Spotlight on Astounding Authors

Welcome back to another edition of Spotlight on Astounding Authors. I honestly wish I had the time to read all of these amazing books, but alas, I will have to leave that up to you.  This week we present to you Book 1 of the Four Feasts till Darkness series; Volume 1 of The Hero of Legend; a dark crime thriller; and a novel that some have called “profoundly disturbing to read”. Do we know how to pick them or what?

Please support independent and emerging authors. I hope you take a chance on one, if not all, of our offerings this week.  By clicking on the links provided you support not only the author but also Astounding Books and allow us to keep bringing you more Astounding authors each week.  And be sure to let us know what you think. We’d love to read YOUR review. Enjoy!

 

Feast of Fates
(Four Feasts Till Darkness: Book 1)
Author: Christian A. Brown
Publisher: Forsythia Press (September 15, 2014)
Pages: 551
Genre: Dark Fantasy
Twitter: @AuthorChrisAB
Facebook:  @christianadrianbrown
Website: ChristianAdrianBrown.com

Morigan lives a quiet life as the handmaiden to a fatherly old sorcerer named Thackery. But when she crosses paths with Caenith, a not wholly mortal man, her world changes forever. Their meeting sparks long buried magical powers deep within Morigan. As she attempts to understand her newfound abilities, unbidden visions begin to plague her—visions that show a devastating madness descending on one of the Immortal Kings who rules the land.

With Morigan growing more powerful each day, the leaders of the realm soon realize that this young woman could hold the key to their destruction. Suddenly, Morigan finds herself beset by enemies, and she must master her mysterious gifts if she is to survive.

Explore this Dark Fantasy and download your copy by Clicking HERE!

 

The Realmsic Conquest
(The Hero of Legend: Vol. 1)
Author: Demethius Jackson
Publisher: CreateSpace (July 2014)
Pages: 346
Genre: Young Adult / Fantasy
Twitter: @Demethius_J
Facebook: The Realmsic Conquest
Website: Realmsic.com

From its establishment, The Realm has remained the only magical kingdom in existence. As a result, it has never known peace. For centuries, conquerors have sought the Realm’s power for themselves, while non-magical people known as Laymen have fought to eradicate magic from their lives. Although the kingdom has never fallen, it must now defend against the Warlord Damian – a brilliantly merciless conqueror who usens history as a weapon.

Rallying those resentful of the Realm’s magic, Damian has amassed a Legion of Warriors – the largest military force ever assembled. The Kingdom’s defeat is eminent! Maebus, the Realm’s newest King, has only ruled for six days. Yet he must now lead the magical Realmsic Kingdom through its most perilous conflict ever.

Get your copy of The Realmsic Conquest by Demethius Jackson today! Click HERE!

 

The Traveling Man
Author: Michael P. King
Publisher: Blurred Lines Press (April 2015)
Pages: 192
Genre: Crime Thriller
Website: MichaelPKingWriter
Facebook: @MichaelP.King
Twitter: @mpking3312

Married con artists, using the aliases Tom and Patty Brown, arrive in the small city of Seanboro with their partner, Buddy Ray, masquerading as land speculators. Their plan is to falsify the environmental reports on a contaminated tract of lakefront property and sell the land to a local gangster who is involved in real estate development. But as their plan progresses, and the double-crosses pile up, they find themselves pursued by their now ex-partner Buddy, seeking revenge, and by an old enemy plotting their murder.

This novel is a dark crime thriller that will take you for a roller coaster ride. Get started by CLICKING HERE!

 

Matthew and the Derelict
Author: Joseph J. Wood
Publisher: Joseph J. Wood (Nov. 2015)
Pages: 224
Genre: Psychological Thriller
Twitter: @_JosephJWood
Facebook: Joseph J. Wood
Website: matthewandthederelict

A vindictive nihilist and his sycophantic sidekick delight in petty urban terrorism and indulgent hedonism. But when the course of events spiral out of control, the sidekick is suddenly left with more responsibility than he could have ever imagined – knowledge of how the world will end.

