Category: World Weaver Press

Cover Reveal w/ Extract and Notes! | “Solomon’s Bell: No.2 of Genie Chronicles” by Michelle Lowery Combs; a new YA Fantasy novel published by #IndiePub World Weaver Press!

Posted Thursday, 12 January, 2017 by jorielov Genie Chronicles, Michelle Lowery Combs, Solomon's Bell, World Weaver Press 1 Comment

I must admit, I had such a wicked sweet time residing inside the world of Helene Wecker’s epic saga involving a Jinn and Golem, I was quite hopeful (long before now!) I might have been able to dig inside a few more since that fateful day I brought home her debut novel from my local library. The irony of course will not be lost on devout readers and bibliophiles alike who are now earnestly blogging their readerly lives (such as I am) when I state it took me until ‘now’ to find the proper time to give to another story of the Jinn – the very last year all of us are awaiting the sequel by Wecker! One thing I will say, it’s better late than never!

When it comes to world-building in a Young Adult novel, I am quite particular about what I’m seeking out (if my latest YA review can clue you in a bit) as I like to feel as if I’ve properly been transported ‘elsewhere’ to such a degree of certainty – the experience knits itself into your mind’s eye and extends itself into your permanent memories. Because stories which give us that curious stretch of imaginative blissitude allow us the smallest of joys to step into the threshold of someone elses shoes and live their life for a spell!

I find myself drawn more into epic sagas & layered world-buildings in Fantasy; I have recently (er, since I’ve been a book blogger) found I lean more towards Science Fiction or Sci-Fantasy releases but at the heart of what I love most are Magical Realism stories alongside a fairy-tale re-telling, a legend of lore or an Epic Fantasy that simply carts you off into the depth of a novel that is so wickedly long in length you might need a month or so to fully invest yourself into it’s folds. (herein I am hinting towards my soon-to-be shared readings of “A Turn of Light”; writ by a favourite Sci-Fi author of mine: Ms Czerneda)

My appreciation of genies truly goes back to the infamous television series – where an astronaut and a genie fall in love whilst trying to ‘fit & blend into contemporary life’ – to such great folly you cannot help but laugh along with the characters or feel their misery when things go terribly wrong! Since then, I try to turn my eye towards literature and root out stories of the Jinn (and nowadays golems) which have the depth of journey and an honest world built out of their legends where story-crafters entreat to take us.

Thus, when I heard there was a sequel to “Heir to the Lamp”, I knew it was time to put aside my readings of Ms Parrish’s delish anthologies and hold off on the murderous kitchen novella, to see how Ms Combs has chosen to alight us inside her world! I am featuring this ‘early preview’ ahead of my readings of the stories themselves as a precursor to the readings & reviews which are following lateron this month. I am also hoping to put together an author guest feature which I hope you all shall enjoy, too!

Posted Thursday, 12 January, 2017 by jorielov in Ancient Civilisation, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Blogs I Regularly Read, Book Cover Reveal, Book Spotlight, Bookish Discussions, Doing Dewey, Equality In Literature, Folklore, Folklore and Mythology, Futuristic Fantasy, Indie Author, Magical Realism, Speculative Fiction, Travelling with T, World Weaver Press, Young Adult Fiction

Book Review | “SCARECROW: an #anthology of shorts” [edited by] Rhonda Parrish published by #IndiePub World Weaver Press

Posted Sunday, 30 October, 2016 by jorielov (Editor) Rhonda Parrish, Corvidae, Rhonda Parrish’s Magical Menageries, Scarecrow, World Weaver Press 0 Comments

Acquired Book by: Did you ever grow curious about a new publisher who produces science fiction, fantasy, and horror genre selections in both novel length and short stories? Did you ever decide to enquire with the publisher you’ve found to see if they were open to book blogger requests to read and review their selections!? This is the situation I found myself in as I was quite mystified by the offerings of World Weaver Press! Such a delightful discovery on my behalf [in 2015] with a website full of inspiring reads across SFF!

