Welcome to my Sunday Book Review. Today I’m reviewing Diana Peach’s engrossing story – The Seas of Time. This is Book 4 in the Harbor Pointe series, a collaboration of 8 books written by different authors, all taking place at Harbor Pointe. As always, Diana never disappoints as she takes us on a two time-line journey through the decades from a stow away slave on a ship to California.
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Blurb:
The Harbor Pointe Inn has loomed on California’s cliffs for generations of Hawthornes. For some, it’s been a blessing. For others, a curse. Travel through two centuries of stories to discover the old inn’s secrets.
In 1858, a ship carrying ice from Alaska wrecked off the coast of California, and little does Taliah Keldan realize how that tragedy will impact her life in 1972.
When Tali decides to quit college and become a civil rights activist, her disappointed parents encourage her to think it over. What better spot for contemplation than at her aunt and uncle’s Harbor Pointe Inn, a charming seaside getaway with its own lighthouse? The place is under renovation and empty of guests. All she’ll have to deal with is the construction crew.
But the inn is far from peaceful.
Tali discovers an old Bible hidden in the lighthouse keeper’s cottage. Strange prayers angle down the margins, all but one ruined by the sea. When she deciphers the crude writing, a dark portal gapes open to a pre-civil war night when an escaped slave in a foundering ship prayed to his voodoo God. A winged creature emerges from the watery void, and her stay transforms into a nightmare.
With the aid of the construction foreman, Tali is determined to send the beast back through time, a choice that will risk their lives, test her convictions, and change her future.
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My 5 Star Review:
A two-timeline story that begins in 1858 with Samuel, an escaped black slave stowed away on a foundering ship and his voodoo prayer to Damballah, the ancient sea god, recited from his bible in his cries for freedom. That same bible is found in 1972 by Tali, a college student fighting for civil rights, while visiting her aunt’s Inn in Harbor Pointe for a college timeout. After Tali finds the bible in the lighthouse and recites the barely almost legible only prayer that hasn’t been washed away by sea water, all hell breaks loose.
Peach is known for her wonderfully woven fantasy stories, and this story is an exciting twist of both, the real world, racism, mixed with paranormal fantasy as Talia makes a dangerous mistake by reading out the prayer passage from that bible, and unlocks a portal, unleashing a gargoyle. While the Inn is under construction, the only others around are the work crew and Greg the foreman who becomes ensnared in this fantastical story as he enters the cottage where Talia is struggling to deal with the almost compassionate beast that is now taking over the cottage. The struggle is to try and send gargoyle, Zam, back to whence he came. And eventually, as Tali and Greg struggle to tame the beast, on a wild journey they find themselves back in 1858 where they piece together the origins of what transpired back then.
Peach is a masterful writer of fantasy whose stories never fail to draw us in with her page-turning evocative stories and prose. I am looking forward to reading all the books in this stand alone series.
Thank you Diana Peach, for this lovely post you wrote about me and my blog and books as a thank you for being a guest on my blog. It was an absolute pleasure to have you and your beautiful book here, and I was thrilled to be your last stop on your amazing blog tour. You have converted many non-fantasy readers, like myself. 🧡🦋
Welcome to Day 28 of The Necromancer’s Daughter’s Book Tour!
Thank you to everyone who stopped by along the way. I hope you’ve enjoyed:
~ My favorite books from my hosts’ lists, along with my reviews.
~ Something from or about The Necromancer’s Daughter.
~ Leave a comment on any of my hosts’ sites, and your name will be entered in a drawing for a $50 Amazon gift certificate. The more tour sites, the more entries!
Day 28, the End of the Line!
D. G. Kaye’s Blog: D. G. Kaye Writer
Debby’s blog is a writer’s resource that occasionally ventures into the happenings in her life. She shares reviews, writer interviews, links to writing tips from all over the blogosphere, and some of her own poetry. Debby is a regular contributor to Sally Cronin’s Smorgasbord Blog with a variety of features from travel tips to her more recent discussion of spiritual awareness and personal growth.
Debby writes memoirs about different aspects of her life. From the conflicted relationships she navigated as a child to her journey of self-discovery, to the challenges of aging with those we love. From travel tips to the trials of menopause. Some are hilarious and some are poignant, and all are rich with advice for others facing similar situations.
Since losing the love of her life, Debby’s begun a series of podcasts on the topic of grief. As a previous grief counselor, I can say without hesitation that her podcasts are insightful, honest, moving, and full of gentle wisdom. Anyone interested in learning more about the human journey through grief can start here: Grief, the Real Talk, Episode One.
I’ve read all of Debby’s books. Here’s one of my reviews:
My Review: Twenty years after her vows, author D. G. Kaye, looks back at the lessons learned about love, commitment, and aging. Kaye married a man twenty years her senior, already 58 at the time, and asked him for twenty years (at least) – thus the title of the book.
