Category: self-published

A Mythological Tale By JJ Taylor

In Greek mythology, Medea is not a positive figure. She is usually depicted as a sorceress, she was a priestess of Hecate, goddess of night, magic, graves and ghosts, she is the granddaughter of Helios and Circe’s niece, another figure with very few positive connotations (she was an enchantress very well versed in herbs and potions) who transformed her enemies, or whoever offended her, into animals.
According to the myth, Medea grew up in a hostile environment: since she was a child, her father had to deal with the notion she would have been her brother’s death, and that had always been cause of big resentment towards Medea, both from her father and her brother. According to the prophecy that accompanied the Golden Fleece, owned by King Aeëtes of Colchis, which is Medea and Absyrtus’s father, the kingdom was staying in the family only as long as the Golden Fleece did too. If this, for whatever reason, was going to pass into different hands, King Aeëtes was going to lose his first born to the hand of his daughter, and this would have been the case even if Medea was going to get married against her own will.
When Jason comes asking for the Golden Fleece, King Aeëtes promises he will have it only if he passes three very hard tests. If you pass them, says the King, then you can have the Fleece. He clearly set them up so that Jason is doomed to fail, but Medea offers him a solution: I will help you, if you promise you will take me with you. Jason accepts, partly because he needs the Fleece, partly because it’s hard to ignore the sparkle between the two of them. With Medea’s help, Jason is victorious, Jason moves his band on the Fleece and Medea packs her possessions and flees with him.
She is almost free from her father and his unjustified persecutions. But her brother is sent to follow her, and she knows their destiny is now sealed. Eventually, she kills him and cuts him into pieces, that she throws one by one into the sea, forcing her father to slow down his chase to collect all his son’s parts and grant him a proper burial to avoid him entering Hades’s reign.
Medea is finally free. She follows Jason to Corinth, were they settle and eventually marry, and they have two sons. But the sparkle between them is not a long lasting affair, and soon their relationship cools down, taking a turn for the worse when Medea brews a special potion to revive Jason’s father youth, but Pelias, instead of getting younger, dies. It’s the end for them, cemented by Jason’s will to remarry with Creusa, King Creon’s daughter. The official version is that, in this way, Jason’s sons will have a better future. But Medea is not having any of that and kills them both, then leaves Corinth and finds refuge in Athens, where eventually she marries King Aegeus and has one son, Medus, who will eventually reign over Colchis, Medea’s place of birth, giving her the rights of a Queen, like she should have had since the beginning.

Contrary to many other descriptions of Medea, this one, despite being extremely faithful to the facts as they have been transmitted to us across the centuries, depicts a strong-willed woman that has to fight in a world were only men are considered of value. She is stubborn and brave, and all the things she does, even the most nefarious ones – like dismembering her own brother – are forced by the situation, there is never real pleasure in them; she spends most of her life being used by the goddess Hecate which she serves, until the goddess discards her like a rag when Medea turns older. Despite the darkness and tragedy that surround her life in every aspect, Medea maintains a shade of humanity through it all, like the feeling of longing for her maid and special friend Alkippe or the way she treats every person she meets with the same respect.

It’s a brilliant read, presented in a superb prose, that deserves to be savoured and absorbed with calm and an open mind. A great example of a strong female character, and I found this passage simply amazing:

“You are power. You are change. You are an avenger, a fury in mortal form, born of the sun god, the goddess of the water, and serving the goddess of the underworld. And that makes you more dangerous than any priestess in any temple. Between your own power and that of the goddess filling you, you will burn through this life like a fire started by lightning in a land parched of water.”

‘Medea’ is available for purchase at: https://amzn.to/3UhbbFF

An Urban Fantasy Novel By Quinn Cameron (Book One of the ‘Marionette’ Series)

Fitch Farrow, aka Marionette, kills people for a living, using his telekinetic powers. He has not chosen this way of life willingly, but he’s very good at it. He’s been part of criminal (witch) organisation the Bloody Hex since his early teens, so he can barely remember what it means to have an ordinary life and that’s fine by him. Until his younger brother Donovan, as human as it gets, is about to be initiated into the gang through murder. To protect him, Fitch faces arrest and incarceration, a trial and potentially death, while pushed by the establishment, The Capitol, to accept a deal and expose the Bloody Hex. Spoiler alert: that is not going to happen. An epic prison escape, a surprising yet very welcome ‘not guilty’ verdict for Fitch and a mysterious plague come next, as the tables quickly turn. What will Farrow do next? Whatever it takes, surely. 

