I’m excited to review another ARC (Advance Reader Copy – I get to read it before the official release date).
Out of Body by Kimberly Baer (which publishes TODAY) is a YA Paranormal-SciFi adventure about a 15 year-old girl named Abby who discovers she has the ability to leave her body during sleep time – or travel on the astral plane. Her cousin, and best friend, Logan has the same ability. This is so exciting for Abby because Logan moved away six months ago and she misses him terribly.
At first, Abby’s out of body experiences (OBE) allow her to help others: finding a lost pet, helping a neighbor call 9-1-1. Then she learns things she would rather not: her parents’ marriage is on the rocks, and the mean girls at school wrote nasty things about her in their yearbook. (I LOVED the Burn Book vibes in that scene.)
Abby is an introvert, and it turns out her social life was because of Logan. Once he moved away, her “friends” disappeared. Both her and Logan having OBEs gives her hope that she’ll get her best friend back. But Logan has been traveling on the astral plane longer, and already has other friends and adventure plans that don’t involve her.
She’s mostly fine being alone, but her mother is not okay with a socially inept daughter. Feeling pressure from her mom, Abby uses her OBEs to make drastic and dangerous decisions. These decisions blow up in her face, and the lessons she learned had a very Disney Channel feel that was nostalgic for me.
As both cousins make youthful mistakes, Abby will have to accept that her reality has some cracks, and she’ll need to trust the two people she (thinks) she hates the most.
Kimberly Baer has such a great imagination for the fantastical elements to this story. The dilemma Logan finds himself in really makes the reader question outside intervention in environmental factors such as evolution, species survival, and the food chain. Overall, a great read for teenagers and fans of YA literature.
And like some of my other reviews, Kimberly Baer agreed to an interview! Check it out below:
I think it’s amazing that you have published in multiple genres. Most writers I have conversed with feel it’s safer to stick with one genre. What has your experience been like?
I agree that it’s safer to stick with one genre; otherwise it’s hard to establish a target audience. My problem is that all of my story ideas come to me out of the blue, and they’re not all in the same genre. When an idea resonates with me, I feel compelled to write that story, regardless of the genre. But most of my recent ideas have fallen within the young adult genre, so that might be the one I “settle down” with.
I know what an out of body experience is, but I haven’t read any fiction involving it. Was there any trope or world building expectations already in place that you felt compelled to follow or not follow?
Nope. Before I started writing Out of Body, I’d never read a book about astral projection, either fiction or nonfiction. I did some research as I was writing, but the world-building comes primarily from my imagination. Assuming astral projection is a real thing, I probably stretched the limits of possibility—but, hey, that’s what fiction is all about, right?
Is this a standalone novel, or do Abby and Logan have more adventures in the works?
I’m not ruling out a sequel. Astral projection is a fascinating subject with endless plot possibilities, so there just might be at least one sequel.
What’s next for your writing career?
I have more story ideas than time to write them, so I’ll just keep tackling them one at a time!
As mentioned above, Out of Body released today. You can follow Kimberly and purchase her books here: https://www.kimberlybaer.com/
I read 88 books in 2023. And of those 88, I would like to highlight 24 of them (don’t worry, 21 of those are in 3 series).
Bridgerton: When He Was Wicked, It’s in His Kiss, On the Way to the Wedding
I finished the final three books of the Bridgerton series at the start of 2023. They were the perfect way to end the series. Julia Quinn got bolder with the three younger Bridgertons, and it paid off. Francesca is a widow who is fighting her feelings for her deceased husband’s cousin. Hyacinth is an independent woman who doesn’t want to fall in love, so when Lady Danbury’s grandson catches her eye, she doesn’t know what to do. And Gregory… Gregory, Gregory, he’s going to go after a young woman promised to someone else. Hyacinth’s and Gregory’s stories had action and danger that I loved.
A Court of Thorns and Roses – A Court of Silver Flames
When your editor recommends a book to help with your writing, you follow through. When I finished the first draft of Bondwitch: Hybrid, I asked my editor for advice on a specific plot point. She recommended I read A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas and the subsequent novels. I have never gobbled up a series so quickly. And a quick paragraph won’t do the series justice. Lucky for you, I already have a detailed analysis for each book right here on the blog. Check them out:
I will say overall, the world building is superb; and Sarah J. Maas gives JK Rowling a run for her money when it comes to morally gray characters. Everyone is flawed. Everyone makes astronomical mistakes. Everyone lies and cheats and steals. And almost everyone earns their redemption.
Warriors of Sangrin
This series I also wrote a deeper post on. This is a SciFi Romance series by Nancey Cummings. In this world, Earth was invaded by alien invaders called Suhlik. The Suhlik’s enemies, Mahdfel come to Earth’s aid… for a price. That price is in the form of brides as Mahdfel only produce sons, so they must mate with females from other planets. There are 11 stories in the main line and 3 side stories, so far. This series opened me up to alien romances, and I’m addicted.
The Alpha and Her Hunter
The is one of the best fated mate, werewolf stories I have ever read. The author, Lauren Rutherford, created a unique world building that worked so beautifully. Female werewolves are bigger, stronger, and the leaders of the packs. Hunters have their own powers that differentiate them from regular humans. And if you haven’t figured it out from the title, we have a Romeo and Juliet story going on. Forbidden love. My favorite trope. A female werewolf and a male hunter fall in love, and have to fight their families to be together. It ends on a cliffhanger, and I’m anxiously awaiting the sequel.
