The Darkened Land: A Review

Hello Adventurers, I know...I know... "Where have you been girl?" Well, it's been a while since I've read a book worth reviewing. and finally one has come across my shelf. The Darkened Land by Larry Paris.  The modern take on the classic Pilgrim's Progress follows the journey of two men as they make their way from The Darkened Land to The Godwin in search of stones that bear something unknown to them called the light. But the light comes with danger. Men and creatures hate the light and seek to destroy our adventurers before they and complete their quest. Filled with a wonderful setting and characters I can't wait to know more about, I give The Darkened Land 5 gears out of 5. 

The Long Hall: A Review

Welcome Adventurers. Well I'm back, and today I bring you a review of The Long Hall by S.C.  Freiberger. This book is for our time what C.S. Lewis' Screwtape Letters was for his. When Seth learns his mother has cancer and has placed her trust in God he's not so sure he believes. One night he has a dream where he meets a mysterious man who leads him to a demon high school. He sits in on classes and learns the art of deception and must learn to find the truth amid the lies. This books gives a thought provoking look at different topics in a way that grabs your attention. I give The Long Hall 41/2 out of 5 gears.

    The Long Hall is available on Amazon.com here

Chatacter Chat: Lawrence

Welcome Adventures, to Character chat. In this new article I’ll be talking with characters from newly released and soon to be released books. Today’s guest is Lawrence from The Lawrence Chronicles an Anthology,

Welcome, so tell my adventurers about your world.

Well, most people wouldn’t believe it. I don’t know why the Big Man gave you clearance for this in the first place, but it’s not my place to argue. I work as Head of North Pole security doing one of the most dangerous and ridiculous jobs in the world. It’s all pretty classified. I don’t think I’d believe it myself if I hadn’t been living it for six years.

Let me start by saying the North Pole isn’t at all like the movies. First off, we don’t celebrate Christmas all year round. How exhausting would that be? I mean the talking reindeer, the elves, all that stuff is routine, but everyone’s just doing his or her job. We don’t really start celebrating until the day after Thanksgiving. Thank the North for that. The city’s got some pretty sweet technology too, above and beyond what I’ve seen in the normal world. Pretty handy when I need a weapon in a pinch.

Yeah. You normally wouldn’t think of someone working at the North Pole as someone who needed any fancy weapons, but every rule has its exceptions. Working for Santa isn’t all candy canes and hot cocoa. I often find myself in situations where I need my trusty side arm just as much as I did back in the Marine Corps. Yetis, witches, trolls, all are common place. You didn’t think the legendary world was limited to Santa and his flying reindeer, did you? The mythical world is a package deal, kid. If it weren’t, I’d be out of a job. You get the bad along with the leprechauns, elves, and flying reindeer. Yetis, bigfoot, werewolves, you name it. The world I live in is full of mythical creatures, magic, and surprisingly advanced elf technology. It’s my job to defend the North Pole and its assets from all hostile threats, and I’ve earned my fair share of scars doing it. But on the whole, it’s not so bad. The pay’s reasonable, and I’ve got some pretty decent people and animals to work with. Even if Donner can be a regular pain in the neck.

What are some of the places you’d recommend my adventurers see in your world?

You sure you have clearance for this? Alright. Well. It’s all pretty classified. If you’re looking for a pretty tourist spot the North Pole itself is breathtaking enough. Highly recommended. Decent view, pretty landscape, nice enough as long as you don’t mind the dangerous temperatures and wild yetis. I’ll admit it’s one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever worked. The Aurora Borealis on a clear night, now that’s something to behold.

Loch Ness is high on my list too. Yeah. Loch Ness. As in the Loch Ness monster in Scotland’s Loch Ness. Just because I work for Santa doesn’t mean I’m stuck at the North Pole 24/7. My job involves quite a bit of traveling, checking on outposts, and visiting other creatures that aren’t supposed to exist. Like Nessie. She’s one of the many mythical creatures Santa has his people looking after. The Loch is one of my favorites to visit. Nice place, and Nessie’s kind of fond of me. Plus, it’s relatively goblin free. Yes, goblins are real too. Who did you think was responsible for your socks going missing from the dryer? There’s more magic in your everyday life than you’ll probably ever know. Ask Sprinkles: the old elf will tell you all about it.

