Swift Six – Author Interview – Diane J Cornwell

Tags

Author interviews, Bundle authors, Fantasy, Swift Six

First Glimpse of Secondary Worlds Fantasy Bundle

Name:  Diane J Cornwell

What attracts you to the genre in which you write?

While writing my stories I do not consider genre, which leaves me free to follow my muse and have fun while writing. I only consider genre after finishing each story, but so far, thankfully, I stick to traditional genre descriptions.

What piece of writing advice do you wish you’d known when you started your writing adventures?

Ignore all advice and just have fun writing each story.

If you could have dinner with any famous person or character who would you choose?

David Attenborough, because I would ask him to do a documentary on dragons, showing them flying, breathing fire, resting on top of high mountains, and many other abilities of the dragons in my Tracker series.

Who has been the greatest influence on your own work?

Anne McCafffrey with her Pern series of dragons, Mercedes Lackey with her Valdemar series, and L. E. Modesett, Jr. with his Recluse series, as well as his Science Fiction stories.

Also, Tara Harper, Terry Goodkind, and many other great authors in different genres.

Do you think the e-book revolution will do away with print?

No.

Which 3 books would you take to a desert island and why?

I would not go to a desert island because the sun would blister my fair skin, but if I landed on a desert island by some freak of nature, I would call for a dragon to fly me back home.

Author bio and book synopsis

Please introduce yourself (250 words or so):

I do not like talking about myself so you can read my About the Author in the back of each story that my publisher wrote.

One thing people might not know about me is that I love all animals, and understand each and every one has an individual personality. And for some reason, animals and birds are not scared of me.

I have ordered magpies out of my back yard because they were scaring my Sussex hens. I told them they could go to my front yard. And they did. I have told many a stray dog to go home when I catch them outside the fence looking at my hens. They all go, eventually, when they realise I will not play with them. Even my resident blue tongue lizard in to my vegetable garden is not scared of me.

So, I live in hope that one day a dragon will land in my front yard, as it is the only space large enough for a dragon to land. I just hope I will hear it talk to me.

Tell us about your book(s) – title, genre etc (short)

Tracker Series – Fantasy

Rider (Novel)

Guard (Novel)

Judge (Novel)

Mage (Novel)

 

Broken Series – Science Fiction

Broken Faith (Novel)

Broken Land (Novel)

Broken Agreement (Novel)

Fire Starter (Short Story)

 

Young Adult Books – Science Fiction

Jazz’s Asteroid (Novel)

Machani Diplomat (Novel)

 

P.I. Robins – Cosy Mystery

Divided Loyalties (Novelette)

 

Galaxy Freight Series – Science Fiction

Crash Landing (Novelette)

Altien Rescue (Novelette)

Harry’s Detour (Novelette)

Crew Extraction (Novelette)

Evasive Action (Novelette)

Truth Revealed (Novelette)

Galaxy Freight Omnibus Edition

 

Sensing Danger Series – Science Fiction

Sensing Danger I: Rescue (Novella)

Sensing Danger II: Capture (Novella)

Sensing Danger III: Freedom (Novella)

 

Links

First Glimpse at Secondary Worlds Bundle

 

Publisher with links to distributors:

https://tiftpublishing.com/books-available/

 

Social media

https://dianejcornwell.wordpress.com/

 

 

Book Spotlight – Rider – Fantasy

Tags

Book Blast, book spotlight, Bundle author, Fantasy

 

Title:                     Rider, Book One of the Tracker Series

Author:                Diane J Cornwell

Genre:                  Fantasy

Main character description (short).

The main character is Dallas, rider of Swift, a pure bred tracker horse who can manipulate magic energy called ichur, and communicate by sending images to the mind of any human that can see and manipulate ichur.

Dallas can create spells using the magic energy, even though he did not train at the Convane academy, and by law will be brain wiped if he is caught creating spells.

