Promo: The Sword of Kaigen by ML Wang

Today, I'm thrilled to promote The Sword of Kaigen, a sweeping martial arts fantasy epic by ML Wang. The 2019 winner of the Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off (aka #SPFBO), Kaigen is a welcome change from European-rooted fantasy with characters you'll love to hate and weep to love. With an elemental magic system living alongside technology, the story builds on the push and pull of a mother and son against the ugly truths of tradition. For those readers looking for moms in the co-starring role, Misaki is here to deliver. 

THE SWORD of KAIGEN
Wholeness, she had learned, was not the absence of pain but the ability to hold it.

On a mountainside at the edge of the Kaigenese Empire live the most powerful warriors in the world, superhumans capable of raising the sea and wielding blades of ice. For hundreds of years, the fighters of the Kusanagi Peninsula have held the Empire's enemies at bay, earning their frozen spit of land the name 'The Sword of Kaigen.'

Born into Kusanagi's legendary Matsuda family, fourteen-year-old Mamoru has always known his purpose: to master his family's fighting techniques and defend his homeland. But when an outsider arrives and pulls back the curtain on Kaigen's alleged age of peace, Mamoru realizes that he might not have much time to become the fighter he was bred to be. Worse, the empire he was bred to defend may stand on a foundation of lies.

Misaki told herself that she left the passions of her youth behind when she married into the Matsuda house. Determined to be a good housewife and mother, she hid away her sword, along with everything from her days as a fighter in a faraway country. But with her growing son asking questions about the outside world, the threat of an impending invasion looming across the sea, and her frigid husband grating on her nerves, Misaki finds the fighter in her clawing its way back to the surface.

When the winds of war reach their peninsula, will the Matsuda family have the strength to defend their empire? Or will they tear each other apart before the true enemies even reach their shores?

BUY IT NOW: Amazon

Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan

 

UK Edition/Waterstones

Hi all! I've been a bit MIA the last two weeks. The Witch Collector released on 11/2 and let me tell you, it was exhausting. Far more so than I expected. On top of that, my house/kitchen is mid-remodel and I attempted to participate in NaNoWriMo, so it's been fun in my world this first half of November ;)

This week's blog topic at the SFF Seven is to promote BIPOC creatives. I chose to promote a fellow debut author, the lovely Sue Lynn Tan. Can we just take a moment to be in awe of this book cover by Waterstones?? And the GREEN pages?? I had to have it the moment I saw it! The US version is just as beautiful, though. It's one of those books that I feel I need in both forms because it's just that stunning.

US Edition

Here's a little info about Sue Lynn and her beautiful debut romantic fantasy novel.

     Blurb:

      A captivating debut fantasy inspired by the legend of Chang'e, the Chinese moon goddess, in which a young woman’s quest to free her mother pits her against the most powerful immortal in the realm.

      Growing up on the moon, Xingyin is accustomed to solitude, unaware that she is being hidden from the feared Celestial Emperor who exiled her mother for stealing his elixir of immortality. But when Xingyin’s magic flares and her existence is discovered, she is forced to flee her home, leaving her mother behind. Alone, powerless, and afraid, she makes her way to the Celestial Kingdom, a land of wonder and secrets. Disguising her identity, she seizes an opportunity to learn alongside the emperor's son, mastering archery and magic, even as passion flames between her and the prince.

To save her mother, Xingyin embarks on a perilous quest, confronting legendary creatures and vicious enemies across the earth and skies. But when treachery looms and forbidden magic threatens the kingdom, she must challenge the ruthless Celestial Emperor for her dream—striking a dangerous bargain in which she is torn between losing all she loves or plunging the realm into chaos.

Daughter of the Moon Goddess begins an enchanting, romantic duology which weaves ancient Chinese mythology into a sweeping adventure of immortals and magic—where love vies with honor, dreams are fraught with betrayal, and hope emerges triumphant.

About Sue Lynn Tan:

Sue Lynn Tan writes fantasy novels inspired by the myths and legends she fell in love with as a child. Born in Malaysia, she studied in London and France, before settling in Hong Kong with her family.

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Her love for stories began with a gift from her father, her first compilation of fairytales from around the world. After devouring every fable she could find in the library, she discovered fantasy books – spending much of her childhood lost in magical worlds.

