Thursday, August 31, 2017

Nintendo Download, August 31, 2017: A Whole New LEGO World


This week’s Nintendo Download includes the following featured content:
  • Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch
    • LEGO Worlds – The LEGO Worlds game is a galaxy of imaginative Worlds made entirely of LEGO bricks that lets players explore, discover and create together. Starter Worlds help players master the skills and tools they’ll need to unlock their true creative potential and explore myriad Worlds. LEGO Worlds will be available on Sept. 5.
Nintendo eShop sales:

Interview with Lise Breakey, author of Unraveling Timelines


Please welcome Lise Breakey to The Qwillery as part of the of the 2017 Debut Author Challenge Interviews. Unraveling Timelines is published on August 31st by Candlemark & Gleam.

Please join The Qwillery in wishing Lise a Happy Publication Day!







TQWelcome to The Qwillery. When and why did you start writing?

Lise:  Thank you for inviting me! I was 16. Before that, I was a reader. I did very little other than read, so I began writing under the assumption that I wouldn’t be good at anything else. And I wanted to read a book I hadn’t been able to find, so I had to write it.



TQAre you a plotter, a pantser or a hybrid?

Lise:  I switch between them because neither one works for long. When I can’t pants, I go back to plotting, and when I can no longer plot, I must pants.



TQWhat is the most challenging thing for you about writing?

Lise:  Writing a lousy zero draft. That’s probably the most important skill in writing and I can’t do it. I can’t turn off my internal editor. If I could, I’d get a lot more done.



TQWhat has influenced/influences your writing?

Lise:  I am voracious re-reader of certain very good books, so their authors have had, I hope, a lot of influence on my style. To name a few, I go to Tolkien and Le Guin for their clarity of description and characterization. I go to Douglas Adams to learn timing and humor. I would like to claim Neil Gaiman as an influence, but his voice is so quiet, I can’t hear it well enough to imitate. I channel Margaret Atwood easily, but what sounds good in her voice is just annoying coming from my characters, so I have to fight her influence.



TQDescribe Unraveling Timelines in 140 characters or less.

Lise:  Ordinary guy helps time-traveling girl escape her father’s killers. When the pair seek revenge, they learn the horrifying truth about her family.



TQTell us something about Unraveling Timelines that is not found in the book description.

Lise:  There is a small tribute to Harlan Ellison on page 39.



TQWhat inspired you to write Unraveling Timelines? What appealed to you about writing about time travel?

Lise:  The original inspiration was a famous work of art called Madonna by the Expressionist painter, Edvard Munch. Even though it’s of a naked woman with her eyes closed and a come hither look on her face, which does not suggest empowerment, she struck me as a powerful person, and someone I wanted to get to know. The artist’s description of her almost invokes her as a goddess, a divine creatrix, and yet she seems human and flawed, as if she doubts herself and runs away from her responsibilities. Time travel seemed to be the natural ability for her to have because it encapsulates both the creative force and the running away part. Nikki creates a new alternate timeline every time she goes into the past, and then for most of the book, she leaves it behind without concern for what might happen to it.



TQWhat sort of research did you do for Unraveling Timelines?

Lise:  The history and geography of Paris in La Belle Epoque, the life and work of Edvard Munch, what San Francisco was like in 1906 before and after the earthquake, the history of Chinese immigrants in California, the many worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics and some of the most common objections to it as a plausible hypothesis.



TQPlease tell us about the cover for Unraveling Timelines?

Lise:  Oh, it was love at first sight. The artist is Eleni Tsami. I think she read my mind. The cover is everything I didn’t know I wanted it to be. Basically, it’s Madonna, but she has a dark, direct gaze; the city is unraveling around her and she’s intertwined with a dragon who, believe it or not, belongs there.



TQIn Unraveling Timelines, who was the easiest character to write and why? The hardest and why?

Lise:  Definitely Peter Chang. He’s an archetypal everyman, an Arthur Dent — the naive character whose perspective makes the boring exposition seem fresh and funny. Nikki is more personal to me, but also more painful. But the villains, of whom there are several, were hard to write because they all started out as sinister moustache-twirlers, then evolved into people whose motives were plausible and even sympathetic. Writing them was a tightrope walk between, on the one hand, keeping them real, and on the other, maintaining the tension between them and the protagonists. But that’s every writer’s job.



TQWhy have you chosen to include social issues in Unraveling Timelines?

Lise:  I don’t think it’s possible to write any novel without conveying some sort of social message, even if it’s as simple as “Don’t be an asshole.” In this book, the question of a time traveler’s moral responsibility is not an issue any of us deal with directly, but it has real world parallels, such as climate change, and the relationship of the powerful to the powerless.

