The Other Magic by Derrick Smythe (Release blitz, excerpt, and GIVEAWAY) PTPR

The Other Magic 

 by 

Derrick Smythe

Passage to Dawn series

Genres:  Epic fantasy, Coming of age
Publisher:  Dorean Press
Publication Date:  December 1, 2019



Just $0.99!
(please check price before purchase)
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About the Book

 

Darkness stirs in a world that is ill-equipped to confront it.

A prophesied king is born, but not all will benefit from his foretold conquests.In a realm where only clerics are permitted to practice magic, Kibure, a mere slave, draws the attention of much more than just his master after wielding an unknown force in a moment of desperation. In a twist of fate, Sindri, the priestess hired to strip Kibure of his power, defies the law, revealing designs of her own. But trust is in short supply in a land ripe with deceit. This wayward pair will have to work together if they hope to evade capture at the hands of the Empire’s most potent wielders.

Halfway around the known world, Prince Aynward’s knack for discovering trouble drives him deep into conspiracies within which he does not belong. Too arrogant to accept counsel, he will have to learn the hard way that some actions have consequences that cannot be undone…

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 Excerpt:

THE OTHER MAGIC
A Passage of Dawn Novel

© 2019 Derrick Smythe

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“How dare you! I am your—”

Another blast of energy split the air. Grobennar used his own powers to deflect the blow, but the sheer volume of energy was too great and he was still thrown back into the wall. He landed with a thud, then groaned.

“You are my servant!” Magog’s voice became a growl. “I am not yours to command. You have forgotten your place.”

Never before had Magog lashed out like this. His powers were as of yet still manifesting, still growing, but already he commanded strength unknown to any mortal man. Magog could easily kill him if he wished, and Grobennar now feared that in his anger, he just might. He forgot the physical pain of the attack on his body, and the great blow to his ego.

“I—I am sorry, My Lord.”

The voice in Grobennar’s mind interrupted his already strained thoughts. “You’re not alone with the God-king. I sense the life-essence of another; a wielder.”

Grobennar collected himself and rose, forgetting the danger posed by the unpredictably obstinate God-king. It was still Grobennar’s duty to serve and protect. Perhaps the God-king was right about the coming of the Dark Lord’s agent. Grobennar drew in Klerós’s power. Then he spotted movement to his right. He summoned more, ready to strike—

“What are—how dare you!” Magog yelled.

Grobennar ignored the oblivious Emperor as a form materialized from the shadows cast by ceiling-high drapes in the corner of the room. Grobennar shouted, “Get down!”

Grobennar extended a hand, readying to strike. Just before he released a bolt of searing energy, the shadowy shape stepped into the light and spoke. Grobennar recognized the voice with revulsion, relaxing his magic with reluctance.

Mazi Rajuban. A member of the High Council and long-standing opponent of both Grobennar and his more conservative faction within the Council. “Peace, brother. I was asked by the God-king to be in attendance for today’s meeting.”

Jaween spoke into Grobennar’s mind, “Have I mentioned that I do not care for this man?”

Nor do I, thought Grobennar wryly to himself.

His own anger reignited. That’s what Rajuban wishes. Grobennar forced himself to relent. “Of course. The God-king is wise to seek the wisdom of a member of the High Council. Yet perhaps this is a matter for the collective wisdom of the High Council to discuss in its entirety.”

The God-king bellowed, “The High Council is fickle, paralytic, and incapable of action!” Lowering his voice, he added, “You are right about assembling the Council. But it will not be to initiate discourse. You will inform them.” He raised his voice once more. “You will inform them that the time has at long last come to begin preparations for the Purge. The enemy stirs! We too must shed our idle position.”

Grobennar knew better than to disagree. He had somehow lost favor with the God-king, and Rajuban’s attendance here served as an answer to the question of how.

“Yes, Lord. It shall be done.”

