|
I used to do a lot of book reviews. But I stopped several years ago because for various reasons I got more and more uncomfortable with publicly reviewing fellow authors' books. Now, I don't even mark them as "currently reading" on Goodreads any more. But, I still want to share books I'm excited about and enjoyed, so that's what this feature is going to be about. This will be books I've read and enjoyed and personally recommend, not reviews but just a few words about why I recommend them. (And, btw, I do not take book review requests! This is strictly my own organic reading for fun.) I'll be sticking to my main genres of epic/high romantic fantasy (fantasy with strong romantic subplots) with some fantasy romance (romance with fantasy elements), standard epic/high fantasy, and some weird western mixed in. Mostly indie authors, but also some traditionally-published authors as well.  So, with that intro, my first Reading Rec is the Coilhunter Chronicles by Dean F. Wilson. Weird western in a low-tech steampunk science fiction setting with some elements almost verging on magic.
The Coilhunter Chronicles starts with Coilhunter, and I fell in love with the series right away. Nox the Coilhunter is everything a bounty hunter should be, and more. Tragic past, thirst for justice, quick on the draw, follows a strong code of honor. Plus he's quite a tinkerer and inventor, with lots of awesome gadgets. He has some sidekicks, Mr. Quacky (I don't remember if that's the official name, but that's what fans of the series call it) the mechanical duck, and Porridge, the pilot and scavenger. He's flamboyant, to say the least, but he's also clever and heroic. Lots of great action, suspenseful stories, laugh-out-loud moments, and moments that get me all up in the feels or rip my heart out and stomp on it. I just finished the latest book, Sixshooter (book 5), and I've loved every book in the series and can't wait for the next book. Each book is its own story, but for optimal enjoyment, I recommend reading them in order. There's a related series, The Great Iron War, that's concurrent with the Coilhunter series and events in it are referred to more often as the Coilhunter books go on, and it's also on my reading list. Coilhunter: Welcome to the Wild North, a desolate wasteland where criminals go to hide—if they can outlast the drought and the dangers of the desert. Or the dangers of something else. Meet Nox, the Coilhunter. A mechanic and toymaker by trade, a bounty hunter by circumstance. He isn't in it for the money. He's in it for justice, and there's a lot of justice that needs to be paid. Between each kill, he's looking for someone who has kept out of his crosshairs for quite a while—the person who murdered his wife and children. The trail has long gone cold, but there are changes happening, the kind of changes that uncover footprints and spent bullet casings. Plagued by nightmares, he's made himself into a living one, the kind the criminals and conmen fear. So, welcome, fair folk, to the Wild North. If the land doesn't get you, the Coilhunter will.
0 Comments
 The Weird Western StoryBundle is down to the last couple of days - it ends Sept. 8 at 9:00 pm Pacific Time. To give you a little more of a taste of this fantastic bundle of books, here are some tiny snippets from the beginning of each book excerpt posted over on the StoryBundle site. To read the full excerpts, along with reviews and notes by Bundle curator Blair MacGregor, head on over to the Weird Western StoryBundle page. Haxan, by Kenneth Mark Hoover Haxan, New Mexico Territory Spring, 1874 I found the old man nailed to a hackberry tree five miles out of Haxan. They had hammered railroad spikes through his wrists and ankles. There was dried blood on the wood and iron. Blood stippled his arms and chest. He was stripped naked so the westering sun could peel the flesh from his bones. He was alive with I found him. Spellslinger, by Joseph J. Bailey I woke to the buzzing of flies. The sound reverberated through my head like echoes from another world. I could not open my eyes. Where was I? Why was I here? Why couldn't I move? Where were my guns? Idyll, by James Derry Marathon—if it still existed—waited in the east. Samuel Starboard led Titan that way, where the border of the family's ranch was defined by a ridge of quartz that was the color of old teeth. In some places the rock crystals rose in spires, four meters high. Titan wound her way up the brown slope to a large fissure in the ridge. A single beam of wood spanned the gap, and a hand-painted sign leaned against the beam. QUARANTINE. KEEP OUT. West of Pale, by J. Patrick Allen I consider it a special kind of madness that had me leaving the house that night, despite fears of something stalking me. Mania and curiosity mashed into a slurry of dread and a sense of looming mortality. Still, I had my head on enough to be considerate: I left money on the dining room table where Frau Sackoff would find it. Some little compensation for what I was about to steal. Dragons in the Earth, by Judith Tarr Dragons sleep in the earth here. I feel them. Sometimes I see them—in my head, in dreams, in the hunched shapes of mountains curled around the flattened bowls of the valleys. They're always there. I'm always aware of them, but sometimes the awareness sinks down deep, till I can almost forget them. A Book of Tongues, by Gemma Files The dream was always the same. She appeared above him, blown by a black wind, her back-sloping forehead girded with a hissing serpent, her swirling hair stiffened with mud. Her round face was set with jade scales, irregular as leaves. The lids and orbits of her wide-spaced eyes were decorated, mosaic-style, with tiny chips of shell, mother-of-pearl and obsidian. New World (New World #1), by Steven W. White *free newsletter bonus!* As the stink of low tide washed over the village of Fort Sanctuary, a little boy named Simon Jones didn't want to get punched again. His nemesis, a seventeen-year-old thug named Marshall Dunster, was stalking him. Stealth, that was the key. Change the usual routine. Don't walk home from the printing house down Sunrise Street like always, but turn left at Fife's pub, the Mermaid, where his father spent Friday evenings. Simon's skinny, nervous legs whipped along, taking him through that left turn– "Gotcha!" Marshall's iron grip found his neck and pulled at his collar. Hair of the Bear (New World #2), by Steven W. White After nine weeks at sea, with nothing beyond the rail but rolling gray swells, the land of Mira beckoned at last. The hollow clang of the lookout's bell echoed down from the crow's nest. Lisandra Jurgen, major in the Royal Guard sworn to uphold the law in Albueshire and its provinces and territories in Sept Algolus, tapped her fingers on the rail's worn oak. Finally, justice would be done. Finally! Flash Gold Chronicles, by Lindsay Buroker Kali McAlister tapped a wrench against her thigh as she contemplated her invention. She had stripped every extra piece of metal she could from the "dogless sled" and had even debated removing the brush bow, but that seemed unwise. Besides, it'd been so cold the last week that men were complaining of pee freezing before it hit the ground. The ice on Forty Mile Creek ought to be thick enough for the heavy steam sled. If it wasn't…winning the race would be the last of her worries. Beneath the Canyons, by Kyra Halland A stable stood between Mundy's Boarding House and the half-built hotel. A boy was tossing pebbles into a circle scratched in the dirt of the stable yard; Silas rode over and gave the boy a penny to watch Abenar and his belongings for a moment. He pulled on his long brown duster, which he had shed in the heat of the day and draped over the saddle behind him, then headed to the boarding house to inquire about a room. A crash from inside the saloon across the street caught his attention. He turned to see a big-bellied, bushy-bearded man come flying backwards through the swinging doors of the Bootjack. To find out even more about the books and authors in the bundle, check out the blog post link roundup on Blair MacGregor's blog. And also, Joseph J. Bailey was kind enough to interview me on his blog - go have a look!
