I really enjoyed this story. It begins with Alif, who helps people hide from the government on the Internet, suffer from woman problems — a rich girl he fell in love with is marrying another man. When she says it’s best if she never sees him again, he takes this to heart — he writes […]
Tag Archives: fantasy
The Implicit Promise of Genre
Have you ever read a book or a story in which, halfway through, there’s suddenly a ghost? There you are, reading what you think is a perfectly ordinary, mainstream suspense, mystery, or romance, when suddenly Boo! Out pops a random spirit. You may think this is far-fetched, but I’ve seen it in books written by […]
Top 10 Favorite Fantasy Tropes
A couple of weeks ago I put up a list of the things I’m sick of reading about. Today, perhaps in the spirit of Thanksgiving, I decided to flip that around. I don’t care if they’re tired. I don’t care if they’re cliche. There are a few things I just plain like, and I’ll keep […]
Secrets and Lies Review Blitz Highlights
Here are the highlights from yesterdays amazing review-day blitz with Innovative Online Tours! Books, Books, and More Books “OMG! I reviewed the first book in this series (here) and loved it, but this one was SO much better.” T B R “Wow where do I begin? I feel awe at Cassie’s deductive abilities and strength and bravery but […]
Cassie Scot: Swimming in Reviews!
Wow, I’m overwhelmed! I just finished up a review tour for my Cassie Scot AUDIOBOOK and the responses have been amazing. Lissette E. Manning — “I must say that this book is a must-read.” Sapphyna’s Book Reviews — “Cassie Scot: ParaNormal Detective is straight up one of the absolute best mystery books I’ve […]
The Coal Elf: There’s No Place Like Home
What’s the old saying? “Home is where the heart is.” It must be true because one of the prevalent themes in story-telling is the concept of Home – Having one, being a part of one, rejecting one, leaving one, desperately trying to find your way back to one. Humans have an innate honing device that […]
What is Young Adult Fiction? (And Why Cassie Scot Isn’t)
For someone who doesn’t consider herself to be a young adult fiction writer, I have spent a lot of time in recent months thinking about what young adult means and how to define it as a genre. The reason is simple: Quite a few of my readers are calling Cassie Scot YA. Even my publisher […]
Book Review: The Night Drifter
In this second book of the St. Leger series, the bridefinder presents Lance St. Leger with his destined bride, a fanciful lover of Arthurian legends who first meets Lance while he’s night drifting — leaving his body behind at night to wander the earth. She mistakes him for Sir Lancelot and his lost sword for […]
Book Review: The Bride Finder
The St. Ledgers are all possessed of strange magical powers. Anatole moves things with his mind and sees visions of the future — visions that warn him against a red-haired woman. But when he sends the family bride finder for his intended bride, with a detailed list of what he needed, he is presented with […]
Characters Welcome: Kaida
You could call Kaida’s life a Cinderella story, if Cinderella had a psychopath for a stepsister and a ninja master instead of a fairy godmother. Kaida is an ama, a pearl diver, living in a tiny speck of a town that clings like a barnacle to the coast of Japan. She has no last […]