Antony Millen

Antony Millen

What is your latest release and what genre is it? The Chain – Young Adult dystopian

Quick description: The year is 2043. Empowered by the anti-encryption program, ICALL, and the world-wide wireless Blanket, the Global Domain reigns over all colocation centres with its Connectivist ideology, enforcing mandatory online activity for every eartizen and disabling attempts to secure privacy. The Domain’s slogans are: “Secrecy Threatens Security” and “Privacy Prevents Prosperity and Peace.”

From his death-bed in New Zealand, Fenton Ouvert commissions his sons, Topia and Lukan, to locate a flash drive containing the files of Jeremy Winterton, files stolen thirty years earlier from international surveillance agencies. A former investigative journalist, Ouvert hid the flash drive at the end of a chain of clue-bearers around the world. Contacted by the resistance movement known as Arachne, Ouvert believes the drive contains original plans for the ICALL program and thus, hope for a free world.

Travelling the globe, the Ouvert boys locate the links, but what will their journey reveal about their father and the effects of the Global Domain’s dominance? And what will their quest mean for the world when they reach the end of the chain?

Brief biography:
Antony Millen lives and writes in New Zealand, but is originally from Pictou County, Nova Scotia, Canada. Since 2013, he has published three novels and seen short stories featured in literary journals and competitions. He blogs regularly at antonymillen.com.

Links to buy Antony’s book:
Amazon US
Amazon Canada

Antony’s promo links:
Website/Blog
Facebook
Twitter

What are you working on now?
I’m nearing the end of a draft for my fourth novel. It is also intended for young adults, but will not be as complex as The Chain. A simpler story about friendships, co-dependency, dreams and re-assessing our heroes.

Antony’s reading recommendation:
The North Water by Ian McGuire, longlisted for the 2016 Man Booker prize. A faster-paced Moby Dick in a sort of thrilling historical fiction way.

Katrina Mountfort

Katrina Mountfort

What is your latest release and what genre is it? Forbidden Alliance is YA speculative fiction. It’s the second book in the Blueprint Trilogy, and since your readers may not have heard of the trilogy, I’ll introduce the first novel, Future Perfect.

Quick description: The Blueprint Trilogy tells of a dystopian future in which UK citizens live comfortable lives in Citidomes where looks are everything, the standard of beauty is tall, thin and androgynous, but personal relationships are forbidden. When a young man and woman become attracted to each other and question their society, they discover a new life outside the Citidomes but struggle to escape their past.

Brief biography:
Katrina dreamed of being a novelist from childhood but didn’t start writing until she was forty, when the death of a close friend made her realise that she couldn’t put off her dreams forever. Katrina lives in Saffron Walden, England, where she works from home as a freelance medical writer. She spends her free time walking her two black Labradors, listening to music and travelling as often as possible.

Links to buy Katrina’s book:
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
iTunes
KOBO
The paperback is also available directly from the publisher, Elsewhen Press.

Katrina’s promo links:
Website
Blog
Facebook
Twitter

What are you working on now?
I’ve always been fascinated by the importance of nurture versus nature and am currently working on the story of a native American girl with miracle healing powers, raised by strangers who knew nothing of her abilities.

Katrina’s reading recommendation:
The best book I’ve read this year is House of York by Terry Tyler, a contemporary family drama with parallels to events in the era of the Wars of the Roses. I’ve read several of this author’s other novels and would recommend them all.

Sue Perry

Sue Perry

What is your latest release and what genre is it? Nica of Los Angeles, a speculative detective novel with dystopian and paranormal elements. This is the first of at least four novels in the FRAMES series.

Quick description: When rookie private eye Nica takes on a mysterious case, she enters a world of multiple dimensions called Frames, where buildings and lawn chairs can be sentient, a stray cat has great powers, books can be killers, and clouds can be spies. At home, Nica tackles missing person cases, while in the larger reality of the Frames she is swept into an escalating battle with stakes that could not be higher.

Brief biography:
Sue Perry is a seasoned yet new writer who published one novel then went off and did other things. She enjoyed (then stopped enjoying) a variety of careers, from television producer to college professor to disaster scientist, and recently resumed writing novels. She now has four, as varied as her interests. Sue’s books span many genres and perspectives but share key features. They all have smartass dialog, strong female characters, and stories that unfold like mysteries. There will always be a cat, and there will usually be a musician. Although she loves writing – and is proud to be a writer – if Sue could be anything, she would be a musician. She missed her chance at the dawn of punk, when musical ability was optional.

