YA Fantasy, YA Sci-fi, Science Fiction
Published: November 2020
Publisher: Regilius Publishing
Eric Folder has moved to Oregon to attend Portland State University when an automobile accident leaves him stricken with migraine headaches. The resulting visual effects—something medical professionals term an aura—render him virtually blind and defenseless when a gang of street thugs attacks him. Desperate to see and needing to protect himself, Eric reflexively tears at the luminous lines of light and finds they have become tangible. When he pulls them aside, his present reality folds away with them, leaving him in better circumstances with his enemies vanished. Attempts to fold his way out of subsequent perils leave him in increasingly strange situations until, eventually, his world becomes a nightmare.
Praise for Folder:
“A wild young-adult alternate-worlds adventure that will leave you guessing right up to the end! Fans of Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials will love this!” – D. J. Butler, author of Witchy Eye
“A big, engaging ride across our infinite possibilities – and our choice to be heroes.” – Anthony Dobranski, author of The Demon in Business Class
Excerpt (PROLOGUE)
I’m lost.
I don’t know if I should laugh or cry when I say this, because I sound as if I’m repeating words from a hymn or I’m in need of a compass, or else I’ve given up completely. The thing is, I’m terrified because all these things are true and I don’t know how to fix them. I would say a prayer if I thought someone could hear, but even if they did, I don’t think this is a place where prayers get answered. If I had a compass, knowing whether I’m facing North or South wouldn’t take me away from this place, let alone back to where I started. In fact, no one can get me out of the mess I’m in, except maybe me, and I’m as scared to try to change what has brought me here as I am afraid do nothing.
I remember when my friends and I were kids and we hid in the bushes and pretended there were monsters coming after us. Well, now the monsters are real. I’ve been listening for what seems an eternity to their angry snorts and the clatter and scratches of their claws on the large stone surface where those creatures are gathered. Every now and then, one of them hisses and another does the same in response. The rate of their footsteps escalates and I imagine two of them colliding and squaring off in an expression of indignation. It’s too dark to see whether this has actually happened, or if it’s just my imagination, but the pounding of my heart in face of the impending danger keeps me riveted on what’s happening.
As I hide in a clump of bushes and the minutes pass, I’m more than a little relieved that they’re taking so long to find me. Unexpectedly, the full moon peeks through a break in the cloud cover and the scales on the bodies of several great beasts glisten. Each is twice the size of a bullmastiff and I count six of them several yards from here. Their eyes glow whitish gold and appear to have vertical slits, although it’s hard to be sure at this distance. As they circle a spot where I was standing a short while ago, sniffing the ground in several directions around it, one of them raises its head and opens its mouth, baring rows of long, needlelike teeth. I expect the creature will howl. Instead, a rasping reptilian sound emerges and I shudder, wondering what kind of beings they are.
Although I’ve recently arrived, from my earlier experiences and the landscape’s layout, I recognize this place as being near where the street car used to stop in a time that’s lost to me forever. The place where I’m hiding used to be the parkway where Park crosses Mill—or what used to be Park and Mill before everything transformed into this new reality. There aren’t any streets anymore and I’m surprised there are even deer trails to mark where Park and Mill once intersected. This used to be Portland State University, but now everything’s grown over and forested. The clock tower has vanished, as have the student union and the rest of the buildings that were part of the campus.
Without warning, a thought bubbles up from a world I’ll never see again and I almost cry out loud. Cursing this lack of control, I force my idiot self to keep quiet. Still, there is some truth to the thought that this situation is what Dad would have called a mixed blessing. It’s because it rained so hard that those things haven’t discovered me already. Here I am, kneeling on a thick bed of leaves. If they weren’t so soggy, they would crackle each time I move and announce my location. Instead, their wetness muffles whatever noise I might otherwise make. On the other hand, because the night is so cold and water is starting to soak through my pants, I’m beginning to shiver and I’m afraid I might sneeze any minute. If I do, those creatures will certainly hear and I know I will die because I’m sure they can out-run me.