‘Pulling Strings’, released this April, is the first novel in a planned series of four, to be published every other month until October.
The craft, care and attention to detail with which Quinn Cameron builds and tells the story from beginning to end is impressive, gifting us with a book so well-written that is actually challenging to fault. Fitch Farrow is not a character to be taken at face value: while his numerous crimes – we witness only a couple gruesome killings during the story – paint a picture of cruelty and recklessness, his unwavering commitment to ensuring his brother does not follow in his footsteps makes him an anti-hero you can only root for, also as human as it gets. Mastering the principle of ‘show, don’t tell’ beautifully, Cameron has an unquestionable ability to make all the characters within the story and the world they inhabit come to life. The narration moves along nicely and never gets dull or boring, although the imprisonment stint could have done with a slightly faster pace. Dialogues are witty, gritty and often packed with irony, the bitter kind that I personally love. 

Overall, ‘Pulling Strings’ makes for a fiery start to what we hope will be an exciting, captivating series. Whether you are into urban fantasy and dystopian settings or not, you’ll read it in no time and be hungry for more. The good news is, Chapter Two will be released on June, 1^st, so you don’t have to wait that long.

‘Pulling Strings’ is available for purchase at: https://amzn.to/3xHamOR

/This book contains graphic content and is best suited for adult readers./

A Dystopian Sci-Fi Novel By Nikki Haase (New Release!)

‘Elimination’ by Nikki Haase is a harrowing, challenging read that starts off bleak and only gets bleaker.

Jack Cortex is an experimental military creation – known as a ‘subject’ – held in some non-descript underground lab operated by the US government. He is one of a new breed of elemental super-soldiers in training and has been given the power to control water (with often devastating results), as well as quick healing and resistance to physical damage. The story tracks his tortuous time in the lab whilst the evil Dr Thaddeus attempts to ascertain what will harm/kill the subjects through a series of horrific experiments, and which subjects are the strongest through a series of one-on-one fights to the death – to what end, we aren’t exactly sure.

It begins with someone close to Jack dying, and ends in the same way, and it’s hard to identify any progress he makes in between. He is held in his cell, is taken away to be tortured or to kill someone (or both), then is returned to his cell. This happens over and over in the same pattern. Each time he defies the guards initially, then each time after torture/a killing spree, he gives in and acquiesces. The challenge of this set up is that the reader is constantly waiting for/expecting something else to happen, but it rarely ever does. 

The writing is clean and error free, and there are many passages that are well put together with a high level of detail bringing you into the torture and battle scenes as you feel Jack’s pain. The lead subjects share a bond through their suffering, and some of the moments between them are touching. There are also some clever ideas about how the subjects are able to manipulate the elements to their advantage – and kill people.

I must admit I found it a challenge to really root for the subjects, including Jack, because in the midst of all their torture they commit so many brutal murders and sadistic acts themselves and with such glee. Obviously, you feel bad for them in their awful situation, and can understand their desire to rebel, but many of their actions made them difficult for me to totally like/relate to.

Overall, it is a quick read and the story moves along at a real pace with no lulls. If you’re into gruesome torture scenes, and brutal descriptions of fights to the death, then there’s plenty here for you!

‘Elimination’ is available for purchase at: https://amzn.to/4azTfNA

(Review By Robin Stevens)

Book Four of the Phineas Mann Series By Mark Anthony Powers (New Release!)