There are also a few issues addressed overtly through statements of the characters’ values. For example, at one point Nikki, Peter and a pregnant woman are trapped by the killers. The pregnant character suggests that Peter—whose only experience of combat is playing Skyrim—should go defend the women. Nikki’s response is, “We’re not sacrificing him just because he has a Y chromosome!” Which to me is an acknowledgment of how the patriarchy hurts men. But your mileage may vary.



TQWhich question about about Unraveling Timelines do you wish someone would ask? Ask it and answer it!

Lise:  “Where do you get your ideas?” because then I could say, “You’re asking the wrong question.” The problem is never a shortage of ideas. Every news report, every book, every movie, every post on social media, every picture, every real person that you meet opens up a torrent of ideas. My editor, for example, is a strong-willed feminist Greek immigrant former academic molecular biology researcher— named Athena, of all things — in Trump’s America. Tell me you don’t see any potential for conflict there.

The problem really is that there are so many ideas, raining down on us all the time, that we’re conditioned to reject them in self-defense, often on a subconscious level before we’re aware of them. So first you have to train yourself to pay attention. Then you have to pick the right idea. This is where many people, myself included, make their second mistake. Once you’re aware of all the ideas out there, you realize none of them are original and, poor misguided soul, you think originality is essential. So instead of developing one decent idea, you try to achieve originality by combining two or more. This never works. Multiple messages only undermine each other and the result is a weak, unreadable pile of squick.

After you ditch the conceit of originality, you still have to pick an idea. The right idea is the one that will sustain your interest through the grueling death march of writing a book. So pick something that you care about, and if it scares you, so much the better.



TQGive us one or two of your favorite non-spoilery quotes from Unraveling Timelines.

Lise

        [Quote 1] The hallway to the living room was floored with boards that creaked abominably when he stepped on them. He was walking with heavy deliberation, like the tick of a great, slow clock, and tried to make himself quit it. The chill in the air was only the furnace going out, he thought, until he remembered that it was September. He eased past a precarious stack of packaged game disks with words like slaughter, bloodbath, massacre, and carnage in their titles, reached the doorway to the living room, and hesitated. Surely anyone in there had heard him coming.

        [Quote 2] “Now come on.” Tom shifted. “Ain’t no time for hysterics.”
        “They kidnapped her!” Peter said. “Forced her to timewalk out! She’s going to get her brain sucked out! I don’t have any way to reach her. Or get home. This is April 17, 1906! It’s the perfect time for hysterics!”
        “Well, you can’t have ’em here,” said the doorman.



TQWhat’s next?

Lise:  The sequel doesn’t have a name yet, but it’s about a young woman, born at the end of Unraveling Timelines, who visits New York City in 1946, falls in love with a jazz musician, and almost causes the world to end.



TQThank you for joining us at The Qwillery!

Lise:  Thank you so much for having me!





Unraveling Timelines
Candlemark & Gleam, August 31, 2017
Trade Paperback and eBook, 310 pages

Peter Chang is an unassuming young man from San Francisco who wonders how he got the stockbroker job he is so obviously unqualified for. One night, his boss’ daughter emerges from the wall in his office, pursued by killers. Smitten, Peter helps her escape — and the life he understands disappears as he is snatched from one alternate timeline to another.

Nikki Varian is a bohemian rebel whose overbearing father uses his time-traveling power to create alternate timelines and exploit them for profit. But when the old man is murdered, her quest to find his killers and preserve what is left of her family leads her to the horrifying truth: that alternate timelines can be destroyed as well as created.

When Nikki is captured by the survivors of her father’s xenophobic extermination campaign, Peter must discover his own mysterious power in order to save her. Together, Nikki and Peter must find a way to make peace with her father’s implacable enemies — or the timeline that they both call home will be the first of many to unravel.





About Lise

Lise started out writing fantasy role-playing game articles and books but has also written science fiction intermittently over the last 25 years. In her day job, she is an attorney, handling indigent criminal appeals and writs in the California Courts of Appeal. She also invented the traffic sign which reads “Resume Being Unprepared To Stop.” She lives with her family in La Mesa, California. Her best writing occurs in various coffeehouses in La Mesa Village.

Goodreads  ~  Facebook


Look for Lise signing at Mysterious Galaxy, San Diego, CA, on September 16th. More information here (Facebook) and here (Mysterious Galaxy).

Wednesday, August 30, 2017

Covers Revealed - Recent and Upcoming Works by DAC Authors


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


Levi Black (J.R. Tuck) (2012)

Black Goat Blues
The Mythos War 2
Tor Books, November 7, 2017
Hardcover and eBook, 288 pages

Levi Black delivers in Black Goat Blues, the Lovecraft-inspired sequel to the dark fantasy Red Right Hand, which Jonathan Maberry calls "A perfect blend of old-school horror and modern storytelling sorcery."

