The Written Universe Will Go On

Good evening constant reader,

I apologize for not posting anything sooner.
On August 11th, my son Evan was involved in a serious auto wreck.  He was unconscious from the time he was taken to the hospital and never regained consciousness.  He seemed to be improving and after a month in the hospital was transferred to a nursing home.  At that point, the doctor was telling us it was between Evan and the man upstairs as to when he would come out of his coma.
On the morning of September 14th, he passed away. 
His brain had herniated and was slowly swelling and ended up pressing on his respiratory center and that was what took his life.  There were no symptoms to warn what was happening and the injury was such that it was undetectable by CT scan or MRI.
My son's viewing and funeral was attended by between 300-500 people.  He touched more lives in his 23 years than people 4 times his age ever do.
Evan I will miss you for the rest of my life.
I love you my boy.

13 Questions with... Sapphire Phelan

 

1.Name one thing you miss about being a child.

Maybe the innocence I had. Though I still ooh and aah at fantastic things, I think my innocence as a child made those oohs and aahs greater. The child within me is still there, but not as perfect as it could be. I hope I made that understandable.

2. Do you have any phobias? If so, what are they?

Spiders and cockroaches. Hate them. Also, I have fear of heights lately.

3. Are you a collector of anything and if so, what?

4. You're about the walk the Green Mile - what do you have for your last meal?

Chicken and dumplings with sushi, mashed potatoes, and green beans.

5. What is your favorite cookie?

Chocolate chip cookies.

6. Who is your favorite author?

Jim Butcher, Shirley Jackson, Ray Bradbury, Anne McCaffrey, really I have a lot of favorites, besides the ones I mentioned.

7. What musical artist are you currently into?

No one artist, and I like the older ones, like CCR, Meatloaf, etc...

8. Have you ever had an imaginary friend? If so, who are they?

I think I had a lot as a child, as I grew up alone (both half-sisters were adults by time I was born) and entertained myself with the stories and people and creatures in my head. I was writing down those stories since I was eight years old.

9. What's your favorite word?

Dream? Because I hope that is where my stor4ies come from. I like a lot of words, especially if I come across cool words that I never heard of or saw before.

10. What is your current desktop wallpaper?

Alaska snow-topped mountains and water with ice floes.

11. You're at a Chinese buffet - what goes on your plate?

Sushi, for sure. Jalapeño chicken and chicken and broccoli.

12. What person now deceased would you most want to spend some time with and why?

My father. Also Edgar Allan Poe.

13. What are you currently reading?

Bloodring by Faith Hunter.

Review: Being Familiar With a Witch

Being Familiar With a Witch
by Sapphire Phelan
Downloadable e-book
available in these formats:
HTML, PDF, Rocket/REB 1100,
Mobipocket, and Microsoft Reader
from Phaze Books

In a nutshell, if you like paranormal romance with explicit sex that's a quick read, then this book might be for you.

Our story begins as we accompany an incubus, Charun, as he haunts a woman in the throes of an erotic dream.  He is about to do what incubi do best when he is summoned to Hell by his superior, Byleth.  Charun is told he will lose incubus status and be assigned to a witch on Earth, in this case, Tina, as her familiar.  It will be up to him, on her 21st birthday to consummate their relationship to activate her latent magickal abilities.  This must occur or Armageddon will start, wiping mankind from the face of the Earth and giving sway to Lucifer and all the demons of Hell.

Charun spends the next 21 years watching Tina grow and mature, unaware of her witchcraft.  When she turns 21, Charun assumes the guise of a black cat and insinuates himself into Tina's life - finally revealing his true nature of being a demon to her.  He explains who he is and why he is there and gives her a deadline of Halloween to consummate their relationship in order for her powers to bloom.

Tina is initially skeptical, then comes to accept what she's been told, still a bit on the "oh sure" side of things.  However, she cannot deny her attraction to Charun (he takes on a hunky human look). 

The book is short, 116 pages, qualifying more as a novella than a true book.
It is chock-full of explicit language and sex scenes...and I do mean explicit.
Is this for everyone?  Possibly not, it depends on how much sex you like in your paranormal romance.
There's a smattering of magick behind the goings on in this tale, but nothing too involved.

The writing is not bad - the reading level here though is sparse (not a lot of time spent on detail)  but is heavy and detailed when the sex scenes show up.  That was a little jarring for me, as I would be reading along on what felt like a junior high school level and then wham, here was the XXX rated sex scenes.
I honestly think Sapphire Phelan can write - despite the explicit romps, I found myself drawn in to the action. 
As short as the story is, I did find the charaters of Charun and Tina engaging and well-crafted.
In fact, I wanted more detail regarding these characters.