In the latest instalment of Powers’s medical thriller series, we find our beloved main characters, Phineas and his wife Iris, a few years in the future. However, it’s not the idillic and peaceful setting we envisioned for Dr Mann, one made of happy memories and holidays in the sun… Phineas has in fact Parkinson’s disease.
The strong, energetic and resolute man, who pulled a whole hospital ward through the difficulties brought about by a terrible hurricane and subsequent blackout, is now a fragile little man, who gets weepy when he talks and has to wear a oxygen mask at night to help him breathe. Despite his poor health, Phineas is still perfectly conscious of his surroundings, and the fact that his wife Iris lost weight doesn’t elude him. Talking about a woman’s weight is like walking on egg shells, so Phineas tries to not to think about is too much; ‘maybe it’s just my impression’, he says to himself. But his wife’s weight loss becomes more and more evident and Phineas has to address it. While taking care of Phineas nowadays is a full-time job, and the couple is not getting any younger, Iris needs to seek medical attention.
Almost on a whim, Phineas had previously applied to take part in a Duke University clinical trial for patients with Parkinson’s disease, and he is eventually invited to enrol. It’s an experimental procedure and not an easy one, but Phineas can only benefit from it, because, in case of success, his life expectancy and quality will increase. If this does not happen for him, at least he would help future patients. While finalising all the tests he has to do before he can start, Iris comes back with her own test results: they are not a death sentence, but not positive either. She is offered a very risky treatment, which drives Phineas to utilise his medical expertise in an attempt to save her, while also saving himself. Will our beloved couple, fighting a terrible battle against two serious diseases, make it?

This time there are no hurricanes, or pandemics to stop, this time the story is much more personal. The clinical descriptions of a Grey’s Anatomy manual (without the medical jargon) are intertwined with a delicate plot made of everyday details and the common problems any couple that has been together for a long time encounters. This contributes to making Iris and Phineas more human, more real: we feel for them, we struggle with them and we definitely hope for the best, genuinely concerned for their wellbeing.

Powers’s style is light and well defined, with a prose that gets better and better with every book, creating a distinctive voice. This is, in my humble opinion, the best book of the series. For sure it’s the most personal one. Unfortunately, it might be the last – or one of the last – Phineas Mann novels, purely because he is getting old.
It’s never easy to let a character go, especially one I have grown fond of over the last couple of years.

This book is an absolute delight to read, and it would be really interesting to see what Powers can do with different characters in a non-medical setting, because I am sure he has the potential to produce pure fiction without any doctors involved, or even an enthralling thriller. Stay tuned to find out!

‘The Desperate Trials of Phineas Mann’ is available for purchase at: https://amzn.to/4aLNJqO

For more information on Mark’s work to date, visit his website: https://hawksbillpress.com

Delving into Prequel One of the ‘Naturae’ Series

Risking Destiny is a prequel to Foster’s Naturae Series. In this book, a fae Queen and a Viking Yarl fall in love despite conventions that don’t allow the fae to have relationships with humans. Sigurd, the Viking, is kidnapped by the fae after his people invaded an island in Orkney and killed many of the humans that were under Queen Lana’s care, but the Queen finds that her relationship with the tall Viking does not go the way she expected.

Ordinarily, I don’t read books featuring fae, and especially vampires, but I gave this book a chance, and I’m pleased that I did. There is mention of vampires, although none appear, but the fae received their Lifeforce from humans in a worship ceremony, and occasionally drink the blood of animals in a vampire-like way to top up their Lifeforce.

The story intrigued me, although I would have preferred a little more of the Viking side of it to have been included. As a prequel to a series I hadn’t read, the book stood strongly on its merits, and at the end, two young fae are pupated whom I presume go on to be important characters in the series. For people who have read some of the Naturae books, I’m sure this backstory will add to their enjoyment of them.

There is a subtle subtext of societal conventions and how love refuses to be constrained by them, but in the end, needs must, and the Queen, Lana, is forced to make difficult decisions that place expediency ahead of her own desires.

The historical fiction element was blended into a fantasy setting by the clever use of a fantasy world that cohabits our Earth, hidden from sight by a mysterious mist. The worldbuilding and interplay between the two realms was good throughout, and when the fae ventured into the humans’ realm, the dangers of them being spotted created some nice tension, especially Queen Lana, who proved to be something of a reckless risk-taker.

Despite this genre being well outside my comfort zone, the book proved easy to read and I thoroughly enjoyed the story. Anybody who reads my reviews will know I’m picky about typos and the like, and I can’t deny that there are quite a few. Most people probably don’t notice them, and the story is entertaining enough to make them seem unimportant.

