The Qwillery

Here are some of the upcoming works by formerly featured DAC Authors. The year in parentheses is the year the author was featured in the DAC.

Happy Monday! I hope everyone is enjoying the last couple of weeks of summer. I've been spending a lot of time repairing my gardens which had been neglected for a couple of years. They look good though despite my neglect.

I'm reading two books right now. The first Bobby Dollar novel by Tad Williams, The Dirty Streets of Heaven, so that I can read the second, Happy Hour in Hell, for review. I can not read books out of order! So far I'm enjoying the first novel.

I'm also reading The Lost Prince by Edward Lazellari. This is the second novel in his Guardians of Aandor series. I have to admit I was a bit concerned about reading it because I loved the first novel, Awakenings. I've been waiting a while for The Lost Prince to come out. It will be published tomorrow. Fortunately my trepidation was unfounded as I am loving the novel... so far.






There is one debut this week - The Bone Season (Scion 1) by Samantha Shannon. I'll be reading that in the next couple of days as well. Who needs sleep?


And from formerly featured Debut Author Challenge Authors:

Khan of Mars by Stephen Blackmoore.  You should also read Dead Things by Stephen. It was published in February 2013. It's a terrific story with a very memorable cast of characters.

Quick Fix (In a Fix 2) by Linda Grimes;

and

The Lost Prince (Guardians of Aandor 2) by Edward Lazellari.




August 19, 2013

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Esprit de Corpse (e)	Gina X. Grant	PNR - Reluctant Reaper 3
How to Discipline Your Vampire (e)	Mina Vaughn	PER

August 20, 2013

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Omens	Kelley Armstrong	UF - Cainsville 1
Spirit of the Century Presents: Khan of Mars	Stephen Blackmoore	F
Wrath-Bearing Tree	James Enge	F - Tournament of Shadows 2
Of Dice and Men: The Story of Dungeons & Dragons and The People Who Play It	David M. Ewalt	History
Resolve	Neil Godbout	SF - Broken Guardian 3
Tell My Sorrows to the Stones	Christopher Golden	F - Collection
The Third Kingdom	Terry Goodkind	F - Richard and Kahlan 2
Quick Fix	Linda Grimes	UF - In a Fix 2
The Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror: 2013 Edition	Paula Guran (ed)	F/H - Anthlogy
Jack Cloudie	Stephen Hunt	SP - Jackelian 5
The Lost Prince	Edward Lazellari	UF - Guardians of Aandor 2
Wolf Moon Rising	Lara Parker	F/H - Dark Shadows: The Salem Branch 2
The Bone Season (D)	Samantha Shannon	UF - Scion 1
Right to Know	Edward Willett	SF

August 23, 2013

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Everything You Need	Michael Marshall Smith	H - Collection

D - Debut
e - eBook

F - Fantasy
H - Horror
PER - Paranormal Erotic Romance
PNR - Paranormal Romance
SF - Science Fiction
SP - Steampunk
UF - Urban Fiction

As I mentioned in the prior post about BEA (here), I only picked up a few books that I am really interested in reading. Not all of them are Speculative Fiction because I do read other genres. Most of the novels have not yet been published. I've taken photos of the ARCs/novels, but also include the cover image so you can see what they really look like. Without further ado, the books:





Red Rising
Author:  Pierce Brown
Publisher:  Del Rey, February 18, 2014
Format:  Hardcover and eBook, 400 pages
Price:  $25.00 (print)
ISBN:  9780345539786 (print)

Pierce Brown's relentlessly entertaining debut channels the readability and excitement of Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games and the best of Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game.

Red Rising is the story of a society in a desolate future, riven by class conflict and shaken by the tremors of an impending revolution. But more than that, it's the story of Darrow-a secret revolutionary who is inspired not only by a longing for social justice, but by lost love. It's only when Darrow's beloved wife is executed by the oppressive government that he begins to question the harsh world he lives in. Recruited by an underground revolutionary cell, Darrow is given a perilous mission: infiltrate the academy that educates this elite-and become one of them.

