Monday, November 25, 2013

On the Run with Bonnie & Clyde by John Gilmore

ON THE RUN WITH BONNIE & CLYDE, John Gilmore, AMOK Books, 19.95, 366 pages, ISBN: 978187923226, reviewed by Barry Hunter.

The main thing about this book is no matter what you have heard about Bonnie & Clyde in movies and other writing, certain parts of it are not true. John Gilmore has spent years in research for the creation of this exciting book.

Gilmore has interviewed friends, family members, victims and others who had firsthand knowledge of the infamous duo. He has written an account that reads as if he was there with them as they were growing into the characters that the world remembers today.

Authentic and factual, this work shows their flaws and their luck as they were able to have a two year run as the most wanted couple in America. There were even rumors that they were in Georgia at one point, but I haven’t been able to back that up.

You might be well off to grab a copy of this and read it before watching the mini-series coming up in December.

There is a brief description of Gilmore’s other books in the back and I’m sure you will find something of interest if you are a reader of Noir or true crime. From Manson and the Black Dahlia to John Holmes and Spade Cooley, Gilmore has written about them all.


This one comes highly recommended and is not to be missed.

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Once Upon a Time in Hell is coming



Book Two of the Heaven’s Gate Trilogy
Once Upon A Time in Hell
By Guy Adams

Saddle up for a wild ride on 31st Dec (US & Can) and 2nd Jan (UK)

$7.99/$9.99 (US & CAN) ISBN 978-1-78108-156-3
£7.99 (UK) ISBN 978-1-78108-155-6

Available in paperback and ebook

Saddle up! It’s Steampunk SF in the Wild West!


“A Tour de Force... I could not put The Good, The Bad and The Infernal down. 10 out of 10.”
– Daily-Steampunk.com

“Supernatural cowboys and steampunk Indians... saddle up for an enjoyable ride.”
– Starburst Magazine


Guy Adams returns to his incredible Steampunk Wild West world with the sequel to The Good The Bad And The Infernal!

One day every hundred years, a town appears, its location and character different every time. The town’s name is Wormwood and it is a gateway to heaven itself. Wormwood has appeared, and with it a doorway to the afterlife. But what use is a door if you can’t step through it?

Hundreds have battled unimaginable odds to reach this place, including the blind shooter Henry Jones; the drunk and liar Roderick Quartershaft; that most holy, yet enigmatic of orders, the Brotherhood of Ruth; the inventor Lord Forset and his daughter Elisabeth; the fragile messiah Soldier Joe and his nurse Hope Lane. Of them all, Elwyn Wallace, a young man who only wanted to travel west for a job, would have happily forgone the experience. But he finds himself abroad in Hell, a nameless, aged gunslinger by his side. He had thought nothing could match the terror of his journey thus far, but time will prove him wrong.

On the road to Hell, good intentions don’t mean a damn…

About the Author

Guy Adams is a no-good, pen-toting son of a bitch. Responsible for over twenty penny-dreadfuls and scientific romances such as The World House and the Deadbeat series. He has also worked with the Hammer Books Gang creating novelisations of their foul kinematographs and has been known to operate under the alias of John Watson M.D. writing novels featuring that pansy-ass detective Sherlock Holmes. He is wanted in several states and a reward is offered for anyone quick enough to slip a noose around his crooked neck. Further evidence of his crimes can be found on his Wild Western Waystation: www.guyadamsauthor.com

Thursday, November 14, 2013

The Damsel and the Daggerman is coming

THE DAMSEL AND THE DAGGERMAN: A BLUD Novella (Pocket Star EBooks; January 6, 2014; $1.99) by Delilah S. Dawson

Delilah S. Dawson’s “carniepunk” e-novella THE DAMSEL AND THE DAGGERMAN: A BLUD Novella introduces Demi, heroine of the 3rd BLUD novel, Wicked After Midnight.

Bad boy knife thrower Marco Taresque is the most dangerous man in the caravan—and the hottest, especially with Criminy Stain married and out of the running. Demi Ward suffers an enormous crush on the mysterious, older man, but she’s warned off by Tish, Cherie, Criminy—and everyone else she knows. Marco keeps to himself—until a pesky lady journalist arrives, anxious to interview him for her story on his speckled past. Turns out his last assistant—and target—disappeared under mysterious and bloody circumstances. He was run out of his old job by carnivalleros with pitchforks, and the papers down south call him The Deadly Daggerman.