Give this a read, whether you’ve read the Naturae series or not. If you haven’t, then, like me, you’ll probably end up curious enough about it to move on the first book of the series.

‘Risking Destiny’ and the whole Naturae Series are available for purchase at: https://amzn.to/4ckORDb

(Review By Hayley Price)

A Brand New Novel From the Author of ‘The King of Gravesend’ Series Peter Draper

Peter Draper, the man who pushed the concept of endlessly typing on a keyboard to a totally new level, is back with another spin-off of ‘The King of Gravesend’ saga!

Chuds Douglas has, unfortunately, passed away, leaving a hole in the lives of all the people who met him. Meanwhile, Ro, his wife, is doing her best to hold on and move on with her life. Chuds would have wanted that for sure. She is a business owner, can count on the support of her friends and has a wife too, called Angel. Life is being generous with her, she really has nothing to complain about. Everything is running smoothly, her days plain-sailing. Right? Kinda.
When Marvin tells her during a Zoom call that she has been selected to run for the position of Councillor at the local elections, Ro’s life is about to take a totally different turn. While Ro and Angel are busy checking on their businesses and friends, they stop at Lorraine’s for a drink and notice a man in a business suit and leather gloves leaving quickly, too quickly to feel right, given he has been staring at Ro for a very long time. The incident is creepy and concerning in equal measure so Ro sends the CCTV recording to Marvin. Better safe than sorry, that’s what they say.
In the meantime, Trevor is introduced to Ernesto, who works for the Philippine National Police. Ernesto’s nephew, Lando, went to England to work as a nurse to support his family, but has been missing since landing at Heathrow, so Ernesto is looking for Chuds to get help and find him. Ernesto knew Chuds, as he was the Lead Officer when Chuds was kidnapped by Abu Sayyaf and worked closely with his attorney to free him. He trusts Chuds, he knows he’s a good guy. Unfortunately, it is Trevor who needs to deliver the bad news of Chuds’s death to Ernesto. Being the selfless person she is, Ro decides to take matters into her own hands and help. This is when things take a very dark turn. Will Lando be found? How will this delicate matter end?

This book is simply impressive, from beginning to end. Besides the fact that it kept me glued until the very last page, its content is an absolute delight – even though you can hardly consider human trafficking delightful. The themes discussed are, unfortunately, current, but dealt with delicately and kindly, with the narrative never slipping into the patronising or the overdramatic. There is a perfect balance of seriousness and humour, there are old characters that are always a welcome presence and new ones that are introduced with a few, simple brushes.
Draper’s style is always impeccable, straight to the point, with a crafty balance of description and dialogue. While he avoids beating around the bush, he is capable of dragging you into the story like no one else. His control over the story production process is incredibly tight and it shows, something that allowed him to write and publish this book in less than two months.
‘Ro: Breaking The Chain’ is definitely his best work so far.

For more information about Peter’s work, visit his website or his Author Page on Amazon.

A Nordic Noir Thriller By Jean-Louis Adorsen

‘An Angel Named Gabriel’ by Jean-Louis Adorsen is a nordic-noir thriller with a reluctant hero and some dark, disgusting villains. Set in a familiar feeling small town on the coast of Norway, Gabriel Dahl is a wildlife photographer heading to a documentary shoot who, on a whim whilst passing, decides to go looking for a girl he met once on a childhood holiday. Very soon, he finds himself caught up in a seedy criminal underworld on a mission to rescue the girl that he fell in love with all those years ago.

The plot rattles along quickly and the pacing of the novel is excellent. The rate at which Gabriel finds himself in deeper and deeper is well-judged, with some good use of backstory and description where appropriate. There is genuine jeopardy throughout and the story keeps you guessing as to how Gabriel will rescue his long lost childhood love Annette. Gabriel is a likeable everyman character who uses the limited tools at his disposal to find ingenious solutions to the problems that he encounters. The villains of the story are truly reprehensible and pretty much any despicable crime you can imagine, they have been involved. This does mean that the lead antagonist feels a little caricature-ish at times – a psychopath with no qualms and a damaged childhood who has no humanity at all.

