My fantasy novel Roots Run Deep is on sale!

From now through October 8, my fantasy novel Roots Run Deep is on sale for only $2.99!

This novel came out back in 2011 and got some good reviews, but old novels sometimes sink into obscurity, so my publisher Double Dragon has decided to put it on sale to breathe some life into it. Here's the blurb:

She fought her way up from a shanty town to a palace in order to change the world, but her hardest challenge was to change herself.
When a small-time goblin gambler falls in love with a deposed human king, the least of her worries is his vengeful usurper. Kip Itxaron has to follow religious visions despite having lost her faith, unite her squabbling people, find the fabled Lost Tribe of Goblinkin, overcome her fear of battle, and somehow be a leader to a people who have never had one.
But that’s nothing compared with loving someone who reminds her of every man she’s ever hated. Human men can barely be called male. Pasty skin, weak bodies. . .they don’t even have tusks! Not to mention that when he was in power he treated her people just as badly as the rest of them. Kip can see he’s changed, but has he changed enough? Can she change enough?

While this is a standalone novel, I have continued the story of this world with The Maze of Mist, which is permanently priced at $3.99.

Guest Blogging About Fantasy Fiction Over At Sean Mclachlan's Blog

I'm guest blogging over at Sean McLachlan's blog today about Using Real Cultures in Fantasy Fiction. Hop on over and check out that post, and also the rest of his blog, which focuses on writing, the Civil War, Wild West, and travel.

No Medieval Mondays today, but I'll be back on Wednesday with a post for the Norse Gods blogfest. See you then!

The Maze of Mist out now!!!

Well, it's finally here. The Maze of Mist, my latest fantasy novel, is for sale in the Kindle store! For the first month I've priced it at only $3.99, and it's free for Prime members.

Here's the blurb:

When the heir to the throne is treated as an outcast, he has to prove himself before he can rule.

Prince Metis Itxaron is the son of a human father and a goblin mother. As heir to the Twin Thrones, he will some day bear the responsibility of ruling two peoples while protecting the kingdom from the vicious armies of the Bandit Queen and the Elves of the Great Forest.

Instead he spends his time getting drunk and sleeping with the few women willing to look beyond his mixed heritage.

In a desperate attempt to make a man out of him, his parents send him on a secret diplomatic mission to prepare for an upcoming war. What they don't expect is that he will come upon visitors from an unknown land beyond the Sea of Mist, a strange labyrinth of fog that has baffled navigators for all of recorded history.

Metis sees a visit to these new lands as an opportunity to escape his responsibilities and prove himself on his own terms.

Then he discovers that representatives from his kingdom's enemies are coming along for the voyage. . .

This is the second book in the Chronicles of the House of Itxaron series. The first volume is Roots Run Deep. While set in the same world, each title is a standalone novel.

Thanks for everyone who helped me on the cover and blurb. Much appreciated!

Tweaking the cover and blurb for The Maze of Mist

Hey folks! Here's version 2.0 of the cover and blurb for my next book, The Maze of Mist, which is part of the Chronicles of the House of Itxaron series. It's set in the same world as my novel Roots Run Deep but it's not a sequel. Both are standalone books.

WHich cover do you prefer? Any tweaks? How about the blurb? Any input will be highly appreciated!
When the heir to the throne is treated as an outcast, he has to prove himself before he can rule.

Prince Metis Itxaron is the son of a human father and a goblin mother. As heir to the Twin Thrones, he will some day bear the responsibility of ruling two peoples while protecting the kingdom from the vicious armies of the Bandit Queen and the Elves of the Great Forest.

Instead he spends his time getting drunk and sleeping with the few women willing to look beyond his mixed heritage.

In a desperate attempt to make a man out of him, his parents send him on a secret diplomatic mission to prepare for an upcoming war. What they don't expect is that he will come upon visitors from an unknown land beyond the Sea of Mist, a strange labrynthe of fog that has baffled navigators for all of recorded history. Metis sees a visit to these new lands as an opportunity to escape his responsibilities and prove himself on his own terms.

