Kasper's Ramblings from Kasper Beaumont - Hunters of Reloria

Hunters of Reloria

Story Time reads with Kasper: 'The Chronocar' by Steve Bellinger @computersteveb #OWSCyCon2019 #scifi #timetravel

6/18/2019

In partnership with OWS CyCon 2019

Title:The Chronocar
Author: Steve Bellinger
Genre: Sci-Fi, time travel

Blurb: Simmie Johnson was born the son of a slave. He was also a genius. After earning a PhD in physics from Tuskegee Institute, he wrote a paper outlining a theory for time travel, including plans for a time machine—called a chronocar—which was published in a scientific journal in the early 1900s .
Since the technology required to build the chronocar did not yet exist, the paper and its brilliant writer faded into obscurity.

A century later, a young Illinois Tech student, Tony Carpenter, discovers the journal article and decides to build a chronocar so he can travel back to 1919 to meet the black scientist he hopes to emulate. Unfortunately, time is not on his side. Dr. Johnson is living in Chicago’s Black Belt with his beautiful daughter—and Tony arrives just in time for the bloodiest race riot in the city’s history. Can Tony use the chronocar to save his new friends, or will his attempt forever alter the future he hopes to return to?

Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/Chronocar-Stev...

(c) Used with permission.

Solstice scavenger hunt for the Fantasy SciFi Readers Lounge #FSFRL #fantasy $75 #giveaway #freebooks

6/14/2019

What is a Solstice?

A solstice occurs when the Sun appears to reach its most northerly or southerly excursion relative to the celestial equator on the celestial sphere. Two solstices occur annually, around June 21 and December 21. Seasons of the year are determined by reference to both the solstices and the equinoxes.
The term solstice can also be used in a broader sense, as the day when this occurs. The day of a solstice in either hemisphere has either the most sunlight of the year (summer solstice) or the least sunlight of the year (winter solstice) for any place other than the Equator. Alternative terms, with no ambiguity as to which hemisphere is the context, are "June solstice" and "December solstice", referring to the months in which they take place every year.
The word solstice is derived from the Latin sol ("sun") and sistere ("to stand still"), because at the solstices, the Sun's declination appears to "stand still"; that is, the seasonal movement of the Sun's daily path (as seen from Earth) stops at a northern or southern limit before reversing direction.

We are celebrating the June 21st Solstice with a fun blog tour Scavenger Hunt.

Solstice Scavenger Hunt

FSF Readers Lounge Presents its first ever Solstice Scavenger Hunt. Running from June 16th to June 29th - 19 authors joined forces to offer readers a chance at $75 cash via PayPal and 19 eBooks as a Grand Prize! 38 secondary prizes (an eBook from one of our participating authors) will be given to randomly chosen participants with the correct answer.

To play for a chance to win, you must go to each of the authors sites listed below, collect the "hidden" word(s), unscramble them, and then enter to win!

Enter the Rafflecopter Here
Entering does not enter you into anything! You have the option to choose who to subscribe to and who to follow - the only requirements are
1- you must follow the Facebook page for the Readers Lounge in order to get the winners announcement and -
2- use the link to enter the giveaway, but I hope you choose to follow the wonderful authors participating in this hunt!

$75 Cash via PayPal

eBooks up for prizes:

A Bit of Magic
Azimuth
Bonded
Curse Breaker: Enchanted
Dragon Blood
Elven Jewel
Forever People
Ian's Realm Saga
Schrodinger's Cat
Shadow's Hand
Sleepless Flame
Tattoos
The Fox and The Hunter
The Glass Gargoyle
The Hand of Atua
The Shikari
This Cursed Flame
Witch's Moonstone Locket
Wolves' Gambit

Make sure to visit all the sites to gather all your words! Happy Hunting!

Click on each author's name to go to their blog and find the key word.

Rennie St. James
Marie Andreas
Selina J. Eckert
Linn Tesli
Marsha A Moore
Kasper Beaumont
PJ MacLayne
D.L. Gardner
Katie Cherry
Dora Blume
Odin Oxthorn
Charity Bradford
Eileen Schuh
Noelle Nichols
Alison Lyke
Mae Baum
Melinda Kucsera
Stacy Overby
Cheryllynn Dyess

List of prizes

* Azimuth by Rennie St. James https://writerrsj.com/blog/
* The Glass Gargoyle by Marie Andreas http://faeriesdragonsspaceships.blogspot.com/
* This Cursed Flame by Selina J. Eckert https://sjeckert.wordpress.com/…/solstice-scavenger-hunt-20…
* The Fox and The Hunter by Linn Tesli https://linntesli.com/blog/
* Witch's Moonstone Locket by Marsha A Moore https://marshaamoore.blogspot.com/…/solstice-scavenger-hunt…
* Elven Jewel by Kasper Beaumont http://huntersofreloria.weebly.com/kaspers-ramblings
* Wolves' Gambit by PJ MacLayne http://www.pjmaclayne.com/mountain-musings/
* Ian's Realm Saga by D.L. Gardner https://diendrial.wordpress.com
* Dragon Blood by Katie Cherry https://www.facebook.com/KatieCherryFantasy/
* The Shikari by Dora Blume (DM Staley) www.dorablume.com
* Sleepless Flame by Odin Oxthorn (Ox Woden) https://www.odinsmusings.com/
* The Hand of Atua by Charity Bradford charitywrites.blogspot.com
* Schrodinger's Cat by Eileen Schuh http://eileenschuh.blogspot.com/
* Shadow's Hand by Noelle Nichols www.noellenichols.com
* Forever People by Alison Lyke http://www.alisonlyke.com/blog
* A Bit of Magic by Mae Baum https://maebaum.com
* Curse Breaker: Enchanted by Melinda Kucsera https://melindakucsera.com/blog/
* Bonded by Cheryllynn Dyess www.cheryllynndyess.com
* Tattoos by Stacy Overby www.thisisnothitchhikersguide.com

Elven Jewel prize from Kasper
This fantasy adventure begins when the magical continent of Reloria is threatened by cruel, scaly invaders called Vergai from the wastelands of Vergash. These invaders are barbaric and are intent on destroying the protective elven forcefield and conquering peaceful Reloria. The Vergais’ plan is to steal the Elven Jewel which is the key to the Relorian defence system.

Halfling friends Randir and Fendi and their bond-fairies are the first to discover the invaders and they embark on a quest to save the Elven Jewel. They leave their peaceful farm village with their fairies and race against time to stop the invaders. They join forces with dwarves, elves, men and a mysterious dragon, and call themselves the Hunters of Reloria.

The quest is perilous, with numerous encounters with the ruthless Vergai, who are determined to fulfill their mission. The Elven Jewel is stolen and the quest becomes a race to the portal to retrieve the jewel before it can be taken to Vergash. A battle for Reloria ensues where the consequences for the Relorians is death, unless Vergai are stopped.

The mystery key word from Kasper is:

Remember to visit all 19 blogs to find the other key words, create the popular fantasy quote and
Enter the Rafflecopter Here
to win $75 and these awesome books

Story Time with Kasper. Call Sign: Baby Daddy. A romance novel by SI Hayes and J Haney #military #romance @shannonihayes @authorjhaney

6/13/2019

In partnership with OWS CyCon 2019

Title: Call Sign: Baby Daddy (Navy SEAL Liaisons Book 1)
Authors: S.I. Hayes, J. Haney
Genre: Military / Contemporary Romance

Blurb: To those who say War is Hell, I say, try being married to a person you don't even know. That's my dilemma.
My name is Ozmond Zayne and after nearly fifteen years in the US Armed Forces, ten of them as a US Navy SEAL, I am about to face my greatest of foes. A wife and daughter.