Rajuban smiled. “You are wise to see the wisdom of the God-king’s words. He has been tightly leashed for far too long. The time has come for him to realize his true destiny as avatar to Klerós, praise be his name.”

“Oh he’s good. I can’t help but hate him, but his politics are praiseworthy. Perhaps we might torture and kill him later?”

Grobennar ignored Jaween, instead looking to Magog, nodding. The decision had been made. Rajuban had defeated him in this bout.

“Of course. This is well. Klerós guide the both of you.”

That snake had maneuvered behind his back to gain the ear of the God-king. He would need to tread very carefully.

Grobennar bade the God-king farewell, refusing to acknowledge Rajuban, then stalked out of the room as quickly as possible. He considered his next course of action, though there wasn’t much to consider. He had no choice but to call a full assembly as instructed.

Grobennar entered his own chambers and melted into the chair beside his bed, mentally exhausted.

“So. This purge. That means war, right? I will be able to persuade our enemies?”

Grobennar picked up a quill and ink from the small table to his left to begin writing out a list of preparations. “Yes, the Purge means war. I suspect you’ll have plenty of chances to persuade, you might even see some killing.”

“Ooh-ooh-ooh. Yes, persuading and killing! I know your mood is a touch soured from earlier, but this really does call for celebration. A small feast, perhaps? That might lighten your mood, as well.”

Grobennar ignored Jaween.

“Did you write that down?”

Grobennar continued to work on his list.

“Are you ignoring me again? You know it hurts my feelings when you ignore me.”

Grobennar reached up and removed the pendant from his neck and tossed it onto his bed a few paces away, limiting the strength of the spirit’s connection to him. “I need to think,” he said through clenched teeth.

He wondered if perhaps secreting the forbidden spirit from the debris all those years ago had resulted in more trouble than it was worth. He heard a sound in his head that was disturbingly not like weeping, yet he knew from his time with Jaween that this was precisely what the spirit was intending to communicate.

He sighed. “I’m not ignoring you, Jaween. You can stop the crying. I just need it quiet in order to think.”

Jaween’s mood elevated. “So that sounded like real crying this time, didn’t it?”

Grobennar rolled his eyes. “Closer than ever before.”

It was going to be a very long day.

Just $0.99!
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GIVEAWAY

 

To celebrate the release of THE OTHER MAGIC by Derrick Smythe, we're giving away signed paper copies to three lucky winners!

GIVEAWAY TERMS & CONDITIONS:  Open to US shipping addresses only. 

Three winners will each receive a signed paperback copy of The Other Magic. 

This giveaway is administered by Pure Textuality PR on behalf of Derrick Smythe. 

Giveaway ends 12/31/2019 @ 11:59pm EST.  

CLICK HERE TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY!

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About Derrick Smythe

DERRICK SMYTHE resides near his hometown in Upstate New York with his wife, two daughters, and their dog, Magnus. When he is not working on his next novel, he enjoys finding any and all reasons to be outdoors. Listening to audiobooks while seated upon the throne of his riding lawn mower is a favorite and when the snow falls, Derrick eagerly transitions to snow-blowing his driveway with the same dual-purpose in mind.

Derrick's debut novel, The Other Magic, is the first installment of his Passage to Dawn series, an epic fantasy set in the World of Doréa.

Website  |  Facebook  |  Goodreads  |  Amazon

This promotion was brought to you by Pure Textuality PR.

Piper Robbin and the American Oz Maker by Warwick Gleeson

Author Warwick Gleeson shares his thoughts on...

My take on critique groups

by

Warwick Gleeson

 

For many years I've realized the futility of obtaining useful and project-evolving advice from the average writer group. In consideration of this epiphany, I recommend that writers limit any given writer group to a critique of prose narrative, and seek response in defined categories (e.g., clarity, imagery, dialogue, originality, pacing). If the group members as a whole are reasonably intelligent, non-axe grinding, non-narcissistic, non-mentally ill people who happen to be avid readers, they should in theory be able to provide some measure of decent feedback to you regarding your narrative. You need to look for commonalities, and not take everything at face value. Any group going beyond this limitation needs to be serious minded in the application of strictly defined critique criteria.

