THE BOOKMINDER Blog Tour & Giveaway

Book:  THE BOOKMINDER 

Author:  M. K. Wiseman
Pages: 444
Format:  Paperback, Kindle, Barnes & Noble, iTunes, etc.
Publisher:  Xchyler Publishing
Book Source:  publisher
Category:  Historical fantasy
Style:   High fantasy written in a mature but approachable voice, ideal for young adult and adult market, with good character development and world-building
Giveaway: Scroll down to enter! or visit Rafflecopter or the XP Facebook page.

Synopsis:

Sired by magick and violence, sixteen-year-old Liara is found guilty of witchcraft and banished from her tiny village by the very priest who raised, then betrayed her. However, a mysterious mage steps forward to assume custody of her: Nagarath, the Wizard of Parentino, whose secret spellwork has long protected both Liara and Dvigrad from the ravages of war.

Despite Liara’s best hopes, Nagarath refuses to apprentice her to his craft but tasks her instead with the restoration of his neglected library. Liara gleans what magickal knowledge she can on the sly, determined to learn, come what may. But the first test of her stolen knowledge goes awry and renews an evil wizard’s interest in the people of the Limska Draga valley.

Only by tapping Liara’s inherent magick and joining it with his own can Nagarath protect Parentino from suffering a horrible fate. However, her discovery of his secrets destroys their fragile trust and ignites the darker tendencies of her gift. Now, he must rescue her from the influence of his mortal enemy before their powerful new alliance destroys them all.

Author M. K. Wiseman

About this project:

As a release of Xchyler Publishing, THE BOOKMINDER has probably been the most challenging for me both as editor-in-chief and as the content editor. Since 2013, the manuscript has gone through multiple production delays (can you say two brides?), at least three different content editors, multiple rewrites, a lengthy titling process, and lots and lots of collaboration with the author and our associate editor, Jessica Shen Fessler. With all the hitches, signing the amazing Egle Zioma to do the cover was an effortless slam-dunk. As the first installment of a three-part series, we wanted to get it right, all the work promised to deliver, and I took it on as a personal challenge to bring this project to fruition.

In the interim, Wiseman published two more short stories with Xchyler, including "Downward Mobility" in LEGENDS AND LORE: An Anthology of Mythic Proportions (2014), "Silver Scams" in MECHANIZED MASTERPIECES 2: An American Anthology (2015). Her original work, "Clockwork Ballet" which first brought her to Xchyler's attention, appeared in MECHANIZED MASTERPIECES: A Steampunk Anthology (2013).

Despite all the setbacks, and delays we remained invested in this work because it's a great story. At the beginning of the endeavor, we outlined the entire series, and it promises to be an engrossing and entertaining hero journey that spans a continent. I confess, my love of history and Wiseman's knowledge of her time period strongly influenced our decision, and, just as THE BOOKMINDER provides a glimpse into the Istrian peninsula on the shores of the Adriatic at the time of the Venetian Republic, the Renaissance in full bloom, further installments promise to be as sumptuous as the court of Louis XIV.

Wiseman's world building is imaginative, her magical laws and theories fresh and well-thought-out, and her characters are not your run-of-the-mill YA coming-of-age grist. The setting and the premise are unique, her knowledge of her historical material impeccable. To say this book is well-researched is an understatement. In short, this work has been well-worth the pains of hammering out the challenges, and all of us learned a great deal along the way.

Liara is an orphan, raised as a ward of the Church but forever a second-class citizen in her tiny village due to the origins of her birth. To say she has a chip on her shoulder is an understatement. Liara is desperate for love and affection, but for her this translates into kleptomania and resentment. Not until a rumored mage appears from no where to take her into his custody does she begin to trust and discover there is more to herself than the magic she craves but has been forever denied. Under Nagarath's watchful eye, she at last gains the home she felt she had been denied all her life. And learns to appreciate the gifts she had already been given.

As for Nazareth, he presents as the classic absent-minded professor making all the wrong choices for all the right reasons. His efforts to protect Liara from the secrets of her past produce the opposite of his intent, and threaten to destroy everything Liara has grown to be in his custody. I most enjoy the relationship between Liara and Nazareth that becomes one of equality and mutual trust, and a growing realization that the mage is as much dependent upon Liara's friendship as she is upon his. The big question is, can they get over the wounds of their mutual past before it destroys the future promised by their fragile coalition?

Bottom Line:

Wiseman's characters are multidimensional, flawed, and in serious need of personal growth. They may prove a challenge to readers of fantasy who expect to find their heroes charming and surrounded by a halo of light from the opening page, but the rewards of getting to know them are well worth the effort.

Wiseman doesn't hold the reader at arm's length, but lets her own wealth of experience shine through, her characters getting up close and personal. Doing so allows them to feel meaty, rather than the cloying cotton-candy variety that one finds too often in YA fare. It's also a delight to stumble upon the little Easter eggs nestled within the text, each a small omage to Wiseman's personal experiences as a librarian, musician, and of Croatian extraction.