The breeze that’s been chilling me starts to increase and I wonder if another storm is building. The last of autumn’s leaves whip though the air and there is a sharp crack above me. The creatures turn in my direction and two cock their heads. A third one starts walking toward me and I hold my breath, wondering whether it will continue to advance, when a second crack drops a large bough into the bushes a few yards to my right. The creatures stop and stare at the spot where it landed. Then, apparently satisfied they understand what caused the disturbance, they resume their search in the original location. Realizing I’ve been holding my breath and that I need to breathe, I inhale deeply, then exhale. My breathing is starting to grow normal when something grabs my shoulder.
About The Author
Raymond Bolton lives near Portland, Oregon with his wife, Toni, and their cats, Max and Arthur. His epic fantasies are published by WordFire Press, publisher of the Dune and Star Wars novels, and have received endorsements by the late Mike Resnick and award-winning author Paul Kane.
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Release Date: April 19th, 2021
So, this book features a few new characters, including Princess Sorei of Korya, who’s a bit on the awesome side. This was one of the first images I pinned for her. |
Book Description:
The Rizkaland Legends #3
When a Queen forgets,
Her enemies rejoice in her weakness.
But when the Queen remembers,
They tremble in fear.
When a King loves,
His country rejoices with him.
But when that love is broken.
The land is broken, too.
Can Water and Fire join again?
Can Love and Memory be restored?
They spent years in Rizkaland. They ruled the land, forged friendships, built families, and made it their home. But then it was time to return to Earth, and their former lives just don’t fit anymore. Clara and Andrew struggle to reevaluate their priorities when hundreds of miles separate them. Reuben and Petra are lost as they seek a balance between their old friendship and their Rizkan marriage. And Ashna and Noraeto never planned to return, so what live is there for them on Earth?
When the unthinkable happens and a new enemy arises, they’re all thrown back into Rizkaland, into a young prince’s rise to power and struggle to build alliances for his kingdom. But they no longer belong in their other world, either.
Are good memories too much to bear?
Excerpt:
“Why do we need each other so much?” she growled.
He narrowed his eyes, the tone in her voice not sitting well with him.
“I’m not talking about the mental link making it painful for us to be apart,” she continued before he could answer. “Or, at least, it’s not all that I’m talking about. Reuben, we’ve been joined at the hip since the day I was born. We have never spent a day apart that we could help – except that one year. And, even when we are apart, we still revolve around each other. People don’t say ‘Petra’ or ‘Reuben.’ It’s ‘Petra and Reuben.’ Even we think that way. Who’s Petra? Who’s Reuben? There isn’t one of us without the other. Is that even healthy?”
Reuben quickly stood, skirted around the bed to where Petra stood, and caught her by the waist. She melted into him automatically.
Purchase Link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08CSYSSXS/
Add Book on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/…/s…/50512612-the-dancing-princess
Author Bio:
Kendra E. Ardnek is the self-proclaimed Arista of Fairy Tales. She lives in the Piney Woods of East Texas with her dragon babies and massive herd of mini-giraffes, and she is still waiting for one of of her fifty nutcrackers to come to life and marry her. When not writing, you can usually find her sitting in a random box, and she’s frequently known to act before she thinks. Find her online at: Website || Blog || Goodreads || Facebook || Twitter || YouTube || Newsletter || Instagram || TikTok || Amazon
Black Friday Sale: For Black Friday and in honor of this cover reveal, I am offering book one, Water Princess, Fire Prince as a FREE ebook on Amazon, and book 2, Lady Dragon, Tela Du, is just 99 cents! And, furthermore, I am offering Broken, which is part 1 of Love and Memory, for free as well as an early read! This sale is
part of Perry Kirkpatrick’s Black Friday Sale, so do go check out all of the other books on offer for 99 cents or less!
