The Qwillery

It's a big happy milestone birthday to my sister Lauranne who introduced me to fantasy not so many years ago. I am missing the party and the cake but if I wasn't, you would be missing my post! It was a week of shorts rather than a short week. So what did I read?


Amazon keeps popping up Grace Draven's short story Wyvern at me whenever I browse for books so I thought it was time I give it a go. In this story Elsbeth makes a brave deal with the wyvern that has been terrorising her community. Elsbeth has offered to entertain the wyvern by playing her fiddle in order to save her grandfather for getting lynched. Elsbeth soon finds herself drawn the large beast that reminds her lost but not forgotten love. What Elsbeth has yet to realise is that the wyvern is none other than Alaric the bard she lost her heart to years before. Can Alaric convince her he is more than the fearsome beast who has put her beloved grandfather in danger?

I thought this short story was OK. I wasn't wowed but I wasn't completely bored either. The song 'The Devil Went Down to Georgia' kept running through my head when I came to the parts where Elsbeth was making the deal with Alaric to play her fiddle to save her grandfather. I thought it was mediocre in comparison to some of Draven's other works.


Amazon also recommended Bec McMaster's short story The Many Lives of Hadley Monroe. In this tale Hadley actually makes a deal with Death to give her more time with her dying grandmother. She has a month to answer Death's question and in the process of trying to find the answer she comes to realise there is more to Death than a black cloak and a scythe.

This was a very short story indeed. I think it took me no more than a half hour to read. Again, I was a bit disappointed. I am not sure whether it was the super short length of this story that bothered me or the fact that Hadley very quickly started to make 'swoony' eyes at the grim reaper.


Still on the short story theme and this time from NetGalley I received Shadowed Souls. This is a anthology of short stories by various authors including Jim Butcher, Seanan McGuire, Tanya Huff, and Rob Thurman. The anthology is edited by Jim Butcher and Kerrie L. Hughes. Butcher wrote the foreword and describes how a pack of coyotes are circling his house, waiting in anticipation for his elderly pet dog to come outside. He scares them off in defence of his beloved pet but acknowledges that they aren't evil just predators who are doing what is instinctual. This sets the theme of this anthology - predators who aren't evil but do bad things.

I won't tell you about every story but what I can say that I liked some better than others. Notably, Jim Butcher's which was set in the Harry Dresden world and told from Molly's POV. This was a chilling tale indeed and very good. I also loved Tanya Huff's short from the Vicky Nelson series. I loved that series and it was great to find out what Vicki has been up to since the end of the series. I also thought Rob Thurman's contribution was very tense as was Kristine Kathryn Rusch's. I haven't read anything from Rusch before and I liked her tale of the grief stricken Kaylee. I think I will be checking out more from this author. I didn't feel that all of the shorts lived up to the 'predator' label especially Seanan McGuire's. I have to say that her predator the succubus Elsie wasn't very predatory at all. Overall, I enjoyed this anthology and found a couple of authors I am going to investigate further.


That is it for me this week...short and sweet (tee hee). Until next week Happy Reading!

Wyvern
A Dragon Shifter Novella
Grace Draven, September 5, 2016
eBook, 88 pages

Eight years earlier the talented fiddler, Elsbeth Weaver, gave up the man she loved to care for her ailing grandfather. Now, she must risk her life to save her grandfather from a lynching by playing for the wyvern terrorizing the countryside. When she comes face-to-face with the beast at the haunted cliffs of Maldoza, she is both frightened and fascinated. Something about the creature reminds her of the bard who once stole her heart, something more than just a shared name.

Alaric has never stopped loving the human woman he left behind in a dusty village almost a decade before. When he meets her again at Maldoza, wearing old dragon armor and playing her fiddle as if her heart would break, he is overjoyed. Elsbeth doesn’t know her erstwhile lover is only an illusion for the wyvern, and Alaric must convince her that the heart of the beast is no less devoted than the heart of the man.

~Second edition. Originally published by Amber Quill Press in 2007~

Note: Some scenes contain graphic descriptions of physical intimacy.

The Many Lives of Hadley Monroe
Lochaber Press, April 4, 2016
eBook, 52 pages

When the clock stops ticking, and the storm rolls in, Hadley Monroe knows exactly what’s going on. Forty years ago her grandfather made a pact with Death, and now Death has come calling again.

Forced to make her own deal with the reaper, Hadley has only three weeks to answer his question, or he’ll take her grandmother too. The problem is, there’s no way to answer it, and three weeks is not long enough with the reaper who’s beginning to steal her heart…

Warning: This short story has been previously published in the Mammoth Book Of Southern Gothic Romance.

Shadowed Souls
Roc, November 1, 2016
Trade Paperback and eBook, 352 pages

In this dark and gritty collection—featuring short stories from Jim Butcher, Seanan McGuire, Kevin J. Anderson, and Rob Thurman—nothing is as simple as black and white, light and dark, good and evil..

Unfortunately, that’s exactly what makes it so easy to cross the line.

In #1 New York Times bestselling author Jim Butcher’s Cold Case, Molly Carpenter—Harry Dresden’s apprentice-turned-Winter Lady—must collect a tribute from a remote Fae colony and discovers that even if you’re a good girl, sometimes you have to be bad…

New York Times bestselling author Seanan McGuire’s Sleepover finds half-succubus Elsie Harrington kidnapped by a group of desperate teenage boys. Not for anything “weird.” They just need her to rescue a little girl from the boogeyman. No biggie.