There are some writing choices that feel as though they could have benefited from a little further revision, including the handling of characters’ responses to the rape and abuse that occurs to them, a few small continuity errors, and some of the dialogue which feels a bit unnatural and forced. I commend the author for translating the book into English themselves, and in general this has been done excellently – quite an impressive undertaking – but it does, inevitably, lead to some issues relating to the use of idioms and slang. Having said this, the story will keep you on the edge of your seat and wanting to know more – it was a quick read for me for this reason. 

Recommended for fans of books like Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, this story will transport you into a dark underworld that will intrigue and disgust, but keep you turning those pages for more.

‘An Angel Named Gabriel’ is available for purchase at: https://amzn.to/3SOhqjH

(Review By Robin Stevens)

Book One of ‘The Vine Series’ by S. P. Dawes

DCI Jesse is new to the role when he meets Hayley at his brother’s birthday party, as she works in the same restaurant. During the party, there is a weird exchange of lines and banter between Caitlyn (Rob’s girlfriend), her cousin, some of his friends and Hayley. It’s not a secret that Caitlyn doesn’t like Hayley, but the whole thing sounds suspicious anyway, and the abrupt way Hayley leaves even more so.
It’s none of his business, though, thinks Jesse. No crime has been committed and, after all, people can be nasty towards others; besides, Jesse is investigating on a serial killer, there are bodies missing and the heat is not helping his case. So, he parks the whole night at the back of his mind and moves on.
Not for long, though. Shortly after, Hayley’s house is vandalised and in an instant she is homeless and persecuted. Jesse offers her to go and live with his parents and rent his old bedroom. She will be safe there, and it’s only temporary – she will stay until her apartment has been fixed. It’s a good solution, Hayley would be silly not to accept. Romance will gradually blossom between Hayley and Jesse, and a lot more will emerge about Hayley’s past, which is also the reason why she is hiding, doesn’t trust people and is unable to create meaningful relationships.

This book is part of a trilogy that I am keen to explore further, because of some of the themes it deals with. Hayley’s father is part of a cult, his beliefs leading to her arranged marriage with another cult member she had no feelings for; she then gets pregnant but, out of desperation, she throws herself down the stairs and procures herself an abortion. She is also very worried about her younger sister, who’s now taken her place by her former husband. Hayley is clearly a victim of trauma, and she’s still dealing with the consequences.

This aside, I believe there are some issues with the story, identified by the author as a ‘romantic suspense thriller’. My question is however: is it a thriller or is it a romance? Thrillers require a crime, usually violent, a big question mark on who committed it, how and why, and a figure that undoes the mystery, usually a policeman or someone part of a forensic team. There is no mystery here, since the people who are after Hayley are named quite early on during the narration and, unfortunately, being part of a cult is not a crime per se. It is surely a traumatising experience, but even having a car crash is no joke, still usually no one gets arrested for it. Where is the thriller, then? If that element is constituted by the serial killer Jesse is looking for, we definitely need this character more present in the narration, because Jesse doesn’t look that concerned about it. On the contrary, his attention is more focused on Hayley and her wellbeing, but even that part lacks ‘romantic drive’: there is no hearth-wrenching longing for each other, there are no Romeo and Juliet moments, nor dramatic separations that make the reader cry in pain.

The narration flows well, the syntax is correct and the plot well-conceived, but in my opinion Book One overpromises and underdelivers, leaving a bitter taste at the end and no genuine interest in reading the rest. This is honestly a shame, because with some reworking and tightening on the plot, this book has a lot of potential.

‘The Vine Series’ is available for purchase at: https://amzn.to/3wsNKRq

A Novel By David Dvorkin (New Release!)

Cage Of Bone tells the intriguing story of Max, an unremarkable man until he starts hearing the thoughts of a killer in a movie theatre. The unusual skill gives him evidence that can put criminals behind bars, and he works with DDA Grady Jacobs to bring down some very bad men. Jacobs offers Max a job in the DA’s office, targeting organised crime on a larger scale. It is then that Max meets other mind readers, leading him to discover why he has this peculiar ability, and into a maze of crime and cover-ups that threatens Max and those around him.

Cage Of Bone has a very interesting premise, and I consumed it at breakneck speed. The trials and tribulations that Max endures in the book show us both sides of his nature. He learns to kill, but he never loses touch with the good guy that lurks inside him.