Synopsis:

Never admit to seeing ichur, the silvery residue of magic spells. Not if you want to stay under the radar of the Councillors of Convane.

Swift, a pure bred tracker horse who can smell the smallest trace of ichur, can also remove the magic energy from any human or talisman.

Dallas, rider of Swift, knows how to create a spell without leaving residue, even if he is not a trained mage.

Neither Dallas or Swift admit to seeing and using the magic energy. If they did, Dallas would have his ability to see ichur removed, and Swift would be given to an approved mage by order of the council.

A new fantasy series including mages, dragons, tracker horses and more.

 

Brief Excerpt 250 words:

Dallas stopped Swift outside an adobe brick single story house with a lean-to on the side filled with bales of hay. He guessed the building was over two decades old, because of the different coloured patches of straw covering the roof.

The two foot high woven twig fence had also seen better days, but, even though parts of the fence leaned inwards over weed filled flower beds, it still served the purpose of stopping children or small animals from entering the yard anywhere but on the path at the open gate.

A small framed male dressed in tattered clothes raced out the open front door, followed by a dark haired plump women waving a broom. “Stop! Thief!”

Swift took four paces to the right, and stopped at the end of the dirt path, blocking the male from leaving the yard unless he was prepared to jump over the twig fence. He did not see Swift or Dallas until it was too late, because he was focused on keeping out of reach of the female’s broom.

Dallas raised his staff and cracked the male over the side of his head, just above his ear. The male dropped to the ground and did not move.

Swift lowered his head and sniffed, even though Dallas could not see any silver glow around the now unconscious male.

“Thank you, sir.” The female poked the thief with the straw end of her broom, and when he did not move, she bent down and retrieved a small bunch of feathers from inside his shirt. “Not his!”

 

Why should readers buy this book (50 words max)?

If readers love stories of individuals fighting for the rights of all citizens, including mages, dragons, and tracker horses, they will love these stories, which are suitable for readers of all ages.

 

 

Links etc.

Publisher:            https://tiftpublishing.com/books-available/rider/

Author:                https://dianejcornwell.wordpress.com/

 

 

Swift Six Character Interview – Fairchild #Sci-fi #Bundle

Tags

Bundle author, Character Interviews, Classic Sci fi, Sci fiction, Science fiction, Swift Six

Swift Six Character Interview

Character Name (Lady Danielle Cooper) Fairchild

Which book/world do you live in? Fairchild by Blaze Ward

Tell us about yourself:

I just want to fly, man. Nothing else. That adrenaline rush of free-jumping from 20,000 meters with nothing but a bodysuit and thermals, racing to capture a flag fifty kilometres away.

What are your greatest strengths and weaknesses?

I suppose my greatest strength is that drive. It got me out of my father’s house, and out from under his thumb. If he cut me off, I have friends, and we’ll have far grander adventures than anyone sitting in a boring corporate boardroom.

Weakness? The darkness. It’s in me. Deep. Infecting my dreams and my days. Sometimes, it gets so close that ending it would only take a few ounces of pressure on a trigger.

Name three important people/creatures/institutions in your world (such as lovers, pets, government institutions, leaders, gods etc).

The Michigan State University Department of Planetology and Xeno-Geology. (Thanks for the ride and the t-shirt, Chike.)

My brother Rudy, who lets me borrow his vintage ground vehicles with internal combustion engines. And doesn’t bitch too much about my driving.

Eleanor, who was programmed to be my minder, and turned into my friend. I’ve alive because she never gave up on me.

What does ‘heroism’ mean to you?

Coming out the darkness on the other side. Not everyone has the will to do that. I’ve known too many friends spiral down into drink, or drugs, or darkness. It scares me that I might follow them.

What do you think of your ‘creator’?

When are you going to write the next book, you bastard? I wanna go fly Fairchild’s Golden Eagle.

Give us your favourite piece of advice:

Buy the damned concert tickets and go see your favourite band before they’re all dead.