In New York Times bestselling Kevin J. Anderson’s Eye of Newt, Zombie P.I. Dan Shamble’s latest client is a panicky lizard missing an eye who thinks someone wants him dead. But the truth is that someone only wants him for a very special dinner…

And New York Times bestselling author Rob Thurman’s infernally heroic Caliban Leandros takes a trip down memory lane as he deals wih some overdue—and nightmarish—vengeance involving some quite nasty Impossible Monsters.

ALSO INCLUDES STORIES BY
Tanya Huff * Kat Richardson * Jim C. Hines * Anton Strout * Lucy A. Snyder * Kristine Kathryn Rusch * Erik Scott de Bie *

TQ:  Welcome back to The Qwillery. Your new novel, Sacrifices (Arcane Underworld 3), is published on July 19th. Has your writing process changed (or not) from when you wrote Premonitions (Arcane Underworld 1) to Sacrifices?

Jamie:  Thanks for having me!

I wouldn’t say my writing process has changed much. I still write an outline, then start the book, then learn some things that cause me to go wildly off script before I finish up. I did, however, start working as far in advance as I could, in an attempt to minimize continuity problems and to help me avoid making decisions I’d have a hard time living with later. For example, I had a draft of Sacrifices (Book Three) already done while I was working on edits to Splintered (Book Two). Of course that draft changed a bunch before completion, but it really helped give me some lines to color inside while cleaning up Book Two. Working that far ahead definitely took some getting used to.



TQ:  What do you wish that you knew about book publishing when Premonitions came out that you know now?

Jamie:  It’s… very… slow. Also, there are a lot of things out of your control, which can be a little maddening. The best thing for me was to focus on the work and simply accept those things which I couldn’t control. Which, actually, turns out to be a good practice for keeping one’s blood pressure in a reasonable range in general.



TQ:  Tell us something about Sacrifices that is not found in the book description.

Jamie:  An interesting dynamic in the book is that, at the end of Splintered, Genevieve ends up sort of dragooned into helping Sobell. That ends up pitting her against Anna in the race for the relic in this book and testing both her loyalty and her friendship.



TQ:  Which character in the Arcane Underworld series surprised you the most? Who has been the hardest character to write and why?

Jamie:  Nail surprised me the most, largely by turning out to be a lot more likable than I’d originally expected. I enjoy writing him a lot.

The hardest to write is Karyn, no doubt. Her visions of the future are messy, often metaphorical, and slopped right on top of her perception of the real world, which makes anything from her point of view particularly challenging to write in a way that it’s clear to the reader what is really going on. In addition, her motivations change considerably throughout Book Three—in a good way, I think, but one that added a fair amount of complexity to what had previously been simple survival.



TQ:  Sacrifices is the final novel in the Arcane Underworld series. How does it feel to wrap up the series?

Jamie:  It’s a bummer. I got pretty attached to the setting and the characters, and overall it fits my vibe pretty well. On the other hand, working on something new is always exciting, so it’ll be good to focus on that for a while.



TQ:  Why have you chosen to include or not chosen to include social issues in the Arcane Underworld series?

Jamie:  I don’t know that I’ve tackled social issues in a head-on sort of way in these books, but there’s definitely a constant undercurrent. The Arcane Underworld series is about criminals, for the most part, and even in a highly dramatized setting, it’s just not possible to write about crime without acknowledging the sort of poverty and desperation that often gives rise to it. Particularly for Sacrifices I did a lot of research on street gangs, and all the cultural and economic factors that play a role in generating and sustaining street gangs are, shall we say, sobering. I hope some of that comes through in the book.


TQ:  Which question about your Sacrifices of the Arcane Underworld series do you wish someone would ask? Ask it and answer it!

Jamie:  What’s your favorite scene from the book?

There’s a bit where Anna is talking about a bad episode from when she was growing up that I’m really proud of. I feel like it gives a lot of insight into her character as well as into one of the other characters in the book, and it’s kind of a touching scene, inasmuch as anything I write qualifies. When I think of this book, that’s the first scene that pops into my head. It’s not a climactic scene and not, perhaps, even critical to the plot, but it’s just right.



TQ:  Please give us one or two of your favorite non-spoilery quotes from Sacrifices.

Jamie:

“Get rid of it. All of it. Next thing you know, I’ll be huddled around that [stuff] calling it ‘my precious.’”

Or how about:

“My nephew’s getting worse,” Clarence continued. “He made a dog appear out of thin air two days ago.”

“A . . . dog?”

“I don’t know what it was, okay? It . . . kinda looked like a dog. Same size, four legs, too many teeth. So I’m gonna call it a dog. That a problem?”



TQ:  What's next?

Jamie:  I’ve got a pile of projects! I’m most excited about a novel I wrote with a friend of mine. I believe it to be the world’s most bizarre vampire novel, and I expect it will appeal to folks who enjoyed the Arcane Underworld series. I’ve also got a handful of other things I’m kicking around. Too much to write, not enough time!



TQ:  Thank you for joining us at The Qwillery.

