Time

Hey guys,

Been a while since I posted so I thought I would today. Basically, not had the time for a whole lot of writing other than those that are going to be submitted for anthologies and magazines, sent out a whole load of people the parts of Running out of Space that I've written so far, and currently waiting for the returns, got a short story sitting with a potential publisher int the book Fantasy for Good just waiting to hear back about that, I've got about a dozen short stories to finish writing, or even start, so Return from the Empire's next part isn't written yet, but I've got six days to finish five of the stories so when they're done, I'll go back to that and work on the magazine submissions after I've finished RftE, when I've got news on any of them I'll let you know.

A lot of free time is being eaten up by college studying and the graded unit for it so that's another reason it's been so long, so far it's going well though, hopefully in the coming weeks the free time's going to be freed up since studying won't be so intensive and the graded unit plan's almost finished weeks ahead of schedule.

Looking forward to the 25th of November for Tash Bash at the Classic Grand, a charity gig for MacMillan Cancer Support, loads of the friends that I rarely get to see should be there.

So, keep on the look out for updates on future published work (hopefully) and the next part of RftE.

Cheers

Davie

***Also for those who have already read RftE, it's been edited so it isn't so confusing and crap, alas this is what happens when you are a turd and don't edit shit when you write it.***

Reluctant Prophet Blog

Well another stop on the Blog tour train.

This time with the Reluctant Prophet, as per usual I ain't read it, I swear I really mean to and the only reason I read Shadow is because I read it way before it came out so I new it was going to be awesome and bought it. I do plan at some point to read all of them and when I eventually get my finger out and publish (One is coming, first draft will be done in a few weeks, one is in it's infancy and I still can't read Burn all the way through without almost wanting to smash the keyboard.)

Anyway, shouldn't rant about my own shortcomings, should give Gillian a hand for completing her manuscript and getting it published, now knowing Sammy one of the owners of the Publisher as I do, and knowing how she's raving about it, it's probably top notch just not for the mainstream publishers, who let's be honest are getting stupid at the moment, but Kristell Ink like so many small publishers have become a welcome home for the great fiction that wasn't being published.

I digress from my usual rant and here is the actual stuff I should have been posting:                      

The Reluctant Prophet

by

Gillian O’Rourke

There’s none so blind as she who can see . . .

Esther is blessed, and cursed, with a rare gift: the ability to see the fates of those around her. But when she escapes her peasant upbringing to become a priestess of the Order, she begins to realise how valuable her ability is among the power-hungry nobility, and what they are willing to do to possess it.

Haunted by the dark man of her father's warnings, and unable to see her own destiny, Esther is betrayed by those sworn to protect her. With eyes newly open to the harsh realities of her world, she embarks on a path that diverges from the plan the Gods have laid out. Now she must choose between sacrificing her own heart’s blood, and risking a future that will turn the lands against each other in bloody war.

The Reluctant Prophet is the story of one woman who holds the fate of the world in her hands, when all she wishes for is a glimpse of her own happiness.ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Before settling down in the Emerald Isle with her husband and three dogs, Gillian O’Rourke lived in Melbourne, Australia.   She received her first fantasy book from an English teacher at the age of fourteen and has loved the genre ever since.  Although she writes fantasy, she occasionally dabbles in the paranormal.  Gillian currently works in the healthcare sector, helping adults with disabilities live as independently as possible.

LINKS

http://www.twitter.com/gillywrites

http://gillianorourke.com

Amazon US link

Amazon UK link

AN EXCERPT FROM THE RELUCTANT PROPHET—

I had never been able to see my own future, not the way I could see it for others. Even now, on my unanticipated return to Rycroft, a part of me rebelled at the thought of facing a past I believed long behind me. If I had known then what a luxury it is to go home, I might not have dismissed it so.

