too hard, will hopefully still leave you with plenty to ponder.

I don’t have a clear indication of how many books this series will ultimately have, because the story only comes to me as I write. I have an idea of what will happen in Book 3, Mountains of Eclador, and have already started writing it, but, after that, your guess is as good as mine! That’s what makes writing fun for me – I often have to write the rest in order to know how it ends. If I don’t care what happens next, I know it’s rubbish and needs to be deleted. I can, however, tell you that you can expect this series to be reasonably long, probably at least seven to ten books (but don’t hold me to that).

I’d like to think that, once the series is complete, the wizard, Lashlor, and all my other main characters will ‘live happily ever after’. In the past, I had a tendency to kill off many of my main characters, but I think that’s because I wrote mostly thrillers when I first started writing, and how much thrill can you get from something if you already know the MC will survive and be happy at the end? I don’t know for sure if everything will work out okay for Lashlor and the others at the end of the series, but I hope it will. I’m certainly not planning to kill off any of the characters like I did in the past.

When I think about it, after the series has ended, I imagine Lashlor as a grey-haired old man whom everyone goes to for advice, and I see King Lanaran and Queen Narraki still together, surrounded by grandchildren. I can’t be sure if this is how it will end for them, but I hope it’s something along those lines, at least! Readers prefer happy endings, and so do I.

AUTHOR INFO & LINKS:

Vanessa Finaughty is an author of many genres who now focuses on fantasy and science fiction. She’s published 15 books, of which 6 are fantasy. Vanessa grew up in Cape Town, South Africa, and still lives there with her husband of fifteen years, her baby daughter and plenty of furry, four-legged ‘children’.
Vanessa has always been passionate about books, and knew from a young age that she wanted to write them one day. She loves animals, coffee and the smell of wet grass, and hates liars, sweltering weather and long queues. Her interests include reading, photography, the supernatural, mythology, aliens and outer space, ancient history, life’s mysteries and martial arts, of which she has five years’ experience.

Official site: http://www.vanessafinaughtybooks.com/
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5044271.Vanessa_Finaughty
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Vanessa-Finaughty/100002564510869
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/VanessaFinaughty
Twitter: https://twitter.com/VanessaFin
Barnes And Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/c/vanessa-finaughty
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Vanessa-Finaughty/e/B00ONNF672
iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/nz/artist/vanessa-finaughty/id452726805?mt=11

BOOK REVIEW/AUTHOR INTERVIEW: "Exterminators: Infected" by James DeSantis

REVIEW:

Running this blog has given me an opportunity to read many novels that I might not have been able to enjoy before, simply because I wouldn’t have heard of them.
James DeSantis contacted me via Twitter about reviewing his debut novel, Exterminators: Infected (which is volume one out of five) on my blog here. I have read but never reviewed sci-fi/fantasy before…until now.
Four young boys from all walks of life receive a mysterious letter…one that tells them to go to a specific address at a certain time. Once they’ve read the letter, it disintegrates.
Nick, a newcomer to New York City and a kid who misses his mother after she passed away a year ago, is one of them. A born leader, a bit awkward but levelheaded, is one.
Then you have Peter, a loner kid who gets good grades and doesn’t really associate with people. He has two secrets the reader finds out about fairly quickly: he has a drunken, abusive father and a mental disorder. The doctors diagnosed him with sociopathic tendencies, meaning he does not feel emotions like a normal human.
Next, you have Fred, a geeky semi-Gothic gamer, who is overweight and an outcast. He is rich, but his parents are never around. His best friend deserted him at the beginning of high school and his only company is the people he interacts with when he plays online video games.
Meet that deserting friend, Marshall, who thinks he is a badass but is he really? he wanted to be popular; Fred didn’t, so they parted ways. Now they are forced to work together again when all four boys gather at the appointed address at the appointed time to learn why they were called.
Carl is a Bora, a mentor and a commander, whichever you want to call him. He works under this former teammate, Amanda Ross (the Gada, leader of the organization), as a trainer for new Exterminators. Carl is also an alcoholic, after something bad happened to the last team he mentored scarred him for life and made him not want to even be a Bora anymore. But now he has to train for new kids to be killers.
Now, they won’t be like mercenaries; killing humans. No, nothing so horrific yet mundane in Mr. DeSantis’s novel! Exterminators kill Unknowns: creatures from another realm that threaten the human world when they try to push through the barriers between realms and cause mayhem.
Think of this as the TV show Supernatural taken to a whole other level and combined with the craziest, most imaginative video game you’ve ever played, all mixed in with friendship, leadership, trust and values, all with a dash of romance for some of the characters.
I wasn’t sure what I would think of this when I started reading it, but I kept an open mind as I turned page after page on my tablet. I couldn’t put it down. From page one on down to the end, it was riveting.
I will warn readers, there is a decent amount of violence, so be prepared for fistfights, fires, stabbings and murder.
As a lifelong fan of sci-fi (if it is done right), I was highly impressed with this novel, especially considering it is a debut. Everything about it was innovative and riveting, from the creation of new monsters (Rockus; wolf-hybrids and killer scarecrows, to name a few), to the use of a demonic presence and realm-jumping.
In between the violence, you have four seventeen year old boys trying to cope with powers, train to be stronger, and deal with everyday life. Nick’s schoolwork is failing, both he and Marshall have to lie to their respective girlfriends on a daily basis (or do they?), Peter is trying not to use his weapon, the Rod, to kill his father and Fred…well, after Fred nearly dies in his first battle with an Unknown, he starts to deal with the voice in his head…a voice that may be his undoing.
To sum it up: great novel, great characters and so unique, Sci-fi fans and people who may not be interested in this genre otherwise will want to get this novel and, once they finish, will eagerly await the next!