In a way, this memoir is a tribute to the man she dearly loves, a fact that comes through loud and clear. But it’s also about her journey as a partner, about the hurdles, insights, and growth along the way.
“In sickness and in health” is a major theme as bodies bend to the inevitable challenges of aging. Kaye shares her emotions and thoughts regarding her husband’s illnesses, but also some wisdom about preventative care, advocacy, and the adjustments needed to continue living a full life.
This is a poignant read to be sure, but full of practical advice too about laughter, travel, sex, communication, and preparation for the end of life. Most of all, it’s a memoir about love. An evening’s read and highly recommended.
***
If you have a chance, head on over to join The Necromancer’s Daughter tour at Debby’s blog: D. G. Kaye Writer.
I am delighted be part of a long trail of bloggers to help promote Diana Peach’s, already very popular, new release – The Necromancer’s Daughter. For those of you who aren’t familiar with Diana’s writing, she’s an amazing world-building, fantasy writer. Besides the engaging and addicting storylines she writes, her books carry messages in them. In this book, we become invested in the magic of healing, even though the practice of necromancy is not accepted – especially by the Kingdom of Verdane and its ‘Red Order’ army of nasties. We will read about the good vs. evil, witchery, dragons, warring Kingdoms, mixed in with love and compassion – two elements usually not synonymous with such stories.
My personal favorite genres in reading are usually nonfiction, historical fiction, and women’s fiction or chicklit. Fantasy isn’t usually part of that reading equasion. But as a huge fan of Diana’s writing, and the captivating storyline of this book, I felt compelled to read it. And I was addicted!
About Diana:
A long-time reader, best-selling author D. Wallace Peach started writing later in life when years of working in business surrendered to a full-time indulgence in the imaginative world of books. She was instantly hooked. In addition to fantasy books, Peach’s publishing career includes participation in various anthologies featuring short stories, flash fiction, and poetry. She’s an avid supporter of the arts in her local community, organizing and publishing annual anthologies of Oregon prose, poetry, and photography. Peach lives in a log cabin amongst the tall evergreens and emerald moss of Oregon’s rainforest with her husband, two owls, a horde of bats, and the occasional family of coyotes.
x
Blurb:
A healer with the talent to unravel death. A stillborn child brought to life. A father lusting for vengeance. And a son torn between justice, faith, and love. Caught in a chase spanning kingdoms, each must decide the nature of good and evil, the lengths they will go to survive, and what they are willing to lose.
A healer and dabbler in the dark arts of life and death, Barus is as gnarled as an ancient tree. Forgotten in the chaos of the dying queen’s chamber, he spirits away her stillborn infant and in a hovel at the meadow’s edge, breathes life into the wisp of a child. He names her Aster for the lea’s white flowers. Raised as his daughter, she, too, learns to heal death.
Denied a living heir, the widowed king spies from a distance. But he heeds the claims of the fiery Vicar of the Red Order—in the eyes of the Blessed One, Aster is an abomination, and to embrace the evil of resurrection will doom his rule.
As the king’s life nears its end, he defies the vicar’s warning and summons the necromancer’s daughter. For his boldness, he falls to an assassin’s blade. Armed with righteousness and iron-clad conviction, the Order’s brothers ride into the leas to cleanse the land of evil.
To save her father’s life, Aster leads them beyond Verdane’s wall into the Forest of Silvern Cats, a wilderness of dragons and barbarian tribes. Unprepared for a world rife with danger and unchecked power, a world divided by those who practice magic and those who hunt them, she must choose whether to trust the one man offering her aid, the one man most likely to betray her—her enemy’s son.
From best-selling fantasy author D. Wallace Peach comes a retelling of the legend of Kwan-yin, the Chinese Goddess of Mercy. Set in a winter world of dragons, intrigue, and magic, The Necromancer’s Daughter is a story about duty, defiance, cruelty, and sacrifice— an epic tale of compassion and deep abiding love where good and evil aren’t what they seem.
Greetings, Debby. This is the end of the tour! Thanks so much for welcoming me to your blog and spending the day with me.
I thought I’d finish up the tour talking about endings, specifically ending stories with hope. I think of my writing, in general, as leaning toward the dark side, reflecting my rather gloomy view of human beings and our inability as a species to make selfless choices and take care of each other. That said, no matter how much I make my characters suffer, no matter how much I tear away from them, I just can’t seem to end a story without a glimmer of hope. I just can’t do it.
Somehow, there’s always hope.
Reedsyblog includes hope as one of seven elements for a perfect ending and quotes Literary Agent Estelle Laure with the following statement: “You have to assume the character has gone through hell, so let them see something beautiful about the world that allows them to take a breath and step into the next adventure. Even your ending should leave your reader dying for more. They should close the book with a sigh, and that’s the best way I know how to get there. This is, after all, a cruel but wondrous life.”