Now a leader with his own sycophantic followers, Matthew will struggle with his new role and the responsibilities it brings, all the while searching for a way to evade the imminent apocalypse that he has become the prophet of.

Read what some are calling “A profoundly disturbing read” today. CLICK HERE to get your copy.

Spotlight on Astounding Authors

We have a wonderful selection of novels from independent and self-published authors this week. While we here at Astounding Books can’t review every request we receive, we hope you will take a look at these Astounding Authors and let us know what YOU think.  Click on the highlighted links to purchase their novels. You not only support their efforts to write more Amazing Stories, but you also help support this site to Spotlight more Astounding Authors!

 

In The Blood
Author:  R. L. Martinez
Publisher: Lakewater Press (March 2016)
Genre: Epic Fantasy
Pages: 356
Twitter: @RobinLMartinez
Facebook: Robin.l.martinez400
Website: www.robinlmartinez.com

The Warrior
The war may have ended, but a new battle begins for disgraced prisoner-of-war, Ottilde Dominax. Dreams of her witchbreed twin are visions of death and betrayal. Driven by their grim warning, she escapes her captors and races across nations to save her sister.
But she may arrive too late…

The Witch
Lady Oriabel Dominax has kept her healing magic secret while she cares for her family’s struggling estate. But the arrival of a new lord hiding secrets of his own, the discovery of a dark and addictive magic and threats from a cruel blackmailer push her closer to disaster.
Through it all, the Witch’s Tree calls…

Read the exciting new novel from R. L. Martinez, In The Blood, available HERE.

 

The Keystone Staff (Aeonlith Saga Book 1)
Author: Danny F. Santos
Publisher: Amazon Digital Services (November 2015)
Pages: 62 (Novella)
Genre: Fantasy, series
Website: words.dannyfsantos.com
Twitter: @dannyfsantos
Amazon: author/dannyfsantos

The Aeonlith powered the magick abilities of the Wardens for centuries.

Kera is just a young Warden working in the Citadel’s library when the High Council orders her to accompany Jorthen deep into rival territory to find a powerful holy relic. Tensions run high but when they charter a merchant airship to smuggle them across the Disc Sea, she’ll begin to unravel secrets as their covert trip threatens to cause an all out war.

Don’t miss Book 1 of the Aeonlith Saga. Pick up your copy of The Keystone Staff today! Click HERE then come back and let us know what you thought!

 

Travel the Wicked Road
Author: M. L. Sanford
Publisher: ArchitectM, Inc (Oct. 2015)
Genre: Paranormal  Suspense / Thriller
Pages: 272
Website: www.mlsanford.com
Goodreads Author: mlsanford
Amazon Author: MLSanford
Facebook: author.mlsanford

Eaton Prescott’s young life, and path, was so far—well, in his words ‘lacking in everything that one could possible desire, or achieve’. Love, money, self-esteem, good looks, outgoing personality . . . well the list could go on and on. Little did he know that his path, the one that he would just as soon throw away and start over, was about to cross with a few other important ones—and something else. The ‘something else’, something wicked, he could do without, but then, do we have much choice on what road we take, which path we travel, or collide with?

Sheriff Bud Bustovf’s life, and path, was about to tumble into retirement, and in his mind, retiring only meant ‘sinking into uselessness, no longer of value to the citizens of New Gamore’. Little did he know, retirement was going to be anything but boring and quiet, his path too, about to cross many others, all unexpected, all life changing for him, and them. His new road, the one forced on him, uncovers buried secrets, missing people that turned into unexplained deaths, and new ones, deaths that is, all testing his grasp on reality, and his long held understanding of the family history, not to mention, his little town’s death and rebirth.