Since I started reviewing with World Weaver Press [one year ago in August, 2015] there has been a changing of the guard behind-the-scenes where there is a new owner & publicity team. I am wicked happy to see the legacy and tradition of WWP has been carried forward by this lovely new team! I am honoured to work with them continuing to showcase World Weaver Press through reviewing their titles and hosting future guest features by their authors! The current four reviews I’m posting on their behalf (i.e. The Falling of the Moon, Scarecrow, Frozen Fairy Tales and Far Orbit: Apogee) were selected before the company changed hands. Moving forward after these reviews, I am hoping my next review will be for “Murder in the Generative Kitchen” of which I thoroughly enjoyed highlighting recently! Although I do hope to continue reading the anthologies Ms Parrish is making as SIRENS released recently, too!

I received a complimentary copy of “Scarecrow” direct from the publisher World Weaver Press in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

Why I am wicked excited to read SCARECROW:

You simply know going into reading one of the anthologies by Ms Parrish that your in for a wickedly delightful reading! In this particular case, I was so deeply attached to the stories in CORVIDAE (coming out of reading FAE), I was wicked enthused to begin reading SCARECROW! It’s the type of anthologist whose instincts to pull together writers & their stories that you cannot help but celebrate because her instincts give you such a palette of choices to read! It’s quite incredible, honestly – because each time I step inside the vortex of the Magical Menageries I feel as if I’ve travelled to so many wondrously illuminated places all within the pages of one singular anthology!

I happen to love reading stories of Cosy Horror in the Autumn months – as this time of the year is anchoured to Halloween! I’ve been a long-time appreciator of Halloween as I love celebrating the holiday with all the festivities that pull together it’s light-hearted core of joy whilst embracing all the quirks that go along with it, too! I haven’t had the chance to see a lot of scarecrows in fields but I grew up loving the Wizard of Oz like most children, and therefore, had a strong impression of a fantastical scarecrow!

I like being introduced to new windows of Speculative Fiction – which is one reason I am attracted to the collective works of World Weaver Press! Each time I pick up their anthologies, I find a new world to alight inside, a new writer to champion and an incredible depth of layered story-telling within the framework of a ‘short story’! It’s wicked good fiction but I appreciate the new realms I’m discovering too, which broker into Cosy Horror!

The past two months notwithstanding, as my migraines returned and I had to take a small hiatus from blogging – what motivates me to read SCARECROW is for that experience of the unknown to once again re-align in my imagination & the hauntingly epic feeling that despite reading a scary story every now or then, I truly love embracing this new branch of literature that gives me so much joy to read!

I love to just *dive!* into a Rhonda Parrish anthology
and see what she’s given me to devour!

Scarecrow

Hay-men, mommets, tattie bogles, kakashi, tao-tao—whether formed of straw or other materials, the tradition of scarecrows is pervasive in farming cultures around the world. The scarecrow serves as decoy, proxy, and effigy—human but not human. We create them in our image and ask them to protect our crops and by extension our very survival, but we refrain from giving them the things a creation might crave—souls, brains, free-will, love.

In Scarecrow, fifteen authors of speculative fiction explore what such creatures might do to gain the things they need or, more dangerously, think they want.

Within these pages, ancient enemies join together to destroy a mad mommet, a scarecrow who is a crow protects solar fields and stores long-lost family secrets, a woman falls in love with a scarecrow, and another becomes one. Encounter scarecrows made of straw, imagination, memory, and robotics while being spirited to Oz, mythological Japan, other planets, and a neighbor’s back garden. After experiencing this book, you’ll never look at a hay-man the same.

Featuring all new work by Jane Yolen, Andrew Bud Adams, Laura Blackwood, Amanda Block, Scott Burtness, Virginia Carraway Stark, Amanda C. Davis, Megan Fennell, Kim Goldberg, Katherine Marzinsky, Craig Pay, Sara Puls, Holly Schofield, Laura VanArendonk Baugh, and Kristina Wojtaszek.