(c) Used with permission
https://www.amazon.com/Call-Sign-Baby...

Story Time with Kasper: Finding Eliza. A historical fiction novel by Stephanie Pitcher Fishman @spfwritesbooks ‏#historical

6/13/2019

In partnership with OWS CyCon 2019
Title:Finding Eliza.
Written by Stephanie Pitcher Fishman
A historical fiction

Blurb: "It’s just a little family history. What could go wrong?" When Lizzie Clydell agreed to join her grandmother at the church’s genealogy group meeting she expected nothing more than lemon squares and a few stories. Instead, an old diary leads Lizzie down a dusty road of lies, hidden family secrets, and a lynching that nearly destroyed her family.
Still struggling with the loss of her parents two decades earlier, Lizzie must confront a painful past that others hoped was forgotten. Her journey becomes even more difficult as she realizes those around her may not be as they seem.

Can Lizzie make peace with the past or will it destroy the relationships she holds most dear? Joining her is a group of lifelong friends known to Lizzie as The Gals.

Headed up by her own grandmother, the group of women guide her through the past with humor, encouragement, and tough love as she learns about grace and forgiveness. Set in small town Georgia, Finding Eliza is a contemporary story with flashes of historical fiction as Lizzie digs into 1930s segregation, illegal interracial relationships, and the fear of the KKK.

(c) Used with permission

VS Holmes brings a unique perspective to this Fantasy / Sci-Fi interview #FSFRL #scifi #interview @VS_Holmes

5/15/2019

Author bio:
V. S. Holmes is an award-winning science fiction and fantasy author. She created the epic fantasy REFORGED series and an archaeological sci-fi series the NEL BENTLY BOOKS. In addition, she runs Amphibian Press, dedicated to helping hybrid authors with publishing and has a blogging residency at Aspiring Authors focused on writing disability and mental illness.
When not writing, she is a contract archaeologist and, as a disabled, gender-queer person, an activist for equal rights and climate change.

Book title: Travelers
Genre: Sci-fi
Publish date: 2/27/2016
Publisher: Amphibian Press

Synopsis:
Archaeologist Nel Bently has her own crew, her own research, and a private patron to fund her passion for dirt. With her trowel barely into the dry earth of Chile’s coast, however, Nel learns she and her crew are being watched.

Los Pobladores, known to Nel only as vandals and looters, take issue with any archaeologist brave or stubborn enough to set boots on their land. Nel is both and far from willing to give up the site that will make her career. She must keep her crew, her friends, and her life’s work safe, but with a benefactor playing chess with their lives, and angry militants who may actually have a point, Nel is ready to fight dirty.

X-FILES meets LARA CROFT in this snarky sci-fi about where we came from, and where we’re going

Author Interview:

Welcome to the Readers' Lounge, VS Holmes, I'm looking forward to hearing about your unique perspective on fantasy writing. Strap yourself in as this levitating lounge takes off.

VS Holmes: Thanks Kasper. Looking forward to it.

What makes your writing unique compared to others in the genre?
I focus on the broody, atmospheric aspects of mental illness and disability with my characters, which isn't often done in class fantasy and sci-fi. My characters go through a lot of introspection and dark moments!

It's great that you give a voice to folks with disabilities and make it relateable.

What’s the basic plot of your book or series?
My fantasy series (Reforged) explores what happens when the heroes are as broken as the world they must reforge, and my sci-fi series (The Nel Bently Books) is essentially lesbian archaeologists in space. The Nel books take place in the Starsedge universe, a contemporary/near future universe I share with Cameron J. Quinn--complete with crossover characters!

Which scene from your book do you like best and why?
I'm a wicked sucker for reunion scenes. The more complex the relationship or reason for parting, the better. I think it's left over from reading copious amounts of Harry/Draco and Watson/Sherlock fan fiction a decade ago. There's a scene in Blood and Mercy, the final book in my fantasy series, when a brother and sister reunite after 20 years, throughout which he's been searching for her, and she's been avoiding being found. It's awkward and disappointing and touching all at once and I love it.

Aw..that sounds sweet, maybe bitter-sweet.

Have you used any real events or places as inspiration for your writing?
In my sci-fi I've drawn a lot from my day job as an archaeologist, not just locations, projects, and science, but the folk legends we all have, and the ridiculous stories we tell.

Archaeology sounds like such an interesting career.

What are you working on now?
I'm currently drafting Blood and Mercy, which is the final book in my fantasy series (eek!) and mentioned above, and Heretics, the fourth Nel Bently Book. I’m also developing the first season of an email/audio serial set in the same universe as the Nel Bently Books.

What’s your writing routine?
I'm a morning person. Well, I'm not a sleep person, really. I get up between 5:30 and 6:00 every morning and if I'm in the field I'll write until about 10 minutes before we roll out. If it's the off season or a weekend, though I'll write until about 10, visit my parents who live next door for a bit, then continue writing for the afternoon, with a break to take the dog for a walk.

How did you go about developing your cover artwork?
I made the covers for the Nel Bently and my other novels in the Starsedge universe myself. I use Krita and stock photos, as well as custom photoshoots for the figures. My fantasy books are commisioned pieces of art (the Reforged art is by Ben Donahue and Awakened is by Aaron Bolduc). The layout and designs I did myself.

Oh wow, that is so cool. It must be so rewarding to see your visions come to fruition.

If you could only take three books with you through an interstellar portal, what would they
be?
One would be blank, of course. The next would be Crown Duel by Sherwood Smith and the third would be Cosmos by Carl Sagan.

Awesome! I think you're the first person to answer with a blank book for writing.

Do you have a blog?
I don't have a personal blog, but I do have a blogging residency at Aspiring Authors Blog, where I share a monthly article concerning disability in SFF worlds.

What’s your dream job and do you think you’ll do it one day?
I'm lucky--I'm already doing both my dream jobs. Archaeology and writing are my passions, and not too different from one another--both are the search for a story and truth.

Where do you like to travel to?
ANYWHERE. I get to travel around the states for work, but I've also dug in Greece. I like to get off the beaten path to really get to know a place and its culture. I'm also a huge fan of stark landscapes. I just returned from the Iceland Writers Retreat and it was incredible there!

Quick quiz:

Favourite thing to cook: Roast duck (go big or go home)
Silliest saying: "Shitbird" or "Job-er-doo"
Best holiday spot: Somewhere new--though we spend a lot of time in rural OH with my in-laws and it's quite lovely as long as I ignore the politics.

Most played song: Hmm, currently Spiritual Machine's cover of "Don't Fear the Reaper," or anything by The Midnight.
With writing, are you a plotter or (seat-of-your) pantser? Plotter once I have the first scene
Do you prefer to read SciFi or fantasy: I enjoy reading fantasy more and writing sci-fi more.
Best superpower: Healing or Flight.
Number one thing to do on your bucket list: Run a writers’ retreat!

Thanks VS. It has been good fun learning about you and your work. We have the links here as well as a sample of VS's writing below.