The unsinkable Ginger Harville doesn’t take no for an answer, and the only things harder than the lady adventurer and journalist’s leather pith helmet are her skull and her heart. After losing her husband and partner on an expedition to Egypt, she’s accustomed to throwing herself into danger for her story. She knows there’s more to Marco’s past than he’ll tell, and she’s determined to wear him down no matter how dangerous he might appear—or how weak he makes her knees. He agrees to an interview—if she’ll let him strap her to a spinning table and throw knives at her body. How can she say no? And how can she resist him when he leans close for a kiss? After all, her arms and legs are pinned. It’s the first time she’s let a man get the better of her, and she’s determined it will be the last, even if she responds gladly.

Ginger receives a note from Marco, saying he’s finally ready to tell her the truth about what happened the night his lovely assistant disappeared. But he requires absolute secrecy and a promise that it will never make the papers…She finds the daggerman she’s growing to love. Only this time, he’s the one strapped to the table and surrounded by blades, held captive by a beautiful stranger. Marco is forced to reveal the truth: that a fortune teller once told him he’d spend the rest of his life with the first girl he slept with. Turns out Ginger was his first, and his ex-assistant Petra has kidnapped them both as retribution for that night, long ago, when he refused to bed and marry her. Ginger realizes her hard heart has melted, but will it be too late to save Marco—and herself—from the daggerman’s dangerous past?

WICKED AFTER MIDNIGHT
(Pocket Books; January 28, 2014; $7.99) by Delilah S. Dawson

This is the third romance in the sexy, steampunk-tinged “Blud” series, featuring a contortionist and a rakish brigand who must navigate the cabarets of Paris to rescue a girl taken by slavers.

Life as a contortionist in Criminy’s Clockwork Caravan should be the height of exotic adventure, but for Demi Ward, it’s total Dullsville—especially when it comes to guys. Ever since a night of hard college partying six years ago ended with her naked and bludded in Sang, Criminy has been like a father to her, and now she’s ready to explore the world on her own terms. But when her best friend Cherie is stolen by slavers outside of Paris, their Sangish road trip turns to tragedy—one Demi’s determined to make right.

Vale Hildebrand, a sarcastic and rakish brigand, finds Demi hiding near her burning carriage. On the run from his own past, he pledges to help her navigate the glittering cabarets of Paris to find Cherie, and Demi quickly becomes a star. Much to Vale’s frustration, Demi soon attracts a host of wealthy admirers, including debonair painter August Lenoir, who lures her into his studio for a portrait—and a sip of addicting, blood-tinged absinthe. It would be all too easy to accept Cherie’s disappearance, and those of a string of daimon cabaret dancers, as inevitable, but with Vale’s ferocious will and Demi’s drive to find her friend, they soon have a lead on a depraved society of Parisian notables with a taste for the obscene. Can Demi unwind herself from Vale and wind her way through the seedy underbelly of Paris in time to save her best friend before she, too, is lost?

Delilah Dawson is an artist, wife, mom and cupcake enthusiast. She’s also an Associate Editor on CoolMomPicks.com. Before writing, she was a kids’ art instructor and arts administrator, including gallery direction and public relations. She lives in Atlanta with her family.

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Stevie Nicks to appear on American Horror Story: Coven


Stevie Nicks is joining "American Horror Story: Coven." The Fleetwood Mac singer who wrote the hit "Rhiannon" about a famous historic witch has always been open about being a Wiccan, or witch.

Stevie Nicks already haunts "American Horror Story: Coven." The witch Misty Day, played by Lily Rabe, idolizes the sexy singer from Fleetwood Mac singer. Now, Stevie Nicks will make an appearance.

Ryan Murphy, who created "American Horror Story," took to Twitter to announce that Stevie Nicks will appear as a guest star on the witchy series later this season.

It hasn't been announced who Stevie Nicks would play, but Murphy recently explained why Misty is obsessed with Stevie Nicks. He told E! News, "The season really is an allegory and a metaphor for any minority group in the country where you feel alone so she's a girl that has never known any other witches and all she's ever known is Stevie Nicks. So I reached out to Stevie Nicks and asked her if we could use her music and she thought about it for a while and then she said, 'Oh okay, since it's you, I'll do it.'"

Stevie Nicks had been on tour with Fleetwood Mac for most of 2013, but the band recently cancelled the New Zealand and Australia leg of their world tour so bassist John McVie can begin cancer treatment.

The "Coven" season is the third installment in the "American Horror Story" series. It was announced last week that the show will be return next your for its fourth season.

Monday, November 11, 2013

Veterans Day 2013

Every year Rome has it's annual Veterans Day ceremony at the Tomb of the Known Soldier, Charles Graves. Graves died in World War I and I have been fortunate to have been picked to lay the wreath for the World War I Remembrance. It is a double honor that our Celebration is at this site.

I am reprinting the Wikipedia entry about The Tomb of the Known Soldier So you will know how special our ceremony is.