Places to find the book:

Add to LibraryThing

Book Page on Impress Books (UK)

ISBN: 978-0692430224

Series: Rhonda Parrish’s Magical Menageries No.2

on 4th August 2015

Format: Paperback Edition

Pages: 206

Published By: World Weaver Press (@WorldWeaver_wwp)

Available Formats: Trade Paperback, Ebook

Genre(s): Fantasy | Horror | Speculative | Stories of Scarecrows

Mythology | Steampunk | Magic | Metaphysical

Collection No.1 in this series is FAE | Info on Editor’s Blog | Info on Pub | my review

Collection No.3 in this series is Scarecrow | Info on Editor’s Blog | Info on Pub

Collection No. 4 in this series is SIRENS | Info on Editor’s Blog | Info on Pub

Collection No. 5 in this series is EQUUS | Read the Announcement on Pub
+ Read the OPEN Submissions note on the Editor’s Blog!

Converse via: #DiverseSFF, #SFF, #scifi, #Fantasy & #anthology

+ #MagicalMenageries (the series tag!)

Posted Sunday, 30 October, 2016 by jorielov in #JorieLovesIndies, Animals in Fiction & Non-Fiction, Anthology Collection of Stories, Blog Tour Host, Book Review (non-blog tour), Compassion & Acceptance of Differences, Cosy Horror, Earthen Magic, Earthen Spirituality, Equality In Literature, Fantasy Fiction, Fantasy Romance, Folklore and Mythology, Good vs. Evil, Haunting & Ethereal, Historical Fiction, Horror-Lite, Indie Author, Indie Book Trade, Parapsychological Suspense, Short Stories or Essays, Supernatural Creatures & Beings, Supernatural Fiction, Superstitions & Old World Beliefs, Urban Fantasy, Vulgarity in Literature, World Weaver Press

Double-Showcase | Book Review w/ a Cover Reveal (for the sequel!) feat. the Moonfall Mayhem series by A.E. Decker!

Posted Thursday, 25 August, 2016 by jorielov (Illustrator) Cary Vandever, A.E. Decker, Moonfall Mayhem series, The Falling of the Moon, World Weaver Press 0 Comments

I love unexpected surprises, don’t you?

You can imagine then, my earnest surprise to have learnt the novel I was about to be featuring during my #FuellYourSciFi showcases leading up to #RRSciFiMonth this November has not only a *sequel!* but a lovely re-designed concept for it’s cover imagery! Remember when I said I would be resuming where I left off with my reviews showcasing *World Weaver Press*!? whilst announcing the upcoming September release for “Murder in the Generative Kitchen”?

As that was in July, I felt I would happily find World Weaver Presses stories alighting on my blog throughout the month – until of course – I learnt that despite my best intentions, circumventing (*extreme!*) lightning storms, my personal life & the ramifications of technical woes extending out of said lightning storms is not quite as easy as it would appear to be on the surface! My computer & ISP are driving me battier than bananas spoilt too soon before they can baked into a divinely tasting bread! You know how vexing that is, don’t you? You have a lovely batch of bananas right at the ready to whip into a hearty batch of banana bread, repleat with walnuts, shredded coconut and either dried fruit or chocolate pieces – only to find that your horrid humidic temperatures destroy any chance to bake it!

Ergo, sometimes blogging is like baking! You have to roll with the unexpected & happily look forward to the hours you can soak inside the stories! Even if your hours wick off the clock – remain calm – your time to duck into a ‘new’ author’s imagination is right round the corner! This has been my mantra this Summer, as I still grieved the loss of my equipment & hours from last Summer’s EPIC 90 days of lightning which wasn’t something I was keen on repeating! I’ve managed to keep online more regularly this year due to a new ISP but sometimes, even your ISP can become flummoxed by surges, power outages & a quirky habit of your connectivity *not responding* to their tech support interference! Laughs. There’s a lesson in this, you know! Sometimes you have to find more patience than you feel!