Then he discovers that representatives from his kingdom's enemies are coming along for the voyage. . .

Seeking input on my cover and blurb

Hey folks! I'm preparing to release my next book, The Maze of Mist, which is part of the Chronicles of the House of Itxaron series. It's set in the same world as my novel Roots Run Deep but it's not a sequel. Both are standalone books.

Anyway, I've whipped this up on Kindle's Cover Creator. I'm not 100% satisfied with it so I could use some input. Too gray? What other colors could I use that go with the picture? I'm new to the cover design game.

Also, here's a draft of the blurb. Any input will be highly appreciated!

When the heir to the throne is treated as an outcast, he has to prove himself before he can rule.

Prince Metis Itxaron is the son of human father and a goblin mother. As heir to the Twin Thrones, he will some day bear the responsibility of ruling two peoples while protecting the kingdom from the vicious armies of the Bandit Queen and the Elves of the Great Forest.

Instead he spends his time getting drunk and sleeping with the few women willing to look beyond his mixed heritage.

In a desperate attempt to make a man out of him, his parents send him on a secret diplomatic mission to prepare for an upcoming war. What they don't expect is that he will come upon visitors from an unknown land beyond the Sea of Mist, a strange labrynthe of fog that has baffled navigators for all of recorded history. Metis sees a visit to these new lands as an opportunity to escape his responsibilities and prove himself on his own terms.

Then he discovers that representatives from his kingdom's enemies are coming along for the voyage. . .

Free fantasy novel on Smashwords

Historical fantasy author and occasional guest poster Sean McLachlan is now offering his latest novel free on Smashwords. The Quintessence of Absence was originally published in the respected fantasy magazine Black Gate. The blurb goes:

Can a drug-addicted sorcerer sober up long enough to save a kidnapped girl and his own Duchy?

In an alternate 18th century Germany where magic is real and paganism never died, Lothar is in the bonds of nepenthe, a powerful drug that gives him ecstatic visions. It has also taken his job, his friends, and his self-respect. Now his old employer has rehired Lothar to find the man's daughter, who is in the grip of her own addiction to nepenthe.

As Lothar digs deeper into the girl's disappearance, he uncovers a plot that threatens the entire Duchy of Anhalt, and finds the only way to stop it is to face his own weakness.

Thanks to Sean for offering some free reading. Do you have a promotion you'd like to spread the word about? Drop me a line and I'd be happy to share.

Coming in July: The Maze of Mist!

Last month I finished my latest fantasy novel, The Maze of Mist, a sequel to my fantasy novel Roots Run Deep. The action takes place twenty years later and follows the adventures of Metis Itxaron, son of the human King Roderick and goblin Queen Kip, as he discovers an unknown continent and struggles with accepting his mixed heritage.

I've been busy with edits and beta reads for several weeks now. The book should be ready to go up on Kindle, Smashwords, etc, in late July. I'm still looking for cover art, though. If anyone out there knows of a good Creative Commons or inexpensive image of an old-style sailing ship sailing through the mist, please mention it here.

This sequel is a standalone novel and you don't have to read the first book to understand the second, although I certainly won't complain if you do! I like loosely knit series like that.

A new historical fantasy novel

Historical fantasy author Sean McLachlan has come out with his latest novel. Called The Quintessence of Absence, it's out now on Amazon, Amazon UK, and Smashwords. The blurb goes:

Can a drug-addicted sorcerer sober up long enough to save a kidnapped girl and his own Duchy?

In an alternate 18th century Germany where magic is real and paganism never died, Lothar is in the bonds of nepenthe, a powerful drug that gives him ecstatic visions. It has also taken his job, his friends, and his self-respect. Now his old employer has rehired Lothar to find the man's daughter, who is in the grip of her own addiction to nepenthe.

As Lothar digs deeper into the girl's disappearance, he uncovers a plot that threatens the entire Duchy of Anhalt, and finds the only way to stop it is to face his own weakness.


Congratulations, Sean!