These are just a few of the odd and interesting characters introduced in the supernatural, suspense and mystery thriller, Travel the Wicked Road, by author M. L. Sanford. Oh, and don’t forget the little town of Gamore, its horrific end and curious reincarnation as New Gamore. Their paths cross, and twist, in a most unnatural way, the road leading to one of them fraught with that wicked something that many, including Eaton Prescott and Sheriff Bud Bustovf, would do anything to avoid—if only they knew.

See why happens when you Travel the Wicked Road by M. L.. Sanford. Click here to download your copy.

 

Curse of the Purple Pearl
Author: Adrian Speed
Publisher: Amazon Publishing (July 2015)
Pages: 315
Genre: Sci-Fi Mystery
Facebook: AdrianSpeedAuthor

Hannah Delaronde has an unusual hobby for a university student. While her classmates head home on their vacations, she seeks out the enigmatic Sir Reginald Derby and his steam powered time machine to solve the mysteries sent to the Derby and Delaronde Time Travel Company. They are called to Roman Vienna to solve the death of Marcus Aurelius. Who plucked the purple pearl ring from his finger? Who killed him in a room locked from the inside? Which villain will rise to claim the Roman Empire? Even as these questions pull at them a darker thread emerges that will drag them forward to Medieval France, 20th century Nigeria, the 23rd century lunar colonies and in the depths of the 99th century something evil stirs to whispers of the Purple Pearl.

Solve the mystery of the Curse of the Purple Pearl. Get your copy today!

 

 

Spotlight on Astounding Authors

This week in Astounding Authors we are spotlighting the second novel in an exciting urban fantasy series, a Young Adult fantasy, a book about a powerful wizard from a fellow native of Michigan and a suspenseful romantic mystery.

Use our links to easily purchase and download these amazing novels. Join us on Twitter @AstoundingBooks to discuss and share. Now, this week’s Astounding Authors!

A Fistful of Fire
(Madison Fox: Illuminant Enforcer Book 2)
By Rebecca Chastain
Publisher: Mind Your Own Business Books (October 2015)
Pages: 400
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Twitter: @Author_Rebecca
Website: RebeccaChastain.com
Facebook:  RebeccaChastainNovels

Madison Fox survived her first week as California’s newest illuminant enforcer, but if her grumpy boss, Mr. Pitt, was impressed, he hasn’t told Madison. In fact, there’s a lot her boss has been closemouthed about, including the dark secret haunting his past.

But Madison’s problems are just igniting. Neighboring regions report an uncharacteristic flare-up of evil, fire-breathing salamanders blaze unchecked across the city, and Black Friday looms. Trapped doing cleanup amid mobs of holiday shoppers, Madison watches from the sidelines as dubious allies insinuate themselves in her region.

As suspicions kindle and the mysterious evil gains strength, Madison must determine who she can trust—and whose rules to follow—before her region and career go up in flames.

Sizzling with adventure and sparking with magic, A Fistful of Fire is fused with Madison Fox’s trademark blend of humor and ass-kicking action.

You can find Rebecca Chastain’s urban fantasy novel, A Fistful of Fire by clicking on the title!

 

PAPER CROWNS
Author: Mike Cyr
Publisher: Amazon Digital Services (November 2015)
Genre: young Adult, Fantasy
Pages: 254
Goodreads: Goodreads.com – Mike Cyr
Tumblr: robogreaser.tumblr.com

Amy Green is convinced the fantasy world of her mother’ bedtime stories is real. Her friends and family worry for her health.

But she’s not wrong.

From rural Tennessee to the magical wilds of Ezrantia, Amy and company, barely scratching the surface of adulthood as it is, are faced with a slew of problems. The most pressing? Amy’s mother, the woman behind the stories fueling Amy’s obsession, caused these problems during her second life as an oracle in these lands.

Paper Crowns, a young adult fantasy novel, is available by clicking here.

 

CITIZEN MAGUS
by Rob Steiner
Publisher: CreateSpace (October 2016)
Pages:  372
Genre: Fantasy
Twitter: @RobSteiner
Website: robsteiner.quarkfolio.com

Remington Blakes, a magus from a 21st century where magic powers the world, has a big problem.