Don't forget, the Weird Western StoryBundle ends Sept. 8. You can get the first four books for only $5, or all nine books for $14 (or more if you choose). Don't miss out on this great deal for an awesome collection of books! Finishing up my look at the books and authors in the Weird Western StoryBundle. The bundle is only available through September 8; don't miss out!  Haxan by Kenneth Mark Hoover Hardboiled detective story meets westerns with suggestions of something deeper, timeless, and terrifying. A deceptively simple, haunting novel that left me wanting to know more about who U.S. Marshal John Marwood really is. About the book: Thermopylae. Masada. Agincourt. And now, Haxan, New Mexico Territory, circa 1874. Through a sea of time and dust, in places that might never be, or can't become until something is set right, there are people destined to travel. Forever. Marshal John T. Marwood is one of these men. Taken from a place he called home, he is sent to fight an eternal war. It never ends, because the storm itself, this unending conflict, makes the world we know a reality. Along with all the other worlds waiting to be born. Or were born, but died like a guttering candle in eternal night. . . . Haxan is the first in a series of novels. It's Lonesome Dove meets The Punisher . . . real, gritty, violent, and blatantly uncompromising. About the author: Kenneth Mark Hoover is a professional writer living in Dallas, TX. He has sold over 60 short stories and is a member of SFWA and HWA. His fiction has appeared in Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, Strange Horizons, and many others.  A Book of Tongues (Hexslinger #1) by Gemma Files
For various reasons, I approached this book with some trepidadation, but at halfway through I'm glad to report that while raw, graphic, gritty, and told in large part through the point of view of the "villain" rather than the "good guy," A Book of Tongues is also great fun. The story is told in a unique, engaging voice with characters you love and love to hate at the same time. Note: while some books in the StoryBundle are suitable for teen/YA readers, this book is very much for adults only. About the book: Two years after the Civil War, Pinkerton agent Ed Morrow has gone undercover with one of the weird West's most dangerous outlaw gangs - the troop led by Reverend Asher Rook, ex-Confederate chaplain turned hexslinger, and his notorious lieutenant (and lover) Chess Pargeter. Morrow's task: get close enough to map the extent of Rook's power, then bring that knowledge back to help Professor Joachim Asbury unlock the secrets of magic itself. Magicians, cursed by their gift to a solitary and painful existence, have never been more than a footnote in history. But Rook, driven by desperation, has a plan to shatter the natural law that prevents hexes from cooperation, and change the face of the world - a plan sealed by an unholy marriage-oath with the goddess Ixchel, mother of all hanged men. To accomplish this, he must raise her bloodthirsty pantheon from its collective grave through sacrifice, destruction, and apotheosis. Caught between a passel of dead gods and monsters, hexes galore, Rook's witchery, and the ruthless calculations of his own masters, Morrow's only real hope of survival lies with the man without whom Rook cannot succeed: Chess Pargeter himself. But Morrow and Chess will have to literally ride through Hell before the truth of Chess's fate comes clear - the doom written for him, and the entire world. About the author: Gemma Files was born in London, England and raised in Toronto. Her story "The Emperor's Old Bones" won the 1999 International Horror Guild Award for Best Short Fiction. She has published two collections of short work (Kissing Carrionand The Worm in Every Heart, both Prime Books) and two chapbooks of poetry (Bent Under Night, from Sinnersphere Productions, and Dust Radio, from Kelp Queen Press). A Book of Tongues, her first Hexslinger novel, won the 2010 DarkScribe Magazine Black Quill Award for Small Press Chill, in both the Editors' and Readers' Choice categories. The two final Hexslinger novels, A Rope of Thorns and A Tree of Bones were published by ChiZine in 2011 and 2012. Since then, she has published We Will All Go Down Together, and Experimental Film, the latter of which won the 2015 Shirley Jackson Award, and has been nominated for the Sunburst Award.  Here's a look at a few more of the books and authors in the Weird Western StoryBundle. Idyll (Idyll Trilogy #1) by James Derry First off, several days ago I posted an interview with Walt Starboard, the main character in Idyll. I had just started reading the book and didn't have much to say at that point except that I was hooked. Last night I finished it, and wow. Riveting book, and I'll just say that nothing is the way it appears. The combination of western-style adventure and a science fiction tale of settlement on a far-distant planet work perfectly together. About the book: Idyll is a rugged planet—a new, simpler start for some 10,000 settlers who have fled Mother Earth. But a strange 'plague' of contagious sleep has devastated their Settlement, sparked by a mysterious mantra called the Lullaby. After a three-year quarantine, Walt and Samuel Starboard set out from their ranch on a mission to cure their comatose mother and find their missing father. For days they ride through a blighted landscape: deserted cabins and gravestones and the ruins of towns destroyed by fire. Just when the brothers are about to give up, they stumble upon a second pair of survivors, two beautiful and determined sisters. Miriam and Virginia Bridge offer new hope, but they also present new problems. Stirrings of emotion and shifting priorities threaten to set the brothers against each other. Can Walt and Samuel overcome years of festering resentment, or will their rivalry tear them apart before they can reunite their broken family? And will any of them survive the revelation of who—or what—unleashed the Lullaby on their home world? About the author: James Derry has been writing or drawing stories since the day his parents let him borrow a ballpoint pen. That's when he created his first magnum opus in blue ink: a comic-book parody of Ghostbusters called 'Roastbusters.' Hey, he was ten. He studied art in college, and eventually his aspirations shifted from being an illustrator to being a graphic designer. He returned to writing ten years ago after meeting his wife. He currently resides in Atlanta and spends large chunks of his free time working on (and reworking) a variety of fiction projects. Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads  West of Pale (Dead West vol. 1) by J. Patrick Allen I read this well before hearing about the StoryBundle, and really enjoyed it. The gentle setting, the countryside of post-Civil War Missouri and its communities of German settlers, makes a wonderful contrast with the creepy horror of the monster stalking the countryside. The story of Charlie, a young boy whose father was killed by the demon, and the world-weary monster hunter he recruits to help him, and their adventures through the frontier on the path of this monster that materializes through water, is engaging, suspenseful, and enjoyable. About the book: Six-guns, blazing hooves, and the horrors that stalk the night. Everyone brought something from the old country. Grandfather's watch, and grandmother's china; great-grandfather's folklore, and great-great-grandmother's fairy tales. What is never discussed, however, are the undying characters of the folklore: nix and fairy, goblin and vampire, dragon and eldritch things who all came to America's shores in time with the rhyme of their tales. After Charlie's father is murdered by something impossible, he discovers a letter that leads him across the wild west. The man who wrote the letter promised to help, if things went wrong. And things could not go more wrong. His father's murderer is on his trail, materializing from lakes, rivers, and stray pools of water. He will not rest until Charlie has joined his father... Dead West: West of Pale is the first book in J. Patrick Allen's Dead West series. This novel picks up right where his Pulp Ark New Pulp Awards (2016) nominated short story, "Dragonfly Shadow," left off (featured in 18thWall Productions' From the Dragon Lord's Library: Volume One). About the Author: J Patrick Allen grew up exploring the American West with his family. He climbed mountains, fished, camped, visited the family cattle ranch, and explored a castle. Author of the Dead West series, JP writes about the monsters we take with us. Every other week you can listen to JP on the Rocket Punch Radio podcast on iTunes and TuneIn, where he and his friends hold round table discussions about all things geeky. In 2016 his story Dragonfly Shadow was awarded Best Short Story from the Pulp Ark New Pulp Awards. When he's not hard at work he and his wife can be found curled up with a beer and a book or game. Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads  Flash Gold Chronicles I-III by Lindsay Buroker If you read my Reading Roundups at all, you may have noticed a lot of books by Lindsay Buroker. She's one of my favorite authors, and I was really excited to see books 1-3 of her Flash Gold Chronicles included in this bundle. I also read this series before finding out about the bundle, and it's a lot of fun. Set in the Klondike Gold Rush, it features all the great stuff you expect to find in a Lindsay Buroker book: danger, adventure, magic mixed with steampunk, appealing characters, snappy dialogue, explosions, and a touch (or more than a touch) of romance. About the book: A half-breed tinkerer who's been an outcast her entire life. A mysterious sword-wielding stranger on the run from the law. A family secret that people are willing to kill for. All Kali McAlister wants is to build an airship and escape the frozen Yukon where she was born. But the secret her alchemist father left her with, a magical energy source called flash gold, has put her in danger. Everyone from con artists to gangsters is hunting her down, and now a tight-lipped man with a sword has come into her life, offering to help. Kali is used to taking care of herself, and is about as trusting as a cat in a room full of rocking chairs, but when her enemies threaten to overpower her, she may have no choice but to join forces with the mysterious man. Set in the Yukon's gold-rush era, this collection contains three adventures of action, magic, and romance: Flash Gold Hunted Peacemaker About the author: Lindsay has early memories of convincing childhood friends, pets, and stuffed animals to play the roles of characters in her worlds, so it's safe to say she's been making up stories for a long time. She published her first novel, The Emperor's Edge, in December of 2010 and has written and published more than 30 more since then. When she's not writing, she's usually hiking with her dogs, skiing, playing tennis, or eating entirely too much dark chocolate (she only does one of those things truly well, and she will let you guess which it is). She grew up in the Seattle area and still visits the Pacific Northwest frequently, but after realizing she was solar powered, she moved to Arizona where she lives in the mountains north of Phoenix. Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads Next time I'll take a look at Haxan by Kenneth Mark Hoover and A Book of Tongues by Gemma Files (still reading as fast as I can so I can tell you what I think!). Remember, the Weird Western StoryBundle is only available until Sept. 8, so don't miss out on this great collection of books at a great price!
