Guest post: Deborah Mills and Daniel Rabuzzi on illustrating Yount

With the upcoming release on 9th October by ChiZine Publications of "The Indigo Pheasant", the second volume in "Longing for Yount" series, I have the pleasure to host Deborah Mills and Daniel Rabuzzi as my guests for a post.

Illustrating Yount

I am very fortunate that my wife Deborah Mills is my artistic partner on The Choir Boats (ChiZine Publications/CZP, 2009) and The Indigo Pheasant (CZP, 2012).  Deborah's carvings of sea monsters form the basis of the beautiful covers that CZP's Erik Mohr designed.  Here we see photos of Deborah's originals set next to the covers of the novels.

CZP granted me great artistic control, for which I am grateful.  And with Erik Mohr on both books, and Danny Evarts providing great design on the interior of the second novel, CZP paid very fine attention to the visualization of my story.   This matters: the books are physically handsome, a quality that enhances the reading experience.  My text flows from images and images in turn tip out of the text as read by visual artists such as Deborah, Erik and Danny  (You can read more about this at The Fantasy Book Critic and at That Artsy Reader Girl).

But let Deborah speak for herself:  "The first step for me is always looking at the artwork and decorative elements of the time I want to refer to, then coming up with my own 'versions' of the ornamentation that grabs me.  Looking, for me, means doodling, just trying out ideas in sketches.  Since Daniel's novels take place primarily in London during the second decade of the 1800s, I went hunting for period-appropriate imagery, to create an authentic 'look and feel' for his story.  I re-visited sketches I had made at the Victoria & Albert Museum on several visits, and likewise images I had drawn over countless hours spent at The Metropolitan Museum, and at the Winter Antiques Fair held at The Armory on Park Avenue in Manhattan.  I searched through old Sotheby catalogs I found at The Strand Bookstore in New York City, and so on."

Deborah sketched many teapots, plates and tea bowls, and, of course, made a special study of the pheasants ornamenting the porcelain.

Deborah also spent hours working on Charicules, the saulary who enters the story in the second novel.

Some illustrations, especially from The Choir Boats, Deborah created through trial-and-error without pencil sketches; she just kept doing loose ink and brush drawings over and over until one felt "right."

Ah, and then came Deborah's many attempts to capture Strix Tender Wurm.   As she says: "I drew so many owls trying for represent Daniel's extremely scary villain!  I kept coming back to one of my earliest doodles - it had a threatening feel to it that I was after. For the ink drawing, I sketched in pencil, then ink, and very carefully painted in the dark background."

Deborah also had to decide between versions.  In her words:  "The right swan had a lighter spirit, but I darkened the piebald splotches to foreshadow bloody events to come; iron shackles and chains refer to slavery; I wanted the atypical scrolls of the iron bar supporting the sign to hint at the foreign-ness of the purveyors of the Piebald Swan coffeehouse.  I deviated from the text here since the coffee house would have been wooden, not stone."

As the author, let me close by saying again how lucky I am to work with an artist as deeply engaged with my text as Deborah is.  Her illustrations on both books helped inspire me as I wrote.

Photo by Kyle Cassidy

Daniel A. Rabuzzi studied folklore and mythology in college and graduate school, and keeps one foot firmly in the Other Realm.

ChiZine Publications published his first novel, The Choir Boats: Volume One of Longing for Yount, in 2009, and in 2012 brought out the sequel and series conclusion, The Indigo Pheasant: Volume Two of Longing for Yount.

Daniel's short fiction and poetry have appeared in Sybil's Garage, Shimmer, ChiZine, Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet, Abyss & Apex, Goblin Fruit, Mannequin Envy, Bull Spec, Kaleidotrope, and Scheherezade's Bequest.  He has presented at Arisia, Readercon, Lunacon, and the Toronto Speculative Fiction Colloquium. He has also had twenty scholarly and professional articles published on subjects ranging from fairy tale to finance.

A former banker, Daniel earned his doctorate in 18th-century history, with a focus on family, gender and commerce in northern Europe. He is now an executive at a national workforce development organization in New York City, where he lives with his wife and soulmate, the artist Deborah A. Mills (who illustrated and provided cover art for both Daniel's novels), along with the requisite two cats.

