By Josh Poole and Travis Wellman
It’s been a while since I last wrote a review, but when Josh and Travis asked for a review I couldn’t refuse.
The Shards of Acrilon is a fantasy adventure story set in a world where people can’t remember their dead. Not only do they forget the person, they forget what they learned from them. It leaves a society broken and unable to progress filled with gaps left by the death of people who might improve it.
Quinn and Ivan are joined by Constance who inherited her father’s armour without being able to remember his name. Their journey is to collect shards of the stone of Acrilon. That stone being the cause of the curse the world labours under.
The world is well drawn with interesting characters and plenty of challenges for our heroes. Many of those challenges are shardbeasts, animals corrupted by contact with a shard. It gives the beast immense power and immortality until the shard is removed. Quinn is unique in that he can touch a shard without being corrupted. He plans to reassemble the stone and return memory to the world.
One of the best parts of the story is how each fight is unique. I was pleasantly surprised at how many different ways the authors found to create battles against the shardbeasts and other enemies.
You can buy the book through Amazon here.
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I published Victoria Run, book 3 in the Blue in Kamloops series and it’s page is up and running, but I needed to post an announcement
Two new books are in the print proof stage and will be released this spring and summer.
One is The Clockwork Circus a stand alone book.
Frederick is forced to attend a prestigious academy for aetheric users, despite not having any ability to use aether. There must be reason, but no one will tell him. When the circus comes to town, everything changes.
The second in The Fae trilogy, Shieldmaiden’s Quest follows Robin into the Ancan Empire as it falls apart. Her job is to try to prevent civil war, but the land has other ideas.
I don’t have a cover yet, or even a proper title, but the fourth book in the Blue in Kamloops series is in the works. I’m hoping to have it out for the fall.
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The final book in the Calliope series! Click here to read a sample
]]>The only logical thing to do now is to start over with a new anthology. In the next month or two I will be splitting my newsletter into two parts, one will continue to be occasional news about releases and upcoming books. The other will be directed specifically to those interested in Celticfrog Publishing projects such as the anthologies. You will be able to join one or both streams.
Look for information about a Kickstarter to come in the new year, and a call for submissions shortly after that.
]]>About the Story:
Bensin, a teenage slave and martial artist, is desperate to see his little sister freed. But only victory in the Krillonian Empire’s most prestigious tournament will allow him to secretly arrange for Ellie’s escape. Dangerous people are closing in on her, however, and Bensin is running out of time. With his one hope fading quickly away, how can Bensin save Ellie from a life of slavery and abuse?
What is the Collar for, and What is a Cavvarach?
The story is set in a world very much like our own, with just a few major differences. One is that slavery is legal there. Slaves must wear metal collars that lock around their neck, making their enslaved status obvious to everyone. Any slave attempting to escape faces the dilemma of how and where to illegally get their collar removed (a crime punishable by enslavement for the remover).
Another difference is the popularity of a martial art called cavvara shil. It is fought with a cavvarach (rhymes with “have a rack”), an unsharpened weapon similar to a sword but with a steel hook protruding from partway down its top edge. Competitors can strike at each other with their feet as well as with the blades. You win in one of two ways: disarming your opponent (hooking or knocking their cavvarach out of their hands) or pinning their shoulders to the mat for five seconds.
More About the Story
Set in a world alarmingly like our own, The Collar and the Cavvarach is the story of fourteen-year-old Bensin, a slave, whose status is made obvious to everyone by the steel collar locked around his neck. A martial artist who competes to win money for his owner, Bensin fights in tournaments with a cavvarach. But his greatest battle is the struggle to protect his little sister from the horrors of legalized slavery in a world where slaves have few rights. Desperate to keep her safe, Bensin struggles to find a means – legal or otherwise – to arrange for her freedom.
(For a fun introduction to the story’s setting and its culture, including an explanation of how cavvara shil works, click here.)
Sound Like a Book you Might Enjoy?
Click the play button below to listen to the first 15 minutes of the story as narrated by Joseph Baltz.
Click here to go to the audiobook on Audible.
Click here to go to the audiobook on Amazon.
(Either way, try listening to the free sample to see what you think!)
Like to Read Along While You Listen?
The Collar and the Cavvarach ebook is available for FREE from July 14-18. Grab your copy now!
About the Author
Annie Douglass Lima considers herself fortunate to have traveled in twenty different countries and lived in four of them. A fifth-grade teacher in her “other” life, she loves reading to her students and sparking their imaginations. Her books include science fiction, fantasy, YA action and adventure novels, a puppet script, anthologies of her students’ poetry, Bible verse coloring and activity books, and a fantasy-themed cookbook. When she isn’t teaching or writing, Annie can often be found sipping spiced chai or pomegranate green tea in exotic locations, some of which exist in this world.
Erik would give his life to protect King Jaymin. However, when an old enemy shows up with new schemes, that may not be enough.
I will be releasing the last two books in the Belandria Tarot this year. Book Four I’m aiming for April, Book Five for July. Jian Guo, the talented artist who did the first three will be working on them.
Since I finished the Spruce Bay trilogy last summer, I have started a new series ‘Blue in Kamloops’, like Spruce Bay it will be a crime series. The detective for this one is Blue, a street person with a past he doesn’t talk about. I’m looking at a June release for the first book Tranquille Dark.
]]>There are only two Writer’s Packages left, get a full assessment of your book for plot, character and more.
We’ve also added the ability to bundle the anthology with other books by contributing authors. Check it out and support today.
