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Hi everyone, and welcome to my blog post for the month of March.
Wow! What happened? It's been a whirlwind! At the time of this writing, at the end of February 2023, my debut novel, "A Drowned Kingdom" will be more than two years old, and my follow-up novel, "The Last of the Atalanteans", will have its one-year anniversary in March of 2023! So, I felt it was time to sit back, reflect, and take stock of my two-year old writing career, as an officially published author! I've enjoyed so many amazing moments with activities surrounding actually writing, such as blogging, podcasting, and of course all of the incredible writing community friends I've made along the way, and the enduring relationships I've built, and more. But I want to focus on the heart of it all, and that's being published. The past two years have certainly been filled with many more highs than lows. I want to keep things positive, and focus on the peaks, rather than the valleys. The main high: the accomplishment of successfully publishing two novels in a long series, and being about to publish a third, and feverishly writing the fourth. I am very cognizant that it is an extreme privilege that many aspire to, but perhaps not as many enjoy. For the gift of being a published author, I am grateful, first and foremost to God. I am also extremely grateful to my lovely and astoundingly supportive wife, my life and business partner extraordinaire, the incomparable Deb (love you Babes, with all my heart). I am eternally grateful to my wonderful mother Carmen. As well, I am grateful to my lovely surrogate parents such as Aunty June, Uncle Maurice, dear departed Aunt Lillian, our incredible children, their amazing spouses, our beautiful grandchildren, and all the many friends and supporters who have made my journey possible. I am also grateful for the fabulous folk at FriesenPress, my Indie publishing assist company, including publishing manager Anna Claros, design specialist Geoff Soch, and promotional specialist James Stewart, for all their hard work in helping me publish my novels. I am grateful as well for my brilliant current editor Christine Bode, and my awesome past editor Janet Mayberrry. Finally, I am indebted to the readers who have spent their hard earned time and money to buy my books, and have been kind enough to provide feedback through reviews and messages, letting me know how much they've enjoyed reading my work. You are a huge part of the reason why I write, and I cannot thank you enough for all you have done to encourage me to keep going. One definite thing I've noticed about the past two years, is the swift and relentless passage of time! When you aim to write a seven-book series, it can seem very daunting, and the completion of the series seems very far away. Then when you realize you're about to publish the third book of "The Drowned Kingdom Saga" - "Lord and King" - and thus the ending of the series is only four books away, it seems as if time has flown by too fast. I am truly learning to savour every moment of writing every book, every cover reveal, every book launch, every review, and any other of the wonderful highlights of writing a novel. And there's been lots to savour. There's been some real critical success along the way. "A Drowned Kingdom" is mentioned in the esteemed Kirkus Magazine’s 2021 Indie Issue among “Four Great Examples of the Genre” of fantasy and won the 2022 Picky Bookworm Award for Best Indie Book Based on Mythology. https://thepickybookworm.com/book-awards/2022-2/ https://issuu.com/kirkus-reviews/docs/kirkus_reviews_041521_indie_issue_online (PAGE 9) My debut novel has also made top fantasy books of the year lists, such as from wonderful bloggers such as Mihir Wanchoo from Fantasy Book Critic, Luke Winch, and Michael Delaney of Wolfmantula. Both "A Drowned Kingdom" and "The Last of the Atalanteans" (book two of "The Drowned Kingdom Saga") have been honoured with selection as FriesenPress Staff picks. Both of my published books so far ( and early feedback for "Lord and King") have been met with overall very favourable reviews. https://lukewinch.com/2022/12/27/my-top-5-books-of-2022/ https://wolfmantula.com/2022/12/29/michaels-top-10-reads-of-2022/ https://fantasybookcritic.blogspot.com/2023/01/mihirs-top-reads-of-2022.html https://books.friesenpress.com/store/title/119734000161648314/P.L.-Stuart-A-Drowned-Kingdom https://books.friesenpress.com/store/title/119734000211681211/P.L.-Stuart-The-Last-of-the-Atalanteans There have also been achievements in the sales front, as "A Drowned Kingdom" has been a FriesenPress Number One Bestseller and enjoyed FriesenPress' biggest launch month for a fantasy book in their history. Both "A Drowned Kingdom" and its sequel "The Last of the Atalanteans" continue to enjoy strong and consistent sales. The accolades and the sales are not things I take for granted, at all. I will continue to strive for sustained improvement as an author, and hopefully get better as a writer, with each book. 2023 is shaping up to be my best year yet as a writer, as the publication of "Lord and King" is imminent, and I work to complete book four of The Drowned Kingdom Saga, entitled "A Lion's Pride". This book will surface in early 2024! So overall, I'm very excited about where I've been these past two years as a writer, and looking forward to what's to come! Please feel free to comment on this and future blogs and I will be sure to get back to you.