More cool stuff on this blog tour:

Make sure to follow each stop of the blog tour for the opportunity to enter our give-away every single day. Check out our Rafflecopter giveaway below, or check out the website here.

We're celebrating the release of THE BOOKMINDER by M. K. Wiseman with a blog tour and Rafflecopter give-away! Visit each blog each day for more chances to win lots of great prizes. If you like epic fantasy, you'll love this coming-of-age tale of magic and wizards set in the Renaissance era.

January 9-16, 2016

Saturday, 01-09	Bookwhizz
Sunday, 01-10	M. K. Wiseman
Monday, 01-11	Perpetual Chaos of a Wandering Mind
Tuesday, 01-12	Are You Afraid of the Dark?
Wednesday, 01-13	The Howling Turtle
Thursday, 01-14	Dreams to Become
	Semi-short Chic
Friday, 01.15	JD Spero
	Books in the Spotlight
Saturday, 01-16	Creativity from Chaos
	Rambling Reviews

Don't forget to enter our blog tour Rafflecopter give-away below, on the blogs above, 

on  our Facebook page, or on  Rafflecopter, with daily chances to win!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Author Interview: C.M. Gray, Author of Shadowland

See my review of Shadowland here.

Author Bio:

Born in Essex, England, I have since been lucky enough to live and travel in many countries around the world. In fact I have lived more time outside of England than I have living there! Home for me now is just outside of Barcelona, Spain where I live in a house in the middle of the forest with my Dutch born wife and two children.
      My writing is mostly fantasy and many of the experiences I have had in Asia, Africa and the middle east come to life in my writing. The Flight of the Griffin follows the adventures of a group of young orphans as they battle demons and bandits on a magical quest to stop the world tipping into Chaos. Shadowland blends fantasy with history as an old story teller takes his audience back to Britain's dark ages.

Interview:

Penny:  I really enjoyed Shadowland, especially the vivid post-Roman world you created.  I could feel my feet sticking the sucking mud and twitched at the feel of flees and lice.  Are you an historian by profession or a dedicated enthusiast?

Chris:  Hi and thanks for the welcome to your fantastic blog, I'm thrilled to be here. I'm really happy you enjoyed Shadowland and I'm blushing furiously at any thought you might have that I have any background in history! No, I'm not a historian but the past does interest me greatly. When I was a kid my favourite hobby was to dig up old bottles from Victorian rubbish tips! I love history, but it also kinda scares me to think what went on as 'normal' hundreds of years ago, it can be a bit of a morbid interest at times.
      In the era I write about in Shadowland, women went into battle alongside their men and most brought their dogs as well, many warriors fought naked, Fascinating!

Penny:  Your love of nature and of England also flows strongly through the book.  Does your vocation or avocation give you such a broad knowledge base?

Chris:  I love the natural world and would far prefer to spend the day in the woods or mountains than in a city. I grew up living in the countryside and live in a house in the woods now, just outside Barcelona in Spain. My job is raising money and awareness for a company that replants the rainforest, which is very fulfilling. I still love England, but I also love our world as a whole and have traveled extensively in Europe, Asia and Africa, I think my experiences in these places comes though in my writing.

Book Review: Shadowland by C.M. Gray

Book:  Shadowland
Author:  C.M. Gray
Pages:   222
Format:  Paperback, Kindle
Publisher:  Amazon Digital Services
Book Source:  Provided by Author
Category:  Young Adult Fantasy/Adventure
Style:  Engaging page-turner, magic, contains graphic violence

Synopsis from Goodreads:

‘I have lived more years than I can remember, probably more than the sum of all your years combined. Kings have called me friend and brigands have sworn to burn the flesh from my bones even if they have to search all seven halls of the shadowland to find me.’

On the night of midwinter’s eve, a storyteller takes his listeners back to the Dark ages and a tale from his youth.

Deserted by its Roman masters, Britain has been invaded by the Saxons at the invitation of Vortigern, traitorous leader of the Britons. Now, as the tribes unite to reclaim their land, one man must rise to lead them and become their true and only king. . . .more

My Take:

The storyteller's story centers on two fourteen-year-old boys, Usher Vance (put that on your 'name the baby' list) and Calvador Craen, who, late for supper one evening, escape the brutal slaying of their entire village in the thickly forested East Anglia.  Treed by a ferocious pack of wolves, the pair watch helplessly as ravaging Picts, venturing far too far south of Hadrian's Wall, murder, pillage, and drag away several children, including Calvador's younger sister, Clarise.

Come morning, abandoned by the frustrated wolves, Usher and Cal venture into the village to take stock, then promptly set out in pursuit of the Picts, intent on rescuing eight-year-old Clarise from the Picts.  Unaccountably, the undefeatable warriors from the Highlands of Scotland continue their murderous rampage further south, leaving an easy trail of mayhem for the two boys to follow.