The King’s Curse
This was the final Plantagenet/Tudor book left for me to read by Philippa Gregory. It’s Margaret Pole’s turn to tell her story, and I’d venture to say that this is one of Gregory’s longer books in respect to how much time is covered (it’s still her typical 600-page novel). We jump into Margaret’s story around the time that Princess Katherine from Spain is arriving to marry Arthur, following her life to the day Margaret was executed. Her execution was confusing to the court and historians. Catherine Howard had recently been executed for adultery, and Margaret had not been close to being involved in that. The most probable reason is that Henry still felt threatened by her and her sons since they were the remaining York family, and could distantly claim the throne. I really enjoyed learning about Margaret’s life through Gregory’s historical fiction. She’s always been a side character with few notable moments in the other novels, and with The King’s Curse she gets to take center stage. I loved seeing a human side to her, rather than the perfect ally to Katherine and Mary that she is usually depicted as. Though she did stay loyal to Henry’s first family, she still had her own trials that she had to focus on and make difficult decisions to protect her name, family, and property. And now, it’s the end of an era. 15 years, and I’ve finally read about the main Plantagenet and Tudor women.
The Lycan Prince’s Huntress
This is the the prequel to a fated-mate-werewolf romance called Prince Reagan. In some omegaverse world building, there is a shifter called a lycan. Lycans are a more powerful version of werewolves. Depending on the author and their imagination, lycans can walk on their hindlegs in their wolf form (I kind of imagine Remus Lupin from Harry Potter, but more muscular), they live longer (or are full on immortal), they are the royal pack/family that regular werewolf packs have to bow down to, etc. The Lycan Prince’s Huntress can be found on the reading app Dreame. In this story, the FMC is the daughter of the head hunter; and their clan hunts werewolves and lycans. The MMC is the crowned prince of the Lycan Kingdom. And these two are fated mates. Forbidden love, enemies to lovers, Romeo and Juliet. And since those are my favorite tropes, I lapped this story right up. Also, it was an added bonus that the FMC wasn’t a sniveling weakling who becomes a jellied donut in the presence of her mate.
And those were my favorite books I read last year. What are your favorite books from 2023? Let me know in the comments!
If Sookie Stackhouse could talk to ghosts and spoke her mind the first time, you’d have Marni Legend, the star of Spirit in Tow by Terry Segan.
I originally went into this book blind, and was hooked on the first page, having no idea what kind of story I was getting myself into. Marni is in the over 40 club, a divorcee, and she can see and talk to ghosts. Spirits visit her for help with unfinished business so they can move on. Her newest client appears when she’s trying to go to her own mother’s funeral.
This opening scene shows us how her gift works. She can see and talk to ghosts when they make themselves known and visible to her. As her mother’s funeral gets underway, we learn that her brother can hear ghosts, just not see them. Her sister cannot see or hear ghosts, but believes they are there when her siblings talk to and about them. This is an inherited gift that Marni’s grandmother also had. Also, Marni and her sister being on the opposite ends of the ghost communicating spectrum has put them at odds for years, and there’s a lot of sister drama throughout the story.
Marni’s newest client is named Gus, and it took him a long time to figure he was dead, decades to be exact. So Marni gets the pleasure of solving a cold case. Gus is selfish, crass, and as emotional as an overgrown toddler. He also gets Marni tangled up in a crime ring. But Marni has been given this responsibility to see souls to the other side, so she is firm and patient with him as she tries to help him – God bless her.
While trying to help Gus figure out how he died, Marni meets a new paramour, Jake, who happens to be Gus’ older brother. Jake is the best written character, in my opinion. Every new scene with him gave me whiplash, but once again, in a good way. Terry Segan did an excellent job with him. She kept me changing my mind about him and guessing to the very end.
Marni also has the chance to rekindle her relationship with her high school sweetheart, Kendal; creating a love triangle between her, Kendal, and Jake. Both Marni, and Kendal were burned by their previous spouses. They know each other, they are comfortable with each other.
And I’m honored to end this review with a Q&A with Terry Segan herself.
I haven’t read very many ghost stories, so I had no preconceived expectations on world building. Can you walk us through your world building when it comes to what ghosts can and can’t do, who gets the gift, and how do ghosts find them?
Having read several books involving ghosts, I’ve noticed one thing each author does—set up their own set of rules. With so many paranormal stories available, I find it refreshing when a writer can add a new twist. The key is to remain consistent throughout the book or series. For my Marni Legend series, I wanted the interaction between a ghost and the humans who see them to have a natural feel to the situation. Since I chose to have this as a family trait and occurring in every other generation, this enabled Marni to have knowledge of how to react. Since my character is in her late forties, this has given her decades of practice and self-assurance in her gift. In my books, the ghosts are able to recognize people possessing the ability to see them and vice versa. As far as finding the ghosts, the living come upon them in the general area of either their death or where their body lies.
As a reader, I found Gus extremely frustrating (but I DO love flawed characters, they keep the story full of promise). If I was Marni, I would have told him to take a hike and solve his own death. How did you create Gus as a character, and how did he influence the plot from your end as the writer?
Since I’m a pantser and not a plotter, I didn’t have a full picture of Gus’ character when I began. I knew there would be verbal sparring between Marni and Gus, and he would want to come off as a tough guy. I agree with you, Marni should have told him to take a hike more than once when he withheld important (read life- threatening) information on purpose as opposed to details he couldn’t remember. As his character developed throughout the book, I also wanted Marni to see his occasional soft side, that we know almost every tough guy has, despite trying to hide it. It’s those cracks in his armor that kept Marni wanting to solve his murder and free his soul. With Gus’ cast of associates still alive and kicking, it allowed me as a writer to put Marni into a number of comical or dangerous situations that kept the story moving forward.
I see that your latest book, Manatee Soul, is a continuation of Marni’s adventures. How many adventures do you have planned for Marni and her siblings?
Manatee Soul has Marni and her sister, Gloria, going on a girls’ trip to Crystal River, Florida. While still told from Marni’s point of view, both sisters get equal appearance time. Right now, I don’t have a set number of books in mind. As long as I can conjure up fun storylines, I’ll keep the series going. I’ve begun writing the third Marni Legend book, and this one will feature her brother, Calvin, while Gloria takes a back seat. The story also returns to Marni’s hometown of Northport where there are plenty of stories to tell from past and present characters.
