Danielle Mathieson Pederson entered SPFBO this year with Lasera, Book One of the Mer Archives. This YA urban fantasy follows Valerie, a senior in high school as she navigates her final season as a high school diver. Valerie has suffered deep loss in her young life, but she finds hope and healing when she meets […]
Chris Ing submitted Heart and Soul Fist to the SPFBO 6. It’s a rollercoaster of a book with a well-developed Spirit world, and a seventeen year old protagonist who will steal your heart. I read the book over the weekend and found it to be charming. Jane Choi, the main character, and her family belong […]
I was cut in the nicest possible way. J.A. Andrews actually broke the news to me. I have a chronic health issue that flared today. It sent me to bed this afternoon. I crashed and when I woke up, the news was in my messages. Janice is very kind. I’m glad I heard it from […]
G.M. White entered The Swordsman’s Lament into SPFBO 6 this year. I read the book and was very impressed with his main character, Belasko. He’s an aging duellist and the king’s champion…and he’s also a foodie. Mr. White writes a heck of a fight scene. The story quickly picks up when Belasko is enmeshed in […]
Patrick Sampire entered Shadow of a Dead God in to SPFBO6. This mixture of high fantasy with a hard-boiled mystery worked. I loved the book. I’m a big fan of both Carol Berg’s “Dust and Light” duo and Harry Dresden and this book scratched the same itch in a wonderful way. The world felt Greek. […]
Allegra Pescatore wrote Where Shadows Lie and entered it in the SPFBO6. The story has a large cast and intricate plot, centering around the royal family and the rebellion against them. Princess Elenor is taken by the rebellion when her brother, the heir, tries to assassinate their father. This is a complex and mature story […]
The Alchemy Dirge surprises you with its wit and well-drawn characters. This entry into SPFBO6 was penned by Ryan Howse. While it is book 2, it does stand alone. I had no problem entering the world…and what a world it was. Aeon exists, a city several hundred years after Ragnorok, in a world that contains […]
Todd Herzman wrote A Dark Inheritance and entered it into SPFBO6. It’s the tale of three siblings, separated when a blood mage comes to town and captures the eldest. Their parents are dead. The middle child, Ella, soon goes looking for him and finds herself entangled with a group of people with aligned interests. The […]
Zack Argyle entered Voice of War into SPFBO6. This was the first SPFBO book I read after joining the competition. It was a fantastic start. While it did have the obligatory dark opening, the story itself wasn’t all dark and had moments of wonder, especially in the forest kingdom. The magic system is unique, with […]
Brandon Lindsay wrote Shoreseeker, Book One of the Farshores Saga and entered it into SPFBO this year. This is a well-crafted world with an interesting magic system …and very well-written book! The prologue is gruesome, but the rest of the book isn’t quite as dark (keep reading). It follows the main character of Tharadis, the […]
Raymond St Elmo entered The Origin of Birds in the Footprints of Writing into SPFBO this year. I loved this book. Loved it. No reservations, no problems, I absolutely recommend this book. Warning… It’s a bit strange. Imagine being let inside the head of a man who is very smart, so smart he seems mad […]
Alexzander Christion entered By the Hand of Dragons: Alinguard in SPFBO6. The book is a standalone and a quick read. It follows the young Shefa, king of the magical land of Fuumashon on his first adventure to AlinGuard, a prison where the evil inmates have taken over. The story suffers from a lack of editing. […]
Matthew Sylvester wrote Hell Hound for SPFBO 6. It’s a unique book in the contest. It’s Urban Fantasy with a lesbian, Half-Indian-from-India, foul-mouthed witch assassin as a protagonist. I’m not being clever calling her a witch. She’s actually a witch. When I say foul-mouthed, I mean it. The book has loads of swearing. There’s an […]
D.H. Willison wrote Harpyness is only Skin Deep and entered it into SPFBO 6. I read the book the week after it was booted from the contest, and I’m glad I did. It’s a fun adventure about Darin, a guy who gets an opportunity to escape his humdrum life and live on a planet with […]
Clayton Snyder entered The Oblivion Psalm into SPFBO 6. He’s known for a lot of other work (which you can see here.) This was not the type of book I normally read, but I picked it up as soon as the contest commenced. It’s dark, very very dark. This book is “dark madness” and very […]
SPFBO Author J.A. Andrews has written Dragon’s Reach and four other books which make up the The Keeper Chronicles. This is the first book in her new series The Keeper Origins, a prequel series. I read Dragon’s Reach, after reading her other books and was delighted (as usual). This classic fantasy story introduces us to […]
SPFBO author Justin Lee Anderson wrote Carpet Diem and The Lost War. The Lost War is his entry into SPFBO 6. I read The Lost War and really enjoyed it! The Lost War is more of a classic fantasy with solid RPG roots. The story follows Aranok, a draoidh (wizard), as he leads a group […]
I was chatting today with some writers and explaining how I rate a book. It’s different than the way I think most people do it. I can find something good in almost any story. All stories have value. I hate giving out bad reviews and honestly? I have been a coward and have not given […]
In no particular order, these are songs I have listened to for book 2. I can only use titles because titles can’t be copyrighted. But if you want to hear a playlist for book 1, you can find it here. I’m not saying these songs will be in the book. I’m just saying I have […]