Jamie:  Thanks again for having me!

Sacrifices
An Arcane Underworld Novel 3
InterMix, July 19, 2016
eBook, 352 pages

Things get a little demonic in the latest Arcane Underwold novel from the author of Splintered.

Thanks to their recent involvement with a magus crimelord and his demonic partner in mayhem, occult thieves Anna Ruiz and Karyn Ames are both stuck sharing head space with a demon. But while Karyn’s possession has had the unexpected benefit of focusing her visions of the future, Anna’s demon is spurring on her darkest urges, and it’s only a matter of time before she acts on them—and hurts someone in the process.

To save their skins, the two need to find a mysterious relic. But with their search taking them into some of the darkest places in the arcane underworld, Anna and Karyn will have to ally themselves with a group no self-respecting thief would be caught dead with—the Federal Bureau of Investigation...

Premonitions
An Arcane Underworld Novel 1
Roc, July 1, 2014
Mass Market Paperback and eBook, 384 pages

TWO MILLION DOLLARS...

It’s the kind of score Karyn Ames has always dreamed of—enough to set her crew up pretty well and, more important, enough to keep her safely stocked on a very rare, very expensive black market drug. Without it, Karyn hallucinates slices of the future until they totally overwhelm her, leaving her unable to distinguish the present from the mess of certainties and possibilities yet to come.

The client behind the heist is Enoch Sobell, a notorious crime lord with a reputation for being ruthless and exacting—and a purported practitioner of dark magic. Sobell is almost certainly condemned to Hell for a magically extended lifetime full of shady dealings. Once you’re in business with him, there’s no backing out.

Karyn and her associates are used to the supernatural and the occult, but their target is more than just the usual family heirloom or cursed necklace. It’s a piece of something larger. Something sinister.

Karyn’s crew and even Sobell himself are about to find out just how powerful it is… and how powerful it may yet become.

Splintered
An Arcane Underworld Novel 2
Roc, July 7, 2015
Mass Market Paperback and eBook, 352 pages

“Like a cross between the TV show Leverage and Jim Butcher’s ‘Dresden Files’ books.”—Library Journal
 The author of Premonitions continues his Arcane Underworld saga…

Anna Ruiz is on a mission: Help her friend and partner-in-crime Karyn Ames break free of the tangle of hallucinations and premonitions that have cut her off from reality. With the aid of her crew—ex-soldier Nail and sorcerer Genevieve—she’ll do whatever it takes to get Karyn help, even if it means tracking down every lowlife informant and back alley magic practitioner in the occult underworld of Los Angeles.

But since a magical heist went to hell, the crew has been working for crimelord and doomed magus Enoch Sobell. Between fighting Sobell’s battles with some seriously scary demonic forces and tangling with a group of violent fanatics who want to manipulate Karyn’s abilities for their own gains, Anna, Nail, and Genevieve are beginning to realize they’re in way over their heads.

And now that Karyn’s secret about seeing the future is out, even more unpleasant parties—human and otherwise—are about to come knocking…

About Jamie

Jamie Schultz is the author of the Arcane Underworld novels, including Premonitions and Splintered. He has worked as a rocket engine test engineer, an environmental consultant, a technical writer, and a construction worker, among other things. He lives in Dallas, Texas.








Website  ~  Twitter @JamieDSchultz

Goodreads

TQ:  Welcome to The Qwillery. When and why did you start writing?

Genevieve:  I think the first time I consciously wrote a story for no other reason than that I wanted to write it was when I was somewhere in my teens at school. It was a story about half a dozen famous detectives (Holmes, Miss Marple, Sir Henry Merrivale, Ellery Queen, etc) being murdered one by one by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle so that he could write a new bestseller. It wasn’t a very good story…



TQ:  Are you a plotter, a pantser or a hybrid?

Genevieve:  Hybrid. I generally know the beginning and end and what the story’s basically about, and I have some of the major scenes roughly sketched out, but a lot of other parts are “to be filled in” or “at this point Irene escapes by some clever method I have yet to work out” or similar.



TQ:  What is the most challenging thing for you about writing?

Genevieve:  I think it would be sitting down and actually doing it. I could daydream all day. (People will probably say that I *do* daydream all day.) Actually putting it into words on paper is harder.



TQ:  What has influenced / influences your writing?

Genevieve:  I am afraid this involves a really long list. Everything from classical crime fiction (Sherlock Holmes, Judge Dee, lots of Golden Age stuff) to Tolkien, to other fantasy writers (Zelazny, Le Guin, Moorcock, others…), to Hong Kong martial arts movies and wuxia, to Japanese anime, to English tv series like Doctor Who and The Avengers and Sapphire and Steel … I will pick up good ideas and good style wherever I can find them.



TQ:  You've written for several role-playing companies. How has this influenced (or not) your novel writing?

Genevieve:  It’s improved my writing style in general, and it’s helped me think in critical ways about what I want to achieve in a piece of text, or how I want to convey an idea. It’s also helped me think about the wider implications of ideas which I include in the story. This is because you may put something into a role-playing supplement as a minor detail, but then find that the people actually using that supplement for play will follow it through to game-affecting conclusions. This has led me to be careful when making definite statements about character abilities or background history of the universe – I don’t want to write myself into a corner later, or to have a situation where I have to explain why character X can’t take obvious course of action Y.

