Category: Action & Adventure Fiction

+Book Review+ The Reluctant Bride by Beverley Eikli #ChocLitSaturdays

Posted Saturday, 11 January, 2014 by jorielov , , , 0 Comments

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The Reluctant Bride by Beverley EikliThe Reluctant Bride by Beverley Eikli

Author Connections: Personal Site | Blog

Facebook | Twitter | Converse via: #TheReluctantBride

Genre(s): Fiction | Romance | Historical | Regency

Napoleonic | Espionage | Suspense

Published by: ChocLitUK, 7 September 2013

Available Formats: Paperback, E-Book, Audiobook, & Large Print Page Count: 400


Acquired Book By:

Whilst researching Indie Publishers and Presses one evening, as I was hopping through the book blogopshere, I started to alight on book bloggers who were recommending several of whom I hadn’t yet heard of! ChocLitUK was listed as a good resource for Romance; intrigued I clicked over to read more about them! I believe it was ‘love’ at first sight for me – their website won me over instantly! The stories they publish are stitched together in a way that has always endeared me to the genre! Having read about their Tasting Panel, I enquired by email if they would ever consider a book blogger to review their titles instead.

ChocLitUK is an Independent Publisher whose origins go back to 2009 for bringing top quality women’s fiction with the undercurrents of love woven into the stories! Their catalogue of stories appeals to me, as I never considered myself a “Chick Lit” type of gal, as I love the foundations of romance to be etched in relationships! (as outlined in “My Bookish Life”) The full essence of what I seek out when I want to be wrapped up in a romance is found in the niche ChocLit has developed! Besides who couldn’t help but appreciate a publisher with a cheeky sense of humour? ChocLit | Chocolate, anyone?

I am now a ChocLit reviewer who receives books of my choice in exchange for honest reviews! I received a complimentary copy of “The Reluctant Bride” from ChocLit via IPM (International Publisher’s Marketing) in exchange for an honest review! The book released on 7th September 2013. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein. This marks my first review for ChocLitUK!

Inspired to Read:

I am always finding a way to duck into the Regency &/or the Victorian age, which is why I was perked with interest when I saw the genre offered in ChocLit’s catalogue! This story has a clever character arc in which two of the leads are needing to embark on a journey towards redemption. One to prove she can stand on her own feet again and another (I presume) to not only overcome his life as a soldier but to accept and shift forward from the death of his mistress. There is a lot of clever passageways the author could take this story and I was keen to find out! The back-story alone held my interest but its the heart of the two lead characters that made me tempted to read it!

Book Synopsis:

Can honour and action banish the shadows of old sins?

Emily Micklen has no option after the death of her loving fiancé, Jack, but to marry the scarred, taciturn soldier who represents her only escape from destitution. Major Angus McCartney is tormented by the reproachful slate-grey eyes of two strikingly similar women: Jessamine, his dead mistress, and Emily, the unobtainable beauty who is now his reluctant bride. Emily’s loyalty to Jack’s memory is matched only by Angus’s determination to atone for the past and win his wife with honour and action. As Napoleon cuts a swathe across Europe, Angus is sent to France on a mission of national security, forcing Emily to confront both her allegiance to Jack and her traitorous half-French family. Angus and Emily may find love, but will the secrets they uncover divide them forever?

Author Biography:Beverley Eikli

Beverley Eikli wrote her first romance when she was seventeen. However, drowning the heroine on the last page was, she discovered, not in the spirit of the genre so her romance-writing career ground to a halt and she became a journalist.

After throwing in her secure job on South Australia’s metropolitan daily, The Advertiser, to manage a luxury safari lodge in the Okavango Delta, in Botswana, Beverley discovered a new world of romance and adventure in a thatched cottage in the middle of a mopane forest with the handsome Norwegian bush pilot she met around a camp fire.

Eighteen years later, after exploring the world in the back of Cessna 404s and CASA 212s as an airborne geophysical survey operator during low-level sorties over the French Guyanese jungle and Greenland’s ice cap, Beverley is back in Australia living a more conventional life with her husband and two daughters in a pretty country town an hour north of Melbourne. She writes Regency Historical Intrigue as Beverley Eikli and erotic historicals as Beverley Oakley.

Beverly won Choc Lit’s Search for an Australian Star with The Reluctant Bride. Beverley’s Choc Lit novels include: The Reluctant Bride and The Maid of Milan.

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Posted Saturday, 11 January, 2014 by jorielov in 19th Century, Action & Adventure Fiction, Blog Tour Host, Book Review (non-blog tour), Book Trailer, Bookish Films, Britian, ChocLitSaturdays, ChocLitUK, Espionage, France, Historical Fiction, Indie Author, Marriage of Convenience, Midwives & Childbirth, Modern British Literature, Romance Fiction, Romantic Suspense, Suspense, The Napoleonic War Era, the Regency era, Women's Fiction

*Blog Book Tour*: Unravelled by M.K. Tod

Posted Saturday, 9 November, 2013 by jorielov , , 5 Comments

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Unravlled Virtual Book Tour - France Book Tours

Unravelled by M.K. Tod
Published By: Tod Publishing, 19 September 2013
Official Author Websites: Tod on Facebook; Tod on Twitter; Personal Site & Blog
Available Formats: Softcover and E-Book
Page Count: 440

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

Acquired Book By: I was selected to be a stop on the “Unravelled” Virtual Book Tour, hosted by France Book Tours. I received a complimentary copy of “Unravelled”  in exchange for an honest review by the author (M.K. Tod) of whom is also the publisher Tod Publishing. The book released in September 2013. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

Inspired to Read: I have always been drawn into dramas set during the World War eras, including reading one earlier this year which was a time slip between both World Wars as a woman (Elspeth) embarked on discovering what had happened to the man (David) she met and loved during the war. Having read “Letters from Skye“, I was awakened to the idea of “Unravelled” most readily because at the heart of both premises is the search for truth inside the backdrop of war. War dramas can evoke so much emotion on the pure level of the war itself, but its what happens in the background of war that keeps my interest perked. How the loved ones left behind find resolve to carry-on forward whilst they have someone deployed as much as how those who survive the war itself re-integrate back into civilian life. No two stories are alike, as readily as each character elects to draw into their human condition in different ways.

 

M.K. TodAuthor’s Biography:

I have enjoyed a passion for historical novels that began in my early teenage years immersed in the stories of Rosemary Sutcliff, Jean Plaidy and Georgette Heyer. During my twenties, armed with Mathematics and Computer Science degrees, I embarked on a career in technology and consulting continuing to read historical fiction in the tiny snippets of time available to working women with children to raise.

In 2004, I moved to Hong Kong with my husband and no job. To keep busy I decided to research my grandfather’s part in the Great War. What began as an effort to understand my grandparents’ lives blossomed into a fulltime occupation as a writer. Beyond my debut novel UNRAVELLED, I have written two other novels with WWI settings. I have an active blog—www.awriterofhistory.com —on all aspects of historical fiction including interviews with a variety of authors and others involved in this genre. Additionally, I am a book reviewer for the Historical Novel Society. I live in Toronto and I’m happily married with two adult children.

Book Synopsis:Unravelled by M.K. Tod

Two wars, two affairs, one marriage.

In October 1935, Edward Jamieson’s memories of war and a passionate love affair resurface when an invitation to a WWI memorial ceremony arrives. Though reluctant to visit the scenes of horror he has spent years trying to forget, Edward succumbs to the unlikely possibility of discovering what happened to Helene Noisette, the woman he once pledged to marry. Travelling through the French countryside with his wife Ann, Edward sees nothing but reminders of war. After a chance encounter with Helene at the dedication ceremony, Edward’s past puts his present life in jeopardy.

When WWII erupts a few years later, Edward is quickly caught up in the world of training espionage agents, while Ann counsels grieving women and copes with the daily threats facing those she loves. And once again, secrets and war threaten the bonds of marriage.

With events unfolding in Canada, France and England, UNRAVELLED is a compelling novel of love, duty and sacrifice set amongst the turmoil of two world wars.

Unravel & Disseminate the Past:

It’s hard to step back into the past when you’ve lived through a brutal war, of which your memories plague you with the harshness of service. When your past cross-sects your present and propels you backwards towards that time, due to a recognition (in this case) or a footnote in lecture series of that particular war, your entire being fights against the ability to calmly acknowledge the gratitude. As a survivor of such brutality, the living mind will not entreat from memories but rather allow them to consume every inch of a person’s waking world. Edward has to weigh the past horrors with his present invitation to go back to France, whilst choosing whether or not to disclose the details he’s kept from his wife Ann. How then do you decide what to share and what to keep hidden from view?

Prior to taking his trip to France, he decided to recover letters he had hidden in a metal tin he had kept in his parents house. Letters which were not exchanged with his wife, but rather a woman named Helene. Memories of his first love flickered back to him with a warming glow of affection. He ruminated about his last search for her whereabouts and of what could have separated them. Even in the present day, his heart could not accept the fact he never found out what had become of Helene. The more you dig into your past, the more you have to decide what to allow back into the threshold of your thoughts, because if you’re not careful, the past can overcome you to a sickening degree. Whilst in France, standing at the memorial Edward’s burden is compounded by being in the presence of where the lives were lost that had become the baggage of grief of which he had never shed. He arrives at a point where he has to decide about how to resolve the past as bits of his wartime life starts to emerge back into his present world. It’s a question that deserves merit to weigh, because when there are disconnections in our lives we lose the ability to grasp the larger scope of our actions. We tend to act on feeling and instinct rather than reason. Edward has placed himself at a junction point where the further he attempts to unravel the events of his life, the further away from where he has been led lengthens.