Links
Website: https://www.vsholmes.com
Blog: https://aspiringauthorblog.blogspot.com/2019/04/you-cant-miss-library-making-fantasy.html
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorvsholmes/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/vs-holmes
Twitter: https://twitter.com/VS_Holmes
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/V.-S.-Holmes/e/B014B55FJ0/
Newsletter sign up: bit.ly/nelbentlybooks
Youtube book trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Shk0IbaSQU&t=10s
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vs_holmes/

V. S. Holmes
Award-winning Sci-fi and Fantasy Author
www.vsholmes.com

Excerpt from Travelers:

Vandalism across a perfect site was the best recipe for an archaeologist’s worst day. Apparently, it wasn’t enough that Nel Bently’s visa had met with "authenticity issues" twice on her way into Chile. She ducked under the rope that had served as a barrier. A poor one, she mentally snarled. The site was a disaster. Great gouges carved the formerly pristine soil. The tools stacked under a tarp by the bushes were now scattered, bent and broken. What pits her crew had dug the week before were filled with rotting leaves and back dirt, the perfect, square walls of the trenches ruined and crushed in.
Nel stepped carefully through the mess. This has Founders written all over it. As a rule, Nel was a patron of locals and the people she studied. Coming onto culturally significant land, not matter how old the site, was always tricky and she respected that. The Founders were her exception. They took issue with any archaeologist that set boots near their land, despite admitting there was no spiritual or cultural significance to the sites Nel chose.
"Well, fuck." Her tanned hand raked sweat and sunscreen through her sandy hair. She had permits and this was blatant vandalism. She turned back to her colleague and the two grad students who had arrived early to help. They waited, uncertain, at the rope, tools and packs still held with earnest dedication. "Alright, Mikey, grab pictures of this mess. You two, packs and tools go there, and set up a tent over them. Once Mikey has his pictures, clean it up. Wear gloves, it's gross and smells like a sewer."
She watched as they moved to do her bidding, eyes wide as they got their first good look at the vandalism. "If you need anything, talk to Mikey. I'll be on the phone." She trudged up the rise, dry soil crunching under her battered boots as she tugged the satellite phone from its case in her pack. She dialed, listening to the clicks as the call connected and surveying the land below her. It was perfect, really. The site was nestled between a stream and the rise she stood on now. The water had carved deep enough to have been there when it was inhabited, but small enough to be on only the local maps. The rise, curving from the north to the west, was covered with artifacts. It was the first place they surveyed, and it provided natural protection from the wind that whipped off the Pacific, just a few hundred feet away.
"You've reached the machine of Dr. Martin de Santos. Leave your name and number and how I can help you, and I'll return your call at the earliest convenience."
"Martos, it's Nel. Site was vandalized, looks like Founders. We could use some extra help -- I don't know if my greens can handle this. Give my cell a call tonight, I'll be in town." As she hung up, she caught site of the rotted mess Mikey was about to shovel out. It was a rough shape of a symbol. “Oi! Mikey wait!" She snapped a few pictures with her handheld, before waving for him to continue and stamping down the rise. She had been unable to see it from the ground. It was the angled symbol with which the Founders signed their papers, websites and protests. As she watched the clean up, she noted two figures on the rise across the stream. Both wore telltale woven bands around their forearms. A cold mix of dread and defiance crawled down her spine. It wasn’t like them to watch. I'll be damned if I'm going to be cowed by radicals. "C'mon," she called to the students, brown eyes fixed on the figures above. "I wanna see you moving dirt by ten!"
She returned to the site and sat on a rock, flipping through her field book. She had been digging since she was an undergrad. She had started with a history major, then steadily worked backwards in the time line, learning about anthropology, prehistorics, and paleolithics. She fell in love with her first dig. Now, with her doctorate defended, she had her own crew, her own research. Not to mention funding from a generous private patron to continue her passion for sweat, dirt, and work that made her body ache. She was staring at the page where she had sketched the site last summer when Mikey sauntered over.
He was a blocky man -- square head, square hands, square shoulders -- with only a slight paunch to round out the edges. "Sucks, eh? Think it was the Flounders?"
Nel smiled at his nickname for their adversaries. "More than likely. I tried to keep this site under wraps, but when you've grown up here, I think nothing escapes notice. They were watching us clean up this morning. Creeps me out a bit."
Mikey glanced at her, a frown crinkling his sun-weathered skin. Mikey was the resident prehistoric ceremonial specialist from their department, but more than that he was her best friend. "Everything OK?”
She shrugged. "I don't know." Her gaze was fixed on stain from rotted debris.
He rose with a groan. "I bet you a beer you pick up a shovel before tomorrow's over."
It was an old tradition. Nel could not keep her hands out the dirt, and even as site supervisor, she often found herself in a pit before long. She laughed. "
You're on."

... the story continues in Travelers

VS came in for an interview on the Fantasy / Sci-Fi Readers' Lounge
Pop on over for all the latest great reads
https://www.facebook.com/groups/FantasySciFiReadersLounge/

Book review: Unforgiven by Lauren Kate. Sexy demons in a race to fall in love #UF #fantasy #Bookreview

5/12/2019

Every story has a dark side, and this story belongs to Cam, the brooding, bad-boy dark angel FALLEN readers love.

High school can be hell.

Cam knows what it’s like to be haunted. He’s spent more time in Hell than any angel ever should. And his freshest Hell is high school, where Lilith, the girl he can’t stop loving, is serving out a punishment for his crimes.

Cam made a bet with Lucifer: he has fifteen days to convince the only girl who really matters to him to love him again. If he succeeds, Lilith will be allowed back into the world, and they can live their lives together. But if he fails . . . there’s a special place in Hell just for him. Tick-tock.

Spread your wings and cry as bad boy dark angel Cam finally reveals his anguished heart in the epic FALLEN novel, UNFORGIVEN.

My review:

After reading the fallen series a few years ago, I was excited to find this stand-alone novel linked to the series.
The main books in the series follow the relationship of Daniel and Lucinda. This one features fallen angel Cam and an interesting romance he had with a woman many millennia ago.
Lilith is a name many of us would recognise as a demon of Hell who has been portrayed in different media over the years. I like that Lauren Kate brought a different spin on Lilith's history.
The demon Lucifer is taunting Cam with a promise of bringing the love of his life back to him if he can get her to forgive a massive secret from the past and fall in love with him again.
Can he make amends or will he truly be Unforgiven for all of eternity?
I recommend you read it to find out. 5 stars from me.

A bonus suggestion from me is to listen to Metallica's Unforgiven song while you read it. Truly a classic

Book review: Asylum by Ian Lahey. Children's Book that gave me a pleasant surprise #childrens #fantasy #FSFRL @ian_lahey

5/5/2019

Asylum
a children's fantasy novel by Ian Lahey
Illustrated by Hauke Vagt
Published 2018

Blurb:
An asylum for unwanted children, a strange doctor and a mystery at the core of it all.

Description of Asylum:
A boy named Didley is given up to an Asylum because he is a mutant. His face is wrapped in bandages and we can only assume that some horrible disfigurements lies underneath. He doesn't fit into normal society. Shockingly, it is his parents who don't want him and have elected to choose another child that fits their expectations.

Review of Asylum by me and my 15 year old son, Ryno.
15yo said the cover looked kinda scary and he wouldn't pick it up to read. He's more of an exploding farts kinda reader. He thought it was really sad that the parents wouldn't accept Didley for who he is but would change him for another child that was more normal. How horrible! He thought the children seemed happy in the asylum and maybe they ought to stay there if life on the outside means they would be picked on again. He thought the pictures and the writing inside looked very good and he understood the meaning of all the words, so it was appropriate for his age.

My review: I thought the book was sad when it started and wondered who would like this book. It is so obviously a hard luck story about how tough life can be for children would don't fit the accepted norm.
BUT
Something happens.
Something I didn't expect.
Something that changed my whole view of the book and made me think, Wow, this author is a genius.
I'm going to give it 5 stars (only because it won't let me give ten)
and I challenge you all to read this to your children.
It's worth it, I promise you
* * * * * * * * * *

And the good news is that it's FREE today.

What makes the land of Reloria unique? #OWSCyCon2019 Blog Hop #FSFRL #amwriting

5/4/2019

As part of the OWS CyCon 2019, we asked our fantasy authors to write about what makes their world, or the world of another author unique. Each of them has come up with very different answers which reflect their writing processes, their research methods, and their views on world building.
We hope you find these insights interesting, and that they maybe give you some new things to think about when you pick up a new book, or even start writing your own.

