Fantasy

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    New covers for Bigtime superhero books …

    4 Comments

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    Some of you have seen these online already, but I have put some new covers on my Bigtime superhero paranormal romance series. The books are still the same, but I wanted to update the cover art and give the series more of a comic-book feel.

    The covers were designed by the awesome Jenny Zemanek of Seedlings Design Studio. Thanks, Jenny!

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    E-novella #3.5

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    Book #4

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    E-bundle

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    The covers are all so cool that I don’t know which one is my favorite. Maybe A Karma Girl Christmas, or Nightingale, although I really like them all. 🙂 Which new cover do you guys like the best?

    If you’ve never checked out the series, my Bigtime books are paranormal romances that feature superheroes and ubervillains. They are very fun, zany, and campy — sort of like the Batman show with Adam West or Wonder Woman with Lynda Carter.

    Book #5

    As of right now, I do not have plans to write any more books in my Bigtime series. I’m currently writing three other series — Elemental Assassin, Mythos Academy spinoff, and Kill the Queen epic fantasy series — which is all that I can juggle. So the Bigtime series is the odd series out. I hope to get back to it someday, although I have no idea when that might be. Not anytime soon, though.

    The books (with the new covers) are available at all the usual sites in ebook format — Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, etc. The books are also available in print format from Amazon and will be available in print format from Barnes & Noble and Ingram in the next few weeks — in case you work in a bookstore and want to order some print copies.

    Karma Girl — Amazon Kindle — Amazon print

    Hot Mama — Amazon Kindle — Amazon print

    Jinx — Amazon Kindle — Amazon print

    A Karma Girl Christmas — e-novella — Amazon Kindle — also available in the print version of Karma Girl

    Nightingale — Amazon Kindle — Amazon print

    The Bigtime Bundle — e-bundle — Karma Girl through Nightingale — Amazon Kindle

    Fandemic — Amazon Kindle — Amazon print

    I hope that everyone enjoys the new covers and gets a chance to check out the series, if you haven’t already. Happy reading!

  • Books in my TBR pile …

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    I can’t believe that it’s March already. Spring will be here before you know it.

    So today, I thought I would share some books in my TBR pile that I’m looking forward to reading this spring. Note that the descriptions are from Amazon:

    Red QueenRed Queen by Victoria Aveyard

    The #1 New York Times Bestseller

    Graceling meets The Selection in debut novelist Victoria Aveyard’s sweeping tale of seventeen-year-old Mare, a common girl whose once-latent magical power draws her into the dangerous intrigue of the king’s palace. Will her power save her or condemn her?

    Mare Barrow’s world is divided by blood–those with common, Red blood serve the Silver- blooded elite, who are gifted with superhuman abilities. Mare is a Red, scraping by as a thief in a poor, rural village, until a twist of fate throws her in front of the Silver court. Before the king, princes, and all the nobles, she discovers she has an ability of her own.

    To cover up this impossibility, the king forces her to play the role of a lost Silver princess and betroths her to one of his own sons. As Mare is drawn further into the Silver world, she risks everything and uses her new position to help the Scarlet Guard–a growing Red rebellion–even as her heart tugs her in an impossible direction. One wrong move can lead to her death, but in the dangerous game she plays, the only certainty is betrayal.

    The Shadow QueenThe Shadow Queen by C. J. Redwine

    A dark epic fantasy inspired by the tale of Snow White, from C. J. Redwine, the author of the Defiance series. Perfect for fans of A Court of Thorns and Roses and Cinder.

    Lorelai Diederich, crown princess and fugitive at large, has one mission: kill the wicked queen who took both the Ravenspire throne and the life of her father. To do that, Lorelai needs to use the one weapon she and Queen Irina have in common—magic. She’ll have to be stronger, faster, and more powerful than Irina, the most dangerous sorceress Ravenspire has ever seen.

    In the neighboring kingdom of Eldr, when Prince Kol’s father and older brother are killed by an invading army of magic-wielding ogres, the second-born prince is suddenly given the responsibility of saving his kingdom. To do that, Kol needs magic of his own—and the only way to get it is to make a deal with the queen of Ravenspire, promise to become her personal huntsman—and bring her Lorelai’s heart.