In his vein attempt to keep his past personal and away from Ann, he starts to distance himself from his wife who is tired of his retreating into himself without sharing what is on his mind, heart, and soul. He doesn’t realise that his solitude is creating a divide in his marriage. I would hope that in the end, he would realise that it is far better to share the whole truth, than to carry-on with the lie. As this is one of the pitfalls of attempting to make reparations of the past. His further anguish as he stands on the precipice of the past merged with the present as events are propelled forward for him in France, he must make choices he never felt he would have to face. Therein lies another danger of tempting fate beyond what your willing to sacrifice.

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com My Review of Unravelled:

In the opening bits of the story, Edward starts to experience flashbacks to his time at war, re-living the most brutal of situations which were spun into focus after receiving an invitation to attend the unveiling of a war memorial. Tod is unflinching in her descriptions of war giving the reader a close and personal view of what he had experienced. In the quaking reality of his visual memory, Edward starts to wonder if he can handle the reality of home and what being back home truly means to the outside world. His job as a signaler meant he had to keep a continuance viable for communication between troop locations and the front. As he started to impart his experiences on the battlefield, Tod paints the grisly truth in gruesome detail. It is not for the sensitive heart as she shares these moments. Edward’s wife Ann heard for the first time her husband’s horrors of war, finding the strength to listen and console. I believe this is a breath of humanity her husband was not expecting to find in her, as his own guilt of war nearly eclipses out all hope of compassion. Uniquely after the war, Edward remained in telecommunications in which he was still working as a man in civilian life in charge of similar duties he had during wartime.

One of the more interesting perspectives that Tod gives in her story, is the amount of Canadians who were traveling to France at the same time as Edward and Ann. She grounds the story rather humbling by showing that Edward is not the only war survivor who is coming to terms with his past, as otherwise there would not have been 6,000 going overseas to pay homage. Whilst in France, Edward is finding that there is a thin line between truth, memory, honesty, and protecting his wife from what he is not sure she would be able to handle to hear. I appreciated the sincerity of Tod’s writing, proving that being human and being in love, make certain circumstances a bit more complex than we can willingly handle to bear. Tod gives a pristine hinting of the (real) Canadian National Vimy Memorial which bespeaks of the real-life grief and harrowing escapes of soldiers who never felt they deserved to live. The alacrity of the moment encased in this scene brings to light that for each soldier lost in battle, there is another soldier leading a half-life, lost in time due to the guilt they carried back from the field.

Memories are like doors with a key to unlock each hidden image struck from view, which can take you into ethereal thoughts of which should remain inactive. Human nature turns the keys into a slippery slope if acted upon as proven in Unravelled by the actions Edward chooses to take once he reunites with Helene. Time yields to desire but by succumbing to our innermost desires we chart a course where our fate is determined by our actions. Whilst Edward was struggling to untangle his own demons (as his memories took on a different context), Ann was struggling with her own as she could not understand why Edward was seething with angst when he sent her away to London when he stayed behind in France. The developing story of Unravelled is pitting two souls against each other when they should be standing united at the moment they decide to intersect with past regrets and anguish. In this way, Tod carves open a timeless conundrum of knowing when to let the past remain where it belongs.

A slow rumbling discontentment started to shatter the everyday solace of marital bliss that Ann and Edward had experienced prior to the trip to France. One must wonder why anyone would throw away a marriage based solely on an errant day of remembrance. Ann found her voice and articulated herself whenever Edward tried to press her about why their marriage was starting to crumble, struck by the unfamiliar territory of realising that there could be repercussions for his transgressions. A fact he hadn’t bothered to consider before digging himself into such a giant hole. Ann’s strength shines through honestly and openly, as Tod engages the reader as a fly on the wall inside their once happy home. On the brink of the Second World War, their unresolved issues will become circumspect. The emotional throbbing angst of Ann is one of the more genuine approaches I have seen in fiction.

As World War II starts to erupt into their lives, so too, do new roles assert a new distance between them. As Edward is staying away longer under the presumption of war affairs, his absences start to nettle the old worries of Ann’s heart. Meanwhile, Ann has taken on a new role herself as a Signals Welfare coping counselor. At a time where they were able to patch up the past and start to shift their lives forward, I found it striking that fate would deal them another hard hand to muddle through. Tod did not waver in her ability to give a real-life honesty to the setting, as she deftly presented stateside wartime life, re-pleat with the rationing, rubber and metal drives, as well as the inclusion of the Victory gardens; the latter of which continues to inspire my own family towards self-sufficiency. The inclusion of Ann being a wartime knitter spoke to my own heart as I am a charity knitter alongside my Mum. Through watching a classic movie on TCM, I saw firsthand the sock knitting that is mentioned in the novel. It is a charity; I am not sure why knitting groups have not reinstated. Whilst Ann is caught up in her new duties, Edward is approached to have a more active role in World War II.

The impetus of the story is revealed inside the choice of cover art, as the entire crust of marital issues arises out of a forgotten tin full of letters. The memories of what the letters contain within them sets Edward and Ann on a course spinning into their future selves at a maddening pace of hurt, regret, and the illicitness of time spent away from the one you honoured by vow. If the lessons of what transpired in the past are not fully learnt and forgiven, history can repeat itself, but to which degree and to which level of sacrifice is left to be determined by the reader who walks alongside Edward and Ann as the Second World War rages onward. In the end, your left wondering if the lesson of the letters in the tin had any merit of being drawn back into the present? If the tin hadn’t been recovered would the actions have been different on behalf of Edward and Ann? This is a story that provokes the reader to render questions inside their heart long after the book is placed back on their bookshelf, as the contemplations overtook one’s thoughts as readily as Autumn springs up after Summer. Unravelled for me is a relationship-romance wrapped up in the shirt tails of a war drama, in which, you viscerally live through one married couples life.

A Love Stronger than Time:

Unravelled presents an unparalleled love triangle which fuses Ann to Edward as much as Helene to Edward. Two great loves of his life intersecting at a chance reunion in France during a war memorial dedication for World War I, jettison him into an internal turmoil of knowing which is his true heart’s desire to pursue. Each of the three are struggling with their own memories, doubts, fears, and demons of anguish and yet, at the center of the triangle remains Edward. Stalwart and stubborn in belief that he were able to reclaim his first love, it would trump his second. However, Helene is a stronger than he is which makes his journey more difficult because he has to accept reality as it has stood. Tod has an unwavering precision of giving you the raw emotional scenes that develop out of such a triangle as much as the psychological affects of how it manifests its presence in a marriage. Love can transcend time, but if time has shifted forward where lives have moved past where love was first committed to two souls, I would have to believe that the better choice would be to honour the life that was lived in the absence of such a love as great as Helene and Edward. The complexity of the story, is that Tod is presenting you with characters who might contradict your own personal beliefs as you walk alongside Ann, Helene, and Edward wondering how each of their lives will pan out or wander apart. The stitchings of their love are frazzled and frayed by time itself, and yet, as wholly true as though they were only separated by mere hours rather than years. I am not sure if any of us can determine how we would react if the circumstances were thrust upon us nor how far we could go to effectively right a wrong we feel was unjust.

On the other hand, I was struck with the powerful dilemma of Ann, who was the wife who was thought to find forgiveness for her husband’s transgressions without knowledge of how deep they ran. Her faith and her resolve to carry forward is a testament to women of her time who met every challenge presented to them with grit and determination, even if they didn’t feel empowered to do so. She is the wife left stateside who held true to the love of her husband who embarked into war and returned a hollow fragment of the man who had left. The courage it would take to grasp all the changes her world was evolving into is not even measurable. I think all of us would be blessed to have such a formidable Aunt in our lives, such as Aunt Bea to turn too when our internal world collapses. Tod wrote her character in an atypical method for the era of the story, giving her a realism that most authors shy away from.

Gratitude for Giving Light to an Unknown Piece of History:

One reason I appreciate reading historical fiction as much as I do, is that it brings to light the lesser known stories that would remain obscured from our eyes, if it were not for dedicated well-researched writers, such as M.K. Tod who breathe new life into the stories that deserve to be told. I am finding myself attracted to these stories as they are the missing fragments of the larger stories already known to all of us. These new stories shed light on certain aspects of the whole that have been left out of focus, giving us a resounding fuller picture than we had originally. War, in of itself, is a brutally difficult period of time for any man or woman called to service. They dedicated unselfishly their time, their talent, their resolve, and their lives to keep all of us safe for another day. They deserve our utmost respect and honour for their sacrifices during deployment. Erecting memorials is one way of sharing our esteemed gratitude, yet on another level, if we can remember to thank a serviceman or woman in person, at whichever moment their path crosses ours, we have the ability to share our gratitude randomly. The biggest thing to remember is simply not to forget what they gave and what we have gained due to these sacrifices that cannot be fully understood.

Fly in the Ointment:

Although I realise the stark realities of war are beyond what my imagination will allow me to endeavour to envision, I know they are from the very depths of Hell itself. However, as mentioned previously in other reviews, I do have a keenly sensitive heart and when visceral imagery turns into the grisly and macabre, I must admit that I feel my stomach turn a bit queasy around the edges.  I will admit that I might be overly sensitive at the time of reading this novel, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that the level of violent images disturbed me to where I glossed over certain passages to overt my eyes entirely! Therefore, as a forewarning to a reader I must let you know that if you’d rather read a novel that doesn’t describe the verity of degree as this one you have my notation to guide you on your choice!

