Our post apocalyptic science fantasy novel is currently at the copy editor- we hope to launch late May 2018.
Alternate artwork
An alternate cover for The Wanderer’s Curse out this summer. Gotta love science fantasy.
Short book review Awaken the Giant Within
I just finished Awaken the Giant Within by Anthony Robbins and boy it was a good book. It is rare that I find a self help book that is of actual quality and this one was the best. I would put it right there with Rich dad poor dad for eye openers. Usually with these self help books you get the same message over and over again without guidance on how to change. This book not only give practical knowledge, but methods to make it happen. If you are looking for a book that can change your views and make you a better person look no further. I highly recommend this book. Here is link if you would like to by it https://www.amazon.com/Awaken-Giant-Within-Immediate-Emotional/dp/0671791540. Also be sure to check your local library this book is usually in stock as well.
Early Reader List
Hey all,
This is Sarah Linder contributing tonight. I know Jake and I have spoken to many of you in person or over social media about becoming early readers for “The Wanderer’s Curse” and sci-fi young adult novel coming out this summer… (May is the goal). Naturally, as early readers you will receive the book before launch day. With this special status comes some much appreciated responsibilities to help promote the book- assuming you are willing to commit.
To be an Early Reader for our book you must commit to the following:
1. Give us your email- We have to send you a link to get the book. (e-format) Fill out the form here: http://eepurl.com/dk1l5z
2. Read the book! You will be given it a month in advance. (Hopefully April, maybe May)
3. Review the book. To do so you need to be a member of Amazon and Goodreads. The goal is to get 100 posts on both sites on launch day in order to elevate the book’s sales to being a top seller.
4. Not required, but it would be wonderful if you share our book on social media launch day.
Please make sure you are willing to follow through with the book review on launch day, your feedback will be the best means possible to promote “The Wanderer’s Curse”
Thank you for your love and support on this endeavor! Jake and I with the support of our families and the editors at HBE Publishing have been working hard to bring this novel to light. We can’t wait to share it with you.
~Sarah
Incarnations of Immortality Series Review Book 1
Incarnations of Immortality Series Review Book 1
It was over ten years ago when I was first introduced to the author Piers Anthony. Piers Anthony is a science fiction and fantasy author who has written over a hundred books. The most popular series is set in a magical land called Xanth. To date there are forty books in the Xanth series. I have only read a handful of that series, but will always be grateful to the girl who recommend the books to me. Years later while talking to a coworker about fantasy books Piers Anthony was brought up. My coworker at the time told me about The Incarnations of Immortality series also by Piers Anthony. As luck would have it, the coworker owned the books and loaned each book to me so I could read them. I later purchased my own set. There are currently eight books in the series. When I read them there were only seven and I have only read the first seven. I will be reviewing the seven books from the series that I have read over the next seven weeks.
The first book in The Incarnations of Immorta
lity series is On a Pale Horse. Each book is a story about a different incarnation. The incarnations are death, time, fate, war, nature, evil, and good. This book focuses on the incarnation of death. The story is set in a world where science and magic both exist. Zane is broke and alone. After the death of his mother he has no money and no one. After trading a possible soul mate for a wealth stone that doesn’t work as he had expected, Zane decides to commit suicide. Not even that goes as planned. Instead of killing himself, he kills death and becomes death himself.
lity series is On a Pale Horse. Each book is a story about a different incarnation. The incarnations are death, time, fate, war, nature, evil, and good. This book focuses on the incarnation of death. The story is set in a world where science and magic both exist. Zane is broke and alone. After the death of his mother he has no money and no one. After trading a possible soul mate for a wealth stone that doesn’t work as he had expected, Zane decides to commit suicide. Not even that goes as planned. Instead of killing himself, he kills death and becomes death himself.He learns how to run the office of death with the help of his pale horse and the other incarnations. He falls in love with Luna, a mortal woman. Zane comes into his own as death and changes the way people view death.
Things I like about this book
- To become death, you must kill death I was really fascinated with the idea that to become death, you must kill death. I know this is not an original idea but, I liked that is gives the person who holds the office of death mortality.