Links to book

Sci-Fi Bundle – July

Book Spotlight – The Forestal – Fantasy/Poetry

Tags

book spotlight, Fantasy, Poetry

Basic Book Spotlight

Title: The Forestal

Author: Blaze Ward

Genre: Epic Fantasy Poetry

 

Links etc. – http://www.knottedroadpress.com/book/the-forestal/

www.blazeward.com

 

“The opening”

Outcast

first: The Dawn of Hope

 

So many times I wanted to call you up

to apologize for everything

But there was always something else

to add

to the list of sins

 

One morning it was simply too much

I could no longer bear the weight

of the world

on my shoulders

when I had done so little

 

One mistake

became ten thousand

But when I sought to cry out

to end the farce

It became ten million

 

The only recourse left me

was to climb the highest mountain

Where you could not follow

and there find a kind of escape

Where the sins of mankind

were not mine alone to suffer for

 

You told me once

that you cared about me

In this dawn of a new year

I wonder if it might not be an end

to the night of madness

A dawn of hope

where the mistakes of yesterday

can be forgotten

In hopes of starting anew

without yesterday’s crimes

 

I had climbed the mountain in desperation

but looking back I see no path up

So I think I am safe here

where no one can follow

 

If we cannot end

this night of madness

I shall leave to make my own dawn

and forget you

to your high tower

and your troll

For I see the old desert

suddenly stretched out before me

It is

my own dawn of hope

Beginning

 

Swift Six Character Interview – Keo of the Sword #Fantasy

Tags

book bundles, Character Interviews, Fantasy, Meet My Character, Swift Six

 

Character Name: Keo of the Sword

Which book/world do you live in? The formerly united Kingdom of Lamaira; more specifically, South Lamaira, which is controlled by the Magicians.

What are your greatest strengths and weaknesses? My greatest strength is my loyalty to my friends and my willingness to keep going no matter how hard the going gets.

My greatest weakness is my naivety, because I grew up in a forest largely isolated from the larger world, so there is much about the greater world that I don’t know about.

Name three important people/creatures/institutions in your world (such as lovers, pets, government institutions, leaders, gods etc). The Good King is an important figure in my world, or was, before his death, because he founded the Kingdom of Lamaira and was the one who sealed away the demons who oppressed us.

And, of course, there are the Magicians who rule over my home land of South Lamaira. Unfortunately, they often use their magic to benefit themselves, rather than help the people they rule over.

There is also my childhood friend, Nesma, who is a Magician herself and lives in the capital city of South Lamaira. I have not seen her in over a year since she left our part of the country to become a Magician, but I have urgent news I need to share with her as soon as possible, so I will probably go visit her sometime soon.

What does ‘heroism’ mean to you? Being willing to defend those who cannot defend themselves.

What do you think of your ‘creator’? I think he’s a good man, although I don’t understand why he’s forced me to leave my forest to go on a quest across my country to warn my country’s rulers of the return of the demons. I can only hope he has a larger plan than I am aware of, because I do not feel particularly good about defeating the demons.

Give us your favourite piece of advice: Always show respect to your local Magician. Not only are they a rightful authority over your town or area, but they also know many mystical arts and spells which they can you to make your life hell.

Links to book

Ebooks:

Amazon

Smashwords

Drive Thru fiction

Kobo

Apple

Google Books

Nook

Paperback:

Create Space

Amazon

Guest Post – Publishing on Bundle Rabbit – Barbara Tarn

Tags

book bundles, Bundlerabbit, Guest post, writing advice.

So, you joined BundleRabbit… great! You’re just another hopeful author waiting to be picked up! And when you do get picked up, all you have to do is follow Diane’s advice – she is one of the authors of my first bundle and I couldn’t have said it better. She explains everything about how BR works for authors.

But wait, months go by and nobody requests anything. You see dozens of other great authors and start thinking… why not? Maybe I should become a curator! How hard can it be?

