• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
FanFiAddict

FanFiAddict

A gaggle of nerds talking about Fantasy, Science Fiction, and everything in-between. They also occasionally write reviews about said books. 2x Stabby Award-Nominated and home to the Stabby Award-Winning TBRCon.

  • Home
  • About
    • Reviewers
    • Review Policy
    • Stance on AI
    • Contact
    • Friends of FFA
  • Blog
    • Reviews
      • Children’s / Middle Grade Books
      • Comics/Graphic Novels
      • Fantasy
        • Alt History
        • Coming of Age
        • Epic Fantasy
        • Fairy Tales
        • Grimdark
        • Heroic Fantasy
        • LitRPG
        • Paranormal Fantasy
        • Romantic Fantasy
        • Steampunk
        • Superheroes
        • Sword and Sorcery
        • Urban Fantasy
      • Historical Fiction
      • Science Fiction
        • Aliens
        • Artificial Intelligence
        • Alt History
        • Cyberpunk
        • Dystopian
        • Hard SciFi
        • Mechs/Robots
        • Military SF
        • Space Opera
        • Steampunk
        • Time Travel
      • Thriller
    • Guest Posts
    • Lists
    • Neurodivergence in Fiction
    • Why You Should Read…
    • Interviews
      • Book Tube
      • Authorly Writing Advice
  • Fear For All
    • Demons
    • Ghosts
    • Gothic
    • Lovecraftian
    • Monsters
    • Occult
    • Psychological
    • Slasher
    • Vampires
    • Werewolves
    • Witches
    • Zombies
  • SFF Addicts
    • SFF Addicts Clips
    • SFF Addicts (Episode Archive)
  • TBRCon
    • TBRCon2025
    • TBRCon2024
    • TBRCon2023
    • TBRCon2022
  • FFA Book Club
  • FFA TBR Toppers
    • Advertise Your Book on FFA!
  • Writer Resources
    • Artists
    • Cartographers
    • Editing/Formatting/Proofing

COVER REVEAL + EXCERPT: Strange & Sundry Magics (A Wayward Heroes Adventure) by Cal Black

February 5, 2024 by David W Leave a Comment

Projected Release: May 2024 (eBook only)
Paperback to follow in
Summer 2024
 
Cover Illustration: Madeleine Noonie Barker | Website
Cover Design: by Cal Black
 
Links:
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/204954735-strange-and-sundry-magics
Bearberry site: https://www.bearberrystudio.com/strange-and-sundry-magics

Blurb

When the witch Velta Quorrie finds the skeleton of the King’s Champion in her swamp, her plans of a quiet life studying magical plants are uprooted. The kingdom of Malka will fall to a dark invasion if there is no Champion to defend them. An ancient prophecy says so. Velta might not believe in prophecies, but the ghost of the Champion, Berrick, sure does. He won’t leave her alone until he’s certain the kingdom will be safe.

To Velta, the answer is easy: the king just needs to name a new Champion. When he does, no one is more surprised than Velta when the King chooses her. Now she and Berrick have to figure out how to be a hero using brains instead of brawn.

Strange and Sundry Magics is a whimsical adventure fantasy for fans of Howl’s Moving Castle, Legends and Lattes, and the Tiffany Aching series. Ghibli-like magic infuses a world full of memorable characters that both help and hinder our wayward heroes as they learn how to be a different kind of hero.

About the Author

Author of Legends & Legacies, Shattered Spirits: The Fall of Ishcairn, and
Strange & Sundry Magics
SFINCS Finalist
Professional Napper
Cat Mom and forest cyptid

Website
Twitter

Excerpt

There was a skeleton in Velta Quorrie’s swamp, and she had no idea how it got there.

Perched on her broom, the young witch looked down at the gleaming skull that sat in the murky water. It was deceptively close to the surface, resting in a patch of grasping aloe. Thick tentacle-like leaves wrapped around the skeleton and the golden breastplate it wore. Nutritious and helpful for burns, the plant was one that Velta harvested regularly. It was also, unfortunately, quite carnivorous.

