Doreen Cox's A Sacred Journey Leads Us Through Nature's Mystique

There is more to nature

than what we allow ourselves to see.

Something...

Sacred.

But we need to be willing to open our eyes if we want to see it.

Cover design by Laura Wright LaRoche

A Sacred Journey is a fantasy short story written by Doreen Cox.

So what's it about?

A group of trackers is out looking for Leah... again. The elderly woman has been leaving her house in the evenings, walking out into the forest. Tonight, though, she's gone farther than usual. Animals within the forest are acting strangely, and the trackers begin to realize that there may be more afoot than simply a woman wandering out into the night...

What I expected to read and what I actually read were two very different things.

See, my expectation came from the cover. I honestly thought this was going to be some sort of Little Red Riding Hood retelling. I'm sure you can see what gave me this impression.

But the cover, aside from being beautiful, paints an accurate picture of what we find within the pages. Each creature that graces the cover is necessary and important to the story as a whole, and yes... Leah does wear a red cloak.

The story takes quite a different turn from what I expected. Rather than running from a big, bad wolf, Leah is actively moving toward the creatures of the forest. Things have been planned. Leah and the animals all work toward a common aim.

A ceremony.

She understands the animals, and they, in turn, understand her. As the trackers search for a gentle, elderly woman with a penchant for wandering into dangerous situations, Leah herself is skillfully navigating through the brambles in perfect safety.

During this time, the trackers deal with animals acting in unusual ways. The dogs that they brought to track Leah's scent run into difficulties, as well. This is all carefully planned by the creatures of the forest.

But while the trackers may be nervous, there is no danger... only the fear of danger.

Our emotions are powerful. The creatures realize this, and use this knowledge to confuse, then guide the trackers.

This story brings us into a mystical world, leading us on a woman's sacred journey. It causes us to wonder what is truly at work in this world. Cox makes us see that situations may come into play due to a greater purpose.

She teaches us not to fear the unknown.

While I think this short story could go through one more round of copy-editing, and the ending wasn't quite as strong as I'd like, this story can teach us to view the world with wonder, and to not assume that our perceptions are always the correct ones.

A sacred Journey can be found on Kindle, Nook, and Smashwords.

The Griffin's Boy by Julia Hughes Sets Your Imagination Soaring!

Have you ever dreamed of soaring the skies...

On a griffin?

Artwork is an image engraved by Gustave Dore via Ludovico Ariosto,
and adapted for the cover by LLPix Designs

If so, you'll definitely be interested in The Griffin's Boy, a YA fantasy written by Julia Hughes.

So what's it about?

As a commoner, Neb's future will be one of drudgery... that is, until he decides that Balkind, a young griffin, deserves a place as a mount within the ranks of the prestigious Griffin Riders. Though Balkind is chosen, his intelligent and troublemaking nature causes him to be left behind. 

Neb, who has cared for Balkind since the griffin was a baby, refuses to let Balkind's opportunity slip away. Leaping onto Balkind's back, the two of them ride off in pursuit of the Dragon Riders. Neb is determined that Balkind will get his chance at greatness.

On the way, though, Neb and Balkind discover a young child in danger, and a village in trouble. Once they become involved in the situation, the pair's lives change profoundly.

Hughes created a beautiful and rich world full of people who had real problems. 

The world was both vibrant and dark, dependent upon the given situation, and the environment felt true. Hughes didn't just create a world... she lived it.

But that's not all!

From minor characters that only spoke a few lines to those of prominence, every single person within this ebook was three dimensional. They had flaws and perfections, fears and dreams. Hughes didn't cut any corners. Even the griffins within the pages had individual personalities.

I was transfixed.

I started and finished The Griffin's Boy in a single day. Seriously. Not only did the world and everything in it feel real, but the action was high, and the story complex. 

Hughes wove plenty of plot twists and mysteries into this ebook. I've mentioned that I love to place myself into stories as I read them. It's not always possible, but in this case, every break I took was filled with ideas of how I could solve the problems the characters encountered, or where the characters would discover me (thereby including me in their adventure). 

Yep. I'm the bookish version of a camera ham. I admit it.

And Hughes gave me plenty of opportunities to bask in that glory!

This was almost a Treasured Tome. So what held me back from giving it that designation? Well, for whatever reason, though the characters were spectacular, the story engrossing, and the plot complex, it was missing something on an emotional level. 

My heart didn't beat hard enough to feel like it would burst through my chest, I didn't cry, I wasn't enraged, and I didn't feel a strong personal connection with anyone. The characters felt real, but they felt more like acquaintances than friends or enemies.

I'm not entirely sure why, and that may just be me. It's very possible that you'll feel differently and believe it should be a Treasured Tome. The writing is solid and the story is brilliant. So give it a read. 

You won't be disappointed.

The Griffin's Boy is available on Kindle, Nook, and Smashwords.

The Legend of Manfin: Evolutionary Complexity Abounds!

I stared at the author's name, question marks hovering above my head.

"La Roche... Who is Laura Wright LaRoche, and why is her name so familiar to me?"

Then, I opened up my blog dashboard and 

BAM!

It hit me.

She did the cover design for the first ebook I reviewed on Undiscovered Tomes. How awesome is that?! It truly is a small world. As you can imagine, while I was already interested in reading this one, I was even more intrigued upon making that discovery. 

