New release…Let the haunting season begin!

Hi, Everyone. I love this time of year don’t you? Everything that can be whacky, will. Hubby’s car didn’t start first thing this morning and there I am out in my jammies wanting to drive a stake through the engine–I mean, helping. At least it wasn’t so freakin’ humid today.

*ahem*

In other news, I just wanted to let you know, I have a new story out.

A little something to get you in the Halloween Mood.

House of Cards

As a young nobleman, Sinjon escapes the Terror in 18th century France to find himself dragged into an even worse fate–a hellish underworld wherein he is cajoled by a hag-like Hanged Woman and put on trial for crimes he never committed. Can he answer the hag’s riddles and thwart his fate, one worse than the guillotine?

It’s available now at Amazon for you Kindle fans for $.99  (free if you’re in Prime). A little paranormal horror, with a historical twist. Just in time to begin celebrating for Halloween! *Kermit flail* YAAAHH!!

Visiting a fantastic author’s cottage

Well, okay, not a cottage, but a blog. It could be a cottage, given Suzanne writes about magic and druids and wizards and such. Ahem, yes,  I’m over visiting with Fantasy author  S. G. Rogers today, http://childofyden.wordpress.com/2012/09/19/myths-to-write-by-guest-post-by-author-juli-d-revezzo/

 

Do stop by. Oh, and don’t forget to check out her books while you’re there. I’m reading The Druid right now, and loving it. She’s fantastic, imho.

 

 

Jolene Dawe–The Fairy Queen of Spencer’s Butte, review

In the interest of open communication let me say no, this review has nothing to do with the fact that Jolene Dawe’s hosted me in the past and soon will again. I’ve had this book on my pile since she (interest again) sent it to me at Christmas but with all that’s happened this year I just didn’t have a chance to get around to it. Jolene, bless her heart, has the patience of a …well, you know. Truth is,  I’ve known Jolene a long time. She’s my friend, but also my #1 writing buddy. So, I heard all about this collection from the time of its inception. Please do not let that sway your judgement….I wouldn’t say this if it wasn’t true:

HOLY SMOKES, THIS LADY CAN WRITE!!!

Her book(s) are one of a handful that I’d gladly shove in front of anyone whether they like to read or not. One of those writers who I Wish. She’d. Write. Faster. Darn it. (Speaking of darning…she knits too)…

*Hides friendship bracelet* Yes, well, judge me if you will, I love Jolene’s work and she’s never handed me anything that would make me change that view. I loved her last collection, I love her short stories that have been published (*Cough* here and here), even ones that haven’t (and why they haven’t been is a damned crying shame).

She’s one of my best buds, and darn it, an influence on my work. There, I said it, and truthfully. See the italics above.

But I digress…. ahem, my official review for The Fairy Queen then, goes thusly…
What can I say about Jolene’s new book? The Fairy Queen of Spencer’s Butte , being currently available for Kindle and paperback, and pdf, is her latest collection of tales of magic and mystic wonder fueled by the landscape around Eugene, Oregon, of which she is clearly fond. But this is no mere travelogue. In these tales, she twists reality to create a stage for the mythic side of nature. Each story tells of an underground (quite literally in some cases) community of faeries, werecats, werefolk of all species, dryads and trolls making their lives among the mortal community of the area.

I enjoyed them all, but I think the standouts among the collection were “The Elk King” about a young woman who, finding herself lost in the woods, happens upon a ruffian who offers her rest, and a place to spend a long dark night. Nine months later, the woman realizes her baby is the Elk King’s son and that discovery leads to true love, and a little insanity.

(Remember a while back when I reviewed Snow White and the Huntsman? This is the character I had in mind when I saw the scene with the magical elk).

“Crown her With Poppies” is a dragon tale of a different sort, a love story between two different peoples that results in war, and sorry.

The title story, “The Fairy Queen of Spencer’s Butte”, tells of a young woman who is saved after a vicious rape and tended to by the Fairy Queen and her people. From them, the woman learns—well, I’m not going to tell you.

One of these fine days I’m going to get her on my blog (if I have to send the guards out after her, I will. )
In the meantime, you’ll have to read this wonderful collection yourself to discover all its secrets. Highly recommended for lovers of fantasy and myth. Do check Jolene‘s work out. I think you’ll enjoy it.  I hope you do… and I hope you like them as much as I do.

(No, I don’t usually post book reviews over here, but  like I said, trying to get Jolene over here. So, I put it here to give her more views, and hopefully link back and forth and *pokepoke* to entice her so I don’t have to send the guards out after her–oh, all right. Maybe I’ll send the cute ones. Anyway, I hope you’ll give her book a try sometime.

If you’d like to know more about Jolene Dawe and her wonderful works, see her site:  The Saturated Page.

Excuse me while I happy dance #kindlebooks !

chair photo taken at H.P. Plant Museum by author; couple photo by imagerymajestic/
freedigitalphotos.net

Double posting, I realize but…for those that don’t know….. I’m excited to announce my lil ole first novel is up live, for sale. On Amazon at least. If you’d like to take a peek, it is here:

http://www.amazon.com/Artists-Inheritance-Antique-Magic-ebook/dp/B008XL82IU/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1345040600&sr=1-1

Synopsis:

Settling into their new home in Gulf Breeze, Florida, Caitlin finds strange changes coming over her husband Trevor. He seems obsessed with a beautiful chair he’s carving.