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Death doesn’t have to be something we fear Zane runs the office with compassion. I think it sometime compassion can be controversial. This book is no exception with Zane showing mercy to people who live only because they aren’t being allowed to die. Zane also warns people to change their ways before it is too late and gives second chances when he can.
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Zane When we first meet Zane he seem to be a down on his luck guy. So much so that he feels his only escape is death. He is also rational and passionate about what he believes.
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Mortis Death rides a pale horse. I really liked how Piers Anthony modernized Mortis, the pale horse, to be able to change into whatever death needed him to be. He could be a horse, a limosine, a flying carpet. I thought that was very clever.
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Good vs Evil This book wasn’t religious as much as good vs evil. The evil is very obvious in the form of Satan but it really isn’t about religion. It is good trying to win against bad.
I would say this is more for an mature audience as some of the themes may be hard for tweens to comprehend. This book has some adult themes and the author is obviously a fan of the female figure, but it doesn’t have any intimate scenes.
As the first book of a series it is important to read this book first to understand the world. If you are interested in reading this series you can purchase On a Pale Horse on amazon at the link below. https://www.amazon.com/Pale-Horse-Incarnations-Immortality-Book-ebook/dp/B006XWYDXY/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1478546928&sr=1-1&keywords=on+a+pale+horse
Don’t forget about your local library. Copies of this book as well as many others can be borrowed for free and if the library closest to you doesn’t have a copy in stock can often be requested and sent to the library of your choice.
Lynndee Theson
Bearing an Hourglass Book Review
Bearing an Hourglass
Book Two in the Incarnations of Immortality
By Piers Anthony
Book overview and review by Lynndee Theson
This is the story of the Incarnation of Time. Norton lives a quiet life away from the hustle and bustle of the city in a park in the middle of it all. He enjoys his quiet life. Then one day he meet a ghost named Gawain. Gawain changes Norton’s life. First by introducing Norton to Orlene, the woman Norton falls in love with, and then by helping Norton become the incarnation of Time.
I’m going to change it up and go over what I didn’t like about the book first.
What I didn’t like about this book
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Very Technical
Piers Anthony spends a lot of the book trying to explain how the office of the Incarnation of Time works. It is very technical and to be completely honest, over my head. It is so technical that some parts of the book can be skipped or skimmed through without losing the main story plot.
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Slow
This book drags on and on and on. So much of the book is Norton trying to understand how to be Time. The office of Time is unlike any of the other offices that none of the other Incarnations can help him learn to do his job.
- Hard to get through
The technical aspect of the book makes it hard to read. Because it is slow, it is a challenge to finish.
Things I liked about the book
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Living backwards
I really like the idea that in order for the Incarnation of Time to know what will happen in the future, he must be from the future and as the Incarnation live backwards. This is where it gets so technical.
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Essential to the series
This book is so important to the series. If you don’t read this book, you will miss the connections in some of the other books.
While this book is my least favorite of the series it introduces us to some important characters. I would recommend this book young adults and up. Get a copy of Bearing an Hourglass on amazon. Many books can also be found at your local library.
There is no fate but what we make
With a Tangled Skein
Book Three in the Incarnations of Immortality Series by Piers Anthony
Review by Lynndee Theson
With a Tangled Skein is my favorite book of the Incarnations of Immortality series. Each book in the series focuses on a different aspect of an incarnation. This book is about Fate. Niobe is considered to be one of the beauties of her generation. She is from a time when women married young and so at twenty-one she is married to sixteen year old Cedric. She doesn’t love Cedric. The marriage was arranged by her father who feels this is a good match. Niobe slowly falls in love with Cedric over the next year. It is before Cedric turns eighteen that Niobe has her first child. Unfortunately, Cedric dies and Niobe is left alone with a new baby. Trying to discover why Cedric had to die, Niobe seeks out the incarnations. When offered the position of the youngest aspect of fate, Clotho, Niobe accepts.
Why I liked this book
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Flowed really well
This book is so easy to read. I really liked the story and maybe because Niobe is a female I was able to relate with her better than Zane or Norton. I was able to read this book in two or three days.
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Niobe gets to be two different parts of fate
Niobe first becomes Clotho, the youngest aspect of fate. This happens really fast in the book. After being Clotho for three decades she leaves the office and becomes mortal again. Years later, she returns to the office of fate as Lachesis. I liked that her story continued.