I couldn’t have said it better. And I’m happy to report that The Necromancer’s Daughter ends with lots of hope.
D.G. – I am thrilled to be the closer on your blog tour Diana. I know your book is already a huge success, and below you will find my own review. I totally concur with what Reedsyblog says, even if the book is not a series or cliffhanger and it is well sewn up at the end, we want to be left, not only with satisfaction, but wondering what will become of those characters in the future, and a possibility the author may one day bring them back in a new story – a lingering taste in our minds. 💜
Available on all the Amazons
My 5 Star Review:
I’m going to start this review by saying that fantasy is not my go-to genre, but being a big fan of Diana Peach’s writing, and the storyline of this book, I couldn’t wait to get my copy. I was engaged from the first page and felt it difficult every time I had to put down the book.
This is a story about good vs. evil. We are first introduced to Barus, as he works with his adoptive mother Olma in their rustic shack-like home making up magical concoctions to heal the sick in the wilderness in the village of White Leas, Verdane. Olma also has the gift of being a necromancer – bringing the dead back to life. Barus has yet to master this gift but is put to the test when the vicar of the Red Order bangs on their door demanding they save his dead son. But it’s too late to bring him back and the vicar beats up the already semi-crippled Barus and his mother and destroys their meager contents, vowing to come back to avenge them.
Later, Barus is summoned by the King of Verdane to save his almost still-born child and his wife, the queen. Their marriage was a blend of two kingdoms – Verdane, and the Princess of Blackrock. But the Red Order intervenes and vows the people won’t accept anyone brought back to life. The child is born dead, and left as forgotten, but Barus hides the stillborn under his cloak on his departure, and performs his first necromancer ritual to bring his now adopted daughter, Aster, back to life. In the meantime, the king becomes aware of Aster’s existence and keeps an eye on her from afar, until one day when he is aging and realizes he has no heirs, he goes to summon her to come back to his castle, but the ‘Red Order’ weren’t going to have any of that. This sets Aster fleeing her home with her father Barus whom she first finds a safe place for him to stay while she continues to flee through the icy cold forest of the Silvern Cats, east, to find the king of Blackrock Kingdom where her birth mother had come from.
Along her journey she meets some interesting people who help her on her journey – mainly, Joreh, ironically, the vicar’s son, who saved Aster from his own father’s evil edict, and Teko, a barbarian cutter from the forest, and they run into many perils along the journey of escorting Aster to Blackrock through the forest in dead of winter. The action and suspense is nonstop.
Aster has the gift of a gentler, as her birth mother did. She is able to tame dragons that typically attack others, and there is one in particular that shows up at the right times in her hours of need. She also learned the craft of necromancy from her adopted father, which quite often puts her in peril as she is called a witch who preforms evil, instead of being praised for giving back life.
The plot kept me glued as Aster travels through forests and cutters and dragons and evil-doers with her new-found friends and allies in her efforts to reach her uncle, the King of Blackrock, for safe harbor, and to acknowledge she is the lost daughter of the Princess of Blackrock. She must prove herself many times over to spare her life, which is threatened repeatedly in this riveting telling.
Her quest continues and has her journeying back to Verdane to gain her rightful place as queen and to find her beloved father Barus, and in so doing, she hopes to make peace between Verdane and Blackrock, and with the Catticuts in the forest in between the two lands, instead of the constant warring between them all. With her new friends Joreh, son of the evil Vicar of Verdane and the Red Order, and Teko from the Catticut forest tribe, it was an addictive read, hoping they make the journey back to the west, safely, and hoping Aster will be accepted as the rightful new queen.
This story will grab you from the beginning and will tug at your heart strings as you root for Aster and continue to hope that goodness will overtake the evil of greedy men and their ignorant beliefs. The emotion that Peach masters in this book jumps off the pages and had me tearing up through the last chapter, but I cannot tell you why. You will have to read for yourself.
Peach is a master fantasy story teller and world builder. In this book she brings in the two opposing elements of good and evil – Aster, the daughter of royalty with a healing gift, but considered witchery and not accepted, as necromancy is a black mark deemed evil by the actual evil people in her world. Peach can write about flawed characters and deplorables, yet bring out the human side in them. This book is a fast-paced plot that will keep you turning the pages and rooting for all the good people as the story unfolds and leaves us remembering the characters long after reading.
Welcome to my Sunday Book Review. Today I’m reviewing Diana Peach’s newest release – The Necromancer’s Daughter. For those of you who regularly read my Sunday reviews, you will know fantasy is not one of my most go-to genres. But besides the beautiful cover, and the fact that I devoured Diana’s last book too, The Ferryman and the Sea Witch, the concept of this story had piqued my curiosity. Read my review below to see why. And let me add. I was addicted to the story and found it difficult to put the book down. Judging by the wide great reception this book is getting, I urge you to grab yourself a copy and prepare for a great adventure escape – especially while it’s on sale now for 99 cents!