Also, in more pragmatic terms, previous writing for role-playing companies has helped me to learn how to accept and use an editor’s comment, and how to set myself writing quotas and stick to them.



TQ:  Describe The Invisible Library in 140 characters or less.

Genevieve:  Heroine librarian steals book with dragon and Sherlock Holmes while dodging libertine Fae, unscrupulous colleague, and skin-stealing traitor.



TQ:  Tell us something about The Invisible Library that is not found in the book description.

Genevieve:  There are few book thefts that cannot be conveniently arranged, and without loss of time, either by posing as a housemaid, enlisting London’s greatest detective, or attending the Ambassador to Liechtenstein’s ball while claiming to be a newspaper reporter. (to misquote Ernest Bramah)



TQ:  What inspired you to write The Invisible Library? What appeals to you about writing Fantasy with Time Travel and Adventure?

Genevieve:  I’ve always liked multi-world concepts. The idea of a mysterious library with connections across time and space (well, space at least) has come up in many sources: Terry Pratchett (L-Space), Neil Gaiman, the French role-playing game INS/MV… I added my own twist to it, putting it midway between order and chaos (again, other people like Michael Moorcock and Louise Cooper have used those tropes) and I hope I’ve created something new and amusing.



TQ:  What sort of research did you do for The Invisible Library?

Genevieve:  Mostly online, for details about Victorian London, the British Museum, and so on: though since this was a steampunk world with other scientific advances, I only kept the bits which I felt suited the story. I did also do some reading about crime and about the police force in Victorian London, but to be honest those were books which I already had and which I’d read for enjoyment rather than for specific research in this case.

I also reread my way through the Sherlock Holmes stories, to try to get a grip on a certain character’s speech patterns…



TQ:  Who was the easiest character to write and why? The hardest and why?

Genevieve:  In many ways Lord Silver was the easiest character to write, since he is a walking stereotype. (And proud of it.) Vale was often the hardest, because I was specifically imitating a famous fictional character, and I wanted to get it right.



TQ:  Which question about The Invisible Library do you wish someone would ask? Ask it and answer it!

Genevieve:  I did wonder if anyone would ask about the relationship between Vale and the elder Miss Olga Retrograde. She’s actually a distant cousin of his. Vale dislikes her as much as he dislikes almost all of his family. He was avoiding her as much as possible during Silver’s party.



TQ:  Give us one or two of your favorite non-spoilery quotes from The Invisible Library.

Genevieve:

“I should hope so,” he [Silver] said. “I’ve invited all the best people. Lords, ladies, authors, ambassadors, debauchers, grave-robbers, perverts, sorcerers, courtesans, deranged scientists, and doll-makers. And a few innocent socialites, of course, but generally I receive polite notes of refusal from their parents – or invitations to be horsewhipped.”
“Invitations?” Irene said.
“Notes offering to horsewhip me in front of my club if I even approach their daughters.”



TQ:  What's next?

Genevieve:  I’m currently writing book four and planning book five. Book three (The Burning Page) is in the copy-edit stage. It’s astonishing to think that I’ve come this far. Irene and her friends continue to get into trouble. Fae are not always bad: dragons are not always good: Librarians frequently end up running away from things. (I could tell you more, but the ninjas would come after me.)



TQ:  Thank you for joining us at The Qwillery.

Genevieve:  Thank you for the questions, and I hope that you enjoy the book.

The Invisible Library
The Invisible Library Novel 1
Roc, June 14, 2016
Trade Paperback and eBook, 352 pages

Collecting books can be a dangerous prospect in this fun, time-traveling, fantasy adventure from a spectacular debut author.

One thing any Librarian will tell you: the truth is much stranger than fiction…

Irene is a professional spy for the mysterious Library, a shadowy organization that collects important works of fiction from all of the different realities. Most recently, she and her enigmatic assistant Kai have been sent to an alternative London. Their mission: Retrieve a particularly dangerous book. The problem: By the time they arrive, it’s already been stolen.

London’s underground factions are prepared to fight to the death to find the tome before Irene and Kai do, a problem compounded by the fact that this world is chaos-infested—the laws of nature bent to allow supernatural creatures and unpredictable magic to run rampant. To make matters worse, Kai is hiding something—secrets that could be just as volatile as the chaos-filled world itself.

Now Irene is caught in a puzzling web of deadly danger, conflicting clues, and sinister secret societies. And failure is not an option—because it isn’t just Irene’s reputation at stake, it’s the nature of reality itself…

FEATURING BONUS MATERIAL: including an interview with the author, a legend from the Library, and more!

See Melanie's review of the UK edition here.

About Genevieve

Genevieve Cogman is a freelance author who has written for several role-playing game companies. She currently works for the NHS in England as a clinical classifications specialist. She is the author of the Invisible Library series, including The Burning Page, The Masked City, and The Invisible Library.


Website  ~  Twitter @GenevieveCogman

The Masked City
The Invisible Library Novel 2
Roc, September 6, 2016
Trade Paperback and eBook, 384 pages

Librarian-spy Irene and her apprentice Kai are back in the second in this “dazzling”* book-filled fantasy series from the author of The Invisible Library.