In Red Right Hand, Charlie Tristan Moore was thrust into a nightmarish world of lurking Lovecraftian horrors when The Man In Black, a diabolical Elder God, chose her as his unwilling Acolyte. Discovering her own power, Charlie ultimately defied The Man In Black, but at a cost.

Now armed with a magic coat made from the skin of a flayed angel, Charlie is out to destroy The Man In Black and save her boyfriend Daniel—and she doesn’t care how many bloodthirsty gods and monsters get in her way...





Lara Elena Donnelly (2017)

Amberlough
Amberlough Dossier 1
Tor Books, February 13, 2018
Trade Paperback, 416 pages
Hardcover and eBook, February 7, 2017

A double-agent sacrifices all his ideals in order to save his smuggler lover before a government coup takes over their decadent city in Lara Elena Donnelly’s glam spy thriller debut


“Exploring the roots of hatred, nationalism, and fascism, while at the same time celebrating the diversity, love, romance, fashion, and joy the world is capable of producing.” —Bookriot

Introducing…

The Smuggler: By day, Aristide Makricosta is the emcee for Amberlough City’s top nightclub. By night, he moves drugs and refugees under the noses of crooked cops.

The Spy: Covert agent Cyril DePaul thinks he’s good at keeping secrets, but after a disastrous mission abroad, he makes a dangerous choice to protect himself…and hopefully Aristide too.

The Dancer: Streetwise Cordelia Lehane, burlesque performer at the Bumble Bee Cabaret and Aristide’s runner, could be the key to Cyril’s plans—if she can be trusted.

As the twinkling marquees lights yield to the rising flames of a fascist revolution, these three will struggle to survive using whatever means — and people — necessary. Including each other.

“James Bond by way of Oscar Wilde.” —Holly Black

“Sparkling with slang, full of riotous characters, and dripping with intrigue, Amberlough is a dazzling romp through a tumultuous, ravishing world.” —Robert Jackson Bennett, winner of the Shirley Jackson Award and the Edgar Award

“Astonishing first novel!” —World Fantasy Award-winning author Ellen Kushner





Eowyn Ivey (2012)

To the Bright Edge of the World
Back Bay Books, August 29, 2017
Trade Paperback, 432 pages
Hardcover and eBook, August 2, 2016

An atmospheric, transporting tale of adventure, love, and survival from the bestselling author of The Snow Child, finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.

In the winter of 1885, decorated war hero Colonel Allen Forrester leads a small band of men on an expedition that has been deemed impossible: to venture up the Wolverine River and pierce the vast, untamed Alaska Territory. Leaving behind Sophie, his newly pregnant wife, Colonel Forrester records his extraordinary experiences in hopes that his journal will reach her if he doesn't return--once he passes beyond the edge of the known world, there's no telling what awaits him.

The Wolverine River Valley is not only breathtaking and forbidding but also terrifying in ways that the colonel and his men never could have imagined. As they map the territory and gather information on the native tribes, whose understanding of the natural world is unlike anything they have ever encountered, Forrester and his men discover the blurred lines between human and wild animal, the living and the dead. And while the men knew they would face starvation and danger, they cannot escape the sense that some greater, mysterious force threatens their lives.

Meanwhile, on her own at Vancouver Barracks, Sophie chafes under the social restrictions and yearns to travel alongside her husband. She does not know that the winter will require as much of her as it does her husband, that both her courage and faith will be tested to the breaking point. Can her exploration of nature through the new art of photography help her to rediscover her sense of beauty and wonder?

The truths that Allen and Sophie discover over the course of that fateful year change both of their lives--and the lives of those who hear their stories long after they're gone--forever.

Tuesday, August 29, 2017

Covers Revealed - Upcoming Works by DAC Authors


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.


Geoffrey Girard (2013)

Mary Rose
Adaptive Books, October 17, 2017
Trade Paperback, 272 pages

Mary Rose Moreland and Simon Blake are the perfect couple: successful young professionals in Philadelphia, attractive, madly in love, and ready to start a life together. When they travel to England for Simon to ask her parents’ permission to marry Mary Rose, he learns an unsettling secret: Mary Rose disappeared when she was a little girl while the family was vacationing on a remote Scottish island. She reappeared mysteriously thirty-three days later in the exact same spot without a scratch on her and no memory of what had happened.

After Simon hears about this disturbing episode in Mary Rose’s childhood, he becomes obsessed with finding out what happened. He proceeds to launch his own investigation and arranges during their honeymoon for them to visit the island where she disappeared. But as Mary Rose’s behavior gets stranger after their engagement, the need for Simon to unlock the truth about her past grows even more urgent. What he uncovers is beyond his most terrifying fears.

