Ill Wind - A Review

Publisher: Roc
352 pages

So What's This All About?

Joanne Baldwin is a Weather Warden, a person who controls the weather and keeps it from being more destructive than it can be.

But she's on the run from the other Wardens, accused of killing a senior warden (nicknamed Bad Bob), although she didn't really kill him (he died from a heart attack).  This, of course, happened after he put the Demon Mark on her (which means a demon is deep inside her, and, with time, can destroy her soul).  So she needs to find a djinn in order to get rid of the demon, even though it means that djinn will be imprisoned for the rest of its life.

More...
She takes to the road for the strongest Warden of all time, Lewis.  She thinks that with his strength, he can either wrest the demon out of her, or she can use one of his djinns to "take over" the demon.  He stole three djinns, so she figures he can give up one to help her; they have a history, if you know what I mean. ;-)

As Joanne runs to where she thinks Lewis is hiding out, she picks up a hitchhiker, David, who seems to be more than he appears to be.

So...will Joanne get rid of the demon in time, before her soul is eaten away?

My Impressions - Might Be Some Spoilers!

I loved, loved, loved Joanne.  She drives a classic Mustang (I have a Mustang, but it's a much more recent model), and prefers muscle cars or any type of car that goes fast (I could see her behind the wheel of a Lamborgini).  Plus she can fix cars, too, which comes in handy from time to time.

David turns out to be a magical being...a djinn, and I thought the entire mythos of djinns that Ms. Caine puts into this book were quite interesting.  But besides being a djinn, David is a very sensual, sexual being, and this fits in with Joanne, who seems to need a lot of lovin'.  Even David's touch turns her on.

So, yes, there is some romance/sexual tension in this story, but it doesn't overwhelm the action.

And what action there is!  Violent weather up the wazoo, and it's explained in a sort of meterological way; but it somehow doesn't come off as boring as it sounds.  It's quite a lively telling (in first person).

I actually cried at one point in the book, when a friend of Joanne's turns out (like David) to be not who she seems to be.  I was actually shocked by that turn of events, as Joanne was.  I'm not going to say anymore than that; you'll just have to read the book.

The ending has an interesting twist that I didn't see coming.  But, it worked, it made sense...and there's a good chance I'll be reading more in this series to see what happens next.

In Summary

Definitely worth reading.  If you're into romance, you might be disappointed (even though there is definitely sexual tension).  But if you're into fantasy and action, with a kick-ass heroine who drives fast cars, this is your cup of tea.

Love and kisses,

~Nancy Beck

What Am I Reading Now?

After finishing the wonderful Magic Study, I decided to dive into one of the many books I ordered just after New Year's.

My choice:  Ill Wind, by Rachel Caine.  It involves the weather in a fun, weird, interesting way.  The MC, Joanne Baldwin, is sassy, drives a classic Mustang (yes!), and needs a roll in the hay desperately (which she eventually gets, but I'm not saying with whom).

Suffice to say, I ripping through this one just like I did through Magic Study.

Getting Back to a Prior Book?

Question:  Will I ever get back to A Secret Atlas?  Well, it's still downstairs next to where I normally read, so there's always I chance.  I decided a couple of years ago that if I didn't like a story I wouldn't push to the very end; as Adam West said on a Nick At Nite commercial, "Life's too short to watch crap."  (Imagine him as the TV Batman, using that same deadpan voice.  Totally unexpected, my hubby and I were hysterical the first time we saw it.)

I haven't completely given up on A Secret Atlas.  I think I just needed to read a couple of stories with women for MCs.

Love and kisses,

~Nancy Beck

REMINDER! Firebrand Literary

Don't forget to send your chapter in to Firebrand Literary.  The last day is this Thursday, 15 January.

The info is located here.

Good luck!

Love and kisses,

~Nancy Beck

Magic Study - A Review

Publisher: Mira
352 pages

You would think that a book put out by the Mira imprint would just have tons and tons of romantic this-and-that on just about every page. (Not that there's anything wrong with that. ;-)) After all, it's an imprint of Harlequin.

But you would be wrong.

Is there romance? Sure. But you're not conked over the head with it, and it's not just thrown in for the hell of it - especially as this is the second book in Ms. Snyder's Study series.