The written word is mightier than the sword—most of the time…

Working in an alternate version of Victorian London, Librarian-spy Irene has settled into a routine, collecting important fiction for the mysterious Library and blending in nicely with the local culture. But when her apprentice, Kai—a dragon of royal descent—is kidnapped by the Fae, her carefully crafted undercover operation begins to crumble.

Kai’s abduction could incite a conflict between the forces of chaos and order that would devastate all worlds and all dimensions. To keep humanity from getting caught in the crossfire, Irene will have to team up with a local Fae leader to travel deep into a version of Venice filled with dark magic, strange coincidences, and a perpetual celebration of Carnival—and save her friend before he becomes the first casualty of a catastrophic war.

But navigating the tumultuous landscape of Fae politics will take more than Irene’s book-smarts and fast-talking—to ward off Armageddon, she might have to sacrifice everything she holds dear….

The Burning Page
The Invisible Library Novel 3
Roc, December 6, 2016
Trade Paperback and eBook, 336 pages

Librarian spy Irene and her apprentice Kai return for another “tremendously fun, rip-roaring adventure,” (A Fantastical Librarian) third in the bibliophilic fantasy series from the author of The Masked City.

Never judge a book by its cover…

Due to her involvement in an unfortunate set of mishaps between the dragons and the Fae, Librarian spy Irene is stuck on probation, doing what should be simple fetch-and-retrieve projects for the mysterious Library. But trouble has a tendency of finding both Irene and her apprentice, Kai—a dragon prince—and, before they know it, they are entangled in more danger than they can handle…

Irene’s longtime nemesis, Alberich, has once again been making waves across multiple worlds, and, this time, his goals are much larger than obtaining a single book or wreaking vengeance upon a single Librarian. He aims to destroy the entire Library—and make sure Irene goes down with it.

With so much at stake, Irene will need every tool at her disposal to stay alive. But even as she draws her allies close around her, the greatest danger might be lurking from somewhere close—someone she never expected to betray her…

TQ:  Welcome to The Qwillery. When and why did you start writing?

Sean:  Not that long ago. I actually didn't have a say in it; I'm the last descendant of an ancient race of writers, and my ghost ancestors hassled me. Like in Mulan. They want me to travel the globe and find the secret entrance to the ancient lost writer city. So you could say there's some pressure.



TQ:  Are you a plotter, a pantser or a hybrid?

Sean:  I'm pretty good about having a full outline these days.



TQ:  What is the most challenging thing for you about writing?

Sean:  Sticking to one genre.



TQ:  What has influenced / influences your writing?

Sean:  Mostly the struggle.



TQ:  Describe Admiral in 140 characters or less.

Sean:  Don't take oxygen and/or being alone and safe for granted, especially on unexplored planets: The Musical



TQ:  Tell us something about Admiral that is not found in the book description.

Sean:  It's safe to take on an airplane, and your ghost ancestors will love reading it over your shoulder. I guarantee it.



TQ:  What inspired you to write Admiral?

Sean:  Given my level of nerd street cred, I was long overdue to do something with space.



TQ:  What sort of research did you do for Admiral?

Sean:  I'm in the dim basement of a crumbling, gothic, downtown library, hunched over a microfilm reader. There's a storm, and you can hear the rain pounding on the building. My glasses are on the table next to a scrap of bloody cloth, and a piece of stone covered in mysterious carvings. One of my Mr. Rogers cardigans is draped over the chair. The lights flicker, and somewhere in the basement a door slams. I sit up and look back at the door. There isn't supposed to be anyone else here. A moment passes, and something rattles down the hall. I look up; there's a sound, like something heavy being dragged across the floor above. I put put on my glasses and pick up my flashlight. Something isn't right.

Like that. All my research is just like that.



TQ:  Who was the easiest character to write and why? The hardest and why?

Sean:  The easiest was Deilani because she's direct. The hardest was the Admiral because he's not direct; everything he says means something, and that foreshadowing has to line up with all the twists throughout the series.



TQ:  Why have you chosen to include or not chosen to include social issues in Admiral?

Sean:  Social issues are the focus of my work, so I don't really include them; they're already there, I just include some fiction.



TQ:  Which question about Admiral do you wish someone would ask? Ask it and answer it!

Sean:  Q: Can I buy a billion copies? A: Yes, but just this once.



TQ:  Give us one or two of your favorite non-spoilery quotes from Admiral.

Sean:

Deilani: "Shut up,"

The Admiral: "You shut up,"



TQ:  What's next?

Sean:  Plenty of novels. I might also track down that lost city, but I have to reconcile with some exes and get the okay from my therapist first.



TQ:  Thank you for joining us at The Qwillery.

Sean:  Thanks for having me.

Admiral
An Evagardian Novel 1
Roc, May 3, 2016
Hardcover and eBook, 320 pages

FIRST IN A NEW MILITARY SCIENCE FICTION SERIES

“I was on a dead ship on an unknown planet with three trainees freshly graduated into the Imperial Service. I tried to look on the bright side.”

He is the last to wake. The label on his sleeper pad identifies him as an admiral of the Evagardian Empire—a surprise as much to him as to the three recent recruits now under his command. He wears no uniform, and he is ignorant of military protocol, but the ship’s records confirm he is their superior officer.