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Her debut, Daughter of the Moon Goddess, will be published by Harper Voyager in January 2022, with a sequel to come. It is an enchanting fantasy of love and family, immortals and magic – inspired by the beloved Chinese legend of Chang’e flying to the moon upon taking the elixir of immortality.

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When not writing or reading, she enjoys exploring the many hills, lakes, and temples around her home. She is also grateful to be within reach of bubble tea and spicy food, which she unfortunately cannot cook.

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Find her on Instagram and Twitter @SuelynnTan, or on her website www.suelynntan.com. She is represented by Naomi Davis of Bookends Literary Agency.

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Doesn't this sound so amazing?? Here's a link to Sue Lynn's website book page because there are so many awesome purchase options. You can also add the book on Goodreads here. Remember, it releases on January 11, 2022. I cannot wait to read this tale!

Have I Heard of You

MISSING

 

DO YOU KNOW THIS AUTHOR? HAVE YOU HEARD OF THIS AUTHOR?

 

 

To be fair, probably not. That's okay. Now you have heard of this author. Keep an eye out for this one, please. The families of the characters in the book she's currently supposed to be writing will pay good --- uhm --- stories? for this author's safe return to the keyboard. Please. For the love of finishing a book. Even if you don't read SFR or Urban Fantasy, help us out.

 

The Faceless Voice

This week we’re supposed to talk about how to respond when a fellow party-goer learns you’re a writer and asks: “have I heard of you?”.

I would have so much fun with that question, but since my first release came out during a pandemic there hasn’t been options for going out much less any parties. If I were to be asked that my gut reaction is like Jeffe’s, I’d find out if they’re a reader. 

I absolutely love recommending books to people and when they end up enjoying my suggestion I walk on clouds for the rest of the day! Yes, I’m a bookworm and I’m not afraid to read what I like or tell people about it. 

I’m on a roll getting people to read my fellow author’s works. High-five to myself! But I’m not very good at suggesting my audiobook. Why? Aren’t I proud of it? Don’t I want to shout it to the sky that I have an audiobook out in the world? 

I’d rather be the faceless voice that transports you 

out of the mundane, 

into heart-pounding adventure. 

So I’ll do a little practice—for, you know, that day when I eventually get invited out of the house. Let’s see…if we were to strike up a conversation this might be a good starting point:

Do you read? (note: the correct answer here is YES, but reality is most people choose watching tv over reading) 

Which leads to the second question: Do you like movies like The Martian and The Day After Tomorrow? (the correct answer would again be YES, because what’s not to love?!)

Do you like a little romance in the storyline? If they give confusion-face, follow up with: Romance like Liv Tyler and Ben Affleck in Armageddon or Aragorn and Arwen in Lord of the Rings? (the correct answer would of course be YES)

Do you like medical thrillers—Outbreak, Kay Scarpetta series, Forensic Files show? (again—YES)

Then you’ll like my audiobook about a lab girl fighting to put a stop to an alien organism that’s wiping out Earth—The Mars Strain! 

Whew! Maybe that won’t be so bad after all. Now, if I can only remember what it’s like to get dressed up and go out. 

How about you? How do you answer “have I heard of you”?

Are You a Reader?

via GIPHY

This week at the SFF Seven, we're posing the question: How do you answer when people at parties ask “have I heard of you?”

I confess that I posed this question of the group, since I get this question frequently and I'm usually at a loss as to how to answer. So for a while there I was going around asking other authors how they handle this.

My friend, Jim Sorenson, master of the witty comeback, suggested Sam Malone's line from Cheers, "Not many people know this, but I'm kind of a big deal." I couldn't find a gif of that one though. The line is a good litmus test for how much someone is paying attention. 

But in actuality, I've ended up going with a tiered response, much like KAK suggested yesterday, only a bit less... snarky. Most of the time, I've found, people are asking the question as a rote response to discovering the person they're talking to just might be famous in some way. Where writers are concerned, the answer is almost always "no."

I have, however, found another litmus test response. I return the question by asking if they're a reader. This small-talk gambit works for a multitude of scenarios. Most of the time, the person is NOT a reader, and asking this question will elicit a - sometimes long - explanation of why they don't read. It works really well for the principle that the easiest way to engage someone in conversation is to ask about themselves. People who don't read will often talk about the last book they DID read, or how they hated being forced to read in school, or how busy their lives are. This gives rich fodder for letting them talk about their lives. If they're not actually interested in the fact that I'm a writer, this lets them gracefully never return to the topic and saves me the painful sorting of the fact that, no, they haven't heard of me.