Novel preview links:

The Choir Boats: http://chizinepub.com/media/choir-boats/TheChoirBoats-Preview.pdf

The Indigo Pheasant: http://chizinepub.com/media/indigo/indigo_preview.pdf

Book page links:

The Choir Boats: http://chizinepub.com/books/choir-boats.php

The Indigo Pheasant: http://chizinepub.com/books/indigo-pheasant.php

Daniel's web site: www.danielarabuzzi.com

Daniel's Twitter: @TheChoirBoats

Daniel's Blog: http://lobsterandcanary.blogspot.com/

Deborah's web site: http://www.deborahmillswoodcarving.com/

Cover art - "Blood's Pride" by Evie Manieri

I’ve talked more than once about my reserve for characters featured on the book covers. I usually imagine the characters in one way and their presence on the book cover can influence the manner I picture them, rarely in a positive mode. I do not deny the beauty of such covers, but only occasionally I am fully satisfied by their appearance. One particular case is when I actually see the cover artwork after reading the book in question and one such situation is with Evie Manieri’s “Blood’s Pride”. I received an advance reading copy through the courtesy of the UK publisher, Jo Fletcher Books, and because of this I saw the cover artwork of the novel only after I finished reading “Blood’s Pride”. Ideal, but as much as I would love to see it happening more often (secretly dreaming of working in an art department) it is only occasionally possible. When I finally saw the cover edition for the UK edition of Evie Manieri’s novel I wasn’t thrilled. It is a nice cover, but not a spectacular one for me. My position changed when I discovered the cover artwork for the US edition, due to be released by Tor Books on February 2013. True, it is centered on characters and has a more pronounced accent on the fantasy theme, but it is another wonderful composition born from the magical hands of Kekai Kotaki. Evie Manieri’s “Blood’s Pride” has a large number of important characters and each of them could have made an appearance on the cover. But the two making that appearance are the ones that hold the thinnest of balances in the context of the story, the Mongrel and Jachad Nisharan. I did not picture these characters this way, Kekai Kotaki surpassed anything I imagined and he actually made me like the character of the Mongrel even more. Also, the darker atmosphere of the cover works better in my case. And in the end, as much as I feel restraint towards the characters featured on the book covers, in this case, I have to admit that the artwork is wonderful.

Cover art - "NOS4R2" by Joe Hill

Just before going on holiday I talked a bit about the new Joe Hill novel due to be released next year. No further details surfaced since then, so “NOS4R2” remains a mystery. However, Gollancz, the UK publisher of Joe Hill’s upcoming novel, revealed the cover artwork for their edition. And it is a thing of beauty. Taking a wild guess based on the registration plates highlighted on both this cover and the preliminary US one I would say that Joe Hill’s novel has something to do with a car – “Christine” just popped into mind almost instantly because of the father-son relationship between Joe Hill and Stephen King, but without taking anything from the value of Joe Hill’s works, truly deserving on their own and unaffected by this family connection – and vampires, because after all “NOS4R2” can be read with little effort as Nosferatu. I am still walking in the dark though and will continue to do so until further details about Joe Hill’s novel will be disclosed. Nonetheless, the certain thing about Joe Hill’s “NOS4R2” is that it has one excellent cover!

"Blood's Pride" by Evie Manieri

"Blood's Pride"

by Evie Manieri

Publisher: Jo Fletcher Books

Review copy received through the courtesy of the publisher, Jo Fletcher Books

A generation has passed since the Norlanders' great ships bore down on Shadar, and the Dead Ones slashed and burned the city into submission, enslaving the Shadari people.

Now the Norlander governor is dying and, as his three alienated children struggle against the crushing isolation of their lives, the Shadari rebels spot their opening and summon the Mongrel, a mysterious mercenary warrior who has never yet lost a battle. But her terms are unsettling: she will name her price only after the Norlanders have been defeated.

A single question is left for the Shadari: is there any price too high for freedom?

Choosing the next book to read is not a complex process, but it can prove to be a difficult one. However, rarely it happens for a title to end up in the sieving operation with little or no information or background to support their nomination for the next possible reading choice. Fewer still are the books that actually end up read after that without digging for further details about author, title or series, as is the case with Evie Manieri’s “Blood’s Pride”.

With the choice made, I opened the first pages of Evie Manieri’s debut novel and came across a fairly standard opening and prologue. A land is invaded by unknown forces, the religious figures of the attacked nation desert their people and the country ends up conquered and enslaved. What happens next in “Blood’s Pride” is far from ordinary. Evie Manieri creates a conflicted world, not particularly from the perspectives of the conquerors and the conquered, but especially through the angles drawn by the characteristics of the involved nations, through the struggle of the individuals to deal with each other and with themselves.