Whether he is an Evagardian admiral or a spy will be of little consequence if the crew members all end up dead. They are marooned on a strange world, their ship’s systems are failing one by one—and they are not alone.

About Sean

Photo by S. Morris

Sean Danker has been writing since he was fifteen. He read entirely too much Asimov in college, and now we’re all paying the price for it. His hobbies include biting off more than he can chew, feeling sorry for himself on Twitter, and telling people to lighten up. He is currently serving in the military on a base in North Dakota. Find the author online at http://evagard.com/




Twitter @silverbaytimes  ~  Facebook

Genevieve Cogman

The Invisible Library
The Invisible Library 1
Roc, June 14, 2016
Trade Paperback and eBook, 352 pages

Sean Danker

Admiral
An Evagardian Novel 1
Roc, May 3, 2016
Hardcover and eBook, 320 pages

FIRST IN A NEW MILITARY SCIENCE FICTION SERIES

“I was on a dead ship on an unknown planet with three trainees freshly graduated into the Imperial Service. I tried to look on the bright side.”

He is the last to wake. The label on his sleeper pad identifies him as an admiral of the Evagardian Empire—a surprise as much to him as to the three recent recruits now under his command. He wears no uniform, and he is ignorant of military protocol, but the ship’s records confirm he is their superior officer.

Whether he is an Evagardian admiral or a spy will be of little consequence if the crew members all end up dead. They are marooned on a strange world, their ship’s systems are failing one by one—and they are not alone.

Dreamer's Pool
Author:  Juliet Marillier
Series:  A Blackthorn & Grim Novel 1
Publisher:  Roc, November 3, 2015
Format:  Mass Market Paperback, 464 pages
List Price:  $7.99 (print); $7.99 (eBook)
ISBN:  9780451467003 (print); 9780698139169 (eBook)
Previously:  Hardcover and eBook, Nov. 4, 2015

Award-winning author Juliet Marillier “weaves magic, mythology, and folklore into every sentence on the page” (The Book Smugglers). Now she begins an all-new and enchanting series that will transport readers to a magical vision of ancient Ireland….

In exchange for help escaping her long and wrongful imprisonment, embittered magical healer Blackthorn has vowed to set aside her bid for vengeance against the man who destroyed all that she once held dear. Followed by a former prison mate, a silent hulk of a man named Grim, she travels north to Dalriada. There she’ll live on the fringe of a mysterious forest, duty bound for seven years to assist anyone who asks for her help.

Oran, crown prince of Dalriada, has waited anxiously for the arrival of his future bride, Lady Flidais. He knows her only from a portrait and sweetly poetic correspondence that have convinced him Flidais is his destined true love. But Oran discovers letters can lie. For although his intended exactly resembles her portrait, her brutality upon arrival proves she is nothing like the sensitive woman of the letters.

With the strategic marriage imminent, Oran sees no way out of his dilemma. Word has spread that Blackthorn possesses a remarkable gift for solving knotty problems, so the prince asks her for help. To save Oran from his treacherous nuptials, Blackthorn and Grim will need all their resources: courage, ingenuity, leaps of deduction, and more than a little magic.

Tower of Thorns
Author:  Juliet Marillier
Series:  A Blackthorn & Grim Novel 2
Publisher:  Roc, November 3, 2015
Format:  Hardcover and eBook, 432 pages
List Price:  $26.95 (print); $12.99 (eBook)
ISBN:  9780451467010 (print); 9780698139237 (eBook)
Forthcoming:  Mass Market Paperback, Oct. 4, 2016

Award-winning author Juliet Marillier’s “lavishly detailed”* Blackthorn & Grim series continues as a mysterious creature holds an enchanted and imperiled ancient Ireland in thrall.

Disillusioned healer Blackthorn and her companion, Grim, have settled in Dalriada to wait out the seven years of Blackthorn’s bond to her fey mentor, hoping to avoid any dire challenges. But trouble has a way of seeking out Blackthorn and Grim.

Lady Geiléis, a noblewoman from the northern border, has asked for the prince of Dalriada’s help in expelling a howling creature from an old tower on her land—one surrounded by an impenetrable hedge of thorns. Casting a blight over the entire district, and impossible to drive out by ordinary means, it threatens both the safety and the sanity of all who live nearby. With no ready solutions to offer, the prince consults Blackthorn and Grim.

As Blackthorn and Grim begin to put the pieces of this puzzle together, it’s apparent that a powerful adversary is working behind the scenes. Their quest is about to become a life and death struggle—a conflict in which even the closest of friends can find themselves on opposite sides.

*Publishers Weekly

Doreen’s Thoughts

Juliet Marillier has started a new series with two equally wounded characters, Blackthorn and Grim, who met in the dungeons of Lord Mathuin awaiting execution. The night before her execution, Blackthorn is offered a bargain by one of the Fae lords – he will help her escape if she agrees to move to another country, become a healer woman again, to help anyone who asks, and put off her vengeance for seven years. Despite her intense desire for revenge, Blackthorn agrees and Conmael causes the prison to break open. One of her fellow inmates, Grim follows to help her and she cannot bring herself to send him away because of the bargain.