Tell my adventurers about some of the technology in your world.

I don’t understand half of it. You should have seen the chaos when the elves upgraded the interactive heads up display in my helmet. I could hardly see straight with all those messages and circles flying around the screen inches from my face. It was a nightmare. Thankfully, I got Taffy to reprogram the HUD before it drove me insane. Taffy is one of the head technicians in the lab responsible for most of the technology in the city. Honestly, I’m not sure how much of the tech is magic and how much is just regular elf and dwarf ingenuity. My uniform’s kind of like a mash of both. I wear a specially designed thermal suit that keeps me from freezing when the temperature outside drops to forty below. The suit comes along with a kind of sleek, motorcycle looking helmet that keeps my head from becoming an ice cube while I’m on patrol. It’s an extra measure of protection when I’m driving a snowmobile or battling some bad tempered mythical creature.

Everyone on the security force has got these stunners too. See? Shoot out pulses of blue light that can knock a goblin unconscious from twenty feet away. The lab also makes an array of special powders that can be used for breaking through fancy locks or disabling security cameras. My personal favorite elf invention happens to be the polar copter, but I haven’t been able to fly yet. It’s impressive enough. More like something out of a science fiction movie than something you’d expect little Christmas elves to be flying around in. But I’ve yet to get my piloting license. I’m pretty sure Peppermint is avoiding lessons on purpose.

How would you describe your fellow characters?

Plenty of words come to mind, some of which, as Head of North Pole and Magic Relations Security, I’m obliged not to repeat. Had to give up swearing and smoking when I joined Santa’s security force. My fellow coworkers are competent. Most of them. Donner’s reliable. Saved my life more than once, and he keeps his head in an emergency. Sprinkles can be a regular pain in the neck but over the years I’ve learned to trust him too. He usually turns out to be right anyway, no matter how ridiculous his stories sound. I guess that comes from a hundred years’ experience being the head of security. He had the job long before I did. Let’s see, Tina, Marshmallow, Yorik, Tinker, I work with dozens of people, some human some not. It’d be impossible to name them all. Most of them are selfless and practical, and I trust them with my life. Donner especially, but don’t tell him that. We go way back. There was one time-

Hang on…

Alright. Sorry to cut our interview short, but I gotta go. Apparently, there’s a troll running around loose in New York Central Park. Santa wants it dealt with before it, I don’t know, eats someone. Pleasure talking with you. Make sure you encrypt any copies you make of this interview. You don’t look like a security breach, but I don’t want anything left to chance. Later.

Thank you for coming to talk with us, and can’t wait to read all about you.

Interview With a Writer: H.C. Beckerr

Welcome Adventurers! Today I have a special treat for you. I have guest blogger and fellow author.H. C. Beckerr. Hi, everybody! How are your adventures progressing?

Tell my adventurers the name of your book and about the world you created.

Glad to! The entire story line encompasses two books; HILL OF GREAT DARKNESS and SHADOW OF TUNGUSKA (Hill of Great Darkness Book II, The Final Chapters). This entire story takes place here on Earth, as well as in space, in the year 2037. It is the world of the immediate tomorrow. And, it is the story of a dark and dangerous knowledge. This knowledge is gained accidentally by not only scientists, but also by high-level government officials who plan to use this dark knowledge to gain an edge over the other nations. The single-most important character in the story of a thousand generations is Simone Sytte (She is constantly pronouncing her Ugandan name to interviewers as ‘See-yet-tea’)

At six feet seven inches tall, Simone can be quite imposing. However, her demeanor is anything but hostile. Um…unless provoked. Ugandan by birthright yet she is also a citizen of the scientific community. She, along with Dr. Jon Armone have developed a new drive system for interplanetary spacecraft based on gravity. It is the maiden voyage of the privately funded spacecraft Magellan testing that new drive system that unearths (literally) something on our planet that propels them well past their target of a Martian mission to a parking orbit around the ringed giant Saturn. All in a five second test from a high Earth orbit. A classic sci-fi story (as a Christian author, I call this genre Chri-fi) that is both Biblically sound and accurate.

