The Tropes of Fantasy Fiction


Book Description

Comparing various fantasy fiction stories, this book shows that it is not the tropes and cliches that make a story good or bad but how the author applies them. The book also explores the concept of text versus meta-text--that is, when the story's world and character actions contradict the reader's expectations based on the tropes being used. Covering authors from Mercedes Lackey and Brandon Sanderson to Christopher Paolini and Stephenie Meyer, the author finds that it is the nature of tropes and the language used that make a fantasy story, for bad or good.




Flesh and Spirit


Book Description

In the first volume of a proposed duology, Valen, the rebellious scion of a dynasty of pureblood cartographers and diviners, has spent years denying his heritage, until he nearly ends up dead, addicted to a spell that converts pain to pleasure and possessing only a stolen book of maps, a mystical volume that could hide the secret to the doom of the entire world. Original.




7 FIGURE FICTION


Book Description

There are only, in my humble opinion, two kinds of readers. Readers who love your books. and… Readers who don’t know they love your books yet. But how do you reach those readers in the second category, no matter what kind of writer you are? The answer to that question is… Universal Fantasy Universal Fantasy is why my sales tripled when I “accidentally” wrote three books that landed in the Amazon Top 100. Universal Fantasy is why some authors get gobs of gushing reviews and some authors who write “way better” get crickets. Universal Fantasy is the answer to many of the questions you might have thought were unanswerable or simply up to luck, like… • Will this sell? • Why is that selling? • Why didn’t this sell? • Will readers like what I am writing? • Why do I love the TV shows/books/entertainments I do? • Why did I buy that thing I bought when I didn’t intend to buy it? BE WARNED…once known, Universal Fantasy cannot be undiscovered. Leave this book be if you’re truly satisfied with your current writing life. But if you’re not afraid—if you’re ready to know the secret hidden inside all bestselling stories, open this gift and find out how to use UNIVERSAL FANTASY to write and market books that SELL to ANYONE.




Junkyard Druid


Book Description

JUNKYARD DRUID A New Adult Urban Fantasy Novel From M.D. Massey A cursed druid, blackmailed by a faery queen to find a missing magic rock. Let's just hope they don't hack the druid off... for everyone's sake. Name's Colin McCool. Folks call me the Junkyard Druid. I hate that name. Despite my last name, I'm not "cool" like the other hunters in town. I don't run an occult bookstore, I've never owned a Harley, and I didn't inherit a family fortune passed down through generations of hunters before me. And I kind of have this curse on me that's messed up my life. So, things have gone to hell since I was cursed. I live in a junkyard, my mentor Finn is a heroin addict, I've got the Cold Iron Circle breathing down my neck, and the local Fae Queen Maeve is blackmailing me into doing her dirty work. Now I'm in way over my head trying to retrieve Maeve's stolen magic rock, all while helping my friend Belladonna solve a series of murders that may or may not involve the local werewolves. And did I mention that my girlfriend is a ghost? If I can just get the Faery Queen's tathlum back, and help Belladonna solve the murders... Then I just might live long enough to finish my first year of college. - - - Junkyard Druid is a new adult fantasy novel that interweaves elements of paranormal mystery and suspense to introduce an exciting new world and characters in the urban fantasy paranormal genre. It is the first book in the Colin McCool urban fantasy series for adults. Readers of Jim Butcher, Patricia Briggs, Kevin Hearne, and Al K. Line will enjoy exploring this new fantasy world through the eyes of Colin McCool. Get your copy today!




Into the Crooked Place


Book Description

Into the Crooked Place begins a gritty two-book YA fantasy series from Alexandra Christo, the author of To Kill a Kingdom. The streets of Creije are for the deadly and the dreamers, and four crooks in particular know just how much magic they need up their sleeve to survive. Tavia, a busker ready to pack up her dark-magic wares and turn her back on Creije for good. She’ll do anything to put her crimes behind her. Wesley, the closest thing Creije has to a gangster. After growing up on streets hungry enough to swallow the weak whole, he won’t stop until he has brought the entire realm to kneel before him. Karam, a warrior who spends her days watching over the city’s worst criminals and her nights in the fighting rings, making a deadly name for herself. And Saxony, a resistance fighter hiding from the very people who destroyed her family, and willing to do whatever it takes to get her revenge. Everything in their lives is going to plan, until Tavia makes a crucial mistake: she delivers a vial of dark magic—a weapon she didn’t know she had—to someone she cares about, sparking the greatest conflict in decades. Now these four magical outsiders must come together to save their home and the world, before it’s too late. But with enemies at all sides, they can trust nobody. Least of all each other.