As much as I must make a notation about the curiously strong expressions whilst the soldiers are deployed in which the language takes on a certain ‘character’ of its own! And, it’s not always arriving in your ears when you think it might either! I was a bit surprised at the frequency on one level of regard, as at one point my ears cringed red! In cases as these where vulgarity becomes the choice expression, I ask myself if its given for literary merit or shock value to the reader. In my own opinion, I do not believe the disbursements of these words adds value to the story but rather etches a bit of its heart away instead.

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The “Unravelled” Virtual Book Tour Roadmap:

Unravlled Virtual Book Tour - France Book Tours

Be sure to catch the first half of this showcase on JLAS:
M.K. Tod’s Guest Post:
“Becoming a Historical Fiction Writer”

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

Be sure to scope out upcoming tours I will be hosting with:

France Book Tours

by visiting:

Bookish Events badge created by Jorie in Canva

{SOURCES: Cover art of “Unravelled” as well as M.K. Tod’s photograph and biography, the blog tour badge, and the logo banner for France Book Tours were all provided by France Book Tours and used with permission. Post dividers were provided by Shabby Blogs, who give bloggers free resources to add personality to their blogs. Blog tour badge provided by Parajunkee to give book bloggers definition on their blogs. Post dividers by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination. Bookish events badge created by Jorie in Canva.}

Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2013.

Related Articles:

Canadian National Vimy Memorial – (en.wikipedia.org)

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Posted Saturday, 9 November, 2013 by jorielov in Adulterous Affair, Blog Tour Host, Canada, Debut Novel, England, Espionage, Fly in the Ointment, France, France Book Tours, Historical Fiction, Indie Author, The World Wars, Time Slip, War-time Romance

*Author Guest Post* | M.K. Tod [Unravelled] speaks on “Becoming a Historical Fiction Writer”

Posted Saturday, 9 November, 2013 by jorielov , , 1 Comment

Guest Post by Parajunkee

“Becoming a Historical Fiction Writer”, from the author of the historical fiction novel, “Unravelled”. M.K. Tod imparts her journey towards publication today on Jorie Loves A Story!

M. K. TodI would like to welcome a special guest contributor today: Ms. Tod who has penned the richly engaging historical fiction novel “Unravelled”, by which I had the honour of reading courtesy of France Book Tours. As soon as I read the synopsis for this novel, I knew I would be readily drawn into the world by which it is set! I am oft drawn into dramas during the World War eras, and especially ones that are wrought with both a measure of eloquence for the setting as much as delving into the human spirit and heart of the story.

I now yield to Ms. Tod, as she starts to share her fascinating story!

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Becoming a Historical Fiction Writer ~ by M.K. Tod

Summer 2004 – the summer that changed my life. In July of that year, my husband’s company asked him to consider a three-year assignment to Hong Kong. We hesitated only long enough to consult with our children and mothers, then plunged into planning and moving, riding the waves of fantasy and euphoria for the next few months. Everything seemed full of possibilities.

Winter 2005 – the bite of reality set in as I struggled to find occupation and purpose and to satisfy intellectual, emotional and social needs. My husband was frantically busy, traveling every week to locations throughout Asia. I had found only a few friends and no job. For a woman accustomed to juggling career, family and social activities, endless free time felt like a burden rather than a luxury. Excitement was replaced by loneliness and intense dislocation. How would I survive?

I dithered. I continued searching for a job. I complained to those back home. I prowled the streets of Hong Kong extending simple outings to multi-hour, blister-inducing walks. I joined an association of expat wives who met for coffee every Thursday. I read books and bought stacks of DVDs. I shopped. I visited Cambodia, Taiwan, and Australia. Gradually, an idea emerged.

My grandmother died on the way to her second wedding. I had often thought this dramatic curtain on life would make a good story and one day, sitting in our apartment with a wonderful view of harbor and city, I decided to write about her life. I had some notes my mother had written about her family. I had my computer and oceans of time.

The first step was research. To create a story based on the lives of my grandparents, I would have to understand WWI, the Depression and WWII. Not being a student of history, I felt the need to begin at the beginning. What caused WWI? Who were the players? What did soldiers experience? What happened on the home front?

Happily, the Internet offered reams and reams of information on military and political events as well as maps and photos and stories of individual experiences of war. I found soldiers’ diaries lovingly transcribed by relatives to preserve and honor long ago sacrifice. I found regiments maintaining information about those who served in WWI, the weapons used and uniforms worn, the rations eaten and songs sung. A world of chaos and bungling and death emerged and I became utterly captivated.

But a novel requires drama: a plot with twists and turns, characters going through change, tension and conflict. Clearly, I would have to embellish. I was a mathematics and science grad with no writing experience except business articles and client reports. “Writing a novel can’t be that hard,” I muttered to myself.

I bought a book on writing, underlining advice that seemed most useful. “Always have a notebook and pen on hand.” “Borrow (and steal) from your favorite writers.” “Master metaphor.” “Accelerate the pace with invisible writing.” “Sentences are written like jokes. The punch line is at the end.” “Mix description, narration, exposition and dialogue.” “Resolve all conflicts by the end of the story.” Gradually these bits of advice made sense.

Back in Toronto that summer, my mother provided further ingredients for the story by telling me that my grandfather fought at Vimy Ridge in April of 1917 and went on to be part of the Army of Occupation in Germany after WWI ended. She spoke of my great-grandparents and what she knew of her parents’ wedding, a few memories of the Depression and more substantial memories of living through WWII. She gave me a box of old photos and newspaper clippings and my grandfather’s scrapbooks. She also relayed the story of my grandfather’s involvement with Camp X, a place not far from Toronto where espionage agents were trained in WWII. My grandfather and espionage – who would have imagined?

The plot started to take shape.

Writing gave me more than an occupation; it gave me the thrill of doing something new. Unwittingly, I had accepted the need to let go of my old world and reinvent myself, had taken charge rather than allowing myself to continue wallowing. I had emerged from the culture shock of moving to a foreign country with a sense of purpose. Contentment settled in. Time passed. The story and my writing skills evolved.

In June 2007, we returned to Toronto. Before leaving, I took several last walks to favorite haunts—The Peak, the walk along Bowen Road, Dragon’s Back, a lively Vietnamese restaurant in Soho, the streets of Central, Stanley Market, the Man Mo temple, Teresa Coleman’s gallery—these familiar places were friends, touchstones in that bustling Asian city.

My novel was in its fourth version by then, the outcome of almost two years of work contained in a small moving box of printed materials, books on writing, novels and non-fiction books about WWI and WWII along with a collection of computer files.  I set those aside to resume my business career, occasionally working on the story on evenings and weekends. But the pull of writing would not let me go. I longed to craft sentences, build images of long ago times, and explore the emotions of a man and woman coping with war and the consequences of death and destruction. Hong Kong had turned me into a writer.

After completing a lengthy consulting project, I took the plunge and walked away from thirty years of accomplishments. I remember feeling inordinately pleased the first time I used the word ‘writer’ to describe my occupation. Finally, in late 2010, I threw away my consulting files. Had Toronto regulations permitted, I might have had a ceremonial bonfire to mark the end of that life. A wonderful life, really. One in which I had been fortunate enough to work with talented people in frequently demanding circumstances.

And where am I now? I’ve completed two novels and have an agent for one of them. A third novel is ready for editing and plot tuning. I have a blog called A Writer of History. I’ve conducted a reader survey. I’ve taken two writing courses and collected additional books on writing. I’m active in the community of writers, particularly those who write historical fiction and have even been asked to speak on the topic.

“What about my grandmother’s story?” you ask. It has been self-published this past September under the title Unravelled. A fitting title for what happens in the novel and a fitting description of what happened when a woman from Toronto became an expat spouse in Hong Kong.

M.K. Tod writes historical fiction and blogs about all aspects of the genre at A Writer of History. Her debut novel, UNRAVELLED: Two wars. Two affairs. One marriage. is available in paperback and e-book formats from Amazon (USCanada and elsewhere), NookKoboGoogle Play and on iTunes. Mary can be contacted on Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads.

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Thank you, Ms. Tod for giving us such a hearty overview of your writing history and journey towards publication! I must say, your story starts off on an adventurous note, whilst you and your family rather quickly relocated to Hong Kong! I would imagine the experience of being there would not only give you numerous memories for your lifetime, but provide you with curious possibilities for research and writing! I realise you didn’t have an easy road towards beginning your book, as you first had to sort through what it was that your heart was calling you to do, but once on that path! Oh, my goodness did you excel! As I read how your research started to give you a heartier glimpse of life during the World Wars, I fondly thought back on my own research jaunts and where they have led me! There are always hidden passageways we tread whilst researching a story, and for me, that is part of the reason I enjoy to write. It would appear the same is true for you as well.

You were also blessed with a family who kept excellent genealogical records and cared about preservation of your lineage! I am also a history buff whose passion for uncovering her ancestral past stems from the pursuits her Mum made long before I was even a whisper of a breath! The map of passageways leading into our ancestry is oft a tedious and rewarding journey, but I was most impressed that your Mum had such a collection of information to impart on you! Wow. And, your quite right, who expects to find such a juicy antidote as espionage!?

What I appreciated the most about your journey, is that it took an exodus of being elsewhere to have your true heart’s passion for writing not only emerge into the forefront but to grab a hold of your inner murmurings to where you decided that it was your calling afterall! The accumulation of everything you were prior to writing has given you the edging on being a writer because writing takes gumpshun, passion, determination, and bold self-confidence! Clearly these are attributes you brought with you from your previous career and they will be what carry you forward as your writing endeavours continue to expand!