Putting bundles together at BundleRabbit is great fun, but it’s also exhausting. Not very hard, but there is a small learning curve.

First of all, you apply for “curator” status. Create a draft with your vision (it can include your book or not) and choose a release date, but check what else is coming out that month.

Try to book a release date that is not already taken. When too many bundles come out at the same time, even though they’re not in the same genre, it kind of clutters even BundleRabbit’s page… So please take a look at the calendar and select a date – and keep in mind it takes at least a couple of weeks for the whole publishing process, so it can’t be tomorrow because you’re so excited and just can’t wait!

Then you start browsing the marketplace. Since not all authors upload a preview, if you’re not already familiar with their work, I suggest you read at least an excerpt before choosing someone for your awesome bundle.

Even though BundleRabbit allows bundling from a minimum of 5 to a maximum of 25 books, try to stick to 10, especially if it’s novels, and don’t price them too low. You can always make a sale for a holiday, a special occasion, etc.

Create a Sales Blurb telling about all the great stories included and in the About section write some kind of curator’s note – like how fun it was to gather these people together and things like that. Don’t just repeat the Sales Blurb or the Vision! And don’t forget to fill the Thank You note!

You only need to provide a 2D cover and a background image – BR will take care of making the 3D cover, cover fan and… contributor’s copy, plus the “ads” for each title. You can use the forum of the bundle at first to communicate with authors (I did it with the fantasy bundle to ask their world’s name), but then you better create a mailing list, since not everyone wants to check the BR forums (or gets the email notifications).

And when your bundle is publishing, and you see the contributor’s copy is ready, please tell the authors they can download their own copy by going to their dashboard – bundles you’re in – and to the book in the bundle (where they will also find the “ad” a few days later).

It’s up to you or not to make a Facebook page for the bundle(s). I made just one for all my SFF bundles, both the ones I curate and the ones I’m in. Send out clear messages to the authors: when the bundle will go live on BR (it goes on pre-order on Amazon, Apple, Kobo and Barnes&Noble), when you do a sale on BR – and if you have a bundle that allows coupons, ask the authors if they need any for their giveaways.

Try to coordinate the efforts to boost the signal! And have fun!

Barbara G.Tarn

http://creativebarbwire.wordpress.com

www.unicornproductionsbooks.com

https://www.patreon.com/BarbaraGTarn

https://vimeo.com/user65901088

Swift Six Author interview – Louisa Swann – #HeroicTales #SFF #Paranormal

Tags

book bundles, Crime, Meet an author, Paranormal Fantasy, Swift Six, vampires

 

Name: Louisa Swann

What attracts you to the genre in which you write?

I tend to write in three genres: mystery, science fiction, and fantasy. I’m drawn to these genres as I’m drawn to the same things in real life: I love a good mystery, am fascinated by science and inventions, and am enthralled by magic and magical creatures.

What piece of writing advice do you wish you’d known when you started your writing adventures?

“Go where your obsessions take you.” (Neil Gaiman)

I still have difficulty with this one. Writing about my obsessions in whatever form means stepping outside my comfort zone, but my best stories come from doing just that.

If you could have dinner with any famous person or character who would you choose?

Neil Gaiman. Not only do I love his writing, he’s had some really interesting “adventures” (i.e. visiting refugee camps). Would love to pick his brain!

 Who has been the greatest influence on your own work?

Dr. Seuss J. Not only did I devour Dr. Seuss books as a child, I channelled that writing style when I wrote my first poems and stories!

 Do you think the e-book revolution will do away with print?

I think ebooks will coexist side by side with print and audio for the immediate future. Personally, if I really like a book, I end up with all three versions. As our dependence on non-renewable resources decreases, however, I believe ebooks and audio will become more prevalent, though I think print books will always be around.

Which 3 books would you take to a desert island and why?

Stephen King’s Duma Key. I love the visuals King evokes in this book as well as the way the main character transitions after his accident.