Tiny coincidences like this make the pleasure centers in my brain light up. Bright flashing neon colors.

 The Journey is the first book within the Legend of Manfin series, by Laura Wright LaRoche.

So what's it about?

Manfin are believed to be a myth, something that is only talked about by drunken sailors and crazy old men living along the shorelines. Ashaw, however, knows differently. He saw one when he was a young boy, and he's determined to find their society. Now a man, Ashaw hires a captain and his sons to take him on his quest for discovery. When they find the Manfin, they're introduced to a world both beautiful and harsh.

I found that The Journey came from a unique perspective. We've all read mermaid stories, and while each one holds something special within its pages, this particular ebook took the mermaid legend a bit farther.

How so?

Imagine a race of people that is a cross between mermaids and humans. A sort of evolutionary link that bridges the two. Rather than magically forming in some great mist of sparkles, the Manfin's tails never disappear from their bodies. Instead, they roll up and away from the legs, still attached to the Manfin's body at the base of the spine.

Pretty cool, huh?

LaRoche has created an entire evolutionary background that makes sense. Indeed, her ideas about the creation of mermaids, Manfin, and humanity were so well thought out that I was tempted to call this science fiction, rather than fantasy.

This novel told the tale of not only Ashaw and his crew, but several other people, as well. The royal family of the Manfin, a loner inventor, and even an old man waiting for his wife to return after 20 years had places within this story. We glimpsed their pain and joy, we saw the harshness of the world the Manfin lived in, and we were involved in betrayals and acts of courage throughout the book.

...And there are complex interactions with other sea life, as well!

Dolphins!

Sharks! 

Porpoises!

While I think that the author had a bad habit of telling us about what would happen in the future, rather than allowing the reader to discover these events by surprise, the world was so well researched that I didn't mind this nearly as much as I normally would.

I also had a problem with some of the choices made by the characters that I feel people accustomed to a harsh physical environment wouldn't have made. It's clear, though, that the Manfin are an evolutionary link between man and mermaid, one step below humans, so perhaps I shouldn't judge their choices on the same level that I would judge human choices in a similar situation.

Regardless, the evolutionary and biological complexity of the Manfin was so intricate that I'm willing to look beyond these flaws. LaRoche has the talent to create a superior background for an entire race of intelligent beings, and that's nothing to take lightly. 

I'd love to see what other fantastic creatures she could produce!

The Legend of Manfin, Book 1: The Journey can be found on Kindle, Nook, Smashwords, and Scribd.

Set Aflame By Tinderspark!

For my first review on this blog, I spent a great deal of time trying to pick out just the right one from the nook shop, since the Nook is my preferred ereader.

After a while, a single cover image jumped out from my nook screen and thwacked me over the head. Hard.

It was the cover for Tinderspark, by Jonathan Rowe. 

Cover art was done by Laura LaRoche

I think we can all agree that this qualifies as a very enticing cover. It drew me in, so I read the blurb, which pulled me in even further. My mind made up, I hit the 'download' button and waited to begin my journey back in time to the Thirty Years War, into which Rowe added an extra helping of magic.

So what's it about?

"There is no reward for goodness in this world, nothing but cold steel teeth and scourging fire for all of us - and it's coming for you now!" 

In a single evening, the life of Quality Durrand changes forever. She's kidnapped from her loving family and taken to live deep in the forest with the geists. A series of events unfolds that places her at the center of action, pitting her against fanatic priests and cruel leaders. The daughter of a blacksmith, Quality has a unique talent for working with the black powder used within firearms and explosives. Armed with pistols, she and her geist friends set out to find five men - the five men whose deaths may bring about an end to the persecution of hexen everywhere, and the birth of a new, better world.

The world is gritty, dark, and terrible. Naturally, I loved it. 

Partially, that's because I'm a sucker for good history research, and Rowe really went the extra mile with it. He painted a very accurate picture of the trials and suffering that were rampant during the Thirty Years War, using the locations, dress, transportation, and even technology of the first half of the 17th century. 

His close attention to historical detail paved the way for the magic he breathed into Tinderspark, weaving fact and fiction together, bringing hexen and geists to life. Witches and magical beings become believable, and make their plight our own.

The world that Rowe created is vivid and intense. I saw the trees, I heard the calls of the wildlife. I tasted that disgusting soup. The world I entered was dark, and the intense emotions that washed over me added another dimension to it.

This was very nearly a Treasured Tome. 

What held me back from giving Tinderspark that distinction? Well, it took me a while to become attached to the characters. I did become attached, of course, but it wasn't love at first sight. In the first couple of chapters, I was more drawn to the world  than I was to the characters that lived in it. I think this would have easily become a Treasured Tome if more effort was placed into character development from the very start.

But like I said, I did become attached. It just took a little longer than I would have liked. This is a relatively minor flaw, and I wouldn't be surprised if Rowe's second book in The Burning Times series, Hexenfire, has the ability to draw me in from the very beginning. 

Yep. I implied exactly what you think I did: I've already downloaded the second one.

You can find Tinderspark on Nook, Kindle, and Smashwords. Read it. 

You won't be sorry. 

     *As an aside for those of you that are gamers, be sure to visit the Tinderspark RPG tab of Jonathan Rowe's author page - he's developing an RPG (pencil and paper, not digital) based on The Burning Times, and as someone who has been an RPG geek since high school, I'd love to sit with a group and try out his system.