Letters from the Dragon’s Son
A father…
A son…
and the dragon they became.
One head: Malevolent, attired in barbs and spines, took pleasure in decimating the forested village.
Avery, formerly White Boar, wanders the forests seeking forgiveness from the people he sold into slavery, but is repentance payment enough?
Righteous, with two horns on each side, tried to calm the evil one’s violent ambition.
More servant than son, Jonathan Gudwyne, had been powerless to stop his father from taking the Men of the Forest into captivity. As a man, White Wolf reverses the damage he and his father caused by returning the Natives home. Jonathan gains honor and worship, but what does he do with the remains of his past? Justice has yet to be served to the dragon. Should Jonathan be the one who administers the sentence to his wandering father? To himself?
The two heads formed Brinsop, whose iron talons wrought chaos….
Can a man change? Can a broken family be made whole again? If one head is destroyed can the other survive?
SPOTLIGHT
From author Tammy Lash, the anticipated sequel to White Wolf and the Ash Princess. Letters from the Dragon’s Son is here!
Letters is an emotionally driven story of love, loss, and forgiveness. Jonathan’s journey to his father is raw, heartbreaking, and honest. Avery’s transformation from dragon to father is beautiful and inspiring. Letters is the loyalty of family, of blood or friendship, and the One who ordained it all. Letters from the Dragon’s Son is a compelling read that offers hope and healing to the wounded soul.
Facebook- https://m.facebook.com/tammylashauthor/
Instagram- http://instagram.com/tamlash5
Twitter- https://twitter.com/TammyLash5?s=09
Blog- http://tammylash.wordpress.com
Amazon-
Eagle Eyes- https://amzn.to/3eopZwQ
White Wolf and the Ash Princess- https://amzn.to/3jTkNSM
Letters from the Dragon’s Son- https://amzn.to/2TNcNIz
Goodreads-
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55836769-letters-from-the-dragon-s-son
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/37880370-white-wolf-and-the-ash-princess
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42436944-eagle-eyes
Want to win these items? Enter the giveaway below! |
Giveaway-
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Author Bio-
Tammy lives in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula near the shores of Lake Superior with her husband and three teen/adult children. Currently, they are working together on their “new” home just outside the Hiawatha National Forest she writes about in her stories.
Tammy enjoys hiking, kayaking, beach wandering,”hunting” for birch bark, and spotting migizis.
She is the author of White Wolf and the Ash Princess, Letters from the Dragon’s Son, and the short story Eagle Eyes from the Descendants of White Wolf series.
YA High Fantasy
Date Published: November 10, 2020
Publisher: FyreSyde Publishing
King Athan vanishes at sea. His children, prince Thalos and princess Thara, drift apart with age, their kingdom falling into ruin. Thalos stubbornly clings to the past; Thara, resentful of her father, looks to the future. In the wake of this decline, a beautiful enchantress usurps the throne from the estranged siblings. She exiles Thalos to the edge of the world and slowly enslaves Thara’s mind.
In his exile, Thalos finds another castaway—an old comrade of his father. Together they begin a voyage in search of the lost king. Thara, meanwhile, resists the new queen’s coercive spells and finds a resistance of creatures still loyal to her father.
With a vast world of enchanted islands and beings between them, Thalos and Thara struggle to restore their family and rekindle the hope of the true king’s return.
About the Author
Frazier Alexander lives in Denton, Texas with his wife Nicole.
He began writing around the age of nine, inspired by movies such as The Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, and “sword-and-sandal” epics like Jason and the Argonauts. As a reader, his interests gravitate towards older works and the classics, such as Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, Virgil’s Aeneid, Beowulf, and Le Morte D’Arthur. Along with creating his own mythological backdrop for his stories, Frazier is an amateur calligrapher, map-maker, and artist.
