Maps!

Not sure about you, but when I read a novel and it has a map in the front, that book just got ten times better. Small details like that make the entire adventure more fun.

Making those maps on the other hand, is a royal pain. I'm still going to have one in the front of the Lionheart Abyss series, but maps aren't my cup of tea.

After all, I am more of a coffee drinker.

Give me your thoughts on fantasy maps in novels below and be sure to check back soon for more news about the upcoming Lionheart Abyss saga.

I wrote the hardest scene yesterday.

Yesterday I picked up writing again for a short while and in doing so, I pushed myself. It was the hardest thing I have ever written, but it turned out so good. So emotional and raw. I had my partner read it and she even became excited for the manuscript to be finished.

I can only hope to have more days like that this month.

Word count down the drain.

Yup, this year went exactly how I figured it would.  I have no time, or energy to write. I've even lost the inspiration that I had last month. It's just buried under the pile of work stress. I normally only have about 3 hours a day to myself where I am not working or driving to and from.

It's been hard this year and to be honest to myself, I won't finish anywhere near on track. But I do still have my deadline, and a few days off coming up.

I'll be interested to see where they go.

3 Pages of Plot

As part of this year's NaNoWriMo I am pulling out every trick I have. Including mapping out a plot. Took me 3 pages of hand written notes, but I am so ready to start this year's challenge.

I have a release date.

So with how excited I am about NaNoWriMo this year, I decided to mix  that with my personal goals. So sense this will be released for free in chapters, I've decided to release the entire novel as one, but for sale. Today I happily announce my release date.

MARCH 1st 2018
The Adventures of Ragnar (title subject to change )

I have a lot of work a head of me, and I can't wait.

Late night character building

Yup, I work my normal job tomorrow too, but I'm not about to let that slow down. My NaNoWriMo prep!

Driving is my jam.

Some people get great ideas in the shower, I was never one of those people. My brain seems to work best when I'm sitting in the car driving, or on a bus or train. The up side of this, I drive about 2 hours everyday to and from work. (Round trip thank the gods.) The down side, it's pretty dangerous to write while trying to drive. Normally when I get to work and park, I scribble down notes like crazy. I feel like this is how all of November is going to go. I'm perfectly okay with that.

Daughter of the Bright Moon Review

Daughter of the Bright Moon by Lynn Abbey

This novel was published in 1979, and Lynn Abbey’s first published work. It was also nominated for the “Locus Award” for Best Fantasy Novel.

In a world where men rule and women are expected to be just that, ladies, Rifkind won her freedom, her war-horse, and her own sword. She is a healer who has been graced by the power of her moon goddess. Her destiny well decided for her, she must travel, with her only trusted friend Turin her war-horse, to a new world were and evil sorcerer controls the land.

I’ll try to keep my actual review on this short. It will as always have minimal spoilers if any at all and will be one hundred percent my own opinions. To start off, I will say that I greatly enjoyed this book. It took me about a week to finish and I enjoyed every moment of it. Even to the point where I was sneaking in a few pages even while on the bus on my way to my day job.

I’m going to start off with my biggest gripes about the book, and while I do so, I must keep in mind how old this one is. Yeah sure forty years doesn’t sound like a long time, but it is for a book, and how they have evolved sense then. Some of the writing was a bit confusing, lacking some words that would have been in newer books. A few places where I found myself going back to get the full picture of things and set ups. The battle’s were especially this way for me. I also felt it lacking a bit more background information that I would have personally preferred. It speaks of events that were normal for this woman’s tribe but yet they meant little to be because I felt like I was missing why they were important to her.

Now let’s move on to the things I enjoyed about it, and why you should really read this one. First off, the leading lady is amazing. Far from flawless but to headstrong to need any man. Speaking of, a bit of a spoiler here, I was so happy to see the two main characters stay friends and not hook up. Truly that in itself is an amazing point. Another aspect that truly made me enjoy this book was the research put into the main secondary character, Turin, the War-horse. Lynn made a world that was so well thought out that you understood how the powers worked within it. I always appreciate that.