Tarma and Kethry


Book Description

This omnibus of the acclaimed Vows and Honor trilogy, set in the New York Times bestselling world of Valdemar, follows Tarma and Kethry, swordswoman and sorceress, as they seek justice for past wrongs. The Oathbound: Introduces Tarma--swordswoman trained by elite warriors in all forms of deadly combat--and Kethry, former noblewoman whose magical skills were shaped by a powerful school of sorcery. United by the Goddess and armed with a magical sword drawing them to those in need, Tarma and Kethry swore a blood oath to fight against evil. Oathbreakers: When Idra, leader of the Sunhawk mercenaries, failed to return from a journey to her home kingdom of Rethwellan, Tarma and Kethry set out in search of her. Instead they find a land shadowed by a dark enchantment, the claim to the throne in question, and the people of Rethwellan in terrible jeopardy. Oathblood: The sisters of sword and spell have pledged to train others to fight for their cause, starting a school for fledgling warriors and mages. But training turns out to be far more perilous than expected--and when two of their students are kidnapped, Tarma and Kethry must draw upon their combined skills to answer the call of destiny in ways they never imagined.




Peace and Turmoil


Book Description

Peace and Turmoil is the first installment in an epic fantasy series following heirs from across the land of Abra'am as they try to navigate magic, politics, and fiends.




Torn


Book Description

"A gorgeous weave of romantic fantasy and urgent politics." —Anna Smith Spark, author of The Court of Broken Knives In an enchanting world of sartorial sorcery, court intrigue, and revolutionary royals, a charm caster finds herself torn between loyalty to her brother and her love for a nobleman as a rebellion sweeps the land in this French Revolution-inspired debut historical fantasy. Sophie, a dressmaker and charm caster, has lifted her family out of poverty with a hard-won reputation for beautiful ball gowns and discreetly embroidered spells. A commission from the royal family could secure her future -- and thrust her into a dangerous new world. Revolution is brewing. As Sophie's brother, Kristos, rises to prominence in the growing anti-monarchist movement, it is only a matter of time before their fortunes collide. When the unrest erupts into violence, she and Kristos are drawn into a deadly magical plot. Sophie is torn—between her family and her future. In a time of revolution, everyone must take a side. Praise for The Unraveled Kingdom: “Miller places immigrant ambition and women’s lives at the heart of her magical tale of politics and revolution. I was utterly enchanted by this unique, clever, and subtly fierce fantasy. —Tasha Suri, author of The Jasmine Throne “Strong research, moral ambiguities, and an innovative magic system....A well-executed historical fantasy debut whose author has a sharp eye for detail.” —Kirkus “Miller weaves a fresh, richly textured world full of magic-stitched ball gowns and revolutionary pamphlets. The vivid, complex setting and deeply human characters make for an absorbing read!” —Melissa Caruso, author of The Obsidian Tower The Unraveled Kingdom Torn Rule Fray




The Case for Jamie


Book Description

The hotly anticipated and explosive third book in the New York Times bestselling Charlotte Holmes series. It’s been a year since the shocking death of August Moriarty, and Jamie and Charlotte haven’t spoken. Jamie is going through the motions at Sherringford, trying to finish his senior year without incident, with a nice girlfriend he can’t seem to fall for. Charlotte is on the run, from Lucien Moriarty and from her own mistakes. No one has seen her since that fateful night on the lawn in Sussex—and Charlotte wants it that way. She knows she isn’t safe to be around. She knows her Watson can’t forgive her. Holmes and Watson may not be looking to reconcile, but when strange things start happening, it’s clear that someone wants the team back together. Someone who has been quietly observing them both. Making plans. Biding their time. Someone who wants to see one of them suffer and the other one dead.




The Thousand Names


Book Description

Set in an alternate nineteenth century, muskets and magic are weapons to be feared in the first “spectacular epic” (Fantasy Book Critic) in Django Wexler’s Shadow Campaigns series. Captain Marcus d’Ivoire, commander of one of the Vordanai empire’s colonial garrisons, was serving out his days in a sleepy, remote outpost—until a rebellion left him in charge of a demoralized force clinging to a small fortress at the edge of the desert. To flee from her past, Winter Ihernglass masqueraded as a man and enlisted as a ranker in the Vordanai Colonials, hoping only to avoid notice. But when chance sees her promoted to command, she must lead her men into battle against impossible odds. Their fate depends on Colonel Janus bet Vhalnich. Under his command, Marcus and Winter feel the tide turning and their allegiance being tested. For Janus’s ambitions extend beyond the battlefield and into the realm of the supernatural—a realm with the power to reshape the known world and change the lives of everyone in its path.