I take my research very, very seriously. Most of it doesn’t show in the books, but it is there as a solid framework from which to build. Now here is something serious Arthur fans might enjoy and you wouldn’t be reading this if you weren’t interested, would you? Grins.
A free Arthurian documentary with some wonderful views of ancient British sites. http://bestfreedocumentaries.org/britain-ad-king-arthurs-britain-episode-2/
I see there is someone purporting to soon be able to stick the head of someone with a paralysed body on top of a new body. Now I had always thought the reason a person got paralysed in the first place was that their spinal cord had been snapped. Attaching a head to a new body seems to fit this criteria, although with the added annoyance of anti-rejection drugs for as long as the two bits manage to stay together. What amazes me is that if a person can splice together two people at the neck, why can’t they repair the existing injury? That seems to be a far better proposition for the poor victims. Imagine going through life with smart-ass remarks about bolts in the neck?
Anyhow, the article sparked off another thought. When I have done with what I am working on right now I really must get my Sci Fi, Angelus, polished and ready to go. One to the premises is of eternal life based on transferring the essence of the person into a new grown cadaver body. All the experience, memories and wisdom in a brand new young body.
Anyhow, pictures are nice. Here is a temporary cover. Obviously not up to the usual standard, but made my me just as a place holder.
I am currently trying out Amazon’s new lending library as they have a free trial for Canada at the moment. I have a hard time finding anything good on the site as those I knew were good were ones I had already read. So I went back to a golden oldie, Georgette Heyer and a three book set starting with ‘The Miracle at St. Bruno’s’. Now this was, is and probably always will be a mainstream book and in just about every library, etc.
What really stood out was how styles and pacing have really changed over the years since I last read this book. At the time it was classed as adult. Well, to be fair, there were only two categories: adult and children’s. Now I would put it in the YA section. What caught me first was the pacing, which was slow, so very slow. Yes, this is an historical romance with a thriller twist but it plods pedantically over many pages littered with extraneous fluff a writer would never get by an editor in this century. Another thing that jumped out at me was the multiple instances of ‘talking heads’; two characters in a room discussing something to the exclusion of everything else so the reader’s attention is focussed on the words of the dialogue and everything else that should be around is a nebulous grey color.
Don’t get me wrong, I am enjoying the book and it is perfect for night time reading after I go to bed as it has a pleasantly lulling effect. I did enjoy the book enormously when I first came across it way back when. I love the historical elements, which are brilliant and I love the plot twists. It is just fascinating to see the evolution in the writing style from the then to the now.
Will I continue with the Amazon library? Nope. I can’t find anything I would get that would equal more than the $9 a month it would cost me. For my money, I would like a free choice from all of the books available, not just those solely locked into the Amazons platform.
Apparently there was a whole lot of copper mined from Michigan in ancient times but very little trace of what happened to it. Here is the article.
http://www.science-frontiers.com/sf090/sf090a01.htm
5.0 out of 5 stars A perfect combination of fantasy and sci-fi!, February 1, 2015
By Jennifer Loiske (Naantali, Finland) – See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)
Verified Purchase(What’s this?)
This review is from: Sword of Shadows (Kindle Edition)
I’m a huge fan of Arthurian stories, so getting this exciting sequel in my hands was like a winning a lottery. The author has unique way of mixing the old legend with something completely new, something that both the old school lovers and the new generation of Arthurian fans will enjoy. The plot has been skillfully built layer by layer so when the story goes on, it challenges the reader to go deeper, see clearer and find all the fine details placed behind the layers.
Yes, this is a book full of plots. Of course there’s the great main plot, but the author has also generously created a lot of side plots, which eventually entwines together, forming a perfect combination of fantasy and sci-fi tale. A tale with new, refreshing take on it, without losing its intriguing touch of an old magic.
The old master of fantasy should definitely watch their back. There’s a new queen in town!
Finally got my books. I have no idea what happened to the first box, sent before xmas, but these got here safe. If anyone would like to buy a signed copy off me, I have the first two books of the Shadow Series, Shadow Over Avalon and Sword of Shadows and the first book of the Wyvern series, Darkspire Reaches. I am shipping the first few off tomorrow.