What inspired you to write about this character?

I wanted someone to represent not only my faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, but also, in real-world application, represent my failures as I follow Jesus. It is a very real representation of the Christian walk with all the unglamorous misadventures.

How long has this character been in your thoughts?

2005. Yup, that’s right sports fans, that was the first thought I had of this Ugandan beauty. She is a conglomeration of three people actually. An African lady (I have long since forgotten which nation she was from) that I had worked with at my church. It was from her I developed Simone’s language and accent. Then there was another lady from my church that I molded Simone’s unshakable faith from. And then there was STAR WARS EPISODE II. That is where Simone got her height and physical beauty (for all of you sci-fi fans I am referring to the rather tall, sinewy Kaminoans).

What is the one trait you wished you shared with your main character?

Her unabashed, unreserved faith and love for the God of the Bible. Nothing could deter or derail Simone’s faith. And yet, with the faith she possessess, she still fails in her walk with Jesus sometimes. I’ve got that part nailed down pretty good. How about you all?

Character Chat: Sarah Freedman

 Welcome Adventures, to Character chat. In this new article I’ll be talking with characters from newly released and soon to be released books. Today’s guest is Sarah Freedman from The Clockwork Golem.

Welcome, so tell my adventurers about your world.

My world? Wow. My world is complicated. You see at the beginning of what you call The Civil War (but believe me there was nothing civil about it) we were invaded by creatures from outer space called the Rex. What’s more they looked like dinosaurs. The invasion divided the country at the Mississippi river. I live in the Jefferson territory in a town called St. Charles where I run a botanical shop.

What are some of the places you’d recommend my adventurers see in your world?

Oh my, well My favorite place in the world is St. Charles. A beautiful city built a mile high in elevation and the glorious Rocky Mountains. Other than that I would say they ought to go to London, there’s a new airship that leaves from there that’s such a luxurious ride. Oh wait no there was an unfortunate incident on one of their flights. They had to build it again.

Tell my adventurers about some of the technology in your world.

All our technology is powered by the wonder that is utrasteam or gears and springs. I invent a lot of gadgets and gizmos that help in my other line of work. I have one that looks like a little marble but when I role it they turn into brass spiders filled with a natural compound that forms fog.

How would you describe your fellow characters?

Well there’s my best friend Aggie she’s a deserter from the Rex Empire who chose to side with us humans in our fight for freedom. She’s a tinkerer like I am and great at inventing.

There’s the crew of my father’s Pirate ship called the Celestial Rose. They are a rag-tag lot of misfits that are impossible to describe, my brother’s on that ship I wouldn’t trust him as far as I could throw him.

Thank you for coming to talk with us Sarah, and can’t wait to read all about you.

you can find The Clockwork Golem here on Amazon for 3.99 on Kindle or 12.00 for Paperback

Interview With a Writer: SC Freiberger (Collette Freiberger)

Welcome Adventurers! Today I have a special treat for you. I have guest blogger and fellow author SC Freiberger.(Collette Frieberger)

Tell my adventurers the name of your book and about the world you created. The Long Hall: Where Lies Lead to Truth, is set in modern times. In a dream, Seth, my main character, travels to Hades, a demon high school. With an angel as his guide, Seth attends the demon classes, trying to sort out the truth hidden among all the demonic the lies. Once he discovers the truth he vows to tell the world, but first he must escape Hades, a place that might not be a dream after all.

What inspired you to write about this character? I was inspired by CS Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters. My main character is an atheist, which I was for the first twenty years of my life. I wanted to explore the lies we buy into and what gets us to reject the truth of God. The idea of the setting, a demon high school, came to me in a dream.

How long has this character been in your thoughts? Actually, my true main character is God. I became a Christian at the age of twenty seven and I am now sixty. Because of my background, I have always had a passion for Christian apologetics, so writing about that was what I wanted to do. Seth and his angel guide are characters I developed once I began writing my book. Seth is most like me. The angel is what I strive for.

