Sunday, February 2, 2014

Guest Post: Swordplay, A New Fantasy Novel by Katharina Gerlach



I became a fan of fellow Magic Appreciation Tour novelist Katharina Gerlach after reading her fun 2011 historical fantasy novel, Urchin King. She's just released a new fantasy read called Swordplay and I'm happy to have her tell us a little bit about it. Take it away Katharina! 

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Developing Swordplay

Swordplay sneaked into my life. It started out as a short idea of a magician examining a sword and entered the world as a short story of less than 10,000 words. Surprisingly, it was accepted by a small magazine, and the readers loved it. Some suggested that there was more to the story and that I should write something longer about the Commissiare Magique (back then, his name was different from what's in the novel now). Nothing came to mind, so I let the ideas simmer. I often do that when my Muse (my creative side) refuses to hand me answers immediately.

Then, one night, I woke up with Moira in my mind. I felt her desperation when her father left the family, and her determination to join the Gendarmerie Magique despite her shortcomings in magic-control. I knew I had my story. Still, it took me another three months of figuring out how all the ideas my Muse threw at me were connected to each other. When that was done, I settled down to write. I had planned the novel to come in at 70K words but it ended up near 90K instead.

That was when I realized something was wrong… not with the current novel, mind, but with the whole background my Muse had handed me. There was simply too much for a single novel.
"But I hate series. I hardly ever read them," I said.

Smug grin from my Muse. She pointed to Wattpad, where I had shared some of the story with my fans. There, black on white, several of the readers requested a sequel or two.

"I cannot write a series. I wouldn't know where to start." I was practically begging, but it was no use. My Muse simply pointed at the "How to Write a Series" course by Holly Lisle (my mentor). I gave up. So, here you have it, the first volume of the first ever series I will write. Volume two and three are currently in the planning stage and I should start writing late spring or early summer. They'll be somewhat shorter than the first volume, so I can publish at least one more before the year is out (yes, writing novels does take that long – plus, I have to translate them into German too).

About the Book
CSI with magic but without the gore
Despite her obvious lack of magical talent, nineteen year old Moira Bellamie apprentices with the Gendarmerie Magique, the magic police. She puts all her effort into solving a burglary at the National Museum where antique weapons have been stolen, to keep the hard won job. Falling for her partner Druidus wasn't part of the plan. When more and more people are murdered with one of the stolen weapons, Moira must tame uncontrollable magic, or the people she cares for will die, her partner first and foremost.

For lovers of Fantasy and Mystery from 14 years up

eBook on Amazon:       German, English
and Smashwords:          German, English
other retailers will follow

Paperback in German or English on Createspace (Beware: postage), Amazon (no postage) will follow soon and can be found through the eBook pages

About Katharina
I’ve been telling and writing stories all my life, but only two year ago, with the success of eBook publishing, I became an Indie author. I never looked back. Sure, my manuscripts have found praise with traditional publishers, but no one had the courage to publish something they couldn’t neatly stuff into a labeled box.

Well, just like my books, I don’t fit one box. I’m the daughter of a forester and a studied forester myself. I’m sister to three brothers, and a mother to three daughters. I’m a tomboy at heart and simultaneously tidy and chaotic – I can’t be any different with my Muse (the creative part of me) dragging me in one direction and my Editor (the neat, logical side) pulling in another.

There are three things in this world I love more than anything: my family, stories (mine and those of others) and nature. The best thing that can happen to me is when someone I don’t know leaves a review for one of my books telling me how much (s)he liked it. 

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Thanks Katharina!

Saturday, December 14, 2013

Star Trek: The Recognition Certificate

Back in 1993 Jaq Greenspon, a friend from my days at the Groundlings, and I went to Paramount to pitch some story ideas to the folks at Star Trek: The Next Generation. Jaq was aware that the show had an open invitation to published sci fi writers (Jaq is one) and since we're both sci fi/fantasy nerds who would frequently chew the fat on the subject he graciously asked me if I wanted to go in and try and sell something. I readily agreed. We met and came up with a bunch of story springboards and made an appointment. The writer/producer we met with (can't remember his name) was relatively cool/ neutral to the ideas we were pitching until it came to the very last one:

"Picard is taken captive by a Mark David Chapman-like fan of his military career."

In other words, the kidnapper was a fanatical Picard groupie. At that point, the producer's eyes brightened and he said something to the effect of, "I like that one. You know we have a lot of hardcore fans of this show." Oh really? (you're looking at two of them)

They bought the idea which we developed into a story that eventually was handed over to a couple of staff writers who turned it into the episode entitled "Liaisons." The whole process was loads of fun and I'm grateful to Jaq for getting us in there.

So. . . today in the mail I got an "award" certificate from the WGA (see above). They've apparently placed the series on their list of the "101 Best Written TV Series" and even though Jaq and I contributed to the show in a tiny little way, the Guild wanted to make sure we were recognized for it.

I don't know, but I think that's kind of cool. :)

Friday, December 13, 2013

Wonderstorms: A Fantasy Anthology is Now Available


Wonderstorms: A Fantasy Anthology went live on Amazon this past Wednesday. Huzzah!

