Upcoming Stuff!

Some of the exciting upcoming things revolving around Dark Luminance and my other writing projects:

• My SciFi short story 'Bad Seed' will be published in an anthology due out in the spring! This anthology has a bunch of really talented authors all writing science fiction and fantasy stories revolving around other worlds. Check out ASMSG Anthologies for the previous anthologies from this group, they are free, and they have one for every reading taste!

•   My firstborn novel 'Dark Luminance' is available for free this month on a Library thing giveaway sponsored by my publisher, GMTA! Check it out Librarything Giveaway! There are a lot of great books by GMTA authors available for free!

• I am scheduled to do a virtual blog tour beginning in March sometime. It is weird trying to imagine that other people would care about how I write, or how I come up with the stuff I write, but I'm game to give it a shot. This will be my first blog tour, and I'm pretty excited to see how it goes, so wish me luck!

• My YA Fantasy novel 'Urban Phoenix' is due out this year. It's done with rough edits, and is due to go to the editor in the next few months. Hopefully it will be ready to go by the fall!
• The big one is 'Dark Nexxus' the sequel to Dark Luminance should hopefully be ready this year! I am about 25% done with the first draft, and the pace is picking up as Mackland and his crew decide what they are going to do this time, in this new world. (No zombies this time, but it looks like there might be druids with abilities that Mack's science can't explain!)

Book Review- ★★Out of Darkness★★ by Jason D. Morrow

Out of Darkness is the story of Mora, a teen from a small village struggling to survive in a dystopian world beset by zombies called greyskins. On a quest to obtain the protection of the group functioning as the regional government, she travels to meet with the leader, Jeremiah. Although Jeremiah’s protection typically comes at a very high price, Mora hopes to negotiate a favorable outcome.

This story was a bit slow on the start for me, and I was well into the third or fourth chapter before things started to pop. But once it did, the story did a fantastic job of pulling me along for a crazy ride through the author’s post-apocalyptic vision of Mora’s world. For example, the introduction of Mora’s powers initially seems awkward and contrived, but as her powers develop along with the story, they become an integral and entertaining part of Mora’s experiences.

The author does a great job of developing and introducing the characters and settings throughout the story, and manages to build a world that the reader can easily envision themselves in. Jeremiah is particularly well written, and conveys a subtle aura of menace and evil without being overly detailed in description.

Overall, this an interesting and entertaining take on the standard zombie story, with relatable characters struggling to survive in a harsh world. A well balanced mix of action, dialogue and backstory make this a must-read for any fan of sci-fi, and zombie lovers in particular!

Dark Luminance Relaunch!

After only a few short months, I'm really excited to announce the relaunch of my first novel, Dark Luminance with GMTA Publishing! The new release has an awesome new cover designed by Amber Rendon, which I think does a fantastic job of conveying the tone of the book. Beyond the new cover art, this release promises to expand Dark Luminance into other venues and formats including Barnes & Noble and paperback via Createspace on Amazon.

Stay tuned for upcoming information on blog tours as well as upcoming projects including my YA Urban Fantasy novel, a story in an upcoming SciFi Anthology, and of course, the sequel to Dark Luminance, Dark Nexus!

Thanks to all the fans that have read and enjoyed Dark Luminance so far! Mackland and the others have quite a bit more excitement in store for you soon!
E.M. 
Dark Luminance on Amazon
Dark Luminance on B&N

Rafflecopter Giveaway!!

Dark Luminance Giveaway powered by Rafflecopter!

Through the month of September, I am running a giveaway to promote my SciFi novel, Dark Luminance! You can enter three ways:

1. Click to send a Tweet for 1 chance to win
2. Click to like my author page on Facebook for 1 chance to win
3. The big one...Write an Amazon review for Dark Luminance! Just a few minutes of your time will get you 3 chances to win!! (If you haven't finished the book yet, don't worry, the giveaway runs for the whole month, so you have plenty of time to finish and write a review)

Good luck to everyone!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Review- ★★The Cloudstone Key (The Rithhek Cage Trilogy: Book 1)★★

From the beginning, the author does a fantastic job of setting the scene. His descriptions of the world of Tholann are vivid and full of depth throughout, wasting no time in immersing the reader into this strange new world.