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Welcome to my blog post for the month of February!
So, in this blog post, I'd like to speak about...fear. What do we fear, and why do we fear it? Those are some of the questions explored in THE ANATOMY OF FEAR, a gripping multi-genre horror anthology project where fear and fantasy meet. The authors who are part of this anthology are award winning, highly lauded writers, who've fused horror, fantasy, grimdark, gaslamp, and modern gothic influences to create twelve very unique stories. Holly Tinsley, Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off (SPFBO) Finalist, of We Men of Ash and Shadow fame, is the brilliant writer who leads the project. Holly recently sat down with three of the twelve talented writers from the anthology, Sean Crow, Tim Hardie, and LL MacRae, and interviewed them, posing some fascinating questions about the project. Read the interview below, and find out about what inspired some of the individual stories behind The Anatomy of Fear, what themes pervade some of those stories, some of the author's individual phobias, and more insights. I am thrilled to be supporting this amazing anthology, and honoured to be writing the foreword for highly-anticipated The Anatomy of Fear! INTERVIEW BY HOLLY TINSLEY, FEATURING SEAN CROW, LL MACRAE, AND TIM HARDIE. Holly: Can you tell us a little about what inspired your Anatomy of Fear story? Sean Crow: I have been toying around with a dark, flintlock fantasy story that I would like to move into once I finish the last novel in my Godless Lands series. This felt like a great opportunity to dive into a world I have really only touched in on once or twice. The Anatomy of Fear concept really allowed me to explore the horrible nature of the world I have been developing and I enjoyed how it turned out. Tim Hardie: As the anthology title suggests, the stories in The Anatomy of Fear are all inspired by specific parts of the body. I was a bit late off the mark when people were choosing their favoured body part, so all the good bits were gone! I toyed with the idea of sentient dandruff, which has both comedy and creeping dread potential. In the end, though, I settled for ears. Even then, I was struggling for a bit to come up with a concept. It was only when I switched things around and focussed on hearing that the idea for my story, The Whisperers, started to come together. What if sound was a weapon and what set of circumstances would give rise to that situation? How would society change if sound was the thing people feared the most? LL MacRae: It’s very difficult for me to write about anything dark or horror-adjacent, as so much of my usual writing is light-hearted, adventurous escapism! I honestly wasn’t sure I could make up something that would be solid enough from an author’s perspective, so I looked inward to the things that inspired fear and discomfort from my own life and childhood. I’ve always enjoyed the moral theme of usually helpless people given power and what they might do with it, as well as being stuck in one place due to guilt, shame, or fear. It’s a very human experience and one that many people have been through (or know of others who have been through similar). Both ideas came together quite naturally for a short story where bones—and the breaking of them—can have a supernatural effect and create something quite powerful. Holly: What themes did you want to address in your story and was this difficult? Sean Crow: Normally, I’m a heroic fantasy guy with lots of Grimdark tones that can be seen throughout my work and readers will probably see some of that in my story. That said, I wanted to explore a tale, not from the eyes of a hero, but from those of a survivor. I wanted to highlight the terrors of a world where dark magic is real and get into the minds of those willing to fight against it. As I don’t really write horror, this was difficult for me. I can write disturbing stuff but trying to elicit real fear from my readers… that’s a tough one. Not sure how well I managed that aspect, but I think readers will still enjoy the story. Tim Hardie: I’ve mentioned some of these in relation to what inspired my story. As I built my society the main challenge was ensuring the adjustments forced upon my world by weaponised noise were consistent throughout the setting. The Whisperers required a brand-new fantasy world, Assanda, to tell this story, so it was important the worldbuilding was convincing without dominating a relatively short story. I also wanted a positive representation of religion in society. The people in this story have come together under the protection of their church as they face the horrors of the world. Whilst it’s a made-up fantasy religion, I still wanted to show how faith can be