I finished my latest book!

Time to celebrate! This morning I finished The Maze of Mist, a sequel to my fantasy novel Roots Run Deep. The action takes place twenty years later and follows the adventures of Metis Itxaron, son of the human King Roderick and goblin Queen Kip. This sequel is a standalone novel and you don't have to read the first book to understand the second. I like loosely knit series like that.

Since I've been revising as I've been going along, this one is just about ready to send off. In the meantime, I'm dancing like the peasants painted by Pieter Bruegel the Younger!

And now that I'm done, I can get back to Medieval Mondays. Stay tuned!

Busy writing!

Hello everyone! I've been a bit remiss with my Medieval Mondays posts. I'm working on The Maze of Mist, a sequel to my fantasy novel Roots Run Deep. For those of you familiar with the first book, the action takes place twenty years later and follows the adventures of Metis Itxaron, son of the human King Roderick and goblin Queen Kip. Those two, of course, were the protagonists in Roots Run Deep, but now they're aging and busy with affairs of state, so it's their son who gets all the fun!

This sequel is a standalone novel and you don't have to read the first book to understand the second. I like loosely knit series like that.

Anyway, as you can see from the word count meter on the righthand column, and getting close to being done. Once I passed 80% my productivity really picked up and I don't want any interference from other projects. I should be done by the end of the month and back to regular posts.

A nice review of Down in the Dungeon

Checking out my Amazon rankings yesterday I discovered a new review of my roleplaying-game-inspired short story collection Down in the Dungeon. Reader Jack Badelaire had this to say:

"Although this anthology isn't as straight-from-the-gaming-table as I'd first imagined it would be, that's actually a good thing. These are stories inspired by gaming, but not direct copies of gaming sessions, as so many stories of this type often appear to be. The author has done a great job of giving me that nostalgic feeling while at the same time, nothing that strikes me as "only there because D&D mechanics require it". If you're an old-time gamer like myself, give this a try."

He gave it five stars! Awesome!!!

Leather armor in the Middle Ages

In the first chapter of my fantasy novel Roots Run Deep, a team of goblinkin are preparing for a raid on a human city.
 
Like anyone who lived on the Reservation, Kip went armed at all times. Not that she had much. Her tattered leather jerkin gave scant protection, and for weapons she carried a flint knife and a tfaa, a traditional goblin fighting stick. A balanced, two foot-long rod carved from ironwood, the tfaa didn’t look like much, but in skilled hands it could disarm and cripple a swordsman. Prenta had gotten rid of her showy clothes and dressed in a more practical leather jerkin similar to Kip’s.

These impoverished goblinkin are wearing leather armor because they can't afford anything better and their human rulers forbid them from bearing metal weapons and armor. (This ban doesn't last, but that comes later in the story. . .) Leather armor is a staple of fantasy fiction and roleplaying games, yet many people don't realize just how common it was in medieval warfare. Even knights wore it.

Leather armor goes back to ancient times and continued in use through the Middle Ages and into the Renaissance. This picture shows the shoulder and upper arm portions of an elegant suit of leather dating to the Italian Renaissance, courtesy of the Schola Forum. As you can see, it looks much like regular metal armor, and many historians believe that it was worn as much as or even more than metal armor. A suit of plate was hot and heavy, so on the march or during a friendly tournament the knight may choose to weather cooler leather. The rank and file would also be fitted with leather and perhaps some portions of metal armor for vulnerable places such as the head and chest.

While leather was much cheaper, it provided pretty good protection. Regular soft leather wasn't much help, but combined with quilted padding provided some protection, especially against blunt weapons such as maces.

More effective was cuir bouilli--boiled leather. If you soak leather in water and then place it in boiling water, it becomes elastic and pliable. It soon begins to shrink, thicken, and harden. As it's hardening, the leather is hammered onto shaped blocks to create breastplates, greaves, vambraces, and anything else. A full suit of armor could be made in this way.