After reading this interview, be sure to check out the responses from our other fantastic writers: https://owscycon.ourwriteside.com/fantasy-events-at-cycon/fantasy-blog-tour-what-makes-an-authors-world-unique/

What Makes Reloria Unique?
By Kasper Beaumont

I have been challenged to write a blog post on what makes the fantasy world of Reloria unique. I always love a challenge, so grab your dragons and enjoy the ride.

Halflings and their bond fairies
In the Hunters of Reloria series, the magical land has been invaded before and many defenceless races were killed by the scaly invaders, called Vergai. At the time of the first invasion, the dragons, elves and mages worked together with men to eliminate the enemy and restore peace to their lands. Once the Vergai were vanquished, the dragons and humans resumed their own war, most of the mages returned to their own country, and the elves were left to pick up the pieces.

A magical forcefield was created by the elves and mages, known as the Elven Shield of Reloria. The elves also wished to offer enhanced protection to the weaker halflings, so they sacrificed some of their magic to create bond-fairies.
Bond-fairies share energy and magic with halflings. They make the halflings stronger and also share strong emotions with them. Their life forces are linked so that they can only go a short distance apart and the halfling’s food intake sustains the fairies in a symbiotic relationship.
Meet Fandri and Fandri-La. These two leave their peaceful village in the Southlands and experience high fantasy adventures together with elves, dwarves and dragons. Oh, and did I mention a talking bear?

Magical powers used by the wizards and mages
In Reloria there is a magic system which can be somewhat related to some types of witchcraft in our own world. There are five elemental powers which are: air, water, fire, earth and shape-shifting. Most magic users have one or perhaps two powers but very strong Mages may have three powers. Having more than this is unheard of before the beginning of the series.

Centaurs
In the Hunters of Reloria series, I would classify the centaurs as Pagan. They have an enormous golden pyramid which is hollowed out and fitted with strong telescopes. They follow the movements of the planets and stars and believe that celestial events such as eclipses have special meaning.

Hunters of Reloria series blurb:
Halfling friends Randir and Fendi and their bond-fairies discover scaly invaders in their magical land of Reloria. They leave their peaceful farm village and embark on a quest to save the Elven Jewel which turns out to be quite a surprise. It’s a race against time to stop the warlike invaders. They join forces with dwarves, elves, men and a mysterious dragon, and call themselves the Hunters of Reloria.
The quest is perilous, with numerous encounters with the ruthless Vergai. The Elven Jewel is stolen. The quest becomes a race to the portal to retrieve the jewel before it can be taken to the wastelands of Vergash. In further books, a mage must be found to aid them, and they visit the home of the dragons. A battle for Reloria ensues where unless the Vergai are stopped, the consequences for the Relorians is death.
Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MFHWEWO

Giant Cyclops
When I wanted to make a menacing enemy, I created with these giant Cyclops. Not only are they intimidating at 20 foot tall but they are fearsome warriors.
The most dangerous thing about them is their eye. It can heat up into a laser beam which cuts through everything in its path. Pretty daunting for halflings, bond-fairies, elves and dwarves etc to battle.
Check out the books to find out how the Hunters of Reloria fare against such formidable opponents.

Hunters of Reloria series blurb:

Halfling friends Randir and Fendi and their bond-fairies discover scaly invaders in their magical land of Reloria. They leave their peaceful farm village and embark on a quest to save the Elven Jewel which turns out to be quite a surprise. It’s a race against time to stop the warlike invaders. They join forces with dwarves, elves, men and a mysterious dragon, and call themselves the Hunters of Reloria. The quest is perilous, with numerous encounters with the ruthless Vergai. The Elven Jewel is stolen. The quest becomes a race to the portal to retrieve the jewel before it can be taken to the wastelands of Vergash. In further books, a mage must be found to aid them, and they visit the home of the dragons. A battle for Reloria ensues where unless the Vergai are stopped, the consequences for the Relorians is death. Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MFHWEWO

About Kasper Beaumont

Kasper J. Beaumont was born and raised in Australia and lives a quiet life with the family in a seaside town. Combining a love of fantasy and a penchant for travel in the Hunters of Reloria trilogy, Kasper started to write on the urging of friends and family and enjoys watching readers become immersed in the magical world of Reloria. Kasper is a pen name for a rather shy author who is happy to remain unnamed.

Meet Kasper Online

OWSCyCon2019 Author Booth: https://owscycon.ourwriteside.com/forums/topic/kasper-beaumont/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kasperj.beaumont
Twitter: https://twitter.com/KasperBeaumont
Author Website: www.huntersofreloria.weebly.com
Author Blog: http://huntersofreloria.weebly.com/kaspers-ramblings

Learn More About the OWS CyCon 2019 Event
CyCon is the biggest online book event of the year, bringing together authors and readers from all over the world for an entire weekend of book-related fun. Between the organizers, and 230+ writers, you’ll be able to:
· view live (and recorded discussions),
· listen to samples of their stories,
· vote in the various genre tournaments,
· browse the author booths, and
· discover some amazing books and writers.
We hope you enjoy this event as much as we enjoy bringing it to you. For more information, and links to all of the activities, visit us at: https://owscycon.ourwriteside.com/about-ows-cycon/
You never know, you may just find your next best read!

Also, check out the authors hosting in the Fantasy Sci-Fi Readers' Lounge. It's Gonna be epic!
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Urban Fantasy author Laurel Night flies in for an author interview for the Fantasy Sci-Fi Readers Lounge #FSFRL #AuthorInterview #UF #UrbanFantasy @Authorfsf

4/22/2019

I have a lovely lady to introduce to you today: Urban Fantasy author, Laurel Night.

Author bio:
Laurel has been an avid reader since she first cracked a Babysitters Club book in elementary school. She’s lived in several different places in the US, studied overseas, and traveled quite a bit (although she’s always up for more!) Laurel has a wonderful husband, a 2-year-old daughter and a furry pooch named Gucci. Laurel’s favorite part of reading a book is getting lost in imagining the world as the author paints it, and she eventually decided to take the leap to create her own worlds for others to enjoy.

She joins us on the Fantasy & SciFi Readers' Lounge today to share her Mortal Flight novel which is just about to hit the bookstores.

Featured book

Book title: Mortal Flight, prequel to the Mortal Heat series
· Genre: Urban Fantasy
· Synopsis: Growing up with three brothers, Geri was never destined to be the type of lady society expected. She had long ago written off the American Dream of a husband and 2.5 kids, pursuing her passion for astronomy and flight. She wanted to fly in the Army Air Corps, but the only roles for women in World War Two were as nurses or local pilots, no combat. While Geri is desperately seeking an opportunity to test her skills as a pilot, she meets a mysterious man who seems to be everything she could ever want in a partner: Handsome, witty, and incredibly supportive of her dreams. Geri’s opportunity finally comes, but she soon discovers James is truly unlike any man she’s ever met. Will the distraction of this seemingly perfect man keep her from achieving her dreams? Or will James be the key to accomplishing more than she ever imagined?
· Publish date: May 2019
· Publisher: Self

Author Interview with Laurel Night

Kasper: Hi Laurel, it's a pleasure to meet you. Come and have a seat on the Readers' Lounge with us.
Laurel: Thanks Kasper, it's great to be here.

Hey, I hear you work for the Air National Guard which really comes across in the themes of your books too. Let's power up the Lounge and take off with our interview.

1) Do you have a pen name and why?
My pen name is Laurel Night. I decided that for my sanity and privacy, I would not publish under my legal name. Because I will publish in a few genres I may come up with a few different ones.
K: Write at night. I like the idea of a secret identity. Do your co-workers know you're a writer?
Yes, they do.