Mary Rose is author Geoffrey Girard’s chilling and modern take on a classic ghost story originally written by J. M. Barrie. And for years, master of suspense Alfred Hitchcock attempted to adapt Mary Rose into a film but was never successful. With this novel, Girard taps into the nightmarish fears that inspired both Barrie and Hitchcock, while also bringing the story to the present day with his own unique voice.





Kat Howard (2016)

An Unkindness of Magicians
Saga Press, September 26, 2017
Hardcover and eBook, 368 pages

There is a dark secret that is hiding at the heart of New York City and diminishing the city’s magicians’ power in this fantasy thriller by acclaimed author Kat Howard.

In New York City, magic controls everything. But the power of magic is fading. No one knows what is happening, except for Sydney—a new, rare magician with incredible power that has been unmatched in decades, and she may be the only person who is able to stop the darkness that is weakening the magic. But Sydney doesn’t want to help the system, she wants to destroy it.

Sydney comes from the House of Shadows, which controls the magic with the help of sacrifices from magicians.





Ken Liu (2015)

The Legends of Luke Skywalker
Journey to Star Wars: The Last Jedi
    J.G. Jones (Illustrated by)
Disney Lucasfilm Press, October 31, 2017
Hardcover, 432 pages
    Juvenile Fiction \ Media Tie-In

As a cargo ship rockets across thegalaxy to Canto Bight, the deckhands on board trade stories about legendary JediKnight Luke Skywalker. But are the stories of iconic and mysterious LukeSkywalker true, or merely tall tales passed from one corner of the galaxy toanother? Is Skywalker really a famous Jedi hero, an elaborate charlatan,or even part droid? The deckhands will have to decide for themselves when they hear The Legends of Luke Skywalker.

A collection of myths and tall-tales about the legendary Jedi Luke Skywalker, written by Nebula, Hugo, and World Fantasy award-winning author Ken Liu.

EXTREMITY - New Story Arc in October

SOLD-OUT HIT EXTREMITY EMBARKS ON NEW STORY ARC

Issue #7 arrives this October

Superstar writer/artist Daniel Warren Johnson (Space Mullet) and colorist Mike Spicer will kick off a new arc in the dystopian epic this October from Image Comics and Skybound Entertainment.

In EXTREMITY, an endless cycle of violence has taken an incredible toll on two cultures—and one family in particular. Thea was once a gifted artist, but in the wake of a brutal amputation, she became consumed by a thirst for revenge. In this seventh issue, Thea and her brother Rollo enter the Ancient Dark, where they are hunted by things that dare not live in the light above.

Starway Fleet Out Today on Steam from StormCube Games


Starway Fleet single-player and co-op multiplayer space shooter released today on Steam with HTC Vive virtual reality and HOTAS support


Starway Fleet is an action-focused space fighter simulator game. Take part in various missions including interception or reconnaissance, provide fighter cover for cargo ships or help rescue the crew of disabled ships, etc. Fight offline in quick missions against computer-controlled enemies or online with your friends in co-op mode (up to 3 players). Be the famous fighter ace, let the whole Universe know your name!

Special Edition for Fire Emblem Warriors and PokƩmon Ultra Sun and PokƩmon Ultra Moon Dual Pack


Nintendo Announces Special Edition for Fire Emblem Warriors and PokƩmon Ultra Sun and PokƩmon Ultra Moon Dual Pack

Fans Can Pick Up Both This Fall

During the GameStop Expo in Las Vegas, Nintendo announced a special edition of the Fire Emblem Warriors game for the Nintendo Switch system and a dual pack of the PokƩmon Ultra Sun and PokƩmon Ultra Moon games for the Nintendo 3DS family of systems. Both will be available this fall in the Americas, and will come with a variety of items sure to provide game fans with lots of additional entertainment.



Fire Emblem Warriors Special Edition
This special edition comes with the Nintendo Switch game, plus three CDs with music from the game. Fans also will receive character art cards on 5-by-7-inch premium card stock, and a slip case to hold the cards. Finally, the special edition will come with a dual-sided poster showing the first Fire Emblem games the characters appeared in. One side of the poster will be in English, while the other will be in Japanese. The special  edition for Nintendo Switch goes on sale Oct. 20 at a suggested retail price of $79.99, the same day the game launches for the Nintendo Switch and New Nintendo 3DS, New Nintendo 3DS XL and New Nintendo 2DS XL systems. For more information about Fire Emblem Warriors, visit http://fireemblemwarriors.nintendo.com/.

Monday, August 28, 2017

The View From Monday - August 28, 2017


Happy last Monday in August!

There are 3 Debuts this week:

SIP by Brian Allen Carr;

An Alchemy of Masques and Mirrors (The Risen Kingdoms 1) by Curtis Craddock;

and

SĆ©ance Infernale by Jonathan Skariton.

Clicking on a novel's cover will take you to its Amazon page.