This isn’t the ‘unexpected surprise’ I am hinting towards, as being the kind I ‘appreciate’ and ‘love’ to find alight in my life! No, the kind of surprise I’m referring too – is a sequel is about to debut continuing a story you’ve looked forward to reading! The fact the cover has been re-designed in order to cross-coordinate with the sequel is even sweeter! The only thing I truly miss about the old cover is this lovely bat-cat (Moony) on the back cover! The expression on that cat was quite spectacular! Although, I suppose I should confess – I *loved!* the purpleness of the cover’s colour, too!

Notation on Cover Art: The tree stood out to me as it reminded me of the trees in the Fantasy films I grew up watching as a child! Think along the lines of “The Neverending Story” (1984) or the television version of “Babes in Toyland” (1986) starring Drew Barrymore & Richard Mulligan! Yet it’s the expression on (Rags-n-Bones) face that truly held my attention! That is seriously speaking volumes towards what could lie behind this cover in regards to the story and the suspense of something brewing!

#PubDay is 25th October, 2016 | Cross-Releasing in Trade Paperback & Ebook!

ISBN: 978-0-9977888-3-9 | Page Count: 337

Cover Art Designer: Cary Vandever | Twitter

Meddlers of Moonshine on World Weaver Press

Something is rotten in the town of Widget, and Rags-n-Bones knows it’s all his fault. Ever since he snitched that avocado from Miss Ascot’s pack, things have been going wrong. Armed with a handful of memories he never realized he had, Rags-n-Bones searches for a way to put right whatever he did to Widget in the past. If only he knew what it was! Unfortunately, the only person who seems to have answers is a half-mad youth that only Rags can see.

Widget is also suffering from a ghost infestation that has the townsfolk almost as spooked of outsiders as they are of actual spooks. While Rags-n-Bones seeks answers in the past, Ascot offers the town leaders her service as an exorcist, only to be handed an ultimatum: banish the ghosts or be banished herself!

Who’s meddling with Widget? To catch the culprit, Ascot and Rags-n-Bones must match wits with a shifty sorcerer, a prissy ex-governess, and a troublingly attractive captain before the town consigns itself to the graveyard of history.

If you ask me, there is more than meets the eye in this series!

This is one of the beautiful new promo badges created with an excerpt of the story!

Isn’t it lovely how you can see the secondary characters & get a vibe for the context?

Ah! Now, then, what did Jorie think about the 1st book in the Moonfall Mahem series?!

Posted Thursday, 25 August, 2016 by jorielov in #JorieLovesIndies, Animals in Fiction & Non-Fiction, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Book Cover Reveal, Book Spotlight, Cats and Kittens, Coming-Of Age, Fairy Tale Fiction, Familiars, Fantasy Fiction, Father-Daughter Relationships, Folklore, Folklore and Mythology, Genre-bender, Ghost Story, Gothic Literature, Indie Author, Speculative Fiction, Supernatural Creatures & Beings, Supernatural Fiction, Teenage Relationships & Friendships, Upper YA Fiction, Vampires, Vulgarity in Literature, World Weaver Press, YA Fantasy, Young Adult Fiction

Cover Reveal | “Murder in the Generative Kitchen” by Meg Pontecorvo, a novella published by #IndiePub World Weaver Press!

Posted Friday, 8 July, 2016 by jorielov Meg Pontecorvo, Murder in the Generative Kitchen, World Weaver Press 0 Comments

I have been on a bit of a hiatus from reviewing for World Weaver Press, as with everything that transpired at the close of 2015 & throughout the first six months of 2016, finding a way to re-enter my reading life was an uphill climb. For whichever reason, it wasn’t until now as July begins to gather into sight, I felt I could re-attach my mind to Science Fiction, Fantasy & Cosy Horror.

Imagine my surprise then, as I was making plans for my #FuellYourSciFi showcases, to receive an email from World Weaver Press in regards to hosting a *Cover Reveal!* for them this Friday! I had vaguely remembered joining the Reveal Team half an age ago – yet curiously, never heard from them!?