2) What other writing have you done?
I’ve written in one form or another for my entire life, really. I wrote poetry and short stories in school, and I completed my Master’s degree in 2012 so I wrote a lot of papers for that. I work in Public Affairs, so I write a fair amount of Feature and news stories, in addition to video scripts. I have several books in the works, one of which is a YA Urban Fantasy series, and I also have a contemporary action/romance.

3) What made you choose the Urban Fantasy genre?
I love reading this type of story. I love fantasy and magic, smart, clever characters that have something important to discover about themselves, and romantic subplots. Personally I’m not a huge fan of too many details in romances - I lean very slow-burn in what I enjoy - so Urban Fantasy was definitely the way to go. I think the YA paranormal romance is a good option, but I like to write about characters that are a little more mature than the average teenager.

4) Have you used any real events or places as inspiration for your writing?
My YA series, (as of yet untitled) takes place in northern Minnesota in a place called the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. I worked there for several summers in college, and went to high school in the tiny nearby town of Grand Marais. It’s a magical, preserved wilderness, and seemed like a great setting for a mysterious wolf-shifter story.
K: That sounds like an amazing place to let your creativity run wild.

5) Do you have another job outside of writing?
I’m a member of the Air National Guard. I’ve been in for 11 years now, and have worked full time in Public Affairs since 2017. I would love to write full time eventually.

How did you go about developing your cover artwork?
I knew, when I started down this path, that the cover art was important. I have some photoshop skills, so I originally thought I would try to do my own and watched a lot of YouTube videos on the subject. I understand the principles of design and the importance of genre-matching. However I came to realize that I don’t have the time necessary

to learn the skills I’d need, the techniques, to make a good quality cover, and I would not be happy with a half-assed one. I decided that if I was going to invest this time into this project, I would put my money where my mouth is and hire a professional. I followed a bunch of cover artists and found one whose style I really liked. I reached out to her and requested she make my cover. The story for this cover is set in 1945- it’s a prequel to my Urban Fantasy series, so I needed the cover to be done by an urban fantasy artist but have elements that told the reader when it takes place. I think she did a fantastic job.
K: I think so too. Great choice.

6) What advice would you give to someone wanting to write a book?
Just do it. I wish I had just gone for it several years ago when I wrote the first chapter of a book I called ‘The City’, a dystopian story. I dreamt the entire plot in one night, and the story followed me around for days until I just went ahead and wrote it down one day. After getting that first chapter out, I wasn’t motivated to continue it, and I let it sit for years. The story ideas and the urge to write kept revisiting me, and now I have been writing in my spare time for a year and a half. I wonder sometimes where I’d be if I had done this when I wanted to years ago.
K: Oh well, there's no time like the present. Great to have you writing now.

7) What music do you listen to when writing?
I listen to house/edm/techno or ‘study’ playlists, things that are kind of upbeat and may have words or not but nothing too harsh or catchy.

8) What are you working on now?
Right now I’m finishing up Mortal Flight, and then I’ll be working on book two of the Mortal Heat series - my plan is to release the entire 3-book series in September.
Mortal Flight is a prequel novella that I will be offering for free to folks who sign up for my newsletter.

9) What’s your dream job and do you think you’ll do it one day?

I’ve been working on this now for a year and a half, and my dream job would be to just write full time. I have way too many story ideas now to write them all in the next five years at the rate I’m going right now. I would love to have the time to put them all to paper!

K: I sure hope that dream comes true for you.

10) Do you prefer ebook or hardcopy?
I have some favorite hardcopy books, but honestly I just can’t beat the convenience of e-books. I have most of my hardcopy library on e-book now, because I can read them in bed without having a light on. :)

Quick quiz:
Favourite thing to cook: I love baking, so I’d say cookies
Silliest saying: Well, there you go.
Best holiday spot: Breckenridge, CO - I love Snowboarding!
Most played song: Right now, R.I.P by Sofia Reyes
With writing, are you a plotter or (seat-of-your) pantser? I’m a hybrid. I plot out the main points but make adjustments and let the creativity flow as I go along
Do you prefer to read SciFi or fantasy: Fantasy
Best superpower: Flight
Number one thing to do on your bucket list: Learn to Surf!

Kasper: Thanks Laurel. It has been fun getting to know you today. We wish you all the best with your writing, snowboarding and surfing too.

Laurel: Thanks everyone. I appreciate you stopping by to learn more about me. Please check out Mortal Flight in May.

Laurel's Links

Website: http://www.laurelnight.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LaurelNightAuthor/

Laurel Night is a member of the Fantasy & SciFi Readers Lounge

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A very special author interview on the #FSFRL Readers Lounge today with Dianne and C. Rene Astle @bendragonborn @cr_astle #fantasy #urbanfantasy #interview

3/29/2019

Hi readers, I have a special treat for you today. One of my fave dragon authors, Dianne Astle has met me at the Fantasy Sci Fi Readers Lounge for an interview...and she has brought her daughter Christine Astle, who is also an author under the pen name of C Rene Astle. Being the spur-of-the-moment gal that I am, I invited them both for the ride so we can see what they have in common and what makes them unique. Strap yourselves in for this double-trouble author interview. Anything can and probably will happen on the levitating Readers'Lounge.

Dianne Astle

C. Rene Astle

Author bio:
Dianne was the last person that you would expect to write books. Oh, she’s always had a great imagination, but there was that little problem with learning disabilities. When Dianne left high school she couldn’t write a letter she was proud of. When a fluke got her enrolled in university, Dianne didn’t know if the word she wanted was their, thier, or there when it came time to write an essay. Perseverance paid off and Dianne went on to do a master’s degree.
At one point in her life, Dianne decided that mature people did not read fiction and especially not fantasy. She did not read fiction for several years running. She almost crashed and burned by trying to be mature and serious about learning and self-development. Dianne decided there was something missing in her life. The missing element was fantasy. Dianne never dreamed that she would one day be a writer with books read and loved by people around the world.
Dianne lives on the West Coast of Canada with her husband, his three cats, and her beloved dog Thomas.

Book Title: Moses and the Dragonborn
Genre: Epic fantasy
Synopsis: This is the third book in the Six World series that began with Ben the Dragonborn. In the first book, Ben discovers his mother was dragonborn and he has the ability to transform from human to dragon and back again. In the second book, Ben and the Watcher of Zargon, Ben goes to his mother’s home world because he is having problems with the dragon side of his heritage. He is in danger of becoming something that is neither human nor dragon if he doesn’t how to manage his transformations. In the second book, Ben meets grandfather, who is also the King of Zargon. At the end of book two, the dragonborn king sacrifices himself by capturing a demon and taking it through a portal to another world.
In book three, Moses and the Dragonborn, six are chosen to rescue the King, including a former brownie slave named Moses who has no reason to love him. Moses goes with the words ‘let my people go’ singing in his heart.
Can the six chosen ones overcome their differences and a half-crazy Watcher’s reluctance to help them? Find out by joining Ben and his companions on a quest that will change each one of them and the world of Farne in this New Adventure of the Dragonborn.
Published: November 2017

Author bio:
C. Rene Astle is the author of the Bloodborne Pathogens dark fantasy series. She gained a love of fiction - fantasy in particular - and a voracious appetite for story literally at her mother's knee, being read The Hobbit and Chronicles of Narnia because those are the types of stories her mom wanted to read. From her father, she got an enduring curiosity about the universe, earned shivering in the dark beside a telescope on cold, Canadian winter nights waiting to witness some celestial event. Now she fits in writing between her day job, gardening and getting out to enjoy supernatural British Columbia.