As an initiate to the Order, I learned from women far wiser than I that the past was a wraith that could come back to haunt the future. I imagined it looming overhead like a hidden cloud, waiting, maybe over many years, to rain upon me when I least expected it, not a soft, white thing, but an angry, vengeful thundercloud. Perhaps I had lived too long in the calm now, because I once again began to feel the storm approaching. Entering the village, I steeled myself to face it, but despite the many prayers I had said for courage, that long-forgotten anxiety crept its cold tendrils into my soul.

I escaped the painful memories this place forged in my childhood, and had taken a chance to make my future a safer, happier one. But now I had come full circle, and it was the temple above Rycroft village that held the balance of my future within its cold, imposing walls.

I followed the path past the village with the other initiates, and climbed carved granite steps meticulously shaped by skilled stonemasons. Upon a stone archway were the effigies of the three Gods we Sinnotians worshipped. Lo, Creator and Destroyer, an armoured warrior with the head of a wolf, carried an array of weapons, but it was the large war-hammer in his hand my eyes gravitated to. Beside him stood Era, the graceful feline-faced goddess of emotions, and of life and death. Finally, at Era’s left hand, stood Tyrus, master of elements.  He was the God I most often found myself drawn to, his wise, owl-like features faced the valley directly upon Rycroft.

An expectant hush fell over the group, followed by soft murmurs from the young women. They praised the Gods in whispers, for this sight we beheld as we moved forward, heading for the path into the mountains, awed even the noble-born among us. Like a flock of white doves, innocently seeking an arbour to rest in, we wore the modest robes all initiates of the Order wore, to signify their intentions to serve the Gods. But only a select few would ever don the red robes of a fully-fledged priestess. The final testing awaited us. I already knew that most of the girls would return home dressed in the same clothes they had worn before their training began, and all I could do was to hope I would not be one of them.

I glanced over my shoulder, catching a final glimpse of my birthplace, and the anxiety melted away; it was behind me now. A veil of calmness enveloped me as I turned my gaze to the temple looming ahead. Its exterior was a thing of perfection, as if the Gods themselves had used a hot sword to cut through the stone. Barely a window could be seen from this low vantage point. A shiver ran across my skin. Like the tip of my tongue verging on speaking a forgotten word, an elusive vision teetered on the edge of my sight. The sensation faded away before fruition, however, and was replaced with awed anticipation for what I was soon to encounter.

It would take several days to test the initiates in their obedience, faith and humility. At the end of the ordeal, I hoped to find myself clad in the red robes of a Priestess of Oraccles.

Give me strength, I begged the Gods as we settled into the long climb. My legs began to burn and the summer sun was growing hot with the afternoon. The priestess ahead turned and eyed each one of us. Most of the initiates did not notice her quiet surveillance, but when my eyes met hers, her gaze narrowed before she looked away and sharply directed the girls to quicken their pace. Her scrutiny left me wondering whether the testing had already begun.

*

Days of inflicted pain, humiliation and cruelty brought me close to the brink of madness, closer to my gift, leaving me weary in body and spirit. I did not know which part of me hurt more, but when my eyes met those of the head priestess, the superior who would decide my fate, the keen pain of expected failure rose in my chest. Her dark eyes seemed to swallow me whole. I felt both hot and cold at once; days of obedience, suffering and fasting had blurred the days into one long torture. I longed to sit and weep, but my body was too sore to do anything but kneel slowly, stiffly into a submissive position. Many girls had failed, and now I was to learn my own fate. My ears were ringing and I almost cried out when my knee, cut open on a sharp stone during one of the tests, sent pain reverberating throughout my body. I kept my eyes upon the superior’s face. Lined and calm, her expression betrayed nothing.

I flinched when an unexpected vision assaulted my senses, propelling me from the room and into a place I barely caught a glance of. A trace of darkness; a laugh, a dark green eye. Each small glimpse offered me no more than a confusing jumble of images I could not piece together to make a whole picture. Swaying, I wondered if I was ill. My body throbbed and the days of fasting, beatings and silence became as fractured and unreal as my visions. The testing had taken its toll, but I needed only make it through this last moment. As I fought to return to myself, I worried again that I would make it this far, only to be rejected because of what I was: a peasant.