I love The Princess Bride. It’s probably my favorite movie. It was magical and beautiful and wondrous and nearly perfect. I love Inigo Montoya. I love Vizzini. I love Andre the Giant’s character. I love Buttercup and Westley. We quote the movie constantly around our house. Rob Reiner directed the film and I will forever […]
So I sent my latest recordings off to my coach. Ron is a saint, honestly. And he came back with bad news. My voice was still too quiet. I adjusted the gain and sent it back to him. Better! It was better. So I’m pretty sure I could have kept going. But… I realized I […]
Lorica is a word that means “Breastplate.” I got the idea from St. Patrick. His Lorica is here. I arise today Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,Through belief in the Threeness,Through confession of the Onenessof the Creator of creation. I arise todayThrough the strength of Christ’s birth with His baptism,Through the strength of […]
Book Two has a heist in it. Let’s get that out of the way. There is one. Heists are fun to write. I’ve been looking at various heists throughout literature and seeing them everywhere. I love the shows “White Collar” and “Leverage.” They have gorgeous heists in them. In movies, the heists we see are […]
For those of you living under a rock for the past 5 years, there is a little war contest for self-published authors that takes place every year. It’s called the Self-Publishing Fantasy Blog-Off and it is hosted by Mark Lawrence. To enter, one must be self-published. It’s important because out of these books, the finalists […]
UPDATE TWO: OOPS. So I got an email today. They didn’t award “Tabor’s Work.” They awarded “Fell Folk.” Which I haven’t shown to anyone. I shall post it tomorrow in its entirety. I’m really freaking out that they liked it. UPDATE: They sent me a sweet badge! Check it out! I have a long relationship […]
I studied Welsh for a few years before I wrote Sorrowfish. I took some online classes and puttered around my house, muttering in it. On Halloween I was practicing while waiting for the kids to come by. I was sitting on my porch with a fog machine, dressed in a witch’s hat. My husband laughed […]
It’s Holy Week. So I’m writing today about something I know a lot about. I was the woman at the well. I was Mary Magdalene. I was the most immoral person I know. Really. And I could get into why. I could talk about my childhood and my choices. But none of that matters. The […]
Ok, so if you’ve read my book, Sorrowfish, you may have gleaned some of this already. But I wanted to have one place where I define my magic system and clarify questions about it. I get asked about it a lot. First off, where it came from. Cosmic DJ. I started to realize the music […]
So. There’s a virus spreading and people are, in general, upset about it. There’s been a run on stores for toilet paper and they’re trying to close the churches. I heard today in Illinois that restaurants have been ordered closed. Not sure if that is constitutional. I suspect it isn’t. But in general, there is […]
So. One more piece of the getting-my-indie-book-into-the-Library puzzle put together. I need a PCIP Block. I think I do anyhow. According to this guy, who seems very knowledgable, I don’t. A PCIP block is a publishers cataloguing in publication and they cost around $100 if I pay someone for it. BUT. I have already had […]
So I went wide. And I sold one book. LOL. One ebook in 3 months from Barnes & Noble, the day I had my book signing. All my other sales were from Amazon. So yeah, I quit. I’m back in KDP Select, which means you can download the book from Kindle Unlimited. I might try […]
So I used a sale they had and bought a LibraryBub. Three actually. That was the sale.
So. I’m now on my fourth DAW. A DAW for those of you who aren’t audiobook narrators, is a Digital Audio Workstation …the software you use to record yourself. And I feel foolish. And stubborn. And a lot of other things. But I’ve tried Audition and Reaper and then I just loved Audacity before it […]
I was doing my taxes when I got the email. Nothing in the world is better than going from the abyss of taxes to a notification your book won “Best Fantasy 2019” from Indies Today. I sat there in shock. I drive a Mini Cooper and had just left the tax lady’s office. I sat […]
I think my story is very much a milieu story. From Writers Digest: The milieu is the world—the planet, the society, the weather, the family, all the elements that come up during your world-creation phase. Every story has a milieu, but when a story is structured around one, the milieu is the thing the storyteller […]
My big project at work will be finished tomorrow. And a new big project has presented itself, which is wonderful and exciting. And somehow I have to finish an audiobook before I start the new big project. So between Tuesday, the 7th and the 15th, I’m recording and finishing this puppy. Then I have to […]
Okay. I admit it. I know librarians. I know one library really well because my company (day job) built their website. So I got a ping from their IT guy with a photo of my book on the shelf at their library. It was awesome. I want moar!!!!!!! After my last post I did some […]
It can be done
I thought I would do a piece today on book marketing on a shoestring. I know many of you that read my blog are authors on a budget. There’s a lot of information out there on Book Bub and Facebook and AMS ads. There isn’t a whole lot about email marketing and how to do it well. Or sorta well. lol.
So. I got contacted on Reddit about my book by a publisher who actually looks legit and wants to publish my book in English, in China, as a serial. I’ve checked out the company. It’s legit. And as tempted as I am? I’m pretty sure I’m gonna pass. Still have to discuss with Rod. I […]