The Tomb of the Known Soldier is a grave site in Myrtle Hill Cemetery in Rome, Georgia (United States); dedicated to a soldier killed in World War I: Private Charles Graves

Charles Graves enlisted in the Army on August 16, 1917; he was eighteen years old at the time. He was eventually shipped to Neuroy, France, a place he knew nothing about. On October 5, 1918 (fourteen months after arriving), Graves was killed by German artillery shrapnel on the Hindenberg Line. Soon after, he received full military honors and a military burial in France.

Charles’ mother received the telegram from the War Department that her son was killed in the war. After waiting four long years, she finally claimed her son’s body when he arrived on a troopship called the Cambria on March 29, 1922. The U.S. Government had the idea of creating the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and "Known Soldier" in Arlington Cemetery to honor World War I soldiers. Graves was chosen for "America's Known Soldier" by a blindfolded sailor who picked Graves' name from American soldier remains list, but his mother objected to his burial at Arlington. The War Department wanted to give his body flag draped coffin a parade on Fifth Avenue, in New York with generals, admirals, and politicians before his mother buried Graves in the cemetery near Antioch Church on April 6, 1922.

Graves, a fallen soldier, failed to remain in the cemetery for a long period of time; many local citizens decided that he should be buried in a place of honor. As a result, on September 22, 1923, his body was exhumed from Antioch Cemetery and relocated to Myrtle Hill Cemetery; as "America's Known Soldier" after his mother's death and his brother's agreement. Graves was buried a third and final time. On November 11, 1923, Armistice Day, Charles and the other 33 young men from Floyd County who died in World War I were honored with three Maxim guns and 34 magnolia trees.

Today, Graves final resting place is known as the Tomb of the Known Soldier. To many, the memorial site is a place of remembrance; a place that is meant to pay respect to all of the known fallen soldiers of any war.

In addition to this. President Woodrow Wilson's first wife, Ellen Axson Wilson and Dr. Bobert Battey, who discovered the cure for tuberculosis.

Sunday, November 10, 2013

Online Courses from Odyssey Writing Workshops Announced

Publicity Release

November 2013


ODYSSEY WRITING WORKSHOPS CHARITABLE TRUST ANNOUNCES WINTER 2014 ONLINE CLASSES



Odyssey, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit with the mission of helping writers improve their work, is offering three exciting, new online courses this winter.

All Odyssey Online courses involve live online class meetings, so students can ask questions and participate in the class. Each course is designed to provide intensive focus on a particular aspect of fiction writing and challenging homework assignments to help students improve their skills. Feedback from the instructor and from classmates allows students to make strong improvements. Each student also has an individual meeting with the instructor. Courses provide a supportive yet challenging, energizing atmosphere, with class size limited to fourteen students. While courses are designed for adult writers of fantasy, science fiction, and horror, interested writers of all genres are welcome to apply.

Last winter, a total of 42 hard-working writers from the US, Canada, India, New Zealand, Australia, and Japan, participated in Odyssey's three online courses. One student, a lawyer and published writer from Indiana, commented, "Although I have taken online classes and workshops before, I have not worked so hard on class assignments since I was in college." Odyssey instructors pack as much useful content into each course as possible, and with our live class sessions, instructors can reach across the miles to students, fostering energetic discussions and making strong connections.


Odyssey's winter 2014 courses focus on key issues for writers:



Powerful Dialogue in Fantastic Fiction

Course Meets: January 2 - 30, 2014

Instructor: Jeanne Cavelos

Application Deadline: December 7, 2013

Graduates of Jeanne Cavelos's previous Odyssey Online courses have been clamoring for her to offer a new subject, and they've also been requesting a course on dialogue, so Odyssey is excited to offer Powerful Dialogue in Fantastic Fiction. Dialogue is one of the major components of most works of fiction, yet few writers give it much thought beyond trying to make it sound realistic and trying to make each character have a distinct manner of speaking. But a writer needs to do much more than that to create powerful dialogue.

Powerful dialogue can leave readers hanging on every word. It can delight and surprise readers. It can resonate long after the book is closed. It can drive the story forward, reveal character, show the nuances in relationships, develop internal or external conflict, provide a powerful contrast with action, convey subtext, alter pace, build atmosphere, carry cultural or educational differences, increase tension, and reveal setting and other information. This course will help students to write layered, powerful dialogue that accomplishes multiple goals and resonates with readers long after they finish the story.