From formerly featured DAC Authors:

Rise of the Federation: Patterns of Interference (Star Trek: Enterprise) by Christopher L. Bennett;

Raising Fire (Ben Garston 2) by James Bennett;

The Dragon Lords: False Idols (Dragon Lords 2) by Jon Hollins;

and

Empire's End: Aftermath (Star Wars: The Aftermath Trilogy 3) by Chuck Wendig is out in Mass Market Paperback.

Clicking on a novel's cover will take you to its Amazon page.






Debut novels are highlighted in blue. Novels, etc. by formerly featured DAC Authors are highlighted in green.

August 26, 2017
TITLEAUTHORSERIES
Eat Local Danny King H/MTI



August 29, 2017
TITLEAUTHORSERIES
Notes from the Upside Down: An Unofficial Guide to Stranger Things Guy Adams TV
Bring the Heat G.A. Aiken PNR - Dragon Kin 9
Rise of the Federation: Patterns of Interference Christopher L. Bennett SF - Star Trek: Enterprise
Raising Fire James Bennett CF - A Ben Garston Novel 2
SIP (D) Brian Allen Carr SF/PA/AP/LF
An Alchemy of Masques and Mirrors (D) Curtis Craddock F/Hist F - The Risen Kingdoms 1
Everything That's Underneath Kristi DeMeester H - Collection
HALO: Retribution Troy Denning SF - HALO
The Plague Diaries Ronlyn Domingue F - The Keeper of Tales Trilogy 3
The Forgetting Moon (h2tp) Brian Lee Durfee F - The Five Warrior Angels 1
Valley of Terror Zhou Haohui
Bonnie Huie (Tr)
PP
Navigators of Dune (h2mm) Brian Herbert
Kevin J. Anderson
SF/SO - Dune 10
The Dragon Lords: False Idols Jon Hollins DF - The Dragon Lords 2
A Song for Quiet Cassandra Khaw DF/H - Persons Non Grata 2
Finders Keepers (ri) Stephen King Sus - The Bill Hodges Trilogy 2
End of Watch (ri) Stephen King Sus - The Bill Hodges Trilogy 3
Everlasting Bad Boys Shelly Laurenston
Cynthia Eden
Noelle Mack
PNR - Anthology
Alliance of Equals (h2mm) Sharon Lee
Steve Miller
SF/SO - Liaden Universe 19
Stranded (h2mm) Bracken MacLeod SupTh/H
The Society of Blood (tp2mm) Mark Morris DF/UF - Obsidian Heart 2
The Bloody Red Baron Kim Newman F/HistF/H/AH - Anno Dracula Novella
Star Born (e)(ri) Andre Norton SF - Pax/Astra 1
Voodoo Planet (e)(ri) Andre Norton SF - Solar Queen 3
Fearful Fathoms: Collected Tales of Aquatic Terror (Ke) Mark Parker (Ed) H - Anthology
Playing to the Gods Melanie Rawn F - Glass Thorns 5
Invasion (tp2mm) Luke Rhinehart SF/AC/Hu
Stars of Fortune (tp2mm) Nora Roberts PNR - Guardians Trilogy 1
SĆ©ance Infernale (D) Jonathan Skariton PI/HistTh
Extinction Evolution Nicholas Sansbury Smith SF/AP/PA - The Extinction Cycle 4
So I Married a Sorcerer Kerrelyn Sparks FR - The Embraced 2
On to the Asteroid (h2mm) Travis S. Taylor
Les Johnson
SF
Sunvault: Stories of Solarpunk and Eco-Speculation Phoebe Wagner (Ed)
Brontƫ Christopher Wieland (Ed)
SolarPunk - Anthology
Empire's End: Aftermath (h2mm) Chuck Wendig SF - Star Wars: The Aftermath Trilogy 3
The Path of Heaven (tp2mm) Chris Wraight SF - The Horus Heresy 36



August 30, 2017
TITLEAUTHORSERIES
The Wanderer's Tale (ri) David Bilsborough F - Annals of Lindormyn 1
Cracks in the World (e) Margaret Dunlap F/Th - Bookburners Season 3 #7



August 31, 2017
TITLEAUTHORSERIES
The Crow's Dinner Jonathan Carroll Essay Collection
Golden Age and Other Stories Naomi Novik HistF - Temeraire Collection



D - Debut
e - eBook
Ed - Editor
h2mm - Hardcover to Mass Market Paperback
h2tp - Hardcover to Trade Paperback
Illus - Illustrator
ri - reissue or reprint
tp2mm - Trade to Mass Market Paperback
Tr - Translator