The superior rose. My awareness had been completely focused on her and I had not noticed an inch of the marble-columned room I had been brought to. The distracting sparkle of candlelight danced on a pool of water and I looked away quickly, not wishing to see the future reflected in those waters. The superior’s thin lips moved, but I heard no sound. The ringing in my ears worsened and my heart rate trebled. When she stood before me, she lifted her hand and smeared something powdery against my forehead. Her touch sent waves of premonition into my mind, making my skin shiver and creep. Fighting the urge to succumb to the sight left me weak and trembling.

I was not altogether myself when I managed to overcome the visions. My chest constricted when a distant voice – certainly not the superior’s worn croak – spoke to me, gently whispering, ‘Esther . . . Esther,’ over and over.

All the while the superior’s mouth moved, but I knew nothing of her words. The room tilted and the first spark of emotion lifted the older woman’s eyes from blankness. For a moment I believed I was succumbing to the visions her touch was invoking, but I slipped instead into waiting darkness.

WRITE.

As I say, writing is what I haven't been doing a whole lot of recently.

Spent most of the past couple weeks is studying in my spare time.

I really need to start siting down for a couple hours a night writing.

But tonight while in the pub (funny that, me writing in the pub) I felt myself going back to what I had planned on being my autumn main project before Caleb of Bifrost pulled me back into the Magiverse, I began writing Crime fiction, based in Glasgow, something I'd been planning on doing back in the summer. I had got so caught up in working on the Military Sci-fi stuff, that the research I had been planning to do got put on the back burner which frankly was a little rude to Logan Scott who was going to help me out.

Any way, I think if I get a good three hundred pages out of this, it may be awesome, also it may be a pile of crap and too close to the truth.

I think the next blog may be another Blog tour jaunt, I'm drunk so I can't remember.

Shadow of the Wraith Blog and Review

Howdy Folks,

Just me with yet another Bandit Book Blog, this time it's a book I've actually read, enjoyed thoroughly and have read again since, which is a pretty good indicator of whether a book rates a thumbs up from me, I read it over and over again.

The Book is called Shadow of the Wraith, by an ever so nice gentleman who lives on the Emerald Isle, by the name of Ross Harrison, I reviewed it for my friend Sammy HK Smith, the publisher of my own work, for her blog when she interviewd Ross for her blog, and I'm going to put it up again along with everything else you need to know to purchase a copy of this fine piece of fiction.

Shadow of the Wraith (by Ross Harrison)

Review by David Muir

Right, Sammy asked me to do this review for her, maybe because she thinks I've got loads of free time (which I do, but don't needed reminded of) and I had only thus far read the Book in bits and pieces, Up on Authonomy and while not distracted by boobs and booze, I read a couple of the chapters after the parts on the site, but had enjoyed it so thoroughly I gave it a 4 star rating on good reads without actually reading the whole thing).

Anyway did finally read the whole thing and did most of it today, in fact I read 75% of the book today, and while there were bits missing from the draft that I had seen part of and bits added, it still holds on to it's essence. Which is frankly, (stealing a Castleism) is So Awesome! Great characters, most of them completely looney tunes. There's a main character who is more than he seems (which by the way I never saw coming and I normally see these things coming, until it was right in my face), who seems to live half in the real world half in the movies, hero complex much, along with his trusty sidekick, a relationship much like a certain Mr Reynolds and Mr Cobb, it has a wisecracking Android who throws off one liners that even Bender would be proud of (but sadly not as rude) along with the odd movie quoute (though the Arnie one was wrong), an assassin that learns to play nice with others, a bad guy who isn't a guy at all, intrigue and plot twists that makes your head spin a bit.