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Click here to enter to win an Amazon gift card and a copy of the ebook! a Rafflecopter giveaway
Author’s name: Juli D. Revezzo
Title of book and/or series: Bitter Thorn Tribe (Stewards War, book 2)
Brief summary of the story:
Destined to be a bride, if only the gods will let her…
Stacy Macken tries to acclimate herself to her training under Tuatha dé Danaan druids—as if she doesn’t have enough work in planning her wedding to her beloved guardian and fiancé Aaron.
When Fomorii loyalists violate their treaty and seek revenge for their recent defeat, even Stacy’s druids are at a loss to explain the mayhem that ensues. Can Aaron and his brothers-in-arms stop it before Stacy and her family are caught in the crossfire?
Brief description of the world or location you created for this story: The city is a modern (fictional) town in Florida called Bitter Thorn Grove, named after its Medieval Irish counterpart. So its locale and weather is that of the Florida Gulf Coast, but, after the last battle, their druids did a little finagling and the environment is a tad cleaner than what you’d expect if you were to visit a modern town in the real world. It’s still hot as heck in the summer, but that odd winter Stacy experienced a few years ago where they were having snowstorms (you can see that in the previous novel Keeper of the Grove) has, blessedly, not returned.
If we were to visit Bitter Thorn Grove as tourists, what would you recommend that we see or do there?
Definitely go to Stacy’s Bitter Thorn Grove History Center. You’ll learn everything about the town there, and maybe, if you’re lucky, Stacy (the heroine of Bitter Thorn Tribe) will give you a personal tour. If you’re very lucky, she may tell you why Aaron and his harshad warrior buddies deem it their sacred ground.
What dangers should we avoid in Bitter Thorn Grove?
Aside from the usual dangers of any modern city, though normal crime is on the downswing since the end of what happened in volume one, Bitter Thorn Grove has to contend with Balor’s supernatural dragon-like beasts they call Harbingers. Nasty things that just won’t seem to leave Stacy alone.
Is there a distinct or unusual type of food or meal that we might be served in Bitter Thorn Tribe?
Stacy’s granny makes this awesome jam that Stacy and Aaron are, on the side, trying to find the recipe for.
What types of weaponry or fighting styles are common in Bitter Thorn Tribe?
Aaron teaches a form of martial arts called Irish Stick Fighting. He also has a magical weapon called a harshad given to him and the others in his special regiment (the harshad warriors) by the Tuatha dé Danaan god Goibniu. It can split into three blades and wrap around enemies to pull them in for the kill, if necessary. Or it can become a knife, or a baton, or anything Aaron needs with which to defend Stacy and the Bitter Thorn Grove History Center. The name “harshad” is an in-joke within the warriors’ group meaning it can turn into roughly 500 different items. (A harshad number is a number divisible by the sum of its digits…for instance, 500, and the warriors fight their battle with Balor for dominance of the earth—when things go right—every five hundred years).
What types of vehicles, animals, technology, etc. are used to travel in or to Bitter Thorn Tribe?
Average normal modern technology, but the harshad warriors can teleport, and their druids use higher than high-tech computer systems that can log and calculate just about anything you can think of.
What types of plants, animals, or sentient races might we encounter in Bitter Thorn Grove that we don’t see on Earth?
Aside from Balor’s minions that are a mix of reptilian beasts and quite dragon-like, right now, the “grove” for which the city is named is sentient and can respond a threat to Stacy and reach out to help the harshad warriors guard and protect her.
What role, if any, does magic or the supernatural play in the lives of people in Bitter Thorn Grove? If there is magic, please give some examples of what it involves or how it’s used.
There is magic. Aside from the magic of Aaron’s weapon, he can teleport, and create a magical wall of undulating glass as a shield, he (and some of his fellow worries) have magical healing abilities. The druids can do just about anything written up in the ancient Celtic myths, like call magical fog, resurrect warriors in their gods’ Cauldron of Rebirth, make magical healing draughts, spell mundane weapons to make them more effective, put magical locks on things, and transform into animals. Stacy is learning all that magic now. The druids have even pulled her consciousness into tales before.