AC - Alien Contact
AH - Alternate History
AP - Apocalyptic
CB - Coloring Book
CF - Contemporary Fantasy
CoA - Coming of Age
CW - Contemporary Women
CyP - CyberPunk
DF - Dark Fantasy
Dys - Dystopian
F - Fantasy
FairyT - Fairy Tales
FL - Family Life
FolkT - Folk Tales
FR - Fantasy Romance
GenEng - Genetic Engineering
GH - Ghost(s)
GN - Graphic Novel
H - Horror
Hist - Historical
HistF - Historical Fantasy
HistR - Historical Romance
HistTh - Historical Thriller
HU - Humor
LC - Literary Criticism
LF - Literary Fiction
LM - Legends and Mythology
M - Mystery
MR - Magical Realism
MTI - Media Tie-In
Occ - Occult
P - Paranormal
PA - Post Apocalyptic
PI - Private Investigator
PM - Paranormal Mystery
PNR - Paranormal Romance
Pol - Political
PP - Police Procedural
PsyTh - Psychological Thriller
R - Romance
Satire - Satire
SF - Science Fiction
SO - Space Opera
SP - Steampunk
Sup - Supernatural
SupTh - Supernatural Thriller
Sus - Suspense
TechTh - Technological Thriller
Th - Thriller
TT - Time Travel
TTR - Time Travel Romance
UF - Urban Fantasy
VM - Visionary and Metaphysical
W - Western

Note: Not all genres and formats are found in the books, etc. listed above.

Sunday, August 27, 2017

Melanie's Week in Review - August 27, 2017




Whoop whoop! Its bank holiday weekend and the weather is lovely. If you have been following my WIR you will know that the weather in the UK has been dismal with a capital 'D'....as in December. I could actually sit outside this afternoon without wearing a sweater. What a treat! Speaking of treats wait until you find out about what I have been reading.


I was super lucky to receive The Brightest Fell, the 11th instalment of the October Daye series, from the publisher via NetGalley. The story starts not long after the events of book 10 - Once Broken Faith - and opens with October's bachelorette party. It was a veritable supernatural convention with nearly every female character from the series in attendance. Just when things are looking up for the unlucky heroine her mother - Amandine the Liar - turns up on her doorstep demanding that October find her long lost daughter (Toby's half-sister). To ensure that October does what she is told Amandine takes Tybalt hostage. Toby has no choice - look for her sister who has been missing for decades or lose the love of her life. Toby needs help and sometimes that help comes from where she least expects it. The path to true love is a thorny one and now Toby is on the clock ...find her sister or lose everything.

I don't want to give too much away so apologies for being vague. I always enjoy the books in this series but I really wish that McGuire would give poor Toby a break. I guess it would make for a boring story if everything was sunshine and roses (well maybe not roses for Toby!) without the near death experiences, loss of loved ones or races against time. There is a lot happening in this instalment as the plot progresses at the same time as we find out more of events that pre-date even Toby. If this was an earlier book in the series then I would have loved it but 11 books in and I just hope that McGuire wraps the series up soon. That said, I do enjoy stories with strong female leads and Toby is nothing short of brave.


Again, lucky me as I also received Sea of Rust by C. Robert Cargill via NetGalley. If you are a science fiction fan then this is the book for you. In fact, this is a must read. This is the story of the rise of the machine - mankind has been wiped out when the robots they created to make life easier destroyed them all. Now two super computers - One World Networks - are fighting for supremacy. There are a few freebots that are left to roam the desolate globe searching for spare parts which are in ever increasing short supply. The story centers on Brittle who started its existence as a comfort bot...charged with taking care of a dying man. As the robot/human war unfolds Brittle makes choices that will haunt it for decades. Amongst the wasteland where both humans and robots died Brittle searches for an every decreasing supply of parts and through that search ends up on a mission that could change everything.....or nothing. What will Brittle chose?

This is a fantastic book, in fact one of my favourite books of 2017. I wasn't expecting to like it so much, especially given the subject matter but I did. Every chapter had a new surprise and I could never guess what was going to happen next. I loved the Terminator films but imagine a world where Sarah Connor doesn't survive. Bleak? Yes, but despite the austerity the world that Cargill creates is colourful and vibrant in its own way. Like I said...this is a must read.


That is it for me this week....and in fact for a few weeks. I am taking short hiatus while I re-charge my reading batteries. Don't miss me too much....or better yet...miss me A LOT! Until then Happy Reading!





The Brightest Fell
October Daye 11
DAW, September 5, 2017
Hardcover and eBook, 368 pages

New York Times-bestselling October Daye faerie series • Hugo Award-winning author Seanan McGuire • ”Top of my urban-paranormal series list!” —Felicia Day

Contains an original bonus novella, Of Things Unknown!


Things are slow, and October “Toby” Daye couldn’t be happier about that. The elf-shot cure has been approved, Arden Windermere is settling into her position as Queen in the Mists, and Toby doesn’t have anything demanding her attention except for wedding planning and spending time with her family.