At some future point, however, a dedicated novel writer should seek advice from a professional (at least e.g. at writer retreat). Why? Because the professional can provide nuanced advice on proper narrative composition, openings, novel hooks, etc. that are beyond the reach of the standard writer group. Substantially better advice comes from successful acquisition editors or literary agents who have been in the business for many years. Their ability, honed by experience in the ms submission trenches and by immersing themselves in their chosen genres, outweighs the advice of even a published author who can only speak from his or her own frame of reference. 

Consider. Would you try to build a livable and quite stylish home on your own without an architect and a professional home builder simply because you had the ability to hammer a few boards together with nails? Of course not. You would acquire the expertise and skills before you began. And yet, new writers approach the creation of a thing equally or more complex, such as the writing of a competitive commercial novel, in the belief they can do so because they have a story idea, can type words on a page, and have read a few magazines about writing. They consult with other new writers as ignorant as themselves and proceed to build a house called a novel, but one that will not risk their lives because fortunately for them, it is all on paper.

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Piper Robbin and the American OzMaker

by 

Warwick Gleeson

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GENRE:  Fantasy (Epic)

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BLURB:

WORLD WAR OZ from coast to coast.

An adult fantasy that takes one of America's favorite tales and transforms it into a dark and epic landscape few can escape much less understand. Imagine Potter meets Avengers in Emerald city and you're getting close.

After a homicidal alien from Orion arrives on Earth intent on annihilating human life, the 21st century's greatest sorcerers create a network of seven Oz-like city worlds designed to harbor the human race in a newly formed utopia while also protecting it from the alien entity. But the alien is far more magically powerful than anyone suspected. Piper Robbin, ancient daughter of the Earth's greatest sorcerer inventor, Edison Godfellow, must sacrifice all to defeat the implacable force that calls itself "The Witch Queen of Oz," and quickly, before Earth becomes only a cold cinder floating among the stars.

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EXCERPT

Suddenly outside on the street, she stood facing in the direction of the Cambodian take-out, her entire nervous system tingling and parts shaking as if with Parkinson’s due to the abrupt teleportation against her will. The night fell black and splattered with garish light. She looked up to see the Wall Street corpse directly above her, and she swore he was staring down with an oafish mocking expression as if he knew something she did not. Then the ground quaked, and like balloons filled with molten glass, every window in her apartment building exploded. The shrieks of burning people next. How many she did not know, but she knew she must save them.

    

Before Piper could act, a whip of turbulent energy uncoiled like a sun flare from her living room window eight stories above. She observed the Wall Street corpse nearby disintegrate into a memory of burning sparks. She immediately recognized the nature of the force—a Tao magical wavelength strong as a thunderstorm yet contained, compressed to a small vortex, and potent enough to kidnap half of Brooklyn.

 Amazon link

The book is on sale for $0.99 during the tour 

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Warwick Gleeson is a dedicated writer of screenplays, short stories, novels, and poetry. He has lived in both LA and NYC and worked many different jobs in his life, everything from roofer to waiter to small business owner to government analyst. He was the major writer, creator, and senior story editor for another project published by Del Sol Press called War of the World Makers that debuted in 2017. The novel has since won four national novel awards (two first place and two place) for SFF. Warwick is a big fan of great SFF television writing, like the kind you find in Emerald City, Gotham, The Expanse, and Umbrella Academy. He now lives in Tuscon, AZ, with a fat lazy cat and his most wonderful wife who is also a writer.

Amazon author page

Goodreads

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GIVEAWAY



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Assassin's Honor by Gail Z. Martin (VBT, guest post, excerpt, and GIVEAWAY) GFT

It is my pleasure to share a guest post by prolific author Gail Z. Martin (whose alter-ego's books I also greatly enjoy!) who answers my question...