Is there any advanced or unusual technology in Bitter Thorn Grove? If you haven’t described it already, please give some examples.
The harshad warriors weapons and the Cauldron of Rebirth are the only unusual tech I can think of. The druids are thinking of upgrading the world’s computers, if they can help it. So we won’t have to worry about pesky things like viruses and hackers. 😉
Tell us about any sports, games, or activities that are available for entertainment in Bitter Thorn Grove.
The usual, but outside Aaron’s Bataireacht (Irish stick fighting) school, Stacy doesn’t like or pay attention to sports. But outside sports, there are also movies, streaming and otherwise, music, and books and such, just like we have.
Are the days of the week and months of the year the same in Bitter Thorn Grove as on Earth? What holidays or special events are celebrated regularly there?
Pretty much the same, except Stacy and Aaron celebrate the Celtic calendar holidays, Samhain, Lughnasadh, Beltaine, and Imbolc. Imbolc every five hundred years is when the main battles take place—unless of course, like now, Balor breaks the treaty. Samhain is also an auspicious date for them. It’s the time when all major events take place, in Celtic mythology, so…plays in as a spoiler in Bitter Thorn Tribe, so I can’t say how. 😉
Is there a particular religion practiced in Bitter Thorn Grove? Please describe what it involves.
The general populace is a mix of Christian, Buddhist, et al, like us, but our main characters are ancient druids so they have their four main celebrations of the year. Usually with divining, revelry, prayers of assistance (if necessary), and new oaths given. They’ll also commune with their gods, who have a tendency to show up and advise or scold the main characters and their druids, as they see fit. Most people, outside Stacy’s family and small circle, don’t know about Aaron and the harshad warriors and druids; or, at least, they don’t realize they are different than you and me.
What is the political or government structure in Bitter Thorn Grove? Who is in charge there at the moment, and what kind of leader is he/she?
A governor is in charge of Florida, and the mayor is in charge of Bitter Thorn Grove as a whole. Stacy is Queen of her own little tribe, though, and Aaron and the harshad warriors usually defer to her wishes—if her wishes don’t put her or the sacred ground in jeopardy of falling into Balor’s hands.
Are there any other unique cultural practices that we should be aware of if we visit Bitter Thorn Grove?
You may want to call Stacy before you visit. You never know if Aaron will have to put pants on, or if you may walk into a battle with Balor’s strange minions, these days. (Where are they still coming from??? That’s what Stacy would like to know!)
Has anything in your actual life inspired the locations, cultures, etc. in your book?
Stacy’s history center in based on a small museum I worked for in college, and the whole druidic set up and use of the Celtic myth of the Battle of Mag Tuired as the series basis is influenced by my nearly-lifelong love of Celtic mythology.
What, if any, “hot-button” or controversial topics do you touch on in your book?
I’d say feminism and in some cases, eminent domain, as well as environmentalism, to some extent.
Author Autobiography:
Juli D. Revezzo loves fantasy and Celtic mythology and writing stories with all kinds of fantastical elements. She is the author of the Antique Magic paranormal series and the Stewards Wars and Celtic Stewards Chronicles series, the historical romances, Camden Girls series, Vesta’s Clockwork Companions, House of Dark Envy, Watchmaker’s Heart, and Lady of the Tarot, and more. She is also a member of the Independent Author Network and the Magic Appreciation Tour.
Where, and in what formats, can we purchase your book(s)? Please include links.
It’s available now in ebook and paperback at Amazon.
The book trailer, should you like to see it, is here:
Where can readers connect with you online?