The conquerors, Nordlanders, come obviously from the North, a land found mostly in the dark, have little tolerance for light, which proves a major inconvenience considering that the conquered land is mainly a desert. They also have the ability to communicate through telepathy, consider the Shadari, the conquered people, inability of telepathic communication repulsive and the use of language repugnant. Their capacity of telepathy leads also to a more direct connection, because the dialogue involves the exact feelings of the interlocutors as well. This skill extends to the use of weapons, swords can be controlled in certain conditions through the power of the mind as long as they are forged with a certain metal found in the Shadar (it is the main reason for the Norland invasion). One of the key elements of “Blood’s Pride” is not only the intolerance to light of the Norlanders, but also the physical contact with the Shadari, contact which in its eventuality would lead to a certain degree of burning for the Norlanders or freezing for the Shadari. The Nomas are the third nation of Evie Manieri’s novel, free people living in the desert of the Shadar, also capable of telepathy and without any interest in the conflict between the Norlanders and Shadari, acting as a buffer between the two aforementioned nations. As an aside, they come with an interesting particularity of their own, the romantic and matrimonial relationships are consumed once a year, in between the women navigate ships on the sea while the men live in the desert.

These particularities and characteristics converging together lead to a wonderful and original dynamic of the novel. The internal conflict of each of the nation’s representatives is highlighted by their relationship with each other, especially the amorous associations. Because not only the Nomas have their own approach of the romantic connections, but also the love stories between the Shadari and Norlanders have the genuine touch of the heat transfer and the suffering it can cause to the lovers. This element adds to the characters in love with someone from the opposite nation a new and very interesting dimension amplifying the work Evie Manieri does on her novel’s protagonists.

Like the novel and its prologue the characters start in a similar standard and flat fashion. But once again their development cannot be in any way called standard. Frea, Eofar and Isa, the children of the Norlander governor find themselves between their homeland, their native inheritances and the customs of their people and the land of adoption and its people. Rho, one of the soldiers stationed in Shadar, faces his conscience, the Shadari Daryan, Harotha and Faroth are caught between internal struggle and the fight for liberation, the Nomas king Jachad Nisharan has to maintain the neutral balance of his people in the existing conflict of the novel. There is another one, The Mogrel, who also walks a line between the Shadari and Norlanders, but I’ll leave it aside because going deeper will spoil her demeanor. All these are just parts that give solidity to the characters and make them anything but standard. As a matter of fact, I believe it can be easily said that Evie Manieri’s “Blood’s Pride” is a character-driven novel. In this aspect it is better than many fantasy novels I read.

I am very fond of the novels focused on characters, it is what attracts me the most to a book. And I loved the particularities of Evie Manieri’s world building. But despite all these I cannot name “Blood’s Pride” the ideal match for my reading preferences. The novel reaches a point, around its middle, where is losing its momentum. The plot seems to fall prey to the characters and the main conflict diminishes its importance. Slavery is a condemnable practice, but somehow in “Blood’s Pride” the oppression of forced labor doesn’t reach its full extent. In my opinion, an approach from a darker light of this side of the story would have put more force behind this particular conflict. However, something good is driven from this shortcoming, none of the characters can be clearly define as the positive or negative ones. It can be said about two of them that they could incline the balance towards one part or the other, but there are enough reasons behind their actions to see them following personal dreams and interests through the wrong course of action.

Evie Manieri’s “Blood’s Pride” might not be the perfect match for my reading taste, but it has clearly outlined characters, original world-building and an engaging story to be a solid novel. And a quite promising start for the “Shattered Kingdoms” series.