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Really start to see the connections between the other books
This book really starts to connect the other books. Some of the characters from the other two books reappear in this one. These are not main characters so it isn’t until this book that readers discover that they are significant.
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Niobe doesn’t age well
I found it very realistic that while she was mortal she let herself go a little and didn’t have the perfect body anymore or the youthful good looks. Again, I felt like I could relate to her.
Things I didn’t like about this book
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Niobe is of average intelligence but really attractive
Maybe it is my feminine sensitivity coming out but I didn’t like that Niobe was beautiful but no smarter than average. Why couldn’t she be pretty and smart? It’s like defining her by her beauty. Once her beauty is gone she is just a middle aged woman who was once beautiful.
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Confusing timeline
Niobe becomes Clotho around 22 years old and doesn’t age for almost 40 years. So at 62, she still looks 22. Then, she has another baby around the same time her first child who is now almost 40 has his first child. She babysits for her son and both girls look so alike people think they are twins and her children. Her now husband is also the father of her son’s wife. WTF! So her and her husband are the grandparents to a child who is the same age as their child and she still looks 22.
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Leaves her baby
This is the mother in me but I really don’t like that she chooses to leave her infant son to try and figure out why her husband had to die. Don’t you think you would stay home and cherish your child that much more since he is the only thing you have of your husband? It would be very hard for me as a mother to justify leaving my kids.
If you are interested in reading this book, it can be purchased from amazon. If you want to read it but not buy it be sure to look into local libraries where you can borrow books. Find your passion for reading.
Only the dead have seen the end of War
Wielding a Red Sword
Book Four of the Incarnation of Immortality series
By Piers Anthony
Book review by Lynndee Theson
I had a lot of trouble relating to this character. Mym is an Indian Prince who runs away from an arranged marriage and falls in love with Orb. Family duty forces him to leave Orb. He returns to his kingdom where he is once again forced into a relationship. After accepting that he can never be with Orb again, Mym falls in love with Rapture who is an Indian Princess. Although they don’t marry right away, it is assumed that they will since it is a good match. When family duty once again requires him to give up the woman he loves, he goes into an angry rage. Since the world had no conflict, the office of war was not needed and the previous Mars was able to pass on to the afterlife. Once conflict started again, the red sword was drawn to the person with the most anger. It is at this exact moment that Mym is in a rage so the red sword appears to him. He takes the sword and becomes War.
What I didn’t like about this book
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Mym easily falls in love
I felt Mym falls in love way to easily. First he falls in love with Orb. Then Rapture, then Ligeia, and then the demon Lila. The book only takes place over a few years so that is falling in love with multiple women very quickly. -
Concubine
Mym takes a concubine and his partner is okay with it. What? It is because he is a prince. He can have mistresses and everyone seems to be okay with it. Well, I’m not.
What I enjoyed about this book
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Overcoming his disability
Mym has a stutter. He has always had a stutter. It is with Orb’s help that he learn a way to communicate without stuttering. By singing. So he sings instead of talks. I like the idea that he is able to find a way to overcome his disability.
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Recognizing the need for conflict and how to handle it
Mym comes to understand that his job is not to stop conflict but to make sure it is handled in a fair way. This idea is hard for everyone, even the other incarnations, to understand.
Overall, Mym’s story is good. It is a good vs evil story with good coming out victorious. Evil has not given up yet though. It has just moved on to a different incarnation.
Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished
Being a Green Mother
Book Five of The Incarnations of Immortality series
By Piers Anthony
Review by Lynndee Theson
Orb has spent most of her life searching for the ultimate song known by all as the Llano. She first heard of the Llano when she was a little girl soon after discovering her magical talent for music. She is able to amplify her music so not only does it sound louder but it gives the impression that she isn’t playing her harp alone. Her quest leads from her home in Ireland to Spain, France, Germany, Hungary, and India where she joins a traveling road show.
What I like about this book
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Orb
Orb is the daughter of Niobe(Fate), and like her mother is very beautiful. She is talented, smart, curious, determined, brave, stubborn, short tempered, and adventurous. I felt like Orb was the kind of person I would want to be. She traveled the world and learned new languages, heartbreak, and a very seductive dance.