 photo credit: Lori Faith Merritt Welcome back for another look at the authors and books in the Weird Western StoryBundle. Today I'm really excited to welcome Judith Tarr. If you've been reading fantasy since the 80s, her name is almost certainly one you recognize, and her newest novel, Dragons in the Earth, is making its debut in the bundle. I just read Dragons in the Earth, and it's a lovely book. Contemporary fantasy set in the desert around Tucson, Arizona [where, it turns out, Ms. Tarr and I are practically neighbors!], dipping back into ancient history and prehistory. Plus horses; horse-lovers will especially enjoy this book. 1. Tell us a little about yourself. Hello there. I’m a native New Englander (from Maine, no less) transplanted to and flourishing in the Arizona desert. I moved here for my health and stayed because it’s home. 2. What drew you to writing weird westerns? What do you enjoy about it? I didn’t actually set out to write a weird western. I wanted to write something about horses (since I live on a horse farm) and about Tucson, where I live, and of course about magic because both horses and Tucson are made of it. I ran a Kickstarter and wrote Dragons in the Earth, and planned to publish it with Book View Cafe, the authors’ cooperative. Its official publication date is September 20th. Then Blair, the curator of the Weird West bundle, asked me if I had anything on that theme. And I had this, right then, being prepared for publication. So I sped up the process a bit, and here it is. It’s a heart book, a book about where I live on multiple levels. It’s a love song to the land I live in. 3. What particular flavor of weird western is your book that's in the Weird Western bundle? Science fiction, fantasy, horror, other, none of the above, all of the above? It’s contemporary fantasy. Also, a horse story. And it has dragons. 4. "Welcome To My Worlds": Tell us a little about the world of your book. As I said above, it’s the world I live in. We call it Tucson Magic. This country has been inhabited for at least 14,000 years. The land I live on has stone rings set there by the old people, two to three thousand years ago, to catch water and nourish whatever would grow there. They’re persisted because in the desert, unless someone comes through with a bulldozer and blades it flat, whatever you put down stays where it is for thousands of years. That’s magic. So are horses. And I’ve always felt that dragons sleep under the mountains. They definitely play in the air above them. I wrote about that. I set it in the Tucson I know, with a few changes for the story’s sake. The ranch exists, though it’s a combination of two separate places. The horses...well. Maybe they do. Maybe they’re only in dreams. 5. Where can we find out more about you and your books? The best place to start is my author page at Book View Cafe.  Dragons in the Earth (Horses of the Moon #1) Dragons sleep in the earth here. Claire is barely scraping a living on her friend’s ranch near Tucson, Arizona. She looks after the long-abandoned horse facility, makes occasional attempts to resuscitate her academic career, and pays the bills, more or less, with her skills as an animal communicator. Those skills don’t always let her say the tactful thing to the human with the checkbook. Sometimes she has to tell the truth. After a particularly unfortunate session, Claire gets one last chance to keep her home and her livelihood. A small herd of horses needs a place to live and a person to care for them. But these are no ordinary horses. They represent an old, old breed, the rarest in the world, and they protect an ancient and terrible secret. And something is hunting them. The ranch is a perfect sanctuary. The powers that live on and under and above it can protect the horses—if Claire can control them. But first she has to control her own abilities, and learn to believe in herself. Excerpt: Dragons sleep in the earth here. I feel them. Sometimes I see them—in my head, in dreams, in the hunched shapes of mountains curled around the flattened bowls of the valleys. They’re always there. I’m always aware of them, but sometimes the awareness sinks down deep, till I can almost forget them. That day, for example, when I’d finally had enough of failing to make a living. I don’t exactly live at the back of beyond, but a mile and a half of ranch road and a pair of dry washes can keep the worst of the city folk at bay. Unfortunately, my client was desperate. A phone consult wasn’t enough. She needed to see me in person. Now. Immediately. She cruised past the long-empty horse pastures in a hot-pink limo, parked herself on my weather-worn deck, and brandished her fashion accessory. Somewhere under the hot-pink dye was a teacup poodle. He knew exactly what he looked like, and he was not even remotely happy about it. “Dorrie says you’re the best,” said the owner of the arm he was draped over. No human emotion could penetrate the Botox mask, but her voice had a raw edge. “I need the best. Bruno hasn’t been himself, and he won’t talk to anyone. He bit his masseuse. His astrologer says there’s no cosmic reason for him to be so difficult. Will you please ask him—” I’d had a bad morning. One of the swamp coolers had died with a puff of smoke and a smell of something burnt and electrical, and it might be October but it was still ninety degrees in the afternoons. I needed that cooler. I also needed this appointment, or there wouldn’t be any money to pay for the cooler repair. I braced myself to nod and look sympathetic and tell the client what she wanted to hear. The dog under the pink fluff looked me in the eye. There weren’t any words. There seldom are. I have to translate. “He says,” I said, “that all that’s wrong with him is you. Dye him pink one more time, and he’ll bite you harder than he bit the feelgood-hands lady. He wants to be a dog. You want a handbag, he says, get one that’s dead already.” When I snap and say exactly what the animal is saying to me, sometimes their captors start screaming. I got slapped once. This one fixed me with a flat, hard stare. “Bruno loves me,” she said. No, he doesn’t. I bit my tongue to keep from saying it aloud. Bruno sank his teeth into her arm. That shocked a shriek out of her. The limo driver had a first-aid kit and paramedic’s training, which was a good thing. Bruno had strong jaws for a tiny dog, and teeth like needles. They roared off in a cloud of dust. I stood on my front step, with the heat already coming up, and my bank balance no happier than it had been before. About the Author: Judith Tarr has written historicals and historical fantasies and epic fantasies, contemporary fantasy and science fiction. She has won the Crawford Award, and been nominated for the World Fantasy Award. She lives near Tucson, Arizona with an assortment of cats, a blue-eyed spirit dog, and a herd of Lipizzan horses. Kyra sez: Don't miss out on Dragons in the Earth and a bunch of other great Weird Western books available at a great price from StoryBundle through Sept. 8. In the meantime, Fantasy Book Critic and Horror World are holding giveaways where you can win a free bundle! The giveaways run for a few more days, so don't delay if you want to enter.