My links are as follows:
Website: https://julidrevezzo.com/
Newsletter: http://bit.ly/signupforJulisnewsletter
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Juli-D.-Revezzo/e/B008AHVTLO
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/juli-d-revezzo
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/julidrevezzo
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5782712.Juli_D_Revezzo
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/julidrevezzo/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/jewelsraven/
There’s also a board dedicated specifically to the Stewards War and Celtic Stewards Chronicles series: https://www.pinterest.com/jewelsraven/related-to-the-celtic-stewards-chronicles/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/julidrevezzo
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDP0TPb32YCWAEG6Q_Hiw7g
by
Juli D. Revezzo
Druid Warrior Prince is the first novel in my historical fantasy series, Celtic Stewards Chronicles. If you haven’t been introduced to it yet, the series is about a family who owns a patch of land on which the Irish gods of the Tuatha dé Danann, their druids, and a special squad of elite warriors fight an ancient, magical battle against mythic evil for the fate of the world, every 500 years. In this first volume, entitled Druid Warrior Prince, Gwenevieve Macken, is the steward and lives in 6th Century Ireland. The progression Gwen’s up through time is why I can’t say the series is purely historical fantasy; it is, but it’s not, due to the modern setting of a later, related volume (Passion’s Sacred Dance).
For me, the combination of fantasy, history, and myth is something that has intrigued me for a long time, especially Celtic mythology. I have been studying up on it ever since I first found the Arthurian tales. A while back, I fell into Irish mythology, and have barely resurfaced since. J That’s where the world and war of the Celtic Stewards Chronicles came from. There’s a tale in the myths that says the evil god Balor one day did the unthinkable and refused hospitality to a druid of the Tuatha dé Danann. Well, the withholding of said hospitality was a major slight, in the eyes of the Celts, and so this druid did what you’d expect. He told tales of this king’s snub to his kin, and they decided to go to war with the king over it. (As I said, major slight!) That story, got me thinking, what if the war didn’t just end at the conclusion of the tale we have written down? What if Balor kept poking at his enemies, by way of threatening humanity, or otherwise causing trouble so the Tuatha dé Danann would have no choice but to defend humans from Balor’s potential destructive wrath?
That thought gave rise to a war fought every 500 years under the watchful eye of one family, as ancient Celtic wars were fought with a druid on hand to oversee it all, and from there to myCeltic Stewards Chronicles of which, Druid Warrior Prince, is on sale (and soon to be released at all Ebook vendors).
The official synopsis is as follows:
Gwenevieve Macken’s well-ordered world falls into chaos as encroaching interlopers scheme to possess both her and her land. Although she’s been trained to spot the signs of inhuman evil in men, the amassing armies take on guises she never expected.
When a foreign guardian presents himself as her only option for salvation, Gwenevieve must make a choice between her desires, and fulfilling the mythic fate to which she was born. A forced marriage to a Tuatha dé Danann warrior isn’t part of her plan.
Should you like to check it out, it’s available at Amazon, in ebook and paperback and soon to come elsewhere. And it’s on a special Kindle Countdown sale August 31, should you wish to save a few pennies. You can find it here:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Warrior-Prince-Celtic-Stewards-Chronicles-ebook/dp/B076H7KRV5
The entire Celtic Stewards Chronicles can be found here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B076KK77N5
I hope you will enjoy them. And before I go, I’d like to say thank you to Annie for allowing me to come here and tell you about the series. J
Juli D. Revezzo loves fantasy and Celtic mythology and writing stories with all kinds of fantastical elements. She is the Antique Magic paranormal mystery series and the Celtic Stewards Chronicles series as well the steampunk romances, Vesta’s Clockwork Companions, and Watchmaker’s Heart, the Gothic (fantasy) romances, Lady of the Tarot and House of Dark Envy , and many more. She is also a member of the Independent Author Network and the Magic Appreciation Tour.
To learn more about this and future releases, visit her at:
Sign up for her newsletter at: https://jdrevezzo.crazedfanboy.com/connectwme.html
Like her on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/julidrevezzo
or follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/julidrevezzo
See the new book trailer here: https://youtu.be/tDYzRktV3Lw