Blurb:
A healer with the talent to unravel death. A stillborn child brought to life. A father lusting for vengeance. And a son torn between justice, faith, and love. Caught in a chase spanning kingdoms, each must decide the nature of good and evil, the lengths they will go to survive, and what they are willing to lose.
A healer and dabbler in the dark arts of life and death, Barus is as gnarled as an ancient tree. Forgotten in the chaos of the dying queen’s chamber, he spirits away her stillborn infant and in a hovel at the meadow’s edge, breathes life into the wisp of a child. He names her Aster for the lea’s white flowers. Raised as his daughter, she, too, learns to heal death.
Denied a living heir, the widowed king spies from a distance. But he heeds the claims of the fiery Vicar of the Red Order—in the eyes of the Blessed One, Aster is an abomination, and to embrace the evil of resurrection will doom his rule.
As the king’s life nears its end, he defies the vicar’s warning and summons the necromancer’s daughter. For his boldness, he falls to an assassin’s blade. Armed with righteousness and iron-clad conviction, the Order’s brothers ride into the leas to cleanse the land of evil.
To save her father’s life, Aster leads them beyond Verdane’s wall into the Forest of Silvern Cats, a wilderness of dragons and barbarian tribes. Unprepared for a world rife with danger and unchecked power, a world divided by those who practice magic and those who hunt them, she must choose whether to trust the one man offering her aid, the one man most likely to betray her—her enemy’s son.
From best-selling fantasy author D. Wallace Peach comes a retelling of the legend of Kwan-yin, the Chinese Goddess of Mercy. Set in a winter world of dragons, intrigue, and magic, The Necromancer’s Daughter is a story about duty, defiance, cruelty, and sacrifice— an epic tale of compassion and deep abiding love where good and evil aren’t what they seem.
x
My 5 Star Review:
I’m going to start this review by saying that fantasy is not my go-to genre, but being a big fan of Diana Peach’s writing, and the storyline of this book, I couldn’t wait to get my copy. I was engaged from the first page and felt it difficult every time I had to put down the book.
This is a story about good vs. evil. We are first introduced to Barus, as he works with his adoptive mother Olma in their rustic shack-like home making up magical concoctions to heal the sick in the wilderness in the village of White Leas, Verdane. Olma also has the gift of being a necromancer – bringing the dead back to life. Barus has yet to master this gift but is put to the test when the vicar of the Red Order bangs on their door demanding they save his dead son. But it’s too late to bring him back and the vicar beats up the already semi-crippled Barus and his mother and destroys their meager contents, vowing to come back to avenge them.
Later, Barus is summoned by the King of Verdane to save his almost still-born child and his wife, the queen. Their marriage was a blend of two kingdoms – Verdane, and the Princess of Blackrock. But the Red Order intervenes and vows the people won’t accept anyone brought back to life. The child is born dead, and left as forgotten, but Barus hides the stillborn under his cloak on his departure, and performs his first necromancer ritual to bring his now adopted daughter, Aster, back to life. In the meantime, the king becomes aware of Aster’s existence and keeps an eye on her from afar, until one day when he is aging and realizes he has no heirs, he goes to summon her to come back to his castle, but the ‘Red Order’ weren’t going to have any of that. This sets Aster fleeing her home with her father Barus whom she first finds a safe place for him to stay while she continues to flee through the icy cold forest of the Silvern Cats, east, to find the king of Blackrock Kingdom where her birth mother had come from.
Along her journey she meets some interesting people who help her on her journey – mainly, Joreh, ironically, the vicar’s son, who saved Aster from his own father’s evil edict, and Teko, a barbarian cutter from the forest, and they run into many perils along the journey of escorting Aster to Blackrock through the forest in dead of winter. The action and suspense is nonstop.
Aster has the gift of a gentler, as her birth mother did. She is able to tame dragons that typically attack others, and there is one in particular that shows up at the right times in her hours of need. She also learned the craft of necromancy from her adopted father, which quite often puts her in peril as she is called a witch who preforms evil, instead of being praised for giving back life.
The plot kept me glued as Aster travels through forests and cutters and dragons and evil-doers with her new-found friends and allies in her efforts to reach her uncle, the King of Blackrock, for safe harbor, and to acknowledge she is the lost daughter of the Princess of Blackrock. She must prove herself many times over to spare her life, which is threatened repeatedly in this riveting telling.
