http://www.michellplested.com Looking at writing from an amateur's perspective Wed, 28 Jul 2010 13:57:29 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 A podcast to help remove the pitfalls for writers as they try to live the dream of getting published. Michell Plested no Michell Plested podcast@michellplested.com podcast@michellplested.com (Michell Plested) Copyright 2008 A podcast to aid in your quest for publishing glory. publish, publishing, writing, publisher, agent, author, novel, book, Mike Plested, Get Published, GalaxyBillies http://www.michellplested.com/wp-admin/images/typewriter.jpg http://www.michellplested.com/category/new-books-and-book-reviews/ http://www.michellplested.com/irreverentmuse/book-review-evolve-vampire-stories-of-the-new-undead/?source=rss http://www.michellplested.com/irreverentmuse/book-review-evolve-vampire-stories-of-the-new-undead/#comments Fri, 23 Apr 2010 13:59:55 +0000 Michell http://www.michellplested.com/?p=1172 http://www.michellplested.com/irreverentmuse/book-review-evolve-vampire-stories-of-the-new-undead/feed/ 2 Book Review,Edge Publishing,Evolve,horror,Kelly Armstrong,Michell Plested,Nancy Kilpatrick,tanya huff,vampire Evolve is a different kind of book for me; I usually don’t read either anthologies or vampire fiction. I’m more of a novel reader and while I enjoy vampire fiction the recent trends in that genre haven’t really struck a chord with me. - Still, Evolve is a different kind of book for me; I usually don’t read either anthologies or vampire fiction. I’m more of a novel reader and while I enjoy vampire fiction the recent trends in that genre haven’t really struck a chord with me. Still, I think I was fated to read this book. When I first opened it to a random page, the story was taking place in Calgary where I live. That doesn’t happen every day so I picked up the book. I read it cover to cover over the course of a week during my daily commute. Evolve has a nice assortment of 24 short stories from a wide-range of authors including Kelly Armstrong and Tanya Huff as well as many others. You might even run across a character or two you already know. The vampires in the anthology are not the sparkly kind, in case you are wondering, but instead pay a much closer homage to Dracula with a few modern twists. The stories feel both familiar and, at the same time, new. The anthology was a thoroughly enjoyable read. It contains mystery, fantasy, intrigue and, of course, horror. Naturally, vampires are central to every piece. Correction: Evolve was released in Canada in April 2010, will be released in the US in August 2010 and is available on Amazon.ca for $12.24 Canadian. (Thanks to Janice Shoults for the correction) Michell Plested no 1:41 http://www.michellplested.com/irreverentmuse/dont-be-afraid-of-small-steps/?source=rss http://www.michellplested.com/irreverentmuse/dont-be-afraid-of-small-steps/#comments Wed, 21 Apr 2010 14:06:37 +0000 Michell http://www.michellplested.com/?p=1157 http://www.michellplested.com/irreverentmuse/dont-be-afraid-of-small-steps/feed/ 7 http://www.michellplested.com/new-books-and-book-reviews/book-review-imago-book-3-a-warriors-tale/?source=rss http://www.michellplested.com/new-books-and-book-reviews/book-review-imago-book-3-a-warriors-tale/#comments Tue, 13 Apr 2010 03:52:41 +0000 Michell http://www.michellplested.com/?p=1133 http://www.michellplested.com/new-books-and-book-reviews/book-review-imago-book-3-a-warriors-tale/feed/ 1 a warrior's tale,book,dragon,elf,fantasy,imago,imago book 3,kagai,lorna suzuki,Michell Plested,nayla treeborn,review A Warrior’s Tale tells the story of Nayla Treeborn, a half-elf, half-human warrior and her struggles to live in a world that is intolerant of a half-breed. - The novel, while the third in the series, is actually a prequel to the first book. A Warrior’s Tale tells the story of Nayla Treeborn, a half-elf, half-human warrior and her struggles to live in a world that is intolerant of a half-breed. The novel, while the third in the series, is actually a prequel to the first book. It starts and ends at essentially the same point with the meat of the novel consisting of one long flashback. It sounds odd, but it works after the first jolt into the past. The author avoids the bouncing back and forth by writing one continuous flashback at the very start of the story when the protagonist begins to relive the past. Everything else flows back to that very moment of introspection. This story is unique in a number of ways. While it is a fantasy novel complete with elves, wizards and dragons, it isn’t your parent’s fantasy story. It feels more like a cross between a fantasy novel and a ninja adventure. The novel is chock full of battles and combat and