If they ARE a reader, well! Now the conversation gets interesting. I can what genres they read and we talk books. We drill down pretty quickly to whether they read my genre and, if they haven't read my books, they usually end up by whipping out their phone and buying one. Happy outcome!

Speaking of buying books, I'm happy to report that I've finished the draft of my novella for the upcoming FIRE OF THE FROST anthology! I still need to settle on a title, but it takes place at Convocation Academy in my Bonds of Magic world, taking place at roughly the same time as DARK WIZARD. You can preorder the anthology now to have it slip into your eReader in December! (Print will be available, but you can only preorder through my website right now. Print will be available via the usual retailers on release day, just not for preorder.)

Available at these Retailers

    

Party Season and *That* Question

Q: How do I answer at parties when people say, "Have I heard of you?"

teehee, bwahaha, muuwahaha

It totally depends on my mood. Usually, I'm somewhere between polite and cheeky, fully aware that 99.999% of the population has never heard of me or my works. Here are my three answers and associated moods.

Polite: "Probably not, but life's about trying new things, right? Can I interest you in some meddlesome modern gods, a horde of dashing dragons, a grenade-eating goblin, or a fire-warrior out to destroy a kingdom?"

Cheeky: "Highly unlikely, but you look like the adventurous sort. You should give my books a try. How about spending the night with some meddlesome modern gods, a grenade-eating goblin, or a fire-warrior out to destroy a kingdom with the power of mind control?"

Raging Bitch On Shutdown Mode: "Depends entirely on whether you allow the mainstream to dictate your personal preferences."

Do I know you?

 This week's subject is "How do you answer when people ask, 'Do I know you?'"

My usual answer, if I'm being honest, is "I don't know. do you read fantasy, science fiction, or horror?"

I believe in properly chastising non-readers. :)  I will forgive them even if they only read non-fiction because at least they are reading. 

Seriously, I probably know as many people because I work at Starbucks (Several in the last fifteen years) as I do as a result of my writing. It's hard to say which pays better over the years, but I definitely enjoy the writing more. Okay, I likely have a few more readers than regulars at Starbucks. I've had over 40 novel-length works in print over the years. 

That said, anyone who does this for the ego boost is likely going to get an unpleasant surprise. It's about telling tales and having a good time in the process, and as I have said before,, I'd likely be writing these stories even if I'd never been in print. It's how I express myself. 

I did have a rather unexpected surprise today, a new t-shirt from a fan (I have a few of those). 

Pandemics, Politics, and Face Plant

This photo is 100% representative of the past two years of writing for me. The picture is from July 2021. I'd just face-planted on a downtown Austin sidewalk. Fat lip. Broken nose. 

So yeah. Pandemic. Politics. Face-plants. I've been a mental and emotional train wreck since January 2020. I've finished nothing. I've barely managed to put one word in behind another on a book that should have been finished in late 2019. 

Why?

1. Lock down and unrelenting introvert exhaustion. Don't get me wrong. I love my family. Most of the time. But I need serious alone time. THERE'S BEEN NONE FOR TWO YEARS AND I'M ABOUT TO CRACK. Four adults and too many cats in one house has been crushing to this introvert. 

2. Living with someone who's immune-compromised. If you look up 'COVID-19 comorbidities' you'll find my father's photo. That's a lot of worry and a lot of pressure. It meant living in several months of fear that one of us would bring illness home and kill my father. As a result, no one went anywhere. For a really, really long time. Even past being vaccinated. To this day, no one goes anywhere unless double masked. It also means that while I used to be able to leave the house to get some alone time out in the world, you can see how THAT stopped.

3. I picked up a day job. Initially, when I picked up the technical writing gig, there was plenty of time and brain space for fiction. Then the projects at work kicked into high gear and ate my brain. 

Now, there are parts of life in these times that I cannot impact. I can't do anything about a pandemic. Nor can I do as much about politics as I'd like. But I can change how work happens and the day job is scaling back in January. I can't change the fact that life has fundamentally shifted. The parental units both need extra help and I'm having to adjust to the fact that alone time is going to be thin on the ground for the foreseeable future. 

Adapt or die. I thought it was a movie slogan. I'd never expected a bit of Jurassic Park to apply to me.