What’s next in your writing career?
To keep writing, of course! My next release is another stand alone entitled, Five Steps to Celestia. It comes out this spring and will take readers on the journey of a woman trying to piece together her past. After losing her memory twenty-two years prior, a little mysticism, a string of odd occurrences, and a menacing stranger prompt her to remember—and not all of her past is hearts and sunshine. Look for it in May 2024.
I normally rotate through a few books at a time. But Spirit in Tow was so captivating, that I paused my other reading to finish this one. If you like murder mystery with a dash of paranormal, then I highly recommend Spirit in Tow.
Princess Gabrielle is not well behaved. She is a skilled archer, can fight any man with her own sword, and gallops across the French countryside to her heart’s content. The ladies of Paris cannot fathom such a lifestyle, nor do they think it’s acceptable for a princess and future queen to be acting in such a manner.
But it’s this unladylike behavior that will allow Gabrielle to save her own life, twice. In a time when Gabrielle must obey her father, and then her future husband, she is determined to forge her own destiny, and that destiny lies in the arms of Basiten; the Master of Horse, and her combat trainer turned personal guard.
“Behind every successful man there stands a woman.”
Bastien has two women other than Gabrielle working behind the scenes to ensure that he wins Gabrielle’s hand in marriage, and the kingdom of Finistere. His mother, Laudine, uses her Winter Solstice wish for her son rather than herself. Then we have Beatrice, Gabrielle’s great aunt, and a powerful socialite in Paris. Beatrice will play an important role protecting Bastien’s legal right to marry Gabrielle.
If I’m going to read historical fiction, I want to read about powerful women – or at least women who created their own power in a world trying to stop them. Jennifer Ivy Walker does this masterfully with her female characters, particularly with Gabrielle and Beatrice in Winter Solstice in the Crystal Castle.
Gabrielle is the only child of the King of Finistere. But since this is medieval France, she can’t inherit her father’s throne on her own. The king’s health is failing, and he needs to choose his daughter’s husband, who will also be his successor. One particularly unsavory nobleman wants Gabrielle for nefarious reasons, and in order to stop him, King Guillemin plans a tournament; where the winner will be given Gabrielle’s hand and Guillemin’s kingdom. But Gabrielle can only imagine marrying one person: Bastien, her father’s master of horse. Bastien has trained Gabrielle in archery and hand-to-hand combat; and the only thing keeping them apart is Bastien’s lack of a noble title. Luckily, a moment of foul play from another contender provides Bastien with the opportunity to be ennobled, and eligible for Gabrielle’s hand. But will the official documents arrive in time?
And for the second half of this review, I’m pleased to announce that the author herself, Jennifer Ivy Walker agreed to an interview!
What time period is this supposed to take place in?
This trilogy is set in the HIgh Middle Ages in medieval France.
And can you explain how the politics and culture worked in multiple smaller kingdoms dotting the area that is now modern-day France? How does that fit into your story?
During the Middle Ages, there were many separate kingdoms and duchies in France. The region of Brittany was separate from the rest of France until 1532, well after my trilogy takes place.
Lancelot makes an appearance in the first chapter. He is the only character I am familiar with. Who else is based on European mythology? Are there any characters that are based on historical figures?
Nearly all of the characters in my trilogy come from the original medieval French legend of Tristan et Yseult (Tristan and Isolde in English). The characters of King Marke of Cornwall, King Hoël of France, Prince Kaherdin, Lady Gargeolaine, and the Morholt all come from that French legend as well. Some of the characters, such asViviane (the Lady of the Lake) and Morgane la Fée come from French versions of Arthurian legend.
I know that you are a French teacher. Is the French used in the book modern-day or medieval?
I used modern French with medieval phrases and terminology, for authentic medieval French would be even more difficult to understand than medieval English. (Imagine reading Shakespeare, but in French!)
The second book in your Wild Rose and the Sea Raven series is titled The Lady of the Mirrored Lake. Is Viviane that lady? And if so, should your books be read in a specific order?
No, Viviane is the Lady of the Lake–le Lac de Diane in the enchanted Forest of Brocéliande. My protagonist and heroine Issylte becomes the Lady of the Mirrored Lake (Le Miroir aux Fées–the lake known as the Fairy Mirror) when she becomes a Priestess of the Tribe of Dana (the Goddess of the Earth). Yes, the books should be read in chronological order since they are a continuing trilogy and not stand alone novels.
What are you currently working on? And what’s next to be released from you?
I have three new releases: Winter Solstice in the Crystal Castle–a stand alone novel that involves many of the characters introduced in my trilogy. It’s a medieval romance between a fiery French princess descended from Viking Valkyrie and the chivalrous knight who suffers an impossible love for her.
I also have two contemporary novellas which are steamy romances set in modern-day France. Amour in Avignon (releasing November 29th!) is a Cyrano de Bergerac inspired love story set in the south of France during the world-famous Festival of Theater in Avignon.
Flames of Flamenco (releasing December 27th) is a fiery romance set in Montmartre– the bohemian heart of Paris–between a skilled artist who melts the frozen heart of the American heroine with the flames of his passionate flamenco dance.
I have also written a World War II historical romance,The Witch of the Breton Woods, which will be published in early 2024. It’s the story of a reclusive, traumatized young woman who heals and shelters a wounded American paratrooper, keeping him hidden from the Gestapo and la Milice–the local French paramilitary organization that collaborates with the Nazis. She introduces her soldier to the underground French Resistance (of which she is a member) and together, they join forces with the Allies to fight in the Battle of Saint-Malo.
I have just completed another stand alone spinoff of my trilogy, entitled A Celtic Yuletide Carol, which I hope will be published for the holiday season in 2024. And I am currently working on a Viking trilogy set in Normandy during the tenth century–the ancestors of my French Viking princess from Winter Solstice in the Crystal Castle. I have also outlined another three book series introducing the next generation of characters from The Wild Rose and the Sea Raven trilogy. I hope to write those three books in 2024.