Book title:
A Plague of Shadows, Bloodborne Pathogens 2

Genre:
Dark, urban fantasy

Synopsis:
Mina Sun is hunting a creature of shadows, with no clues but the dying words of a homeless man raving about night and a blade of darkness. Can she solve the riddle in time?

Publish date: October 2018

The story behind C Rene's book cover:
This was a challenge. The first book I worked with a cover artist, and that was something I’d never done before. Trying to convey the sense of the story was a challenge for me. In the end, I provided the basic idea in a really rough sketch and the designer implemented it. By the time of the second book, my cover creation skills had improved, and I actually did that cover myself, as well as the novella.
One of the challenges I had is that neither of the lead characters in those stories, which I wanted to feature on the cover, are Caucasian. It’s getting better but it is still difficult to find good stock images of people with diverse shades of skin to incorporate into a cover. And I can’t afford to have my own photoshoot with my own talent!

Readers' Lounge first-ever Double Author Interview:

Kasper: Welcome Dianne and C Rene to the FSF Readers' Lounge. Are you all settled in and ready for takeoff? It is a levitating Lounge BTW, I hope you aren't afraid of heights.
Dianne: Thank you for the invitation. Definitely ready for take-off. Heights are best treated with respect. I have been atop of very high ladders to clean gutters and paint ceilings in a stairwell.
C Rene: Looking forward to it!

Ooh, a couple of thrill-seekers, I love it. Here we go... 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, lift off.
Q1: How did you meet (haha) and do you have a pen name?
Dianne:  Christine Astle is my daughter so I’ve known her ever since we welcomed her into the world.
I used my own name for the Ben the Dragonborn series, but have just released a time travelling historical romance where I used the pen name Eliza Broughton because I didn’t want the ten year olds who love Ben to find and read that book.
C Rene: I've known Dianne Astle all my life. I write under a highly secret pen name -- C. Rene Astle. Honestly, the reason is that I already had a day job website set up under my name, and I needed to keep those separate. In the end I probably should have gone completely different, since there's already crossing of the streams.

Oh, a Ghostbusters reference, awesome!
Q2. What was the event that made you start writing?
Dianne: I had been working too many sixty hour weeks so I took time off and went to a retreat centre. They were offering a fiction writing course so I signed up for it thinking it would be easy. It wasn’t. On the way home I came up with the idea for Ben the Dragonborn. Now, I was not only working long hours but spending time every week writing. I might have stopped but I fell in love with the characters and wanted to bring them to life. A few years later I took a part time job which gave me more time to write.
C Rene:  There wasn't really a single event. I can't remember a time when I didn't write or at least make up stories. Though the first book in my first published series - Bloodborne Pathogens - took a long time to finish because it was very off and on. I think I really got serious about finishing it after mom published her first book. I saw what was possible. The other books have been completed much more quickly. Now I have stories rumbling around in my head that I just don't have the hours to write after the day job.
Dianne: Wow, Christine. It makes me feel good to have inspired you to bring your gift to light.

Great answers, thanks ladies. Q3. What do you do when you have writer’s block?
Dianne: I had writer’s block when I sat down to write the fourth book in the Ben the Dragonborn series, so I wrote a time traveling historical romance instead. Larkin’s Choice is now finished. While I was writing that book an idea for the fourth book in the Ben the Dragonborn series came to me.
Gosh, I have only read 2, must catch up. And you, Christine?
C Rene: If I get writer's block, I often keep writing, even if I think what I'm writing is horrible. It keeps me in that writing headspace and sometimes results in a gem. I'll go for walks to clear it out, and I also have friends I'll chat with about what I'm writing - sometimes they have suggestions, and sometimes I break through the block just by talking it through.

Cheers to perseverance. Q4. What are you writing now and do you compare ideas at all?
C Rene: For me, I'm working through the final revision of the third book in the Bloodborne Pathogens series before I send it off to beta readers. After that, it'll be time to revisit the first book in a new space opera series. This is the time when perseverance comes in...working on revisions when there's a new story waiting in the wings Mom and I don't tend to compare story ideas because we write such different things, but we do share ideas on how to connect with readers.
Dianne: As mentioned earlier I am writing the fourth book in the Ben the Dragonborn series. In book four, the other students learn he is part Dragonborn. I plan to write at least one more book in that series after finishing book four. I’m also thinking of expanding Charla Visits Earth, the short story based on the series. I have a literary fiction book outlined and waiting to be writing. I’ll publish that one under the name Eliza Broughton.

Gosh you are both so busy writing. I love it.
Q5. What is your basic plot in the book you are featuring today?
C Rene: I'm featuring A Plague of Shadows. It's the second book in Bloodborne Pathogens. Spoiler alert: Mina, the main character from the first book survives In book 2, she's trying to balance life as a vampire with her former, human life. She sees a new threat rising but feels like her new vampire family doesn't believe her. So she tries to fight the evil on her own, which goes about as well as you might expect. Some of the relationships introduced in book 1 deepen in book 2, and some minor characters take on more of a role.
Dianne:  I’m featuring Moses and the Dragonborn which I think is my best book in that series so far. In this book Ben and five others go to a world that is blighted by a war to end all wars. The life that exists has been altered or gone underground. Ben’s grandfather is missing somewhere on that world and their job is to find him and return him to Zargon. When they arrive on Farne they discover a Watcher who has been driven half mad by centuries of isolation. Zachery is reluctant to help as he wants them to stay and play games with him. One of the six Chosen is a brownie named Moses who goes on the quest with the words let my people go ringing in his ears.

Check out these cool pics while we have a cup of dragon brew...back soon

Check out these cool dragon sculptures sent in by Dianne

Bee/Beta (so great she has multiple names). She’s actually the character I’m spotlight on the character interview day. ~C Rene

OK, we're back and ready for more mind-probing.
Q6. Who is your favourite Indie Author and traditionally published author?
Dianne: I am very proud of Christine and would definitely say she was my favorite, but I do have several additional favorite Indie authors. I read everything Ninie Hammon writes. Other authors I’ve enjoyed include C.M. Grey and Katy Huth Jones. My reading is limited by my eyesight and my busyness. My favorite traditionally published authors are Terry Brooks and Stephan Lawhead. I really loved the Children of Armageddon series by Terry Brooks. I used that series as the main resource for a workshop I put together and presented at When Words Collide in Calgary on the face of good and evil in epic fantasy.
C Rene: Aw, thanks Mom. I have a hard time with favourites -- there are so many! I recently read Travelers by V.S. Holmes after see it in one of the takeovers on the Readers' Lounge, and would recommend it. I've also really enjoyed Lindsay Buroker, Chrys Cymri, C.L. Schneider, Claire Buss, A.M. Rycroft, Jeannette Bedard (full disclosure - she's a friend), and Trish Heinrich. I have books by many of these folks waiting to be read. I rove across genres, though I tend to stay in the scifi/fantasy realm, with some mystery and thrillers thrown in.
Dianne: I really enjoyed Chrys Cymri’s book too. It was unique.