Written in alternating chapters from each character’s perspective, both Dreamer’s Pool and Tower of Thorns take a basic fairytale and rewrites it in a completely new way. In Dreamer’s Pool, there is a princess who mysteriously changes when she arrives at her betrothed’s palace. After corresponding with Flidais, Prince Oran has fallen in love with her. However, the reality of her in the flesh is nothing like the picture he fashioned from her letters. Finally, he requests that Blackthorn and Grim come work at his castle for a time and “spy” on Flidais to determine if there is something odd about her.

In Tower of Thorns, there is a monster who wails from sunup to sundown. Lady Geiléis has requested that Prince Oran help remove the creature that is threatening her people. Oran turns to Blackthorn and Grim for a solution, and they travel to Bann to investigate. At the same time, an old friend from Blackthorn’s past has arrived and requested that she return to fight against Lord Mathuin, the man upon whom she wishes revenge.

Each of these novels eventually gives some of the background stories for Blackthorn and Grim, with Blackthorn's story coming in the first book and Grim's in the second. Both of them have experienced horrifying losses that affect their lives tremendously. Marillier does a terrific job of illustrating their damage at first without explaining the reason for it, and that draws the reader further into the story.

While each novel has its basis in a fairytale, Marillier has tweaked them enough that the reader does not determine the original story until almost the very end. Again, Marillier does her best work by layering the tale, hinting at the origin but only truly revealing it in the final chapters. This makes it very difficult to put either book down once it is begun. I can hardly wait to see what new secrets she will reveal for Blackthorn and Grim.

TQ:  Welcome to The Qwillery. You've written over two dozen novels for both adults and young adults. Has your writing process changed over the years?

Tom:  Yeah, it has. I Used to be incredibly anal, mapping out a book down to its every last detail, but these days I find with deadlines and stuff, that I wing it a little bit more . . . probably more than I should. HA!



TQ:  What is the most challenging thing for you about writing?

Tom:  It’s probably the deadlines . . . knowing that a book needs to be written, and delivered on a specific date, come Hell or high water. There are days where it’s just not happening . . . the words aren’t flowing—you just don’t see the story, but you have to keep writing. You have to push through because somebody in waiting for that book.



TQ:  Describe The Demonists in 140 characters or less.

Tom:  Exorcists/Ghost Hunters/Media Darlings/Husband & Wife . . . while filming Halloween episode of their TV show discover something far more dangerous, and evil than a mischievous poltergeist, which changes their lives forever and sets them on a path to discovering that true evil wants into the world, and they might be the only people who can stop it. (Longer than a tweet, but whatever. HA!)



TQ:  Tell us something about The Demonists that is not found in the book description.

Tom:  It’s a book with alot of heart. Our main characters, Theodora, and John Fogg really love each other, and it’s that love that anchors them to the world that they’re fighting to protect, and also what gives them the strength to continue this epic battle against seemingly unwinnable odds.



TQ:  What inspired you to write The Demonists? What appeals to you about writing Dark Fantasy/Urban Fantasy?

Tom:  Love traditional good vs. evil stories, as well as things about ghosts and demons . . . this was a natural. Also wanted to do something after my Remy Chandler books that focused on the strength of a husband and wife relationship.



TQ:  What sort of research did you do for The Demonists?

Tom:  Typical research, poking around the internet and digging through my old research books on demonic possession, hauntings, etc. Was really interested in the ideas of demons and evil described in other religious faiths, and how those evils were dealt with.



TQ:  Who was the easiest character to write and why?

Tom:  I really enjoyed writing Theodora . . . there’s an amazing strength about her, even after she’s possessed by thousands of angry demons. And I love that the strength that she displays comes primarily from the love and respect that she has for her husband.



TQ:  Do your Remy Chandler novels and The Demonists share anything thematically?

Tom:  Just your basic good vs. evil themes. Not sure if I’ll delve into the truly religious concepts of Heaven and Hell in this series . . . will probably keep it a little more vague.



TQ:  Give us one or two favorite non-spoilery quotes from The Demonists.

Tom: 

John Fogg preferred the company of ghosts.

Sitting on the floor of her husband’s office, she closed her eyes and dove into the darkness, where the monsters lived inside her.



TQ:  What's next?

Tom:  Well, of course there’s at least two more Demonists books to write . . . which will be fun. I’ve got two YA thrillers coming from, Simon Pulse, the first being SAVAGE. And then I have a book with Mike Mignola, the creator of Hellboy, called Grim Death & Bill the Electrocuted Criminal coming in the Winter of 2017. And there are a few special projects that I’m very excited about that I can’t quite talk about them yet.



TQ:  Thank you for joining us at The Qwillery.

Tom:  You’re so welcome, thanks for having me!

The Demonists
Demonists 1
Roc, April 5, 2016
Trade Paperback and eBook, 336 pages

From the New York Times bestselling author of the Fallen series and the Remy Chandler series, a new dark fantasy series filled with demons, exorcisms, and the fight against the worst that hell has to offer…

There is more to our world than meets the eye—darker things, crueler things. Exorcist John Fogg and his wife, psychic medium Theodora Knight, know what lurks in the shadows. But even they’re not prepared for the worst Hell has to offer…

It was supposed to be a simple exorcism, a publicity stunt to firmly establish John and Theodora’s thriving paranormal investigation empire in the public eye. But something went wrong, leading to an on-air massacre that unleashed a malicious host of demons and left Theodora catatonic, possessed by countless spirits.