Tom Brown’s Field Guide to Wilderness Survival. Might as well have a book that’s practical as well as being interesting to read!

One of Patrick F. McManus’s books, probably The Night the Bear Ate Goombaw. Love this author’s sense of humor regarding everything outdoors and being on a desert island would probably need a touch of humor or three!

Author bio and book synopsis

Please introduce yourself (250 words or so):

I grew up in the wilds of the Sierra Nevada mountains, surrounded by deer and beaver, muskrat and bear, all of which provided ample fodder for my equally wild imagination. As an adult, I spin those childhood experiences into tales that span multiple genres, including fantasy, science fiction, mystery, and my newest love—steampunk. My short stories have appeared in Mercedes Lackey’s Elementary Magic and Valdemar anthologies; Esther Friesner’s Chicks and Balances; and several Fiction River anthologies, including the newest Reader’s Choice. I have a new steampunk/weird west novel series, Abby Crumb, debuting this summer.

 

Tell us about your book(s) – title, genre etc (short)

A little background: I am not a vampire fan. Vampires give me nightmares. But another word of writing advice from David Morrel (and Stephen King) has to do with writing about what scares you. So I tried to figure out how I could write about vampires. As often happens to me, my mind went to humor and the ridiculous: What if a bicycle cop was stalked by a vampire dwarf with a fetish for muscular calves? “The Girl With the Candy Cane Legs,” an urban fantasy, is the result!

Summary:

Three months ago, the gates to the Otherside failed, flooding the normal world with creatures both supernatural, demonic, and just plain weird.

Diane Swift, a bicycle cop with thighs of iron, calves of steel, and the ability to see the strange monsters infiltrating her world, keeps the beaches and her city safe from scumbags. Then someone steals her patrol bike along with a bag of fossilized fairies.

And Diane ends up patrolling the beach with a partner straight out of a lunatic’s nightmare.

Fast and furious, wet and wild, “The Girl with the Candy Cane Legs” delivers a rollicking adventure where almost anything goes.

 

Links

http://www.louisaswann.com

 

Social media

https://www.facebook.com/SwannWriter/

 The book also appears in Heroic Tales – Bundle

BundleRabbit https://bundlerabbit.com/b/heroic-tales

Kobo https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/heroic-tales

Barnes and Noble http://bit.ly/2u33Tfd

I books https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1257100962

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B073T45HYB/

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073T45HYB/

 

 

 

 

 

 

Swift Six – Blaze Ward – #Fantasy #Scifi #HeroicTales #Meetanauthor

Tags

Author interviews, book bundles, Bundlerabbit, Fantasy, Heroic Tales Bundle, Meet an author, Science fiction, Swift Six

Name: Blaze Ward

What attracts you to the genre in which you write?

I mostly write SF these days, but I have been into role-playing-games since I got my first Blue Book (bonus points if you are old enough to know what that is. Double bonus if you still have yours, like I do.) When I turned to professional writing again, I mined a bunch of old campaigns for ideas.

For The Forestal, however, I went back to the really dark, heavy, angry poetry that saved my sanity. These pieces weren’t originally written to be published in this format, but when my Publisher asked about them, I spent some time culling the larger library to assemble these pieces. Even today, I’m amazed at how well the long arc comes together, after wandering. Mind you, I wrote all these over the course of several years, with a number of other pieces that were unrelated.

It is epic and apocalyptic. It fit my mood then, and I’m glad I did it.

What piece of writing advice do you wish you’d known when you started your writing adventures?

“Fuck ‘em. They don’t matter. Just write the damned thing and put it out there for everyone to find. Fans will find you.”

If you could have dinner with any famous person or character who would you choose?

E.E. “Doc” Smith. I have always been a huge fan of his, collecting (as near as I can figure) everything he ever published, going well beyond Lensman and Skylark and down into even some mysteries.

Who has been the greatest influence on your own work?

Doc Smith, David Drake, and Arial & Will Durant.

