Entirely new-to-me series that I have decided I need to carry on with! A couple of special ops-type main characters, one of whom has married into the royal family for reasons that will be spoilers. There’s lots of repressed ‘we are only fucking, we don’t care about each other’ type denial, which I liked a lot although I wanted to shout at them. There’s lots of plot and physical action and travelling round the scenic British countryside whilst they work out what’s going on and what they are to each other. And there’s a lot of acorns planted that are clearly going to grow into future books. Recommend.
Nineteen-twenties angst is my catnip as you will know by now if you read these recs regularly. Everyone is still traumatised by the war and in this case, that includes some of them having tentacles as a side-plot. I love this book–the green man thread resonates really heavily with my slightly new-age gardening-self. I was thrown initially because Saul has a much lighter voice than I expected and sounds younger than I had envisaged. However once I’d got used to him, I really enjoyed the narration. The production is very good, seamless. This is a treat, whether you’re already a KJ Charles fan or new to her books.
Short, sweet, straight, fantasy romance between Lily, single-parent sorceress and Will the allegedly dissolute older brother of a young king who is dying from magic. Clever, funny, heart-warming, a really lovely read.
Gareth is the prince of a tiny, poor, mountain kingdom that needs magical help. Lorre is a powerful, three hundred year old, very emotionally fucked up magician. Gareth tracks Lorre down and asks him for help. Lorre says yes, largely because he’s bored I think. They fall in love. They sort out everyone’s problems and become grown up, mature human beings. They accidentally create magical sex diamonds. The king, Gareth’s brother, is a stress-baker. Gareth is the ultimate Cinnamon Roll. You should really read this book.
This week debut author S. A. Crow has dropped in to talk about writing, process, and their February release Into the Fire! Please give the a warm welcome!
I’m S. A. Crow a LGBTQ+ indie author. I published my first novel Into the Fire, Book 1 of The Fire Series, a romance suspense novel early this year. This novel was a bucket list item for me and I had the good fortune to take my Grandmother a signed copy on my book tour. I was named for my Grandmother and she is my first and longest role-model. I dedicated the book to her and taking it to her was a dream come true. Everything after that event has been a blessing.
What started you writing?
I grew up in an avid reading family. I was never censored on what I could read because of my age or ability. Growing up with stories made me want to read my own. I often thought of what if’s and how I would’s when reading or watching television. It was natural to include the hobby of writing from an early age. I completed my first novel in my 20’s and then promptly lost the manuscript. When our family went through a traumatic experience I found myself lost in a story again to help me get through the changes. That story became the first novel in The Fire Series.
Where do you write?
I often write on my desktop in the large living area of the house I share with my roommates and family. I recently got a tablet and a bluetooth keyboard so I can go to coffee shops when I feel safe to head out in public again. I think a lot of us feel like it’s a little daunting to be out among people again.
What do you like to read?
This is always the hardest question to answer, isn’t it. My reading choices vary as much as my music. I try to read at least one classic literature piece every year. I love the epic Fantasy Kushiel’s Legacy series. I read a lot of romance novels. True crime fascinates my psychology major mind. Historical novels and nonfiction hold a place in my heart. You can never miss a good mystery or horror novel. I’m a E. A. Poe fan and Jane Austin and I read one of theirs every year. Picking a favorite book or genre is almost impossible.
What are the three books you’d take to a desert island? Why would you choose them?
E. A. Poe’s collected works, Jane Austin’s collected works, and the Kuchiel’s Legacy. I can get everything I need from these three collections.
Writing is an intrinsically solo occupation. Do you belong to any groups or associations, either online or in the ‘real’ world? How does that work for you?
I would have never been able to publish my novel without the invaluable help from some amazing people. My three writing buddies, two of which I live with. The Heart Breathings Writing group and Writers Helping each other FaceBook group.
What do you like to do when you’re not writing?
I have two odd dogs. One is a Whippet Black Lab. mix named AJ, the other is a Border Collie Black Lab. mix named Destiny they’re both rescue puppies. They make everyday the best day with their love and happiness. I play Skyrim on the Switch and get creative with my Bullet Journal. I also have a growing collection of washi tape.
Tell me a little bit about your most recent release. What gave you the idea for it? How long did it take to write? What did you enjoy about writing it? What did you hate?
As I said before, my family was going through a traumatic experience that tossed our whole world upside down. I began watching, well, actually the show Leverage. I grew fascinated with the character Elliot (the Hitter) and the actor Christian Kane. I found it amazing that not only was he an actor he is also a singer, songwriter, and lead in his band.