Anyway the story starts with Travis Archer, the focal character of the story, former Terran Alliance military operative, now bounty hunter who is chasing a mark he's been after for a bit, he finds him only for his bounty to be nicked by the Krathan Assasin Juni Lien. Mr Archer not so happy about this so when he goes looking for her on the ethernet (galactic internet) he finds his old team mate Jay Miller, has a bounty on his head, Archer feeling nothing but a sense of loyalty, and probably a good dose of his hero complex. This precipitates into an investigation for the alliance to find the Star Wraith, big honking ship that's been running around the stars knocking ships off left right and centre for years. They get the old team back together and add a number of aliens, including the Krathan Assasin eventually the aforementioned wisecracking Android.

There is intrigue abound as they are ordered to blow the Star Wraith, find out that it's actually built by the alliance, and basically steal the ship until they find out what is really going on. Now I'm sure I could reveal the whole plot to you, but that would be a waste, because you wouldn't get the enjoyment out of reading the book, so hopefully this should wet your appetite.

I did find the book awesome but there were also not so awesome parts to it, while the wisecracking robot was great at times it did feel as if some of the earlier witty spark between Archer and Miller which I found quiet interesting was transferred between the android and the guy who now owns him, and the too and fro between the team-mates wasn't used as well after that pint, and it felt like sometimes his jokes and one-liners were there just for the sake of it.

I felt that possibly it was a little too short. I think that sometimes it was too easy to get from a to b, the end hook was a little contrived and the author will know which bit I'm talking about, but maybe that particular character is the hook for the second because I understand the book is meant meant to be part of a series and while a lot of authors do that leave a hook (I do) so you know there's more to come and also leave it with a proper ending (which there is), I felt that the book itself is that hook and there wasn't any need for it to be that easy to get the information they needed to get to the end bit. I felt at times the author wanted to get his story out on the page (digital as mine may have been it's still a page) it maybe just felt a little too fast, though nominally the first book in a series is the shortest one.

I liked the way the parts of the book were broken up with the headings, but sometimes and I don't know if this is just the way it was formatted on my Kindle but on the same page without any spacing you had two different perspectives for characters in the same bit, but again maybe the formatting on my kindle.

All in all I would highly recommend this book to anyone who likes Science Fiction, Space Opera or as Ross put it Space Fantasy. It is all in all a good first book, and the fact that it is self-published shouldn't put you off because I have seen writers who actually got a book deal nowhere good as this.

Purchase Links:

Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007ZBK6QA

ePub: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/210824

Paperback: http://www.amazon.com/dp/0957592906

Also available from a variety of other retailers.

 

Blurb:

It sounds like a simple assignment: track down the mysterious Star Wraith and put an end to its rampage. But when Travis Archer and his team of inept soldiers find themselves the most wanted people in the galaxy - hounded by assassins, terrorists and their own military - they realise the Wraith is just a symptom of a much larger problem... Finding war raging between one army intent on destroying an entire species, and another that will destroy the galaxy, Travis must put aside his fears and his past to uncover the truth behind it all. To become the hero he's always imagined.

Shadow of the Wraith is the first book in the NEXUS series.

Kindle ASIN: B007ZBK6QA

£2.49 $3.79

ePub ISBN: 9781476390390

£2.49 $3.82

Paperback ISBN-13: 978-0957592902

£7.99 $12.10

About the Author:

Ross Harrison has been writing since childhood without thought of publication. When the idea was planted by his grandmother to do so, it grew rapidly, and after a bumpy ten years or so, here sits the fruit. Ross lives on the UK/Eire border in Ireland, hoping the rain will help his hair grow back.

Links:

http://www.ross-harrison.com

http://www.facebook.com/StarWraith

http://www.twitter.com/AuthoRoss

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ross-Harrison/e/B007ZSUY06/

Childhood = Ruined

So,

I come home from the pub and the Cathouse this morning and switch my computer on, fairly happy and ready to type out all of the notes and story that I had written while getting drunk off my ass as is par for the course on a night out for me.

