I released my Devoted to the Dark One posts as a release I called A Singular Devotee. The posts are down now, but you can get a copy on different online vendors. I added a Cast of Characters and Glossary to the book and its available as an e-book wide and as a paperback on Amazon.
Robot monk Brother Jubal is the choir director of his order and a fan of Meerani of Maruwat’s devotional hymns. The rediscovery of a forbidden text makes him wonder if Meerani was the first singular devotee of the Dark One of Spectre. Does Meerani’s chosen deity, Saanvla, bear any connection to the patron of his order? You can find out in A Singular Devotee.
I found a creator whose inspiration is North American urban myths.
Ben Adams has a new release out and is offering a freebie so you can sample his writing before you buy his latest work.
Slenderman is a new urban myth created on the internet a few years ago. I assume the Wood Nymph is a classic urban myth, though I haven’t heard of it before. You can check both of them out by clicking the above covers.
You can pick a superhero story, or else choose a space opera. There’s also post-apocalyptic stories and urban and epic fantasies in the promotion.
Of course, I hope people pick my book A Singular Devotee to review. However, there’s almost 30 to choose from and you can pick the one you want.
You can keep checking back on the link since they add new books to the promotion. It runs until April 29th.
I created my first mailing list freebie The Vitality of Greek Myths: Essays and Flash Fiction. It’s available to anyone who signs up on my mailing list. My newsletter is meant as a backup in case there are changes on my social media platforms.
You can sign up to my newsletter to keep in touch with me.
Porters is “a science-fiction crime thriller that blends the fantasies of time travel with a down and dirty detective story.”
Patrick Clark combines scifi and thrillers in an interesting package in Porters. Time travel is fatal to humans when it’s invented. Hardly anyone uses it, but it becomes a means of disposing dead bodies by murderers. They developed a crime unit to solve these murders. Their job gets grimmer when they come across a serial killer using this technique.
Patrick says he is self-publishing, but he is using a company that is asking him for a large outlay of money. They charge as much for the final product as a traditional publisher does. The price is in Canadian dollars and may be better value for my US readers.
Yet, I love his blurb so much I’m willing to offer what support I can for this Kickstarter.
It’s made its goal, and it may be worth getting in on this deal. The book is cheaper on Kickstarter than its retail price will be.
Please donate to my Ko-fi, so I can afford to make more pledges to the Kickstarters I blog about. I plan to review the final products of the Kickstarter campaigns I back in future posts.
Story Origin gives me the chance to network with other creators. Jennifer Allis Provost has a new urban fantasy called Gallowglass. Its heroine has to protect the new man in her life and her brother from the Seelie Queen…
Karina didn’t set out to free the Seelie Queen’s gallowglass. Now she’ll do anything to keep him.
After Karina and her brother, Chris’s, lives fall apart in separate yet equally spectacular ways, they leave New York behind and head to the UK. Karina buries herself in research for her doctoral thesis, all the while studiously not thinking about the man who broke her heart, while Chris—who’d been a best-selling author before his ex-fiancée sued him for plagiarism—drinks his way across the British Isles.
In Scotland, they visit the grave of Robert Kirk, a seventeenth- century minister who was kidnapped by fairies. No one is more shocked than Karina when a handsome man with a Scottish brogue appears, claiming to be the Robert Kirk of legend. What’s more, he says he spent the last few hundred years as the Gallowglass, the Seelie Queen’s personal assassin. When they’re attacked by demons, Karina understands how dearly the queen wants him back.
As Karina and Robert grow closer, Chris’s attempts to drown his sorrows lead him to a pub, and a woman called Sorcha. Chris is instantly smitten with her, so much so he spends days with Sorcha and lies to his sister about his whereabouts. When Chris comes home covered in fey kisses, Karina realizes that the Seelie Queen isn’t just after Robert.
Can Karina outsmart the Seelie Queen, or is Robert doomed to forever be the Gallowglass?
Kristine Kathryn Rusch’s publishers forced her to abandon a popular series called “The Fey”.
The Fey is an epic fantasy series of traditionally published novels. There were seven novels written. They called the first five The Fey Series, the next two were the Black King and Black Queen Series.
She regretted abandoning this series but didn’t know if she should continue it. Her Kickstarter is to raise money to underwrite its costs and to gauge interest for it.
It’s funded, but more rewards get activated if it receives more pledges. Each reward level gives rewards for both the readers and writers who back her project.
She and her husband have writing classes on Teachable that are often sold at a premium. However, a token pledge can garner you free epic fantasy related “pop-up” classes that often sell for $150 a pop.
Fans of her work get access to more free reading material with each reward level that’s reached.