Do you think the e-book revolution will do away with print?

Nope. Just make it possible for me to connect with fans anywhere on the planet. I just sent a note to another writer asking when one of his ebook-only titles was coming out in print (and offering to do it for him) so I could put it on my shelf with all the rest of his titles.

Which 3 books would you take to a desert island and why?

Fagles’s translation of The Iliad; Dash Hammett’s The Maltese Falcon; David Reynold’s Reflections on the Tao Te Ching.

Author bio and book synopsis

Please introduce yourself (250 words or so):

I like grand SF in big universes, but centered on the characters doing things, rather than the technobabble device magical MacGuffin thingee that saves the day with some hand-waving. I write whatever the voices in my head tell me, but the result is a wide swath of cultures and ethnicities exploring the future in a realistic way, without Chosen Ones or epic prophesies (snore).

I like strong, intelligent women, both in my fiction and my real life, and so I tend to write them.

My biggest problem these days with SF is that I once spent three hours crawling the SF/Fantasy shelves at Powell’s Books in Beaverton, Oregon and could not find a single book that looked interesting enough for me to buy it. So I had to go write it instead.  I’m okay with doing that for the rest of my career.

Tell us about your book(s) – title, genre etc (short)

The Forestal (Fantary, Poetry)

A long poetry ring, best spoken aloud. (Think Homer’s Odyssey). A dark, epic tale about anger, betrayal, destruction, and the rebirth of the world. I have never encountered anything else like it, in the modern era, but I’m sure others are writing this stuff.

This was rage, distilled. A tale of a journey through deserts and wastelands, before we end up in the darkest forest, moments before the end of the world.

Links

Social media

www.blazeward.com

https://www.facebook.com/KRPBlaze

https://www.amazon.com/Blaze-Ward/e/B00K3X2VFQ/

Heroic Tales

 

BundleRabbit https://bundlerabbit.com/b/heroic-tales

Kobo https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/heroic-tales

Barnes and Noble http://bit.ly/2u33Tfd

I books https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1257100962

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B073T45HYB/

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073T45HYB/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Swift Six Author Interview – Barbara G. Tarn – Fantasy Secondary Worlds Bundle #Fantasy #Specfic

Tags

Bargain books, book bundles, Fantasy, Meet an author, Spec Fic, Swift Six

 

Name: Barbara G.Tarn

What attracts you to the genre in which you write?

It’s speculative fiction! I can make up stuff! Or so I thought when I started writing. I still write more fantasy than sci-fi because historical research is easier for me than science and technology…

What piece of writing advice do you wish you’d known when you started your writing adventures?

I think I unknowingly followed most of Heinlein’s Rules… I wrote. I finished what I wrote. I moved on. Problem was putting it out there. In the 20^th century and legacy publishing world. Sigh.

If you could have dinner with any famous person or character who would you choose?

Since I’m currently mad with Da Muse who posts pictures of snow in the middle of the hated long hot summer, I’d go back to the previous Muse who lasted some 15 years anyway (but then, they say he’s immortal, LOL)… that would be Keanu Reeves!

Who has been the greatest influence on your own work?

When I grow up I wanna be Dean Wesley Smith. Or Kristine Katryn Rusch. Or both. For the work ethic, mostly, although I have my own! 😉 Stylistically, dunno. I have found my own voice long ago. Even the English voice is now quite established and I don’t know where I got it from.

Do you think the e-book revolution will do away with print?

I doubt it. Probably not. And audio books will rise in the new illiteracy. I’d understand visually impaired, but other people listening to a story? Not for me. I still prefer paper for non-fiction and comics and graphic novels. But fiction? E-book are just fine!

Which 3 books would you take to a desert island and why?