TOC - "A Carnivàle of Horror" edited by Marie O'Regan & Paul Kane

Last week, on 12^th September, one of my anticipated anthologies, “Circus: Fantasy Under the Big Top” edited by Ekaterina Sedia, was released by Prime Books. As I said at the time of my “Circus: Fantasy Under the Big Top” discovery I do have my reservations towards the theme, but the editor and some of the contributors convinced me to give this particular collection a chance. On October, a similar collection will be available on the other side of the pond, edited by Marie O’Regan and Paul Kane and released by PS Publishing. Since I’ve already stated my reserve for the subject “A Carnivàle of Horror” might prove too much after Ekaterina Sedia’s anthology. But I can’t deny that Joe Hill, Andrew McKiernan (also contributor to “Circus: Fantasy Under the Big Top”), Alison Littlewood, Paul Finch, Robert Shearman and John Connolly, completed with the re-print of Ray Bradbury’s “Something Wicked This Way Comes”, are reasons enough for me to become interested in Marie O’Regan and Paul Kane’s anthology. With two such titles available in such a short period of time, I have only one more desire, for the circus theme not to be the next trend and to start assaulting the market with countless of similar titles. Fingers crossed!

The circus and fairground have long been associated as much with menace as they have with fun. Now, gathered together in one impressive volume from PS are some of the best examples of weird and horrific fiction from the big top.

“Introduction: Horror of the Carnivàle” by Marie O’Regan & Paul Kane

“Something Wicked This Way Comes” by Ray Bradbury

“A Flat Patch of Grass” by Muriel Gray

“Some Children Wander By Mistake” by John Connolly

“Spurs (AKA Freaks)” by Tod Robbins

“Tiger, Tiger” by Rio Youers

“Blind Voices” by Tom Reamy

“Mister Magister” by Thomas F. Monteleone

“Twittering From The Circus of The Dead” by Joe Hill

“The Pilo Family Circus” by Will Elliott

“Face of The Circus” by Lou Morgan

“Escardy Gap” by Peter Crowther & James Lovegrove

“The Circus of Dr Lao” by Charles Finney

“In The Forest of The Night” by Paul Finch

“All The Clowns in Clowntown” by Andrew McKiernan

“Nine Letters About Spit” by Robert Shearman

“To Run Away and Join The Circus” by Alison Littlewood

TOC & Book trailer - "A Season in Carcosa" edited by Joseph S. Pulver, Sr.

I was talking at the beginning of the year about two anthologies edited by Joseph S. Pulver, Sr. due to be released this year, “A Season in Carcosa”, a tribute to Robert W. Chambers’ “The King in Yellow”, and “The Grimscribe’s Puppets”, a tribute to Thomas Ligotti. Well, the time has come to see “A Season in Carcosa” a finished product and ready to reach the readers. Since Joseph S. Pulver, Sr.’s “A Season in Carcosa” is one the titles I wished to read as soon as I discovered it and I managed to muster enough patience until now, I believe that I can wait a few more days until I’ll be able to purchase a copy of the anthology. Until then, I would dwell on the anthology’s catchy trailer, very interesting synopsis and mighty table of contents.

H.P. Lovecraft. Karl Edgar Wagner. Peter Straub. Those are a few of the names that stand tall in our genre and when it comes to Robert W. Chambers and his King in Yellow they agree, Chambers' beguiling tales of the King In Yellow and Carcosa are among the best in "weird" fiction. Miskatonic River Press and Joseph S. Pulver, Sr. are proud and delighted to present an anthology of all new tales inspired by Chambers.

In haunted and splintered minds…

Minds shackled to lonely places…

In the unbound shadows infesting hearts of beautiful woman with frantic sensations…

In an old house where biblical thrived…

In threadbare truths, disturbed by despair, cobwebbed with illusions…

In far cold Carcosa…

Lies madness.

In A Season In Carcosa readers will find the strange and mysterious places of heart and mind that spring from madness, and those minds and the places touched by it are the realms that are mined. Chambers' legacy of the worms and soft decay that spring from reading the King In Yellow play stir both new and established talents in the world of weird fiction and horror to contribute all new tales that pay homage to these eerie nightmares. In Carcosa twilight comes and minds lost in the mirrors of lust and fear, are awash in legacies of shadows, not mercy. . .

Haunting the pages of this tome are the following voices:

“My Voice is Dead” by Joel Lane

“Beyond the Banks of River Seine” by Simon Strantzas

“Movie Night at Phil’s” by Don Webb

“MS Found in a Chicago Hotel Room” by Daniel Mills

“it seems me  when I’m not looking” by Gary McMahon

“Finale, Act Two” by Ann K. Schwader

“Yellow Bird Strings” by Cate Gardner

“The Teatre & Its Double” by Edward Morris

“The Hymn of the Hyades” by Richard Gavin

“Slick Black Bones and Soft Black Stars” by Gemma Files

“Not Enough Hope” by Joseph S. Pulver, Sr.