Here's my review of the first book, Magic Study. I'd suggest you read that one first before plunging into this one.

The Story - The Readers Digest Version

Twenty-year-old Yelana Zaltana returns to her family in Sitia along with the good magician (and friend), Irys.  She hasn't seen them in 14 years - kidnapped as a 6-year-old by the evil magician Mogkan.  Things are bad almost from the start, when she finds out her brother, Leif, has been spreading rumors that she's actually an Ixian spy.

Irys thinks its a good idea for Yelana to get a handle on her brand of magic, so she induces Yelana to "sign up" at the Citadel; she'll be taught how to further control her magic, and her teachers and she will learn exactly what she can and can't do with her magical talents.

Yelana finds out from Irys about a string of murdered girls, all about 14 to 16 years old.  This is seen as the time when those magically imbued are at their most vulnerable, despite their magical talents, and the magicians at the Citadel suspect that a rogue mage is taking the magic from these girls to increase his own strength.

As Yelena joins the hunt for the killer, a diplomatic mission arrives from Ixia.  Of course, it includes her lover, Valek, a well-known, notorious spy and assassin who can't be touched by magic.  How does he get through, and how does Yelana know?

It's something she feels, deep down, and when her eyes fix on a minor functionary - she knows it's Valek in disguise.

Will they find the killer before he kills again?  And will Valek escape the hangman's noose or firing squad?

My Impressions

I ripped through this book in about three days - that's how good the story and the writing are.  Plus, of course, the characters Ms. Snyder has thought up.  She gives them human qualities and frailities; no Mary Sues here.

What I also liked is that this is no standard, garden-variety Medieval Europe set up.  I don't mind reading books of that type, but it's nice to read about an environment that's a bit different; in this case, Yelana and Irys head into the jungle, where all the Zaltanas live.  They live in the trees, and have names that suggest flora and fauna (one woman is nicknamed Nutty, short for Hazelnut; yeah, that's her name).

You might think this made me roll my eyes, and it did, but not for very long.  After all, Yelana has to get to the Citadel before long, so it's goodbye houses in trees, hello sleeping on the ground.

Ms. Snyder brings us along on Yelana's ride with Leif to the Citadel.  Something happens which makes Yelana suspect Leif hasn't been truthful to her (and there's no reason why she should think that, as it's obvious Leif can't stand her), but they eventually make it to the Citadel.

And to Roze, one of the Master Magicians (Irys is one, too).  Roze doesn't like Yelana right off (no reason is given), and I found myself rooting for Yelana even harder whenever that broad showed up.  ;-)

There's plenty of action here, a little bit of romance, and some magic (of course); eventually, Irys comes to think that Yelana is what is called a Soulfinder, that she can almost (almost) wake the dead.  She does seem to be able to go into a person's mind and unravel and untwist the nightmares that are there - but she goes beyond that towards the end of the book (you'll have to read it to find out exactly what I'm talking about here, but it's quite interesting).

However, Soulfinders have gotten a bad rap over the years, especially as the last known one was a bad seed.  If it gets out that Yelana is a Soulfinder, what's going to become of her?

That's not answered in this book, but hoping it will be in the third and last book of the series.

Characters

The characters are what really make this story.  Yelana and Valek do get together, but it's not long and drawn out.  The new characters - like Yelana's mother, father, and brother, among others - are fun and interesting.  You can feel for Yelana's mother not wanting to let Yelana go to the Citadel; it's been 14 years, for heaven's sake.

As for her father - he has an interesting, shall we say, hobby?  ;-)

And Leif turns into an enigma.  He's full of hate and loathing for his sister, and yet, there's an incident where he shows another side to Yelana.

In Summary

Definitely put this on your To Buy list, but make sure you've read Poison Study first, so you'll have a basic understanding of Yelana and Valek, and where Yelana's come from.

~ Nancy Beck

Have You Sent Out Your First Chapter?

The deadline to send your first chapter to Firebrand Literary is fast approaching.

If you write YA or MG, best to shoot off an email this weekend or by this Monday.

My original post is here.

Good luck!