Vicious
Author:  V.E. Schwab
Publisher:  Tor Books, September 24, 2013
Format:  Hardcover and eBook, 368 pages
Price:  $24.99 (print)
ISBN:  9780765335340 (print)

A masterful, twisted tale of ambition, jealousy, betrayal, and superpowers, set in a near-future world

Victor and Eli started out as college roommates—brilliant, arrogant, lonely boys who recognized the same sharpness and ambition in each other. In their senior year, a shared research interest in adrenaline, near-death experiences, and seemingly supernatural events reveals an intriguing possibility: that under the right conditions, someone could develop extraordinary abilities. But when their thesis moves from the academic to the experimental, things go horribly wrong.

Ten years later, Victor breaks out of prison, determined to catch up to his old friend (now foe), aided by a young girl whose reserved nature obscures a stunning ability. Meanwhile, Eli is on a mission to eradicate every other super-powered person that he can find—aside from his sidekick, an enigmatic woman with an unbreakable will. Armed with terrible power on both sides, driven by the memory of betrayal and loss, the archnemeses have set a course for revenge—but who will be left alive at the end?

The Bone Season
Author:  Samantha Shannon
Series:  Scion 1
Publisher:  Bloomsbury USA, August 20, 2013
Format:  Hardcover and eBook, 480 pages
Price:  $24.00 (print)
ISBN:  9781620401392 (print)

It is the year 2059. Several major world cities are under the control of a security force called Scion. Paige Mahoney works in the criminal underworld of Scion London, part of a secret cell known as the Seven Seals. The work she does is unusual: scouting for information by breaking into others’ minds. Paige is a dreamwalker, a rare kind of clairvoyant, and in this world, the voyants commit treason simply by breathing.

But when Paige is captured and arrested, she encounters a power more sinister even than Scion. The voyant prison is a separate city—Oxford, erased from the map two centuries ago and now controlled by a powerful, otherworldly race. These creatures, the Rephaim, value the voyants highly—as soldiers in their army.

Paige is assigned to a Rephaite keeper, Warden, who will be in charge of her care and training. He is her master. Her natural enemy. But if she wants to regain her freedom, Paige will have to learn something of his mind and his own mysterious motives.

The Bone Season introduces a compelling heroine—a young woman learning to harness her powers in a world where everything has been taken from her. It also introduces an extraordinary young writer, with huge ambition and a teeming imagination. Samantha Shannon has created a bold new reality in this riveting debut.

Parasite
Author:  Mira Grant
Series:  Parisitology 1
Publisher:  Orbit, October 29, 2013
Format:  Hardcover and eBook, 512 pages
Price:  $20.00 (print)
ISBN:  9780316218955 (print)

From New York Times bestselling author Mira Grant, a high-concept near-future thriller.

A decade in the future, humanity thrives in the absence of sickness and disease.

We owe our good health to a humble parasite - a genetically engineered tapeworm developed by the pioneering SymboGen Corporation. When implanted, the Intestinal Bodyguard worm protects us from illness, boosts our immune system - even secretes designer drugs. It's been successful beyond the scientists' wildest dreams. Now, years on, almost every human being has a SymboGen tapeworm living within them.

But these parasites are getting restless. They want their own lives . . . and will do anything to get them.

The Lost Prince
Author:  Edward Lazellari
Series:  Guardians of Aandor 2
Publisher:  Tor Books, August 20, 2013
Format:  Hardcover and eBook, 528 pages
Price:  $27.99 (print)
ISBN:  9780765327888 (print)

Edward Lazellari brings you The Lost Prince, and the race to find the missing prince is on . . .

In Lazellari’s debut fantasy, Awakenings, New York City cop Cal MacDonnell and photographer Seth Raincrest found themselves stalked by otherworldly beings intent on killing them. The two had to accept the aid of a mysterious woman to unlock their hidden pasts, and what they discovered changed their lives.

Everything they knew about their lives was an illusion. They had in fact travelled to our dimension from the medieval reality of Aandor to hide their infant prince from assassins, but upon arriving, a freak mishap wiped their memories. Cal, Seth, and the rest of their party were incapacitated, and the infant prince was lost.

Thirteen years later, that prince, Daniel Hauer, is unaware of his origins--or that he has become the prize in a race between two powerful opposing factions. Cal and Seth’s group want to keep Daniel safe. The other wants Daniel dead—by any means necessary.

From the streets of New York City to the back roads of rural North Carolina, the search for the prince sets powerful forces against each other in a do-or-die battle for the rule of the kingdom of Aandor.

