Speculative Fiction Worth Reading - 3 Reviews for Untethered Realms Authors

Nora's life goes from rotten to worse when she moves with her newly divorced mother to a decrepit farmhouse in the middle of nowhere. As soon as they move in, strange things start to happen, and Nora discovers a magical journal in the attic. She learns about the past and what is going to happen again, if she doesn't stop it. All the while, she finds herself falling for a gorgeous local boy whose parents may have been victims of this horror. Will Nora be able to figure how what's happening in time to save not only those she cares about but herself as well? 

This is a fantastic YA paranormal read. I was sucked into the detailed setting of the old farmhouse and little town. The perfect creepy atmosphere for all the supernatural happenings. There are a lot of layers to the plot. What was happening in the past, how it is touching the present, and everyone going on in the modern day. It was very well done how Nora is dealing with her parents' divorce, and even how her writer mother is dealing with it. It is in no way painted as an easy thing. Then to add just being a teenager moving to a new place, trying to fit in and make friends, and falling for a guy named Rebel who may or may not be trouble! Plus ghosts, a beast, and magic. It was so much fun!

Buy The Upside Down of Nora Gaines here!

Indigo Rain discovers an ancient plaque in a seabed burial site and is asked to become an esteemed Keeper. She is paired with the handsome Bay Finley, who is a Royal merfolk Keeper. His haughty attitude infuriates her, but there is something that draws her to him. Indigo must unravel the mystery of the plaque before the threats on land and in the sea kill her.

This is another incredible book in the paranormal romance series, The Keepers of Knowledge. I love the author's take on merfolk. The marvelous history of the merfolk and how they evolved to mingle with people on land. Indigo is not your typical sea beauty. She's the daughter of a kelp farmer and an intelligent scientist. Bay seems like a playboy prince at first, but his layers peel back as Indigo gets to know him. I love the twists and turns this story took me on, and the unique settings underwater alongside the now familiar town of Pyreshore.

Buy Secrets of the Mermaid here!

Ami and Luke are immortal coincidence makers, but it isn't a fate Ami would wish on anyone. When they are tasked with getting two people to meet to become like them, Ami isn't certain she wants it to happen. Luke disagrees, and things are rocky as they meet up with old friends as they discover that perhaps the bio-terrorists they believed they had thwarted are readying for another attack. While they have not been tasked to stop it, can they stand by and let millions of people die or will they take the chance and do this on their own?

This is the second book in this thrilling speculative fiction series, and it is even better than the first. It's immensely well-written and smart with a layered plot. I empathized with Ami as she struggled with wanting to recruit the new coincidence makers and wanting to let them choose their own fates as she did not feel she got to choose her own. The rogue coincidence makers had decided they're not taking orders any more and want to act as gods, but that's not the role Ami wants to play either. All the while there is a job to be done and a huge terrorist attack to stop. There are twists and turns which made me gasp, and while this could be a stand alone book, it sets the stage for even bigger things to come. I can't wait!

Buy In Defiance of Fate here!

Fly Us To The Moon!

 

Untethered Realms is going to the moon! How, you ask? As stowaways. Technology and ingenuity is making it possible. Plus, one of our members (Gwen Gardner) applied and became manifest #123, and is taking everyone she can think of with her! We're talking friends, family and pets!

Read on to find out more...

Writers on the Moon (founded by Dr. Susan Kaye Quinn, rocket scientist and author extraordinaire) is a group of rag-tag indie authors from around the world. They are sending a library of stories to the moon on Astrobotic's first mission and first commercial lunar lander, Peregrine Mission One, where it will remain for posterity--or until future moon travelers find it. Maybe direct descendants--or maybe even aliens! One day the future of humanity may be reading our names in their history books, or researching 21st century literature, music, and culture. Because along with stories, the manifests are bringing stowaways of all sorts, to include screenplays, music, and photographs! Untethered Realms' Elements of Untethered Realms will be among the treasures. 

The "Moon Box", the size of a dime, will contain thousands of digitized items. 

The rocket launch is scheduled for December 2021. If you'd like to find out more, check out the Writers on the Moon website (still a work in progess), and Astrobotics for more the details. 