The Heart of the Matter: Bringing Emotional Resonance to Your Storytelling

Course Meets: January 6 - February 3, 2014

Instructor: Barbara Ashford

Application Deadline: December 10, 2013

Barbara Ashford's online class last year was one of the most popular we've ever had; every student who filled out an evaluation rated it "excellent"! So we asked Barbara to teach again this year. Her new course deals with one of the issues writers struggle with most: evoking strong emotions in the reader. This course will offer breakthrough insights to students.

Award-winning novelist Barbara Ashford believes in storytelling that takes readers on a journey that satisfies their hearts as well as their minds. Readers love stories that force characters to confront their darkest fears, expose their shameful secrets, survive their most wrenching confrontations. But just having your character cry or laugh or scream will never get readers to share the emotions behind those actions. It requires careful crafting--from conception to execution--to achieve that. This course will take you from "setting the stage"--exploring and understanding the emotions inherent in a story idea--to "getting it on the page" by showing complex emotions through your writing.


The Secrets of a Satisfying Short Story

Course Meets: January 23 - February 20, 2014

Instructor: Nancy Holder

Application Deadline: December 27, 2013

At last summer's Odyssey Writing Workshop, Nancy Holder spent a week with students as writer-in-residence. Students were so thrilled with that week--with the one-on-one work Nancy did with them, the critiques she provided, and the insights they received--that we asked Nancy to teach an online class. She's adapting and radically expanding one of her Odyssey lectures to create The Secrets of a Satisfying Short Story.

The short story is a very demanding form, and it provides no margin for error. Many writers don't understand the bedrock principles that make for a successful short story. They write without a clear sense of what they want to achieve, and without sufficiently developing the key ingredients that will help them achieve it. This course will start by discussing Edgar Allan Poe's criteria for a short story, which offer powerful, clarifying principles. We'll then explore the key concepts of idea, premise, and plot, and how to make sure you aren't writing from an idea but have made the journey from idea to premise to plot. We'll study how the beginning of the story leads to the surprising but inevitable end. We'll discuss why weak endings are the most common problem among writers and how to make your ending strong. We'll work on connecting internal and external conflicts; developing your conflicts through cause and effect; distinguishing between presenting and representing; identifying and remaining focused on your story; and revising your work.

More information about Odyssey's online classes can be found here: http://www.sff.net/odyssey/online.html or by emailing jcavelos@sff.net.

If you've visited the Odyssey site recently, you may need to click REFRESH on your browser to see the new content.

PLEASE NOTE:
Those application deadlines are coming up soon! If you would like to apply for more than one course, you must apply separately for each one.

Odyssey's Online Classes provide the tools you need to improve your writing, along with feedback on your work that reveals whether you are successfully using those tools. If you're ready to hear about the weaknesses in your writing and ready to work to overcome them, you'd be welcome to apply to our online classes.

In addition, the Odyssey site, http://www.odysseyworkshop.org, offers many resources for writers, including free podcasts, writing and publishing tips, a writing blog, a critique service, and information about the six-week in-person workshop.

Spend the winter taking your writing to the next level!

Saturday, November 9, 2013

NEW HORROR ANTHOLOGY EXPLORES THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS

NEW HORROR ANTHOLOGY EXPLORES THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS

A new horror anthology, X7 is out now, with seven stories from seven horror authors exploring the seven deadly sins. The collection has just been released from Birmingham's Knightwatch Press, with Derby-based author and literature freelancer Alex Davis having edited the anthology.

The collection includes new and exclusive stories from seven fantastic talents in both horror and dark fantasy, with Alex Bell, Simon Bestwick, Simon Clark, Tom Fletcher, Amelia Mangan, Nicholas Royle and Gaie Sebold. Each author selected their own sin to work on, and in turn produced a story expressing their own take on that concept.

Editor Alex Davis said: 'I was over the moon to be able to hand-pick the authors for this collection, and there are some of the UK's leading writers included. What also impressed me greatly is the subtlety and originality of the tales – each one genuinely surprised and delighted me in its delivery and its take on the old concept of the seven deadly sins.'

The full table of contents for X7 is as follows:
Nicholas Royle, Dead End (Lust)
Amelia Mangan, If I Were You (Envy)
Simon Clark, Gravy Soup (Gluttony)
Alex Bell, The Devil in Red (Wrath)
Simon Bestwick, Stormcats (Greed)
Gaie Sebold, Walls (Pride)
Tom Fletcher, Seagull Island (Sloth)

X7 is available to buy on Amazon as a paperback for £6.99 – simply visit http://www.amazon.co.uk/X7-anthology-Seven-Deadly-Sins/dp/1909573116/

Alex Davis is a freelance author, events organiser, tutor, proof-reader and copy editor specialising in science-fiction, fantasy and horror fiction. He has taught writing courses all over the Midlands. He makes his debut as an anthology editor with X7 and No Monsters Allowed this October.