His former mentor, William Ford, stranded him in ancient Rome without a memory as to how or why. Well a guy has to eat, so he’s forced to eke out a living as a magus-for-hire among Rome’s plebeians. He calls himself “Natta Magus” since his real name sounds too Germanic to the discriminating Romans.

So when Natta learns that Ford has conjured daemons to kidnap a senator’s young daughter, he jumps at the chance to track Ford down. Natta chases him to Rome’s Germanic frontier to not only rescue the child, but learn the terrible secret behind why he left Natta in Rome.

Dowlnoad your copy of Citizen Magus from Michigan native Rob Steiner.

 

Between Two Fires
By Toni Williams
Publisher: Amazon Digital Services (February 2016)
Pages: 351
Website: ToniWilliamsBooks.wordpress.com
Facebook: Facebook.com/Toni-Williams

Rudy is a black British journalist constantly struggling, yet he’s full of charm and always looking on the bright side. However, never in his wildest dreams could he have imagined that he would fall for someone like Bridget. She’s a gorgeous American career woman running a highly successful stock-trading firm from an exotic Caribbean island, and she’s filthy rich. She’s also married to the world-famous British aristocrat, Lord Edward Tennyson. Bridget is frustrated with him but she’s crazy over Rudy.

Rudy knows that he’s pressing his luck by falling in love with Bridget, considering that the two of them come from completely different worlds. Still, he figures it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and if he plays his cards right he could hit pay dirt and win a woman any man would die for. Bridget assures him everything will work out once Edward is out of the way, and she’s got the perfect plan.

The big question is, can Rudy handle a woman like Bridget who is independent-minded, calculating, tough and ambitious?

What’s more, they both know that if they slip up and Edward discovers what’s going down, there’s going to be hell to pay.

Read Toni Williams romantic mystery, Between Two Fires today! 

That’s for this week. We hope you take a chance on one (or all) of these astounding authors and read their amazing novels. By using our links, you not only help support their work, you also help support Astounding Books to continue bringing you great reads.

Spotlight on Astounding Authors

We are back after a short break with a new edition of Astounding Authors. This week we have a young adult novel, a sexy thriller and a satirical fantasy. Our regular reviews return next week. I had some eBook troubles the past two weeks. But never fear! More Astounding Books is headed your way. Please visit our spotlight authors and tell them you saw their books on Astounding Books!

Touched by a Phoenix
Author: Sophia Byron
Publisher: Sophia Byron (April 2015)
Pages: 606
Genre: Romantic Suspense with a bit of sci-fi and action Twitter: @Sophia_Byron
Facebook: OfficialSophiaByron

Military technology, shrouded in secrecy and isolation. So was the man that gave it life…or so he thought.

Playboy Brad Scott spent years avoiding love, his heart and mind dedicated to only one thing—global security.  That is, until he meets the elusive Alexandria Saunders, daughter of one of the wealthiest men in military technology and the fiercest corporate attorney in the mixing bowl. Alexis tears Brad’s world apart the moment they meet and with a single touch, becomes the breath against his fire…his obsession. Unwilling to trust any man due to her haunted past, Alexis has allowed her career to consume her life until nothing else seemed important.  While Brad’s devastatingly good looks and charming ways do little to impress Alexis, his touch has managed to crack the walls—walls she had built to protect her heart.  If Alexis can overcome her insecurities and fear, will she finally discover the man of her dreams—the man whose touch will heal her wounds and ignite the inextinguishable flame within her?

With an IQ of 229, Brad has been responsible for the most advanced developments in the history of surveillance systems.  With Alexis at his side, he has realized the greatest breakthrough of the century in military technology.  Now, the world wants what he knows and will stop at nothing to hunt him down. In a game of betrayal, terrorists seem determined to destroy Brad but should they fail, they’ll opt to eradicate the next best thing—Alexis.  In a race against time, can Brad swallow his pride and allow former CIA agent John Martin to help him save the only woman who has the power to save him from himself? Along the way, can they save the world from the horrors about to be unleashed? Interested in a sexy thriller?