If anyone would like all three books, I will include a postcard of Darkspire Reaches and Shadow Over Avalon.
Here is where I envisaged the aerie of Darkspire Reaches. Actually, this is my own photo, taken at 5 a.m in the morning in the foothills of Mount Robson when the rising sun was melting off the mist from the peaks. If the picture looks familiar, then I use it for my banner. Anyhow, a place needs to be big and majestic to house the mighty Drakkens.
And here is the same mountain later in the morning from a slightly different angle. What a difference a few hours can make.
This is a story of self -discovery as well as survival. When a world changes and the rules alter, what must a person do to keep one step ahead? How can they spot a traitor? Who do they trust? Here is what one reader thought about the story. See below.
I enjoyed this book immensely and not just because of the compelling story. Raven, Margie, Connor, Captain Merrill, and the others, owe their character’s appeal to the author, who weaved their personalities with style and wonderful visual descriptions. It does not take long to immerse oneself into the world where these characters live, fight, survive, and love. it was also very apparent to me, that this was a book of exquisite fantasy. By that I mean a book, which captured my mind, and took me to another realm of existence. This is what fantasy is supposed to do, although not all books in this genre manage that with such aplomb.
I am hoping that there is something more to come? The book and story ended yet I find myself thinking that Raven and Connor’s journey is not entirely over and that maybe, just maybe we will hear from some of the other wonderful characters again, in another story.
The writing was as smooth and as clear as glass, as was the dialogue and speech patterns of the colourful array of characters.
I take my hat off to Ms Lesley, who did not take me out of her world for one second, but kept me there from beginning to end.
I know this isn’t in the free sample offered on Amazon, so it will be something new to all who haven’t read the book.
Raven forced the food down and took a long drink of water. A bowl for washing rested at the foot of her pallet, and she poured the remainder of the water in that vessel. Margie might have told the villagers her scrying water came from a sacred spring, but Raven knew she got it from the stream behind their shack. The bowl wasn’t black inside, yet the dark brown wood might be dark enough for the sight to show future.
The ripples calmed. Shadows swirled in the depths. One by one, pinpricks of light winked into existence and then the pale orb of a full moon. A great beast flew across the night sky, an impossible beast with wings and four legs. Moonlight shimmered off the gleaming muscles as it climbed, higher and higher. A firedrake? It dove like an arrow to lights on the ground. Torch-lit shacks and people running hither and thither, terrified.
The size of the beast killing those terrified people stunned her. No firedrake grew to more than an arm span. The beast banked, hovering, and opened its mouth. Fire spewed forth. Streams of fire caught people, lighting them into living torches. Screams and shrieks from the dying. The bowl slipped out of her hands.
Now she knew the look of the beast from close by and was afraid—this was a wyvern, worshiped by the First Born tribes. Raven ran to the window, wrenching the beaded strings aside. Outside, embedded in the ground, sharp stakes pointed toward her. A creature who could fly might escape, not a walker of the earth. No one could climb across those stakes without getting impaled by the sharp tips.
***
For those interested, here is the trailer teaser for the next book in this series, Serpent of the Shangrove.
Trailer
http://www.amazon.com/Darkspire-Reaches-C-N-Lesley-ebook/dp/B00DJE8RP4/ref=pd_rhf_gw_p_img_1
Well that was a nice surprise to wake up to this morning. Shadow Over Avalon is sitting at #10 of the top rated Arthurian books on Amazon
.com.
This is something that flares up every so often. I can only assume the people who spy on others are so bored that anything is better than what they have in their lives. However, the notion that someone might be weird enough to watch me sit at my desktop is unnerving. Yes, I do have a webcam stuck to the top of my monitor with bluetac, a semi-sticky putty type adhesive a tad like gum. Over the lens of my webcam is not another lump of bluetac. It will come off easy enough when I want to use the device and in the meantime? Good luck looking through a sea of blue.
cnlesley 