My Kindle Keyboard has a long lasting battery! Besides, I’m afraid I’d use any paper available to write or draw (if I have a pen or pencil, that is). Of course, if it’s a shipwreck, none of this would be possible. And if it’s a willing vacation… it’s even more impossible. You’ll never see me on a desert island willingly! 🙂

Author bio and book synopsis

Please introduce yourself (250 words or so):

Barbara G.Tarn had an intense life in the Middle Ages that stuck to her through the centuries. She prefers swords to guns, long gowns to mini-skirts, and even though she buried the warrior woman, she deplores the death of knights in shining chainmail. She likes to think her condo apartment is a medieval castle, unfortunately lacking a dungeon to throw noisy neighbors and naughty colleagues in. Also known as the Lady with the Unicorns, these days she prefers to add a touch of fantasy to all her stories, past and present – when she’s not wandering on her fantasy world of Silvery Earth or in her Star Minds futuristic universe.

She’s a writer, sometimes artist, mostly a world-creator and story-teller. Two of her stories received an Honorable Mention at the Writers of the Future contest. She writes, draws, ignores her day job and blogs at: http://creativebarbwire.wordpress.com.

She can now be found on Patreon, where you can pledge as little as 1$ a month to read exclusive content and sustain her and other creators in their endeavors.

Check her Vimeo channel for book trailers and other funny stuff.

 

Tell us about your book(s) – title, genre etc (short) (I’ll put both bundles here, and then send a Book Spotlight for both)

The Path of Water (Quests Book 1) also included in the Fantasy Secondary Worlds Bundle with 11 other fantasy novels

Hinrik survives the battle outside the walls of Moriana, battered and hurt. He drags himself to the River Ondan to put an end to his misery.

But it’s just the beginning of a new life of discoveries about himself and the world, a quest for his true calling in life. He is a half-blood and must learn what it means with the help of Bellinda the healer and Keneith the magic user.

The warrior, the healer and the magic user are all outsiders or outcasts looking for a place to call home in a hostile world, away from the aggressively expanding Varian and Blackmore Kingdoms.

A story of the northern kingdoms of Silvery Earth with magic and pain, loss and rebirth.

Star Minds Next Generation also included in the Sci-fi July Fever Fun with 10 other sci-fi novels

A sequel to Star Minds – the Trilogy, it’s the story of Shan-leo, Ker-ris’s son, now no longer an imperial prince.
Raised as imperial prince, Shan-leo doesn’t miss his former status. At twenty-two, he gets to define his destiny without being forced on a path traced by his family. Following his love for calligraphy, he discovers a black market of stolen manuscripts, which starts the adventure of a lifetime.
Aristocratic adventurer on a starship called “outlaw”. The next generation of Star Minds is out in the galaxy.

Links

Social media

blog: http://creativebarbwire.wordpress.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BarbaraGTarn

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4717133.Barbara_G_Tarn

Author Central http://www.amazon.com/Barbara-G.Tarn/e/B0050P0R2G

Where to find everything: www.unicornproductionsbook.com

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BarbaraGTarn

Vimeo (book trailers): https://vimeo.com/user65901088

SFF Bundles Galore on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sff4bundles

 

Book Spotlight – The Path of Water/Secondary Worlds Fantasy Bundle

Tags

book bundles, book spotlight, Fantasy, Indie Publishing, Science fiction, Spec Fic

Title: The Path of Water (Quests Book 1)

Author: Barbara G.Tarn

Genre: fantasy

Main character description (short).

Hinrik is a warrior and a half-blood trying to find his place in the world. Interview wih Hinrik and Bellinda on author’s blog.

Synopsis:

Hinrik survives the battle outside the walls of Moriana, battered and hurt. He drags himself to the River Ondan to put an end to his misery.

But it’s just the beginning of a new life of discoveries about himself and the world, a quest for his true calling in life. He is a half-blood and must learn what it means with the help of Bellinda the healer and Keneith the magic user.

The warrior, the healer and the magic user are all outsiders or outcasts looking for a place to call home in a hostile world, away from the aggressively expanding Varian and Blackmore Kingdoms.

A story of the northern kingdoms of Silvery Earth with magic and pain, loss and rebirth.