Pick up a copy of Touched by a Phoenix today by clicking here!

 

I Am Sleepless: SIM 299
Author: Johan Twiss
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing (November 2015)
Pages: 286
Genre: Young Adult / Science Fiction
Twitter: @JohanTwiss
Website: Iamsleepless.weebly.com
Facebook: JohnBurgerWrites

While the others slept, Aidan spent hours each night running sim after sim. Although he was only a twelve-year cadet, he had completed more simulations than any prime— ever.“You are setting history,” General Estrago told him. “No one has ever made it to the current simulation you are attempting. The other Masters and I are eager to see what comes next.”So was Aidan.

The planet Ethos is at war with a mysterious enemy known as the Splicers. Their only successful defense is the Prime Initiative. All newborns with the compatible genetic code are taken from their families and injected with the Prime Stimulus. Each child that survives the stimulus develops an extraordinary ability and is conscripted into the military for training. After turning twelve, Aidan is moved to the upper-class at the Mount Fegorio training complex. His special gifts allow him unprecedented success in the virtual training simulations, advancing him further than any prime cadet in history.

No one knows what lies after sim 299, not even Director Tuskin, the ruthless and reclusive ruler of their planet. But something, or someone, has been guiding Aidan there. If he can pass the final tests, he may discover the key to ending the Splicer War.

Stay up all night and read I Am Sleepless: SIM 299 by clicking here.

 

Descent Into Madnes
Author: Evan Thomas Dixon

Publisher: CreateSpace (November 2015)
Genre: Satirical Epic Fantasy
Pages: 378
Twitter: @EvanThomasDixon
Website: EvanThomasDixon.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/evandixonwriting

When Mr. Brightley’s mansion is razed to the ground in the dead of night by a pack of wherewolves [sic], he finds himself wandering the wilderness with a couple of his surviving servants in tow. After escaping into the city of Lyverpool, our protagonist discovers that an organization known as the Intelligentsia, led by the infamous Finesse l’homme Pecheur, has invaded Buncombe and established a nationwide reign of tyranny. Alas! What is one to do? Why, join the Circus of Outcasts, of course! Especially when said Circus is an insurrection in disguise.

Alongside Thom Bloom and his ragtag band of freaks, Mr. Brightley helps emancipate cities, infiltrates a mental hospital, and barely evades an ambush at the hands of psychotic crusaders, all to prevent the Intelligentsia from accomplishing their true goal: the emancipation of Dionysos, the God of Madness, from the alternative dimension of Darkether, in order to establish a Dæmonocracy by which they will rule the known universe. The Circus is determined to stop them. And Mr. Brightley hopes he can help – if only he can stop having these strange hallucinatory dreams…

Join the outcasts and read Descent into Madness today!

Spotlight on Astounding Authors

It’s been a great inaugural year for us here at Astounding Books. Let’s end the year off right with three Astounding Authors who published novels in 2015. As always, please let us know what you thought of their novels. Be sure to follow us on Twitter at @AstoundingBooks to find more Astounding Authors in 2016.

 

Beyond the Storm
Author: Adam Jones
Publisher: Tea Cosy Publishing (2015)
Pages: 325
Twitter: @adamjoneswrites
Website: AdamJonesWrites.com

Man tries to remember his past while Jude tries to forget hers.

Years after the nuclear holocaust decimated Britain, Man wakes up, naked and alone but for the murdered corpses which surround him. Struggling with amnesia, Man travels the wastes trying to piece together his past.

Across the crumbling remains of the city, Jude flees a depraved fiend, running for her life. Beyond the Storm is a journey of horror and suspense which paints a broken future world and the events that made it that way.

Click here to purchase Beyond the Storm by Adam Jones.