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Be sure to catch the second half of this showcase on JLAS:
Jorie reviews “Unravelled“,
which includes a virtual road map of this tour!

Similar to blog tours, when I feature a showcase for an author via a Guest Post, Q&A, Interview, etc., I do not receive compensation for featuring supplemental content on my blog.

Be sure to scope out upcoming tours I will be hosting with:

France Book Tours

on my Bookish Events Featured on JLAS!

{NOTE: The links for bookstores carrying the novel “Unravelled” shared by the author, M.K. Tod are not affiliated with Jorie Loves A Story. As stated in my Review Policy I do not have affiliations, nor do I receive compensation for links shared on my blog.}

{SOURCES:  Photograph of the author M.K. Tod was provided by France Book Tours and used with permission. Guest Post badge provided by Parajunkee to give book bloggers definition on their blogs. Jorie requested to feature a Guest Post on JLAS by Ms. Tod whilst signing up for the blog book tour for “Unravelled”. She was honoured her offer was accepted and received the guest post by Ms. Tod through Ms. Cazabonne. This marks her first Author Submitted Guest Post on her blog! France Book Tours badge created by Jorie in Canva. Post dividers provided by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination.}

Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2013.

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Posted Saturday, 9 November, 2013 by jorielov in Adulterous Affair, Blog Tour Host, Canada, Debut Novel, England, Espionage, France, France Book Tours, Historical Fiction, Indie Author, Reader Submitted Guest Post (Topic) for Author, The World Wars, Time Slip, War-time Romance

*SFN* | Book Review: The Skin Map by Stephen R. Lawhead

Posted Tuesday, 5 November, 2013 by jorielov , , , , 0 Comments

The Skin Map by Stephen R. Lawhead
[Book One of The Bright Empire series]

[Book Two: The Bone House]
[Book Three: The Spirit Well]
[Book Four: The Shadow Lamp]

Published By: Thomas Nelson, 2010
Page Count: 416

Borrowed Book By: My local library’s ILL (inter-library loan) service as they did not carry it in their catalogue. What is interesting though is that they have book three “The Spirit Well” instead!  Therefore, if I find that I enjoy reading this I will ILL books two and four! I was thankful that the request went through in time for me to read this book in conjunction with SFN!

What drew me to read this story:  Is the fact that the very premise of the book acknowledges the existence of fissures in time, which I found to be a riveting opening to a book, much less a full series! And, the fact that people could ‘walk through’ these individual time fissures and experience something unlike what we generally experience was a story I wanted to read! Made possible by a discovery of a sequence of straight lines known as ‘ley lines’, which in of themselves omit an electromagnetic current! If you have been following me along with my SFN posts, you will already know that this would be of key interest, as I happen to fancy stories that involve ‘time travel’ and have recently begun to become acquainted with “The Doctor” of “Doctor Who”! Its evoking the same sense I received from watching “The Adjustment Bureau” where reality is perceptional and can be altered with the opening of a single door OR at the flick of a switch you do not see by sight. The prospect of an ordinary person ‘stumbling across’ this altered state of time, who is summoned by a person of their past is an adventure I thought was well worth taking!

Inspired to Share: When I originally settled on reading this particular story, I couldn’t help but hit the ‘play button’ on the book trailer, which was listed in the upper right corner of the author’s website! I am ever so curious about book trailers, as I have been finding this year that instead of the regular fare of trailers, we are being happily delighted by seeing more ‘mini-film’ versions!! These sort of trailers not only have bang-on accuracy as far as giving the heart and context of the story to a potential reader, but if that reader (such as I) has a fancy for motion pictures, they become an engaging platform in which one’s mind can jump-dive into the story as though they were living through the character as they would in the seat of a darkened theater watching a first-run film! This next genesis of book trailers has captured me as being the ones that endear you long-term towards the book your about to pick up, as it gives you such a riveting visual aide to help you sink easier into the setting of the world just within reach of your fingertips! The wicked part is that they took the information on the inside cover flap and turnt it into the book trailer!

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“The Skin Map” by Stephen Lawhead, Bright Empires Series #1 book trailer

by Thomas Nelson featured on the ChristianBook channel

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The backdrop of science in The Skin Map:

As I dip into the opening chapters of The Skin Map, my mind is attempting to ferret out the knowledge that I had gleamed and gained through my prior readings of the quantum realms. The very same readings as I had outlined only hours prior in my Book Showcase focused on Time Travel! Who knew then, that all of that would become a bit necessary to read a book such as this? Or, at the very least to have a bit of a working knowledge of some of the theories that are being discussed? I feel as though it were but yesterday when I read Flatland!

I liked how Cosmio (the great-grandfather) was pointing out to his (great) grandson that those who walk across the ley lines cannot tamper with the power of their transport abilities – such as when Kit unabashedly felt that he could simply walk his girlfriend through the same alley and arrive in the exact same place he would be himself. It brings up the layers of complexity that time travel involves and how multi-layered our dimensional space truly is. It also brought back to me conversations I had whilst sitting in my high school library and contemplating the ‘layers’ of both time and reality itself as it pertained to the history in which our lives are lived. It was a dialogue of elementary quantum mechanics but I never forgot how excited my classmate was for speaking about a subject I felt he should pursue in University.

I find it instinctively distinct that Kit and Cosimo are traveling in time to alternative realities that are happening in places that they can recognise but they are not on the same ‘time-frame’ of where they originated or from whence they originally ‘came’. It’s a complex theory but the author, Lawhead has an excellent way of handling the science and getting the reader caught up in the story without feeling as though an upper level of science is required to understand the working theory of how the characters are able to travel!

A curious notation about the leys in the novel is when it’s mentioned that they are ‘time sensitive’. I found this intriguing as the premise of using the leys is not to walk into a ‘different time’ per se of your living history or the history of your time, but rather to step into a parallel alternative reality. IF then the leys are in tune with time itself it would stand to question then do all alternative realities coincide with our own time? And, if they do, how is that even possible? Whereas the opening of portals occur at sunrise or sunset, which I found even more curious as when I read the novel “The Golden Hour” by Maiya Williams she used this same theory as a basis of the time travel in her story. Is there concrete evidence floating in and around this premise? Hence the reason she called traveling at sunset as “the golden hour”, as an another example of a writer putting a ‘key’ to her story in her title!

Entering the Adventure one fissure of time in a nanosecond:

Before Kit can even understand ‘where’ he is going and ‘what’ he is meant to be helping his great-grandfather achieve, he has accidentally set off a chain of events that are digging him deeper into traveling the ley lines! I am enjoying the pace of the story, as much as I am enjoying how the story is playing out for the reader! Lawhead has included a few lovely distractions and villains for good measure (of course!), which mark in my mind that this is one of those stories you’re not quite sure what is going to ‘pop out at you’ at any given moment! Part of it reminds me of “The Seeker: The Dark is Rising“, as it has elemental familiarities for me!

As Kit proceeds to accept his great-grandfather’s beliefs in the ley lines, his first venture towards full acceptance was traveling back into the 17th Century to listen to a lecturer who ended up being Cosimo’s partner and a Quester: Sir Henry Fayth. Lawhead has a pure knack for bringing to life flamboyantly secure men of a certain age who are fully contained into their own personality as to evoke a bold presence right before your eyes! I wasn’t sure whom I admired more, his great-grandfather or Sir Henry! I had the feeling that Kit still felt out of step with all of it, the quest to recover the skin map (as the title is elusive to the adventure) and the fact he is now living counter-current to a living timeline he has always known.

Ordinary frustrations of Kit Livingstone:

I nearly cackled with humour whilst walking with Kit as he makes every vein attempt to reach his girlfriend Wilhelmina at a joint shopping rendezvous point! The way in which he would put it, it’s merely a task for switching tracks (for the London tube system), hailing down a bus, crossing through a (rather infamous) park, and heading up a road to greet his dear girlfriend! Yet. Life like art isn’t always a mere ‘walk in the park’! I was seriously having trouble containing myself, as although I had come off two rather emotional Doctor Who episodes (Turn Left & Journey’s End – clearly I am not watching this series in the proper order!) how could I not stifle a bubble of a laugh over every which way to Sunday his life is being affected by a comedy of errors!? Those are the particular and precise moments in my own life where I start to see a stitching of a pattern take hold inside my mind’s eye. Were the events that for me, in those singular moments, rather disastrous really as such? Or, were they universal signs of a serendipitous ripple of coincidence that was writ to happen if only for certain paths to cross at the right ‘moment in time’? Have you naught noticed the same in your own life? People and places you might never have become acquainted with if your life hadn’t altered its course even to the smallest degree to have you arrive at a place you never had been, and yet, a purpose was met that was not of your prior knowledge?

The interaction with his long-lost great-grandfather is purely classic as far as these meetings generally go, but what I liked about it which set it a part from most meetings such as these is the manner in which his great-grandfather was delivering the ‘news of his life’! I liked how his great-grandfather (of whom he was apparently named for as they share the same name! ‘Kit’ isn’t his proper first name, Cosimo is!) counter-balanced Kit’s cocky-headed responses by a calm, collected, and deeply humourous dictation of the facts! The insertion of British phrases and slang made it altogether priceless for me! As I oft am eager to read a full-on Brit novel replete with their own stylings of vernacular!

Review of The Skin Map:

A wanton wanderer simply known as “Kit” flounders around in an ill-attempt at sorting out his life and the path he would like to follow. He never expected to take an unexpected trip to an alternative reality parallel to his own time when his great-grandfather appeared out of nowhere. The swirling of thunder, rain, and storm was actually a gateway arch into traveling along the ley lines. This sets him on a course he is not even sure he belongs, whilst learning the history and technique of this sort of travel, his gravest concern is reconnecting with Wilhelmina, of whom was lost when he recklessly attempted to bring her with him.