Finally, a roundup of links to features and interviews with the Weird Western StoryBundle authors can be found on bundle curator Blair MacGregor's site, so be sure to check those out.  Continuing our look at the books and authors in the Weird Western StoryBundle, here's author James Derry interviewing Walt from his western-science fiction novel Idyll. And he's even brought with him a sketch he made of Walt! Take it away, James: Walt Starboard is a settler on the planet Idyll. His ancestors travelled there in search of a simpler life, free from the dependence on technology that they believe crippled society—and the human spirit—on Earth. Unfortunately, a mysterious syndrome of ‘contagious’ sleep has decimated the Idyll settlement, and now Walt has spent the last three years in quarantine with his brother Samuel and his bedridden mother on their lonesome ranch. Desperate to find a cure for their mother—and to find out what happened to their father—Walt and Samuel are finally venturing away from their homestead in search of answers. 1. What is your full name? Is there anything significant about your name? Walt Cygnus Starboard. Yes, quite significant. When our forebears left Mother Earth, they gave up their traditional surnames and took on new last names based on the roles or their quarters on the starship Marathon. It was a 600-year trip that required a great deal of sacrifice. Relinquishing their surnames was more symbolic than anything, but it represented a break from the Terran way of doing things—and a new commitment to our cause. I’m just glad my ancestors didn’t live near Marathon’s poop deck! Ha ha. That’s a nautical joke. Marathon didn’t have a poop deck. Sorry, it’s a fairly serious topic. 2. How old are you? I’m twenty-three. 3. Tell us about your family. What do you like and not like about them? My father Josiah is… or was… the best rancher in Glenn County. After the Lullaby hit, he traveled to the heart of the Settlement to find out what was being done about it. But he hasn’t returned yet. That was three years ago. My uncle was a doctor, but he died. My mother was infected with the Lullaby, so I’ve been doing my best to care for her. My brother Samuel… he’s good with the animals. 4. Who was your first kiss, and what did you think of it? A gentleman doesn’t talk about that. Trust me, I’ve had my share of female… interests… females who… Fine. I’ll level with you. In my youth, I focused on my studies. Then the Lullaby hit, and I’ve been living in quarantine for three years. If it wasn’t for the epidemic, I’m fairly confident I’d be married to a beautiful, charming lady by now.  image copyright James Derry 5. What is your occupation? I was training to be a county doctor. When I was young, I wanted to run the ranch. But I suppose that duty will fall to my brother. Or perhaps I could do both. It’s all moot at this point. Right now, we’re struggling to stay clothed and fed. 6. What are your best and worst qualities? I like to think I’m fairly intelligent. And disciplined. And neat. And cool and collected in a bad situation. And keen at shooting and riding. And admired by my peers. My brother says I talk too much, but he hardly talks at all. 7. What is your most treasured possession? Uncle Warren’s pharm-garden. It grows the pharms that keep Mama alive, despite her coma. I don’t know what we would’ve done without that. 8. What is your greatest fear? That my mother will die before we can find a cure for her. When my father left, he entrusted me (and Samuel) with caring for the ranch—and that included, in my mind, keeping Mama safe. She was infected on my watch, and now I have to do everything in my power to reverse that one moment of stupidity and neglect—and to make sure she doesn’t die from it. It’s been three long years, taking care of her… feeding her, bathing her, treating pressure ulcers. Sometimes I wonder if she knows what’s happened to her. If she dreams of us. If she wishes that I’d let her die… Can I level with you again? Sometimes I’m not afraid of Mama dying. Sometimes I think my greatest fear is that my father will return, and he’ll see what we let happen to her. To find out more, shop for Idyll as part of the Weird Western StoryBundle, available until September 8. Or check out author James Derry’s blog at james-derry.com.
Kyra sez: I've just started reading Idyll, and even though I'm only about 10% in so far, I'm hooked. Westerns and the challenges of settling a far distant planet just naturally seem to go together.  Today I'm happy to welcome Gemma Files, another of the authors in the Weird Western StoryBundle, here to introduce herself and her character Chess. First, let's find out a little more about Gemma: 1. Tell us a little about yourself. I was born in England, but have lived almost all of my life in Toronto, Canada (I say “almost” because, as should be obvious, I am currently still alive). My parents are both actors. I have a BAA in Magazine Journalism from Ryerson University, and a few years ago I was amused to note that almost everything technical I learned while getting it is now hopelessly obsolete. I spent roughly nine years working as a film critic, during which period I also taught screenwriting and film history at two different vocational schools. Other jobs I've held include security guard, essay-writer for hire and floor attendant at Lovecraft, Toronto's most upscale sex shop. 2. When did you start writing, and why? I've written throughout my life, but aside from placing a poem with Cricket Magazine when I was eleven, my professional writing career probably began when I was twenty-five—I was covering the publication of a new all-Canadian horror anthology called Northern Frights, let slip to the editor (Don Hutchison) that I also wrote scary stories, then sold him one for Northern Frights 2. That sale led to me writing “The Emperor's Old Bones” for Northern Frights 4, the story for which I later won a 1999 International Horror Guild Best Short Fiction award, which in turn led to the publication of my first two short story collections (Kissing Carrion and The Worm in Every Heart). It's been uphill ever since. 3. What drew you to writing weird westerns? What do you enjoy about it? Okay, so: it's 2009, and I've just spent a year being intensely depressed in the wake of my son's Autism Spectrum Disorder diagnosis, which just so happened to coincide with me losing my primary teaching job. During this period, the only thing I've been able to write has been fanfiction, specifically for the James Mangold remake of 3:10 to Yuma, which means I've already done a lot of research on the post-Civil War era, making me fairly familiar with all the necessary western tropes and jargon. One day, I tally the word-count of everything I've written during the previous year and realize it comes to more than 100,000 words—enough for a novel! The next thing I know, I'm using my historical knowledge to hammer out the first seven chapters of what will become A Book of Tongues. As luck would have it, meanwhile, 2009 is also the same year that Sandra Kasturi and Brett Savory formed ChiZine Publications, and started asking all their friends—me included—if we were working on books. So before I'd even finished writing the book, I already had a publication contract. Three books later, the Hexslinger series was finished, and I'd moved on to a whole new phase of my writing career. 