Monthly Archives: June 2018

“The Ghost Within”: Series Conclusion Features a Maelstrom of Supernatural Characters

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This story is the conclusion to a trilogy that I’ve thoroughly enjoyed. Klass has the ability to create such engaging characters that they seem not only real, but as if you know them personally. Her plots are loaded with twists and turns, her ability to build suspense exceptional.

Before reading this story, however, I highly recommend reading the first two episodes of the “Bloodseekers” series, i.e. “The Vampires Next Door”, and  “The Monster Upstairs.” (Links take you to my reviews.) While those two stories stand alone, the various characters introduced in those two all show up in this one, making it easier to follow the individuals involved as well as the story’s context. Without reading the other books, it could be difficult to keep up with all of the characters, their respective talents, and their relationships with each other. I suggest looking upon the trilogy as a single book, best read one after the other. Hopefully soon they’ll be a boxed set, making that even easier.

As the series progresses, you meet each Slayer, each possessing a specific talent that’s amplified by an amulet handed down from an ancestor. Each character goes through a transformation as they discover their talent, its companion amulet, and ultimately connect with the others. They depend on each other for their respective abilities, whether it’s teleporting, telepathy, remote viewing, prescience, or empathy, to name a few, plus there’s a synergistic quality to their combined energies which gives them the power required to fulfill their combined mission to destroy the Seekers.

One clever twist besides the fascinating background of the characters is the fact the stories all take place in St. Augustine, Florida, one of the oldest cities in the USA, which has an interesting history. The author includes snippets of the city’s historical background in the context of the tale, even providing photographs of various sites where certain fictitious scenes allegedly took place. This story and St. Augustine are so deeply intertwined it’s hard to imagine it taking place anywhere else.

Each of the three books includes plot details and characters that enrich the tale, piece by piece, eventually evolving into a complex interaction of characters, cultures, and supernatural circumstances from which they derived. Not only are there the slayers and bloodseekers, but witches, both light and dark, shifters, boggarts, ghosts, humanoids known as the Begotten, and numerous other interesting creatures that create a supernatural maelstrom of competing magic that any paranormal fan will thoroughly enjoy. I particularly loved the felidavian, a giant flying cat, whose backstory would make a great addition to the series, should the author decide to pursue it.

This episode delivers the final Slayer as well as the inevitable confrontation between the Slayers, Seekers, and various other supernatural creatures leading to an unexpected and startling conclusion.  Don’t miss it!

You can pick up your copies of this clever series on Amazon at the following links:

The Vampires Next Door (Bloodseekers #1)

The Monster Upstairs (Bloodseekers #2)

The Ghost Within (Bloodseekers #3)

Mass shootings and psychiatric drugs: the connection

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Interesting to say the least. Let’s see if we can guess why this isn’t mentioned in the news?

Today’s Writing Tip

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When writing a series, be sure to note at the conclusion of each volume (except the final one, of course) that the story will be continued. Include the title and link, if it’s already written, a potential release date otherwise. Without such information, readers may think you just got tired of writing and quit, leaving them frustrated with regard to what happens if you ended with a cliffhanger. If you didn’t, then readers may not realize that the story will be continued. If you know it’s going to be a series when you finish writing the first book, go ahead and put “Volume I” or “Book 1” (or something along those lines) on the cover, another clue for readers that there’s more to come.

Today’s Writing Tip

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Giving characters a distinguishing feature or mannerism increases your story’s imagery and provides a handy mechanism to remind readers what they look like. This can be something like their hair color or style; other distinguishing physical features such as eyes or nose; or certain gestures.

The more characters your story has, the more important it is to give them each some sort of “tag” so readers can keep them straight. With the possible exception of red herrings in mysteries, everyone in a story needs to serve a purpose and move the plot along. If they don’t, zap ’em, and if they do, make them memorable.

 

Today’s Writing Tip

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Releasing your series as a boxed set can give it new life, perhaps snagging readers who missed out when the others were published individually. Existing fans love having all your books in one place, and for anyone who hates cliffhangers, problem solved!

A boxed set also shows that you’re a prolific writer. Nothing is more frustrating than finding an author you love, only to discover they never wrote anything else. Fans like to know you’ll keep them coming!