ELF:  What is one of your hobbies and how has it enriched your writing?

GZM: I’ve always loved history and ghost stories, from the time I was a little kid. I really enjoy learning about history, watching the History Channel, and visiting historic locations. I’ve also read every book I could find on regional ghost stories, real-life encounters and hauntings, and anything to do with the supernatural or paranormal.

Fast forward, and those elements seep through into all my books, regardless of the genre. Assassin’s Honor is epic fantasy, and so it draws heavily on history—castles, sword fighting, kings and medieval society. It’s also got lots of magic, ghosts, and supernatural elements, along with humor and lots of action. That’s my favorite kind of story.

I’ve learned so much from visiting living history museums like Old Sturbridge Village, Mystic Seaport, Colonial Williamsburg, and many more, as well as visiting more historic homes, old forts, and museums than I can count. When I’ve visited abroad, I’m always going on ghost tours, wandering through castles and catacombs, and taking in every monument and mummy. I’ve gathered books on ghosts, medieval warfare, history, magic, and so many other topics that I use all the time in my writing, and love reading as a hobby.

I also love to read fiction that has a supernatural, magical, or historical element, and I read epic fantasy, urban fantasy, paranormal mystery, steampunk/alternate history, paranormal romance, and more. That’s taught me a lot about how to construct a story, what works and what doesn’t, and how to create good characters.

All of those things—ghost stories, history, travel, museums and reading—might count as hobbies, but they have shaped what I know and how I write. Maybe for you it’s knitting or horses or skydiving—it doesn’t matter what your passion is, use it to build stories you love to tell!

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Assassin's Honor

by Gail Z. Martin

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GENRE: Epic Fantasy

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BLURB:

Buddy flick epic fantasy! Joel Breckenridge and Garrett Kennard are King's Shadows, elite assassins serving the crown of Landria. When a shadowy itinerant holy man starts captivates the nobility with treasonous whispers, Ridge and Rett go rogue to stop the threat, save the kingdom and protect the king--while landing on the 'Most Wanted' list themselves.

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EXCERPT

Breaking glass and the crack of gunfire were Ridge’s signal to move, as Destwiler’s skull exploded from the matchlock’s shot, spattering the crate of weapons with blood and bone. The boy screamed in terror, a thin, shrill sound.

Ridge spun around, grabbing two throwing knives from the top of the stash in the box and had them hilt-deep in each guard’s ribs before their swords cleared their scabbards. He dropped the heavy crossbar to lock the door to the office, and dodged back to the box of weapons, reclaiming his own array of swords and knives before teasing out a long fuse from the bottom of the crate. Then he strode over to Destwiler’s corpse and pulled the key and its strap around what was left of the man’s head.

Ridge removed the warrant from inside his vest and read out the charges as required by law. “Roan Destwiler. By order of King Kristoph of Landria, you stand condemned of crimes against the kingdom and the throne too numerous to note, but most grievously the kidnapping of Kelvin, son of Thad, Lord of Wendover. You are sentenced to death, summary execution, without notice or reprieve.”

He rolled the warrant up and tucked it into Destwiler’s bloody vest, a formality. Ridge bent down to search Destwiler’s pockets, curling his lip at the still-warm blood that soaked the shoulders and sleeves of the man’s coat. He found a parchment note tucked beneath the vest and took it to read later.

Amazon 

Buy on Audio, ebook, paperback or free on Kindle Unlimited here: http://a.co/d/aLiSoFi 

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Gail Z. Martin writes epic fantasy, urban fantasy and steampunk for Solaris Books, Orbit Books, Falstaff Books, SOL Publishing and Darkwind Press. Vengeance is the second in the new Darkhurst epic fantasy series. Also new is The Dark Road, the second in the Jonmarc Vahanian Adventures series, and Assassin’s Honor (coming, October 2018), the first in the new Assassins of Landria series.

