Year: 2016

Mary Kingswood Regency romance news

As you may know, I’ve recently begun a new writing venture, breaking away from fantasy for a while to write a series of Regency romances, of traditional style. Like Jane Austen’s works, they focus on the serious business of young ladies looking for husbands and the difficulties they encounter along the way. I can’t copy Austen’s elegant writing or her wit, but I have tried to impart a flavour of the Regency era and the mannered lives of its upper-class residents, while injecting some humour. And like the originals, the story ends with a proposal and acceptance, nothing more, although I have taken the liberty of sealing the happy ever after with a kiss. The series is called The Daughters of Allamont Hall written under the pen name Mary Kingswood and there will be six books in all, each focusing on a different daughter and her search for the perfect […]

Posted June 21, 2016 by PaulineMRoss in Regency romances / 2 Comments

Authors Answer 14: When coming up with a new story, what comes first, the character or the plot?

The character, always. Most of my books have started in a very simple way, with a character in a situation. Then I start looking around for more details of the setting, more characters, the background to the situation. Then, and only then, do I let the characters loose and see what sort of plot develops. I always think it must be tidier to start with the plot, to know that event A is succeeded by event B and so on, right down to the grand finale of event Z, and then construct characters that will show that plot off to best advantage. Such a system leads to properly rounded character arcs, and neat resolutions, and pivotal moments that occur at precisely 37.5% of the way through. Properly structured stories must be built this way, I assume. It’s just not the way I work. For example, The Plains of Kallanash was […]

Posted June 9, 2016 by PaulineMRoss in AuthorsAnswer, The Fire Mages' Daughter, The Plains of Kallanash / 0 Comments

Romance review: ‘Outlander’ by Diana Gabaldon

Where to start? This is one of those books that half the world has read (or seen on TV) and everyone has heard of and has an opinion on. The basic premise is the traditional one for any portal story – a modern-era character who steps into the past and has to survive/adjust/get home. Nothing original there. The twist here is that the story starts in 1945, with Claire Randall on a second honeymoon with her husband in Scotland, the idea being to get reacquainted after wartime separation. As with any portal story, this part is way, way too long (actually, the whole book would be improved by being cut in half, but no matter). I didn’t develop any connection with husband Frank, so I didn’t much care when Claire left him behind, and her desire to get back to him never quite rang true. The Scotland of 1743, where […]

Posted June 7, 2016 by PaulineMRoss in Review / 0 Comments

Mystery review: ‘Spider’s Web’ by Mike Omer

I don’t read many police procedurals, being more of an amateur sleuth type of gal, but I’ve loved the author’s previous books so this new series was a must-read for me. The plot is the usual – there’s a seemingly random killing of a jogger in a park, and it gradually becomes clear that this is just one of a sequence of similar cases. The murderer’s MO is intriguing – the victim receives a text with a picture of something (a gun, a car…) and shortly thereafter is killed with that item as the murder weapon. And there’s a messed-up cop, and an interfering journalist, and a perky forensic psychologist (a profiler) and all the familiar elements. What makes this book different from a thousand others? Firstly, the characters. You’ve never lived until you’ve encountered Rabbi Friedman. I swear he’s not like any Rabbi you’ve ever heard of before. Frankly, […]

Posted May 26, 2016 by PaulineMRoss in Review / 0 Comments

Fantasy review: ‘The Fairytale Curse’ by Marina Finlayson

I’ve loved everything the author has written to date, so this was right at the top of my reading list. It’s not my usual fare (YA? High school? Proms? Really not my thing) but Finlayson achieved the seemingly impossible and taught me to love werewolves, so I was pretty confident she could work the same magic again. Here’s the premise: 17-year-old twin sisters CJ (the pretty one) and Violet (the other one) wake up after a party to find they’ve been cursed. Whenever they speak, they spit diamonds (CJ) or frogs (Violet) from their mouths. And they’re not the only ones to find themselves on the wrong end of a fairytale curse. But strangely, Mum and Dad aren’t quite as surprised as might be expected. Turns out they’re part of a whole organisation devoted to keeping the unpleasant fairies (Sidhe) harmlessly locked away. And wouldn’t you just know it, those […]

Posted May 22, 2016 by PaulineMRoss in Review / 0 Comments

Book release: ‘The Dragon’s Egg’ is now available!