Against a backdrop of murder, magic, and mayhem on the streets of New York City, victory goes to the swiftest and the truest of hearts.

The Made-Up Man
Author:  Karen Heuler
Publisher:  Livingston Press, November 30, 2011
Format:  Trade Paperback and eBook, 226 pages
Price:  $21.00 (print)
ISBN:  9781604890815 (print)

Self-pity will only get you so far. When Alyson Salky finds that her lover is having an affair with her best friend--and he takes the dog with him when he moves out--and a man with worse credentials is hired over her at work, it’s time to make some major life decisions. She keeps running into the neighborhood fortune teller, Madame Hope, who promises she can make Alyson’s wishes come true—any wish, so why not a big wish? As far as Alyson can determine, the problem with her life is that she’s getting all the crap that women get, and none of the free passes that men get. It’s time to switch—it’s time to see what life is like as a man—and while Madame Hope can get that done for her (in exchange for her soul), nothing really goes as planned. The devil, it turns out, has a sense of humor. But who will have the last laugh?

Drift
Author:  Jon McGoran
Publisher:  Forge Books, July 9, 2013
Format:  Hardcover and eBook, 384 pages
Price:  $24.99 (print)
ISBN:  9780765334701 (print)

When Philadelphia narcotics detective Doyle Carrick loses his mother and step-father within weeks of each other, he gains a twenty-day suspension for unprofessional behavior and instructions to lay low at the unfamiliar house he’s inherited in rural Pennsylvania.

Feeling restless and out of place, Doyle is surprised to find himself falling for his new neighbor, Nola Watkins, who’s under pressure to sell her organic farm to a large and mysterious development company. He’s more surprised to see high-powered drug dealers driving the small-town roads—dealers his bosses don’t want to hear about.

But when the drug bust Doyle’s been pushing for goes bad and the threats against Nola turn violent, Doyle begins to discover that what’s growing in the farmland around Philadelphia is much deadlier than anything he could have imagined . . .

Quick, clever, and terrifying, Jon McGoran’s Drift is a commercial thriller in the tradition of Nelson DeMille’s Plum Island.

Captive: The Forbidden Side of Nightshade
Author:  A. D. Robertson (Andrea Cremer)
Publisher:  Dutton Adult, October 22, 2013
Format:  Hardcover and eBook, 320 pages
Price:  $25.95 (print)
ISBN:  9780525954118 (print)

The first adult novel set in the world of the New York Times bestselling Nightshade series, Captive delivers a steamy, forbidden romance between sworn enemies drawn together by an irrepressible desire.

Twenty-five-year-old Tristan Doran enjoys a life of incredible power and privilege. As a direct descendant of the Keepers—witches who have embraced dark magic—he defers to no one but his overlord, Lord Bosque Mar. For most of his life, Tristan has been kept
out of the centuries-old Witches War, his bloodline too valuable to risk in battle.

But when a beautiful, young human Searcher named Sarah is captured and made a prisoner in his Irish castle, Tristan’s infatuation with her flings him headlong into the fray. Captive and captor, unable to contain their longing, embark on a passionate, forbidden romance together—only to learn that their love is at the heart of a prophecy predicting the downfall of the Keepers’ ages-old reign.

Captive explores the darker side of the richly imagined Nightshade universe, a fantasy world of powerful dark witches, shape-shifting wolf warriors, and fascinating history. The first of three erotic novels, Captive delves deeply into the fiery, illicit romance of two young lovers whose very desires invite their doom.

Strong Rain Falling
Author:  Jon Land
Series:  Caitlin Strong 5
Publisher:  Forge Books, August 13, 2013
Format:  Hardcover and eBook, 450 pages
Price:  $25.99 (print)
ISBN:  9780765331502 (print)

Mexico, 1919: The birth of the Mexican drug trade begins with opium being smuggled across the U.S. border, igniting an all-out battle with American law enforcement in general and the Texas Rangers in particular.

The Present: Fifth Generation Texas Ranger Caitlin Strong and her lover Cort Wesley Masters both survive terrifying gun battles. But this time, it turns out, the actual targets were not them, but Masters’ teenage sons.

That sets Caitlin and Cort Wesley off on a trail winding through the past and present with nothing less than the future of the United States hanging in the balance. Along the way they will confront terrible truths dating all the way back to the Mexican Revolution and the dogged battle Caitlin’s own grandfather and great-grandfather fought against the first generation of Mexican drug dealers.

