Year: 2015

Update on the self-publishing fantasy blog-off (#SPFBO)

You may remember me mentioning some months ago that Mark Lawrence (author of The Broken Empire series) had organised a competition for self-published authors. He rounded up ten well-known bloggers who review fantasy, and sent each of them a ‘slush pile’ of 25 self-published books submitted by their authors. All the bloggers had to do was to work through their pile, just as an agent would, reading as much or as little of each as they wished, and choose just one book to put forward as their champion for a second round. Each of those ten would then be read by all the bloggers, who would award points and thereby a winner would be chosen. I submitted The Plains of Kallanash, and the blogger it was assigned to was Sarah Chorn of Bookworm Blues. With the end of the first phase in sight, she’s now read all her 25 books, […]

Posted August 14, 2015 by PaulineMRoss in Publishing/marketing, The Plains of Kallanash / 0 Comments

I’m away for a few days…

…so there may not be any posts for the next week or so. Happily, my trips always allow me plenty of reading time, so there will be some reviews coming soon. Watch out for my 5* review of The Living Throne, part 3 of H Anthe Davis’s stunning epic fantasy series. I’ll also be reviewing another of Dawn Lee McKenna’s atmospheric suspense tales set in the Florida panhandle, What Washes Up. And in current reading, I’m deep into Clara Benson’s country house cozy, The Mystery At Underwood House, and just starting a popular traditional epic fantasy, Arcane, by Sever Bronny. After that, one of my favourite series returns: To The Gap is the fourth part of Kyra Halland’s enjoyable fantasy western series. The Mages of Bennamore is just 99 cents in the US (99p in UK) from 7th August! If you haven’t yet picked up a copy of the newest […]

Posted August 5, 2015 by PaulineMRoss in General, Publishing/marketing / 0 Comments

Mystery Review: ‘Riptide’ by Dawn Lee McKenna

McKenna’s literary love story, ‘See You’, is one of the finest books I’ve read in recent years, so I wasn’t going to miss the opportunity to enjoy her inimitable writing style applied to a series of cop thrillers set in the Florida panhandle. The first of the series, ‘Low Tide’, was a good starter, tidying up the immediate problems, while opening up enough intriguing backstory to fill the rest of the series. Maggie Redmond is a cop getting by as a single parent after divorcing her childhood sweetheart, David, when he got involved in drugs. Now she’s tiptoeing around a new relationship with fellow cop, Wyatt, while also finding herself inexplicably drawn into the orbit of the town’s resident bad guy, Bennett Boudreaux. And all the while, she’s trying to forget traumatic events in her past. But when a severed leg turns up in a shrimp net, Maggie has to […]

Posted July 31, 2015 by PaulineMRoss in Review / 0 Comments

A new review of ‘The Fire Mages’

I don’t often post about the reviews my books receive. Reviews are really for readers, a way for someone who’s read a book to summarise what they liked and disliked about it, so that potential readers can judge whether a book is their cup of tea or not. So even a negative review can be helpful. Some reviews of my books say that they’re long or have slow patches or that the main character is hard to like. I wouldn’t argue with any of that. And it means that anyone looking for a fast, action-packed story with a likeable main character will know to move along. A review complaining about explicit sex or swearing will warn off readers who would find that disturbing. A review praising the gender equality in my worlds will alert readers to the possibility of something a little outside the norm. So all reviews are useful. […]

Posted July 30, 2015 by PaulineMRoss in Publishing/marketing, The Fire Mages / 3 Comments

Mystery Review: ‘The Murder At Sissingham Hall’ by Clara Benson

I love a good country house murder mystery, something that Agatha Christie specialised in but which is hard to find nowadays. This is a very good substitute, which captures the social nuances and language perfectly, and if the identity of the murderer isn’t the hardest thing in the world to work out, well, at least I can bask in my own cleverness. I’m usually a sucker for the red herrings, so it’s nice to guess right for once. The story starts with Charles Knox returning from several years in South Africa, where he’s conveniently made his fortune by gold mining. He’s met by his old friend Bobs and Bobs’s sister Sylvia, now all grown up and a possible love interest. But Charles was once engaged to Rosamund, now married to Sir Neville Strickland, and when he’s invited to their country house and there’s a murder, things get a bit murky. […]