4. What particular flavor of weird western is your book that's in the Weird Western bundle? The Hexslinger series takes place in an alternate version of of the wild west where people occasionally randomly “express” as natural magicians—hexes—whose powers often seem to be dictated by their skills, cultural backgrounds and/or personalities. Reverend Rook, for example, can literally preach magic—he quotes applicable Bible verses, which appear in the air around him, then bring about whatever he has in mind. For men this tends to happen during moments of extreme stress or pain, and for women, around adolescence; the reason hexes haven't taken over the world as yet, however, is that they literally can't work together, because their constant desire for more power drives them to suck magic out of each other like vampires. During his own expression, which happened while he was being hung for murder, the Rev was touched by a malign entity, Ixchel, who later revealed herself as a hex-ghost/dead goddess from Mictlan-Xibalba, the Mayan-Mexica underworld. She wants to bring back her pantheon, re-instituting a Blood Engine system in which power is paid for by human sacrifice, and what she offers for the Rev's help in bringing this plan to fruition is to make it possible for hexes to cooperate without being driven to prey on each other...which is something the Rev will do almost anything to bring about, because he knows his lover Chess is a hex just waiting to happen. 5. What do you like about your characters? Well, frankly...they're all kind of terrible people: villains, monsters, anti-heroes at best. And those have always been the sort of characters I've found myself drawn to, possibly because they lend themselves best to the sort of blood-soaked high drama black magic gay porno horse opera A Book of Tongues and its sequels turned out to be. I guess that ever since I first saw Star Wars, complicated evil with hints of redemption has always been my aesthetic—I'm definitely a Sith, not a Jedi. Which isn't to say there are no slightly less soiled characters at work here, but part of this project was always trying to turn the most familiar Western tropes inside out, and I like to think I've mainly managed to do that. 6. Where can we find out more about you and your books? My pro site is http://musicatmidnight-gfiles.blogspot.ca/. I'm also on Twitter (@gemmafiles), Facebook and Tumblr.  And now, Chess: 1. What is your main character's full name? Is there anything significant about it? The main character of the Hexslinger series—which starts with A Book of Tongues—is probably Chess Pargeter, around whom most of the action centres. He certainly has the most interesting character arc. As for something significant about his name, well...it turns out he doesn't actually know his entire name, mainly because his mother never told him it was short for something else. He eventually finds out, but not 'til Book Three. 2. How old is he? When A Book of Tongues starts, Chess can't possibly be more than twenty-five years old—I think I had twenty-two somewhere in the back of my mind when I wrote it, probably because of that line from the Bo Diddley song “Who Do You Love?” (I've got a tombstone hand and a graveyard mind, I'm just twenty-two and I don't mind dyin')—though again, he's not really sure, because he doesn't know his own birthday. He's pretty young, either way. 3. Tell us about his family. What does he like and not like about them? Chess grew up without any idea of who his father is, mainly because his mother—“English” Oona Pargeter—is a low-rent San Francisco prostitute who's far more interested in alcohol and opium than she is in her own son, aside from the section of his life where, having figured out he was gay, she tried her best to pimp him out to whoever was interested. Chess stole a gun from a Pinkerton agent and left home to join the Confederate army soon after. Though he says he doesn't feel anything for her but contempt, I think he's lying. 4. Who was his first kiss, and what did [he] think of it? Chess uses sex to get a lot of what he wants and thinks of it mainly as a mode of exchange, since that's how he was first introduced to the concept; he's frankly far more embarrassed by emotional intimacy than by anything physical. That being said, I think the first kiss that meant anything to him probably came from Reverend Asher Rook, who he first met when Rook was serving as an army chaplain during the Civil War. 5. What is his occupation? Chess is a former soldier turned outlaw, enthusiastic and fiercely loyal right-hand man to the Rev, who expressed as a “hex”—a natural magician—at the tail-end of the War, right in the midst of being hung for desertion and the murder of a superior officer, the latter charge being a crime Chess actually committed. Chess was the one who later suggested the Rev start robbing trains and stage-coaches in the first place, so it only makes sense he became the Rev's lieutenant as well as his lover. He's blissfully unaware that part of the Rev's attraction to him comes from Chess also being a potential hex, though as yet unexpressed. 6. What are his best and worst qualities? Chess is described at various points during A Book of Tongues as a “pocket-sized Satan,” a “wild boy” and an “unrepentant sodomite and murderer,” all of which is absolutely true. His best quality is probably his commitment to the Rev, but his total refusal to feel guilt over his own nature or actions had lead him into a whole lot of trouble over the years, not to mention taking its toll on those around him. He also holds grudges. 7. What is his favourite thing to do? Clear even split between sex and shooting something, mostly, though he slowly begins to see the value of defending the weak against impossible odds, if only for the pleasure of spitting in some hellaciously more powerful being's eye. A lot of what Chess does is dictated by sheer contrariness, which can be petty or weirdly admirable, depending on context. 8. What is his greatest fear? Imprisonment. Being left behind. 9. What is his most treasured possession? At the time of A Book of Tongues, Chess's most treasured possessions would probably be either his guns—he wears two at all time, holsters slung cavalry-style for easy cross-drawing—or an ear-bob the Rev bought him, silver inlaid with turquoise, shaped like a Hospitaler cross. He doesn't care much about anything else he owns, though he favours fast horses and natty clothes, often dressing all in purple just to piss people prejudiced against the “frilly” off with his sheer vicious sense of style. Kyra sez: I haven't gotten to Gemma's book yet, but I'll be sure to add my thoughts on it when I do. If you want to check it out for yourself along with a bunch of other great weird western books, the Weird Western StoryBundle is available now through Sept. 8.