I rate Winter Solstice in the Crystal Castle 5 stars. If you like medieval folklore and romance check out not only Winter Solstice, but Jennifer’s other books as well.
I do not care for alien invasion movies, except for Independence Day. Super 8 was pretty good as well. But the rest? Two thumbs down.
I came across a book called Princess by Mistake by Aurelia Skye. The blurb gave a description of a bounty hunter chasing down a runaway princess in order to return her to the prince she’s supposed to marry. Said bounty hunter captures the wrong woman, the female MC. They go on an adventure as he tries to take her to this mysterious prince and she tries to convince him she’s not the missing princess.
What I failed to understand from the blurb was that all the characters, except the female MC, were aliens. By the time I figured that out, I thought, “I’m already reading it for free. I might as well give it a try.” I LOVED it. And ever since, I have fallen down the alien romance rabbit hole.
Princess by Mistake has a “sequel” called Wrong Place, Right Mate. It takes place two hundred years later, and neither character is connected to the original characters. It simply takes place in the same world and the male aliens are from the same planet. A scientist from earth crashlands on the wrong planet. A bounty hunter alien comes across her and takes her on his hunting adventure. It was wonderful as well. The epilogue implies more are coming and I’m anxiously waiting.
The next author I came across was Nancey Cummings. She has two of her own alien romance series, and has a book in 3 different multi-author alien romance series.
Her first and largest series is Warriors of Sangrin. There are currently 11 books in the main series, and 3 side stories. This series covers life after an alien invasion opens Earth up to the rest of the universe. The invading species, the Shulik, murder all of Earth’s leaders on international television, plunging the unprepared terrans (what other species call humans) into a war for their lives. The Mahdfel show up and ally with earth to defeat the Shulik. The Mahdfel have a very specific treaty negotiation for this alliance: brides. Mahdfel are a warrior species who are genetically engineered to produce only males, so they must mate with females from other planets.
The scent of their fated mate calls to them, and one of their top scientists invents a mouth swab test to speed up the mate finding process. Females of marriageable age living on Mahdfel-allied planets must submit to testing once a year. The year they match, they are transported across the stars to wherever their mate is. Health conditions, already being married, being engaged, or already having children can exempt a female from being tested. And many of our heroines will do such things to avoid the test – at first.
Each book covers a novella length adventure for a different couple. However, they are all interconnected via siblings, best friends, being in the same clan, or dealing with the same villain. Like the previous alien stories, I fell into this one by accident and read two of the side stories and the 8th book before I discovered the correct order. I was hooked from chapter 1, and have only the 11th book left to read. You can find a list of completed works here: https://nanceycummings.com/warlord-brides-universe/.
Nancey’s second series is called Tail and Claw. I have only read the first one, Have Tail, Will Travel. So I’m not as well-versed in the lore and worldbuilding as I am the Warriors of Sangrin. But what I can tell so far is that Earth is aware of aliens and has relationships with the rest of the universe. There is a dating app called Celestial Mates that matches sentient beings based on a questionnaire. They get married over a tablet, and one of them travels to wherever the other is.
Have Tail, Will Travel reminds me of that old children’s book Sarah, Plain and Tall. A human woman is matched with an alien male, Merit, who has ended up as sole guardian of his orphaned niece and nephew. Merit uses Celestial Mates to find a female to be a nanny. His “nanny” wants love and adventure. They’ll have to overcome their miscommunication amongst dangerous monsters and a plotting sister-in-law.
I’m excited to read the rest of the series.
The intimacy scenes for both series are at a heat level of spicy.
And that’s where I’m at with my latest guilty pleasure. Once I get caught up on Nancey Cummings’ books, I’ll definitely be checking out other authors like her.
Do you like alien stories? What’s your favorite? (They don’t have to be a romance.) Let me know in the comments!
When a book is close to its release date, the author usually offers ARCs (Advance Reader Copy). Readers get a FREE copy with the hope that they will provide an early review. I’m so excited and honored to have read Stone Heart by Kitty Shields early.
Stone Heart combines my two loves: history and magic. I actually haven’t read a lot of fantasy stories that take place in the past, and I found I really enjoyed such a combination.
Our hero, Edward, the Marquess of Winchester has struggled for the past decade. His father died in the colonist rebellion (a.k.a. The American Revolution), thrusting the noble mantle on him much earlier than anticipated. He thought he found love with his best friend’s cousin, Phoebe, but knowledge of her past causes him to end things. The story opens with Edward attending the opening night of a new opera, accompanied by his mother and a new young woman his mother wants him to court. The lead singer dies on stage in front of the entire audience.
Edward gets wrapped up in the investigation and learns that Phoebe is in danger of dying in a similar way. Although he is still convinced that their relationship is over, Edward isn’t so cold he would allow Phoebe to die, so he races to the continent to save Phoebe. On his journey, Edward will learn to accept help from old friends, new friends, and unexpected allies. What true love is and what lengths one goes to get that love is the center of all characters’ motivations and actions. Different types of love are explored throughout the story that gives hope for a happily ever after.
When it comes to the historical aspects of the story, Kitty Shields does an excellent job of weaving the aftermath of the war into her characters’ lives and conversation. She also puts several real people and places into the story as side characters. I didn’t know about any of them, and so I appreciated the appendix at the end of the book that gave the factual history of each person and why Kitty chose to put them in her story.
The magic in Stone Heart was really unique. There are descendents of a mythical creature called a stone giant. The stone giants had the ability to remove their hearts from their chests to prevent themselves from dying in battle. Their descendants can grow their heart into a red diamond and give it to their love for safe keeping. Phoebe does this and gives her heart to Edward. He doesn’t fully understand or believe, so he unintentionally literally breaks her heart.