Her quest continues and has her journeying back to Verdane to gain her rightful place as queen and to find her beloved father Barus, and in so doing, she hopes to make peace between Verdane and Blackrock, and with the Catticuts in the forest in between the two lands, instead of the constant warring between them all. With her new friends Joreh, son of the evil Vicar of Verdane and the Red Order, and Teko from the Catticut forest tribe, it was an addictive read, hoping they make the journey back to the west, safely, and hoping Aster will be accepted as the rightful new queen.
This story will grab you from the beginning and will tug at your heart strings as you root for Aster and continue to hope that goodness will overtake the evil of greedy men and their ignorant beliefs. The emotion that Peach masters in this book jumps off the pages and had me tearing up through the last chapter, but I cannot tell you why. You will have to read for yourself.
Peach is a master fantasy story teller and world builder. In this book she brings in the two opposing elements of good and evil – Aster, the daughter of royalty with a healing gift, but considered witchery and not accepted, as necromancy is a black mark deemed evil by the actual evil people in her world. Peach can write about flawed characters and deplorables, yet bring out the human side in them. This book is a fast-paced plot that will keep you turning the pages and rooting for all the good people as the story unfolds and leaves us remembering the characters long after reading.
Author, Diana Peach has a fun writing challenge going on – Write a story about your TBR pile. Great topic as so many of us writers and readers make jokes about how fat our Kindles are. I’ve written a poem about my BFK – My big fat Kindle.
If you’d like to play, here’s how it works:
Deadline is January 23rd
Post the story or poem on your blog
Link back to this post or leave your link in the comments below
Keep it family friendly
I will reblog as many of the entries as I can through the end of the January
Please reply to comments when I reblog your story or poem
I’ll post a summary with links in early February
You may use the (attribution free) pixabay image above if you want to
And most of all, Have Fun!
MY BFK (My Big Fat Kindle)
Stories and more stories
We cannot get enough.
Amazing how many books,
Makes choosing one to read real tough.
No more books we chant
While adding just one more.
Adding different genres,
Excuse to add some more.
Promotional or free,
An author friend's new release,
My enthusiasm heightens,
A brand new read for me.
That's how fast it happens,
Before realizing the count.
What's one more book,
As the rising number mounts?
We are fooled by our Kindles,
At the lack of hefty weight.
Do we even know how many,
No matter because books are great.
So my Kindle and bookshelves,
Spill over with stories and words.
Yet another book is added,
My no more books plan is for the birds.
Though I know my Kindle
Is bursting at the seams,
I'll continue to hit the buy button,
To read more, fulfilling author's dreams.
Welcome to my Sunday Book Review. As many of you know, I’ve been on a whirlwind of reading books that are helping me to get through my personal journey of grief. In between these books, I have stuck in a few ‘pleasure’ reads that had me lost in story, which I’m finding is the perfect antidote to engage me as a perfect diversion from the dark abyss I often find myself in since I’ve moved and settled into my solo home. Diana’s book was great medicine for me in that department. The Ferryman and the Sea Witch was a spectacular world build that took me right into the story of Callum – the Ferryman who sailed the deep sea, for a debt he owed to the Sea Witch, which begins the story of good versus evil. A vast array of intricate characters including two warring kingdoms where Callum’s ship crossed waters between both. Only, with every journey came a new threat and Callum’s job to play middle-man between the feuding royals.
Blurb:
The merrow rule the sea. Slender creatures, fair of face, with silver scales and the graceful tails of angelfish. Caught in a Brid Clarion net, the daughter of the sea witch perishes in the sunlit air. Her fingers dangle above the swells.
The queen of the sea bares her sharp teeth and, in a fury of wind and waves, cleanses the brine of ships and men. But she spares a boy for his single act of kindness. Callum becomes the Ferryman, and until Brid Clarion pays its debt with royal blood, only his sails may cross the Deep.
Two warring nations, separated by the merrow’s trench, trade infant hostages in a commitment to peace. Now, the time has come for the heirs to return home. The Ferryman alone can undertake the exchange.
Yet, animosities are far from assuaged. While Brid Clarion’s islands bask in prosperity, Haf Killick, a floating city of derelict ships, rots and rusts and sinks into the reefs. Its ruler has other designs.
And the sea witch crafts dark bargains with all sides.
Callum is caught in the breach, with a long-held bargain of his own which, once discovered, will shatter this life.
My 5 Star Review:
A twisted tale of an evil sea witch who commands the sea at her whim. A fantastic voyage of love, hate, obedience, power struggle, blackmail, revenge, secrets and death. The merrow (half mermaid, half siren) control the waters of the deep for the Sea Witch. In the beginning, the fishermen caught a merrow in their net, and when Callum tried to cut the merrow loose, he was ordered to leave her for dead. But despite his efforts, he couldn’t save her, and that merrow just happened to be the daughter of the vengeful Sea Witch. And that’s where the story begins.