Wilhelmina may not have believed the far-fetched excuse that her lackluster boyfriend Kit had given her as a plausible reason for missing her shopping excursion, but finding herself lost on a desolate road made her question if he was telling her the truth. The nearly forgotten language of her grandmother (German) came in handy when she was rescued by a German-speaking man (Englebert) on his way out of the country. Her journey began the moment she accepted his offer to take her with him. What I found most incredible is that her side of the story is leading her to finding her true self as a baker and as a businesswoman. Whereas I am not as sure if she would have had as much growth in her own time as she is having in the 17th Century! Prague is beautifully brought to life through her adventure of setting up a bakery with her rescuer!

At nearly the half-way junction point, Lawhead starts to cast a curious new reality upon the infamous landmarks in England that we are all most familiar with as to having a purpose other than what it appears to be. For such an instance, Stonehenge in this novel is referenced as being a portal – a proper hub for extracting oneself through time into another dimension separate from our own. Now, I am not sure the validity of this claim, but I do know that there is more to Stonehenge than meets the eye! And, surely more than claiming that it’s a gigantic telescope! What makes the science plausible in the story is how close the quantum sciences are coming to terms with everyday reality.

Wilhelmina’s spunky spirit shines brightly when she’s describing to Englebert how to get the bakery back online by incorporating coffee! The hilarity of the situation is that she’s a woman from the 20th century attempting to explain this to a man of the 17th! And, his confusion reigns supreme! Whilst Englebert embarked on a sojourn quest to get her blasted beans, he made a discovery on the docks that could change everything! Like most men who encounter adversity, his spirit only started to brighten once he saw a turning of the tide! He was still on the fence about her plan to turn the bakery into a profit when she introduced him to the bitter coffee, of which he felt was atrocious! She calmly replied to his vexation that it’s a triumph as they can serve sweets to compliment the bitter! Spoken like a true woman!

 [This post is in-progress! Drop back to see the concluding thoughts! Alas! I need to re-ILL! Oy!]

This book review is brought to you by:

Sci-Fi November | Hosted by Rinn Reads

{SOURCES: Sci-Fi November Badge provided by Rinn Reads for participants to advert the month long event and to encourage people to follow along with those of us who are contributing! Post dividers badge by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination. The book trailer by Thomas Nelson via Christianbook.com had either URL share links or coding which made it possible to embed this media portal to this post, and I thank them for the opportunity to share more about this novel and the author who penned it.}

Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2013.

Related Articles:

Ley Line – (en.wikipedia.org)

Alfred Watkins – (en.wikipedia.org)

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

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Posted Tuesday, 5 November, 2013 by jorielov in Alternative Reality, Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, Book Trailer, Philosophy, Sci-Fi November, Science Fiction, SFN Bingo, Time Travel, Treasure Hunt

*Blog Book Tour* : Chronicles of Ave: Vol. I by Stephen Zimmer

Posted Saturday, 5 October, 2013 by jorielov , , , , 0 Comments

Parajunkee Designs

Chronicles of Ave: Vol I | Tomorrow Comes Media

Chronicles of Ave: Volume I by Stephen Zimmer

[continuing the saga started within the Fires of Eden series]

[Book One: Crown of Vengeance]
[Book Two: Dream of Legends]
[Book Three: Spirit of Fire]

Published By: Seventh Star Press, 3 September 2013
Official Author Websites: Zimmer on Facebook; Zimmer on Twitter; Personal Site; Blog
Author Page: @ Seventh Star Press
Artist Page: Matthew Perry @ Seventh Star Press; Portfolio

Available Formats: Softcover and E-Book
Page Count: 330

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Acquired Book By: I was selected to be a stop on the “Chronicles of Ave: Vol. I” Virtual Book Tour, hosted by Tomorrow Comes Media. I received a complimentary copy of “Chronicles of Ave: Vol. I”  in exchange for an honest review by the publisher Seventh Star Press. The book released on 3 September 2013. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein. This marks my first stop as a Tour Host for Tomorrow Comes Media!

It should be known: Although, I do not know Mr. Zimmer personally, I have come to appreciate his conversations on science fiction and fantasy, as I uncover exactly where my allegiances lie in each genre! There was a period of time, not so far away from today, whereupon I knew exactly the thematic of story I could sink myself into, but time and memory have waylaid my knowledge of those specifics! Through working with Mr. Zimmer to set up book tours through Tomorrow Comes Media, I am finding a new niche of this side of my reading life, and I am thankful to have found such a kind-hearted and genuine voice at the other end of my inquisitive missives! I was thankful too, that he agreed to partake in an author submitted interview by someone such as I, who had not yet read a book of his, but was curious to know a bit more about him, and of his writings!

Stephen ZimmerAuthor Biography

Stephen Zimmer is an award-winning author of speculative fiction, whose works include the Fires in Eden Series (Epic Fantasy), the Rising Dawn Saga (epic-scale Urban Fantasy), the Harvey and Solomon tales (Steampunk), the Hellscapes tales (Horror), and the Rayden Valkyrie tales (Sword and Sorcery).

He is also a writer-director in movie-making, with feature and short film credits such as Shadows Light, The Sirens, and Swordbearer. His Steampunk stories are available through Dark Oak Press.


The Chronicles of Ave
Artwork Credit: Matthew Perry

Synopsis of The Chronicles of Ave: Volume I:

Escape into the wonders of Ave in this first collection of short stories featuring the fantastical world from the Fires in Eden Series by Stephen Zimmer.

Into Glory Ride” tells the story of a young Trogen Warrior who is called to go up against insurmountable odds when an Elven raid strikes his homeland. The Trogens have only begun training winged steeds for combat, but time is of the essence and a momentous choice has to be made by the young warrior.

In “A Touch of Serenity” a conscript laborer working on a massive wall constructed under the orders of the Divine Emperor begins to hear ghostly voices asking for help. His response leads him on a journey that will test his courage, wisdom, and compassion.

In “Moonlight’s Grace” a young man goes to help his people when a Midragardan raid strikes Gael. He seeks to prove his worth to the chieftain whose daughter he loves with all his heart.

The novella-length “Winter’s Embrace” follows a warrior-monk into the depths of dangerous woodlands in the heart of winter. There he will find his faith tested in ways he never anticipated, when he must help a forest witch against an enigmatic, immortal being known as the Undying.

Lion Heart” introduces the heroic Sigananda of the Amazu people, who must confront things that transcend the laws of the physical world when powerful Wizards threaten his homeland.

In “Land of Shadow” a knight who is part of a band of Avanoran mercenaries discovers how perilous the mysterious Shadowlands are when they undertake a journey to locate a site to build a fortress.

A world of wonder beckons to be explored and fantasy enthusiasts are invited along for the journey in these half-dozen stories from the world of Ave!

Also be sure to take further adventures in Ave in the Fires in Eden Series, beginning with Crown of Vengeance, Book One!

On how to pronounce the title:

“Ave” is pronounced like “Ave Maria”. It’s a salutation in Latin, closest to the word “Hail”. He wanted a way to announce the creation of the world, and the world itself is a proclamation of its existence as much as the beginning of the stories of the world itself.

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In the Authors Own Words:

Ave is meant to be a salutation to life and existence itself, in
the purest sense, as the antithesis to oblivion and death. Ave is, in
some senses, a salute to life and the world at its origin, and hopefully
its eventual, transcendent state where death has no place.

Therefore, Ave is filled with the glory of welcoming, an enthusiastic
“Hail” to life, and you can embody the idea of that in the love of a
mother for a son, and the gift of a mother, as resonates in that song
“Ave Maria”.

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| “Into Glory Ride” |

I was not quite prepared for the warrior’s song that I uncovered whilst reading this short story, as I was drenched into the heart of the Trogen’s fiery spirit, as Marragesh sets the pace for a heart-wrenching battle to reclaim his clan’s right to live outside the borders of their greatest enemy, the Elves! Taken a bit aback at the dedicated war hunger of the Elves, I was esteemed to find Marragesh and his clansmen built of such sturdy fortitude and bravery, realise that they could effectively change their race’s future; if they could only resolve how to make an imprint of a theshold on their enemy’s next advance! What bolted me to enraptured emotion in the ending pages of this story, is the dexterity of skill, the Trogen’s exercised in the sky!

I haven’t read fantasy novels in quite a long while (at least of this magnitude!), enso, my point-of-references are all but obscured and obstructed! Yet within the layers Zimmer used to build this battle, he’s able to capture with the keenest sense of story-telling precision, the etches of other battles from other fantastical realms. In the thick of the battle flight, where sword is pitted against sword, creature fighting against creature to retain their alighted heroes, I saw echoes of the Jedi attempting to make enroads against the Sith in their surge against the Death Star, as much as I saw a murmuring echo of the battle sequences in Avatar, when Jake took the courage to stand with his fellow Na’vi, who became his adopted brotherhood!

The sweeping arc of the setting grabs you from the moment you recognise the gravity of the scene unfolding for young Marragesh and his steed, Banca as they practically tip-toe amongst the cliffs he’s meant to keep watch over to guard over his clan’s safety. Waves crashing against the bolstered cliff wall took me to far away lands I have only dreamt of visiting and hope to see with my own eyes one day. There is always a draw for me to be on a land of such magnitude of power as the sea evokes to its native shores. A resolute strength against the tides! And, in regards to Banca’s sure footedness any person who has a fondness for cats, can assert that some animals are naturally graced with a sturdy gait and a footfall that defies logic! Especially since, this reader has a feisty little tux that can scale a rail and run its length without even a whisper of her presence known! Fur flying behind her bloomers and all!