The twists and turns of the plot lead us down some cul-de-sacs and cause us to question characters who are not all they appear to be. Max’s fractious relationship with his father and stepmother is a great example of how to weave a thread of complexity into a story, and Dvorkin throws us breadcrumbs that we eagerly consume, then reveals the more tempting dishes that the breadcrumbs had blinded us to.

The story races along at a great pace, and the compelling plot demands that you keep going until the end to find out how everything ties together and what will happen to our reluctant hero, Max, especially when he encounters the people at the top of the organisation he finds himself working against. The bodies stack up as the plot thickens, and the mind-reading element, so key to the story, is intriguing and entertaining throughout.

The reason for the ability to read minds is explained, and that was the only disappointment in the book for me. It was tenuous, I thought, borderline conspiracy theory. I would probably have preferred to be left wondering about it than be spoon-fed the somewhat trite explanation that eventuated.

Apart from that one element that I didn’t enjoy, but many probably will, the story was faultless. Some of the characters were a bit too good to be true, and I thought they might have spiced up the later stages by revealing their darker nature, but that was not to be. The denouement revealed sinister connections between Max, Lynnette, and the leaders of the group Max became entangled with and explains some of Max’s misconceptions along the way. I think Dvorkin sold himself short here; he could have got more books out of Max had he chosen a different ending.

There were a few typos, and a lot of the writing was quite passive, but the book was hugely enjoyable nonetheless, and I suggest you grab a copy, read all about mind-reading Max, then strap on your tin foil helmet in case it all turns out to be true.

‘Cage of Bone’ is available for purchase at: https://amzn.to/49jMyi3

(Review by Hayley Price)

A Fantasy Adventure Novel By David Bramhall

Once upon a time, little Kitty was travelling from her boarding school near London back to her hometown of Strathtay, all the way to Scotland. But she wasn’t going alone: at King’s Cross station, she was going to meet with her older brother, Jake, and sister, Ellie, whom, at the age of 16, was the oldest of the three and somehow the one in charge of the safety and wellbeing of her siblings. No, this is not a fairytale.
A terrible snowstorm hits London – and if the weather is so bad in the South, it will only get worse travelling North. After many trains are cancelled and their only hope is one for Edinburgh at 5pm, they decide to take advantage of the eight hours waiting time and go to Hamleys. They are kids after all. Once in the shop, Kitty notices a nice old man with white hair that is playing tricks for the public and, given the lighting and the fact she is reading a book about King Arthur, Merlin and Morgan, she almost thinks the old man is one of the most important mages before Harry Potter’s arrival.
Kitty and her siblings follow him, lose him, find him again on their same train and end up stuck with him when the train stops because of the weather, leaving them stranded an hour from London and still too far from home. This funny old man, though, is not what he seems, and Kitty’s suspicions on his identity gradually materialise.
Eventually, Kitty, Jake and Ellie will manage to travel all the way up to Scotland finally joined their mother (no child, fictional or real, was harmed in the production of this story), but it won’t be an easy process. During their journey they will meet different figures coming from different historical periods (King Arthur and his court, Civil War participants, Word War One soldiers, Romans), all of which will interact with each other without questioning their differences, in outfits, weapons or language.

And this is probably where the cookie (story) crumbles. While it is perhaps understandable – as one of the World War One characters within the story explains – that people in the past especially did not have any knowledge whatsoever of what existed beyond the boundaries of their own little villages/realities so no way to really put into question what they see – I found this to be a ‘cheap trick’ and a poor strategic choice that doesn’t really resolve the fact that some of the players might have had basic historical knowledge to pin at least some of the characters to their rightful timeline.

Besides, after so much adventure, risky situations and unpredictable characters, the ending falls flat and feels rushed, depriving the reader of that fulfilling come-down after a rush of adrenaline that leaves them satisfied and happy to move on with their life. The idea is good, all in all, and the narration is clear, but it could have benefitted from an extra polish to tighten the story, trimming all the unnecessary words that only weight it down. It is nonetheless a notable effort, and definitely we will read the rest of the series too.

‘Kitty in the Winter Wild’ is available for purchase at: https://amzn.to/3STOkkz