 Continuing our closer look at the books and authors in the Weird Western StoryBundle, today I am pleased to welcome Mr. Tiberius Bogg. Mr. Bogg is the main character in the New World series by Steven W. White. New World, Book 1 is available free to subscribers to the StoryBundle newsletter, and Book 2, Hair of the Bear, is part of the bundle. 1. What is your full name? Is there anything significant about your name? Name's Tiberius Bogg. If there's anything significant there, I've no knowance of it. I got no title, as those are uncommon things where I come from. You need not even bother with "Mr. Bogg," as most folks just call me Bogg... if they know my name at all. 2. How old are you? I can't conjure up a precise number. I judge I've seen forty summers, surely. But I can still outrun a bear, given a decent head start. So I reckon I'm not fifty, not yet. 3. Tell us about your family. What do you like and not like about them? I ain't seen my Ma and Pa since I was a pup. They fell onto hard times in Algolus, and struck out across the sea for Mira, like a lot of folks. I was born right here in Mira, and ain't never ventured to the old country. Don't plan on going, neither. Algolus is too full of kings and knights, castles and dragons. Too much history there. You can't get free of it. Mira is the right place for me. It catches Algolans by surprise, but I fit right in here. Beyond Ma and Pa, I've no knowance of any foreparents. My onliest brother, Ackerley, lives in Fort Sanctuary, on the coast. He can stand that sort of life, with crowds and streets and noise. We're different in that way. I don't care for people, my own self. I prefer to play a lone hand. What do I like about Ackerley? I've come to him twice... no, three times in my life, when wilderness living has left me short of needments. Once, he saved me when I was ailish with winter fever. He's never shut me out. I can't say there's anything I dislike about him. He don't set his table to city folks' rules. Still, he sees hisself as an educated man compared to me, and when I'm about, he'll strut like a rooster in tall oats. 4. Who was your first kiss, and what did you think of it? I recollect a pettifogger's daughter, a long way back. I can no longer call her by name, but she was pretty as a fence-corner peach. 5. What is your occupation? Occupation? I'm a weed-bender, a rabbit-twister. Polite folks will call me a mountain man. That is to say, I cleave to the deep and piney woods and get by with trapping and grazing. I make my own clothes. Buckskin is easiest to work with, though I've got a cloak made of splintercat skin, black as coal at midnight and well nigh invulnerable. That's saved me more than once. Mira is full of magical creatures, some of them useful. If they don't kill you, that is. Occupation... that's a fine way to put it.  6. What are your best and worst qualities? My best qualities? By jings, where do I start? I'm resourceful, witty as all get out without being over-educated, hearty as a bull ox, nimble as a polecat, not overly concerned with city foofaraw such as bathing, and devilishly handsome if you don't mind the beard. My worst qualities? Alas, I have the misfortune of being far, far too humble. 7. What quality do you value most in a romantic partner? [Bogg blushes.] Good land! What kind of questions are these? [Kyra looks down at her clipboard] Oops, we seem to have stumbled into my romance interview. [Tears out a bunch of papers and throws them away.] Sorry about that! Let's move on, shall we? 8. What is your favorite thing to do? After having a think on this question, I'd ruther choose those long quiet evenings after supper, the fire not too hot, and the lakeside air not too cool, the belly full, as I stretch out by the water, feeling easy and comfortable. There are plenty of fine lakes I go back to, depending on the season. Hottencold Lake, Laundry Lake, Massacre Lake. Boiling Coffee Springs is not unpleasant in the winter. Then again, I do enjoy a good fracas, too. There's nothing quite like feathering into a feller who righteously deserves it... though I've learned not to seek out such things. Never trouble trouble until trouble troubles you, Ackerley would say. 9. What is your greatest fear? Fear? Lessee, fear. I am trying to recall the meaning of that word. Alas, no. I am not familiar with this term. I am not an educated man, you see. All right. Let me not be too pleased with myself, nor stretch the blanket too much. My greatest fear, with no varnish on it? Civilization. 10. What is your most treasured possession? That's simple enough. [Bogg draws a weapon from his rope belt, a large knife. Its handle is carved from the antler of an elk, and its curving white blade is the serrated canine of a sabertooth.] This fine tool has gotten me out of more scrapes than I can recollect. You know about magical weapons from Algolus? Enchanted swords and so on? Well, here in Mira, those old hexes don't work so well. Where I live, the magic is in the land, and the trees, and the fearsome critters that roam here. A bite from a sabertooth could cut anything... and sure enough, this blade can cut anything. Kyra here: I tore through New World and Hair of the Bear in about three days all together. Exciting, scary, funny, fast-moving (and even emotional and thought-provoking) adventures through the frontier of Fantasyland's New World in the company of the inimitable Tiberius Bogg. Wonderful reading for anyone who wants a taste of the frontier in their fantasy. I would particularly recommend them for teen boys, junior high age and up, who enjoy fantasy and adventure. As the mom of two former teenage boys, I know it can be hard to find books for them, and the New World books fit the bill splendidly.