The entitlement provoked a certain resonance for foreshadow that I was observant of, yet being an optimistic soul, I had hoped for an alternative outcome, when logically there could only have been the one transcripted! I think we always want to hold onto what we are never ready to part with, as a part of our human condition and inability to always yield to accepting the circumstances that bring about the most change in our lives. Even as a reader, we long for characters that we travel along with as they ride into their destiny to take a piece of our hope with them, that our strength can somehow infect them with a bit of a balm of extra strength, and somehow we take away with us a part of theirs in return. Their strength etches into our consciousness, as we lament about their life’s song of purpose, forever grateful to have crossed their path. Zimmer has a gentle hand in navigating what a heart yearns to see and what destiny has already provoked to being necessary!

I had hoped that Mr. Perry might have included sketch references of the Elven Lavion and of the Trogen Harrak, as although I could just make out each of their differences and strengths, I think a sketch might have helped shaped the sky battle a bit better for me! I was most impressed by the docility of Marragesh’s Harrak, as it reminded me of how fond a warrior Native was attached to their horse! I think there are certain bonds between animals and the ones deemed to fight alongside them.

An end that came too soon: I was swept into the Trogen’s encampment, to the brink of being thirsty for more of their stories! I can see why in the footnotes of this collection it is said that Zimmer’s readership crave the stories featuring the Trogen’s! How could they naught!? They’re bold warriors who have a sense of fighting skills and courage that even the Vikings would consider honourable! They are a mighty gruff race of war-hardened men, who endear you to them by the way in which they fight for their freedom and way of living! They commit you to their cause without having to overstate their purpose! I appreciated how Zimmer transcends the potential gore of war into a metaphoric rumination on life, peace, and the hope of what may yet come. He humanizes his characters, grounding them with a full conscience of integrity, and allows them to champion our heroic endurance to seek a way for them to succeed! I will look forward to digging into the “Fires of Eden” series as I am able too! I daresay, I want to know more! This is a brilliant introduction as it is a window into one specific time period of Trogen life, yet its the full gist of their threaded core of courage and heart!

As an aside, each time I read “Marragesh” I inadvertedly thought musefully of “Marrakesh”!

| “A Touch of Serenity” |

Epic in the scope that a sense of place is easily recognisable as an alternative sub-sphere of time which stitches close to the construction of the Great Wall of China. On the crescent sliver of engaging into this new history of Ave, I vaguely remembered the brutal horror of a warlord like Ghanghis Khan, (although not Ghanghis Khan!) of whom was notorious for entombing his foot soldiers into the pillar statues of an army tenfold in size! Of course, I am not sure if this has been reputed and disregarded as mere ‘myth’ rather than definitive proof of existing, as this stems back into my childhood! And, such stories always stand out to be rather fantastical and scary! This was a different story from how the Terracotta Warriors came into being! I remember well how I longed to learn more about his reign (here I am referring directly to Ghanghis Khan!), and those of the Mongolians! I am not as sure as why I have always been drawn into histories of war, but war played a large part of my interests in history throughout the centuries. Perhaps because it is in our nature to go to war with such a frequency that is harrowingly shocking! Therefore, this opening sequence of events was not met with aghast horror but with a fascination of just how far a ruler would go to ‘cleanse’ his servants’ existence in the pursuit of a maddening project of vanity and power!

I trudged forward into this story, because I knew at the heart of this one could lie self-sacrifice of another lens by which Zimmer chose to key in on and give his readers another hearty segment of museful solace! He’s definitely a story-teller who wants his words not only to soak into your mind whilst reading, but to leave a definite impression to be re-examined and turned over once the story is not as readily visible! This is one of his strengths, as he lays bear his impressions and lamentations of what he wants to depart upon the benefit of his characters’ giving voice to his own thoughts on these subjects!

Being a student of T’ai Chi Ch’uan, I took an interest in his lead character’s name in this short, as it drew me back to why I appreciate the serenity that can be found whilst practicing the Four Winds as much as the Long Form! I miss the reverent days of my studies in T’ai Chi Ch’uan, but when ones’ instructor ups and leaves without notice, its oft difficult to find a replacement whose calm teaching yields the ability for internal solitude of thought intermeshed with seeking the hidden benefits of slowing down one’s mind, in order to capture a tenth of the chi lost in the chaos of everyday life! Zimmer’s Ch’uan evoked a sense of longing to restore the peace I used to cherish in securing each morning I would practice!

It was here, at the introduction of Chang Tao Ling, that I realised that the insight of Mr. Zimmer in knowing where my heart lay with fantasy was of the utmost of truths! I could not eat the words fast enough, nor could I drink in the heart-pounding joy of being a breath away from a tiger! I am truly a girl bent on reading epic fantasy! What a joyous discovery to have made, because I was curious if I leant more towards this side of fantasy rather than another! I do appreciate the scope and depth to these kinds of stories, which is why I think the most obvious of things to note are generally the ones that are within plain sight! I should also disclose that I have always held a candle for learning more about Chinese history, folklore, and mythology! I am drawn into stories that touch on these subjects, as much as I appreciate a motion picture that explores a certain level of mythical proportions! One of my favourites, of course, is “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”, which I believe I mentioned on my blog recently (although I could be mistaken and bespoke of it on another blog completely!), as it lends itself to that particular style of story-telling that I adore so much! There are other films that fit into this particular niche, as much as they shift out of it a bit: “House of Flying Daggers”, “Hero”, “Curse of the Golden Flower”, “Life of Pi”, and “The Forbidden Kingdom”, by which I would like to see one day! And, of course I appreciated “Bulletproof Monk”, even if I wished the CGI sequences could have been matted a bit better against the live action!

Remnants of readings of the Magi were subtly contained within the wizard counsel where we’re introduced to: Fu Shen, Tsai Shen, Kuan-Ti, and Shou Lao! I also detected a bit of Incan and Aztec histories inside this story, as I know more of their sacrifices than of other cultures, as I have visited Mayan ruins, where of the three distinct cultures, the Mayan’s infused a temperament not seen in the other two! With a dashing nod to the Egyptians as well! This story has a bit more intense battle playing out inside itself, but as foresaid, Zimmer has a way of dampening the level of bloodshed to impart the greater message that the tale is being writ to give!

I was not a bit surprised at the gravity of the evil encased into this storyline, as it begs to reason that with great power can bequeath either great good or great evil! There is always a ying-yang balance, which directly applies here as the roots of this story lie in the mythologies of the East. I think none of us truly are aware of what our earthen gift is until we reach the day where we instinctively feel that we have arrived at the moment by which our true path has emerged into view. Each of us can do far more than we think is possible, and each of us can give back so very much to others in ways that we may not even be readily aware of. The key to life and of living is to remain steadfastly open to the possibilities that are beckoning just beyond the light of what we understand!

An enlightened man’s eyes become fully awake, filled with light, and are perpetually open rather than closed. His sight is not blinded to what he didn’t understand previously, but rather, is cast anew by the insight he has been given!

| “Moonlight’s Grace” |

This is the one short I didn’t finish reading, because the turn of bloodshed evoked more of a visage of horror then I was willing to shake off as ‘part of the overall story’! I do have my limitations, and for me, this one was just a bit too brutal for me to recover from or go through! I think if the beheading had been cheeky as in Harry Potter’s introduction to “Nearly Headless Nick” for instance, I might have been able to sustain it, but this is, wells, let’s just say, it’s a proper beheading! I am sure Louis VIII would find it faire of choice! I did not get to the ‘grace of the moonlight’, so I do not know if Finnian & Brigit were able to secure their affirmative love for each other, or if they were ill-fated to unite! Honestly, I had an easier time with the previous two shorts, because the stitchings of the story were not co-dependent on the battlefield gore in the foreground, but rather an internal course of fate!

I did read the note on this short in the back of the book, as I nearly had forgotten that Mr. Zimmer was including notes on each story,… I think I will ask him which page to ‘skip over too’ in order to bypass the battle, jump into the romance that is evolving between these two characters, and tap into the reason he has selected this as one of his favourites thus far to have written! I wish I had a stronger stomach, but I just couldn’t shift past that particular gruesome scene, sorry! Having read his spin on this short, I see its of true importance to the story of the people of Gael!

| “Winter’s Embrace” |

A simple respite from a glowering fire-filled ire of humid insanity, I started to allow my mind to entertain the full brunt of Winter, to off-set my uncomfortablity in enduring a Southern Autumn! This short brings such blissful notions to mind as stomping through high packed snow, whistling winds, and a bone-chill of cold to greet your body as you step outside into the elements! What heavenly bliss to partake in, whilst your succumbing to high 90+ degrees when a few states to your North are already seeing the temperatures bank downward into the mid-60s or in some fortunate spots, droplets of snow have begun to fall! A story of Winter! I am already enjoying it!