Then I sign into Facebook which I haven't checked since about 14:00 local and find out that Ben Affleck is going to be Batman,

I consider myself to be a tolerant, easy going guy, but this shit, pissed me the hell off.

Ben Affleck destroyed Daredevil for me and I loved Matt Murdock almost as much as I loved the on the Marvel side X-men, Spidey, Iron Man and the Hulk and Green Lantern and Batman himself on the DC side along with 2000AD and Hellboy while I was growing up and maturing.

George Clooney in the shit piece that is Batman and Robin will not have fucked up Batman and could not have ever  as much as this dipshit will.

Hell, I'm a better actor than Affleck is and I suck, I think I got a D in Drama in second year of High school and my acting hasn't really improved since, but I'd be more convincing as Batman as this asshole and I'm unfit and outweigh him by a couple stone,  as an older, out of shape Bruce Wayne but still, I'm eleven years younger and a whole lot more in tune than Affleck could ever be.

Fuckin Warner Brothers execs that are bringing this tosswit in are probably the same idiots that let Ryan Reynolds play Hal Jordan and allowed Parallax to be his opponent when Hal Jordan was fuckin Parallax.

Anyway, not happy and if he continues to remain as Batman, I won't be going to see Superman Vs Batman and the Justice League movie, even though I was really looking forward to them.

If this crap continues I am done with DC and my kids (if they ever materialise) will be brought up on Marvel and 2000AD and I will exclude all DC after now.

An excerpt and some thoughts.

  Little bit of Running out of Space, one of my works in progress, it comes in after the main character Caleb O'Hearn has been talking about the history of Psionics and language in the Magiverse to demonstrate his genetic memory from his Magi heritage, that bit is about six hundred words itself and it's a little bit lecturing but part of the rolling history into the story without it being just flung at you so I'm not going to post that. After the excerpt there are a few thoughts of mine on shared universes and collaboration between writers and shared timelines.

****************

'But it's funny to watch you drone on and not even realise it though, but also educational. Learned a little piece about my own heritage while bored shitless about yours.' Kerry-Anne told him and he flipped his middle finger at her. 'That wasn't Magi ancestor knowledge, all of your Magi ancestors were Hunters, Guardians and Soldiers. Where did that come from?'

'Sarah of Trenton, her sire's sire was a Professor of Germanic Languages at the University of New Amsterdam.' He replied with a grimace. 'When the hippie pothead wasn't on a commune.'

'Your warrior attitude would be an embarrassment to him as much as he's an embarrassment to you.' Kerry-Anne chuckled at him. 'Hell his granddaughter was an embarrassment for joining the FIB. He considered the whole notion of war and Big Government pointless.'

'War is fuckin pointless.' O'Hearn sighed and Kerry-Anne gave him a look of surprise. 'Show me a true warrior that wouldn't rather he never had to fight again, and I'll show you a damned liar or a homicidal maniac that should never be in uniform, like dear old dad. It is true, I am never more alive when I am chasing down prey or fighting hand-to-hand in a struggle to the death, but I've been stabbed, shot, sliced open, gouged, blown up, and had to heal from those wounds too many times in what has not been the longest life. I would really rather that I could spend the rest of my considerable life time with my feet up until I'm old enough that it's the end for me and one last battle for me to shuffle off the mortalish coil and sit in Bilskirnir until I am needed  once more.'

************************************

 This plus everything else I'm working on, is running through my mind constantly, interlinking all the Magiverse stories can be a bit of work, especially when you are jumping two thousand years from the time of Gabriel to the time of Caleb,  and even when I jump just under a hundred years to my cyberpunk work, totally inspired by Continuum and Shadowrun, Corporate governments and Megacorporations.