Today’s Writing Tip

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When writing a series, it’s helpful to go back and reread the previous stories before starting the next one. You’ll be surprised how many little details you can tie in or use to create new plot twists. Fans love it when they encounter and recognize such connections, which make them feel like an insider.

Rereading also helps you regain momentum established in the previous story, especially if it’s been a while since you wrote it. Being consistent with details is essential, such as character eye color, relationships, location descriptions, and so forth. Don’t ever assume no one will notice because you don’t even remember yourself. If a reader binge-reads the series later or has a steel-trap memory, you’re going to hear about it, probably in a less than friendly manner. Thus, it’s to your advantage to take the time to do it right. Your fans will appreciate it.

Historical Fiction at its Best: Review of “Finding Billy Battles: The Lost Years” by Ronald E. Yates

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5stars

This well-written conclusion to the Billy Battles trilogy is its crown jewel. This series’s characters are so vivid and compelling it’s hard to believe that this is a work of fiction. Their involvement in the events of the late 19th and early 20th century brings history alive as well. The author has outdone himself in researching that era and many of the events of which only true history buffs would be aware. In doing so, he has performed a great service bringing them to readers’ attention because these various international skirmishes laid the foundation for much of the contention seen in today’s world.

As they say, victors are the ones who write history. It’s also true that what you hear in history class is based on what higher powers want people to believe and incorporate into their view of the world. There is nothing more enlightening than to see familiar situations from the other side of the fence. Through these novels, Ron Yates has done a stellar job of placing the reader in the middle of various international situations and, in the true spirit of journalism, objectively presenting both sides. Sadly, today there is so much bias in the news media that true journalism has virtually disappeared. But even before they stooped to fake news and blatant lies, the stories presented by the media were designed to maintain a certain mindset that fueled nationalism at its worst.

When the U.S.A. entered World War II, they were definitely invited. Western European countries still appreciate us for the victory made possible by our intervention. For example, to this day Luxembourg places a wreath every Veterans Day on George S. Patton’s grave, which is in a U.S. Military Cemetery within that country. However, there have been times when our actions were nothing less than intrusive, albeit based on self-protection. That is justifiable to a point, but once that goal is achieved, hanging around terrorizing other country’s native populations is flat-out wrong. If you’ve ever wondered why Mexico hates us, this book will provide some answers.

European colonialism, which we supported, is another thorn in the side of many countries, especially in Far East countries like Korea and Vietnam. Bringing our version of civilization to these foreign shores, which we were convinced to consider a favor, in many cases wasn’t. How we’ve treated indigenous populations in other lands is shameful and even persists to this day with regard to Native Americans.

Of course America did not start this practice, which originated millennia ago. Not that long ago, we were a colony ourselves, who were being oppressed, which ultimately resulted in the American Revolutionary War. So what did we do, but turn around and support colonization by those who had once been our enemy. When our borders or way of life are threatened, that’s one thing. If someone attacks us, we have the right to defend ourselves, but our intrusion into these other battles has often made us the invader. It’s no wonder that other countries fear us, and it spirals down from there. However, the world is now entangled in the unfortunate consequences of thousands of years’ worth of conquests. Cliché though it may be, it’s true that those who fail to learn from history are indeed doomed to repeat it.

I didn’t intend for this review to turn into a political essay. However, it demonstrates how effective this novel and its predecessor, “The Improbable Journeys of Billy Battles”, have been in enlightening me to some of the less than savory facts embedded in U.S. history, thanks to the exploits of Yates’s amazing characters. Their interaction with actual historical figures makes it all the more interesting and convincing. Astounding imagery puts you right in the thick of things, whether geographically or via the use of the conversational vernacular of the time. In more ways than I can count, this book is a masterpiece. Do yourself a favor and get started on this series today. You’ll not only be entertained, but see the world in an entirely different way. Isn’t that what great fiction is all about?

You can pick up your copy on Amazon of “Finding Billy Battles: The Lost Years” here.

You’ll also want to read “Finding Billy Battles: An Account of Peril, Transgression, and Redemption”, Book 1 of the series, which you can find here.

Book 2, “The Improbable Journeys of Billy Battles”, can be found here. My 5* review of this one is here.

