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.

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!

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. . .

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.

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!

More places to buy my books!

In the past few weeks the number of places to buy my books has dramatically expanded. My fantasy novel Roots Run Deep has always been available directly from Double Dragon Publishing, and the various Amazon incarnations such as Amazon and Amazon UK. It's also available at Barnes & Noble, and 8for those of you who like using Paypal) Fictionwise.

My mystery/thriller Murder at Mcmurdo is available direct from LL-Publications, Amazon, Amazon UK, all the other Amazons, and Barnes and Noble.

My latest book, a short story collection of RPG-inspired tales called Down in the Dungeon, was released by Writers Exchange Ebooks, and is now available at Amazon, Amazon UK, all those other Amazons, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords.

So now there are more ways to read the stuff by yours truly! More books coming soon!

Upcoming releases

I've been a bit too quiet on this blog lately. I've been very busy at work and finalizing two upcoming releases. One is Down in the Dungeon, a collection of my short stories inspired by classic RPG gaming. So many fantasy authors are inspired by roleplaying games and try to hide it. Well, I don't. I revel in it! This ebook has a wonderful cover designed by Laura Shinn. It will be coming out within a month from Writers Exchange E-Publishing.

I also have a short story titled "The Witch Bottle" in the upcoming anthology Love and Darker Passions. This will be published early next year by Blood Moon, the horror imprint of Double Dragon. It's based on some research into a real item of folkloric magic called, you guessed it, the witch bottle.

If you haven't sampled my fiction yet, I already have two books available. My fantasy novel Roots Run Deep follows the adventures of a female goblin struggling her way out of a slum in a human-dominated world and becoming a leader for her oppressed people. My mystery/thriller Murder at McMurdo tells the tale of flawed man trying to make things right for his wife and himself while trying to solve a murder.

So while I've been a bit quiet of late, I haven't been sleeping! And you're getting a medieval post later this week, so stayed tuned!

Could clerics shed blood? The example of Bishop Odo

Anyone who played D&D in their youth knows that clerics aren't allowed to shed blood, and thus have to carry maces instead of swords. I always thought that was a ridiculous rule first because it wouldn't work--brain someone with a mace and see just how much blood you get--and second because I failed to see the historical connection. Medieval priests often fought, although technically they were not supposed to take up arms of any kind. So I always wondered where Gygax and Company got this idea.

Perhaps they got it from Bishop Odo, William the Conqueror's half brother. The Bayeux Tapestry, which Odo probably commissioned, shows him riding into battle flourishing a club with the caption, "Hic Odo Eps (Episcopus) Baculu(m) Tenens Confortat Pueros", in English "Here Odo the Bishop holding a club strengthens the boys".

So he may not even have used his club as a weapon, but rather as sort of a command staff like the later swagger stick. But another part of the tapestry shows William the Conqueror with a club. Also, in the age of chainmail a club wasn't such a bad weapon. Not as good as a flail (my personal favorite) and certainly not as good as the later medieval handgonnes, but not a bad choice for someone who has sworn never to take up a sword. Odo led troops in battle on numerous occasions, so he might have discovered how effective a club is firsthand.

The goblinkin in my fantasy novel Roots Run Deep are also saddled with primitive weapons. The ruling humans treat them as second-class citizens and, like any group of oppressors, fear those they oppress. Thus they ban goblins and hobgoblins from using metal weapons. Instead our green friends use mauls, quarterstaves, flint knives, clubs like good old Bishop Odo, and a special fighting stick called a tfaa.

Roots Run Deep gets two five-star reviews

My fantasy novel Roots Run Deep is enjoying only modest sales, but it is getting good reviews. Two readers have posted five-star reviews on Amazon.

"Ima Kindler" (I HOPE that's not her real name!) says, "This is an incrediable book. "Roots Run Deep" is not only a wonderful romance it sweeps the reader into a world that is unigue yet familiar.