Knightwatch Press is...

Theresa Derwin is an experienced horror and SFF writer, Editor for Fringeworks Ltd & KnightWatch Press and managing Director for KnightWatch Press, the horror imprint of Fringeworks Ltd.

Theresa writes humorous fiction including SF, Urban Fantasy & Horror. She has fifteen anthology acceptances behind her since mid 2011. She also writes a number of book reviews and at her site www.terror-tree.co.uk

She has loved horror, fantasy and SF all her life, thanks to my father who raised her on 50s Sci-Fi Universal Monsters, tango and popcorn. Her love of the bizarre, (including her Dad) remains constant, to this day. She also owes a great debt to Rog Peyton from the BSFG who introduced her to alternative fiction at the tender the age of 14.

You can follow Theresa on Twitter @BarbarellaFem or find out more about her work at www.theresa-derwin.co.uk.

Friday, November 8, 2013

INTERNET SAFTY TIPS

Tips for Internet Safety at Work and Home



1. Defend your computer

Keep all software current (including your Web browser) with automatic

updates. Use firewall, antivirus, anti-spam, and antispyware software.

Password-protect your wireless connection at home.



2. Protect sensitive personal information

Look for signs that a Web page is safe, before you enter sensitive data–a Web address with https

(“s” for secure) and a closed padlock beside it.

Never give sensitive info in response to an e-mail or instant message

(IM) request.



3. Think before you click

Pause before you open attachments or click links in e-mail or IM even if you know the sender; they

could be phony. Confirm with the sender that the message is real or visit the official Web site by

typing the address yourself.

Be wary of clicking links or buttons in pop-up windows.



4. Create strong passwords and keep them secret

Make them at least eight characters (longer is better) and include upper and lower case letters,

numbers, and symbols. Don’t use the same password everywhere.



5. Protect yourself from e-mail scams

Look out for alarmist messages, misspellings and grammatical errors, deals that sound too good to

be true, and requests for sensitive info like account numbers. Turn on a filter like the

Smart Screen® Filter in Window.



6. Use social networks more safely

Look for Settings or Options in services like Facebook and Twitter to manage who can see your

profile, control how people can search for you and make comments, and learn how to block unwanted

access. Don’t post anything you’d say only to a close friend.

Be selective about accepting friends. Periodically reassess who has access. Review what friends write

About you.

LEGEND OF THE ELLS, a new fantasy saga by J. T. Wheeling


PRESS RELEASE … FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE … PRESS RELEASE … PRESS


Legend of the Ells - Book One: TOMORROW’S CHILDREN

ISBN: 978-1-907407-02-4, 195pp, CATEGORY: Children’s fiction/ fantasy. Age range 10-14 PUBLISHER: Black Leaf

Excitement from the first sentence, a gripping new fantasy saga by J.T. Wheeling

“Open your mind to the possibility of a brilliant and better tomorrow.”


Alarmed by the state of affairs on Earth early in the 21st Century, the Ells - a wise humanoid race - arrive to solve mankind’s problems. Four centuries further on, their task largely completed, they must return to their own world. To counter any threat from power-hungry dissidents, a few of whom have acquired Ell technology, a small group of young half-Ells will remain on Earth. One of these is Yani, a young boy, saved by gypsies then held by smugglers while totally unaware of his true heritage.

On his fourteenth birthday Yani escapes from captivity and sets off on an incredible journey with a few loyal friends he meets along the way. As he grows and develops, powerful influences begin to emerge and a slow awakening takes place within him as his inherited and unusual Ell abilities start to show themselves. Thrills and surprises galore abound on this incredible adventure as dangers escalate to a thrilling climax.

Excerpt:

Lucy looked hard at Dr Macgregor. “You want us to work out the meaning behind this story? Well, I think you are trying to show us how divided people were by narrow mindedness.” Yani said, “Surely it’s more than that. Is it not a picture of how Earth was? We can see that the Creator was given different names by different religions and this led to wars and terrible cruelty, but why should the Creator care what name people give him? Turias nodded adding, “Or which path they take to climb the mountain.” “Also,” Yani added, “it shows you can only climb one path at a time.” “And respect the path others choose,” said Lucy.