While Edward is racing to save Phoebe, he runs into Roma travelers, who also participate in different forms of magic. The types of magic the reader gets to experience with the Roma are sending nightmares to their slumbering victims, reading tarot cards, listening to the wind, and using flowers for spells. There is even one paranormal monster that Edward has to fight in a cemetery.
The third and final plot line that makes Stone Heart so great is a side character who stole the show: Tilton. Tilton is a young aristocrat going on his rite of passage tour of Europe. Tilton is energetic and friendly, two things Edward is not. Tilton inserts himself into Edward’s quest and ends up going on an adventure. Tilton is my absolute favorite part of the story.
In reviewing this lighthearted adventure, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to interview the author, and she agreed! So, without further ado, I present Kitty Shields.
Introduce yourself as a person and a writer.
Hello, Gentle Readers. I am Kitty Shields. I live outside Philadelphia with a black cat named Jinx who is plotting to kill me. I started writing as a way to cope with insomnia when I was a kid. When I couldn’t fall asleep, I’d sneak downstairs, hop on a computer, and write weird stories. Well, first I’d go down and play video games, but after a while I beat all the games and turned to writing.
As a writer, I start with a nugget of emotion and a scene. So Stone Heart came from the opening scene of Edward on the docks heading to the ship filled with regret. My book Pillar of Heaven, which is like The Devil Wears Prada as an urban fantasy, began with the main protagonist dealing with crappy customers at her barista job and her planning to sabotage all their lattes. The story Star Eater, which is about a sleep-walking teenage boy and his demon, began with him waking up on a golf course in the middle of the night.
I imagine these tiny scenes and from there I build the stories forwards and backwards, adding a dash of magic as I go.
What inspired Stone Heart?
Like I said, Stone Heart evolved from that opening scene. I clearly saw this guy on the docks heading towards a ship and weighed down with regret because of something he had done, so much so that he wasn’t sure he would sink the ship or not. I really liked the notion of emotions manifesting to the point where it brings about this leap of faith moment—is he going to survive getting on the ship or not?
At the time, I was in grad school getting my writing degree and I was experimenting with different genres and voices. I had never tried historical fiction before so this was an initial experiment. My cohort hated it. They hated everything about it: the voice, the scene, the allusions to mythology, the flowery language. They ripped it apart.
That was a little disheartening, so I put it aside. But that character and scene kept drawing me back. Every now and then I’d revisit the story and write a moment here or there. Nothing was really connected yet just a bunch of ideas. Tilton came from one of those exercises. I had began filling out Edward’s journey on the boat and it depressed me! So I created Tilton to cut through Edward’s melancholy and bring some humor into the story.
I really enjoyed the historical slang, though most of it I had never heard of before. Would you introduce these fun words to our readers and what they mean?
Sure! Here are some fun words for you:
Toffs: Slang for someone with an aristocratic background or belonging to the landed gentry, particularly someone who exudes an air of superiority.
Dandy: a man unduly devoted to style, neatness, and fashion in dress and appearance.
Roma: a people originating in South Asia and traditionally having an itinerant way of life, living widely dispersed across Europe and North and South America and speaking a language (Romani) that is related to Hindi. Commonly known as gypsies, although that is a derogatory word.
Doshman: a word that means ‘enemy.’
It’s clear you did extensive historical research for the historical aspects of Stone Heart. What about the magical aspects? Was any magic inspired by European folklore of the day? Or did you make it all up?
Yes, the magic threads are all based on actual myths. I did a lot of research which, to be honest, was a lot of fun. It was more of a challenge to edit out what I really didn’t need. Hrungnir is a Viking giant and he could remove his heart so that when he went into battle, no one could kill him. The part I made up was about his descendants, about this line of families that could grow gems out of their chests.
Revenants are souls of the damned that come back. Based on the Old French word, revenir, which means ‘to return.’ The part I made up was them sucking the life force out of victims. Even the smaller bits, like the farnblume, is based on a Baltic myth about a healing flower. Most of what you’ll find in the story is based on a real myth. I invite you to look something up if it intrigues. I fully blame most of the story on falling down some really interesting research rabbit holes.
The side characters are so fascinating. Particularly Tilton. Will we see any of them again in future works? What’s next in your writing career?
Yes! Tilton is definitely my favorite and he will return. The sequel will be Tilton’s story. I’ll tease you with the title: Crow Heart. I’ve already gotten a first draft done and am in the middle of editing. The third book will follow Halkerstone. I’ve also got a few ideas for side stories. I’d love to see more of the St. Germaines; they were a blast to write. And who knows what other fun characters will appear on the way.
I’m about to eat my own words. In a previous post, I talked about how important a good cover and blurb are to convince potential readers to buy your book. Well, I put Dragons Walk Among Us by Dan Rice on my to-be-read list based on the title alone. I read it in an email (Dan is also with The Wild Rose Press), and put it on my list right away. I didn’t see the cover until I started following Dan on social media. I have never read the blurb.
Allison Lee is an angsty teenager who participates in environmental rallies, takes photos for the school newspaper, and is navigating her feelings for her crush. In addition to typical teenage drama, Allison also deals with racism as a biracial Chinese American. Her best friends, Dalia and Haji, stick with her through her ups and downs.
Allison is friends with a homeless veteran named Joe. One night, on her way to visit him, she is attacked. She wakes up in the hospital a couple weeks later completely blind. She lost her spot in her school’s social standing during her coma, and with her blindness, risks never regaining it. Her father introduces her to the creator of an experimental procedure that could give her eyesight back. Allison agrees to it, and after a few more weeks of surgery and healing, she is finally back at school with her friends.
There are a few unsavory side effects to Allison’s new eyesight, but the one she was not prepared for is a giant holographic dragon following her father’s colleague around. Allison makes the bold decision to tell the professor that she can see his dragon. Her confession pulls her into the world of dragons and an impending war with their enemies, the skaags.