Unwary travellers only had to place a foot too close to one of its leaves and the aloe would wrap around them, pulling the unfortunate soul underwater to drown. The heavy breastplate would have made escape nearly impossible for the traveller.

Reaching into the satchel hanging from her broom, Velta pulled out a small glass bottle of sea salt. Bottle in hand, Velta slipped off her broom and lowered herself into the water. Freshly fed, the aloe stirred, but was sluggish as it reached out to wrap one of her legs in a strong tendril. The water was up to her mid-thigh, and if she didn’t act quickly, Velta risked becoming yet another plant meal.

Unstopping the salt vial, she shoved her hand down as deep as she could without having to put her face underwater. Shaking the vial, she let the water dissolve the salt and carry it to the base of the aloe. The tendril around her leg twitched, then let go as the whole plant recoiled, squirming its leaves over itself to clear its surroundings of the saline water.

“Hah!” Velta said. “I know your tricks.” Pulling her hand back up, she tucked the now empty vial into her belt and pulled free a small sickle. Its sharp blade sliced off one of the aloe’s outermost leaves and with a grunt, Velta pulled it out and draped the leaf over the handle of her hovering broom. It curled around the wood instinctively, a clear jelly oozing from where it had been cut.

The skeleton posed a bigger problem, however. Now that the aloe had let it go, Velta could see that a heavy shield and sword were still grasped in its hands. It would be too heavy for her to pull free, even using her broom for leverage. But she couldn’t just leave it here. Someone with armour that shiny was important, and too often witches ended up on the sharp end of misunderstandings when important people turned up dead.

Leaning over the water so her nose was almost touching the surface, Velta looked for something smaller she could take. Reaching down, she rummaged around the bones and her fingers caught on something small and around, about the size of a coin that had fallen into the hollow of the breastplate. Pulling it free, she wiped the mud from its surface underwater.

A medallion gleamed on a simple golden chain. She was lucky that it hadn’t been strung on leather, or the aloe would have consumed that, too. Tucking the treasure into her vest, she hopped back onto her broom and made for home.

Filed Under: Blog Posts, Blog Tour, Book Spotlight, Book Tour, Cover Reveal, Excerpt, Self Published

About David W

Believer, Hubby, Girl Dad. Owner/CEO of FanFiAddict. Works a not so flashy day job in central Alabama. Furthest thing from a redneck and doesn’t say Roll Tide. Enjoys fantasy, science fiction, horror and thrillers but not much else (especially kissy kissy).

Other Reviews You Might Like

Anji Kills a King by Evan Leikam

Review: Anji Kills A King (The Rising Tide #1) by Evan Leikam

Review: The Girl in the Walls by Meg Eden Kuyatt

Review: The Vengeance (The Vampires of Dumas #1) by Emma Newman

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Sponsored By

Use Discount Code FANFI For 5% Off!

FFA Newsletter!

Sign up for updates and get FREE stories from Michael R. Fletcher and Richard Ford!

What Would You Like To See?(Required)
Please select the type of content you want to receive from FanFi Addict. You can even mix and match if you want!

FFA Author Hub

Read A.J. Calvin
Read Andy Peloquin
Read C.J. Daily
Read C.M. Caplan
Read D.A. Smith
Read DB Rook
Read Francisca Liliana
Read Frasier Armitage
Read Josh Hanson
Read Krystle Matar
Read M.J. Kuhn

Recent Reviews

Anji Kills a King by Evan Leikam

Recent Comments

  1. Mark Matthews on COVER REVEAL: To Those Willing to Drown by Mark MatthewsJanuary 7, 2025
  2. Basra Myeba on Worth reading Jack Reacher books by Lee Child?January 5, 2025
  3. Ali on Review: Sleeping Worlds Have No Memory by Yaroslav BarsukovJanuary 5, 2025
  4. Carter on So you want to start reading Warhammer 40,000? Here’s where to start!January 4, 2025
  5. M. Zaugg on Bender’s Best LitRPG reads of 2024January 3, 2025

Archive

Copyright © 2025 · Powered by ModFarm Sites · Log In