The Saga continues

Book Two: The Young Guardians

Having freed his old adversary, Krask, from prison and converting him, Yani commandeers his aid in catching the fiendish Xyle and putting a stop to his plans and his intent to discredit the new young Guardians with the World Council. When Yani discovers, however, that his son by the fair and good Estelle - sister of the evil Goddess Zenia and daughter of Krask - has been kidnapped by Zenia, he sets off complete with powerful staff to find them. And so begins another incredible journey. (Ages 14-15)

Book Three: The Rainbow Jewel

As Xyle's diabolic plans to seize control of Earth's affairs near success, only Yani and his fellow young Guardians offer any hope of defeating him. The conflict now extends across space and time to where Xyle's castle hides his darkest secrets. There Zenia has grown into a beautiful creature, dedicated to serving Xyle with ruthless cruelty… (YA)

Coming Soon - Book Four: The Menace of the Jenn

Lynn Viehl's Popular DISENCHANTED & CO ebooks to be released in paperback


Gallery books will be releasing DISENCHANTED & CO. (Pocket Books; January 28, 2014; $7.99) and THE CLOCKWORK WOLF (Pocket Books; February 25, 2014; $7.99) by Lynn Viehl.

“Original and enjoyable…Kit was a great main character—she reminded me a bit of a grown up Nancy Drew, if Nancy Drew had lived in a supernatural version of America.”

—All Things Urban Fantasy on Disenchanted & Co., Part I: Her Ladyship’s Curse

The first book, DISENCHANTED & CO. is a bindup of the first two parts Disenchanted & Co., Part I: Her Ladyship’s Curse and Disenchanted & Co., Part II: His Lordship Possessed, which were released as Pocket Star EBook originals in 2012.

Part One (HER LADYSHIP’S CURSE): Charmian “Kit” Kittredge is hardly the most prim of ladies in the West Coast town of Rumsen (akin to Seattle), in a Victorian reality in which the British defeated the American Revolution. As a private detective / magic debunker living in the slightly rougher part of town, she normally stays away from the proper, wealthy society of the Hill. When Lady Diana comes to her with a perplexing mystery—someone is carving messages into her body while she sleeps, vile words like GREEDY and SLUT—Kit cannot pass up the chance to help a woman in distress. Sifting through the various motivations of Diana’s household, and examining the magic said to be underlying the ‘curse’ causing these markings, Kit realizes something: She’s in over her head. As the nature of magic, and Kit’s place in that world, slowly becomes evident, the mysterious deathmage Lucien Dredmore is vacillating between destroying her and protecting her from the people of the Hill. It seems even he can’t make up his mind about the fiercely independent, unique being that is Kit.

Part Two (HIS LORDSHIP POSSESSED): Charmian “Kit” Kittredge isn’t sure who to trust. At the end of HIS LADYSHIP’S CURSE, the mysterious deathmage Lucien Dredmore had kidnapped her and locked her in his remote castle/dungeon. (Really, the difference between a castle and a dungeon is all in the attitude, right?) But now it seems he might have been…trying to keep her safe? Something is rotten in the West Coast town of Rumsen (akin to Seattle), an outpost in a Victorian reality in which America never managed to throw off its colonial status. As a private detective / magic debunker living in the rougher part of town, Kit avoided the wealthy society of the Hill and definitely did not believe in magic. However, strange events have led her down an investigative trail that will question everything she’s known. A secretive group of elite society men have been dabbling in some dark arts, and it seems that close encounters of the demonic kind might be the next social event of the season. Kit has never been a belle of the ball, but she sure knows how to crash a party…

In the second installment of the Disenchanted & Co. series, THE CLOCKWORK WOLF will have readers riveted in a world of steampunk and magic. As the proprietor of Disenchanted & Co. in a steampunk version of America, Charmian “Kit” Kittredge makes her living solving magical crimes. As a favor to deathmage Lucien Dredmore, Kit agrees to interview a newly widowed lady as a potential client. Upon meeting, however, she learns that the woman in question is none other than Lady Eugenia Bestly, president of the Rumsen Ladies Decency Society—someone who once led a vicious campaign to ruin Kit’s life. Ironically Lady Bestly now lives in fear herself, for the press is about to unmask her husband as the savage “Wolfman” who died while terrorizing the city.

As monstrous rampages continue to occur, Kit soon determines there is more than one Wolfman, and that they may themselves be victims of evil players. While avoiding both mechanized assassins and attempts by Dredmore and Chief Inspector Tom Doyle to take her under their protection, Kit follows a tangled path that leads from a prestigious gentlemen’s club fronting a hellish secret to a vengeful native tribe and dangerous, ancient magics.

Lynn Viehl has published fifty novels in nine genres, including her New York Times bestselling Darkyn series.

Thursday, November 7, 2013

Take a Journey to the End of the Road


End of the Road
Edited by Jonathan Oliver

The end is coming on 26th November (US & Canada) and 5th December (UK)

$7.99/$9.99 (US & CAN) ISBN 978-1-78108-154-9
£7.99 (UK) ISBN 978-1-78108-153-2
Available in paperback and ebook

Take a trip with the new anthology from Solaris

Bringing together a diverse group of contemporary international writers, the critically acclaimed editor of Magic, The End of The Line and House of Fear, Jonathan Oliver, delivers an anthology of travel tales like no other.