    But Lorelai is nothing like Kol expected—beautiful, fierce, and unstoppable—and despite dark magic, Lorelai is drawn in by the passionate and troubled king. Fighting to stay one step ahead of the dragon huntsman—who she likes far more than she should—Lorelai does everything in her power to ruin the wicked queen. But Irina isn’t going down without a fight, and her final move may cost the princess the one thing she still has left to lose.

    TruthwitchTruthwitch by Susan Dennard

    In the Witchlands, there are almost as many types of magic as there are ways to get in trouble–as two desperate young women know all too well.

    Safiya is a Truthwitch, able to discern truth from lie. It’s a powerful magic that many would kill to have on their side, especially amongst the nobility to which Safi was born. So Safi must keep her gift hidden, lest she be used as a pawn in the struggle between empires.Iseult, a Threadwitch, can see the invisible ties that bind and entangle the lives around her–but she cannot see the bonds that touch her own heart. Her unlikely friendship with Safi has taken her from life as an outcast into one of of reckless adventure, where she is a cool, wary balance to Safi’s hotheaded impulsiveness.Safi and Iseult just want to be free to live their own lives, but war is coming to the Witchlands. With the help of the cunning Prince Merik (a Windwitch and ship’s captain) and the hindrance of a Bloodwitch bent on revenge, the friends must fight emperors, princes, and mercenaries alike, who will stop at nothing to get their hands on a Truthwitch.

    What about you guys? What books are in your TBR pile? What books are you looking forward to reading this spring?

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    Free Comic Book Day coming up on May 2 …

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    Note: This blog will also appear tomorrow, April 14, over at Magical Musings.

    It seems like every day is some sort of holiday. Of course, you have your biggies, like Thanksgiving and Christmas, but there is something to celebrate every day. There’s even a National Day Calender where you can keep track of important holidays like Talk Like A Pirate Day (Sept. 19 — Yargh!) and National Cookie Day (Dec. 4 — shouldn’t we celebrate cookies every day?).

    But one of my favorite holidays is Free Comic Book Day, which always takes place on the first Saturday in May — May 2 this year.

    And it is just what it sounds like. On Free Comic Book Day, participating comic book shops across the United States and around the world give away free comics to kids and adults, host costume contests, and much more. You can see a preview of some of the comics that will be given away during this year’s event over at the Free Comic Book Day website.

    Avengers Age of Ultron Free Comic Book Day should be especially fun this year, with the Avengers: Age of Ultron movie coming out on May 1. So why not pick up some comics collections, like Age of Ultron by Brian Michael Bendis, Bryan Hitch, Brandon Peterson, and Carlos Pacheco, shown at left, and learn more about your favorite superheroes and villains? If you don’t read comics, you’re missing out on some great stories and art.

    Also, if you’re a fantasy author, get in touch with your local comic book store. Many folks who enjoy comics enjoy fantasy stories in general, and you might find some new readers. I’ll be signing books on May 2 at Mountain Empire Comics in Bristol, Tenn. The store always has a great crowd on Free Comic Book Day, and it’s always fun to chat with folks about superhero movies, TV shows, and more.

    Free Comic Book Day is a terrific time to head out to your local comic book store to see what all the superhero fuss is about. Hope everyone enjoys Free Comic Book Day as much as I do. Cheers!

  • How do you read …

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    Note: I posted this over at Magical Musings last week and wanted to share it here as well.

    How do you read?

    Do you start at the beginning and read straight through a book, with no skipping ahead at all? Do you flip through a book, stopping here and there to skim a few pages before you start reading in earnest? Or do you immediately go to the very last page to see how the book ends?

    Me? Well, I admit that I tend to fall into that last category. I like a little sneak peak at the end of the book for a variety of reasons.

    Snow Like AshesMost of the time, I just want to see how many pages a book is, so I can estimate what kind of time commitment I’m making. I especially tend to do this with epic fantasy books, simply because they tend to be longer than books in other genres.

    Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch and The Republic of Thieves by Scott Lynch are some of the many fantasy books where I have looked to see how long they were. Don’t get me wrong. Epic fantasy is one of my favorite things to read, but sometimes I just don’t have time to read several hundred pages over a weekend. I tend to read fantasy books when I have a lighter schedule and can really immerse myself in the book, story, and world building.

    Other times, I will flip to the back of the book to see if there is a cliffhanger, especially if I know that the book is the first in a trilogy. I don’t mind story threads continuing on into the next book, but I’m not a fan of huge, epic cliffhangers where every single character is in mortal danger, especially if I have to wait months or even years for the next book in the series. If I see that a book does have a massive cliffhanger, then I am likely to put it back on the shelf and wait until the next book is out before I read the first one in the series.

    While I’m looking at the back of the book for page counts and cliffhangers, I usually find myself reading a paragraph or two … or three or four …

    And sometimes, I end up spoiling the whole book for myself. Um … whoops … my bad …

    It’s happened more than once, especially when it comes to mysteries and thrillers where the killer is revealed on the very last page. That’s happened enough times now that I have been cutting down on my sneak peaks. Just a quick glance at the page count, and I am back to the beginning to start reading straight through.

    What about you guys? Do you look at the end of a book before you get there? Why or why not?

  • Young adult epic fantasy books …

    One of my favorite things to read is young adult epic fantasy. I just really enjoy the genre. Plus, the books always seem to have the most gorgeous covers. Here are some YA epic fantasy books that I’m looking forward to this spring and summer.

    Note: The descriptions are from Goodreads.

    Hidden HuntressHidden Huntress by Danielle L. Jensen — out on June 2

    Amazon / Barnes & Noble

    Beneath the mountain, the king’s reign of tyranny is absolute; the one troll with the capacity to challenge him is imprisoned for treason. Cécile has escaped the darkness of Trollus, but she learns all too quickly that she is not beyond the reach of the king’s power. Or his manipulation.

    Recovered from her injuries, she now lives with her mother in Trianon and graces the opera stage every night. But by day she searches for the witch who has eluded the trolls for five hundred years. Whether she succeeds or fails, the costs to those she cares about will be high.

    To find Anushka, she must delve into magic that is both dark and deadly. But the witch is a clever creature. And Cécile might not just be the hunter. She might also be the hunted…

    A Court of Thorns and RosesA Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas — out on May 5

    Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iTunes

    A thrilling, seductive new series from New York Times bestselling author Sarah J. Maas, blending Beauty and the Beast with faerie lore.

    When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution for it. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she only knows about from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin—one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled their world.

    As she dwells on his estate, her feelings for Tamlin transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie and warning she’s been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But an ancient, wicked shadow grows over the faerie lands, and Feyre must find a way to stop it . . . or doom Tamlin—and his world—forever.

    The Orphan QueenThe Orphan Queen by Jodi Meadows — out on March 10

    Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iTunes

    Wilhelmina has a hundred identities.

    She is a princess. When the Indigo Kingdom conquered her homeland, Wilhelmina and other orphaned children of nobility were taken to Skyvale, the Indigo Kingdom’s capital. Ten years later, they are the Ospreys, experts at stealth and theft. With them, Wilhelmina means to take back her throne.

    She is a spy. Wil and her best friend, Melanie, infiltrate Skyvale Palace to study their foes. They assume the identities of nobles from a wraith-fallen kingdom, but enemies fill the palace, and Melanie’s behavior grows suspicious. With Osprey missions becoming increasingly dangerous and their leader more unstable, Wil can’t trust anyone.

    She is a threat. Wraith is the toxic by-product of magic, and for a century using magic has been forbidden. Still the wraith pours across the continent, reshaping the land and animals into fresh horrors. Soon it will reach the Indigo Kingdom. Wilhelmina’s magic might be the key to stopping the wraith, but if the vigilante Black Knife discovers Wil’s magic, she will vanish like all the others.

    What about you guys? What books are you looking forward to this spring and summer?