Her Deadly Curiosities urban fantasy series set in Charleston, SC has a new novel, Tangled Web, and two new collections, Trifles & Folly, and Trifles & Folly 2.

Other work includes the Chronicles Of The Necromancer series, the Fallen Kings Cycle, the Ascendant Kingdoms series, and the alternate history novel Iron & Blood and the Storm & Fury collection (co-authored with Larry N. Martin) She is also the co-author (with Larry) of the Mark Wojcik monster hunter series (Spells, Salt and Steel) and the upcoming Wasteland Marshals series and the Cauldron/Secret Council series from Falstaff Books.

As Morgan Brice, she writes urban fantasy MM paranormal romance. New and upcoming books include Witchbane, Burn, Dark Rivers, Badlands, and Lucky Town.

Find her at at her website, on Twitter @GailZMartin, on Facebook, at her blog and on Goodreads. She is also the organizer of the #HoldOnToTheLight campaign www.HoldOnToTheLight.com. Join her email update and never miss a new release—plus get great free stories just for signing up! http://eepurl.com/dd5XLj

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GIVEAWAY

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The tour dates can be found here

The Shattered Blades: Book Three of the Judges Cycle by Aidan Russell (VBT, guest post, excerpt, and GIVEAWAY) GFT

ELF: I have the pleasure of a guest post by author Aidan Russell (thank you for your service!), who muses on one of my favorite genres...

AR:  While there are plenty of valid points to debate on the issue, I think it is safe to say that epic fantasy, as we know it today, began when Lieutenant John Ronald Reuel Tolkien found himself recovering in a hospital bed after the Battle of Somme during the First World War. After Tolkien, many would agree that Robert Jordan and his Wheel of Time series was the next seminal work in the genre. Just as Tolkien saw the world from the very unique perspective of the trenches of war-torn France, Jordan spent a portion of his younger life with a unique vantage point of the world: the crew compartment of a helicopter as it flew over the jungles and rice paddies of Vietnam.

Epic fantasy is one of the most widely read genres of the literary world. If someone hasn’t read a popular epic fantasy series, they’ve more than likely seen the movie or HBO adaptation. What is it that has drawn millions (if not billions!) to read stories of elves, hobbits, dragons, and Dragons-Reborn? Is it the imaginative creatures and the sword swinging action? Is it deciphering the puzzles of a dungeon or being wowed by the complexities of the author’s magic system? All of these are certainly true to some degree. Most of us, since our youth, grew up with the romantic notion of knights fighting ogres upon the back of a valiant steed with a glistening sword in hand. We were brought wide eyed by the spells wrought by wizards. The ability to escape from our own world for a few moments and go on a fantastic quest (without the very real threat of plagues or having to smell an actual medieval street) is a powerful draw. But I would argue, what has made epic fantasy—and in particular, what separates good epic fantasy from the rest—is that, through all the strange creatures and magic, there is something familiar.

If you’re a big fan of epic fantasy, you’ve likely read the popular opinion that Samwise Gamgee, not Frodo Baggins, is the true hero of Lord of the Rings. Without Sam, Frodo would have never made it to Mount Doom. It is Sam who returns to the Shire the most changed, going from humble gardener to orc-slayer. The BBC quoted Tolkien as saying, “My Sam Gamgee is indeed a reflection of the English soldier, of the privates and batmen I knew in the 1914 war, and regonised as so far superior to myself.” Samwise Gamgee, ring-bearer, eagle-rider, and fighter of goblins and ring-wraiths, was, first and foremost, a young Englishman sitting in a trench hundreds of miles from home.

In 1991, Robert Jordan stated in an interview with Starlog, “…my time in Vietnam certainly has affected a certain moral vision… one of the central themes in 'The Wheel of Time' is the struggle between the forces of good and evil. How far can one go in fighting evil before becoming like evil itself? Or do you maintain your purity at the cost of evil's victory? I'm fond of saying that if the answer is too easy, you've probably asked the wrong question."