Dan Rice expertly wove Allison’s human struggles into the tensions of the dragon community. The bigotry and prejudice Allison faces as a biracial human also plagues the dragon world in its own way. Allison was abandoned by her mother at birth, allowing her to bond with dragon characters who also struggle with feelings of abandonment.
Mr. Rice also captured the American teenager perfectly. Allison is quick to anger, quick to love, and quick to react. She struggles with self-esteem about her personal appearance. And she is passionate about her interests. Her friends, and even her enemies, are all believable high school students that I can see in my classroom.
I thoroughly enjoyed each and every scene, and I can’t wait to read the sequel.
In addition to my review, I am pleased to introduce Dan Rice, who kindly granted me an interview:
First, would you introduce yourself as a person and a writer?
Hi, I’m Dan. I pen the young adult urban fantasy series The Allison Lee Chronicles in the wee hours of the morning. The series kicks off with my award-winning debut, Dragons Walk Among Us, which Kirkus Reviews calls, “An inspirational and socially relevant fantasy.”
While not pulling down the 9 to 5 or chauffeuring my soccer fanatic sons to practices and games, I enjoy photography and hiking through the wilderness.
What inspired Dragons Walk Among Us?
I wanted to write a book from a relatively young age. I grew up reading fantasy and science fiction and naturally gravitated toward writing those genres. For a long time, I wanted to write gritty epic fantasy like Game of Thrones or Joe Abercrombie’s novels. Eventually, I discovered my authorial voice is more suited to young adult material.
The opening scene in Dragons Walk Among Us was inspired by my older son being harassed for his biracial appearance at summer camp. Allison’s encounter with Leslie grew from that seed, and the rest of the story flowed from there.
There is a lot of great racial diversity in Dragons Walk Among Us. Was this a conscious choice? Or did the characters tell you who they were as you created them?
My sons’ schools are far more diverse than the institutions I attended. I wanted to write a story that would ring true with young adult readers. So I created a diverse cast to match what I observed at school events and read in news articles about the increasing diversity across the United States.
You did an excellent job portraying the angsty teenager. What experience do you have with teenagers and/or what research did you do that helped you bring these believable characters to life?
Well, people were all or will be teenagers, angsty or otherwise, at some point in life. My oldest son still isn’t a teenager, but he’s been acting like one since about the age of eight. I often imagine what his antics might be like if he were a bit older.
Allison describes dragons as “European” and skaags as “Chinese”. In your worldbuilding, are both creatures somehow related?
The original skaags were laboratory creations the dragons made to hunt down rebels. The draconic empire deploys magic to bind the skaags as loyal soldiers. The magic is believed to be unbreakable.
The third book is coming out soon. Is this the end of Allison’s story, or does she have more adventures ahead of her? What’s next in your writing career?
The entire series will be four books. Right now, I plan to participate in a haunted high school series my publisher is doing. After finishing those projects, I will try penning a dystopian novel.
Shifter romances probably outnumber all other romances on reading apps like Dreame, Readict, Radish, etc. And because of that, there are common and expected tropes and world building details within those stories. I often love it when an author “breaks the rules” for the genre they are writing in, especially when it’s done well and it’s not an obvious they-were-trying-to-be-different situation.
The Alpha and Her Hunter by Lauren Rutherford falls into the well-done category of breaking the norm for shifter romances.
Willow is a wolf shifter in a world where the females are the strongest and the leaders. Garin is a Hunter, born into the most ruthless Hunter family in existence, the Red Hoods. Garin’s family has moved into Willow’s town with the purpose to stir up trouble. Despite their families’ feudal past, Garin and Willow can’t fight the attraction between them. They will face jealousy, bigotry, and death plots in order to earn the approval to love. In this enemies-to-lovers/Romeo & Juliette romance, I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. I fell in love with Willow and Garin and rooted for them until the last page.
The majority of what sets this shifter romance apart from others is the world building. In this world, female shifters are bigger and stronger than males when they are in their wolf form, and thus females are the Alphas of their families and clans. The Alpha is determined by the physical and mental/psychological strength of their wolf. Each pack or clan has an Alpha, and within that group, each family group has an Alpha.
There is a type of mate bond called imprinting (like in Twilight), but finding one’s true mate is rare, so most shifters settle for arranged marriages. Willow is betrothed to a male shifter who she is not feeling it for at all.
Hunters are humans who hunt werewolves. Now, not just any human can be a Hunter. They have extra abilities: they are stronger than your average human, go to special schools to train, and they can smell werewolves. Because of this, Hunters also participate in arranged marriages in order to keep their bloodlines strong.
The unique world building changes are only part of why I loved this book so much. The characters are likable, and the pacing for their growth (as they transition from enemies to lovers) is believable and satisfactory. And if you prefer a clean romance, the heat level is sweet.
While there is an official resolution to the plot, it’s clear a sequel should be coming, and I can’t wait to read it.
I give The Alpha and Her Hunter 5 stars. It can be read on the following apps: WebNovel, Mangatoon, Tapas, Dreame, and AnyStories.
If you enjoy cozy mysteries, you might have seen these skeletons floating around the internet:
Shortly after the second book, Death by Pins and Needles was released, it became apparent that the cover skeleton needed a name. Ms. Black put the naming in the hands of the readers and set up a contest. The winning name got a free digital copy of Death by Pins and Needles.
As you can see by the cover for the third book, Death by Surfboard, Susie now has a male skeleton that needed a name. She created another contest with the same prize. Well, I helped name the male skeleton (Susie will be sharing the details of these two contests down below), and I got a free copy of Death by Surfboard!
So, here is my review of Death by Surfboard:
Holly is a swimwear executive, and she has a new colleague who she does not trust. She tried to warn her boss about him, but she got shooed out of his office instead. Well, quickly into this new hire Holly is proved right. And who does her boss assign to clean up terrible-colleague’s mess? Holly, of course!