What is the one trait you wished you shared with your main character? I like Seth’s blunt honesty and his ability to say what he thinks. The angel’s character is of a quiet strength, good humor and patience. The angel needs that to put up with Seth. I’d love to be strong and patient. Seth and the angel, play off each other well.

Thank you for coming and talking with us.

Adventurers you can find Collette's book here on Amazon 

Character Chat: Steene

Welcome Adventures, to Character chat. In this new article I’ll be talking with characters from newly released and soon to be released books. Today’s guest is Steene from The Student and the Slave.

Welcome, so tell my adventurers about your world.

Hi. Well, I live in the Krillonian Empire, which rules much of the world. The emperor governs from the capital city, Krillonia, on the continent of Imperia, with eight separate provinces on nearby continents. I lived in the city of Jarreon in Imperia for the first two books, but after I got sold into slavery, I was taken here to Neliria.

From what I hear, my world is almost exactly like yours in most ways. But we have a martial art – which I coach, actually – that you don’t, called cavvara shil. It’s fought with a cavvarach, an unsharpened weapon similar to a sword but with a steel hook protruding from partway down its top edge.  Competitors can strike at each other with their feet as well as with the blades.  You win in one of two ways: disarming your opponent (hooking or knocking their cavvarach out of their hands) or pinning their shoulders to the mat for five seconds.

Another difference between my world and yours is that slavery is legal here, though it’s not based on race the way I hear it used to be in your world. As you can see, we slaves wear a metal collar locked around our neck. On the tag here, it has our name, our owner’s name, and a copy of our owner’s signature. If we go out anywhere without our owner, we have to carry a signed pass that says we’re allowed to. If a Watch officer catches us out in public without a pass, he’ll assume we’re trying to escape, and then we get in big trouble.

What are some of the places you’d recommend my adventurers see in your world?

If you like martial arts, you’ll definitely want to spend some time in Jarreon. It has a reputation for the best martial arts in the empire. You’ll love the cavvara shil tournaments, especially the Grand Imperial, where the best of the best athletes compete every year. Not to boast or anything, but my student Bensin won first place for his age group in the Grand Imperial a few years back. He would have won again last year, in Book 2, but one of his rivals got some friends and lay in wait and attacked him a few days before the semifinals. Because he fought back – and because he was a slave and his rival was free – he got convicted of attempted murder and sentenced to death in the arena. Fortunately they saw he was a good enough fighter to be worth keeping around for a while, and his sister Ellie and I were able to rescue him before he was actually killed. Whatever you do, don’t go watch the games at any of the arenas, okay? It’s a horrible system. Don’t give them your business.

Anyway, if you like winter sports, you’ll probably want to visit the province of Tarnestra. You can go at any time of the year, because they’ve got some mountains that are high enough to have snow on them all year round. Tarnestra is also awesome, because it’s the one province where slavery isn’t allowed anymore. That’s where Bensin and Ellie are now. One of these days I’m going to find a way to get out of here and go join them.

Tell my adventurers about some of the technology in your world.

It’s pretty much the same as what you’ve got. We have cars, TV, the Internet, and all the rest of it. We use some of our technology in different ways than you do, though. For example, this collar I’m wearing has GPS, so my owner can check the app on his phone or computer and see where I am at any time. It’s going to make it harder for me to escape, unfortunately.

How would you describe your fellow characters?

Well, the one I spend the most time with is my new owner, Raymond. He’s thirteen and is the worst spoiled brat I’ve ever met. His godfather bought me back at the auction and gave me to him as a birthday present so he could have his own personal cavvara shil coach. He’s a decent athlete, but not as good as he thinks he is, and he blames me when he doesn’t do great in tournaments. I would do anything to get away from him and rejoin Bensin and Ellie. I feel terrible thinking about how Bensin was my slave for the last five years. I mean, I treated him well, pretty much like a son, and I even set his sister free and adopted her. But now that I’m a slave myself and I realize what it’s like, I wish I could go back in time and set Bensin free, too. At least I was finally able to do that at the end of Book 2, but it involved breaking the law. The others got away, but I was caught, and that’s why I ended up sentenced to a life of enslavement. It’s not going to last for the rest of my life, though. It’s not! Somehow I’ll find a way to get away from here and go join my loved ones in Tarnestra.