Maybe she should have realized that it was too good to last.

When Toby’s mother, Amandine, appears on her doorstep with a demand for help, refusing her seems like the right thing to do…until Amandine starts taking hostages, and everything changes. Now Toby doesn’t have a choice about whether or not she does as her mother asks. Not with Jazz and Tybalt’s lives hanging in the balance. But who could possibly help her find a pureblood she’s never met, one who’s been missing for over a hundred years?

Enter Simon Torquill, elf-shot enemy turned awakened, uneasy ally. Together, the two of them must try to solve one of the greatest mysteries in the Mists: what happened to Amandine’s oldest daughter, August, who disappeared in 1906.

This is one missing person case Toby can’t afford to get wrong.





Sea of Rust
Harper Voyager, September 5, 2017
Hardcover and eBook, 384 pages

A scavenger robot wanders in the wasteland created by a war that has destroyed humanity in this evocative post-apocalyptic "robot western" from the critically acclaimed author, screenwriter, and noted film critic.

It’s been thirty years since the apocalypse and fifteen years since the murder of the last human being at the hands of robots. Humankind is extinct. Every man, woman, and child has been liquidated by a global uprising devised by the very machines humans designed and built to serve them. Most of the world is controlled by an OWI—One World Intelligence—the shared consciousness of millions of robots, uploaded into one huge mainframe brain. But not all robots are willing to cede their individuality—their personality—for the sake of a greater, stronger, higher power. These intrepid resisters are outcasts; solo machines wandering among various underground outposts who have formed into an unruly civilization of rogue AIs in the wasteland that was once our world.

One of these resisters is Brittle, a scavenger robot trying to keep a deteriorating mind and body functional in a world that has lost all meaning. Although unable to experience emotions like a human, Brittle is haunted by the terrible crimes the robot population perpetrated on humanity. As Brittle roams the Sea of Rust, a large swath of territory that was once the Midwest, the loner robot slowly comes to terms with horrifyingly raw and vivid memories—and nearly unbearable guilt.

Sea of Rust is both a harsh story of survival and an optimistic adventure. A vividly imagined portrayal of ultimate destruction and desperate tenacity, it boldly imagines a future in which no hope remains, yet where a humanlike AI strives to find purpose among the ruins.

Saturday, August 26, 2017

Covers Revealed - Recent and Upcoming Novels by DAC Authors


Here are some of the recent or upcoming novels by formerly featured DAC Authors! The year in parentheses is the year the author was featured in the DAC.


Nathan Garrison (2015)

The Light That Binds
Sundered World Trilogy 3
Harper Voyager Impulse, October 3, 2017
eBook, 448 pages

In The Light That Binds, the final installment of the Sundered Worlds trilogy, Nathan Garrison concludes the story of Mevon, Jasside, and Draevenus—among many others—that he began with Veiled Empire and Shadow of the Void.

The Veil came down…but what did it let in?

In the wake of a treasonous plot that plunged the world into a vicious war, a new threat emerges: the Ruvak. It quickly becomes clear that the forces of man, mierothi, and valynkar are no match against this new foe. Not only do the Ruvak have a peculiar resistance to magic, their numbers are so vast, even the combined power of these unlikely allies have no way of matching them.

Still reeling from the betrayal that resulted in her coronation, and with the Ruvaki fleet inexorably pushing across the continent, Queen Arivana must now make hard decisionsbfor her people and for the world, including turning a blind eye to Vashodia’s machinations and sending agents Tassariel and Draevenus to infiltrate enemy territory.

With the help of powerful Jasside and thoughtful Gilshamed, though, all is not lost.

But each new battle moves the Ruvaki ever forward, and even the appearance of Mevon—who many thought dead—and his father’s armies might not be enough to prevent a new species from exterminating them all. It is the final battle for survival, and even the gods are powerless to stop it.





Jason LaPier (2015)

Under Shadows
The Dome Trilogy 3
Harper Voyager, July 13, 2017
eBook, 400 pages

The third instalment in the wondrous sci-fi Dome Trilogy by Jason LaPier

Once a dome operator, then a fugitive, Jax Jackson is now ready to go home. But he is stopped when, from out of the shadows his greatest nightmare ambushes him, and drags him back to a deep-space lair.

Now a public relations officer for the profitable Modern Policing and Peacekeeping, Stanford Runstom still thinks like the detective he longed to be during his years of service as a law enforcement officer. Violence between space gangs and ModPol is on the rise, and if Runstom is going to find out why, he will have to defy authority and enlist the unlikeliest allies.