 

Ribbonworld
Author: Richard Dee
Publisher: Silverwood Books (November 2015)
Pages: 201
Twitter: @Richarddockett1
Website: RichardDeeScifi.co.uk

Miles Goram has a problem. All the down-on-his-luck journalist planned on doing was writing a hotel review and now there’s a body in his bathroom. Far from home on a strange planet, Miles must deal with the fact that somebody wants him dead.

Welcome to Reevis, a planet without days or nights where life is only possible under a vast pressure dome. It is on this airless wasteland that Miles finds himself caught up in a mystery involving a huge interplanetary corporation, a powerful man and his ambitious PA, and a beautiful young heiress who has been missing for years.

Crossing the galaxy in search of answers, Miles begins to uncover a web of deceit that stretches further than anyone could have imagined. With his life becoming at greater and greater risk, he realizes that there is no one he can trust. Will he discover the truth and finally come to terms with his past? And, if he does, will it be enough to save his future.

Click Here to purchase Ribbonworld by Richard Dee.

 

Starlight (Book 1 in the Dark Elf War Series)
Author William Stacey
Publisher: Bastard Sword Press (August 2015)
Twitter: @williamstacey2
Website: williamstaceyauthor.com

A secret power. The revival of magic. An ancient evil stirs. When two worlds collide, a new hero will rise.

When an impossibly localized lightning storm hits the surrounding forest, twenty-year-old university dropout Cassie Rogan discovers her supernatural side. After centuries of atrophy, the forces of magic are flowing back into our world, and Cassie can now wield arcane powers. Cassie must quickly master these new abilities to protect mankind because a dark entity secretly watches from the shadows. The Fae Seelie (a.k.a. the Dark Elves)—humanity’s ancient enemy—have returned to settle the score.

Click here to purchase a copy of Starlight by William Stacey.

That will do it for this year. Thank you for supporting all of our Astounding Authors in 2015!

A Short Review for The Grownup

The Grownup

Author: Gillian Flynn
Publisher: Crown (November 2015)
Pages 64
Website: Gillian-flynn.com
Twitter: gillianflynn

This will not be a very long review. The Grownup is actually not a very long novel.

64 Pages. Give or take. I think the actual story started on page 6, (9% through the novel) so…that happened.

I could attempt to give you a rundown on this mini-thriller’s plot, setting, themes and characters. However, if I did, it would spoil about 1/3 of the length of the actual novel. A common rule I have: reviews should not be longer than the actual novel. To avoid actually giving away too much of this very short story that you’ll probably pay anywhere between $12 for the hard cover and $2.99 for the Kindle version for, I will just say the following:

Do you like ghost stories?

Did you like reading any of the other novels Gillian Flynn wrote, including the hugely famous, suspenseful and successful Gone Girl?

Do you like Flynn’s first person writing style, her fast paced storytelling and how she keeps readers guessing and second-guessing with twists and red herrings?

Do you like George R. R. Martin…you know, the guy who’s famous for the extremely long winded, 1,000 page tomes that make up the Fire and Ice (Game of Thrones) series? (He asked Flynn to write him a story. This is that story.)

Do you like reading a full novel (or more appropriately a Novella) in about an hour and a half (leaving time to stop, grab a pop, go let the dog out and check Facebook for any messages)?

Are you trying to finish up a Goodreads Reading Challenge and need just one more book?

If you answered yes to any of these questions then read The Grownup by Gillian Flynn. It’s a fun, thrilling tale. My only complaint is that it could have been longer. There was enough good material here for a full length novel. The ending felt rushed and vague. Ok, that’s actually a couple of complaints.

Addendum #1: If you are planning to read this novel on a three or four hour flight across the country, you’d better bring another book.

Addendum #2: I received a free copy of this book from BloggingForBooks.com in exchange for a fair and honest review. That said, I’m glad I didn’t pay $12 for the mini-book format of this novella.

As short stories or novellas go, The Grownup is a good 4 out of 5 stars.

To purchase a copy of The Grownup by Gillian Flynn, CLICK HERE.