Six reward levels have already been activated, which means six classes for me as a writer. I also get to sample some free fantasy books as a reader. I’d like to see the Kickstarter reach higher levels in its final few days, so I wrote this blog.
Please donate to my Ko-fi, so I can afford to make more pledges to the Kickstarters I blog about. I plan to review the final products of the Kickstarter campaigns I back in future posts.
There may be some who debate whether the Book of Jonah is historical. However, The Book of Jonah: Word for Word Bible Comic explains the book’s original context. Readers still need to read history books to get in-depth research, of course. Historical comics can help readers decide if it’s worth the effort of doing more research. Though some historical fiction fans may be content to just read the historical fiction. They don’t want to do research themselves.
The Book of Jonah contains the story of Jonah and the whale. It tells of a reluctant prophet who doesn’t want to preach to people he regards as the enemies of his people.
It uses the New International Version (NIV) for its text in the English version. They use the Nueva Versión Internacional (NVI) in its Spanish version.
People hear of the Bible, but few read it. These comics combine words, chapters and verse, with in-depth historical research. They want to make their illustrations as accurate as possible.
Illustrations serve as a more efficient way to absorb visual information than text. Visual media can convey aspects of culture, history, locality, ethnicity instantly. It would take text commentaries pages to explain these things with the same level of detail.
The creator, Simon Amadeus Pillario, knows how to fulfill Kickstarter rewards. Backers can pick up the past volumes for a pledge. It’ll be interesting to follow the creator for this and future Kickstarters.
Simon Amadeus Pillaro doesn’t strive to create a comic that’s more “mature” than it needs to be. Yet, he showcases a “multifaceted and often bloody ancient narrative”. He does so without simplifying it, watering it down or repackaging it in a child-friendly way. You can see how he does this with this 15 page sample.
He’s run five successful Kickstarters for this series in the past, and this is the seventh book in the series. Backers can be sure they know how to fulfill the rewards and can pick up the past volumes for a pledge. It’ll be interesting to follow the creator for this and future Kickstarters. There are 66 books in the Bible and he seems determined to make comics for each book.
Please donate to my Ko-fi, so I can afford to make more pledges to the Kickstarters I blog about. I plan to review the final products of the Kickstarter campaigns I back in future posts.
Robot monk Brother Jubal is the choir director of his order and a fan of Meerani of Maruwat’s devotional hymns. The rediscovery of a forbidden text makes him wonder if Meerani was the first singular devotee of the Dark One of Spectre. Does Meerani’s chosen deity, Saanvla, bear any connection to the patron of his order?
Note: I edited Devoted to the Dark One into a scifi-fantasy release. It’s now called A Singular Devotee. I added a Glossary and Cast of Characters. I would like to give review copies away on Story Origin. 10 review copies are available on request in return for an honest review.
I created my first mailing list freebie The Vitality of Greek Myths: Essays and Flash Fiction. It’s available to anyone who signs up on my mailing list. My newsletter is meant as a backup in case there are changes on my social media platforms. I occasionally include some mailing list only content.
You can sign up to my newsletter to keep in touch with me.
One of the best things about Kickstarter is it gives people the chance to buy toys they would’ve loved as a kid. Or in this case get your own kids a unique gift.
The Crafty Quest Box is a role-playing fantasy craft kit equipped to help kids play the hero. Its creator is Michael Best. He calls himself “a lifelong gamer, an avid nerd, happy husband, and father of 2 mischievous goblins.”
The kit contains:
– One golden feather- your adventurer’s key to the forest!
-A folder featuring original art- holds map, character sheets, and other activities. Also, a handy way for your adventurer to carry their materials around!
Kids can use the materials for:
-Brewing potions
-Rescuing the fairy village from Grumpythump the Ogre
-Creating a magical fairy jar to light their path through the Driftwood Timber
-Designing a magic wand (to vanquish goblins, of course)
-Disguising themselves as a unicorn
-Placating the ferocious Snackalot with their storytelling ability
There’s also T-shirts from child’s small to an adult’s 5X available for a pledge.
Mike had plenty of time to test out his kits in the fantasy gaming club he started at his kid’s school. He came up with the kits when in-person school was cancelled for the rest of the year in March 2020.
The kit contains small items; parents may want to supervise younger children. It’s meant for children ages kindergarten and up.
Mike’s dedicated to serving his customers. He pre-ordered supplies for 250 kits to make sure he doesn’t run out of supplies for the kits. He even promises to hand deliver local orders in costume.
These kits sound like a great way to keep kids occupied while the schools are closed. It also sounds like it’ll still be fun to play with when they reopen.
Please donate to my Ko-fi, so I can afford to make more pledges to the Kickstarters I blog about. I plan to review the final products of the Kickstarter campaigns I back in future posts.