Ever been in space?

Would you go if given the chance?

The Sword of Otrim - #epicfantasy #bookreview

 

The Sword of Otrim by Lyndon Perry

I enjoyed The Sword of Otrim very much: it’s a Conan-esque adventure yarn that focuses on Otrim, a powerful fighter with a strong moral purpose and a keen sense of right and wrong. His world is a familiar-enough quasi-medieval version of Europe (in my imagination at least), and Otrim’s adventures are set against a background of wars and conflicts between empires.

It’s the characters that set this apart from any number of such books – this is where Perry is at his best. The people he populates his story with are believable and three-dimensional, flawed and brave and foolish by turns. Otrim displays admirable wisdom and forbearance as he struggles with the enemies placed before him and the roles people assign him, and there always seems to be an amused grin on his face, despite all that happens to him.

It’s fair to say that the majority of the active characters are men, but there are also strong and resourceful females in the book, who play vital roles in the unfolding events. It’s good to see.

The story is somewhat episodic in nature: Perry describes how he created the novel by piecing together five novellas. In truth, it barely shows; the story flows along nicely and reads like a novel. I devoured it very quickly. It’s labelled as “epic fantasy”, but that was actually something I wasn’t so sure about: it’s a fantasy world, for sure, but there is little or no magic in it. That said, there are plenty of hints and suggestions that such wonders do exist in the world, and I look forward to future instalments where, perhaps, Otrim comes up against more fantastical foes.

Some reviewers have labelled this “Christian fiction”. I make no particular comment on that, except to say that I’m not Christian (or any sort of religious) in any way – and that this didn’t get in the way of my enjoyment of the book at all. I never once felt like I was being beaten over the head with some real-word religious text. There is a lot of talk of “The Master” and his teachings – analogous to the teachings of Jesus, perhaps, to a Christian reader – but to this godless reviewer it all seemed like an enjoyable moral/spiritual dimension to give to an otherwise ruthlessly-efficient swordsman.

Epic battles, swordfights, intrigue and mystery – it’s all here. A recommended read.

Find the book on Amazon.

@UnRealms #WritingCommunity #WritersLife #WritingInspiration

Bits and Pieces of My Writer's Life

#BookReview #CRANE #UntetheredRealms @UnRealms #CathrinaConstantine

CRANE

by

Stacey Rourke

The Horseman is unending,
his presence shan’t lessen.
If you break the curse,
you become the legend.

Washington Irving and Rip Van Winkle had no choice but to cover up the deadly truth behind Ichabod Crane’s disappearance. Centuries later, a Crane returns to Sleepy Hollow awakening macabre secrets once believed to be buried deep.

What if the monster that spawned the legend lived within you?

Now, Ireland Crane, reeling from a break-up and seeking a fresh start, must rely on the newly awakened Rip Van Winkle to discover the key to channeling the darkness swirling within her. Bodies are piling high and Ireland is the only one that can save Sleepy Hollow by embracing her own damning curse.

But is anyone truly safe when the Horseman rides?

Cathrina's Review

Oh Wow!!

I'll say right at the beginning, Crane by Stacey Rourke is a fabulous adaption in regards to Sleepy Hollow, Ichabod Crane, and the Headless Horseman.

The Author, Stacey Rourke has an absolutely brilliant writing style that blew me away. Each descriptive page had me hungering for more, that I found it difficult to put the book down.

I like humor, especially sarcastic humor, and Crane did not disappoint. And to enlist Rip Van Winkle into the storyline was over-the-top enjoyment! I loved the main character, Ireland and her strength to persevere in her battle with conquering the Horseman. I never leave spoils~~~Oh Boy!! You will be amazed!!!

Whether I'd been so caught up in the story or it wasn't mentioned to lure the reader into book 2, I can't remember if it was explained how Ireland Crane was related to Ichabod.

I highly recommend this phenomenal book.

Mermaids, Magic and Glamoured Beach Towns

I love writing books set in beach towns and characters with complex relationships to the ocean. In my novel Witch of the Cards, I wrote about a woman learning that she hailed from a sea witch dynasty. In Pictures of Dorianna, I wrote about a girl who, unbeknownst to her, makes a deal with the Prince of Darkness. This happens when his supernatural video of her on a Coney Island beach goes viral, spinning her life out of control. 