Ah, Zimmer returns to the style I appreciate when it comes to fierce battles of woe! Skirting the grisly details, being near euphoric in hope, and confirming that the battle is intense, but there is a greater purpose about to be lit upon! I guess you could say I like war to be a bit glossy and rosy! I really do not need to bear witness to the exactness of what a soldier or warrior needs to experience, because I have enough empathy inside me to last many moons over many lifetimes of battle scarred warriors! Of course, I spoke too soon! I made it through the battle, but ugh, the next bit reminded me too much of what I didn’t like in the ending chapters of “The Boxcar Baby”! I will give the next short a go!

| “Lion Heart” |

I appreciated that the central focus on the opening of this story wasn’t about the kill that takes place (here I refer to a wild animal, not a person), but rather, what led to the killing to happen, which struck a chord, as I oft wondered if this could occur in our world as well, if hunters and those with them might not see the warning signs on the trail they are walking and could befall a situation that had tragic consequences. The wild environs deserve our greatest respect, because the animals who live in the wild play by a different mindset and group of rules than those of man. Instinct reigns supreme as does the fight for survival at all costs. I like how he included the Native American beliefs that I grew up listening too by a Cherokee I befriended at an art gallery who stressed that his tribe and others, do not believe in killing what cannot be used nor what is not readily needed. He said that an animal that gives their life has to be honoured and respected in return, and ever since that day, I have noticed how many indigenous cultures feel the same and keep the same traditions. I, too, believe this, and I am not sure if this was inspired by the stories I overheard OR if I had had this view prior to knowing. I lean towards my views being spilt in the middle of origin!

Actually, in a unique twist of wording, I was impressed that Zimmer lessened the severity of the scene by using a clever ‘visual metaphor’ of describing one of the crucial bits to it! My mind adverted off the scene directly and juxaposition his clever foreshadow of the action being described rather than to consume myself with the totality of what was really happening! Highly appreciated!

Sigananda is given a foreshadowing of his destiny by Mawa, who is the village’s seer that I think many would have not only balked against as possible but would have contemplated why they were singled out before accepting her words as truth. I did miss a bit in not having read Ave, as to understand the key structure of his people, such as the differentiating regiments of warriors that can be called to battle; however, I tried not to worry about what I didn’t fully understand and focused instead on who the impetus for entitling this “Lion Heart” would be revealed as to being! I like stories that give a particular character a ‘quest to undertake that is both grave and mortally wounding’ as they are generally the mark of transition of character, growth, and the full realisation of that person’s pre-destined path. I appreciate these stories because they seek to encompass the larger truths that are not always explored.

I even like the exploration of Sigananda’s back-story, as in regarding to his unwavering courage in times of intense adversity! He is a strong character who does not understand the true depths of his worth, nor of his abilities, but he has the honour of a warrior who knows that despite any doubts he might foresee, he must march in the direction of where he is ordered to deliver a resolution that everyone can accept. I liked how he is flawed in one sense, as he distrusts his own abilities, but knowing of the task he was given, I am sure most would have felt the same! And, yet he is strong in another, as how he is able to think quickly on his feet to secure his safety and the safety of others in harm’s way. He’s an interesting character for sure! And, I sensed that like Marragesh, his path is not lighted with an easy load by which to carry!

This short ends on the precipice of a larger evolving story, by which, I would think expands in the part of Ave that it originally was inspired to be drawn out of. In that way, I am curious if the boy and girl effectively hold a larger piece of where Sigananda’s future path takes him!?

| “Land of Shadow” |

The second thing I found amiss in the collection came to me whilst I read this short, (as the first I had said was the lack of illustrative plates by Mr. Perry to help encase our heads around the inhabitants of Ave), was the lack of a topographical map! I had forgotten how helpful I find maps to be inside fantasy novels, because they help align your bearings as you walk through different realms within the same world! They help you get a navigational sense of place, and therefore, can best ascertain the vastness of distance that worlds such as Ave contain! My favourites always included the different tribes, as well as specific landmarks known or not yet known within the timescape of the story itself! I think I have missed having that at the ready! I would presume it is enclosed with the first installment of Ave!?

The Shadowlands being presented here in this short, is not for the weak of heart as to having to thwart or contend with creatures that put the hairs on your necks on auto-pilot detection! I’m not a fan of spiders, so just knowing this part of Ave has a mutant variety of them at the ready to pounce on you was just as devastating to realise that there are water-based creatures who can fell a man simply out of boredom! What a curiously hostile part of Ave! Reminiscent of documentaries I have viewed on tv that depict such harsh and dangerous areas in our own part of the universe, I can attest that this is one girl who would not traipse through this territory but opt instead to hang out with the Trogens!

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.comA note on Zimmer’s style of story-telling:

He is one of the writers that I would genuinely be delighted to seek out (if it had not been for Tomorrow Comes Media!), as he parlays his fervent passion for research by interspersing what he uncovers into the tapestry by which Ave is threaded against! It’s a world that encompasses as many distinctively unique cultures, traditions, spirituality’s, and languages as our own living counterpart, and yet, it has something to give back to us as well!

It’s quite apparent at first reading that Ave is a world that you can gently enter into but its a world that draws a breath of dedication with each glance! The further you walk inside Ave, the more you want to know, the more you want to experience, and the more your drawn to wonder about the extensive scope of the stories that prompted this collection of shorts, which marks a transition through a lesser notation of them in the serial installments already known! Bits and bobbles of undercurrent histories stitched into the under threads, that give a larger impression of the story on a whole! OR, at least this is what I imagine to be true!

You get the firm sense that Zimmer is a voracious reader who dips into a bit of everything that yields to his personal curiosity and allows his mind to wander through the gate of his imagination to deposit into a reader’s hands a wholly encased world whose dimensions are ever expanding into larger scales of tales yet to be told! Except for the few shorts, where I think he opted instead for traditional heroic bloodshed story-telling! This might draw a close eye towards the fact he appreciates the horror genre, and bits of that seep into this side of his fantasy worlds. It’s his passion for research that I applaud first and foremost, as not every writer goes to the length as he does and I always celebrate a writer I find who carries out research on this level! Secondly, he endeavours you to amplify his words into motion by the words he uses to provoke a visual response, in which backs up something he said in an interview I heard of his (whilst researching which questions I wanted to ask him in my own interview!) where he acclaimed his novels are set to embody a motion picture medium rather than the printed world of the book! This is a claim he rightly deserves to make!

The care he takes to diminish the force of the violence inside by counter-balancing it with a life lesson is absolute genius, because your not as apt to focus on the brief encounters of evil, but rather, on the benefits of what each short attempts to draw out of the character he’s chosen to hone in on instead! These characters, I perceive to be secondary ones in the larger stories (novels), yet, they have a specific life-path in Ave that cross-sects with the intervening entities or events that bring about the most metamorphose of growth! You can use me as a barometer in knowing that if I can handle these stories, you can as well! I have an intolerance for violence, but I cherish the soulful stories such as these that grant the reader a ruminative conclusion of what they’ve read!

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A pause to highlight some of his character’s name selections:

Marragesh – My first instinct was that this name was not wantonly unknown to me, but I couldn’t place its direct origin, except to query a curious eye as towards it was a surname rather than a first name! I, tend to do this myself, whilst I am creating characters that I want to draw a firmer breath of strength into and to set them apart from their fore-bearers or familial contingents! My earlier mentioning of having this ‘hint me towards Marrakesh’ was my way of expressing that I create ‘endearing’ names for characters I struggle with to pronounce! In this way, I find characters transcend their original intentions left behind by the writer’s whose hand drew life into them! I am not sure of his method of creating names, which is why this will remain elusive to me!

Jarun – I did not know there is a lake in Croatia of this same name! I remembered “Jaran” or “Jaren”, and I wasn’t sure if he was hinting that this was an alternative to either of those or a new name completely! It doesn’t surprise me that he named the Trogens with bold and strong names, that can inflict their personality into their warrior spirits! Afterall, a warrior isn’t akin to a name that doesn’t sound like it could weaken in battle! No! They want a name that can be declared with a bit of power behind the letters!

Ch’uan – Is a bit easier to place, as its a name originating from Thai, yet is a Chinese name! The direct meaning of the name is to transmit a message or to convey a message, which is interesting, as this is what I was speaking about how ‘names can clue us into a character’ in a way that is singularly unique outside the scope of the narrative! It is also in different reference to T’ai Chi Ch’uan, in which it is known as boxing with fist, which is clever as this Ch’uan in the story is a pacifist!

Chang Tao Ling – This wizard’s first name can be representative of the attributions of “constant or often” which I think speaks directly to his ethics of how he approaches his duties as a wizard. Tao is a way of ushering in a path by which to take or of an understanding of a particular route. This is recognised readily when Ch’uan and Ling first meet in the forest! Ling can even be referred to as monasterial in Tibet, but I think what is being called upon here is that he is a reverent sage! Historically, “Chang Tao-Ling” founded the “Way of the Celestial Masters” as part of Chinese Religious Beliefs!

Fu Shen – The more interesting sounding names, I oft discover have a rather ordinary meaning behind them! As would you think that “Fu” means simply to be pretty!? Shen on the other hand can go the gambit as being part of Chinese spirituality or can be a testament towards accepting that not every dragon you cross paths with is going to be the good natured kind! Being a wizard I would presume its part compliment to his countenance and part a glimpse into his spirit. Wizards, of course, were always known to be enlightened past the brink of commoners, such as monks generally are known as well! In Chinese mythology, “Fu Shen” was a God of Happiness!

Tsai Shen – How interesting! This name could mean: spiritually gifted chai! As in Cantonese this “Tsai” translates to chai, by which is one of my favourite drinks!! Especially if its in latte form, silky smooth, and a cuppa of comfort of luxury! Clever! Except to say, that “Tsai Shen” was a powerful God of Wealth and Prosperity!

Kuan-Ti – One thing that I have known, is that writers who are passionate about research, which parlays into the spiritual realms, have the tendency to leave behind little ‘grains of seeds and sand’ that a reader can seek out and gain further insight into the creating side of the stories they read! As the wizards who were presented in the short, something struck me as being extraordinary about not only how they were being introduced but the names in which they held! Clearly, despite my absence of reading fantasy, I have not lost all my instincts in the genre, as this article will expand on the history of “Kuan-Ti”.