While it may be a bit harder to find, for sure snag yourself a copy. Great Characters, kick ass woman who can hold her own, and a beautiful world to set it all in.  

"Rise from the Grave" Now out!

I'm super excited to bring you the news about my newest release. "Rise from the Grave" A short from the Lionheart Abyss series.

Valdis isn't having such a good day, and the grumpy litch from a few towns over isn't about to make it any better.

Click here to get it.

Sad news

     The day finally came where a ten hour work day derailed everything. I've cheated myself from making progress. That also sadly means that I didn't get around to finishing up this week's werewolf Wednesday  post. I am however, able to make posts easily here from my 'new' phone. So I can at least do some small things.

A Message in a Bottle

     The salt water rushed against my feet. Pulling my arm back I hurled the amber colored bottle into the salty spray. The soft plunk of it hitting the water echoed back to my ears. It reassured me that I didn’t throw like a girl, or so the saying goes. I stood there until the sun set. Every day after I returned, and waited.

     Such a small bottle it was, but it drifted for days. The tides of the world pulled it out to sea only to push it towards another chunk of land. The tiny object was at Poseidon’s mercy. However, it wasn’t the only thing adrift on the tide. “All hands on deck, we sail towards port!” The captain roared over the waves that crashed against the hull of a ship. She was different. Her boots clopped against the deck and she walked across the wooden timbers. Her eyes scanned the open water looking for any hint of land.

     “Aye Cap’n.” Loki growled as he pitched the wheel towards the now visible land mass. The rest of the crew scattered and tended their posts. The ship groaned and creaked as it pitched. The ship was tired and so was the crew. A good rest and a payday was just a few knots a head. “Hey Cap’en,” He roared over the boat to get her attention. “what’s that just off starboard?” The hulking cat took one hand off the wheel and pointed at something that was shimmering off the waters surface.

     Bella turned to see whatever he hand pointed at. She watched it flicker in the sunlight for a few moments before she could make out the shape to him. She huffed and turned back to her first mate. “That be trash Loki.” A scowl crossed her face and she walked away from the side of the ship.

     One of the younger crew members heaved himself over the ship. “There’s a paper in it Captain.” He called out.

     Bella snarled at the comment but she was too tired to care. The ocean took a toll on you while you were out and this group of men did nothing to ease it for her. “Fine, grab it, but I’ll not be sending anyone after ya if ye fall in the foam.” She meant every word. The lad would have to swim himself to shore if he lost his footing.

     The lad that spotted it took no time to shimmy himself down the side of this ship. With nimble fingers he snatched up the bottle and the message inside and hauled himself back up topside. As much as he wanted to open it, he kept the cork stuff in and handed the entire bottle over to the Captain.

     Bella took the bottle and instead of just pulling out the cork, she smashed the neck of it against the ships rail. The glass shattered and she dug out the slip of paper. It was odd. The writing was too nice to be a child’s, and the paper had such weight and texture. A heavy scent of earth and flowers, accented with a musk wafted up towards her nose. Something was odd about this. She unrolled the scrap and her eyes fell upon the short message and she smiled.

     I want to have an adventure. ~S

Werewolf Wednesday

Well I kinda liked yesterday. I've been thinking and while yes there is a chapter ready for Sunday, I'm going to move "Silver Mane" posts to Wednesday. Makes it a bit more fun.

Silver Mane - Part 5

Part One Here


     Her first conscious night with the wolves passed. Ana couldn’t find it in herself to full let go and fall asleep. Every little noise woke her. Perhaps she didn’t trust the wolves like she started to think. She woke before dawn even kissed the sky and went for a walk. It surprised her that not a single wolf stirred as she left the pack’s cave. She walked out of the clearing and into the woods. She let the magic of the land grip her and she followed trails that were normally only touched by deer and faries themselves.

     Ana took her time in the crisp fall air. The wind prickling her skin, making the soft hair on her arms stand at attention. She didn’t mind it though, it came with her new found freedom. That alone wasn’t something she was ready to give back. She came to a stream and passed over it on a fallen log, only to continue walking farther and deeper into the woods. The sounds of birds graced her ears and foxes darted back and forth across her path. Before she knew it, the sun was already up. She was also hopelessly lost in the array of trees.