“Whose Hearts are Pure Gold” by Kristin Prevallet

“April Dawn” by Richard A. Lupoff

“King Wolf” by Anna Tambour

“The White-Face at Dawn” by Michael Kelly

“Wishing Well” by Cody Goodfellow

“Sweetums” by John Langan

“The King is Yellow” by Pearce Hansen

“D T” by Laird Barron

“Salvation in Yellow” by Robin Spriggs

“The Beat Hotel” by Allsyon Bird

"The Art of Brom" Kickstarter project

Recently I stumbled very often over Kickstarter, a website that became quite a trend lately. I looked over it a few times, but I must confess that it rarely captured my interest, maybe due to the lack of time for a more proper exploration or due to the lack of projects that I would like to support. To tell you the truth though, there were a couple of such projects, but the one that stirred me into action was the latest I discovered, the funding of the largest, most comprehensive art book of one of my all-time favorite artists, Brom. I have delighted in the art of Brom through time and I am the proud owner of his already published books, “The Plucker”, “The Devil’s Rose” and “The Child Thief”, but I could not resist the opportunity to see Brom and Flesk Publications bringing to life a book in which:

The Art of Brom “Publisher Edition”

Fantasy Cover and “Deluxe Edition” Cover

“Brom has collected together the very best of his art spanning his 30 year career. Many pieces have never before been published. He's included a rare glimpse into his studio, and an in-depth showcase exploring his creative process, including sketches and preliminaries. Brom has written an insightful autobiography sharing his artistic journey from his earliest childhood drawings, his frustrations with commercial art, challenges breaking into the industry, to his years working in games and film, and insights into his latest personal works.

This book will be 9 x 12 inches and encompass 208 pages (trade edition), 224 pages (publisher edition) and 225 pages (deluxe edition). The "Publisher" and "Deluxe" editions will only be available direct from the publisher and artist. We have a fantasy cover and nude cover to choose from for the "Publisher" edition. Depending on your pledge amount there is a sketchbook, giclee print and even an opportunity to have your portrait done as a zombie by Brom that will go in the book!”

The project has the time limit of October, 5^th to reach its funding goal, but that not only that has already happened, but it happened surpassing its funding goal well over ten times. And because of it there are plenty of bonus goodies that come from this.

I am really excited about “The Art of Brom” although I do have to wait until June 2013 to receive my copy. However, I am very pleased to see that while waiting for the publication of Brom’s art book I can explore his newest novel, “Krampus, the Yule Lord”, due to be released by Harper Voyager on October, 30^th.

"Blue and Gold" by K.J. Parker

"Blue and Gold"

by K.J. Parker

Publisher: Subterranean Press

The review was initially posted on The Speculative Scotsman as a guest post

The review is based on a bought copy of the book

“Well, let me see,” I said, as the innkeeper poured me a beer. “In the morning I discovered the secret of changing base metal into gold. In the afternoon, I murdered my wife.”

For a man as remarkable as the philosopher Saloninus, just another day.

Of course, we only have his word for it, and Saloninus has been known to be creative with the truth. Little white lies are inevitable expedients when you’re one jump ahead of the secret police and on the brink of one of the greatest discoveries in the history of alchemy. But why would a scientist with the world’s most generous, forgiving patron be so desperate to run away? And what, if anything, has blue got to do with gold?

If I should name one of the most original and strong voices of modern fantasy fiction I would definitely choose without any hesitation K. J. Parker. The existence of K. J. Parker is shrouded in deep mystery, but the works published so far have been nothing but excellent. “Blue and Gold” is the second novella released by K. J. Parker after the wonderful “Purple and Black”.

As is the case with the K. J. Parker’s last works, the world of “Blue and Gold” is reminiscent of Byzantium or Roman civilization in the republic phase, but with plenty of personal touches for originality. And again K. J. Parker does not hit the reader on the head with excessive and bulky world-building, but unveils the setting with subtlety. The most striking details are the political and economical ones, strong factors that give the world solidity and stability. Even the smaller details in the political and economical cogs that spin the world of “Blue and Gold” are not left to chance, and carefully treated.

The story is told through the voice of Saloninus, a brilliant alchemist, found on the run after he is accused of his wife’s murder. Skillful, intelligent and witty, Saloninus is a very charismatic character with quite a story to be told and with a particular history behind him. I cannot place Saloninus among the positive characters of fiction, more appropriate for his definition is the Dungeons & Dragons alignment of chaotic neutral.