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Jonah
Do you remember the fish from the Bible who swallowed Jonah? That fish is now called Jonah and has been damned to swim the air and earth, but never the water. Jonah becomes a traveling tour bus/fish for the band The Livin’ Sludge. Jonah is so large the band travels very comfortably in the huge fish which has a kitchen, bathroom, and multiple bedrooms. Orb convinces Jonah to be the transportation for the band with her seductive dance, but he also wants to find the Llano because it can free him of his curse.
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Satan
Ah Satan! (Read the book and you will get it) As part of the big reveal in this book we are introduced to Satan in a different way than the other Incarnations have experienced. I don’t want to give any spoilers, but Satan falls in love with Orb.
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The Prophecy
“Each will possess the most beautiful woman of her generation, who will bear him a daughter. One daughter will marry death and the other will marry evil.”
This book completes the last part of the prophecy from With a Tangled Skein. The prophecy was for Niobe’s son and his cousin Pacian. The reader gets to watch the prophecy come to pass through the books and I loved that it span multiple books without disturbing the main story of each book.
What I don’t like about this book
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The Llano
I didn’t like the idea that this song is the cure all for everything. It can break curses, it can stop wars, it can free people of drug addiction, it can control the weather, it can make things grow. I don’t think one thing can solve all the problems of the world.
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Orbs anger
In a fit of anger, Orb as Nature destroys the world by singing the Song of Chaos. This causes everyone she cares about on earth to die. In order to undue what singing the Song of Chaos did, Orb has to get the consent of all the Incarnations.
This book is really good. I like Orb and her story. I like how determined she is to find what she is looking for and doesn’t ever give up. I even like Satan in this book. I really like how this book brings all the other books together. I think this series works so well as individual books and a series. Do you want to read Being a Green Mother? Buy a copy on amazon here. I also highly recommend borrowing a copy from your local library.
Hear no Evil, See no Evil, Speak no Evil
For Love of Evil
Book Six of the Incarnations of Immortality
By Piers Anthony
Book review and overview by Lynndee Theson
This book is by far my favorite book of the series! Let me tell you why.
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Each Prince of Demons has a different name
Parry chose the name Satan. Lucifer held the office of Evil before Parry. Asmodeus and Beelzebub were other office holders. I thought that made so much sense. All are the Prince of Darkness but each has a different name because it is a different person.
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Deal with Gabriel
Parry doesn’t like the rules any more than the other incarnations concerning what is evil and who belongs in hell so he goes to Heaven to meet with God. Instead of meeting God he makes a deal with the angel Gabriel. The deal gives readers a new perspective of all the other books.
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Grace Period
Parry has a 30 day grace period to make sure he is capable of running Hell. That’s right, he can be fired. Not really fired but he will die like he was suppose to go to Hell. During the grace period Parry must learn the secret spell that all Incarnations of Evil must learn to be able to run Hell.
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Secret Spell
This is a spell that gives the Incarnation of Evil power over the demons who serve him. The secret spell is what keeps the demons in service since they fear if they don’t serve Evil, he will destroy them. The truth is there is no spell.
“Demons only puffed into non existence because they were convinced that the Lord of Hell had the power to destroy them. They were the ultimate victims of Hell’s greatest illusion.”
What I didn’t like
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Some Inconsistencies
It doesn’t quite line up with the other books in the series. I actually either forgot or didn’t notice it the first time I read For the Love of Evil. It wasn’t until my second reading that I really noticed the inconsistencies. I don’t really feel they take away from the book though.
You can purchase a copy of this book from amazon. Also if you don’t want to buy a copy you can check your local library for this book as well as many others.
Journal Entry 17 Day 38
Day 38
I didn’t sleep well last night. I spent a lot of time thinking about what I had said to Brooke and the example I had shown to my family. Then this morning dad told me Brooke wouldn’t be helping me with inventory anymore. At first I thought I would have to do it alone as punishment for the way I had acted yesterday. Nope. Now mom is my assistant. While mom is a lot smarter than Brooke, she is still really mad at me. I guess I have to make amends with more than just Brooke.