When the nightmares deepen and ghosts begin lurking—she knows something’s not right, and not just her newfound precognitive abilities. It’s the damned chair, she’s sure. Could it be just what it seems: a mundane piece of furniture? If so, why is it attracting dark forces—the forces she suspects drove Trevor’s siblings to insanity and suicide?
 
Before the same happens to Trevor, Caitlin must convince him to sell his art. But armed with only a handful of allies, and little experience of the supernatural, she must proceed with caution against the hellish forces besieging her family. If she succeeds, she will break the ancestral curse. If she fails, she may lose forever the one thing she cares about most: her beloved Trevor.

and I have a pretty new trailer:

 I’m waiting for confirmation from Barnes and Noble that the book’s gone live there. Sorry Nook friends, they’re a little slower than I expected. As soon as I have that link, I’ll post it for you.

I’ve been waiting a long time to announce this so please, indulge me a moment to do a happy little Snoopy dance around the circle, so to speak.

Please, if you know anyone that enjoys paranormal fiction, share the link around. Book Two in the Antique Magic series will be released soon-like….I don’t want to promise a date. I’m writing fast as I can. I hope before Xmas, but don’t quote me on that. I’ll keep you posted. Meanwhile, I hope you enjoy the story. *beams*

Saturday kitties and Steam…

Hi all, I’ve been ill the last few days, so do forgive the lack of posts. Haven’t been able to look at a computer screen without getting all queasy. *blech* It also made me totally forget Suzanne. I’m pleased to announce I am guest today over at the lovely Suzanne Lazear’s group blog Steamed.  The post is here:

http://wp.me/pukAW-1lm

 

Do please share and stop by to say hi, if you wish. 

Conversation with fantasy author S.G. Rogers

S.G. Rogers is a multi-published author whose debut YA fantasy novel “The Last Great Wizard of Yden” was an IBookBuzz nominee as well as the premiere selection of Astraea Press’s Book Club.  A recent LASR 5-star review of her novella “Minna & The Valentine” dubbed it “a wonderful concoction of fantasy and romance!”–says Aurora Reviews.  She’s stopped by today, so I hope you enjoy this latest in our series of conversations….

Author S.G. Rogers

Hi S.G., tell us a little about yourself, so my readers can get to know you.

S.G. Rogers: I was born with the obstinate notion that life should be about the pursuit of happiness.  I conformed by attending law school and passing the California Bar Exam, but then fled to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career. My poor husband disliked L.A. but he loved me, so he tagged along. Although I never waited tables, I did work as an audience page for various television shows in the ‘80s, and I worked as a tour guide at Universal Studios.  I performed on soap operas, films, and commercials, and stage. I also joined an occasionally brutal writing workshop where I tried writing various genres. I finally settled down to have a child (Robby, now 13), and a little over four years ago I began to write full time.

What or who influenced you to start writing?

S.G. Rogers: Movies and books had a HUGE impact on me growing up.  I loved Disney movies of all kinds, and I read any book I could get my hands on.  I was such a voracious reader I would even read the non-fiction library books my grandmother had around her house when we went to visit (she favored biographies).   When I was a little older, I saw the movie Billy Jack.  Tom Laughlin used hapkido in that film, and I thought that was the coolest thing EVER.  It made such a big impression on me that when Sharon Stone and Rene Russo used kickboxing techniques in Total Recall and Lethal Weapon 3 respectively, I promptly enrolled in martial arts.  Today I hold three black belts, two in taekwondo (U.S. and Korean) and one in hapkido.

Oh, wow! That’s pretty neat! What inspired the story of Minna & The Valentine?

Cover Art Designed by Elaina Lee

S.G. Rogers: The publisher Astraea Press had an open call for Valentine’s Day stories.  I write fantasy, and I didn’t want to write some insipid story about Cupid or some other mythological love god.  So I tried to come up with a concept that was out of the box. Finally I realized the story could involve someone quite handsome, with the last name Valentine.  The rest flowed from there.

You’ve had several new books come out lately. Aside from Minna & The Valentine and The Druid, Clash of Wills, and The Last Great Wizard of Yden, what can curious fans expect from you next?

S.G. Rogers: I have several titles in the pipeline for publication this year, including two novellas and a full length time travel novel coming out late September (Tournament of Chance).  Thereafter, I want to concentrate on longer works of fiction, so I will be writing full-length sequels to many of my novellas—perhaps even a novel about Minna Westerfield and Evan Valentine.

So you’ll be busy for a while. We’ll be looking forward to them all!

Now then, a fun question for you: With all the dragons in your stories, have you ever thought how you might really react if you saw a dragon swooping into your yard?  Sounds like you could “take ‘em” quite easily what with those black belts.

S.G. Rogers: I’m quite a sensible person, so I’d run as if my life depended on it.  I love the idea of tame dragons, but one can never be certain of dragons one has not met.

That’s very true.  Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?

My blog is at www.childofyden.wordpress.com, and my Twitter handle is @suzannegrogers.  Come visit and follow!

Thanks again for your time, S.G.! We enjoyed chatting with you–and good luck with Minna & The Valentine, The Druid, The Last Great Wizard of Yden, Clash of Wills, Tournament of Chance–and all you do! Folks if you’d like to find out more about S.G. Rogers, check out the links above.

New story released!

The EHS issue with my retelling of the Persephone myth  came out. I’m really pleased with it, and the way it came out. I call it mythological romance. If you’d like to see it, it’s here:
http://tinyurl.com/7lqn7yj