4/5--excellent!

INTERVIEW:

1. You published your first novel, Exterminators: Infected, recently. What made you want to be a writer and how old were you when you decided that was the case?

I was 13, when I thought to myself, this is what I want to do. Now over a decade later I finally published a novel. It took some time to get to it, but I wanted to be a bit older before getting my name out there. I knew at the age though that this is what I wanted to do. To give people a world that's exciting, interesting, and a bit scary. Something people would remember forever. That was my goal when I first thought of the idea of Exterminators. 

2. What authors did you enjoy when you were younger? What authors inspire you today?

I grew up reading a lot of different types of books. In the fantasy world I enjoyed authors such as Darren Shan, Jonathan Stroud, and even J. K. Rowling. Moving more into the realistic zone I read books from Dave Pelzar, who wrote a Boy Called It. Also, stories from anonymous people such as “Go Ask Aliace”, “Jay's Journal”, and “Lucy In The Sky”. Now days I read works from Stephen King a lot, and try to spread the love to other upcoming writers. I have taste that varies, so I never really get bored.

3. Does reviewing and playing videos games inspire your writing?

In a way. I review so many games, so that means I go through too many stories to count. This helps me from a story that's original. Nothing like I've played or heard before. At least that's my goal. So reviewing a story, hundreds over the years, has help me become a better writer.

4. Where did you get the idea for the novel: four teens battling monsters from another realm?

It's a mix of things. One major goal was to have a group of people in my book. You ever read a book and decide you enjoy the side characters more than the main character? I didn't want that. I wanted you to like my main character. So I created four, very different, people to be the center of attention for the series. So having four personalities, fighting together, was the very first idea I had for the story. It changed a lot but my idea of good vs evil isn't always simple. The basic idea of the first book is humans have to stop monsters. Monsters are always evil. Yet, I make sure certain characters questioned it. I want to make sure the reader also questions what is happening. If you aren't, I probably have to step up my writing!

5. Each character in Infected has his/her own, unique personality. Were any of them based on people in real life or were they wholly imaginary?

Some of their looks are based off of people I know. Some of the names are based off the people I've met or are friends with. However, each character is made up a certain way I envisioned them. Nobody is based off of anyone one hundred percent. I'd be lying, though, if I said I didn't take some people I knew and place their face in the story at least.

6. Why did you decide to make this a 5-part series? Was it because you had too many ideas to fit it into one or two books or are you more fond of multi-book series in general?

Actually, the original plan was to have six books! I only recently decided to have it five. The second to last book was almost entirely scratched for a more realistic take to a ending. I do like longer series though. You get attached to characters. You feel for them. They almost become part of your life.

7. All of the monsters in your story are original, even the Cyclops, as you gave it a new take. Where did you get the ideas for them?