Links to buy Sue’s book:
Smashwords – eBook
Amazon – eBook and paperback
Barnes & Noble – paperback and Nook
iTunes – eBook

Sue’s promo links:
Website
Twitter
Facebook

What are you working on now?
FRAMES, Book 2, Nica of XXX. (location currently embargoed)

Sue’s reading recommendation:
Selected Letters of Raymond Chandler edited by Frank MacShane
The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud (re-read)

Dylan S Hearn

Dylan S Hearn

What is your latest release and what genre is it? My book is called Second Chance. You could call it a dystopian thriller, or a technological thriller.

Quick description: Newly elected Delegate, Stephanie Vaughn, throws her weight behind the investigation of a missing student. When lack of progress prevents the popular boost she expected, she must accept covert assistance from Randall, her ex-boyfriend. But Randall’s motives for finding the student are equally tainted: and they soon become drawn into something far bigger than either expected.

Brief biography:
I’m a 43-years-old writer from Suffolk, England. I’d worked in the marketing industry for 25 years before deciding to take up my passion for writing. Second Chance is my first novel.

Links to buy Dylan’s book:
Amazon Worldwide

Dylan’s promo links:
Blog
Twitter

What are you working on now?
I’ve just finished the first draft of the (as yet unnamed) sequel to Second Chance, and am also outlining the third and final part to the trilogy.

Dylan’s reading recommendation:
I’ve been alternating between traditionally published and independently published novels recently. For a great medical thriller, I can recommend The Seneca Scourge by Carrie Rubin. A real-page turner that keeps you guessing to the end. I’m currently reading The Hydrogen Sonata, the final Culture Novel by my writing hero, the late, great Iain M. Banks.

I had the great pleasure to read Second Chance recently and here’s my review I posted to Goodreads: Second Chance was a free download I received from the author. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, although it’s not a genre I usually choose to read. The writing grabbed me from the start and pulled me right in, and I found the pace of the story to be just right to carry me along, wanting to discover the big secret of this very believable world Dylan Hearn has created. Very good writing and storytelling for a first novel. I would definitely read more by this author. smt

Mary Fan

Mary Fan

What is your latest release and what genre is it? The Firedragon (A Flynn Nightsider Tale) – YA dystopia/fantasy

Quick description: Almost a hundred years after supernatural creatures ravaged the earth, the magic-wielding Enchanters rule over the former United States with an iron fist as the totalitarian Triumvirate, keeping the people safe in exchange for their freedom. When fourteen-year-old Aurelia “the Firedragon” Sun is selected to represent the nation in an elite international monster-fighting competition, she hopes to prove to the world that the non-magical, such as herself, are equal to the Enchanters. But she soon realizes that there’s something sinister behind the contest. Before she can uncover the truth, though, she’s pitted against the most dangerous monster known to mankind – a beast no one’s been known to survive.

Brief biography:
Mary Fan is a hopeless dreamer, whose mind insists on spinning tales of “what if.” As a music major in college, she told those stories through compositions. Now, she tells them through books—a habit she began as soon as she could pick up a pencil. And what stories she has! Currently, she has three series in progress: her well-received Jane Colt sci-fi novels (Red Adept Publishing, released 2013), her upcoming Flynn Nightsider YA dystopian fantasies (Glass House Press, 2015), and her recently contracted YA fairytales, Fated Stars (Glass House Press, 2015). Mary would like to think that there are many other novels in her bag, and hopes to prove that to the world as well. And though she’s well on her way, she can’t help dreaming of more.

Mary lives in New Jersey and has a B.A. from Princeton University. When she’s not scheming to create new worlds, she enjoys kickboxing, opera singing, and blogging about everything having to do with books.

Links to buy Mary’s book:
Amazon Worldwide – eBook
Barnes & Noble – eBook

Mary’s promo links:
Website
Facebook
Twitter
Tumblr
Goodreads

What are you working on now?
I’m currently working on my new YA high fantasy series, Fated Stars, which is currently under contract with Glass House Press. It takes place in a fantastical world in which enchanted creatures such as unicorns and mermaids dwell alongside humans. The first book, Windborn, tells the tale of an airnymph trapped by dark magicians seeking to steal her powers over the wind. In her struggle to escape, she discovers that there’s far more at stake than her own life. An ancient evil is stirring, one foretold to engulf the entire world in fire.