Lucky for Holly, and unlucky for terrible-colleague, his body is found on the beach, attached to his surfboard. But the issue is not over for Holly because the detective, who also happens to be Holly’s friend, accuses not one, but two innocent suspects. So, Holly, being the nosy do-gooder that she is, can’t just sit back and let the detective figure things out. She then spends page after page doing crazy things that risk her job and her life on her quest to discover the real murderer.
This is my first time reading a cozy mystery, and I’m in love. Even though it’s the third book in the Holly Swimsuit series, I was able to jump in and figure out who everyone is and the layout of Holly’s world. Holly reminds me of a grown-up Hanna Marin (Pretty Little Liars): fashion forward, blunt, and she can’t pass up an opportunity to solve a mystery. I thought it was a great challenge for the victim to be such an unlikeable character. I mean, the reader is made to feel he deserves what he got, so why try to solve his murder? Because the two suspects the police are looking at Holly knows are innocent. So, it becomes less about justice for the victim and more about protecting the innocent from being framed. I was determined to figure it out before Holly did, and I’m proud to say, I was half right. I’ll definitely be reading the first two in the near future.
Reading a series out of order is not new for me. I do it all the time. So, I have teamed up with Susie Black herself to introduce the recurring characters of the Holly Swimsuit Mystery series. That way, no matter where you start in her books, you will know who is who.
Hello, please allow me to introduce myself. I am Susie Black, author of The Holly Swimsuit Mystery Series. I’ve been asked to share what entails writing cozy mystery series.
Like the protagonist in my Holly Swimsuit Mystery series, I am a ladies’ swimwear sales exec. From the beginning of my career, I have kept a daily journal that chronicles the quirky, interesting, and often challenging people I’ve encountered as well as the crazy situations I’ve gotten myself into and out of. The journal entries are the foundation of all my writing.
As a sales exec, I am a people person. So, naturally, my primary focus is on character development. Once the characters are created, the plot easily falls into place because it reacts to the characters in the story, not the other way around. I chose to write my stories as part of a series, but because I like to give options, each book can be read on its own out of order without the reader getting lost. Pretty cool, huh? So, how in the world did I accomplish this? By making references to the background of the story setting and the main characters. I make each plot, the murder method, the victim, the murderer, and the minor characters different in each tale. But I anchor the continuing main characters with consistent and distinct histories, personalities, and quirks that readers invest in and root for because they appear real.
Here are some of the important continuing main characters who appear in every book and a bit about them:
HOLLY SCHLIVNIK: Wise-cracking, irreverent Holly is the protagonist of the series who is patterned after yours truly…Holly is the me I always wanted to be. Loyal to a fault and fearless, Holly is a ladies’ swimwear sales exec/nosy amateur sleuth who can’t mind her beeswax and sticks her nose everywhere it doesn’t belong. Holly has a quirky personality trait. She inherited her nana’s fear of death. They both respond to death by laughing. And Holly does when she discovers a corpse. Holly is famous for this quirk and all her friends ask if she laughed whenever she has discovered a corpse. Holly’s pet phrases to describe her feelings are Yikes, Cripes, Holy Guacamole, and Merde.
QUEENIE LEVINE: A compact dynamo equipped with a razor-sharp wit and sharper tongue, Queenie is Holly’s close friend and professional colleague…and her erstwhile crime-solving sidekick. Queenie has a distinctive habit of pushing her index finger up on the tip of her nose whenever she’s thinking out loud. When trying to flesh out the murderer, Queenie is always the one who asks “Who has the most to lose?”
JOAN BINDER: Quick-witted, sarcastic Joan is the oldest of the Yentas- four of Holly’s colleagues she meets with for coffee every workday morning at a coffee shop in the California Apparel Mart lobby to kibbitz and compare notes and opinions. Joan has a habit of looking over her eyeglasses perched on the tip of her nose in her “kindergarten teacher” disapproving pose whenever she delivers one of her acerbic zingers.
Dr. Sophie Cutler: Los Angeles County Assistant Medical Examiner Sophie Cutler is Holly Schlivnik’s lifelong friend and not your typical Coroner. For a medical doctor, “Snip,” as Holly calls Sophie, has atrocious eating habits. She is a pizza and cheeseburger lover as well as a desertaholic. Sophie refuses to share any of her cheesecake and is known to use a fork as a weapon to fight off Holly’s attempts to swipe a bite.
Smart Alec Snip has caller ID on her phone. When Sophie sees it is Holly calling, irreverent Snip answers the phone with hilarious greetings: such as “Good afternoon. This is Los Angeles County Assistant Medical Examiner Dr. Sophie Cutler. You stab ‘em we slab ‘em.”
Sigmund Freud AKA Siggie: Introduced in book three of the series, lovable, nosy Siggie is Holly’s male standard-size Poodle/assistant sleuth, and Psychiatrist. Holly discusses everything with Siggie-her love life, her friends, how to deal with pain-in-the-patootie customers, as well as viable options to flesh out a killer with her four-legged companion. Siggie might not speak but he gets his points across just the same. If he likes Holly’s game plan, he barks his approval. He shows his disdain for some of Holly’s crazier sleuthing ploys by rolling his eyes or shaking his head from side to side.
The book cover Skeleton: Whodathunk that a skeleton wearing a swimsuit would ever garner such a huge amount of attention? I’ve had countless numbers of readers tell me they found the book cover with the skeleton so intriguing; they bought the book to see what kind of story was inside! The skeleton on every book cover was so popular it took on a life of its own and became the face of The Holly Swimsuit Mystery Series brand and became a successful marketing ploy.
Before the release of Death by Pins and Needles, the skeleton demanded she is given a name so I ran a contest to name the female skeleton and was inundated with hundreds of entries. So many great names were submitted that I ended up using several of them as a first name, middle name, and surname: Mizz Bone-ita Skelemina Bonz.