Q7. Who would you like to read your audio book?
C Rene: I don't really have an answer for you. Although I can often pick out which celebrity has done voiceover for a cartoon or an ad, I can't pinpoint a celebrity voice that really fits and don't know any other voices. Not that I could afford a celebrity narrator, but it's kind of like dreaming what you'd do if you won the lottery.
Would you have a preference of a man or woman then?
C Rene: I'd probably go for a woman, but that's just because my main character is a woman.
Dianne: I have plans to read my own books. At Christmas I bought a Mike, and starting an on-line course on producing audio books. I won’t be as good as a professional narrator, but I work cheap. I plan to record in the cold room of my house. Since it is right across from the furnace that starts with a loud bang, I’m waiting for the weather to get warmer. One of the challenges I face is that I find some words hard to take off the page and pronounce properly.
C Rene: Mom has a great storytelling voice

That will be exciting.
Q8. Which is your favourite character and why?
C Rene: Again, I'm not good at favourites. I love all my characters; it's why I'm so mean to them. But there are characters that I didn't expect to become as fully fleshed out as they did. I mean Bee got her own novella because I loved her so much. Another character is Rhys, who started as just a slightly eccentric old man and ended up being the love interest of one of the vampires at the centre of the books. That was unexpected. And that something I love about writing - characters I supposedly created end up surprising me all the time.
Dianne: Charla, the mermaid was a favorite character in book one. I wrote a short story about her visiting Earth for an anthology that has been available free. I’m not overly satisfied with the story and I’m thinking of doing an expanded version of the one that appears in the anthology. I also plan to have Charla come back and make an appearance in the fourth book I’ve just started to write. Charla is a rule breaker. She is opinionated and head strong. She makes things more challenging for the other characters.

Q9. What do you like to do when you're not writing?
C Rene: I have a day job as a technical writer...so I write. I also run and have an allotment garden (I think this has different names in different places - basically a garden where you can pay a membership fee and get a plot). I've started doing cover design this past year and am trying to learn more about digital art to get better at that. And when time and budget align, I love to travel.
Dianne: I have a part time job as a United Church of Canada minister, sing badly in two choirs, throw mud on a wheel, and love to fish. My life is very full and rich and I feel extremely blessed by family, friends, and the community I live in.
I like nothing better than to travel and fish. I’ve caught a 78 pound Halibut off the west coast of Vancouver Island and fished and caught barracuda off the coast of Belize.

LOL Is 'throwing mud' working on a wheel 'pottery' or some strange Canadian mud-slinging custom?
Last one: Q10. What advice would you give to someone wanting to write a book?
C Rene: Oh gosh. There are a few things I wish I'd done earlier. First, try different ways of writing, if you will. Longhand vs computer vs dictation? Plotting vs pansting vs plantsing? At home vs at a coffee shop vs under a tree? There are lots of opinions about what works "best" but what works best is what gets the story from your head to the paper AND to the end. Also, I'd say if you can find a critique group (that offers feedback in a kind and caring way). Getting feedback was important, but more important was critiquing others' work let me look at my own with a more critical eye. Also a media kit would be so helpful as promoting is time-consuming.
Dianne: I agree with Christine when it comes to a critique group. I drive almost two hours to be part of one and they have really made a difference in my writing. The other thing an indie writer should so is hire an editor if you can. I tried to skip that step with my last book, because I find that I pay so much money out for cover designers and editors that it takes a long time to make enough money to pay for it. In the end I recognized the need for an editor. My books aren’t on any bestseller list. I am a lousy marketer. I signed up for an Udemy course on marketing. If I take a break from book production and actually do it, it might help.
C Rene: Yeah, definitely one of the challenges of being an indie author is doing it all...or paying/bartering for someone to do it for you.

Kasper: Great answers, thanks ladies. Looks like our Levitating Lounge is coming in for landing. We'll just get some last quick answers and let you get back to your writing. It's been a blast having you on the Readers Lounge today.

Quick quiz: Dianne
Favourite thing to cook:
I actually don’t like cooking, but I do love eating great food. One of the things I like to make so I can eat them is curry dishes.

Silliest saying:
The saying I’m most noted for is not really silly. I don’t know if Chris remembers it, but I remember saying this to my poor kids, ‘life’s not fair and then you die’

Best holiday spot:
I have had some wonderful fishing holidays off the West coast of Vancouver Island with my sister and two brothers. We fish in the daytime, play cards at night, and laugh non-stop.

Most played song:
When I was about 14 I saw the movie Annie Get Your Gun and discovered we had the music from the movie. I think I wanted to be Annie and I sang that song over and over again.

With writing, are you a plotter or (seat-of-your) pantser?
For the Ben The Dragonborn series I have definitely been a Pantser. I have a generally idea where I’m going, but no set idea on how I’m going to get there. I prefer fantasy

Do you prefer SciFi or fantasy:
I prefer fantasy

Best superpower:
My best superpower in real life is that I have have fairly good ability to discern the shape of the future

Number one thing to do on your bucket list:
High on the bucket list is a fishing trip to Haida Gwaii

Quick quiz: C Rene
Favourite thing to cook:
Canadian curry (as in not really Indian but delicious nonetheless)
Silliest saying:
I’m not sure. My sayings seem normal to me until someone says something, which they have – I just can’t remember what those were. I do try to sneak in some Canadianisms into my stories. You’ll definitely find toque, possibly give ‘er, and I might have put askookum in there somewhere.
Best holiday spot:
I can’t say – I might not have been there yet. I’ve loved all the places I’ve visited, but there are so many I haven’t been to yet – what if one of them is my favourite?
Most played song:
I can’t say I have a most played song. I don’t listen to music all that often.
With writing, are you a plotter or (seat-of-your) pantser?
I used to be a panster, but I’ve transitioned to a plotter in the past few years as I try to write more and do it more efficiently. I think it’s also improved the end product. The only book out there that I’ve used this on fully is my novella, A Circus of Devils.
Do you prefer SciFi or fantasy:
Yes.
Sorry, but I can’t choose.
Best superpower:
I not very good at ‘bests’, but if I had to pick one, I’d vote for shapeshifting, especially if I can shift into anything. Being able to fly like a bird or run like a cheetah would be could.
Number one thing to do on your bucket list:
I don’t actually have a bucket list. One of my big things is to travel to as many places in the world as feasible (when time and budget allow). But I wouldn’t say it’s a bucket list because I am working through it slowly.

Dianne Astle's Links:
Website: www.benthedragonborn.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Benthedragonborn/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19015246-ben-the-dragonborn
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rB1UJbIzkZQ
Amazon: ** https://www.amazon.com/Ben-Dragonborn-Six-Worlds-Book-ebook/dp/B00GMAUA5C
**https://www.amazon.com/Moses-Dragonborn-Six-Worlds-Book-ebook/dp/B076ZVV6Z9
Twitter: @bendragonborn
Bookbub:https://books2read.com/u/49PwRp

C Rene Astle's Links
Website & Blog: creneastle.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/creneastle/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17219953.C_Rene_Astle
Twitter: @cr_astle
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/C.-Rene-Astle/e/B076BB6G5M
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/c-rene-astle