Well, blow me down, I forgot to post an announcement about this! Why did I forget? Because I’m an idiot! But also because this is the first book that didn’t have a pre-order set up, so when it was ready, I just – pushed the button. And, of course, forgot to do a lot of the usual things. My sixth book set in the Brightmoon world is now available at your local Amazon. You can buy it for $3.99 (or equivalent) or borrow it for free, if you have a subscription to Prime or Kindle Unlimited. If you’d like to buy it in paperback, you’ll need to wait just a little longer but anyone buying the paperback will be able to download the Kindle version free of charge. Click here to go to your local Amazon to buy or borrow.

Posted May 10, 2016 by PaulineMRoss in The Dragon's Egg / 0 Comments

Authors answer #13: Can you recommend an author who is not well known?

Good grief, how much time have you got? Unknown authors are my specialist subject. Not for me the residents of bestseller lists or airport bookshops or the type of book that’s stacked high on tables near the door at Waterstones. In fact, most of my favourite authors don’t make it onto the shelves of bookstores at all. I could go on all day, but here are just a few that I love. H Anthe Davis: an American who writes epic fantasy with a hint of horror, compelling characters and industrial-strength world-building. The first of the War of Memory series is The Light of Kerrindryr. She’s a slow-brew kind of writer, so the series is as yet incomplete, with three books out so far. Marina Finlayson: an Australian who writes fast-paced urban fantasy of the werewolf variety, with added dragons and just a touch of romance, and loads of Aussie humour. […]

Posted May 7, 2016 by PaulineMRoss in AuthorsAnswer / 0 Comments

Urban fantasy review: ‘Grim Haven’ by Jen Rasmussen

I don’t read a whole heap of urban fantasy, being more of an epic sort of reader myself, but this is a fun, just-one-more-chapter type of read. It’s my kind of book – quirky, original, with a surprise round every corner. When I tell you that the scene that sent shivers up and down my spine involved the bad guys simply walking around a building, you’ll understand that this isn’t your average let’s-hurl-thunderbolts-around urban fantasy. This is Hitchcockian (is that a word?) levels of tension. Here’s the plot: Verity has her own form of magic, a quiet type that involves writing spells on paper, which she uses for self-protection. She likes to keep a low profile, but an accidental encounter with some unpleasantness of the non-human variety draws her into a centuries-old war. She seeks refuge in her home town, where she’s just inherited an old hotel, but this is […]

Posted May 6, 2016 by PaulineMRoss in Review / 0 Comments

Regency review: ‘The Lucases of Lucas Lodge’ by Clara Benson

This is a real treat for Janeites, or anyone who read Pride and Prejudice and wondered what happened to Maria Lucas after big sister Charlotte married Mr Collins, and three of the Bennet sisters all found husbands. Clara Benson wondered, too, and this is her imagined answer. It’s a charming and light-hearted tale of muddles and misunderstandings, written in a style that any Janeite will love. There are no Bennets in sight, just Maria Lucas, her parents, Miss King (the heiress saved from Wickham’s clutches in P&P) and some new characters renting Netherfield Park. I found all the characters (except one!) to be rather too nice, and perhaps not as quirky as genuine Austen characters, but this just made them all the more realistic. I particularly liked the way Miss King, a tiny bit-part in P&P, is given a great deal of depth here. Nicely done. The setting is quite […]

Posted May 6, 2016 by PaulineMRoss in Review / 0 Comments

Fantasy review: ‘The Strength To Serve’ by Claire Frank

This is the third part of the Echoes of Imara series, which started with To Whatever End and An Altered Fate. It’s truly epic fantasy, with an array of characters pursuing their own agendas and plenty of world-threatening events in prospect. Our ‘heroes’, husband and wife Daro and Cecily and their friends are still dealing with the aftermath of the altered wielders (magic users). Pathius, the son of the former king, is in Imara while the Imarans help him to recover some stability. Meanwhile, the Lyceum loses a valuable artifact and asks Cecily to recover it. And across the sea in Attalon, Isley is imprisoned by the Emperor, as he plans an invasion. One of the highlights of the second book was Daro’s stay in Imara, and this time it’s Pathius learning about the Imaran ways. The Imarans have a wonderfully ‘other’ feel to them, and everything about them and […]

Posted May 5, 2016 by PaulineMRoss in Review / 0 Comments