In this new urban fantasy, Secrets of the Mermaid, I got to study mermaid lore and deep-sea creatures, and create mysterious merfolk characters. My heroine, Indigo Rain moves to a glamoured gothic beach town called Pyreshore and becomes a Keeper of the merfolk’s secret history. Indigo is a mermaid with a private slide from her basement into the Atlantic Ocean, and her own deep, dark secrets.

Her eventual love interest, Bay Finley, is of Royal merman stock, while Indigo, is of common stock. So the added “special sauce” is the Harry and Meghan royal versus commoner element.

Who wouldn’t love to suddenly be able to transform from human to mermaid? I give readers the experience through Indigo. “Out of sheer exuberance, she performed somersaults, twirls, and grand swoops up and over the seabed ravines and ridges.” Or even better, her first dive with Bay, her fellow merfolk researcher and secret crush:

“They plunged in. Indigo felt the transformative rush as her legs changed to a single tailfin, and her hips and below became a sheen of golden scales. She breathed in water and wriggled her way downward. As she did, she stole peeks at Bay. His merman patterns, like ruddy tribal tattoos, emerged along his jawline, down his muscled arms and on both sides of his lean torso. His scales, a rusty gold, matched the patterns on his skin, and glittered brightly against the darker waters like the sea glass she so loved. His chest and abs seemed to swell and flex at the same time with the strength of a Poseidon, the grace of a marathon swimmer, the glory of a merman Royal in his prime. She forced herself to look away, and to concentrate on seeking out the tablets, whether they were the nano-synth ones, more of the type in that hidden burial chamber, or another type of artifact altogether.”

I discovered deep-sea fish like the ghost shark with an extra set of jaws inside its maw that can suddenly extend like a slingshot to gobble prey, and the dragon fish that produce their own glowing light. They protect Indigo when a dangerous phantom attacks her and their light guides her back home. Mermaid lore is also endlessly fascinating, and disturbing! One element I used was that mermaid were known to lure sailors undersea and drown them, in order to use them to fertilize their ova to make wee little merbabies. Rather gruesome, and one shameful thing in Indigo’s past she feels compelled to atone for. You have to read the book to find out how! No spoilers here. If you love the ocean and its magical creatures, why not spend time with Indigo, Bay and the quirky cast of characters on Pyreshore and under its coastal waters?

See the book on Amazon (free on KU!)

Backworlds Box Collection Books 4, 5, and 6 Now Available! #99c for a Limited Time. #scifi

 The Backworlds Box Collection Books 4, 5, and 6 is now available for preorder. The box set releases March 12, 2021, and its 99 cents for a limited time. Grab your copy!

Available at all ebook retailers: Amazon, B&N, Kobo, GooglePlay, Apple, Smashwords, and more. Just click the link below.

BACKWORLDS BOX SET 4, 5, 6

The galaxy beyond the Backworlds is rife with trouble. The desperate search to save a friend ends in the discovery of an unstoppable enemy. This boxed set contains books 4, 5, and 6 in the Backworld series: Beyond the Edge, Worlds on Edge, and Precipice.

Beyond the Edge

Some truths are better left unfound. For two years, Lepsi has been missing. A haunted spaceship has a message from him. Maybe Lepsi isn’t dead. Craze and Captain Talos travel to uncharted worlds, searching a region of the galaxy beyond the Backworlds. Out there, they stumble upon a terrible truth.

 

Worlds on Edge

Home is worth the fight. War is coming. A horde of merciless aliens poise just beyond the Edge. Racing ahead of the apocalypse, Craze rushes to warn his people and plan a defense. Only, he can’t go home. Banned from Pardeep Station, he must wage another war to save his home.

 

Precipice

Salvation comes at a price. A new enemy wants to destroy the galaxy. The Fo’wo’s want another war. Annihilation is coming to the Backworlds, and Craze’s option to prevent the genocide of his people is a nightmare. The best chance for survival is to overcome a century of hate and forge an alliance with the Fo’wo’s. If he succeeds, Craze will be the most hated man in the galaxy.