At the heart of the storm soon to sweep away America as we know it, lies a mastermind whose abundant power is equaled only by her thirst for vengeance. Ana Callas Guajardo, the last surviving member of the family that founded the Mexican drug trade, has dedicated all of her vast resources to a plot aimed at the U.S.’s technological heart.

This time out, sabotage proves to be as deadly a weapon as bombs in a battle Caitlin must win in cyberspace as well. Her only chance to prevail is to short-circuit a complex plan based as much on microchips as bullets. Because there’s a strong rain coming and only Caitlin and Cort Wesley can stop the fall before it’s too late.

The Deep Whatsis
Author:  Peter Mattei
Publisher:  Other Press, July 23, 2013
Format:  Trade Paperback and eBook, 256 pages
Price:  $15.95 (print)
ISBN:  978-1-59051-638-6 (print)

The Deep Whatsis follows a brilliant antihero staggering into madness as he navigates among Brooklyn hipsters, advertising tyrants, corporate hypocrisy, and the ghosts of his past.

Meet Eric Nye: player, philosopher, drunk, sociopath. A ruthless young Chief Idea Officer at a New York City ad agency, Eric downsizes his department, guzzles only the finest Sancerre, pops pills, and chases women. Then one day he meets Intern, whose name he can’t remember. Will she be the cause of his downfall, or his unlikely awakening?

A gripping and hilarious satire of the inherent absurdity of advertising and the flippant cruelty of corporate behavior, The Deep Whatsis shows the devastating effects of a world where civility and respect have been fired.

In the Blood
Author:  Lisa Unger
Publisher:  Touchstone, January 7, 2014
Format:  Hardcover and eBook, 352 pages
Price:  $25.99 (print)
ISBN:  9781451691177 (print)

In the Blood is the Lisa Unger novel we've all been waiting for—and a return to the dark psychological suspense that made Beautiful Lies a bestseller around the world.

Lana Granger lives a life of lies. She has told so many lies about where she comes from and who she is that the truth is like a cloudy nightmare she can’t quite recall. About to graduate from college and with her trust fund almost tapped out, she takes a job babysitting a troubled boy named Luke. Expelled from schools all over the country, the manipulative young Luke is accustomed to controlling the people in his life. But, in Lana, he may have met his match. Or has Lana met hers?

When Lana’s closest friend, Beck, mysteriously disappears, Lana resumes her lying ways—to friends, to the police, to herself. The police have a lot of questions for Lana when the story about her whereabouts the night Beck disappeared doesn’t jibe with eyewitness accounts. Lana will do anything to hide the truth, but it might not be enough to keep her ominous secrets buried: someone else knows about Lana’s lies. And he’s dying to tell.

Lisa Unger's writing has been hailed as “sensational” (Publishers Weekly) and “sophisticated” (New York Daily News), with “gripping narrative and evocative, muscular prose” (Associated Press). Masterfully suspenseful, finely crafted, and written with a no-holds-barred raw power, In the Blood is Unger at her best.

Under the Empyrean Sky
Author:  Chuck Wendig
Series:  The Heartland Trilogy 1
Publisher:  Skyscape, July 30, 2013
Format:  Hardcover and Kindle eBook
Price:  $17.99 (print)
ISBN:  9781477817209 (print)

Corn is king in the Heartland, and Cael McAvoy has had enough of it. It’s the only crop the Empyrean government allows the people of the Heartland to grow — and the genetically modified strain is so aggressive that it takes everything the Heartlanders have just to control it. As captain of the Big Sky Scavengers, Cael and his crew sail their rickety ship over the corn day after day, scavenging for valuables, trying to earn much-needed ace notes for their families. But Cael’s tired of surviving life on the ground while the Empyrean elite drift by above in their extravagant sky flotillas. He’s sick of the mayor’s son besting Cael’s crew in the scavenging game. And he’s worried about losing Gwennie — his first mate and the love of his life — forever when their government-chosen spouses are revealed. But most of all, Cael is angry — angry that their lot in life will never get better and that his father doesn’t seem upset about any of it. Cael’s ready to make his own luck . . . even if it means bringing down the wrath of the Empyrean elite and changing life in the Heartland forever.

