Book Embargo

Light of the Moon is Luanne Rice’s newest novel. It takes place mostly in France, but our main female character is from Connecticut. I have never read anything by Luanne Rice before, and I enjoyed this experience. At our bookstore we have, what we call, “Calgon-Take-Me-Away” reading. This is definitely in that catergory. It is the story of a woman who goes to France, to visit the white horses of the Camargue.

The story begins with a vacationing woman being swept off her feet, literally. Beyond the entertainment value of this story, I believe that this book could help someone deal with grief in a way that books found in the grieving section never could. The death of Susannah’s mother, and the loss of Sari’s mother ties together in a way that could help people accept the grieving process. While some loss is dealt with though time like Susannah with her mother, other forms can be even more scarring. The manner in which Sari loses her mother, with the pain of the following accident, keeps her trapped in the grief of her five year old self, even though eight years have passed.

If you feel like reading a classic or a literary tome, this will not fit the bill. If you feel like being swept away by other people’s problems (in France no less), then check out Light of the Moon. It was a delightful story, but if you are anything like me, find the tissues BEFORE YOU START. It will make everything much easier. Look for this new novel at your local independent bookshop now!

Tags: books, camargue, connecticut, fiction, france, genre, grief, hardcover, horses, light of the moon, luanne rice, mother, rice, romance, white horses

You want a thrilling fantasy? Okay, look NO further!

Kristen Britain’s Green Rider Trilogy. Green Rider, First Rider’s Call and the High King’s Tomb. The first two are available in paperback and then the third is being released on either July 1st or November 6th. Dear god I pray for July….

Regardless of which one it is, I for one CANNOT wait until that day. These are Great reads. G-R-E-A-T.

From an Interview with Amazon.co.uk,

Amazon.co.uk: Any specially interesting feedback or comments?

Britain: My favourite kind of feedback is when readers tell me they were totally swept away by the book and lost sleep over it because they couldn’t put it down. While I’m sorry it causes some readers to go to work or school in a groggy state, it makes me feel as if I did my job.

That is DEFINITELY the case with me!

Here is a posted review from SFF World.com

Submitted by Helen Kerslake (Apr 10, 2005)

‘Green Rider’ tells the story of a young girl, Karigan, who must grow up and learn quickly from her experiences as she leaves the shelter of Selium and is thrust into the harsh reality of life outside her home province. She encounters a Green Rider bearing an important message for the King which will prove the difference between his life and death, however the messenger is murdered and dies at Karigan’s feet leaving her to pick up the task from where he left off. The book begins well, with the opening chapter setting the scene for the world which the story is based around, and learn of both the current dangers threatening the land as well as developing a sense of fear for dangers yet to come. Kristen Britain has an excellent writing style which draws you firmly into the world of her main character while remaining uncomplicated by flowery language, leaving you free to enjoy the story without battling with unnecessary wording. I particularly enjoyed how this book was a stand-alone story, unlike so many fantasy novels which only really exist as a series, because this meant that instead of having to incorporate a massive amount of background and history the author was able to plunge straight into the tale. The first half of the book is non-stop action, provides great entertainment and keeps the reader wanting to learn more. Halfway through the pace of events seems to slow down a bit, however the focus becomes characters and their motivations with several well-planned revelations coming to light.

Check your local bookstores for these first two titles, and start looking (either in July or November, No worries, Ill update again when it is more specific) for the third! and remember, Support your Local INDEPENDENT bookshop!

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Tags: books, britain, embargo, fantasy, first rider's call, green rider, hardcover, horses, july, kristen britain, kristenbritain.com, november, paperback, release, science fiction, sffworld.com

Let’s return to fantasy, shall we?

Two things to start off with.
One, in my Tower of Shadows post I referred to a problem in fantasy writing. Too much romance. A lot of fantasy these days seems more romance fantasy, that just straight fantasy. It makes you wonder where all the strong heroines are, the ones that don’t put their man first… Here is one however. Yelena, in both books, takes her life very seriously, and does not make her decisions based on her libido, but on her strong intelligence and what is best for her in the long run.

Two, Ingram, which is the largest book distributor out there, is where my shop orders the majority of our books from. The book may originally come direct from the publisher, but almost all re-orders are through Ingram. That said, they put out a catalog, called “Advance” of books that are coming out in the coming months. It is mostly books that are not directly available through the mainstream pubs, or ones that we simply order directly through Ingram. The science fiction/fantasy/romance editions, sometimes do me in. Other times, I find true gems. Poison Study is one such gem.

Now, lets get back to my post topic. Maria V. Snyder has written a trilogy. Two books have been released, and the third will be coming out March of 2008. Her books are Poison Study and Magic Study with the the finale to the trilogy being Fire Study.

Poison Study is the first book. It follows a woman named Yelena as she becomes the official food taster for the leader of her country. This book was amazing. She becomes friends with the greatest of people, and becomes very close with her “jailer” Valek.

From the SF Reviews.net review

Yelena is an impressively realized character, mostly in that Snyder has her reacting to her circumstances in a way I found believable. In every instance Yelena makes choices, as well as careless mistakes, that I think a real person actually in that situation would make. At no time does Snyder fall into the trap of turning her into some superhero, even when we learn that Yelena, in her youth, developed quite a skill as an acrobat. I can see lesser writers using that as a launching pad for all manner of improbable wire-fu silliness. But even the scene in which Yelena thwarts some pursuers by traveling treetop to treetop never smacks of implausibility.

Further on in this review, there is a reference to a slight lack in backstory (which is usually a big problem in almost all fantasy, either too much or not enough), but it also says that you get so involved, that you really don’t notice.
Additionally, PW said of Poison study, “This is one of those rare books that will keep readers dreaming after they’ve read it.” Thats the truth! Spoken by one who knows!

On to #2.

Okay, Magic Study follows Yelena on her quest to find her family, and to master her magic. She is still an incredibly strong character, and her magical powers (which she does not understand) are explored more fully in the magic-friendly Sitia (as opposed to the magic-hating Ixia). There was a stronger emphasis on her romance with Valek, but it was dealt with so well! He is a beacon of strength for Yelena, one for her to draw from, but they both have responsibilities that they take very seriously. Another intresting point is that Luna-Books and Mira Books are her publishers and Luna especially is well-known for their strong heroine characters, which Yelena certainly fits.

Additionally, this book has mind talking with horses, and yeah, you cannot get better than that.. Spoken by someone who has a horse that likes to get annoyed by every little thing, being able to talk to your horse, yeah that would be great.

This book kept me up until 1:00 am, at which point I emailed Maria to say “you are wonderful, great, etc etc, and please write more NOW.” And THEN I went back to bed, and read random sections over again, just because I wanted to. She actually responded to my email, which made me all kinds of happy, and she is just the nicest lady. A real pleasure to chat with.

So, Poison Study is available in paperback, and will be released in a new TRADE paperback (with a new cover) in March of 2007. Magic Study is still only available in hardcover. Fire Study (#3) will be released in march of 2008.

I must say that making me wait another YEAR AND A HALF for book three is just cruel. I am going to have to see if I can finegle an advance from one of our reps as we get closer.

Go out and grab a copy of Poison Study (it is available in the $6.99 mass market size paperback) from your local independent bookseller and try it out! Let me know what you think!

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Tags: advance, advance magazine, books, evil, fantasy, fire study, hardcover, horses, ingram, ingram book company, luna, luna-books, magic study, magicians, maria v. snyder, mariavsnyder.com, mass market, paperback, poison study, publishers weekly, romance, trade, valek, yelena