I read the premise of this upcoming September release (which blessedly includes a print edition!) finding myself rather intrigued by it’s premise! I had a lot of things going through my mind as I contemplated it’s topic, but the best part for me was finding a segue back to World Weaver Press! This Cover Reveal broke the ice, wherein I found there was a ‘changing of the guard’ where there is a new Editor in Chief at the helm (who worked as editor on this story!) of the publishing house whose a true delight to interact with as she has a wonderful passion for the stories she’s publishing whilst continuing the legacy of the publisher’s founders.

Sarena Ulibarri was not only understanding about absences but truly understood how you can fall out of love of reading when life interferes with your reading life! Therefore, I am wicked happy to say, the story I will be reading after my current queue is cleared will be *THIS!* novella: Murder in the Generative Kitchen! And, boy! Am I thrilled to bits to have this on the horizon to read!

Take a wicked sweet gander at this design, too! Isn’t it beyond lovely!?

Posted Friday, 8 July, 2016 by jorielov in #JorieLovesIndies, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Book Cover Reveal, Book Spotlight, Cookery, Crime Fiction, Futuristic Fantasy, Hard Science Fiction, Human & Computer Interfaces, Indie Author, Indie Book Trade, Legal Drama | Courtroom Drama, Science Fiction, Short Stories or Essays, Speculative Fiction, World Weaver Press

Book Review | “CORVIDAE: an #anthology of corvids” [edited by] Rhonda Parrish published by #IndiePub World Weaver Press

Posted Saturday, 21 November, 2015 by jorielov (Editor) Rhonda Parrish, Corvidae, Rhonda Parrish’s Magical Menageries, World Weaver Press 0 Comments

Acquired Book By: Did you ever grow curious about a new publisher who produces science fiction, fantasy, and horror genre selections in both novel length and short stories? Did you ever decide to enquire with the publisher you’ve found to see if they were open to book blogger requests to read and review their selections!? This is the situation I found myself in as I was quite mystified by the offerings of World Weaver Press! Such a delightful discovery on my behalf, and a website full of inspiring reads across SFF!

When the publicist at the Press realised my passionate reaction on behalf of FAE (Volume One of this serial collection of anthologies) she instinctively knew I’d appreciate the next two in line! I received a complimentary copy of “CORVIDAE” direct from the publisher World Weaver Press in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

Keen interest in the world of Speculative Fiction | side note: creatures:

I regularly attend #CreatureChat on Twitter wherein I get to be amongst Fantasy writers who appreciate writing creatures into the forefront of their stories. I, entered the chat as a reader who happens to be a writer of non-creature stories of SFF. Except for the surprise encouragement I had one fateful chat to write dragon fiction of which I am passionately seeking out to read more of by the authors who write dragons in a style and method I enjoy reading.

On occasion, I am happily surprised by the breadth of their creative voices for the Fantasy genre, including how they write the back-stories for their species (as they are not all dragons who gather!) and the layers upon which they give a depth to their world-building. I hadn’t set a time to think about it previously but I do happen to enjoy reading about fantastical creatures, something that came forefront to mind when I picked up CORVIDAE. I love little insights into ourselves as we read!

Corvidae
Subtitle: A flock of shiny stories!
by (Editor) Rhonda Parrish
Source: Direct from Publisher

Associated with life and death, disease and luck, corvids have long captured mankind’s attention, showing up in mythology as the companions or manifestations of deities, and starring in stories from Aesop to Poe and beyond.

In Corvidae birds are born of blood and pain, trickster ravens live up to their names, magpies take human form, blue jays battle evil forces, and choughs become prisoners of war. These stories will take you to the Great War, research facilities, frozen mountaintops, steam-powered worlds, remote forest homes, and deep into fairy tales. One thing is for certain, after reading this anthology, you’ll never look the same way at the corvid outside your window.