This book is a collection of short stories from a group of five fantasy authors -- Jason Asala, Brian Clopper, A.E. Howard, Keith Robinson, and myself.  Each story is set in its own unique world with the common threads being the title of book and the element of either fantasy or sci fi.

The stories within are all a lot of fun and contain each author's interpretation of a wonderstorm. My story, Undrastormur, happens to be a Norse fantasy-adventure in the "classic" style while the other stories are set in modern day or alternate realities.

The cost of Wonderstorms is a rock-bottom $.99 but if that's still too rich for your blood, you can wait a couple of weeks for it to drop to $.00 due to Amazon price-matching. Our goal was not to make bank with this particular effort, but to put out a quality read that showcased each author's writing talent.

I believe the stories in Wonderstorms are all quite good and invite you to pick up your copy today -- or in a couple of weeks. ;)

Thursday, December 12, 2013

Book Review: Fox's Bride by A.E. Marling


http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009JDN2L8/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B009JDN2L8&linkCode=as2&tag=theofficia030-20

Fox's Bride, the sequel to author Marling's impressive Brood of Bones, continues Enchantress Hiresha's wildly imaginative adventures. This time we find her in Oasis City, the macabre playground of a truly evil and seemingly invincible sorcerer bent on eliminating her as a threat to his shadowy rule. Assisted by loyal spellsword Chandur, cantankerous maid Janny, and the deadly Lord of the Feast, Hiresha must find a way to expose and defeat the fiend before she's sacrificially married off to a desert fox and sealed in an airless sacophagus for all eternity.

Marling is at the top of his game in Bride, weaving a complex mystery full of magic (both dark and Hiresha's unique gemstone-based variety), humor, and flat-out adventure. Fox's Bride is a rich and complex read that I highly recommend.

To find out more about A.E. Marling and his books, please visit him here.

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

I'm in a Wonderstorm!

Well, technically, I have a story in Wonderstorms, a new fantasy anthology that's coming out in the next week or two (sometime between 12/10-12/20). That's right, I finally have something new being published. Stop laughing. I'm a busy guy!

We five authors were given the challenge to write a short story based on the book's title. The only other stipulation was that it had to be fantasy-based. That's all we got. And so I sat down at the end of September and began working out Undrastormur (a cobbled-together Icelandic phrase that translates to. . . care to take a guess? You got it. Wonderstorm.

Icelandic, you say? Yes! My story has trolls, a draugr (the Viking equivalent of the walking dead), a bold shield maiden, and a couple of galdrakarls (Norse wizards). I'm very pleased with how this anthology turned out (all the stories are quite good) and hope our readers enjoy it, too.

I'll share more details as they become available. In the meantime. . .stop laughing!

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

iAi Book of the Month: Collateral Damage by Frederick Lee Brooke

This month's featured iAi book is...

Collateral Damage by Frederick Lee Brooke.

A love affair, obsession and murder are threatening to tear apart the lives of of Iraq War vets, after all they’ve survived overseas. Determined to find the murderer, Annie Ogden discovers she’s his next target.

Excerpt

Five hundred, twenty-three days, I thought, what is it about that number? I took too many math seminars. I can’t help it if my brain makes these associations. They come to me at odd moments. The significance suddenly occurred to me, like an email dropping in my inbox. Prime numbers. The one hundredth prime was 523. In itself it had no meaning, and yet…a coincidence like this, a number that was such a tremendous thing of beauty, in the canon of all numbers, prime numbers in themselves being exquisitely beautiful, and today being the one hundredth prime, a thing exponentially more beautiful than any ordinary prime, and this being the very day that Michael chose to reappear in my life bringing a love poem, after all my desperate pining and longing and refusal to give up all hope. Could it really, truly be meaningless?

My sister stood across the room, arms folded over her chest.
“You have come a long way, Annie. Sometimes you do amaze me.”
“You think so?”
“Girl, I am buying you lunch. You were so strong. That was so hard. I saw every bit. You deserve more than a reward. You’re up for sainthood.”
She took me to lunch, and afterwards we strolled down Michigan Avenue, and all afternoon I had trouble containing myself, even if we avoided the subject for the next four hours. It felt incredible to be alive. I felt like I was bathing in a circle of sunshine even though the day was cold and overcast.

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About Frederick Lee Brooke

Frederick Lee Brooke launched the Annie Ogden Mystery Series in 2011 with Doing Max Vinyl and following with Zombie Candy in 2012, a book that is neither about zombies nor sweets. The third mystery in the series, Collateral Damage, appeared in 2013. The first book in Fred’s entirely new series is due before Christmas, 2013.

A resident of Switzerland, Fred has worked as a teacher, language school manager and school owner. He has three boys and two cats and recently had to learn how to operate both washing machine and dryer.

When not writing or doing the washing, Fred can be found walking along the banks of the Rhine River, sitting in a local cafe, or visiting all the local pubs in search of his lost umbrella.

You can find out more about Fredrick and his books by visiting these places: 

email:  info@frederickleebrooke.com
Twitter: @frederickbrooke
Amazon page: Collateral Damage 
Goodreads:  http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4856232.Frederick_Lee_Brooke
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/FrederickLeeBrooke
my blog:  http://www.frederickleebrooke.com/
Google +:   https://plus.google.com/112331292398646390142/posts?hl=en

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