     There was an odd noise on the winds, one that was deeper than the chirp of birds. It was a thundering and yet not like any storm she had ever encountered. She followed the noise. Her movements were swift as she reached the edge of the forest and the sounds grew louder. Now she could even hear the low murmur of people. Her heart lifted and she raced across the scrub and up a small hill. As her eyes could see over it her mouth dropped open with happy surprise.

     Below, nestled in a small bowl of land was a lively village. There were shops of clothes, of food, of trinkets from all over the lands. Ana rushed down there without thinking and started to look among the tents. In the center gathered a large group of people that were dancing around a fire with people pounding away on drums.

     “Thunder!” She thought. It all made sense to her. The beautiful woman was so enchanted with everything around her, she didn’t notice everyone who watched her. She had already forgotten that she smelled of wolf and still had bit’s of blood flecked on her from eating with the pack the night prior. Pair that with the fact that she had escaped being a slave, she must have looked pretty bad.

     A guard approached her. His shield at ready and his pike pointed towards her. “This is no place for you, Wild One.” The term was used more as a name. Ana was about to use her master’s name and claim she was on business for him, but then her heart sank as she realized she no longer had that protection. Her eyes grew wide in panic. “I said get!” The guard shouted and shoved his pike towards her.

    The tip was meant to make contact with her, but it never did. There was an angry roar that echoed off the tents and drowned out the beating of drums. A wolf that walked like a man came between the two humans. Stela had been swift and silent. She broke the shaft of the pike and pulled the guard toward her. Her drool pelted him in the face as she let loose another roar.

     The sound brought the crowd into a panic and within moments other guards were racing towards them. This was not good. Stela glanced around and without another thought she scooped up her woman.

     All Ana could remember of that moment was she was standing, and then the next moment she was being held against warm fur. She relaxed at the feeling and the wolf’s soothing heartbeat let her drift in and out of sleep.

     The wolf stayed on two legs and ran, taking large heavy strides. Stela tried her best to keep her arms from jostling the woman too much. Her paw pads split from the heavy impact but still she kept running. The pack swarmed around them. Guards raced up behind and a few where on horseback. “Aureal, stop those horses if you can.” Her words were a command.

     He grunted in acknowledgment and turned on a dime. The monster of a beast stood on his hind legs, reaching his full height of about ten feet tall without counting his ears. He bellowed into the air. It was a deep howl that seemed to echo even from off of the ground. The men skidded in their tracks. The horses were no fools and bolted. One even threw his rider as the human attempted to forward the animal towards the wolf. One brave man threw a spear. Aureal wrapped his fingers around it and grinned.

     The look was that of a mad man, mixed with the hunger of a wolf. The man who threw it, quickly realized his mistake. Aureal hurled the spear back towards the group of people. It made it’s target and ran right through the human who had originally used it. The large male wolf chuckled as he watched the humans scatter in fear. He nodded and returned to all fours and took off running to catch up to his pack.

     “We will have to find another home my friends. I am sorry. We all knew this day would come though, there were too many times already that the humans had come looking for us.” Stela announced to the pack once they were a good few miles north. “We will continue to head north and find a new home.” She nuzzled Ana and held the woman close, savoring the moment. 

Part 6

Holidays and a Free Book

Wow, the holidays just took over my life this season. Work was slammed due to Star Wars coming out, on top of both jobs and my life just kinda spiraled. For once, I truly even forgot that I had a blog. So here, enjoy a treat for the holidays. A free book. Today only!

Follow Leora in her personal struggled to make it, in a place that really doesn't want her there.

Free Book

A Paladin She'll Be - Now out!

Here we are, finally! The first short in my Fantasy series is finally done and out! Leora, she follows Eos Titian of light, with no interest in men she joined the city guard after her father died. Join her in this hard new life, where she must prove herself as more than just a woman.

Read it now!