I would like to see Ms. Phelan take on a longer and more involved work - she did pretty well within the shortness of this novella, but I believe she would shine given a longer format in which to develop her story and her characters,
Bottom line?  Watch out for Sapphire Phelan - she has the tools, and deserves a bigger canvas on which to work.


For more information on Sapphire Phelan please visit:
Sapphire Phelan's Blog
Sapphre Phelan's Facebook
Follow Sapphire Phelan on Twitter
Sapphire Phelan on MySpace

13 Questions with... M. Amanuensis Sharkchild

1. Name one thing you miss about being a child.

Summers

2. Do you have any phobias? If so, what are they?

I get a bit squeamish when I have to kill a big bug.

3. Are you a collector of anything and if so, what?

Nope.

4. You're about the walk the Green Mile - what do you have for your last meal?

Double cheeseburger, fries, breaded veal, mashed potatoes, beef wellington, bread with olive oil and vinegar, strawberries, and homemade cheesecake (family recipe).

5. What is your favorite cookie?

Chocolate Chip.

6. Who is your favorite author?

H.P. Lovecraft.

7. What musical artist are you currently into?

Before The Dawn (Finnish melodic death metal)

8. Have you ever had an imaginary friend? If so, who are they?

Nope.

9. What's your favorite word?

Writhe.

10. What is your current desktop wallpaper?

An image that my friend John Stifter drew for me of an angel clad in armor.

11. You're at a Chinese buffet - what goes on your plate?

Chow mein and orange chicken (mainly), with some fried rice, egg rolls, and beef and broccoli,

12. What person now deceased would you most want to spend some time with and why?

H.P. Lovecraft, so we could discuss the subject of dreaming.

13. What are you currently reading?

The King of Elfland’s Daughter by Lord Dunsany

Review: The Dark Verse

The Dark Verse
Volume One
From the Passages of Revenants
by
M. Amanuensis Sharkchild
Available through Amazon and from http://sharkchild.com/

In a nutshell, if you like taking a white-knuckled ride into the darker corners of the imagination, then this is a book for you.

The first thing you notice about this book is the graphic presentation.
It's a hard cover, black in color with an intricate silver foil illustration on the front .  Open the book and the end papers are artwork unto themselves, the paper is heavy grade, and each story has it's own individual illustration on its first page (illustrations courtesy of John F. Stifter)  The design alone tells you you're not in for the same old short story collection.
Our author, the enigmatic M. Amanuensis Sharkchild compiled this volume from material for his spoken word podcast, The Dark Verse.
Collected here are 26 of those stories, stories as lovingly crafted as the book itself is.  The term "wordsmith" comes to mind in describing Sharkchild's writing...he uses words to paint exquisite portraits of the fantastic, the wonderful, the terrible, the horrible.

Stand outs include "Gift of the Crossroads", where a scrap of fabric found in the kitchen begins one man's nightmare odyssey.  At one point as I was reading this story, I literally exclaimed out loud "God! Dude!", over a turn of events, and continued to the following page and gasped out loud.  That rarely if ever happens when I'm reading anything.
"The Missing Come Home" details one father and the loss of his daughter and her unexpected return and the horrifying consequences which ensue, rather than a joyous homecoming.
"The Captive Inside" which will make me forever think twice about wishing for a dusty old toy shop to dig through and whiling away the hours working a jigsaw puzzle (and for me that's saying something as I like and am fairly skilled at jigsaw puzzles).
There are two stories, "The Changing Feyth Part One" and "The Changing Feyth Part Two", that are crying to be developed into one full-length novel of their very own.  

The book is obviously a labour of love and artistry in the way it's presented.
Nearly every story, while more than able to stand alone on it's own as a self-contained jewel, could be expanded to a novel-length exploration.
It's as if each story is but a fleeting glimpse into one universe of the insane and horrific.
Yes, the writing is that good.

The cost of the book is $22.99 - and well worth it.

To find out more about M. Amanuensis Sharkchild, please visit:
http://sharkchild.com/
http://www.facebook.com/sharkchild
http://www.myspace.com/sharkchild
http://twitter.com/sharkchild

13 Questions with ...Jason Beil

1. Name one thing you miss about being a child.
I miss the sense of wonder.  Everything was new, and it was so easy to get excited over a movie, or a book, or the new record by your favorite band.  Now, as an adult, it’s too easy to become jaded and adopt a “been there, done that” attitude.