The Sea Witch demanded that the Ferryman (Callum) would have to pay penance by killing a royal and throwing them to the sea as punishment for the death of her daughter. She sank all other ships that crossed the ocean and would allow Callum’s ship to cross between the two kingdoms, but could never again step on land until such time as a royal is killed. Callum would have to dump one prisoner a day into the sea until such time as a royal is drowned to remain able to sail through the deep. The politics of the sea between the two kingdom rulers – the evil Queen Caspia of Haf Killick and King Thayne of Brid Clarion, and the Sea Witch, Panmar, set the story for deceit and foolery.
The action is plentiful, as there are a sea of characters to keep us encapsulated while Callum must deal with the daily antics of Caspia who becomes a threat to his own family. Callum is inundated with requests from both Caspia and Panmar, on a daily basis. Both their edict requests will keep us flipping the pages while the action on the sea keep us gripped as we continue to read and wonder who will win out, the good or the evils?
Stunning world-building – especially the underworld of the sea, well developed characters, deliciously descript, and the tension that will keep you glued in waiting as to who will survive and who will die in this ultimate sea adventure about the battle for power and survival. If you love fantasy with rich world-building, you will want to read this book.
Welcome to September Q & A where I’m thrilled to be featuring Fantasy writer and world-builder extraordinaire, Diana Peach on blogtour now with her hot new release, Liars and Thieves – the first of another riveting trilogy, in the Unraveling the Veil series. And of course after the book intro, Diana will share some of her own thoughts on her writing.
About Diana:
D. Wallace Peach started writing later in life after the kids were grown and a move left her with hours to fill. Years of working in business surrendered to a full-time indulgence in the imaginative world of books, and when she started writing, she was instantly hooked. Diana lives in a log cabin amongst the tall evergreens and emerald moss of Oregon’s rainforest with her husband, two dogs, bats, owls, and the occasional family of coyotes.
It looks as though Diana fans are in for another riveting read! I already have my copy and for all you fantasy reader addicts, Diana’s book is still on pre-order price, so grab your copy for .99 cents!
Blurb:
Behind the Veil, the hordes of Chaos gather, eager to savage the world. But Kalann il Drakk, First of Chaos, is untroubled by the shimmering wall that holds his beasts at bay. For if he cannot cleanse the land of life, the races will do it for him. All he needs is a spark to light the fire.
Three unlikely allies stand in his way.
A misfit elf plagued by failure—When Elanalue Windthorn abandons her soldiers to hunt a goblin, she strays into forbidden territory.
A changeling who betrays his home—Talin Raska is a talented liar, thief, and spy. He makes a fatal mistake—he falls for his mark.
A halfbreed goblin with deadly secrets—Naj’ar is a loner with a talent he doesn’t understand and cannot control, one that threatens all he holds dear.
When the spark of Chaos ignites, miners go missing. But they won’t be the last to vanish. As the cycles of blame whirl through the Borderland, old animosities flare, accusations break bonds, and war looms.
Three outcasts, thrust into an alliance by fate, by oaths, and the churning gears of calamity, must learn the truth. For they hold the future of their world in their hands.
D. Wallace Peach’s latest fantasy novel, Liars and Thieves (2020), Book 1 in her new fantasy series, Unraveling the Veil, is one of those stories you wish you could read again for the first time. The concept is simple–bad guys cause havoc and good guys must stop them. What makes it a story you won’t forget is how Peach reveals the characters, the plot, and the amazing world where they live:
“…they fed the Veil’s mass with heat harvested from the mountains’ core, from pristine forests and wildflower meadows, from creatures of hoof and wing. All withered, browned, and blackened. Then they stole the light from the dawn.”
“The Veil thinned and solidified, releasing the energetic mass that had fortified it against the storm.”
Her choice of words, always spot on, are never wasted:
“…the ambition of a well-fed cat on a sunny sill.”
“Then they stole the light from the dawn.”
“He sniffed the air. Scents of blue snow and dank earth mingled with something new—the electric tang of power.”
The stunning reality she has built includes an eclectric mix of elves, changelings, and goblins, some purebred and others mixed, and all the problems and challenges that go with different cultures intermingling. To stop chaotic events that could destroy the world, these folks find themselves working with old enemies, relying on those they previously distrusted, and discovering new alliances. Though presented as a fantasy world, it will remind you of real-life. As you read, you will never really know what the truth is, when something you thought you knew turns out to be upside down. This made for an excitingly fresh tale like few I’ve ever read. The detail she includes is riveting and in large part why you will think this world could really exist. To give you an example, read Diana’s explanation of what happens to an individual’s bones, hair, organs, and muscles when switching from animal to human.
“The skeletal changes came first. He sank to his knees as his oblong skull crushed inward at the muzzle and bulged in the cranium. His neck compressed. Shoulder blades and ribcage shrank while hip bones expanded and rearranged their connections to fibulae and spine.”