Haven't seen series two of Continuum beyond the third episode been too busy with writing and painting soldiers. I can have TV shows in the background if I've seen them before but if it's new I have to actually sit and concentrate on it. But I'm getting off topic.

When I'm doing the Cyberpunk I have to remember what the map of Gabriel's Terra looks like even though it's all in my head (not the best idea, right now it's a bit fluid), trying to fit the Corporate Nations later in the timeline to nations from earlier in the timeline and then having to remember to use the right names in Caleb's time can hurt your head sometimes but I love reading shared universe fiction, and seeing how they evolve and how the stories evolved from where, granted you don't normally see three different periods on a timeline at the same time but that's me, glutton for the punishment I put upon myself.

I always wanted to be one of those authors that inspires collaboration with his fellow writers, I think that's what makes the Roleplaying, Comic book and TV & Movie shared universes so fun to immerse yourself in is the vibrant and many voiced reality, that no-one person is telling the story. Don't get me wrong they always need a strong hand to guide the ship and some of my favourite books series are written by one hand but I still believe it doesn't happen nearly enough in Sci-fi and Fantasy fiction that many hands help to form a better universe unless they tie in with a TV series or Movies or RPG's. 

Often enough authors will have others write for short story anthologies from their Universe which they edit,  but I think personally that D&D settings especially the Forgotten Realms Novels and even the Games Workshop forever dubbed the Evil Empire, fictional universes are made so much better, deeper and more real by the dozens of authors that write in the universe, though I'm sure most authors wouldn't like giving up money they would make writing their own work. 

People I'm sure will quote the expansions of the Cthulhu Mythos, the Man-Kzin Wars that added to Larry Niven's Known space, the expansion of Asimov's Foundation series and the adding to Lyman Frank Baum's (A prophet was he) Oz, the additions to Robert Howard's (Himself a Cthulhu Mythos expander) Conan, to me but I will also point out none of these except the Man-Kzin wars were ever done in the original author's lifetime.

But I won't deny that's always something nice to see, people trying to anticipate what would this author have written about next if he hadn't passed onto the halls of Valhalla, and I do applaud that, I would however like to see more authors collaborating to expand their own universes.

That's my end for today, off to the Falkirk District Wargames Club tonight, so dinner and work out an army, which I should have done last week when I was sitting on my arse at the club.

Healer's Touch

As part of the bloggers tour that brought you Seasons of the Dead, it now brings you Healers Touch, unfortunately this is a couple of days late, because I finally replaced my PC (yay) and spent the first twelve hours after replacing it minus time for food consumption and other things that we won't name I played Star Trek Online (withdrawal from Gaming much?) also apart from that I've been busy writing my own stuff, and I'm going to stop myself from ranting and droning so without  further ado.

HEALER’S TOUCH

by

Deb E Howell

For Llew to heal, something must die.

Llew, a young pickpocket who lives as a boy on the streets of a wild-west mining town, finds her real problems begin when she survives the gallows. Forced to run, she persuades a group of fighters escorting a young girl to her wedding to let her travel with them across the badlands. On the journey Llew faces hostile tribesmen, desperate bandits and, the enmity of her own companions should they find out who and what she is: a girl, a fugitive, and a feared Healer. One of the fighters, Jonas, possesses superhuman prowess as a warrior, and carries the knife able to ‘kill the unkillable’; the knife that can kill Llew. Despite being of races at war for centuries, they are drawn to one another.

During the journey, they encounter Braph the magician, Jonas’ half-brother and potential nemesis. He pursues them as they journey across the sea to the continent of Phyos and at the moment Llew finally feels safe, he abducts her. He begins to take what is most precious to him: her blood.