Likewise, his development of the races on Tholann is similarly detailed and imaginative; from the towering Jikhquae women, down to the tiny squirrel-like Rethe, Patrick shows you the planets population in vibrant detail. 

The premise is typical fantasy fare, with a protagonist that is pushed out of his normal life in order to fulfill a quest that is vital to the world.  The story moves at a steady pace, with a good mix of dialogue, action, and world-building. I found myself staying up a few nights to finish an extra chapter or two, which is one of my hallmarks for a good book, and I finished the whole thing in three days.

This brings me to the only area that left me feeling flat. This book felt too long to be a short story, but far too short to be the first book of an epic fantasy series.  As the first in a series, I can appreciate that more will likely be explained in the subsequent volumes, but several portions felt as if they weren’t fully fleshed out in this book, such as the different agates and how they are used to interact with the world around them.  Several of the supporting characters also seemed to be missing some detail which would have allowed the reader to connect with them more deeply.

Overall, the book was a very immersive and exciting start to what appears to be a great new entry into the epic fantasy genre.  If the next book fills in some of the details and continues to develop the world that Patrick has so deftly created, the entire series will definitely be one to add to your bookshelf!

Book Review- ★★Kindreds An Alliance Of Bloods★★

After the first few chapters, this dystopian novel grabbed me by the lapels and wouldn’t let go!  

I only exclude the first few chapters, because for some reason, the introduction to Raine, Jem, and Leif didn’t resonate with me.  It wasn’t that it was bad, or boring; it just didn’t pull me along for a ride I didn’t want to get off. That is the only reason I am giving this four stars, instead of five.

Once Raine and the others embark on their journey to fight with the resistance against the evil king, I was hooked though! The author maintains a fantastic balance between action, description, and dialogue, so that you are always immersed in the story. All of the characters are well developed and interact in a believable and realistic manner.  I particularly liked the fact that the main character was a strong woman character that didn’t get bogged down in a romantic relationship. While she has a few flirting scenes, and the reader can see a possible relationship building, it is very much a secondary plot point. 

The plot is well designed, with a good helping of surprise twists and turns to keep the reader on their toes.

I am definitely looking forward to the next book in the series, and highly recommend this to any science fiction fans out there!

(I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.)

Book Review ★★A Prescription For Delirium★★ by Noree Cosper

Overall, I thought this was a very good book, with only a few minor issues keeping me from giving it a five star rating.

The overall storyline was a fresh take on the vampire hunter plot by adding in demons and demon hunters, with the added bonus of extending the Van Helsing family into the present time! I admit I was a bit thrown off at first by the combination of the cursed demon huntress who was also oathbound to the Van Helsing clan, but once I was about halfway through, it started to gel nicely. Another pleasant plot twist was the demon-creating drug used to spawn a new generation of terrors in the asylum. Very creative and surprising!

The action and pacing was evenly spread throughout, with fantastic action sequences interspersed with emotional and fluid dialogues. A few slow spots popped up in the middle of the book, but they weren't enough to bring me out of the fiction.

The characters were a mixed bag for me, and the only real reason I dropped one star for the review. As an overall cast, they worked well together, and balanced each other out without being too over the top about it. Gabbi was well developed, although her back-story seemed a bit confusing to me, at least from the flashbacks used to tell it. But she made a great protagonist, and you felt for her throughout. The Van Helsing brothers were good characters, but I wished they could have been a bit more developed, although since this is the start of a series, that may have been intentional to leave room for subsequent novels.

Overall, a very good book, and I will definitely be reading the sequels as they come out!