As with every book Peach has written, her world building is believable, her characters likable, and her plot never stops surprising readers. Grab a copy, sit back, and enjoy.
Excerpt:
(In this scene, my characters just discovered that they’re stuck with each other. It’s not
pretty.)
A shower of sand rained from Alue’s hair as she scraped her fingers over her scalp. The endless heat and humidity, the dirt and sweat, fouled her mood as much as it fouled her nose. She needed a hot soak with oils and soap, a hair wash, and something to eat that didn’t taste like an unwashed shirt.
Arianna had released the three of them onto the trail heading north to the railway spur, a three-day walk. Any deviation from the path, any mention of what had occurred in the jungle would result in a gruesome death, and Alue didn’t doubt the queen’s willingness to see the threat through.
Still a day from the spur, Talin led them to another tree-stand, the changelings’ method of spending a night safe from cats if not insects, snakes, and monkeys. She sat on the platform’s edge, one leg dangling, while she attempted to lob balls of light from her fingers—without them disappearing the instant she let go.
The goblin wrinkled his nose.
“What is your problem?” she snapped.
He scowled at her. “You have the odor of an ape.”
She gaped at him. “I haven’t had a chance to bathe.”
“Elves always smell like apes.”
Talin blurted out a laugh. He sat at the platform’s other end, eating some kind of hideous, withered root.
“Is that so?” Alue was tempted to push Naj over the side, but he sat against the tree in the middle of the platform. “And I suppose goblins smell like jasmine petals.”
“Goblins don’t sweat,” Naj informed her. “Changelings bear the scents of animals, but not as pungent as elves.”
“You can’t smell your own breath,” Talin said. “It reeks from eating meat.”
“Speaking of food…” Alue plucked up one of the roots Talin had gathered for her and tossed it over the edge. “I’m famished.”
“Don’t throw good food away,” Talin muttered. “You’ll be forced to ask Naj to spear you a snake.”
“Don’t make me vomit.” Alue shook her head when Naj glanced her way. His glaive had been confiscated in Glenglisan along with her pulser, and though he acted as if its loss didn’t matter, the ropey muscles in his neck tightened at its every mention. “I thought changelings forbade the killing of animals?”
“We do.” Talin brushed the dirt from a flesh-colored root. “We never know when one of us might be mistaken for a wild creature… like a panther.”
Alue stared at him, her empty stomach rolling over. “Was that… was the panther…”
“A man named Janu.” Talin slouched, dark eyebrows lowered in her direction. His chin bristled with rough scruff, and his long hair needed a comb almost as much as hers. “You shot him near the falls, and Naj finished him off.”
“I ate his…” Alue’s hand slapped to her mouth, and she closed her eyes, reeling. If Naj hadn’t gripped her arm, she might have fallen.
“He was the aggressor,” Naj said as if somehow that justified chewing on a man’s heart.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Alue shrieked. “I ate a changeling, a person!”
“Thank you for acknowledging that we’re people,” Talin said.
“Gah! I never said you weren’t. We’re all people. And that’s beside the point. You tricked us.”
“I saved your life,” Talin yelled back. “I didn’t need to do any of it. I could have left you in the pit, left you in the cell. Gone on with my life.”
“Why did you help us?” Naj asked.
Talin crossed his arms. “I thought I knew. Now I don’t remember.”
And now that we’ve all had a delicious sampling, let’s get to know a little bit more about Diana and her personal thoughts on why she prefers self-publishing, and she shares some worthy advice for writers – seasoned and new.
What’s your opinion on self-publishing?
I love self-publishing. I started out on the traditional route, and overall, the publisher was honest and cooperative. But after six books, I cancelled all my contracts and self-published. I haven’t regretted it for a moment.
In some ways, self-publishing is more work. I’m responsible for every step of the process and every cost from engaging with an editor to hiring a cover designer. I have all the responsibility for the final product, and there’s definitely more upfront cost. But here’s the thing… after I switched, not only did my sales and margins go up, my covers improved, I didn’t have to pull teeth to promote, and marketing was much LESS work. A lot less.
How is marketing less work? I was responsible for that chore either way. Marketing is easier if you have control over pricing, which allows you to discount and promote. Traditional publishers control pricing, and in my experience, they don’t like low prices and are resistant to discounts. At full price, promotional opportunities are limited and a lot of work. Low prices, discounts, and promotions are a great way to get readers if that’s your goal. You’ll have a much larger distribution, and though your prices are lower, you’re not sharing the profits… which meansyou have more revenue for more promotion and more readers and more revenue. Thus, the cycle continues.
D.G. – I appreciate your thinking, these were my same thoughts when I decided to do my own thing on my own time. Oye! Nope, I’m happy to control my own publishing too and not collect 1000 rejections waiting, lol. But it’s nice to hear it from someone who moves from trad to indie.