Thank you for coming to talk with us, and can’t wait to read all about you.

Great talking to you too. Oh, but do me a favor and don’t tell Raymond or his parents anything I said, okay?

Take a look at this exciting new young adult action and adventure novel, The Student and the Slave, now available for purchase! This is the third book in the Krillonian Chronicles, after The Collar and the Cavvarach and The Gladiator and the Guard. 

The series is set in an alternate world that is very much like our own, with just a few major differences.  One is that slavery is legal there.  Slaves must wear metal collars that lock around their neck, making their enslaved status obvious to everyone. Another difference is the popularity of a martial art called cavvara shil.  It is fought with a cavvarach (rhymes with "have a rack"), a weapon similar to a sword but with a steel hook protruding from partway down its top edge.  Competitors can strike at each other with their feet as well as with the blades.  You win in one of two ways: disarming your opponent (hooking or knocking their cavvarach out of their hands) or pinning their shoulders to the mat for five seconds.

First, a Little Information about Books 1 and 2: 
Bensin, a teenage slave and martial artist, is desperate to see his little sister freed. But only victory in the Krillonian Empire's most prestigious tournament will allow him to secretly arrange for Ellie's escape. Dangerous people are closing in on her, however, and Bensin is running out of time. With his one hope fading quickly away, how can Bensin save Ellie from a life of slavery and abuse?
Click here to read chapter 1 of The Collar and the Cavvarach.

Click here to read about life in the Krillonian Empire, where the series is set.
Bensin, a teenage slave and martial artist, is just one victory away from freedom. But after he is accused of a crime he didn’t commit, he is condemned to the violent life and early death of a gladiator. While his loved ones seek desperately for a way to rescue him, Bensin struggles to stay alive and forge an identity in an environment designed to strip it from him. When he infuriates the authorities with his choices, he knows he is running out of time. Can he stand against the cruelty of the arena system and seize his freedom before that system crushes him?
Click here to read about life in the arena where Bensin and other gladiators are forced to live and train.
And now, The Student and the Slave, with another awesome cover by the talented Jack Lin!
Is this what freedom is supposed to be like? Desperate to provide for himself and his sister Ellie, Bensin searches fruitlessly for work like all the other former slaves in Tarnestra. He needs the money for an even more important purpose, though: to rescue Coach Steene, who sacrificed himself for Bensin’s freedom. When members of two rival street gangs express interest in Bensin’s martial arts skills, he realizes he may have a chance to save his father figure after all … at a cost.

Meanwhile, Steene struggles with his new life of slavery in far-away Neliria. Raymond, his young owner, seizes any opportunity to make his life miserable. But while Steene longs to escape and rejoin Bensin and Ellie, he starts to realize that Raymond needs him too. His choices will affect not only his own future, but that of everyone he cares about. Can he make the right ones … and live with the consequences?

Click here to order The Student and the Slave from Amazon for $2.99 a discounted price of just 99 cents through November 31st!

Book 1: The Collar and the Cavvarach

Book 2: The Gladiator and the Guard

Book 3: The Student and the Slave

About the Author:

Annie Douglass Lima spent most of her childhood in Kenya and later graduated from Biola University in Southern California. She and her husband Floyd currently live in Taiwan, where she teaches fifth grade at Morrison Academy. She has been writing poetry, short stories, and novels since her childhood, and to date has published fifteen books (three YA action and adventure novels, four fantasies, a puppet script, six anthologies of her students’ poetry, and a Bible verse coloring and activity book). Besides writing, her hobbies include reading (especially fantasy and science fiction), scrapbooking, and international travel.

Connect with the Author Online:

Email: AnnieDouglassLima@gmail.com

Blog: http://anniedouglasslima.blogspot.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AnnieDouglassLimaAuthor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/princeofalasia

Goodreads: http://bit.ly/ADLimaOnGoodreads

Amazon Author Page: http://bit.ly/AnnieDouglassLimaOnAmazon

LinkedIn: http://bit.ly/ADLimaOnLinkedIn

Google+: http://bit.ly/ADLimaOnGooglePlus

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