Shou Lao – If you seek, so you shall find! Look at what I found about the origin behind “Shou Lao”!! Whose full meaning will illuminate in your mind after you read Ch’uan’s story in full! Ironically or naught, I knew there was a bit more to that final sequence than my mind was attaching itself towards! I just ‘knew’ I was missing something!! Humph! I sorted it! Wicked!

Brigit – The name made me think of “Bridget”, though I knew better than to suspect commoner origins for her, as she has a story of great urgency and importance to share, which made me smile whilst I uncovered the “Celtic Brigid“!

Finnian – I love unearthing potential histories of characters I encounter in stories, as I may stumble across a writer’s inspiration behind their character names, but even if I hit a bit into left field, the joy in simply understanding a plausible next level of insight into a story, is enough for me to feel content! “Finnian of Clonard” has an interesting life’s tale to share!

I personally love character names that make you pensive about the origins of where they were generated as much as the motivation of the author to use them! They give a sense of place that you cannot always slide into the narrative as easily as a ‘name’, as our names are as distinctive as our ancestral backgrounds! They are like fingerprints of origin and hint at a history just outside our scope of knowing!
Rock on, Mr. Zimmer!

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The short that told a tale larger than its size:

A toss-up between “Into Glory Ride” and “A Touch of Serenity”, although of the two, I think I lean more towards “Into Glory Ride” because it was the one that choked me with emotion the most! Despite my affection for Ch’uan, of whom I hope is developed further into the annals of Ave, it was the sheer bravery and choices made by young sky riding Trogen males that endeared me to their race and to their triumph over the Elves! There is something naturally spiritual about the story that takes us into Marragesh and Jarun’s world ever-so-briefly. A parable of a dying breed of men who choose to rise above their own desires in order to see the clan by which they belong endure longer than their oppressor hopes to extinguish! I find great courage in this story, as well as such a strength of Hope that weaves through their courageous hearts! I am not sure if they mirror how I perceive the soldiers’ I give back too through Soldiers’ Angels, banning together and being strong for each other at the times that count the most or not, but this story was larger than its size!

 Ave, Middle Earth, and Pandora, places I can only long to visit:

I can easily assimilate myself into worlds whose expanse of depth encircles a sphere as big as our own Earth! Challenging and shifting histories, cultural clashes, religious misunderstandings, and the everyday strife for people to survive is etched into any world that is written into the hearts of the readers who find their stories! I am not certain if Pandora was necessarily available in story format prior to the motion picture of “Avatar” being released, but the reason I included that particular world is due to the majestic arc of its natural environment! I was literally swept out of this reality and placed wholly into another one — by the time the film ended on its climax, I was hungry for the next installment! The Na’vi are an indigenous race who endear themselves to you as soon as you meet them! How could you not want to live amongst them, even despite the obstacles towards that end!? I can still see the forest if I close my eyes, and listen ever so closely to the sounds that you would hear if you walking at nightfall…

When I was first introduced to “Middle Earth“, it was an unexpected late afternoon / early evening showing as I went during opening weekend of “The Fellowship of the Ring“! I would later aspire to attend a midnight showing, but I am not remembering if I had; I do know I saw a midnight showing of the last prequel of “Star Wars“! From that very first glimpse into Middle Earth, I knew I had ‘gone home’, as there was such a curious attraction of recognition from what my eyes took in from the screen! I couldn’t get over this feeling as though “I have been there”, and yet, after learning that the director Peter David had filmed in New Zealand, that loomed to be a rather large improbability! Yet. I never shook the feeling, and to this day, I hold a special place in my heart for Middle Earth! My favourites are book-ended, as its the middle ‘Middle Earth’ film that I didn’t appreciate as much! (“The Two Towers“) Which strangely is my same affirmation for “The Chronicles of Narnia“!

Although, this serves as my first introduction to the world of Ave, I very much hope that its not my last sojourn into its core of history! I am hopeful that despite the battle savvy warriors of the Trogens, and the dedication of the warriors of Gael, that perhaps there will be more of the life of Ch’uan and of the descendents of Marragesh’s clan! I’d love to see what happened to the evolving arc away from Elven rule, to where the Trogens could declare liberty and live more freely! I would very much like to see Ave in peace-time as much as I have seen her in war-time! There must be lands of enchanting visual beauty as well, as Ave appears to me to be a world where the natural world is as divinely inspiring as the one that lives outside our own doors!

What staid with me after I closed the final pages on this collection of Ave:

I learnt that its okay not to thoroughly become engaged with each short inside a collection of shorts, if I can detect an appreciation for the world at large, in which this case is Ave! I think this is why I was always a bit hesitant to read short story collections, because I oft wondered, what happens if I cannot find my footing!? What if I cannot sink into the stories, but find rather, I like bits and bobbles in each of them, but overall, I cannot get my head to wrap around the whole!? I learnt through this tour, that with collections such as these, it’s better to go in seeking a path towards understanding the world of the “Fires of Eden” series verse attempting to put heart-to-mind in a resolve to engage in each short as it was intended to be read! Afterall, what appeals to me through “Into Glory Ride” and “A Touch of Serenity” might not appeal to the next reader at all and vice versa!

I also learnt that I am drawn into epic fantasy realms where the scope of the story is told out through many installments, and where each of the layers that you unravel only serve to give you a further glimpse into a partial history of the combined story! I love the mystery and suspense that that evokes, as you never know who or whom you will encounter, or how each piece of the puzzle will fall into place, until you reach each new chapter or tome of story! Such bliss, right!?

There are creatures who have a dedicated heart that match their companions, and there are unsightly evils that seek to destroy the remaining good that has Ave wrapped in Light. I like how the stories each strive to serve one main purpose of showing the dividing lines between good vs. evil in a few new ways than might first be expected to be revealed. These are the stories that everyone can relate to the most, and the ones I think will always have weight to be consumed!

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“Crown of Vengeance” (Book One of the Fires of Eden series) by Stephen Zimmer

by Seventh Star Press

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Be sure to catch the second half of this showcase on JLAS:
Jorie interviews Stephen Zimmer!

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“Shrewsbury & Zimmer” Virtual Book Tour Roadmap:

  1. 30 September: Contest @ Library Girl Reads & Reviews
  2. 30 September: Interview with Stephen Zimmer @ Ian’s Realm
  3. 30 September: Review @ Book in the Bag
  4. 1 October: Review of “Blood & Steel: Legends of Gaul”
    by Steven Shrewsbury @ Azure Dwarf
  5. 1 October: Reader Interview Stephen Zimmer @ Bee’s Knees Reviews
  6. 1 October: Guest Post by Steven Shrewsbury @ Armand Rosamilia, Author
  7. 1 October: Review of “Chronicles of Ave: Volume One” @ Lost Inside the Covers
  8. 2 October: Character Post: Gorias La Gaul @ Beauty in Ruins
  9. 2 October: Guest Post: Steven Zimmer @ Come Selahway with Me
  10. 2 October: Guest Post: Steven Shrewsbury @ Sheila Deeth
  11. 3 October: Promo Spotlight @ Deal Sharing Aunt
  12. 4 October: Promo Spotlight @ Sapphyria’s Book Reviews
  13. 5 October: Promo Spotlight @ Spellbindings
  14. 5 October: Review of “Chronicles of Ave: Volume One”
    + Reader Interview Stephen Zimmer @ Jorie Loves A Story
  15. 5 October: Review @ Jess Resides Here
  16. 5 October: Guest Post: Stephen Zimmer @ SpecMusicMuse
  17. 6 October: Promo Spotlight @ The Flipside of Julianne
  18. 6 October: Review @ L. Andrew Cooper’s Horrific Scribblings

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.comBe sure to scope out upcoming tours I will be hosting with:
Tomorrow Comes Media Tour Hoston my Bookish Events Featured on JLAS!

Please take note of the Related Articles as they were hand selected due to being of cross-reference importance in relation to this book review. This applies to each post on my blog where you see Related Articles underneath the post. Be sure to take a moment to acknowledge the further readings which are offered.

{SOURCES: Cover art of “Chronicles of Ave: Volume One” by Matthew Perry; Stephen Zimmer’s photograph and biography, and the blog tour badge were all provided by Tomorrow Comes Media and used with permission. Blog Tour badge provided by Parajunkee to give book bloggers definition on their blogs. The book trailer by Seventh Star Press had either URL share links or coding which made it possible to embed this media portal to this post, and I thank them for the opportunity to share more about this novel and the author who penned it. Post dividers by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination.}

Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2013

Related Articles:

Stephen Zimmer – (gingernutsofhorror.com)

Author Stephen Zimmer Talks about Word Counts – (breathoflifebookreviews.blogspot.com)

Azure Dwarf Horde: Interview with Stephen Zimmer, June 23, 2012 (YouTube) – (youtube.com/user/SeventhStarPress)

Chinese Terracota Warriors – (pinterest.com/pattirabbit)

Worlds of Wonder Author Hop Day 4: Welcome to Ave, a World Like No Other – (stephenzimmer.blogspot.com)

Guest Post by Stephen Zimmer – Challenges of Writing Short Stories That Tie Into Fantasy Series – (smsand.wordpress.com)

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Posted Saturday, 5 October, 2013 by jorielov in Anthology Collection of Stories, Fantasy Fiction, Folklore and Mythology, Heroic Bloodshed, Heroic Fantasy, High Fantasy, Indie Author, Supernatural Fiction, Sword & Scorcery, Tomorrow Comes Media