Love and kisses,

~Nancy Beck

Jones Harvest

If you've been scammed by Jones Harvest - a vanity press - go to this blog:

http://jonesharvestfraudvictims.blogspot.com

and see what Bonnie Kaye is doing to try to help those victims. (If nothing else, at least you can vent if you've been taken in by Jones Harvest.

And, hopefully, Brien Jones knows by now that Lee Goldberg is a guy, lol.

Love and kisses,

~Nancy Beck

Light Sword Publishing and LSP Digital

I've been reading Victoria Strauss' and Ann Crispin's great blog, Writer Beware. (If you want to check up on scams and such, it's the blog to read, IMHO.)

So What About Light Sword?

The latest scam/whatever, is the title of this post. Light Sword Publishing is yet another start up to end up in bankruptcy court.

Except this looks like a dodge. Why? Because while the bankruptcy petition for Light Sword claims that it's had no income for the previous 12 months, the owner of Light Sword started up another publisher called LSP Digital (yeah, gee, what does LSP really stand for, eh?) just last June. In fact, Ms. Strauss goes on to say:

A bankruptcy petition has not been filed for Daly's other publishing company, LSP Digital, LLC, which to all appearances is still a going concern, publishing books and accepting submissions.

In a word: Disgusting.

LSP Digital Authors

According to Ms. Strauss, if the petition for LSP is granted, the trustee will probably not be fooled by this, um, workaround (or whatever you want to call), and the authors, unfortunately, will be caught up in a mess - a mess than might go on for years.

Horrible, nasty stuff.

And apparently authors' contracts are looked at by the courts as assets to be sold; after all, the idea is to try to generate some kind of money to pay off the debts.

Alas, Nothing New - Other Bankruptcies

This brings to mind the Triskelion bankruptcy, and other online-only publishers that have gone belly up in the past few years. (There was one that I followed on the Water Cooler that imploded almost before my eyes. It was a one-woman shop, being run by a woman out of her basement. Good intentions are paved with potholes, some with gigantic potholes, people!) Unless the people running the firm have been in the publishing business for a while (and I don't mean just a year or two), don't waste your time schlepping your baby to such start ups.

If your ms. bores you or you just don't care what happens to it, by all means, schlep it to such places.

The Writer Beware post is here, if you want to read it in its entirety.

Me? I'll try the agent route, then onto legit smaller publishers that take mss. directly from writers.

As always - do your homework before you send it out. You'll be able to sleep better at night if you do.

Love and kisses,

~Nancy Beck

What the F***?

I usually don't go on and on about cover art (or how cruddy it looks), but this has to be one of the ickiest, most blah covers I've seen in a long time.

(And this got a good review over at the Fantasy Debut blog - hi, Tia! - but the cover? Not so much.)

I mean, what the heck is that guy wielding? A couple of lillies. (Seriously. Those look like the petals of lillies on the ends of - whatever the heck he's supposed to be holding.)

And what the hell is shoved up his ass? Or maybe he's tired and is just leaning against some wooden post. (I first thought that was his left leg, but, no...it doesn't look that way.)

Look, I'm the last one to go on and on about drawings; I think the last time I drew anything that was half-way decent was back in sixth grade, so it's been a loooong while. ;-)

Forging ahead to the blonde falling out of the bustier (or whatever it is that she's wearing), according to Tia at Fantasy Debut (who has read the book), "The only scene likely to have featured such a blonde did not have armored thugs. And another fight that featured a girl had her doing most of the fighting."

Oh, wait. Those white things are actually armored helmets - I guess the sun is glinting off them. Or something.

Wow - it really makes you appreciate the truly beautiful covers even more - whether you like the story within or not.

Love and kisses,

~Nancy Beck

Okay, NOW I can say Happy New Year!

Hope your writing is getting on well.

Check this out - 10 months ago, I decided to answer someone on Yahoo Answers - and just recently got an email that my answer won out.

But I'm a bit embarassed. Either I didn't check my spelling (and I even advise the poster to do so), or somehow between emailing it off to the Answers people and those people posting it, but there are some typos, plus some words are missing.

However, what I said there I think is pretty good advice - even though I do plug this site (hey, why not?).

You can check it out here.

Update: Whoops, here's another Yahoo Answers that I answered, this time to a young writer, and, again, from 10 months ago. Weird, but cool.

Love and kisses,

~Nancy Beck