The 14th century French chronicler Jean Froissart claimed that it was "leather that no iron can pierce" and while that may be overstating the case, leather armor certainly gave good protection. Games such as D&D probably undervalue its effectiveness. Modern experiments show that the average sword blow wouldn't get through, although a good English longbow would make short work of a leather breastplate! This basic article (PDF) explains the technique. Also check out this thread from Schola Forum for some more insights and pictures.

The picture below from The Historians' History of the World shows some improvements on leather armor, with overlapping metal scales, discs, and rings. These were all cheaper yet pretty effective alternatives to full plate and variants of these were used from ancient times into the Renaissance.

Final days of my fantasy ebook sale!

I released my latest fantasy ebook, At the Gates, almost a month ago. It's Book Two in the Timeless Empire series and continues the story of a ragged band of commoners swept up in a war between magic and alchemy. While the regular price is $4.99, for a limited time I've been selling it for $2.99. I also put the first book in the series, Hard Winter, down to 99 cents from $4.99.

These prices will go back up on Monday, September 17, so grab them cheap while you can!!!

Here's a blub for Hard Winter:

His past has been erased, his future is uncertain, but he knows one thing—in the coming revolution he must choose which friend to support and which to betray.

The Dragonkin have ruled the human race for centuries, but now the eastern territories have broken away and a blight has left thousands of humans destitute. Assassinations and riots plague the cities.

While the empire’s future is in peril, one man struggles to reclaim his past. Recorro lost his wife to the Gatherers, shadowy beings that prowl the streets on moonless nights. Those who witness their passing are forever changed. Recorro can remember nothing about his wife beyond the fact that she existed.


Aimless and struggling with despair, Recorro joins the army gathering to crush the rebels. What he discovers there may answer all his questions, and topple the empire he swore to uphold.

And here's a blurb for At the Gates:

In the thirtieth year of my life, I find I am a soldier in two armies about to go to war with each other, and already at war with a third.
We march across an endless plain, we soldiers of the Baron, loyal human subjects of the Dragonkin and their Timeless Empire. Loyal, I say, but only in name. For within that great army intent on crushing the rebellious cities of Haadsted and Ryksierde marches another army, a secret army, the army to which I owe my true allegiance.

So why not pick up both today for only $3.98, giving you 125,000 words of original fantasy for the same price as one of those overly sugared Starbucks "coffees"? It's the healthy choice!

Sale on some great historical dark fantasy

My friend and fellow archaeologist Sean McLachlan has cut the prices of his ebooks until the end of August. Yesterday he turned 43 years young and this is his way of celebrating, sort of like a Hobbit birthday where the guests get the presents.

Sean specializes in dark historical fantasy. His Civil War novel A Fine Likeness has been getting great reviews and is now $2.99 instead of $5.99. His short story collection The Night the Nazis Came to Dinner and other dark tales is reduced from $2.99 to $.99. Now's the time to pick up these books, and don't forget the sale that's on from yours truly!

A quick question to my fellow writers out there. I'm considering getting a Goodreads Author account. Is it worth it?

My new fantasy novel "At the Gates" is out now!

My latest fantasy novel, At the Gates, has just been released in electronic edition. It's Book Two in the Timeless Empire series and continues the story of a ragged band of commoners swept up in a war between magic and alchemy. While the regular price is $4.99, for a limited time I'm selling it for $2.99. A blurb is below:

In the thirtieth year of my life, I find I am a soldier in two armies about to go to war with each other, and already at war with a third.

We march across an endless plain, we soldiers of the Baron, loyal human subjects of the Dragonkin and their Timeless Empire. Loyal, I say, but only in name. For within that great army intent on crushing the rebellious cities of Haadsted and Ryksierde marches another army, a secret army, the army to which I owe my true allegiance.

In celebration of its release, I've temporarily dropped the price of Book One, Hard Winter, down to 99 cents from $4.99. In case you missed it, a blurb for that one is below:

His past has been erased, his future is uncertain, but he knows one thing—in the coming revolution he must choose which friend to support and which to betray.

