Imp of the week - the Olverog

I've created a number of strange creatures for the Impcatcher novels. This is another page from Garkosio's Guide to Imps, which is the most widely used reference book in Tal's world. This is Tal's copy, with his annotations in blue.

 

 As always, comments welcomed!

Imp of the week - Tanits

I've created a number of strange creatures for the Impcatcher novels. This is another page from Garkosio's Guide to Imps, which is the most widely used reference book in Tal's world. This is Tal's copy, with his annotations in blue.

As always, comments welcomed! 

SFFS 12/12/2015 Impcatcher

    This is my snippet this week for SFFSat. SFFSat is a place where a number of authors post snippets from their written works, and give the opportunity for comments, support and encouragement. Please also explore the other blogs that are part of this set - you can find the information here.


 

Today's snippet is from Impcatcher, which is now on sale on Amazon for the Kindle and in paperback, and DriveThru in pdf format. The general epub version is at Lulu.

When we last saw Tal, a demon had just materialised in front of him...



 

“Tal Djandiss?” it purred. It didn't bother to wait to see if I admitted who I was - it knew well enough. “Any last words?”

And then it leapt at me.

I was in trouble, I had no doubts about that. It was just me, and big and fiery. No question who the smart money was on.

I had a knife in my hand. Instincts work remarkably well in a crisis. Six inches of hardened iron – against a demon. Ten out of ten for the instinct that reached for a weapon. One out of ten for producing a weapon that might actually do me some good.

The demon's claws slashed through the space where I had been standing an instant before. A word of advice – being disembowelled by a demon isn't good for the health. My suggestion is to avoid it whenever possible.

As always, comments welcomed!

And in the meantime, have a good Christmas, or such other festival as you enjoy.

Guest post: Aurora Springer and the Grandmaster

I'm delighted to welcome Aurora Springer to Dragons and Triplanes to celebrate the launch of her latest novel, Grand Master's Mate, the final book in the Grand Master trilogy.

Tell us about the book.

The Grand Master’s Trilogy

Grand Master’s Mate, Book 3 in this trilogy, releases this month, about ten months after the publication of Book 1, Grand Master’s Pawn. I am thrilled, and a little saddened, after completing my longest series to date. In many ways, I’ll miss the protagonists, Violet and Athanor, and their adventures on planets with bizarre lifeforms.

The Grand Master’s Trilogy is a science fiction adventure set on several planets with distinctive lifeforms. The protagonists have supernormal powers of empathy and telekinesis. Other supernatural elements and mythological references creep into the story, including dragons, living crystals, and the twelve contentious Grand Masters.

The original concept for this trilogy dates back some thirty years ago when I had an abundance of short stories. My initial idea was to combine several short stories into a full-length novel. The organizing theme pays homage to Lewis Carroll’s Alice Through the Looking Glass. The Pawn, Violet Hunter, travels on missions to different planets under the command of a mysterious Grand Master. Two of my short stories and skimpy notes about a dragon morphed into Violet’s first three missions. In her fourth mission, she meets her Grand Master and her challenges escalate. So did my challenges as the author because I realized their story continued over two additional books. After a rollercoaster of adventures on different planets, I leave them at a happy point by the end of Book 3. 

 

Grand Master’s Mate

Young empath, Violet Hunter, and her crafty Grand Master, Athanor Griffin, tackle the villains threatening civilization.

Their worst enemy, the Red Queen, rampages across the galaxy evading capture, while blocked portals restrict normal commerce among planets. Compounding their problems, half the Grand Masters on the Council fear Violet is the agent of their doom as her father foretold, and vow to eliminate her. To restore peace, Violet and Athanor embark on a dangerous quest for a weapon hidden by the ancient psychic masters on one of four planets. But, the weapon proves elusive, the ancient sites harbor hazards, and new alliances forged with bizarre entities may not be sufficient to foil their enemies and save the galaxy. 

Buy Links:

US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B018EHAA7S

International: http://authI.it/B018EHAA7S?d

 

The Grand Master’s Trilogy:

Book 1 is only 99c for December

Grand Master’s Pawn: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00TP1N5PM

Grand Master’s Game: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0104OFJJ8

Grand Master’s Mate: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B018EHAA7S

What do you like to do when you're not writing?

I enjoy being outdoors, traveling to different places and watching wildlife. When we visit my family in England, we go hiking in the Welsh mountains, along the coast, and the towpaths of canals. There are public footpaths everywhere and you can often plan to stop at a pub for lunch. We love walking around ancient monuments from Normal castles to the Avebury megaliths and the white horses carved on the chalk hills.

We visited Bletchley Park one summer, where I found an appropriate image for the Grand Master’s Trilogy.

 

Of course, I also have opportunities for traveling to special places in the US. In recent years, we have visited New Orleans and Albuquerque. We enjoy exploring the local parks as well as the city. We visited the swamps near New Orleans and saw turtles, frogs and an alligator (unfortunately too far away for a good picture).

Near Albuquerque, you can find a distinctive landscape with petroglyphs, pueblos and desert plants like this lovely cactus.

What are your current projects and plans for the future?

Currently, I am working on a short story and a novel starring a young female superhero with her animal companion, a winged horse with an attitude. These superhero stories may become the start of a new series. Also, I have a couple of science fiction stories at early stages of development. One is set in our solar system and the other moves between two galaxies. 

 Thank you, Aurora.

I'd add that I'm reading Grand Master's Mate at the moment, and thoroughly enjoying it.

As always, comments welcomed! 

Imp of the week - Grusgaks

I've created a number of strange creatures for the Impcatcher novels. This is another page from Garkosio's Guide to Imps, which is the most widely used reference book in Tal's world. This is Tal's copy, with his annotations in blue.

 

As always, comments welcomed!

SFFS 5/12/15 Impcatcher

   This is my snippet this week for SFFSat. SFFSat is a place where a number of authors post snippets from their written works, and give the opportunity for comments, support and encouragement. Please also explore the other blogs that are part of this set - you can find the information here.

Today's snippet is from Impcatcher, which is now on sale on Amazon for the Kindle and in paperback, and DriveThru in pdf format. The general epub version is at Lulu.
This snippet carries on from last week. Tal returned home to find a welcoming committee outside his door. He sensibly hid.

 

I was ducked back around the edge of the bakery already, looking cautiously round the corner in the hope that Gustav wouldn't spot me. The bakery was closed for the night, much to my relief – I didn't want anyone coming out of the doorway I was lurking in. I wouldn't buy any of this establishment's wares – I knew just how lacking in cleanliness was the kitchen. Eating from here needed trollish digestion or a desire for slow, painful suicide. 

Best bet was for me to retreat quietly, find somewhere else to kip down for the night. 

I was running through my list of friends and acquaintances when the air around me began to feel warm, as though the sun had come out. A neat trick after dark. I turned, realising that the street was growing bright. A red glow was spreading across the pavement, a ball of scarlet fire forming in mid-air like a slow sunburst. 

I heard Gustav call out in surprise as he saw the radiance shedding sudden black shadows across the street. There was a shape in the glow. A brilliant red figure, larger than a man, face tawny and muzzled, short pale horns sprouting from the forehead, longer spikes from the shoulder blades and kidneys. Claws on the outstretched hands, a cruel smile showing off sharp, pointed teeth, and a raw, rough skin like fractured stone over impressive muscles. The demon stood in the midst of the street, its attention purely upon me.

 As always, comments welcomed!