 

Brief Excerpt 250 words:

Hinrik’s eyes widened in shock. This couldn’t be. He was already dead and the underworld was underwater.

The man’s hand on his chest calmed his heartbeat. He looked sorrowful now.

“You are my son, Hinrik. And you are badly hurt. But the kingmaker is coming this way and he is with an excellent healer, she will help you.”

Hinrik closed his mouth and gulped. He still couldn’t believe all this was happening underwater. His mother had told him his father was a magical being, but he wasn’t expecting this! She’d been blamed all of her life for having a son outside of marriage and now, twenty-five years later, this… stranger walked, no swam up to him and told him he was his father!

“You are half-Waiora, Hinrik, that’s why water heals you. But what you’ve been through needs more healing power, and only the Genn can give you that. Go back to the surface, the kingmaker is making camp on the river shore with his friends, you will find him easily and they will help you.”

“I don’t want anybody’s help!” Hinrik’s scream was lost underwater. He didn’t want anybody to see him right now. He was naked, bruised and hurt. He wasn’t going to go back to the surface and meet people.

His father hugged him and gently rocked him as he burst into sobs. His tears were lost in the water and he was too weak to free himself from the unwanted embrace.

 

Why should readers buy this book (50 words max)?

A personal, non-heroic quest to find one’s place in the world in the company of other “different” people.

 

http://www.unicornproductionsbooks.com/books/the-path-of-water-quests-book-1/

is also in Quests Volume one http://www.unicornproductionsbooks.com/books/quests-volume-one-the-paths-of-water-and-air/

and the First Glimpse of Secondary Fantasy World bundle along with 11 other authors.

 

Title: Star Minds Next Generation

Author: Barbara G.Tarn

Genre: science fantasy

Main character description (short).

Shan-leo Shermac is the descendant of the last emperor, but he’s never going to sit on his grandfather’s throne. He’s not interested.

Synopsis:

A sequel to Star Minds – the Trilogy, it’s the story of Shan-leo, Ker-ris’s son, now no longer an imperial prince.
Raised as imperial prince, Shan-leo doesn’t miss his former status. At twenty-two, he gets to define his destiny without being forced on a path traced by his family. Following his love for calligraphy, he discovers a black market of stolen manuscripts, which starts the adventure of a lifetime.
Aristocratic adventurer on a starship called “outlaw”. The next generation of Star Minds is out in the galaxy.

Brief Excerpt 250 words:

Shan-leo got out of bed, showered and dressed, grabbing his bandanna. He went downstairs and found his father and uncle in the living room, seated at the breakfast table side by side as usual.

Uncle Kol-ian saw him first and greeted him. “Good morning, birthday boy!”

“Good morning,” he answered as his father rose to give him a bear hug.

“Already twenty-two… where did time go?” he whispered in Shan-leo’s ear.

“You mean the past twelve years went even faster than the previous ten?” Shan-leo teased, giving the bandanna to uncle Kol-ian who wrapped it around his nephew’s arm with a smile. Shan-leo knew his father disapproved of his showing off the bionic arm – especially when he had on a tank top like today – but Uncle Kol-ian was very supportive, having had prosthetics himself.

“Shan-leo…” his father chided.

Shan-leo smiled at him. It wasn’t his fault if he’d been mind-controlled for all the time he’d been married to Shan-leo’s late mother and had missed most of his son’s childhood.

“I love you anyway, Father.” He sat with them to eat breakfast. “Even if you want to hide my beautiful prosthetic! Why don’t you ever suggest Uncle Kol-ian cover the scars on his back with synthetic skin?”

“Your uncle doesn’t go around bare-chested to show off his scars!” his father protested while Kol-ian guffawed.

 

Why should readers buy this book (50 words max)?

If you loved the Trilogy and the Snippets or if you’re new to the Star Minds universe, you will enjoy this wandering prince’s adventures in space.

.