Ron at Southcoast WineryLearn more about the fascinating background of author, Ronald E. Yates, and how it prepared him to write such outstanding stories from our interview here.

 

Today’s Writing Tip

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If your story becomes a series, remind your readers the fundamentals, such as what the characters look like and any important backstory information. This benefits not only those who read the earlier books sometime in the past, but helps those who start with a later episode.

As an author, your series is one continuous story, but it’s unlikely your readers will read all books in sequence, especially if they’re released at different times. You’ll want to draw them back into the story and plot as quickly as possible so they’re comfortably established. Also consider that your books may not be read in order. Thus, including a plot summary here and there or flashback to a previous story is essential; a prologue is another possibility.

You can find additional tips for writing a series here and here.

Today’s Writing Tip

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Remember to include scene transitions, especially when a significant amount of time has passed or the location has changed. Failing to  address such details first and foremost can stall readers, causing them to go back and reread what came before, wondering what they missed. As the author, you know exactly what’s happening, but a reader may not if you don’t provide sufficient information.

If in the previous conversation your characters were talking about going to the beach, then picking up the next scene at the beach isn’t a problem. However, if in the next scene they’re in a courthouse and you don’t establish that immediately, they’re going to have one of those “WTF?” moments that throw them out of the story. Do this too often and you’ll have frustrated readers who just might cross you off their favorite author list.

“Gravity Waves” by Scott Skipper: Another Hilarious Addition to the “Alien Affairs” Series

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This is one of my very favorite series, ever, and this episode further confirmed that whatever science fiction sub-genre this happens to be, it’s what I’d choose if I had to, over just about anything else. I guess it could be called something like “snarky, politically incorrect, hard sci-fi” and I love it. It has technology and theoretical physics speculations to feed my nerdy, physicist brain; sarcasm that makes me wish I could be as witty; and snarky undertones to evoke hysterical laughter, such that my cat glares at me for disturbing her sleep when I’m reading in bed.

It was so much fun to get a glimpse of half-breed, Terrie Dreshler, now fully grown not only to adulthood, but middle age, to say nothing of her mother, Carrie Player, now an old lady, at least chronologically, and stepping into that role where she admonishes those around her for their every faux pas.

Every time Terrie called Deshler “Dad” I cracked up. I can just see this entire series as an uproarious sit-com that comprises a family where the father is a grey alien; the mother, human; and the daughter, well, mostly human, other than her eyes. It just gets better and better. Such a show could even beat out my two favorite sit-coms of all times, “Third Rock from the Sun” and “Alf.”

Situations involving interdimensional time travel sometimes left my head spinning with regard to when and where they were, but things sorted themselves out eventually. The new alien, Emelda, a towering Nordic wonder, was a great addition to the group. Her penchant for Uncle Eddy was hilarious, as well as her insisting repeatedly that Mars was still a “sh*thole”, in spite of  the earthlings’ innovative terraforming efforts. Then there’s Terrie’s renewed relationship with Marcus, which adds a touch of something bordering on romance. The inclusion of a character who was supposedly Elon Musk’s grandson, to say nothing of the involvement of SpaceX, tied the story into current events, which gave it even more credibility. Frankly, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Terrie turn up on the news one of these days, or an equivalent of their electronic personal assistant, Casseopeia, in the local Wal-Mart.

While the author does a tremendous job of tying in events from previous books as reminders and plot gap fillers, I highly recommend reading this series from the start. The evolution of the absurd situation that started in Roswell in 1947 as well as the roles of this diverse cast of characters is priceless. Trust me when I say you don’t want to miss out on any of it.

Anything that can make me laugh is worth its weight in gold. I’ve already read the first book twice. These are definitely stories that I’ll read again and again, which is extremely unusual for me since I tend to have a very long To-Be-Read list. But who doesn’t go back to their favorite stories, whether it’s a two year old wanting mommy to read the same tale every night, or a great-grandma who’s found a series that couldn’t be more perfect if it were written expressly for me?

Keep ’em coming, Scott! I think the entire “Alien Affairs” series is nothing short of magnificent. (But be warned, you probably won’t agree if you think it’s important to be politically correct. It’s not, but some things just need to be said.)

You can get your copy from Smashwords, Amazon, or your favorite online retailer.