Healer’s Touch is a mesmerising mix of fantasy, steampunk and Wild West adventure – and even a dash of romance!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Bio:

Deb E was born in New Zealand’s North Island, but her parents corrected that within months, moving south to Dunedin and staying there. Childhood nights were spent falling asleep to cover versions of Cliff Richard and the Shadows and other Rock ’n Roll classics played by her father’s band, and days were spent dancing to 45 LPs. Many of her first writing experiences were copying down song lyrics. She graduated to scientific reports when she studied a fungus in the Zoology department of the University of Otago, trading all traces of popularity for usefulness... then traded both for fiction.

Deb lives in Dunedin, New Zealand with her family and a menagerie of pets.

Links:

Website/Blog: http://deberelene.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/deberelene

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/deberelene

and many more...

REVIEWS

REVIEW BY JO TOON,

SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY ASSOCIATION OF NEW ZEALAND

Healer's Touch is set in a fantasy world where magic and the Wild West era have combined. Llew is a street girl with the ability to heal herself, whose life is changed beyond recognition when she tries to steal a knife from a stranger. Disguised as a boy, she is forced to leave her home, the gold-town of Cheer where she has lived all her life, and accompany the stranger, Jonas, and his companions on their mission, crossing country and continents. Along the way she learns more about Jonas, and the ancient emnity between the two races, the Aenuks and the Kara. She also discovers where she fits in in this battle and that her ability to heal herself and others is more dangerous than she could ever have imagined.

Healer's Touch is Deb E. Howell's debut novel, and is an absolute page turner of a read. The setting of a Fantasy book against a Wild West era background provides a novel viewpoint to the quest story. The world which has been built is intriguing, and the history of both the races and the main characters is very well written.

There isn't a dull moment in the story, with the action starting from the first page. Deb E. Howell has a great knack of building the tension up subtly without ever making it seem forced, and mixing it with moments of calm and sudden bursts of energy. She draws the reader in to the world and brings it to life, allowing us to discover the landscape, people and history along with Llew as she starts her journey from the small frontier town of Cheer, Aghacia, to Rakun in Brurun and beyond.

The principal characters are very much frontier town folk and are very well rounded and realised. The secondary ones could have possibly done with a little more fleshing out, to give us a bit more of an insight into their history and motivations, and I am hoping that this will come in the second volume of the series.

Overall, this is an excellent read, and a very promising start to a series; I am now eagerly awaiting the next book!

REVIEW BY ELISA NEVILLE (blogger/reader)

lostinsidethecovers.wordpress.com/

This is an epic fantasy adventure and is a tiny bit reminiscent of an Eddings book or something similar. Llew is a healer, but knows nothing of her people, history or abilities.  She has to get out of town fast when she heals herself in public and the townsfolk come after the “witch”.  She hooks up with a girl and her guards who are going across the countryside to meet her new arranged husband.

Llew has been hiding in plain sight as a boy since her father disappeared when she was 11.  She hasn’t had an easy time of things, and even though she makes friends in her new travel companions, things aren’t that easy.  Her abilities are a double-edged sword, sure she can heal, but she pulls the life force from living things and can kill people, animals and plants using her healing powers.  Because she is so dangerous to living things, her kind is not popular in many countries and she will either be killed, studied or sent to a breeding program to make more like her.  Not good options.  Llew starts to find out who and what she is, a bit of a coming of age and taking responsibility for ones actions - I always love stories like that!

Jonas is also gifted, but with strength and speed and is the mortal enemy of the healers.  So guess what happens…

Llew is a strong heroine I loved reading about.  She is pragmatic, women aren’t treated very well but she has learned some tricks and stands up for herself physically and verbally.  I wanted to cheer her on a few times when she stood up for herself.  I was also embarrassed for her a time or two when she couldn’t control her mouth.  Double edged sword.  It is funny, I was reminded of the fairy tale Ring of Consequences while reading this story, because the ring grants wishes, but you never knew what the result of the wish would be: something good and something bad, that dang double edged sword again!

This story does have a little romance in it, but it is pretty PG13 and stays fairly clean even though there are definitely adult “situations”.  There is a lot of death, some curse words and they have to deal with rape.  Nothing violently written, and it was “well done” but it was still a bummer and the characters struggle with it – as they should.