The Twelve Fingered Boy
Author:  John Hornor Jacobs
Series:  The Twelve-Fingered Boy Trilogy 1
Publisher:  Carolrhoda Lab, February 1, 2013
Format:  Hardcover and eBook, 280 pages
Price:  $17.95 (print)
ISBN:  9780761390077 (print)

Fifteen-year-old Shreve Cannon doesn't mind juvie. He's got a good business dealing contraband candy, and three meals a day are more than his drunk mother managed to provide. In juvie, the rules never change and everyone is the same. In juvie, Shreve has life figured out. Then the new fish shows up.

Jack's a quiet kid. Small. Cries himself to sleep too. He's no standard-issue titty-baby, though. There's his hands—more specifically his fingers, all twelve of 'em. And when he gets angry, something weird happens. The air wavers. You feel a slight pressure in your chest. And then…well, best take cover.

Jack isn't the only new face in juvie. There's Mr. Quincrux. Quincrux has an unusual interest in Jack and Shreve, and it quickly becomes clear that innocent bystanders aren't going to get in his way. So Jack and Shreve bust out.

On the lam, they quickly discover that Jack has abilities—hell, superpowers—that might just give them a fighting chance against Quincrux, if they can stay alive long enough to figure them out.

I'm excited to dive into reading these novels!

I missed BookExpo America (BEA) last year due to stuff. I was thrilled to be able to spend a day at BEA this year. BEA was held at the Javitz Center in New York City (where it will be in 2014 and 2015). It was a fantastic day. I was able to say 'hello' to authors and publicists I'd only met online and see others that I've met before.

If you are a book lover too (and I bet you are because you are reading a book blog), you can attend BEA as a Power Reader. I wasn't there on Saturday when BEA was opened to the Power Readers/public so I can't tell you if it was crowded. It seems like a great chance to pick up some wonderful books and meet some of your favorite authors.

Here are photos that I took of people on Friday. I'll write a separate post about the novels I picked up. There is a tendency to take every book offered, but I was careful to take only what I would read. It took a lot of self-control, believe me. 






































My final stop of the day was the SFWA booth:








Look for my next BEA post - BookExpo America 2013 - The Books

Please welcome Edward Lazellari to The Qwillery as part of the 2011 Debut Author Challenge interviews.

TQ:  What would you say is your most interesting writing quirk?

Edward:  It's the build up to sitting down and starting. You know how some athletes are superstitious -- they eat the same meal before a game, wear the same lucky jersey, take the same route to the stadium? I have a writer's equivalent of that. My routine is pretty OCD, and I have elements of OCD in my behavior. Have kicked coffee from the routine, but a few weeks ago I fell off the wagon and the chapters I wrote were among my favorites. Might need to jump off the wagon for a few weeks when I do my revisions on book two.

TQ:  Who are some of your favorite writers? Who do you feel has influenced your writing?

Edward:  Many of my favorite writers have influenced both my desire to write and my technique: Stephen King, George R.R. Martin, J.K. Rowling, Neil Gaiman, J.R.R. Tolkien, Roger Zelazny, and Frank L. Baum are my main genre influences. Shakespeare, Ayn Rand, Jonathan Franzen, Toni Morrison, Oscar Wilde, and John Irving are some of my literary influences.

TQ:  Are you a plotter or a pantser?

Edward:  I'm an unabashed pantser with plotter tendencies (75 / 25). I know certain points I need to hit in the story, and work toward them, but don't meticulously lay each step of the journey out before hand. I sometimes draw out a timeline if things get confusing.

TQ:  Describe Awakenings in 140 characters or less.

Edward:  Awakenings is an urban science-fantasy adventure mystery that's a smidgeon of Amber, a drop of Game of Thrones, a dash of Neverwhere, and a sprinkle of Talisman. (135 characters.)

TQ:  What inspired you to write Awakenings?

Edward:  I was a big into role-playing games in my youth -- D&D, Magic the Gathering, etc. And I always loved making up stories. I love reading stories. It just seemed obvious to me that this was the next logical step. Does that sound weird? I have a lot of friends lamenting their desire to write a novel and not being motivated or not having the time. I guess I had the motivation and I made the time. I chose not to go out many times or take vacation in order to finish the book. It has to be your everything.