Each step leads you closer to your destination, but who, or what, can you expect to meet along the way? Here are stories of misfits, spectral hitch-hikers, nightmare travel tales and the rogues, freaks and monsters to be found on the road. Strap on your seatbelt, or shoulder your backpack, and wait for that next ride... into darkness.

This is an incredible anthology of original short stories from an exciting list of writers from across the globe, including the best-selling Philip Reeve, the World Fantasy Award-winning Lavie Tidhar and the incredible talents of S.L. Grey, Ian Whates, Jay Caselberg, Benjanun Sriduangkaew, Zen Cho, Sophia McDougall, Rochita Loenen-Ruiz, Anil Menon, Rio Youers, Vandana Singh, Paul Meloy, Adam Nevill and Helen Marshall.

About the Author

Jonathan Oliver is the much-lauded editor of four anthologies for Solaris as well as being the editor-in-chief of Solaris, Abaddon and Ravenstone. He is also the author of two novels set in the Twilight of Kerberos series, The Call of Kerberos and The Wrath of Kerberos, and a whole host of short stories that have appeared in venues such as A Town Called Pandemonium, Terror Tales of London and The British Fantasy Society Journal.

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

RAUS! UNTOTEN! edited by Matthew Sylvester

RAUS! UNTOTEN!

FRINGEWORKS LTD
www.fringeworks.co.uk
ISBN: 978-1-909573-10-9

The Editor Matthew Sylvester has this to say:

Raus! Untoten! is, in my opinion, a truly unique collection of stories. The Nazi Zombie trope, genre even, has become firmly entrenched in the public's mind. Films and books have saturated the market to the extent that Nazis are synonymous with Zombies.

Vampires have also come to the fore in recent years and have, to the stunned horror of horror fans, become sexy in a faintly necrophyliac manner.

But Zombies and Vampires are just two of a myriad of undead horrors waiting to come lunging out of the shadows to slash out throats, suck our eyes from their sockets and scoop our warm brains into their gaping, fang-lined maws.

Raus! Untoten! addresses this imbalance. Naturally we have zombies, but we also have vampires, French grey puppets, Jewish golems and even vengeful spirits.

So, make yourself comfortable, pour yourself a glass of your favourite tipple and let yourself be taken away to worlds of horror.

Matthew Sylvester
Editor

This book is £1.94 ebook or £6.99 paperback and features New York Times best selling author Graham McNeill.

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

CHIMERA by Kelly Meding


Forthcoming from popular urban fantasy author Kelly Meding’s is CHIMERA (Pocket Star EBooks; November 11, 2013; $5.99), where the mysterious and dangerous conspiracy threatening the superpowered Meta Rangers deepens in the fourth novel in the edgy, action-packed Metawars superhero series.

Chimera

Growing up with blue skin never made Renee “Flex” Duvall feel like an outcast. She learned quickly to find the joy in life and to put people at ease with her quick wit and exuberant personality. Nine months after regaining her Flex powers, she’s survived more emotional and physical pain than she thought possible—but despite her burned and ruined skin, she refuses to let her sunny exterior crack in front of her friends. Not while they’re facing a troop of well-trained teenage criminals that may be Recombinants, a new breed of Metas that were genetically manipulated and brainwashed by a shadowy research facility.

After a ruthless battle with a trio of thieves leaves one of their friends seriously wounded, Renee and Onyx follow a clue to Manhattan Island—and to a former Bane named Chimera. But Chimera refuses to help them, even though he admits that he may hold the key to stopping these Recombinants and discovering who controls them. Chimera’s emotional scars are as devastating as Renee’s physical scars, and in this shared pain they find common ground. Against her better judgment, Renee builds a friendship with the man who represents everything she’s been raised to distrust and despise—a man who has something very dear to lose by cooperating.

Monday, November 4, 2013

We Will Destroy Your Planet coming from Osprey Books


We Will Destroy Your Planet

For over a hundred years, Aliens have been trying to take over the Earth, but every time they have failed, often in the most unlikely ways. Well, no more!

We Will Destroy Your Planet offers our future alien overlords all of the information necessary to bring humanity to its knees. Planning for an interstellar, or even intergalactic, conquest is a complex affair that even races which have mastered faster than light travel might find difficult. This book offers practical, ‘how-to’ advice on a variety of topics including logistics, environmental factors, and of course human weaknesses. It also goes into the big question of ‘why’ you want to destroy or enslave the Earth, as this is crucial in determining which strategy and tactics to employ.