Excerpt from C. Rene Astle's Bloodborne Pathogens
Seema was a silent, mostly off-screen character in book 1. But she comes into Book II a lot more. This is the first encounter between her and Mina Sun in the book, starting the relationship that follows.
Seema slunk down the alleyway, weaving through piles of soggy boxes and overflowing garbage cans. The hair on her neck stood up, her tendons strung like zither strings on her limbs. Examining the shadows instead of watching where she was going, she stepped in a puddle of icy water. She scowled and shook off the unctuous liquid.
God only knows what's in that water. She wanted to clean herself off but knew now was not the time. She shook her leg again, the shaking travelling up her spine and into her ears. The temperature had dropped, and snow was starting to displace the rain. But that wasn't why she was out of sorts. She knew that much even if she didn't know the cause. Something just set her teeth on edge. She sniffed the air, cocked her head from side to side. A scent in the snow tugged at her memory. Something sweet and sour and sickly all at once. Something that didn't belong there.
A shadow to her left twitched, and she jumped right. Her heartbeat raced through her veins, but her senses soon told her it was a rat. An ordinary rat. Normally she would have thanked the gods for such a gift, a plump and juicy morsel. But tonight was not normal. Tonight her stomach jittered, the meal she'd eaten earlier burbling uncomfortably.
So Seema left the fortunate rat alone. She needed to get back to Mike, to protect her protector against the deepening night.
Slinking along the alley, she kept close to the brick and concrete wall to her right, not wanting to be startled by another rat. Or something worse. To her left, the passage widened, allowing glimpses of a busier street and the sky above. Grey clouds reflected the lights of the city, casting the sky in a nauseating orange and skewing her internal clock.
Seema picked up the pace, wending her way back towards the square. There was a whisper in the wind, like something she'd heard before, though she couldn't make out any words. Tickling her whiskers, it told her something wicked this way cometh. All of it spoke of things better left slumbering in the abyss.
She rounded the corner.
And stopped short.
A body lay in the alley, its blood congealing on the cold asphalt. She craned her neck, trying to discern the manner of the wound without getting any closer. Failing that, she breathed in, inspecting the air for a hint as to the killer.
She crept closer, inch by inch, keeping as much distance between herself and the body as possible while still getting close enough to examine it. One lesson she'd learned the hard way – never trust a corpse to stay dead. She couldn't smell any nascent putrefaction; this death was recent. But she did catch a scent she recognized. Disbelieving, she got close enough to see the face. The skin was ghostly pale, and the slack mouth revealed an impressive set of canines. Cautiously, she sniffed the dark pools that had formed between the ridges of buckled pavement.
Vampire. She skittered back against the wall and glanced left, right, up. But she saw no sign of the creature that took down the vampire.
She stepped gingerly forward again, one careful step after the other. This bloodsucker she didn't know. She inched closer and sniffed. Over the stink of alley, blood and entrails, she smelled something else.
Seema spat. Gargoyle. The odour of mildew and rotten earth they left behind on their kills had filled her nostrils too much of late. She huffed to clear her nose of the metallic tang of blood mixed with rotting garbage.
Then something shifted in the shadows and Seema jumped, her ears twitching. But she didn't run. Another lesson learned: it was running that let the predators know where you were. Instead, she crouched low, and let her eyes absorb the dim light. A breeze stirred, carrying a whiff of another smell, one more familiar to her. Of spice and warmth and kindness. She breathed in deep, taking in that scent. Her whiskers twitched. This time it was mixed with blood. Could this be the killer? The thought caused her supper to burp in her unsettled stomach. It seemed out of character if the owner of the scent was who she thought.
She was torn between investigating and going home to curl up for the night. She looked out to where the alley opened onto the welcoming square. Already she could feel the warmth of being nestled close to a beating heart. She glanced back down the dark alley, devoid of even rats. Huffing out a breath of air, she turned away from the square and towards the limp form, ignoring her mother's voice in her ears saying something about curiosity and cats.
Sidling up to the body slumped against the brick wall, she moved sideways, hackles up. She got close enough that she could clearly smell it through the reek of garbage and unidentifiable detritus. Through the blood that splattered its clothes and hands.
This was the source of the scent she associated with warmth and caring, not with a killer. The new vampire, the woman who had been kind to Mike.
The one who was different.
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C. Rene Astle
Author of fantasy, sci-fi and other speculative fiction

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Excerpt from Dianne Astle'sMoses and the Dragonborn

CHAPTER ONE
A DRAGON RIDE
With no moon in the sky and clouds obscuring the stars, it was the perfect night for flying without being seen. The greenish blue dragon and the dark skinned boy had waited for a cloudy night without rain, a rare occurrence on the west coast of Vancouver Island.
This was the first time the dragon had flown through the skies on Earth, and he was enjoying the flight every bit as much as his rider. Below them was the island where the two of them attended school. They’d been in the air for an hour and the dragon reluctantly made up his mind to return to the school.
“Yeah!” the boy yelled as the dragon did a nosedive toward the ocean. “This is better than a rollercoaster.”
They skimmed over the waves until a grey whale breached nearby. The dragon arced around the whale before climbing toward the clouds.
“Hold on,” the dragon called back, his words carried away by the wind. “I’ll do another roll.”
The dragon rolled to the left and soon they were flying upside down. The boy laughed. “Ben, that was so cool. Do it again.”
“Once more, then we need to head back.”
“So soon? Okay, but on the next moonless night I want to fly further up the coast.”
“Denzel, we’re not doing this again. We agreed that if I took you for a ride you would stop asking.”
“That was before I knew how awesome it was,” Denzel said. “I was meant to be a dragon rider.”
The dragon did what dragons always do when they are angry: He breathed fire, which streaked out like lightening across the sky to light up the clouds around them.
“Cool! Do that again,” Denzel yelled into the wind.
The dragon roared in response.
“Okay. Okay. You’re right. I did promise, but I still hope we can do this again sometime.”
Denzel knew that Ben was just as reluctant to return, even though every moment they were in the air increased the chance of getting caught by Miss Templeton.

They were racing away from the island when the unthinkable happened. There was a clap of thunder and a huge face appeared on the cloud in front of them. They knew the face well, but had never seen it angry before. Static electricity danced in the dinner-plate sized eyes that were staring straight at them. Ben’s wings beat backwards as he desperately tried to keep himself from flying through Miss Templeton’s face.
The huge mouth spoke. Lightening flashed with every word. Denzel and Ben did not hear actual words, they heard loud claps of thunder, but they knew what was said. Come see me! Come see me, right now! Then the face broke apart and disappeared.
When Ben turned and flew back towards the school there was smoke coming from his nostrils.
“Don’t go back yet,” Denzel coughed. “We can’t get into any more trouble then we’re already in. At the very least take the long way back to the school by flying across the Island and around the southern tip.”
Ben erupted in a roar. Fire lit up the sky.
“I guess that’s a no then?” Denzel asked.
The dragon remained silent, but there was still flame coming from his mouth.
“What! Are you mad at me?” Denzel asked.
Ben roared again.
“I guess, that would be a yes,” Denzel said, “but let me remind you that you wanted to do this as much as I did. You weren’t that hard to convince.”
Ben remained silent.
“I guess you did say no the first time I asked,” Denzel said.
Ben didn’t speak, but more smoke and flames issued from his nostrils.
“I guess you said no more than once,” Denzel said. “I’m sorry for getting you in trouble, but I’m glad we did this. It was so worth it even if we get a detention.”
At the word detention, the amount of smoke and flame coming out of the dragon’s snout increased.
“Don’t worry,” Denzel said. “I’ll tell Miss Templeton it was all my fault.”
The dragon never said a word, but the smoke decreased a little.
Ben landed in the same spot where they had taken off, behind the barn, out of sight of the residences and the large gray stone building known as the castle that served as a school for the students attending Fairhaven. Ben transformed and in place of the dragon stood a fifteen-year-old boy with wild brown hair and brilliant green eyes. Smoke continued to come out of Ben’s nose and mouth even after his transformation back into a human.
Denzel and Ben silently turned and walked toward the castle. On the third floor, above the classrooms, they would find the Principal of Fairhaven; Earth’s Watcher and the Guardian of the portals that linked Earth to other worlds.
Denzel remained uncharacteristically silent as he walked beside Ben. He thought of and discarded excuses they could give the Watcher to avoid the detention that was sure to come. He also thought of the school’s secret purpose. It trained the Chosen and sent them to other worlds to do the work of the Guardian. Denzel envied Ben who had been off world twice. The first time, Ben had stopped a war between humans and mer on Lushaka and discovered he had a secret identity. The second time he’d been sent to Zargon to find his mother’s family so they could teach him how to safely transform from human to dragon and back again. Without that training, Ben had been in danger of becoming something that was neither human nor dragon. Denzel wondered how long he would need to wait to be Chosen to go through one of the five portals to another world.

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Dianne Astle
Author of epic fantasy

Dianne's dragon wall hanging