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

Edward:  Observing life, traveling, reading and watching the news. I've been a life-long New Yorker, and some readers have told me the color in my story is good. (That means description of the settings and ambiance ring true and are artistically sound.) I've been to most of the places my characters have been. I follow the news and keep up with what's going on in the world and my community. That's how I came up with my short story for Playboy. Real life is the best place to draw inspiration. Then you ask yourself, "What if?" Then you add your twist to it, your voice, and -- wallah! You've created something unique.

TQ:  Why did you set the novel primarily in New York City?

Edward:  Besides it being the greatest city in the world, you mean? It's my home. I grew up in NY and work in Manhattan. I'm in the city 6 days a week. It's got a frenetic energy to it that only a handful of other cities in the world come close to. From a story sense, it's a logical place for my characters to end up based on how and where they showed up on the scene. (You know this stuff's all real, don't you?)

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

Edward:  Seth and Daniel were the easiest because they have the most of me in them. Two aspects of myself in particular, one noble and one selfish. Callum was harder because he's more like the person we all strive to be, and so I had to do more research and pull more of him together from outside influences to make him believable. New York's full of decent guys like him. He's the guy who would run into a burning to save an elderly widow who'll probably be dead soon anyway. (Right now, I'm at the point where I'll run into a burning building to save an attractive single woman that I hope will date me out of gratitude. I'm hoping to work my way up in the following order: kids, puppies and kittens, men, unattractive people, and finally old dying widows.) Do you see where Seth comes from now? Ha!

Cat and Lelani were harder to write. I find women tougher, never having been one. But I try to do more than just tell the reader "she's a female" and then put words in her mouth. I care that the characters ring true, so I consult and revise. I've got some generous female friends and I rely on their judgement.

TQ:  Without giving anything away, what is/are your favorite scene(s) in the book?

Edward:  The one where Gandalf tells the Balrog, "You -- Shall -- Not !..." Oh wait... they made me take that scene out. (Friggin' lawyers.)

My favorite scene is toward the end when Daniel stands up for his friend (keeping it vague) when he has every reason in the world not to do so. He has no special powers, life hasn't been particularly kind to him, nor has the friend been particularly loyal to him -- no one would blame him for taking the easy way out. He makes the kind of brave decision that would be hard for any adult to make.

TQ

Edward:  Three for now. A possible second trilogy, Or I might just do a fourth book depending on where I want to go with the third one. I have to have an idea that motivates me to write.

TQ:  What's next?

Edward:  Next is book two, which is currently titled "The Lost Prince." Down the line I have ideas for other SF/F books I'd like to write.

I am currently reading Diane Gabaldon's Outlander and enjoying it.

TQ:  Thank you for joining us at The Qwillery.

Edward:  I'm honored. Thank you for having me.


About Awakenings

Guardians of Aandor 1
(Tor Books, August 30, 2011)

Cal MacDonnell is a happily married New York City cop with a loving family. Seth Raincrest is a washed-up photographer who has alienated even his closest friends. The two have nothing in common—except that they both suffer from retrograde amnesia. It’s as if they just appeared out of thin air thirteen years ago, and nothing has been able to restore their memories. Now their forgotten past has caught up to them with a vengeance.

Cal's and Seth’s lives are turned upside down as they are stalked by otherworldly beings who know about the men's past lives. But these creatures aren't here to help; they're intent on killing anyone who gets in their way. In the balance hangs the life of a child who might someday restore a broken empire to peace and prosperity. With no clue why they're being hunted, Cal and Seth must accept the aid of a strange and beautiful woman who has promised to unlock their secrets. The two must stay alive long enough to protect their loved ones, recover their true selves—and save two worlds from tyranny and destruction.

Awakenings launches a captivating fantasy saga by an amazing and talented new storyteller.

About Edward

EDWARD LAZELLARI has worked as an illustrator and graphic artist, doing projects for Marvel Entertainment, DC Comics, and Jim Henson Productions. His short story, “The Date,” won Playboy magazine’s prestigious college fiction contest in 1999. Lazellari lives in Jersey City, New Jersey. Awakenings is his first novel.