Posted July 27, 2015 by PaulineMRoss in Review / 0 Comments

Fantasy Novella Review: ‘Birthright’ by Tammi Labrecque

This is a novella which marries a murder mystery with fantasy, a happy combination. Tyrnill is a song-healer, journeying about from place to place putting her skills to good use, and learning her craft. When she finds herself in the small village of Kineford, she meets Brim, an agent of the King known as a King’s Shield, who calls upon her services to help him investigate a spate of recent deaths. The writing style is pleasantly lyrical, a welcome change from the gritty tone of much recent fantasy, and the society and manners are delightfully old-fashioned (to 21st century ears). Tyrnill leaves her horse tied up outside the inn, still loaded with all her luggage, while she eats and chats and relaxes, and lo, horse and luggage are still there later. No opportunistic thieves here. On the other hand, Tyrnill’s liking for high-heeled shoes and revealing gowns feels terribly modern. […]

Posted July 18, 2015 by PaulineMRoss in Review / 0 Comments

YA Horror Review: ‘Moth to a Flame’ by Michael Omer

This is the second book in the Narrowdale YA series. I’m not sure exactly which genre it falls under; I’d put it somewhere between suspense and horror, with paranormal elements. And as YA goes, it’s at the younger end, and wouldn’t be unsuitable for middle-graders, since the horror is muted, and the humour is cranked all the way up to eleven. In fact, the opening few chapters are as funny as anything I’ve ever read anywhere, and yes, that covers Terry Pratchett, Douglas Adams and Bill Bryson. Main character Amy is an absolute delight, completely swept up in her own affairs, and since the book is written in the first person, we get to share all her dippy thoughts. The collision of Amy with algebra had me crying from laughing so hard. I know humour is a personal thing, but I defy anyone not to laugh out loud reading this. […]

Posted July 16, 2015 by PaulineMRoss in Review / 0 Comments

‘The Magic Mines of Asharim’: Chapters 1-4

1: The Mine Office I gripped the rail with tense fingers, but the barge slid against the wharf with the softest of bumps. Below me, figures ran about with ropes, tying up with practised ease. With the groaning of heavy wood, a gangplank was positioned. I had arrived. Cautiously I let go of the rail, prepared to grab again, but the barge was still. It was all of a piece, the smoothest, most trouble-free journey possible, and I couldn’t quite believe it. It seemed too good to be true. I wasn’t safe yet, but I was close, so close. Picking up my travel bag, I made my way to disembark with the handful of other passengers, as the crane was wheeled into place to begin unloading the cargo. “Good luck, Allandra!” one of them called as they dispersed, and then they were all shouting to each other. “Good luck! Good […]

Posted July 7, 2015 by PaulineMRoss in The Magic Mines of Asharim / 0 Comments

Urban fantasy review: ‘Twiceborn Queen’ by Marina Finlayson

This is the second part of the urban fantasy series The Proving, and boy, is it a cracker. I loved the first part, Twiceborn, werewolves and all, but this one is, if anything, even better. It’s a rare accomplishment in a trilogy to maintain the momentum of the first book into the second, but here the author carries it off with style. SPOILER WARNING: the end of the first book had a number of spectacular reveals, and I really can’t talk about events in this book without referencing them, so it will be impossible to avoid spoilers for Twiceborn. Don’t read any further if you haven’t yet read it. There are no spoilers for this book, however. In Twiceborn, Kate O’Connor thought things couldn’t get worse after the death of her son, Lachie. Well, she was totally wrong about that. She found herself drawn into the war of succession between […]

Posted July 3, 2015 by PaulineMRoss in Review / 0 Comments

Fantasy review: ‘An Altered Fate’ by Claire Frank

The second part of a series is always a difficult trick to pull off: have all the clever ideas been used up in the first part? Is the plot reduced to dull filler to bridge the gap before the finale? Do the nuances get lost in the rush to ramp up the action a notch? Well, all the answers here are a resounding no: this book is just as absorbing as the first. In the first book, the villain, Nihil, was defeated, but the results of his experiments are still roaming the kingdom of Halthas. A number of Wielders (magic users) have been altered, rendering them very powerful but also unstable. Some of them have surrendered to the lure of that power, and have become wildly destructive. Others seem to be under better control. The focus of the story is how to manage the altered Wielders: should they be killed? […]

Posted June 27, 2015 by PaulineMRoss in Review / 1 Comment