John sets out on a desperate quest to find a cure for his wife, but his obsession brings him face-to-face with an even more terrifying problem: Theodora’s possession is only one piece of a deadly plot that is threatening the entire world. Because an ancient evil is about to make Earth its battlefield—and without John and Theodora’s intervention, there is no chance for salvation…

See Melanie's Review here.

About Tom

Photo by Thomas C. Fitzgerald

THOMAS E. SNIEGOSKI is the author of more than two dozen novels for adults, teens, and children. His teen fantasy YA series Fallen was adapted into a trilogy of monstrously successful TV movies by ABC Family Channel. His other books for teens include Sleeper Code, Sleeper Agenda, Legacy, and Force Majeure, as well as the series The Brimstone Network. The author's first adult novel, A Kiss Before the Apocalypse, developed into a series of novels about the character Remy Chandler.

Sniegoski's work for younger readers includes the Billy Hooten: Owlboy series and the fantasy quartet Magic Zero, which he co-authored with Christopher Golden. Magic Zero is in development as a film at Universal. Sniegoski and Golden have also collaborated on the adult dark fantasy series The Menagerie, and multiple creator-owned comic book series, including The Sisterhood, which is being prepped for a feature film by InterMedia, and Talent, currently in development at Universal after a major bidding war.

As a comic book writer, Sniegoski's work includes Stupid, Stupid Rat Tails, a prequel miniseries to international hit Bone. Sniegoski has also written the Bone: Quest for the Spark novels. Sniegoski collaborated with Bone creator Jeff Smith on the prequel, making him the only writer Smith has ever asked to work on those characters. Sniegoski and Golden also wrote the graphic novel BPRD: Hollow Earth, a spinoff from Hellboy.

Sniegoski was born and raised in Massachusetts, where he still lives with his wife LeeAnne and their dog, Kirby.

Website  ~  Twitter @TomSniegoski  ~  Facebook

Happy Easter to all of those who celebrate and Happy Sunday to those who don't. Hopefully some lovely chocolate will make it into your possession regardless whether you celebrate or not. I am looking forward to having 2 extra days off work, mainly to work off the hot cross buns I keep eating!

This wasn't my most productive reading week so today's Week in Review is only going to feature 1 book. Sorry folks. The good news for you dear reader is that book I did read was very good. Hopefully, I will have more to tell you about next week so until then have a great week and Happy Reading.

The Demonists
Author:  Thomas E. Sniegoski
Publisher:  Roc, April 5, 2016
Format:  Trade Paperback and eBook, 336 pages
List Price:  $15.00 (print); $9.99 (digital)
ISBN:  9780451473523 (print); 9780698185517 (digital)

From the New York Times bestselling author of the Fallen series and the Remy Chandler series, a new dark fantasy series filled with demons, exorcisms, and the fight against the worst that hell has to offer…

There is more to our world than meets the eye—darker things, crueler things. Exorcist John Fogg and his wife, psychic medium Theodora Knight, know what lurks in the shadows. But even they’re not prepared for the worst Hell has to offer…

It was supposed to be a simple exorcism, a publicity stunt to firmly establish John and Theodora’s thriving paranormal investigation empire in the public eye. But something went wrong, leading to an on-air massacre that unleashed a malicious host of demons and left Theodora catatonic, possessed by countless spirits.

John sets out on a desperate quest to find a cure for his wife, but his obsession brings him face-to-face with an even more terrifying problem: Theodora’s possession is only one piece of a deadly plot that is threatening the entire world. Because an ancient evil is about to make Earth its battlefield—and without John and Theodora’s intervention, there is no chance for salvation…

Melanie's Review

If you are a fan of dark fantasy that verges pretty close to horror in some places then The Demonists by Thomas E. Sniegoski is the book for you.

John and Theodora Fogg have a loving marriage and successful paranormal investigation business when one of their cases goes horribly wrong. Theodora, a gifted medium becomes possessed by demons and kept in a catatonic state so that she doesn't harm herself or others. John is desperate to find a cure to her possession  but ends up discovering that Theodora is merely a pawn in a very sinister plot that will bring evil and chaos to the world. The path to saving Theodora is not going to be an easy one but when a covert organisation offer to help John its an offer he can't refuse.

I enjoyed The Demonists but I won't kid you by saying it was an easy read. It took me much longer than I would normally expect but this isn't a book for late night or early morning reading....well not if you have a low tolerance for gruesome, head chomping, maggot vomiting action. I thought that Sniegoski managed to cleverly merge Theodora's possession with the plot arc of the Teacher. John's mission to save Theodora leads him to uncover the Demonists who were a medieval organisation that worked to rid the world of demons. With the help of the modern day Demonists Theodora becomes the tool to save the world rather than the tool to destroy it. Whether her and John survive to find the Teacher and uncover his nefarious plan is something that I will leave you to discover.

I did feel that some of the chapters didn't transition as smoothly as I expected but I was reading an e-Arc so this may have been the result of some 'wonky' formatting.  Overall, there was a lot of action, interesting characters and a well developed plot. A good beginning to what I am sure will be an excellent series.