List of Stories included in this anthology:

“Introduction” by Rhonda Parrish
“A Murder of Crows” by Jane Yolen
“Whistles and Trills” by Kat Otis
“The Valravn” by Megan Fennell
“A Mischief of Seven” by Leslie Van Zwol
“Visiting Hours” by Michael S. Pack
“The Rookery of Sainte-Mère-Église” by Tim Deal
“The Cruelest Team Will Win” by Mike Allen
“What Is Owed” by C.S.E. Cooney
“Raven No More” by Adria Laycraft
“The Tell-Tale Heart of Existence” by Michael M. Rader
“Sanctuary” by Laura VanArendonk Baugh
“Knife Collection, Blood Museum, Birds (Scarecrow Remix)” by Sara Puls
“Flying the Coop” by M.L.D. Curelas
“Postcards from the Abyss” by Jane Yolen
“Bazyli Conjures a Blackbird” by Mark Rapacz
“Seven for a Secret” by Megan Engelhardt
“Flight” by Angela Slatter

Genres: Anthology Collection of Short Stories and/or Essays, Cosy Horror, Fantasy Fiction, Sci-Fantasy, Science Fiction, Suspense, Thriller

Places to find the book:

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 978-0692430217

Also by this author: FAE

Series: Rhonda Parrish’s Magical Menageries No.2

Also in this series: Scarecrow

Published by World Weaver Press

on 7th July 2015

Format: Paperback Edition

Pages: 234

Published By: World Weaver Press (@WorldWeaver_wwp)

Available Formats: Trade Paperback, Ebook

Genre(s): Fantasy | Horror | Speculative | Stories of the Corvidae

War Drama | Steampunk | Folklore | Ghost Story

Collection No.1 in this series is FAE | Info on Editor’s Blog | Info on Pub | my review

Collection No.3 in this series is Scarecrow | Info on Editor’s Blog | Info on Pub

Collection No. 4 in this series is SIRENS (click banner for info, scroll a bit)

Converse via: #DiverseSFF, #SFF, #scifi, #Fantasy & #anthology

+ #MagicalMenageries (the series tag!)

About (Editor) Rhonda Parrish

Rhonda Parrish is a master procrastinator and nap connoisseur but despite that she somehow manages a full professional life. She has been the publisher and editor-in-chief of Niteblade Magazine for over five years now (which is like 25 years in internet time) and is the editor of the forthcoming benefit anthology, Metastasis. In addition, Rhonda is a writer whose work has been included or is forthcoming in dozens of publications including Tesseracts 17: Speculating Canada from Coast to Coast and Imaginarium: The Best Canadian Speculative Writing.

Starting July 1, 2014, Rhonda Parrish will be reading for Corvidae and Scarecrow, two new anthologies in the same series as Fae. Like Fae, each of these new anthologies will focus on a single construct treated in many varied and enthralling ways by new speculative fiction short stories.

The twin anthologies also present a unique opportunity: to create a conversation between the two volumes, between the crows and the straw-men, between the bird tales of Corvidae and the totem tales of Scarecrow. Anthologies to be published in 2015. More information at WorldWeaverPress.com.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Flickr

Posted Saturday, 21 November, 2015 by jorielov in #JorieLovesIndies, Animals in Fiction & Non-Fiction, Anthology Collection of Stories, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Book Review (non-blog tour), Bookmark slipped inside a Review Book, Castles & Estates, Cliffhanger Ending, Compassion & Acceptance of Differences, Cosy Horror, Earthen Magic, Earthen Spirituality, Equality In Literature, Fantasy Fiction, Fantasy Romance, Folklore and Mythology, Good vs. Evil, Haunting & Ethereal, Historical Fiction, Horror-Lite, Indie Author, Indie Book Trade, Jorie Loves A Story Cuppa Book Love Awards, Parapsychological Suspense, Short Stories or Essays, Supernatural Creatures & Beings, Supernatural Fiction, Superstitions & Old World Beliefs, Urban Fantasy, Vulgarity in Literature, World Weaver Press