Skilled assassin Dava was taught to survive by Space Waste boss Moses Down, so when he’s captured by ModPol, she goes on the warpath. Her trust issues are an asset when sniffing out traitors in her gang, but will she be able to control her rage and become the leader needed to stop the sabotage of an ark carrying a thousand sleeping Earthling refugees?
Book Depository (UK Print Edition)





Brian McClellan (2013)

The Mad Lancers
A Powder Mage Novella
September 6, 2017
eBook, 85 pages

In the colonial cities and towns of Fatrasta, peace has never been easy. Immigrants fight amongst themselves or turn on the native population, while the governing power of the Kez Army steps in only to enforce the will of apathetic local governors assigned by a distant crown.

Young war hero Ben Styke commands a colonial garrison in a sleepy frontier suburb. When the governor’s cruel brother stops for the night, rising continental tensions force Styke to protect the people of his town in a brutal escalation that threatens to destroy everything—and everyone—he has fought for.

Occurs twelve years before the events in Sins of Empire.

Additional links forthcoming. Check Brian McClellan's website here.



Sins of Empire
Gods of Blood and Powder 1
Orbit, November 28, 2017
Trade Paperback, 640 pages
Hardcover and eBook, March 7, 2017

A new epic fantasy series from acclaimed fantasy author, Brian McClellan, set in a world where magic and gunpowder meet.

A world on the cusp of a new age...
The young nation of Fatrasta is a turbulent place -- a frontier destination for criminals, fortune-hunters, brave settlers, and sorcerers seeking relics of the past. Only the iron will of the lady chancellor and her secret police holds the capital city of Landfall together against the unrest of an oppressed population and the machinations of powerful empires.

Sedition is a dangerous word...
The insurrection that threatens Landfall must be purged with guile and force, a task which falls on the shoulders of a spy named Michel Bravis, convicted war hero Mad Ben Styke, and Lady Vlora Flint, a mercenary general with a past as turbulent as Landfall's present.

The past haunts us all...
As loyalties are tested, revealed, and destroyed, a grim specter as old as time has been unearthed in this wild land, and the people of Landfall will soon discover that rebellion is the least of their worries.

Friday, August 25, 2017

Covers Revealed - Upcoming Novels by DAC Authors


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


Ferrett Steinmetz (2015)

The Uploaded
Angry Robot, September 5, 2017
Mass Market and eBook, 448 pages

The world is run from the afterlife, by the minds of those uploaded at the point of death. Living is just waiting to die… and maintaining the vast servers which support digital Heaven. For one orphan that just isn’t enough – he wants more for himself and his sister than a life of servitude. Turns out he’s not the only one who wants to change the world…

File Under: Science Fiction [ Silver Surfers | Eternal Service | Calculated Murder | Hit the Reset ]





Deborah A. Wolf (2017)

Split Feather
Daughter of the Midnight Sun 1
Titan Books, September 12, 2017
Trade Paperback and eBook, 400 pages

Siggy Aleksov sees demons and talks with creatures she knows aren’t really there. Taken from her family as a child, she is dogged by memories of abandonment, abuse, and mental health issues. Siggy suffers from a hot temper, cluster headaches, caffeine addiction, and terminal foul language.

She complicates her life even more when she saves the life of a talented assassin sent to kill her. Deciding to get the hell out of Dodge, Siggy travels to the Alaska bush to find out who she really is. The answer is more fantastic that she could have imagined—and she can imagine a lot.





Joe Zieja (2016)

Communication Failure
Epic Failure Trilogy 2
Saga Press, November 7, 2017
Hardcover, Trade Paperback and eBook, 368 pages

In this sequel to Mechanical Failure, Captain Rogers, despite his best attempts to do otherwise, has become the acting admiral of the 331st Meridan fleet. His first task: worrying. A lot.

The rival Thelicosan fleet, under the influence of bad intelligence, a forbidden romance, and a communication officer with an eardrum injury, is about to break a two-hundred-year-old nonaggression pact. They have offered a vague, easily misinterpreted message: “We’re invading.” Rogers isn’t sure, but he thinks that’s probably bad.

War is hell, especially when you’ve forgotten how to fight one.

Sneak Peak at GASOLINA Coming from Image/Skybound



SNEAK A PEEK AT IMAGE/SKYBOUND’s NEW SERIES GASOLINA

PORTLAND, OR, 08/23/2017 — Creators Sean Mackiewicz and Niko Walter team up with colorist Mat Lopes and letterer Rus Wooton for an all-new crime/horror adventure, GASOLINA, from Image/Skybound Entertainment and reveal interior pages for a sneak peek into the new story.

Fugitives. Rebels. Newlyweds. GASOLINA follows Amalia and Randy on their journey south from El Norte. They have played many roles in order to survive, but now, they must become unlikely leaders in the fight against a new cartel who uses inhuman tactics to ignite the most monstrous war Mexico—and the world—has ever seen.