When I think of a monster I try to think of something that scares me. Something that makes me wanna throw up just by looking at it. Something deadly, that can kill you in real life. Monsters in fantasy stories are great, and I obviously take some ideas from general fantasy designs, but I decide to give them their own take. Make them live up to their title as monsters.

8. Why did you decide to make the heroes be kids in high school instead of adults a bit older?

When you're a kid or a teenager you believe more. You're willing to accept and trust people more when you are young. You also go through the hardest times. Love, betrayal, and figuring out what you want in life. I felt that would be a good age for the boys so that they grow into men. Of course I love to also write the older characters, since they are closer to my age and easier to relate.

9. When you finished the first installment, did it end up anything like you had originally thought?

My original ideas slipped into the story. I actually wrote the entire first book back when I was fifteen. I completed it, over fifty five chapters, but got rid of almost all of it in the rewrite. I re-wrote the story maybe four times through my teens. I then rewrote the story in March of this year, and released it in May. I had a set mind path of where my story would end up this time. Re-reading the story around three times now, I like where it ended up. Sure, I had a few cliches I wanted to avoid but overall it set the blueprint for the next three books. Which makes me very excited to release the next one.

10. What made you start getting into reviewing video games, as that is your other niche?

I was sitting in my room one day with a friend and we were very bored. I had just gotten a camera and I already owned a ton of video games. So we figured, why not try something with both? That's when I decided to review games. It is my other niche, along with other things. I'm always a big believer in do what makes you happy!

11. The weapon you gave the characters, the Rod, can become anything they want if they believe hard enough. That is a variation of what people tell kids from the time they're young. Did you intentionally want to reinforce that statement--you can do anything if you believe--when you created the weapon?

Yes! You are the first to pick up on this. In life, I've been thought that if you try hard enough you can achieve anything. I live by that now. I believe that if I tried hard enough I can get what I wanted. This is what the Rod represents. It can become anything you want. The stronger the weapon or item is, the harder it is to use or keep around. So you have to train, both physically and mentally, to gain what you want. In a world filled with people telling you that things are impossible, I thought this was a good answer. This world seems impossible, so why not give those naysayers a little of their own medicine!

12. Why did you create such unconventional monsters instead of sticking to the usual route of werewolves (not hybrids!) and vampires?

While some stories can you conventional type monsters well, I just couldn't. Why? I like to make my own rules up. To many rules in the old tales. I wanted to make my monsters unique and fun. Different than anything you've seen before. Even my take on a werewolf is different. A wolf hybrid shares ideas of a werewolf but it's very different in the end. So I like to create my monsters from scratch.

13. What would you be doing if you weren't writing?

Probably focus on doing more video game reviews. However, while that's fun, it isn't my dream. Writing is everything I could hope for. Creating a world to get lost in. It's amazing.

14. What can we expect to see from you in the future?

Well Exterminators: Shadows is coming out in January of 2014. That will be the second in the series, with the third following behind in somewhere late 2014. I also have a book in the making called Sparks and stars a young adult who has obtained two very unique things. The ability to use electricity with his body. The other one is that he has cancer. It'll be both a story about heroics and trials to try and survive against the city he lives in and the disease he faces. So those are my plans for the next few years.

15. Thank you very much for participating in the interview! Can you please leave the reader with three things that may surprise them about you?

Thank you very much for giving me an interview! I had a blast answering all these questions. To finish it off I'll list the three things that might surprise people. 
1) I create music. Another hobby of mine since a kid. I write my own lyrics, produce my own beats, and rap over them. It's a fun hobby of mine that I like to share with the world. 
2) Sometimes when I write, I get so absorbed, that I feel like I'm living inside my books. Almost as if I'm actually apart of that world. It's pretty scary! 
3) Each character in the story represents my personality or stages in life. So all together they make me. Pretty crazy, huh?

Find James DeSantis online via:

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Goodreads

BOOK REVIEW/AUTHOR INTERVIEW: The Commons Book One: The Journeyman" by Michael Alan Peck

REVIEW:

Paul Reid is essentially a street kid, drifting here and there and now on a real mission: to find out who his father is.
On the way from New York City to San Francisco, he meets war veteran Annie and her autistic son, Zach. While on the trip, the bus crashes and nearly everyone dies. Those who don't are killed on sight by strange men in black riot gear. Except for Paul, who is sent to The Commons, a place like Purgatory, where he goes on a Journey (accompanied by some unique folks from the real world and the fantasy realm) to see of he can stop a corporate bigwig from taking over The Commons and free the dead.