2. Do you have any phobias? If so, what are they?
I was pretty scared that time some psycho ran out in front of the van I was driving waving a gun around.  So crazy people with firearms.  That’s my phobia.

3. Are you a collector of anything and if so, what?
Comic books.  Although, I don’t know if I’m a collector or just a fanboy.  I just love the medium... everything from superhero stuff to the more cutting edge adult material.

4. You're about the walk the Green Mile - what do you have for your last meal?
Depends on what I’m in the mood for.  Probably a big steak, medium rare.

5. What is your favorite cookie?
Chocolate chip... is there any other kind?

6. Who is your favorite author?
Good question.  Tolkien is the father of modern fantasy and obviously a huge influence on me.  Recently, I’ve been most impressed by George RR Martin, although if he doesn’t bring out his next book soon I’m sending him hate mail.

7. What musical artist are you currently into?
I guess I’d have to admit my latest flavor du jour is Lady Gaga.  She’s actually a very talented young woman.  However, I doubt anyone will ever knock Depeche Mode off the top spot of my all-time favorites list.

8. Have you ever had an imaginary friend? If so, who are they?
No imaginary friends.  Imaginary enemies, on the other hand...

9. What's your favorite word?
Apotheosis

10. What is your current desktop wallpaper?
A dog getting sprayed in the face by a sprinkler.  My daughter put it on there.

11. You're at a Chinese buffet - what goes on your plate?
The question is... what DOESN’T go on my plate.  I love Chinese!

12. What person now deceased would you most want to spend some time with and why?
Robert Jordan.  I want to give him hell for everything after book 6 in the Wheel of Time.

13. What are you currently reading?
Just catching up on my funnybooks.  The last real book I read was Atlas Shrugged (loved it!).

Revew: The Talisman of Faerie

The Talisman of Faerie

by

Jason Beil

Available from Barnes and Noble, Amazon,

Alibris, eBookPie

In a nutshell: If you are just starting to read fantasy novels, this is a good place to start, but this statement comes with a warning.

The Talisman of Faerie is a decent fantasy; there's the hero, Alec Mason, a humble baker, the girl,

Sarah, mysterious men like Michael, swashbucklers like Lorn, faerie folk, kings and queens, bad guys and evil sorcerers like Salin Urdrokk.  There's a talisman that must be returned to whence it came in order to preserve the land.  We've also got an army of the undead and ogres.

If any of this seems familiar, that's because it is.  The Talisman of Faerie borrows heavily from Tolkien's Lord of the Rings.  

Without giving away anything of great importance, allow me to numerate them:
Instead of a mountain hollowed out by dwarves that must be passed through to get to where the hero's party is going, it's a faerie burial chamber in the hollowed out mountain they must pass through. 

Instead of a ring of great power, it's a talisman of great power.  

The faerie folk are preternaturally beautiful and live in a stunning forest land in the trees.

One other borrowed theme is a sword Alec is gifted with named Flame which seems to feed the wielder's lust for blood, and also resists being handled by others.  I couldn't help but think of the prescient blades in Michael Moorcock's Elric series.

Is the story entertaining?

Yes.  

There are times however, the book could have stood some more critical editing.  I thought if  Alec had to posit one more time how he was going to get to go back home and be a baker after this was all over one more time, I was going to scream.  Twice is fine...but after that, the events surrounding the character are so tumultuous and life-changing, Alec started sounding silly thinking he was going to return to a normal life at the end of the journey to return the talisman to the faeries.

There are some really good battle scenes with more blood and gore than I expected, a nice love story that blooms sensibly and enough rabbit trails that leave you wondering what lies at the end.  I'm assuming some of those trails are explored in the sequel, Sword of Kings.

Should you read this?

Yes, if you haven't read Lord of the Rings or any other of the classic standards of the fantasy genre.  Some fantasy novels overburden themselves with plots that twist too much, loaded down with a host of characters that make it hard to keep up with who is doing what to whom and where.  The Talisman of Faerie is compact in that regard, with enough characters to make it interesting, but not too many to keep up with, and not so many plot lines that you can't keep up with the action.  Biel has crafted a tight story that starts in one direction and doesn't wander off confusing the reader with too many subplots as some fantasies are wont to do.

If you're just starting out reading the fantasy genre, this is a good place to start.  I think Beil has talent and with more writing will continue to weave even more entertaining stories of the fantastic.

For more information on Jason Beil, please go to

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jason-N-Beils-The-Talisman-of-Faerie/218232852661

http://www.myspace.com/talismanoffaerie