The Dragonkin have ruled the human race for centuries, but now the eastern territories have broken away and a blight has left thousands of humans destitute. Assassinations and riots plague the cities.

While the empire’s future is in peril, one man struggles to reclaim his past. Recorro lost his wife to the Gatherers, shadowy beings that prowl the streets on moonless nights. Those who witness their passing are forever changed. Recorro can remember nothing about his wife beyond the fact that she existed.

Aimless and struggling with despair, Recorro joins the army gathering to crush the rebels. What he discovers there may answer all his questions, and topple the empire he swore to uphold.

So why not pick up both today for only $3.98, giving you 125,000 words of original fantasy for the same price as one of those overly sugared Starbucks "coffees"? It's the healthy choice!

My next fantasy novel coming soon!

Here's the cover for At the Gates, the next in the Timeless Empire series. It picks up where Hard Winter leaves off and continues Recorro's quest to learn his past while struggling with the dangers of the present. Below is a blurb. I'd love to get some feedback on this blurb before I upload it late this week or early next, so please tell me what you think in the comments section!

In the thirtieth year of my life, I found myself a soldier in two armies about to go to war with each other, and already at war with a third.

We marched across an endless plain, we soldiers of the Baron, loyal human subjects of the Dragonkin and their Timeless Empire. Loyal, I say, but only in name. For within that great army intent on crushing the rebellious cities of Haadsted and Ryksierde marched another army, a secret army, the army to which I owed my true loyalty.

Nice review of Roots Run Deep

Croft Fantasy Book Reviews has done a nice review of my fantasy novel Roots Run Deep. Here's a snippet:

"What attracted me to this story was that it focused on a Goblin character, which was nice for a change. I really liked the descriptive passages of the Kip’s world.  Vibrant scenes that build a dark and realistic world. Kip is a good strong character. She takes the reader through the story and I found her an engaging believable character."

Woohoo! Several reviewers have commented how they liked Kip, a smart-mouthed goblin in a world run by humans. A big part of her appeal, I think, is that's shes an ordinary person who rises to do extraordinary things. She's a small-time thief, mediocre sorceress, and bad gambler who is cornered into a position of having to be the leader of her people.

The reviewer also had this to say: "I did feel the plot shot forward a bit fast at times, this left me feeling a little disorientated."

Hmmm. Yes, this isn't the first time I've heard this. Something to watch out for. A good writer learns from his reviews. 


Well, off to write the All the Gods are Human, Book Three of the Timeless Empire series!

Guest blogging about military fiction

Today I'm a guest blogger over at Jeff Hargett's Strands of Pattern writing about writing military fiction. Pop on over and check it out. Also check out the other posts for some great writing advice!

Guest blogging about military fantasy

I'm guest blogging about military fantasy over at Sean McLachlan's Civil War Horror blog. And of course I'm mentioning my new fantasy novel Hard Winter! It's already had two sales in the first 12 hours it's been available! Now if I can only keep up that momentum. . .

My new fantasy novel out now!!!

It's finally out! Hard Winter went live on Amazon in the wee hours of this morning. It should soon be up on Amazon UK and the other Amazons. I'm also uploading it to Smashwords and their distribution will get it on Barnes & Noble, the Apple store, and other venues.

His past has been erased, his future is uncertain, but he knows one thing—in the coming revolution he must choose which friend to support and which to betray.

The Dragonkin have ruled the human race for centuries, but now the eastern territories have broken away and a blight has left thousands of humans destitute. Assassinations and riots plague the cities.

While the empire’s future is in peril, one man struggles to reclaim his past. Recorro lost his wife to the Gatherers, shadowy beings that prowl the streets on moonless nights. Those who witness their passing are forever changed. Recorro can remember nothing about his wife beyond the fact that she existed.

Aimless and struggling with despair, Recorro joins the army gathering to crush the rebels. What he discovers there may answer all his questions, and topple the empire he swore to uphold.

This is Book One of the Timeless Empire series. Book Two, At the Gates, will be released in July. Thanks to all my beta readers!