Michael Alan Peck is a name you NEED to remember! <em>The Commons Book 1: The Journeyman</em> isn't just a fun read, it is all-encompassing, drawing you into its world as easily as Stephen King can.
It's not so much the characters, though there are certainly some standouts in the vast cast, or even the plot, but the unique voice behind the novel.
Try as I might, I cannot compare this to anything I've read lately. It is in a league of its own.
For older teens and adults of all ages, it's an epic fantasy adventure with horror and metaphysical undertones. You will not want the book to end!

INTERVIEW:

1. When/why did you decide to become a writer?

It’s not so much that I decided to become a writer as it is that I recognized that I already was one—and I was lucky enough to begin realizing that early on. Third grade, specifically, when I was just heading into an academic transition from a student who actually tried to get good grades to a ne’er-do-well who couldn’t be bothered to commit  himself at all. But I always tried very hard when assigned a short story of any kind.
When I moved to fourth grade—despite my best efforts, they insisted on advancing me—my third-grade teacher kept giving me story-writing assignments because she thought I was pretty good and wanted to encourage me. I liked her and didn’t want to let her down.
In fifth grade, I had a substitute teacher for a week—a retired old-school knuckle-whacker who didn’t put up with nonsense from brats like me. I had a crush on a girl in my class, which meant, of course, that I had to be as awful as possible to her. When this substitute told us to write a story about something we liked to do with friends, I penned a tale of how we defended the world against an evil population of girls who all shared the name of the poor girl I had the crush on. We battled them with various kinds of weaponry—laser pistols, missile launchers, bombs, energy beams, and anything else I’d seen used on Ultra Man and other Japanese-import TV.
The substitute teacher was completely freaked out by my story. She gave me a mediocre grade (I got points for vocabulary), and her notes included some terms I had to look up. When I found out what “juvenile delinquent” meant, I took it as a compliment. And I then understood the power of the written word and how it could move the reader. I was hooked.

2. What authors inspired you when you were younger? What books do you enjoy reading today?

One of the first authors I remember being taken with was E.B. White. Charlotte’s Web was a revelation. But what really convinced me that books could be as good or better than TV and cartoons was when a friend told me about Mollie Hunter’s The Haunted Mountain. That’s when I really felt the magic of reading.
My favorite books today range from Gabriel García Márquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude, Larry McMurtry’s Lonesome Dove and Dickens’s A Tale of Two Cities to Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five, Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, and Neil Gaiman’s Sandman comics. I think that a good story isn’t limited to any genre. Magic doesn’t chain itself to one shelf or another. 

3. What was the inspiration behind your novel The Commons Book 1: The Journeyman?

I recently attended a memorial service I knew was going to be wrenching. A co-worker gave me a ride there, and when we pulled into the parking lot, we spent a few minutes just sitting in the car, trying to prepare ourselves to enter the church.
“I’m not good with death,” she told me. “I’m just warning you.”
“Neither am I,” I said.
And that’s true. And it’s a large part of why I created The Commons as a world to contain these characters and stories to come, I think. I’ve always been angry at the fact that good experiences must end, and good people have to go away.
What if they didn’t? What if the people and their imaginings continued? I played around with that idea, mixed in a desire to see the downtrodden and ignored given the chance to be recognized and make a difference, and suddenly I had a world I could populate with stories and characters for as long as I could make them up.
There’s a reason I’ve affixed the number one prominently to the Journeyman title: this is just the beginning.

4. How many books will this series span?

Initially, it’s a planned trilogy that will establish the relationship between The Commons and our world. From there, I don’t see an end. My goal is to build a realm where I can do everything from series to standalone novels, short stories, graphic novels—you name it.