Ed’s website: http://www.edwardlazellari.com/
Blog: http://edwardlazellari.blogspot.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/EdwardLazellari
Facebook Fan Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Awakenings/170940192959270

Awakenings
Author:  Edward Lazellari
Series:  Guardians of Aandor
Format: Hardcover, 352 pages
Publisher:  Tor Books (8/30/2011)
Price: $24.99
Language: English
Genre:  Urban Fantasy / Fantasy / Epic Fantasy
ISBN:  978-0-7653-2787-1
Review Copy: Provided by Publisher

Cover and description:

Cal MacDonnell is a happily married New York City cop with a loving family. Seth Raincrest is a washed-up photographer who has alienated even his closest friends. The two have nothing in common—except that they both suffer from retrograde amnesia. It’s as if they just appeared out of thin air thirteen years ago, and nothing has been able to restore their memories. Now their forgotten past has caught up to them with a vengeance.

Cal's and Seth’s lives are turned upside down as they are stalked by otherworldly beings who know about the men's past lives. But these creatures aren't here to help; they're intent on killing anyone who gets in their way. In the balance hangs the life of a child who might someday restore a broken empire to peace and prosperity. With no clue why they're being hunted, Cal and Seth must accept the aid of a strange and beautiful woman who has promised to unlock their secrets. The two must stay alive long enough to protect their loved ones, recover their true selves—and save two worlds from tyranny and destruction.

Awakenings launches a captivating fantasy saga by an amazing and talented new storyteller.

My thoughts:

Awakenings is an apt title for this novel. The main characters, Cal MacDonnell (a NYPD officer) and Seth Raincrest (a porn photographer) both have retrograde amnesia. They can't remember their pasts. Their lives become infinitely complicated and dangerous when attempts are made to kill them.With help, they start a harried journey of self re-discovery while trying to stay alive, come to grips with who they really are, and begin the search for a lost child.

I really enjoyed Awakenings. There is a great deal of action while the characters learn about their pasts, their mission, what was lost, and what still may be lost. Yes, I'm being vague as I don't want to spoil the story. There are two worlds involved so in many ways the Guardians of Aandor series is about what will happen if the bad from one world overwhelms the other. Awakenings is the first foray into this battle. We are offered glimpses of the other world. from both the point of view of the bad guys and from Cal, primarily, as he remembers who and what he is with the help of the "strange and beautiful" woman Lelani.  The story is told from several viewpoints, Cal, Seth, the lost child, and others. This worked very well. The different viewpoints weave together to make a compelling read.

I found the character development to be very well done. I have a true sense of who Seth and Cal are and what they may become. The secondary characters, if they can even be relegated to that status, are also well drawn. Cat, Cal's wife, is a particular favorite as she struggles with the fact that her husband is not exactly who she thought he was.

There are turns and twists, battles, magic, monsters, and a sense of the epic in Awakenings. Awakenings is a beginning for the characters. Questions are left open for the following books to resolve: Will the life of the child be saved? Will Cal and Seth fully embrace their pasts? Will the worlds be saved from destruction?

Awakenings is a thrilling debut with great pacing, characters you care about, and a riveting story. I found it hard to put down. I've become a fan of this series and can't wait to read the next book.

I give Awakenings 4 1/2 Qwills.

The Qwillery is pleased to announce that Edward Lazellari will be participating in the 2011 Debut Author Challenge. Awakenings (Guardians of Aandor 1) will be published on August 30, 2011 by Tor Books.

Cal MacDonnell is a happily married New York City cop with a loving family. Seth Raincrest is a washed-up photographer who has alienated even his closest friends. The two have nothing in common—except that they both suffer from retrograde amnesia. It’s as if they just appeared out of thin air thirteen years ago, and nothing has been able to restore their memories. Now their forgotten past has caught up to them with a vengeance.

Cal's and Seth’s lives are turned upside down as they are stalked by otherworldly beings who know about the men's past lives. But these creatures aren't here to help; they're intent on killing anyone who gets in their way. In the balance hangs the life of a child who might someday restore a broken empire to peace and prosperity. With no clue why they're being hunted, Cal and Seth must accept the aid of a strange and beautiful woman who has promised to unlock their secrets. The two must stay alive long enough to protect their loved ones, recover their true selves—and save two worlds from tyranny and destruction.

Awakenings launches a captivating fantasy saga by an amazing and talented new storyteller.

The cover of Awakenings is by my favorite cover artist, Chris McGrath. Look for my review soon.

You can keep up to date on 2011 Debut Author Challenge happenings on the 2011 DAC page.