"This is a world of many races, the Fae, elves, humans, and Goblinkin. What struck me was how the treatment the Goblinkin mirrored that of native cultures--Native Americans--and the idea of slavery. (The poor Goblinkin lived on reservations and were slaves.) I loved the juxtapose of those on the reservation and the Goblinkin who had escaped to the mountains walk with their heads up and with pride. Wonderful story of freedom, power, and the use of power to destory or rebuild. It is also a wonderful love story between the human king on the run and the female Goblinkin who saves his life."


Joshua Wachter (real name!) just posted a review this month: "I loved this book. We follow a goblin woman with minor powers as she struggles to make her way in the world. Swept up in events she rises to the occasion and finds the love of a troubled king. Can she save her people and find a way to be with the man of her choice

So if you haven't checked out Roots Run Deep, do yourself and my Amazon rating a favor!

A goblin has taken over Hump Day Improv!

Hi everyone, I'm Kip Itxaron, heroine of Roots Run Deep. Typically for a goblin, I did all the real work in the novel while A.J. sat on his ass typing on that weird device he calls a computer. Typically for a human, he takes all the credit. He even pretends he made me up!

Anyway, I'm getting a little freedom today over at N.R. Williams' blog where I'm running her famous Hump Day Improv, a weekly writing prompt. So pop on over and check it out!

What happens when a goblin thief gets interviewed by a crime reporter?

The heroine from my fantasy novel Roots Run Deep (published by Double Dragon) has been interviewed by crime beat reporter Mitch Malone. Mitch is a pretty arrogant guy, but Kip is a goblin who's used to bad attitude from humans. See how they get along over at W.G. Gager's blog!

Schedule for week two of the Roots Run Deep virtual book tour

I've survived the first week of my first-ever virtual book tour. I'm exhausted and elated. The Internet can be a friendly place after all! I have some very interesting stops for week two. Here they are:

Monday, May 9: The heroine of Roots Run Deep, Kip Itxaron, will be interviewed by tough-as-nails crime beat reporter Mitch Malone over at W.S. Gager's blog. Poor Mitch, he thought he was the only one in the world with attitude. . .

Tuesday, May 10: I examine folklore beliefs related to fertility and childbirth over at Theresa Crater's blog.

Wednesday, May 11: I'll be taking over the Hump Day Improv session on N.R. Williams' blog. This writing prompt will include an intriguing image from the Middle Ages.

Sunday, May 15: I'll be blogging about the business side of writing for Writers in Business. UPDATE: this has been rescheduled for May 29.

Hope you'll come along for the ride!

Rat on a stick and mule meat soup

For the third stop on my virtual book tour for Roots Run Deep, I'm talking about what the goblins in my world cook up for dinner. Stop on by to learn all about what these poor, disadvantaged goblins have to survive on. Guaranteed to get your kids to shut up about oatmeal and liver.

http://petenew.com/blog/2011/05/04/rat-on-a-stick-and-mule-meat-soup/

I'm interviewed on Midlist Author!

I just did my second interview. Since Roots Run Deep is my first novel, being interviewed is a new thing for me. It's nice that some people are paying attention to such a brand-new name in fantasy fiction.

Fellow archaeologist and adventure travel writer Sean McLachlan interviewed me on his blog Midlist Writer. I talk about what it's like to finally have my first novel published and some of the research and ideas that went into Roots Run Deep. Check it out!

I also have a third interview in the works and some reviews that should be coming out pretty soon. Check back here for more news and for my regular feature, Medieval Mondays!

Welcome to my blog!

Hello, I'm A.J. Walker, a medievalist by day and writer by night. Double Dragon Publishing has just come out with my first fantasy novel, Roots Run Deep. I also have a couple more books coming up, a thriller/mystery and a collection of fantasy short stories.

Don't worry folks, this blog won't just be for tooting my own horn. I'll also be reviewing books and ebooks, interviewing authors, and hosting guest posts. I'll even throw in regular posts about Medieval history, which is my work and love. That said, I would be remiss not to talk a bit about my first novel. Below is the back cover 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?

That's all for now folks! See you tomorrow!