Once that has been determined, the book follows as step-by-step approach to annihilating human resistance, suggesting the best and worst weapons, and giving guidelines on just how much destruction is optimal.

With this book in hand, there is little doubt that humans are now in their last generation as masters of the Earth.

Saturday, November 2, 2013

Reviews from Harriet



Lucas
D.B. Reynolds
ImaJinn, $15.00
ISBN: 9781610261005


Though it may cost her the job she loves with the Feds due to insubordination, FBI Special Agent Kathryn Hunter defies her superior’s orders not to search for her missing brother Daniel the photographer. Instead Kathryn follows clues that lead to South Dakota’s home of Lucas Donlon.

Though the Lord Vampire wants to bite Kathryn all over her body, he has no time for the tasty morsel as he has a war brewing with rival vampire lord Klemens who craves adding Lucas’ Plains territory to his Chicago based empire. Lucas tells her to go back to working FBI cases, but a defiant Kathryn insists on finding her sibling, which places her in the crossfires of hostilities between two vampire clans and besides she wouldn’t mind dining on her delicious albeit reluctant host.

The latest Vampires in America romantic fantasy (see Sophia, Duncan, Rajmund, Jabril and Raphael) is a great thriller starring two kick butt protagonists as the female, used to competing in a men’s club, proves the equal to the vampire lord, unused to anyone competing at his level. Fast-paced, fans will enjoy this strong entry with a stunning fabulous late twist as D.B. Reynolds provides another winner. Harriet Klausner

The Shadow Rising
Robert Jordan
Tor, $15.99
ISBN: 9780765334671


The weary battered band of travelers split up after their recent escapades to possess Callandor and confront evil (see The Dragon Unborn). Rand, Mat, Egwene, Moiraine and Lan journey together as Rand turns to the Aiel wasteland. Nynaeve, Elayne, Julian and Thom head to Tanchico to uncover the plans of the hideous Black Ajah in order to thwart and ultimately defeat this evil. Perrin, Loial and Faile travel home to Emond's Field by Two Rivers to join the fight to repel the more powerful Trollocs and Whitecloaks invaders. Min seemingly vanishes in Tar Valon.

In the Forsaken, Rand finds a mentor as he apparently continues his path of destiny while Mat faces a near death experience that leaves him with memories of a dead warrior. Perring and Faile marry while never losing sight of the peril facing the Two Rivers.

Book Four of the Wheel of Time takes a different approach to the storyline as the adventurers split into separate escapades and subplots). Each of the prime subplots move forward the overarching premise as well as providing background into the respective cultures and geographies where the action occurs. Although this writing approach can feel disjointed and difficult to follow who’s who, where and why with a seemingly quadrillion heroes and as many malevolent beings, series fans will enjoy the action as the heroes establish divergent BHAGs. Harriet Klausner

Blood Fire
Sharon Page
Kensington Aphrodisia, $14.00
ISBN: 9780758278296


In 1821, knowing she is dying; Lady Octavia Grenville wants the Earl of Sutcliffe to take her virginity. Thus she plans to seduce the sexy Matthew at a special gathering. Turned into a vampire, Matthew struggles with guilt having committed fratricide when his sibling was turned into an undead. Matthew is dying and he has a fortnight to find his true love or be dead

At the gala, Matthew is attracted to the bewitching Octavia, but wonders why a seemingly innocent like her would attend a debauched event like the one they both are at. Still they have sex and a confused Octavia finds her health improving with every tryst she has with Matthew. As she assumes she is a witch, though he does not believe in love for good reason, Matthew proposes. She accepts once she learns she is pregnant. However, others try to kill the pair and their unborn.

The latest Blood Deep heated historical romantic urban fantasy (see Blood Secret, Blood Deep, Blood Red and Blood Rose) is a fabulous paranormal thriller as the female protagonist uses a Devil and Miss Jones opening gambit to begin a heated tryst with both needing love to live. Fast-paced, fans will enjoy the romance between one of the Six and a fledgling vampire while paranormal villains assault them. Harriet Klausner

Friday, November 1, 2013

Enders Game

Saw ENDER'S GAME at the early show and was very pleasantly pleased. The crowd was mostly older folks who were familiar with the 1985 novel that it was based on. All the cast members performed their roles well and hope it does well enough to support a sequel, even though it will be 2016 or 2015 if we are lucky. The film is in 2D (thank you) but aspects of it have a distinct 3D feel. The major hope I have is that the film doesn't go the way of John Carter (Of Mars). By that I mean that a terrific film gets snubbed and will go down as a classic/cult hit.