Before the release of Death by Surfboard, Mizz Bonz informed me she had a boyfriend and insisted he needed a name. So, to make our girl happy a second contest was launched and her boyfriend is now known as Mitzer Skeltor Bone-Jangles. Writing a standalone book requires a goodly amount of character development and plot planning. Writing a series requires the same. But by having a cast of long-term continuing characters an author must create one with distinctive histories, personalities, and quirks for them to keep readers interested enough so the series successfully continues.
The series continues in Holly’s next adventure, Death by Cutting Table, which publishes August 2, 2023.
Like what I did with Mother’s Day, I want to highlight some excellent fictional fathers and father figures for Father’s Day. Unlike with my fictional moms post, this one was harder to write. It turns out, there aren’t as many great fictional fathers as I anticipated. It seems that writers really like to have absent or subpar fathers in their stories (which I am guilty of). But I was able to find three for this first year of Favorite Fictional Dads.
Rubeus Hagrid from Harry Potter is arguably one of the best father figures in fantasy. Without having ever met baby Harry, Hagrid braves the wreckage of the Potter’s destroyed home to rescue him and deliver him to Dumbledor. Hagrid didn’t know what danger he could possibly face by doing that; after all, no one really knew what happened. Ten years later, he would jump back into Harry’s life to tell him he was a wizard and take him school supplies shopping.
Harry enters Hogwarts knowing no one but Hagrid. Hagrid frequently invites him to tea to give Harry a safe space to share his feelings about this new world. Hagrid is always understanding, but will offer advice and correction when needed. He also serves as a father figure for Hermione. While Hermione isn’t an orphan like Harry, her parents are muggles, so she is braving the wizarding world alone as well. In the Prisoner of Azkaban, Ron and Hermione spend several weeks fighting, and Harry semi-takes Ron’s side. Hermione spends many nights crying in Hagrid’s cabin. Even though Hermione met Hagrid through Harry, Hagrid views her as her own person and continues to care for her regardless of her friendship status with the boys. I imagine that Harry, Ron, and Hermione aren’t the first lonely Hogwarts students Hagrid has befriended.
Charlie Swan from the Twilight series can be a complicated situation. When I was a teenager, I hated Charlie in Eclipse. But the older I get, the more I see things from his perspective. Charlie is a single father whose teenage daughter decides to move in with him when her mother marries a traveling baseball player. Charlie doesn’t really know how to be a dad, but he loves Bella unconditionally and he wants to protect her.
One of the many things my own father taught me was that no matter how much a man may dislike the boy dating his daughter, he never wants his daughter’s heart broken. Charlie doesn’t know what the reader knows. From his point of view, the boy his daughter is dating continually puts her in dangerous situations. She makes erratic decisions for Edward. And there is always the chance of Bella’s heart being broken, again. In Charlie’s, he has very good reasons to distrust Edward and want him far away from his daughter.
And even though, to Charlie’s utter dismay, Bella stubbornly sticks with Edward, Charlie will support her. When Bella breaks her hand punching Jacob in the face, Charlie tells her he’s going to have to teach her how to throw a proper fist. He says that no one should kiss his daughter if she doesn’t want it. When Bella marries Edward, Charlie walks her down the aisle and provides his mother’s comb for her “something old” and “something blue”. And in the end, Charlie wants to be in Bella’s life so much, that he will accept the supernatural that she is now a part of, even if he doesn’t understand all of it.
Charlie is the protective father who will support his daughter no matter what.
William Stafford was real. He was the second husband of Mary Boleyn. However, his character adaptation in The Other Boleyn Girl is fictional. When comparing Philippa Gregory’s caricature of him and the historical facts that Alison Weir dug up for her biography on Mary Boleyn, Philippa Gregory’s version is fictional, so he can be part of my fictional dads post. (This isn’t a criticism of Philippa Gregory’s work. I highly admire her as a historical fiction author, and will probably write a post dedicated to her in the future.)
In The Other Boleyn Girl, William comes into Mary’s life after her first husband has died and she’s been cast aside by the king for her own sister. William gains Mary’s trust and love by how he treats her two orphaned children: Catherine and Henry.* William teaches both children how to ride a horse and becomes the father they never had. In a society where children are used for what they can bring the parents, William is simply a loving stepfather. He doesn’t care that these children are of royal blood. He doesn’t care to get Catherine an advantageous marriage. He doesn’t care that Henry could serve the future king (if Anne can give birth to a living son). He just wants to raise them safely.
Mary and William marry in secret and are forced to admit their “sin” when Mary becomes pregnant. This is William’s first biological child, but in his mind baby Anne** is his third child. He has always viewed Catherine and Henry as his. As the children grow and the court becomes more dangerous, William protects his children from their royal bastard status. When Anne is taken into the tower, William secretly rides to the palace Henry is living with other noble boys his age, and brings him home. Anne makes Catherine serve as her lady in waiting while in the tower.*** But as soon as Anne’s head is off her body, William sneaks up to the platform, pulls Catherine down and gets her on the road back home.
In the fictional version of the Tudor court, William Stafford was the best stepfather the Carey children could have had. He raised them with love. He played with them. And as they grew and their lives became dangerous, he protected them and prepared them to survive their cousins’ reigns.
*In the book, both are the illegitimate children of King Henry VIII that William Carey (Mary’s first husband) was forced to pretend were his. In real life, most historians agree that Catherine was most likely fathered by Henry VIII and accepted by William Carey, but Henry was most definitely William Carey’s biological child.
**In real life they had a son, but in order to keep them with the court so that Mary could be a witness to Anne’s fall and execution, Ms. Gregory made their baby a girl. Mary marrying in secret and giving birth to a son when Anne was struggling to carry a baby to term, caused Anne to cast her sister out of court. And Mary and William moved to Calais until she became the sole Boleyn heir after Anne and George were beheaded.
***Once again this detail is also fictional. Catherine served as lady in waiting to Elizabeth I, not Anne Boleyn.
Happy Father’s Day! Give some love to the men in your life.
Chelsey M. Ortega 