Ok, so this is an epic fantasy, and there are three books planned for the series and I was super worried it would end with them in the exact middle of a quest on the trail or something, and while there is more story to tell, it was ok.  Shew!  It wasn’t one big book cut into three parts (cough, LOTR cough).  But I want the next book NOW!  There are some things, and some decisions, and what will happen and somewhat about that guy questions I would really like to get some answers to.  So this is a rainbow day (happy yet sad) I am happy to have read this early, but I read it early and now have longer to wait!  My life is so tough. I give this book 4.5 glowing stars (out of 5).

SHORTER REVIEWS/SNIPPETS

“There isn’t a dull moment in the story, with the action starting from the first page.” — Jo Toon, Science Fiction & Fantasy Association of New Zealand (SFFANZ)

“It has been a while since I rated a book 5 stars for more than the fact that I liked the story… but I have to say Healer’s Touch was definitely a truly well earned 5.” — Miz Reader (Book Blogger).

“Deb E. Howell comes out swinging!” — Craves the Angst Book Blog

“Howell is only scratching the surface of her writing talents and worth watching as the series develops.” — Noor A. Jahangir

“Healer’s Touch brought very real, very wet tears to my eyes on several occasions, and this is one of the signs that let me distinguish between good authors and great authors. …I really felt this book.” — Hypervorean Book Blogger

“From the first chapter Llew grabs hold of your heart and you are there fighting with her.” — Eclipse Reviews

“…an epic fantasy adventure and is a tiny bit reminiscent of an Eddings book…” — Lost Inside The Covers Review Blog

“Healer’s Touch Delivers Transfusion of Originality to Fomulaic Fantasy Genre” — Author Dean Lombardo

“…a must read for all fantasy lovers especially those looking for a new slant on the genre.” — Amazon Review

An Excerpt from Healer’s Touch—

“Llew!”

He gathered her to him. So alive moments earlier, now limp. All he could see was blood. It covered her hands, soaked her shirt and pooled on the ground. He clasped her chin, turning her to him. The touch sent a tingle through his fingers even as more blood gushed from her open throat and he jerked his hand away, letting her head fall back. His eye was drawn by movement in the grass. One of Llew’s hands had fallen to the ground and the grass around it was dying in an ever increasing circle.

Jonas swallowed down his revulsion and dumped her unceremoniously on the ground, jumping to his feet. In a daze, he reclaimed his knives from the corpses, taking them to the water’s edge to clean with vigorous sweeps of his fingers down the blades. He berated himself for even toying with the idea of getting involved with her. What did he really know about her? He knew her name. And now he knew all he needed to know.

He wiped the half-clean blades on his thigh, sheathed them in his vest and drew the big knife at his hip. He cradled it in his hands, watching the moonlight fly off as he tilted it back and forth. There was one purpose to this knife’s existence: to kill the unkillable. And there was no safer time to make an attempt on the life of an Aenuk than when they were already half dead.

Jonas turned from the water. The meadow was now like a hayfield. Each blade of grass, each leaf of clover, each dandelion had given its all to provide but a tiny fraction of the energy – jin, as it was known in Turhmos – needed to bring a person back from near-death.

She lay unconscious, but her breathing was steady now. He had limited time to act. He crouched beside her, knife hovering over her back right where her heart should be, assuming Aenuks had a heart. But this was Llewella. She wasn’t like the Aenuks he had faced on the Turhmos killing fields. She wasn’t trained to fight, to continue to fight, and to take the enemy with her when she faced final death. She was merely a girl doing what she had to do to survive.

PURCHASE LINKS

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/323265

Amazon US (Kindle): http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DJE8NSK/

Amazon UK (Kindle): http://www.amazon.co.uk/Healers-Touch-ebook/dp/B00DJE8NSK/