That combination triggered a thought in my mind and I came up with a story with the main character who is an actor, singer, songwriter and lead in a band who falls for a chef looking for a new direction for her career.
I love the element of suspense in romance suspense. I knew right away that this was the sub genre for the book. As I began to write the story I fell in love with my side characters. I love series where you follow a connected group of people and each novel builds on their relationships. I started planning a series based off of the characters in the book. It took me 45 days to draft the novel and 5 years to get it to publication. Part of that time was sadly filled with depression. Another part was that Google held my document hostage.
Yes you heard that right. I sent the novel to a friend for her to do the line editing. She made editing changes and I went to approve them and Google told me that I didn’t own the document. I couldn’t change anything about it. I couldn’t approve any of the edits. It sent me a bit further into my well of depression. Luckily for me my editor found a way around the problem and here we are with it published.
I’m lucky in that I am one of those writers that drafts quickly. Editing is the bane of my existence. I have dyslexia so editing takes forever for me, but I have lovely friends that help me. I came close to throwing my computer out the window when I was doing the formatting and uploading of the novel.
If I have any advice for first time indie authors. Always give yourself way more time than you think you’ll need to format and upload.
Into the Fire
Book 1 of The Fire Series
Raven a chef who longs to get out of the high-pressure environment of Seattle’s high-end restaurants. It might be the career path she chose but it isn’t the right fit. While searching out a new path she happens to meet her favorite actor and gets to cook for him. Confident about her cooking and little else she finds herself falling in love with him. Is her attraction to her famous boss worth the risk of killing everything she has worked for and gained?
Travis is regretting his decision in dating his co-star Jessica and breaks things off. When he runs into Raven at a convention, he is in awe of her talent; he hires her to be his personal chef. Jaded about romance, especially after how toxic the end of his relationship with Jessica has become. Travis finds himself caring more and more for his new personal chef. But, another workplace relationship could blow up in his face again.
Raven’s life becomes endangered by Travis’ stalker, so he pushes her away for her own safety. He discovers with the help of his friends that what he feels for Raven is real for the first time. Can he get her back before it’s too late?
Can Raven and Travis escape the obsession that follows him? Can they find the courage to fight for what could be the best for both of them?
Into the Fire is the first novel in an episodic contemporary romance suspense series, following a group of friends. Set mostly in Seattle, Washington. Each novel focuses on one couple of the group. Into the Fire is the story of Raven and Travis how they meet and fall for each other while an obsession follows Travis and endangers Raven. Can they find the courage to fight for what could be the best thing for both of them?
Today I’ve got gay space romance, a dystopian trilogy with extremely good trans representation of secondary characters and an alt-nineteenth century straight magical romance!
So, I don’t usually get completely sucked in by Cinnamon Roll characters! But this time, I have, utterly. Marsh is a space-station mechanic who finds a runaway prince in the ship he’s been told to bring in for salvage. The prince is hiding from various things…his mother, over-enthusiastic, dangerous suitors, his life generally. Shenanigans ensue. It’s a lovely, cheerful read and Marsh is so nice it would usually make my teeth itch, but for some reason he doesn’t. There’s, a minor appearance by his parents, space-orchard-managing non-nonsense ladies who made me grin constantly. Recommend!
Eventually hopefuldystopia with great trans representation.
This a hard sci-fi trilogy, I guess? Set in a future dystopian UK where genetic engineering has made the trees and animals so inimical to human life that the diminishing population is isolated in little villages that are held together by the remains of technology they don’t really understand. The main character is a young person just reaching adulthood at the beginning of the first book, who begins to question everything he’s told about how both the tech and his society works.
One of the things I found fascinating was that it’s initially set in West Yorkshire, which I hung around in quite a bit in my college years due to a boyfriend from Halifax (or Half Ax as it’s called in the story). I spent quite a while translating the dystopian names back to the towns and villages they’d evolved from. However, even if you aren’t familiar with The People’s Republic of Yorkshire, this will suck you in.
The second thing I loved about it was that it has absolutely brilliant trans rep. It’s clear from the acknowledgements that M. R. Carey did their research and they perfectly capture some of the the different levels of dissonance and dysphoria trans people can experience. Thirdly, it’s a rip-roaring story. It’s just…perfect. And fourthly, the covers. The covers are beautiful.
Alt-nineteenth century straight romance. With magic!
This is a lovely little romantic prequel to what I understand is a series featuring other characters. The world-building is fascinating, an alt-nineteenth century-ish world with women wielding political power and men wielding magic. But what happens if that isn’t a hard-and-fast rule and things can change?
I really enjoyed both the characters and the premise and I’m interested in reading the main series.
