Blog
Review: Black Stone Heart (The Obsidian Path #1) by Michael R. Fletcher
Mini Review: Ravine of Blood and Shadow (Annals of the Nameless Dwarf #1) by Derek Prior
Review: Writing Monsters by Philip Athans
Philip starts by leveling the field and properly defining what a good monster is; what makes them scary, where they come from and how to define them as a monster or a villain (or both). Then he continues by encouraging us to describe their attributes, digging deep into creating three-dimensional creatures with skill descriptions that resemble a Dungeon & Dragons scoring system. I really enjoyed printing the monster creation form and going through each question to develop (or re-develop) the main villain of my story. He proceeds with an amazing section on how to write them properly on the page using the appropriate reveal, leveraging your five senses and some tricks to make them scarier and less cliché (ex.: don’t use vampires, werewolves or write them in a whole new perspective).
Blog Tour: Tower of Mud and Straw by Yaroslav Barsukov
Review: Sorcery of a Queen (Dragons of Terra #2) by Brian Naslund
Review: Blood and Chaos (Song of the King’s Heart #2) by Nicole Sallak Anderson (Historical Fiction Blog Tour)
Bender’s “Suit up for Superhuman Fantasy!”
Review: Drumbeats: Special Edition by Kevin J. Anderson & Neil Peart
Book Tour: The Ventifact Colossus (The Heroes of Spira #1) by Dorian Hart
Blog Tour: Holes in the Veil (The Goblets Immortal #2) by Beth Overmyer
Holes in the Veil epitomizes the classic middle book of a series: it expands the world and introduces some new characters and a bit of a mini-narrative while continuing with overall narrative for the main protagonists, as well. That is not to say it is boring or overly trope-y, because it is not. Holes in the Veil takes The Goblets Immortal series to a new level, and I was very happy in the direction of story.
TBRcon21 Recap: Saturday, January 30th
A little bit of a “in case you missed it” type post with full panel recordings. Check the promos above each video to see the topics and panelists. Hope you enjoy!