5. What would you do of you were in Paul's position?

I think I’d do much the same as Paul, at least for starters. There’s no denying that Paul is part of me. Or part of him is, at least, just as Porter, Annie, and Zach are. And just as Truitt and Brill are, though I’m loathe to admit that since it reveals a not very nice part of me that I think exists in everyone.
But I digress. I like to think I’d come from as noble a place as Paul does, but I’m guessing that I’d probably be more skeptical than he is. I’d probably spend a lot more time trying to figure out if Porter really is one of the good guys and whether he’s trying to scam me or not. I think Paul is more willing than I am to trust, to act, and then see what the outcome is. I can often be more of a wait-and-see type.

6. Will we see new characters come into play as the series goes on or will it continue to center around the ones you introduced here?

There will be many new characters introduced, and the current ones will resurface and continue to play a part, as well. My mental model for the world of The Commons is a fiction version of the Marvel Comics Universe. Major characters in one story become minor characters in another and vice versa. InThe Journeyman, the porcupine man with a typewriter and the truck-driving slot machine man are only momentary figures. But that doesn’t mean we won’t see them again.

7. What other genres would you like to try your hand at?

I don’t think I have to choose, which is why I love the ebook revolution so much. When you’re talking print books in a physical bookstore, your book tends to live on one shelf in one section. I refer to The Journeyman as contemporary or urban fantasy. But it has elements of literary fiction, and reviewers have called it metaphysical fiction, magical realism, and slipstream. After a point, the distinctions melt away, and you don’t have to worry about being pigeonholed. For now, genre is a bit of a marketing limitation. But that doesn’t have to hold true over the long haul.

8. What is your personal belief about the afterlife?

I firmly believe that I have no clue—and that the more insistent someone else is about their knowledge, the more sure I am that they don’t know, either. Which is fine. Everyone is free to believe whatever they want. But the only thing that makes sense to me is some sort of cyclical energy in the universe—Essence, in my book—that may carry on as the discrete form of you or may be broken up and redistributed. Everything else in the world works that way, so to me, it only seems to follow. That said, I’ll repeat: I don’t believe that’s the case. It just feels more sensible to me than any other model with which I’ve been presented. So I run with it in my fiction.

9. Where did you get the idea for the many strange characters in The Commons (the one that sticks out in my mind the most is the half-man/half-slot machine)?

I needed beings to help illustrate the depth of the randomness and creative energy in The Commons. What does a world look like when it’s populated by stray memories and fragments of creation? Luckily, I’m an odd person. Whenever I needed to come up with strange things and creatures to see, they came to me. I think they patiently wait outside the door. When I turn its knob and open it, they dance on in.

10. Would you like to see The Commons in theaters or on TV? If so, what actors would you like to see play your characters?

I think the most interesting cast would be one of fresh or less familiar faces. The tendency is to go for well-known actors, as I’m doing above, but it would be intriguing to see a mix of mostly new people and character-actor veterans without a lot of top-billing exposure, as HBO had in shows such as The Wire, Deadwood, and The Sopranos.

11. Where do you see yourself and your career in the next ten years?

I can tell you where I’d love to be: a half-dozen Commons books under my belt, all of them as well received as The Journeyman has been, and the ability to write full-time. That really is the dream. Whether I’ll get there or not isn’t entirely up to me, of course, but I can help it along with a bit more discipline.

12. What would you be doing if you weren't writing?

That’s easy. I’d be deeply depressed and cranky. Ask me how I know.

13. Can you tell KSR what you're working on next?

Book 2 in the Commons trilogy. It’ll be called The Margins.

14. What authors, dead or alive, would you like to collaborate with?

Ray Bradbury, Neil Gaiman, Gabriel García Márquez, Susanna Clarke, and Lynda Barry. I’m sure I’m forgetting several others. Maybe Charles Dickens.

15. Thank you for participating in the interview. Can you please leave the readers with three things that may surprise them about you?

I have an old-fashioned flip-phone, which is never on, and I rely on an old-school land line, which I rarely answer.
I used to write about TV for a living, but I avoid watching it to the point where I don’t recognize most of the names on the magazine covers I see in the grocery store.
In college, Raymond Carver once helped me with a poem I’d written. He advised cutting the first stanza—and, not surprisingly, he was right. He was, after all, Raymond Carver.

Find Michael Alan Peck online via:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michaelalanpeckauthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/michaelapeck
Google+: https://plus.google.com/+MichaelPeckAuthor/
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/michaelpeck
Author site: http://michaelalanpeck.com/ (has purchase links for The Commons)