Do you have any advice you can share for new writers?
I’d suggest that every serious writer seek out criticism, not from our moms or best friends, but from other writers. Join a local writer’s group, find critique partners online, pay for an in-depth edit of your first three chapters if it’s all you can afford. Ask for tough love, soak it up, and painstakingly apply the principles.
Of course, positive comments are nice. But the most valuable feedback you’ll ever receive is constructive criticism. I was a member of a writers’ critique group for five years, and I never would have landed a publisher without feedback from my fellow writers. I longed to improve and grow, and to accomplish that, I needed to know everything I was doing wrong. I learned a tremendous amount about the craft and had an opportunity to find my voice.
Now, I’m not suggesting that anyone provide an unsolicited critique of someone’s blog post! But when requested, private, constructive feedback with contextual examples encourages growth. Though I’m no longer part of a group, I do swap editing projects with a writing partner or two. I’m still learning!
D.G. – I love your answers Diana. We are always learning, and if we aren’t then we’ll get left behind. The best education came from my own editor, teaching me how to properly self-edit learning from her feedback.
If you’ve published more than one book, do you find or notice your writing changes or evolves with each new book?
Oh, yes! Practice makes… better. It’s no secret that the more we write the better we become. Hopefully we are lifelong learners, seeking tips from bloggers, reading books about our craft, taking classes, sharing critiques, and writing our little hearts out. That can’t help but change how we write.
But I also think we’re influenced by the things happening in our lives and environments. Our stories change with our moods and perspectives and age. We’re influenced by what we watch on television and what we read, what we care about and what interests us. I’m very influenced by my reading selections. It’s one reason why my writing has become darker with time. I love reading dark fantasy. At the same time, I don’t think inspiration follows a straight line. So who knows what the next story will bring.
D.G. – I so agree with you on how we grow. I think many writers can agree, we can see how our writing evolves with every next book. And yes, we are influenced by what we read as we grow and learn and what hangs around our minds. It has certainly influenced my poetry.
You have a new release: Liars and Thieves, Book 1 of the Unraveling the Veil series. What was the inspiration for this story?
US politics to be honest. I’m disclosing this on your site, Debby, because we’ve shared rants, and you haven’t “unfriended me.” Lol. I started this series in 2017. Blaming based on untruths had started taking the national stage in the US, not for the first time, but in blatantly disturbing ways. Bias and blame ran (and runs) rampant through my country as opposed to taking responsibility, working together, and making the hard choices for positive change.
So, I created a world where the First of Chaos, a god named il Drakk, creates an inciting event. It stirs old biases and activates cycles of blame. My three groups of people – goblins, elves, and changelings – don’t seek the core truth of the situation. Instead, accusations escalate. Civilization spirals downward because truth and cooperation aren’t valued or are too hard. Il Drakk gets to sit back and watch the people become the “Lords of Chaos.” Only by coming together and seeking the truth can they overcome the dire mess they’ve created. There is hope
for my characters, and perhaps for my country as well.
D.G. – OMG I got goosebumps reading this. And I have to tell you, when I first saw the title of your book, I couldn’t help but wonder what inspired it! Of course we write about what’s at our forefronts – if we aren’t digging back to the past for something else. The way you described your story sounds eerily similar to Sinclair Lewis’s book – It Can’t Happen Here, written in 1935 similar idea, fiction, but not fantasy, the take-over of America. My review written two years ago.
Here’s a fun post from Diana Peach – 20 Symptoms of Writeritis, which I’m sure many of us can relate to.
20 Symptoms of Writeritis
This 2-yr-old post was one of my most popular, and for those who missed it, I once again share the symptoms of this incurable condition.
***
As some of you know, a pervasive syndrome has troubled a segment of society for centuries. After years of research, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders finally classified these symptoms under the diagnosis: Writeritis.
Writeritis is defined as a persistent, maladaptive pattern of writing that leads to clinically significant impairment or distress, as manifested by six (or more) of the following within a single month:
A marked craving for increased amounts of writing, and longer periods of time to write.
An unquenchable thirst for coffee.
Repeated efforts to cut down or control word count are unsuccessful.
Withdrawal occurs when writing is discontinued or suddenly reduced. Symptoms include shakiness, moodiness, and/or irritability.
A tendency to rapidly relapse into extreme patterns of excessive rewriting – even after periods of abstinence or control.
After writing, a compulsive urge to return and edit.
An inability to initiate household chores until a plot hole is resolved.
A clinically significant preoccupation with the motivations of imaginary people.
Obsessive attempts to manipulate and control the lives of main characters.
A tendency to forget the time, fail to make dinner, and/or eat in general.
DGKayewriter.com 