Nonetheless, Saloninus is one of the most likeable and memorable characters I encountered in my readings. And the manner in which Saloninus recollects his story is full of humor, quirky but attractive, and with enough charm to keep the reader glued to the tale until it is finished.

As a matter of fact, K. J. Parker’s entire novella is full of humor, sometimes sarcastic, sometimes friendly. It is in fact a step away from the majority of K. J. Parker’s novels: a radiant and entertaining read. Not that the other, darker works are not entertaining, but in a different manner and for different reasons. The plot is not overly complex, but beautifully constructed, with plenty of mystery and suspense to keep the reader guessing, until “Blue and Gold” is brought to a close... an end that although not surprising, is delightful and amusing.

K. J. Parker is one of the most underrated names in fantasy literature, although the works published so far are evidence enough of the contrary case. If it was necessary, “Blue and Gold” is another proof that certifies K. J. Parker’s originality and powerful voice. Definitely one of my all-time favorite writers.

Guest post - Rowena Cory Daniells

Rowena Cory Daniells is the author of “The Last T’En” and “The King Rolen’s Kin” trilogies and of the stand-alone novel “The Price ofFame”. She recently released a new trilogy, “The Outcast Chronicles”, published by Solaris Books, also the publisher of “The King Rolen’s Kin”. I have the pleasure to host Rowena for a guest post in celebration of the release of “The Outcast Chronicles”.

How I discovered fantasy...

by Rowena Cory Daniells

Before I knew there was such a thing as genre, I loved fantasy.  The stories that had the most power for me were the stories of magic and wonder. Every fairy tale contained these elements: witches who tricked children, grumpy goblins who made bargains and kind woodsmen. And it seemed that every fairy tale contained a clever child who outwitted the evil. I was always looking for those stories.

I grew up in a sleepy seaside town in Australia. TV in those days was black and white, and full of middle-class American stories. But there were some gems. I loved Bewitched. If it had been possible, I would have grown up to be Samantha. My favourite episodes were the ones with dithery Aunt Clara and naughty little Tabitha.

Then, one afternoon, I watched Jason and the Argonauts. Ray Harryhausen brought to life gods and goddesses, and battles with skeletons and harpies.  Before there was CGI there was Harryhausen. I didn’t identify with the females in the story, so far as I was concerned I was one of Jason’s crew, fighting alongside him. I was there for the adventure.

Around this time I also watched Forbidden Planet, robots and monsters! And the most amazing thing was the revelation that the monster was a product of the father’s subconscious. (Sorry, spoiler). I loved the way this turned my understanding of monsters upside down. I loved the way it stretched my mind.

I was always looking for things that gave me that visceral thrill of discovery and adventure. Naturally, I read everything I could lay my hands on, which wasn’t much. So desperate was I for reading material, that when my parents bought my text books I would read them all in the week before school started. And still I wanted more.

More adventure, more stories of amazing wonder.

And then at seventeen I discovered Tolkien and Asimov:  fantasy and science fiction. Finally, I’d found the mental head space where I felt most comfortable. But I was still living amongst people who thought going to the footy on a Saturday was the highlight of the week. Nothing can describe the sense of isolation you feel when you’re alone in a crowd. It wasn’t until I went to Melbourne that I met SF fans and discovered people who could talk about the things I found fascinating.

Nowadays, you can find like-minded people on the web. Nowadays, we have pop culture events where 25,000 nerds turn up to celebrate comics, TV shows and movies, books and games. Nowadays we geeks are mainstream.

But it was very different when I was growing up. Back then, if someone had told me that I would one day write books that swept readers away on fantastical adventures I would have been flabbergasted. Although I loved writing stories, I had never considered myself an author. They were wondrous creatures who didn’t exist on the same plane as the people I saw around me.

Now I write the stories that I once longed to read. I write about people who face terrible choices and discover things within themselves they never realised were there. And I do this in a fantasy setting because an invented secondary world allows me to set up the most challenging of scenarios to test my characters. In The Outcast Chronicles I test Imoshen and Sorne, and make them question the very foundations of what they believe.

I hope readers find their stories as compelling as I did while writing the books.

Rowena’s Blog

Catch up with Rowena on Twitter: @rcdaniells

Catch up with Rowena on GoodReads