Mary’s reading recommendation:
Stone & Silt by Harvey Chute, a young adult/children’s book about a half-native girl living in 1800s British Columbia who must clear her father’s name after he’s implicated in a dastardly murder.

Claire C Riley – an update on a new release

Claire C Riley was previously featured on Reading Recommendations Jan. 14, 2014. She’s back now to tell us about a new publication!

Odium, The Dead Saga is a top #100 dystopian selling book on Amazon.com for 2013, Indie book of the day winner December 2013, and Indie Author Land 50 best self-published books worth reading 2013/14. Limerence was the featured book in the Guardian newspaper for Best Indie Novel 2013.

Odium II – The Dead Saga

Fortune favors . . . the DEAD!

Some secrets are too horrific to ever be forgiven, and some people should never be trusted.

Tortured, starved, and on the run, Nina thinks she’s faced the worst that mankind has to offer, but she’s wrong. She may have survived this long, but she hasn’t come out of it unscathed, and there’s worse to come.

Nina’s trusty Doc Martens are showing signs of the zombie apocalypse, and she isn’t faring much better. With her snarky attitude guaranteed to get her in trouble, Nina needs to forgive the past, to live once more in the present, and learn that sometimes she needs to place her trust in other people.

Because when people are faced with the end of times, they’ll do anything to survive.

Claire C Riley’s work is best described as the modernization of classic, old-school horror. She fuses multi-genre elements to develop storylines that pay homage to cult-classics while still feeling fresh and cutting-edge. She writes characters that are realistic and kills them without mercy.

Claire is the author of “Limerence,” “Odium. The Dead Saga,” “Odium Origins. A Dead Saga Novella Part One,” “Odium II The Dead Saga” “Odium Origins A Dead Saga Novella Part Two” a contributor to several zombie apocalypse anthologies, including the charity anthology “Let’s Scare Cancer to Death.”

Claire lives in the UK with her husband, three daughters and one scruffy dog.

Coming up in 2014 are several projects including, “Odium III The Dead Saga,” “Odium Origins A Dead Saga Novella Part Three,” “Nina’s Odium,” “Limerence II: Mia,” plus anthology contributions to several exciting projects including “Fading Hope,” “The Murderous Campbell’s,” and “State of Horror: Illinois.”

She can be stalked at any of the following:
Website
Facebook
Amazon Author Page
Twitter
Google+
Pinterest
Authorgraph

Purchasing links for Odium The Dead Saga:
Amazon Worldwide – eBook and Print

Purchasing links for Odium Origins Part One:
Amazon Worldwide – eBook and Print

Purchasing links for Odium II. The Dead Saga:
Amazon Worldwide – eBook and Print

Odium The Dead Saga Trailer

Erik Martin Willén

Erik Martin Willén

What is your latest release and what genre is it? My latest release is the second volume in my debut story, Nastragull. Hunted is the second part in my debut series. Nastragull: Pirates was the first. Genre: Science Fiction, Dystopian, Space Opera, Action, Adventure, Military, Romance, Strong Women

Quick description: Nastragull: Hunted (volume 2) – After escaping from pirates with an emperor’s ransom in loot in NASTRAGULL: Pirates, young Alec and friends take refuge in a roving collective of space stations and massive starships called New Frontier. Along with fleets from Nastasturus and the rival Florencian Federation, three massive pirate armadas descend like locusts upon New Frontier, triggering a cataclysmic battle. Crippled and flung deep into space by an explosion, Alec’s ship becomes the quarry of everyone.

Nastragull: Pirates (volume 1) – As a tight-knit group of human cadets heads home after eight years of military training, their interstellar transport, Bright Star, comes under attack by pirates and after a bloody battle, they’re taken prisoner. One of the cadets, Alec Horn, eventually manages to escape with the Bright Star’s captain and an emperor’s ransom in loot. Together, they set out on a harrowing adventure to rescue their friends and comrades.

Brief biography:
My name is Erik Martin Willén, a first time author from Sweden who loves books and loves writing even more. I live in a small village in south Sweden and I received my education at an American Business University.
I recently published an original science fiction novel titled NASTRAGULL: Pirates, the first book in a projected series that combines the non-stop high-tech adventure of Star Wars with the awe-inspiring, complex cultural backdrop of Dune–with quite a bit of Quentin Tarantino thrown in for good measure. This action-packed novel includes elements of military SF, traditional space opera, dystopian SF, and the sociological explorations of writers such as Ray Bradbury and Ursula K. LeGuin. At heart, though, it’s a love story–the tale of two literally star-crossed lovers, and their Herculean efforts to move Heaven and Earth (sometimes literally) to find each other again and again as circumstances rip them apart.