Most readers have never faced off against the Kaiser’s soldiers in a dirty trench or dodged NVA anti-air fire over the choking vegetation of a Southeast Asian jungle. But many readers know what it is like to dream of a simple life, tending a garden in a simple, idyllic town such as Hobbiton. But the world never asked what we wanted. It spewed forth trollocs and ring-wraiths to upset our dreams and plunge us into chaos. Yet in the pages of a book about lands so distance they don’t even exist, we can still find heroes who know shares our goals and know our struggles.

While the killing fields of France and Vietnam have long gone quiet, the world itself is far from the peace and tranquility of the Shire. Less than a year after graduating high school, I found myself in the back of an Amphibious Assault Vehicle, crossing the border from Kuwait into Iraq in order to topple the Ba’athist regime of Saddam Hussein. After five more deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, one of the best quotes to explain what it’s like for a young man or woman to go off to war came from an exchange between a young hobbit and an old, gray wizard during the movie adaptation of their quest:

Gandalf: You’ll have a tale or two to tell when you come back.

Bilbo: You can promise that I will come back?

Gandalf. No, and if you do, you will not be the same.

None of us is coming back from this adventure known as life. Our tales may not involve dragons or evil sorcerers, but our tales will be just as exciting as those of hobbits, queens, and knights.

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The Shattered Blades

The Land of Nod: Book Three of the Judges Cycle

by Aidan Russell

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GENRE: Fantasy (epic)

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BLURB:

The rivers turn to blood and the mournful cry for judgment.

Reslo returns to his family in the forest of Miradep, but his quest is not finished, and he will not fail in his duty.

Gratas and Jerah return to the idyllic town of Dunkhau, their bodies wounded and spirits scarred by battle. But if they thought war was tiring, they must now face the unknown horrors of peace.

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EXCERPT

The captain turned in his desk chair toward the door. The Rovichian swordsman thrust the gladius into the Esivion captain’s throat and held it there. Red, arterial blood squirted across the blade and splattered the swordsman’s black tabard. The captain tried to curse, but no air could pass his lips. He made one jerk, trying to pull the blade from his throat, and died.

The swordsman behind the Rovichian descended on the woman stretched out on the captain’s bed. She had only begun to stir before the gladius split her skull. The others swept into the room. No words were exchanged. The others rushed the captain’s desk and grabbed handfuls of papers and ledgers. They stuffed them into the backpack that one of the Nolterite knights wore. Anfor gave them one minute to grab up what documents they could and ordered them out of the quarters with a slap to Thrain’s shoulder.

Sir Fashtin awaited them at the bottom of the quarter’s steps. The team fell into line behind Sir Fashtin and quickly made their way through the darkness. Fashtin’s sword came out and took a guard’s head off. He caught the body and lowered it to the ground. Then he continued to lead the column of soldiers down a ladderwell below deck.

The ship’s creaking seemed amplified in the enclosed space of the crew quarters. Other than that, the only sounds were of snores and a group of sailors in one room doing what sailors do best: gambling and swilling the liquor. They were the first to die. Fashtin and one of the Nolterites rushed the room and cut the four men apart before they could raise an alarm. They checked the room quickly for any records or information Gwynnud or Maras could exploit, but found none.

Two by two, the men moved quickly and silently into each room and slit the throats of each sleeping crewman, wizened petty officers, and slave-boys pressed into service aboard the ship.

 Amazon link

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Aidan Russell is a Marine Corps veteran living in Las Vegas. He spent his youth following the adventures of wizards and space demons and decided one day to write his own tales. His short fiction is available in the Never Fear and Uncharted Worlds anthologies. When not writing, he enjoys skiing and heavy metal.

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GIVEAWAY

a Rafflecopter giveaway


The tour dates can be found here