Ms. Suzuki brings her own martial arts training and knowledge to the page with great effect. There is a caste of warriors who spend their entire lives training called the Kagai warriors who are masters of war. In fact, they are the dominant warriors in this realm, not the elves as is typical in many stories. The heroine, Nayla is not the big, brash, busty warrior Amazon in a chain mail bikini. She is a diminutive woman bearing the emotional and physical scars of her father’s abuse. As a half-elf, she is shunned by elf and human alike and ultimately, she is forced to flee her father to survive. She is left in the protection of the Kagai warriors where she finds a home and trains to become one of them. This is an aspect of the hero that I particularly enjoyed. She is not perfect. In fact, she is badly flawed and prone to over-reacting. Too often the hero is some one-dimensional cutout that is too good to be true. Nayla feels much more real. The characterization is deep throughout and there were many moments when I found myself shaking my head at a character’s actions simply because they are written as real people with all the faults and shortcomings we all have. I have one minor complaint with the story and that is the language. It is extremely precise, almost stilted. I suspect this is to give the world a more formal flavor, but it did make for a more challenging read. Still, the story was very enjoyable. Imago Book 3 – A Warrior’s Tale is a Fantasy Novel written by L.T. Suzuki. It was published October 2003 and is available in Softcover, deluxe PDF and a wide variety of eBook formats. Print books can be purchased thru Trafford Publications, PDF’s from the author’s website and ebooks are sold thru smashwords, iTunes, iBookstore, mobipocket and kobo. You can learn more at the author's website: http://web.me.com/imagobooks/IMAGO_FANTASY_REALM/Welcome.html Michell Plested no 3:00 http://www.michellplested.com/new-books-and-book-reviews/review-of-bitter-release-by-scott-roche/?source=rss http://www.michellplested.com/new-books-and-book-reviews/review-of-bitter-release-by-scott-roche/#comments Sat, 03 Apr 2010 00:36:25 +0000 Michell http://www.michellplested.com/?p=1111 http://www.michellplested.com/new-books-and-book-reviews/review-of-bitter-release-by-scott-roche/feed/ 4 http://www.michellplested.com/irreverentmuse/book-review-realmshift/?source=rss http://www.michellplested.com/irreverentmuse/book-review-realmshift/#comments Sat, 16 May 2009 13:19:27 +0000 Michell http://www.michellplested.com/?p=403 http://www.michellplested.com/irreverentmuse/book-review-realmshift/feed/ 2 Alan Baxter,Get Published,RealmShift The story focuses on the struggles of Isiah, an immortal agent of the balance, as he battles to maintain equilibrium between good and evil. His mission: to retrieve the soul of an evil murderer, restore the man to life and protect him from Lucifer unt... The story focuses on the struggles of Isiah, an immortal agent of the balance, as he battles to maintain equilibrium between good and evil. His mission: to retrieve the soul of an evil murderer, restore the man to life and protect him from Lucifer until he fulfills his destiny. The man he must protect is selfish, cowardly and more than willing to kill anyone to help himself. It doesn’t help that Isiah sympathizes with the side of good or that Lucifer is throwing all the powers of Hell at him. He’s a man with a job to do and nothing is going to stop him from completing his mission. The book is jam-packed with interesting characters and plenty of action. The story is set both in the physical and supernatural worlds. In both cases, the author takes great care to craft vivid and with sometimes disturbing settings. Dialogue is fresh and serves to both enhance and flesh out the story. My only complaint, and it is a minor one, is the author’s use of the crystal skull mythos. His interpretation is not quite the same as what I know to be true. Still, it is a minor issue and was more of a distraction than a detractor for me. Realmshift is a Dark Fantasy novel written by Alan Baxter. It was published October 17th by Blade Red Press and is available from Amazon.com in both a paperback edition for $14.35 and a kindle edition for $3.19. [podcast]http://www.michellplested.com/wp-content/uploads/Books/RealmshiftReview.mp3[/podcast] Michell Plested no 1:54 http://www.michellplested.com/irreverentmuse/nina-kimberly-the-merciless-launches-today/?source=rss http://www.michellplested.com/irreverentmuse/nina-kimberly-the-merciless-launches-today/#comments Fri, 15 May 2009 13:57:48 +0000 Michell http://www.michellplested.com/?p=412 http://www.michellplested.com/irreverentmuse/nina-kimberly-the-merciless-launches-today/feed/ 0