How it all started: This is a story that I’ve kept coming back to since I was very young. Back then, a friend and I decided to create a cartoon. He was a great artist and could draw anything—and I was a bit crazy with my creative imagination. We decided I would come up with the story and he would handle the drawings. Boy, what a team we were! We produced a couple of pages, and then we got bored and went outside to play.

Through the years, I made notes on the topic … many notes. Several times I attempted to write a book based on those notes, but didn’t have the patience to complete it; after a few pages, I simply stopped. Years went by, and from time to time, whenever I faced difficulties in my life, I made more notes. Eventually I wrote the outline for the saga and turned it into several screenplays: Dawn Sets In Hell, Twenty-First, Nastragull, etc.

The turning point in my life, the one that made me an author, was when my younger sister Sofia was diagnosed with Lupus SLE—and died shortly thereafter at the young age of 24 in Edinburgh, Scotland. Sofia’s death came as an incredible shock. It hit my family and me very hard, and made me re-evaluate my life. During my grief I started to write, and I wrote and wrote, and I held back nothing. Finally I had found my author’s voice, and the result is the saga called NASTRAGULL.

Links to buy Erik’s book:
Pirates – eBook & paperback

Hunted – eBook & paperback

Erik’s promo links:
Amazon Author Page
Blog
Goodreads
Twitter
Google+

What are you working on now?
Currently I’m working on part 3, Nastragull: Dawn Sets in Hell & also Section Twenty-One (4) They should both be published later on this year.

Erik’s reading recommendation:
Emperor, The Blood of Gods by Conn Iggulden

Jennifer Ellis

Jennifer Ellis

What is your latest release and what genre is it? My latest release is entitled A Pair of Docks and it is a middle-grade to adult fantasy.

Quick description: Fourteen-year-old Abbey Sinclair likes to spend her afternoons in the physics lab learning about momentum and gravitational pull. But Abbey’s rational scientific mind is put to the test when her older brother, Simon, discovers a mysterious path of stones that allows them, along with Abbey’s twin brother, Caleb, to travel back and forth between their world and what appears to be the future.

But knowing the future is both addictive and useful and Abbey, Caleb, and Simon are not the only ones who are using the stones. They soon realize their lives are in danger from a man known only as Mantis. Abbey, Caleb, and Simon must follow a twisting trail of clues that will lead them from their autistic neighbor, Mark, to a strange professor who claims to know the rules of the stones, and to multiple futures—some of whose inhabitants don’t want to stay put.

It will take all of Abbey’s analytical skills to unravel the secrets of the stones, uncover the threads that tie the futures together, thwart Mantis’s plan, and, most importantly, keep her family alive—now and in the future. For surely witchcraft exists only in storybooks, and quantum physics can explain everything.

A Pair of Docks explores Einstein’s Theory of Relativity, the meaning of time, the potential for parallel universes, and the boundary between science and witchcraft. It is the first novel in the Derivatives of Displacement series.

Brief biography:
I live in the mountains of British Columbia where I write, spend too much time on skis of all kinds, and work as an environmental researcher. I write contemporary action-adventure fiction with a dystopic edge for both adults and children. I like math problems, being outside, cats and expensive cheese. Somewhere along the way, I managed to acquire a Ph.D. in geography and two supportive boys who eat lots, are an endless source of amusement, and can out ski me any day of the week.

Links to buy Jennifer’s book:
Amazon Worldwide – eBook and print

Jennifer’s promo links:
I blog randomly but regularly at www.jenniferellis.ca and can also be found on Twitter.

What are you working on now?
I’m working on the second novel in the Derivatives of Displacement series. I am about 20 percent in and am excited to see where Abbey, Caleb, and Simon’s adventures take them. I hope to publish that novel in November 2014. In the meantime, I am also finishing off my romance novel, In the Shadows of the Mosquito Constellation. It is at the editor’s for a copy-edit and then it will be proofreading time. I hope to have it out in April 2014. It has been completely re-written at least six times and has been sitting on my computer since 2007, so I will be glad to finally put it out there and see what people think.

Jennifer’s reading recommendation:
I just finished Bedtime Story by Robert Wiersema. It was a really fun read that for me managed to straddle that difficult position of being both literary and genre.