Once again, you can get New World for free via the StoryBundle newsletter, and Hair of the Bear as part of the Weird Western Storybundle. About the author: Steven W. White has written science fiction and fantasy since he was a teenager. Along the way, he's been a Christmas tree farmer, a rocket scientist, and a snake handler. Lately, he's earned a Fiction MFA from the Northwest Institute of Literary Arts on Whidbey Island, Washington. He writes, teaches, and occasionally plays with fire in the Pacific Northwest. Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads  As promised, I'll be taking a closer look at some of the authors and books in the Weird Western StoryBundle, which is available through September 8. Today I'm happy to welcome Joseph J. Bailey, author of Spellslinger. 1. Tell us a little about yourself. When not at play with my family, I enjoy reading, writing, and relaxation. When I can, I also practice various martial traditions in which I have attained the Victim level of proficiency. 2. When did you start writing, and why? I started writing my first novel, which eventually became the Chronicles of the Fists trilogy, in 2004. I love exploring the possible, trying to make the imagined real. I enjoy diving into new places and times, where other rules and potentials exist, and bringing those visions to life. Honestly, I cannot imagine doing anything else. 3. What drew you to writing weird westerns? What do you enjoy about it? Most of my story ideas start with a "what if". What if wizards used guns instead of wands? What if the Wild West had magic? What would a world that contained gunslinging wizards be like? I was drawn to the genre by these and other questions and then finding the answers to them. Exploring the answers to these questions, living in this world while I write, exploring its characters and nuances, is its own reward.  4. What particular flavor of weird western is your book that's in the Weird Western bundle? Science fiction, fantasy, horror, other, none of the above, all of the above? Spellslinger is, like many Westerns, a tale of revenge. Except, instead of the protagonist seeking vengeance against outlaws, bandits, or a crooked lawman, his quarrel is with a dragon. Where there are dragons, there is magic. Where there is magic, there is mischief. And where there is magical mischief involving dragons, there is fantasy. 5. "Welcome To My Worlds": Tell us a little about the world of your book. Ilaeria, Koren's home, is a diverse, magical world where knights often wield arcane guns instead of swords, where cowboy hats not only protect the eyes and skin from the sun but the mind from demonic attack. In Ilaeria, there are very good reasons to wear a hat. 6. Introduce us to some of your characters. What do you like about them? Koren D'uene, Spellslinger's protagonist, is a ja'lel, a gun knight, who wields his pistols with true wizardry. I like Koren's singularity of purpose, his focus, and the purity of his vision. He is a man of few words but much action. Smoky, Koren's mount, is a mystral, a flying, fire-breathing demon steed. I like that Smoky can say more with his body language than Koren can with any words. I also enjoyed the challenge of creating interest and depth in a character that cannot speak. 7. A fun fact you would like your readers to know about you or your book. Although only touched upon cursorily in Spellslinger, Ilaeria is part of the greater macroverse of the Chronicles of the Fists trilogy. There is some intersection between those story arcs through paratechnological trade. Koren is witness to this offworld trade when he visits Sky’s End Ranch in search of his brother's killer. 8. Where can we find out more about you and your books? The easiest place to visit would be my blog (www.josephjbailey.com). From there, you can explore my worlds, read about some things I find interesting, and visit me pretty much anywhere else (Facebook, LinkedIn, and assorted retail outlets). Happy reading! Kyra here: I read Spellslinger last May, before I ever got wind of the Weird Western StoryBundle. The money quote from my review is "What King's The Gunslinger should have been," and that isn't just something I put in because it sounds good. That's literally what I was thinking as I read Spellslinger (and I loved The Gunslinger!). If you're looking for the perfect blending of fantasy and western with a hint of science fiction, I highly recommend you give Spellslinger a read.
 As promised, here is cool thing #2, and I have been so excited about this! Beneath the Canyons is part of the Weird Western StoryBundle available now through September 8. Ever since I found out about the StoryBundle site, I've wanted to be part of a bundle, so this is really a dream come true. I am so excited for my book to be part of this great collection where westerns cross paths with science fiction, fantasy, horror, paranormal, and the just plain weird. I'll let the bundle curator, Blair MacGregor, tell you a little more about it: Welcome to our Weird Western Bundle, where wide frontiers, flintlocks, whiskey and revenge meet swords, airships, terraforming, magic, myths, and dragons. You'll find stories here set in the snows of old Alaska and the heat of contemporary Arizona, post-Civil War San Francisco and post-colonization planets, and places that seem as familiar as any wooded mountain or wind-swept desert... until tigers and dragons and horses that are so much more than you might assume burst into the scene. The different aspects of the Weird Western spirit in this bundle will give fans of the genre something they haven't seen before, and folks new to Weird Westerns a wide sampling of its fantastic offerings. Besides my own book, I've read three of the other books in this bundle, Spellslinger, West of Pale, and Flash Gold Chronicles. Judging by those, there's some awesome reading in this collection, and I'll be taking a closer look at more of the books during the time the bundle is available. Here's Blair again to explain how the bundle works: StoryBundle lets you choose your own price. For $5—or more if you'd like—you'll receive the basic bundle of four great novels in DRM-free ebook format. For the bonus price of at least $14—or more if you'd like—you'll receive all nine novels. If you choose, a portion of your payment will go toward supporting Mighty Writers and Girls Write Now. Whether you're already a fan of Weird Western or you want to get a taste of this diverse and growing genre, don't miss out on this chance to get up to nine books at a great price! And don't forget to sign up for the StoryBundle newsletter to get free bonus book.
|
AuthorI am Kyra Halland, author of tales of fantasy, heroism, and romance. Sign up for my email list
My Books
More Books
Click on the covers for more information
Categories
All
Archives
April 2024
Kyra Halland: Welcome to My Worlds is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
Other links on this site may also lead to products for which the owner may receive compensation. |
RSS Feed