a force for good, offering spiritual comfort and practical support to a world that’s in distress. LL MacRae: Essentially, it was the horror of domestic violence from a child’s perspective, and the helplessness, vulnerability, loneliness, and fear that comes with it. Very often we see domestic abuse from the partner’s perspective, but rarely do we see some of the (more negative) long-term trauma it has on children, and what a child might do if given a touch of power. Especially beyond the overt abuse of physical or sexual violence—there are many more subtle horrors experienced and witnessed, too. It’s about a dark, hard world creating dark, hard people. But surviving that doesn’t mean you have to behave in the same way. There is still a place for good-heartedness—always a place for it, in fact. Strangely, I think escapism is actually at the root of the themes, because the main character is trying to escape this nightmare and longs to be forever safe from the fear that plagues her. In many ways, the idea of letting go, moving on, revenge, and peace are also part of the story’s themes, and we get to explore some considerations and setbacks for each. Overall, it’s a theme that’s very close to me, and it was difficult—even triggering at times—to touch upon. However, writing it was also quite cathartic. Seeing anyone vulnerable is not easy, especially a child, when those around them could and should do better, but often don’t. The story’s end, and main message, is one of hope, which is in keeping with my usual writing and prevents it from becoming outright horror! Holly: Why do you think understanding fear/horror is such an important element of storytelling? Sean Crow: It’s another arrow in your quiver. A quality author, in my opinion, should be able to make their audience feel something. Anger, sorrow, joy… If I can make my readers ‘feel’ then I have done my job. Fear and horror are just two more reactions I want to add to my skillset, and this was a great opportunity to practice. Tim Hardie: The short answer here is people want to be frightened. Books, movies, comics, the theatre – all those forms of storytelling involve escapism, putting your feet into someone else’s shoes. It allows your imagination to explore events and situations you’ll never encounter in real life, knowing you can escape back to the safety of reality at any time. I think the animal part of our brain is hard-wired to respond to fear, going back to those more primal times, where our dread of the dark is rooted. A horror story touches that part of us and so it feels real, and stories always work best when they connect with us on a meaningful and relatable emotional level. When they have that kind of emotional power, they linger in the mind. That’s why the horror genre will always remain popular. LL MacRae: At its core, fear lends tension to a story. It raises the stakes, immerses the reader, and helps them connect to characters. Fear can be anything as obvious as a “big bad” chasing someone, or slow and creeping, something more atmospheric that unsettles characters. It’s a different way to flavour the book and heighten the emotional connection, which is what a lot of readers look for. I must say that I am not the biggest fan of very intense or gory horror, so I steer clear of that in my own reading. Honestly, I can’t explain why some people want to be quite so scared! But a little hint of fear sprinkled throughout a book can make it super impactful and make character victories all the sweeter. Holly: Do you have any phobias you can tell us about? Sean Crow: Swimming in open water. Might sound silly, but I don’t like being out in the ocean or anything like that. In a boat? Sure. No problem. But let my legs daggle in waters where I can’t even defend myself should something decide to take a bite…? No thank you! Tim Hardie: I’m afraid of heights. LL MacRae: I’m not a big fan of heights or crowds, but no real phobias! Often, I struggle in social situations, but that’s more down to neurodiversity than a phobia. I am also sensitive to certain sounds/textures, so those things tend to bother me more in everyday life than say, spiders or snakes? (I actually quite like snakes and had one as a pet a few years ago!) Holly: How have you overcome or how do you deal with fears in your life? Sean Crow: Face them. That’s about the only way I’ve figured out how to get past them. If I run away, the fear remains, and it grows stronger with each avoidance. Definitely not an easy task but doing anything else will only lessen me in the end. If I want to live the life I want, I can’t allow my fears to rule me. Tim Hardie: I think fear tends to manifest itself in the anticipation of a particular event or set of circumstances, rather than when you’re in that situation in a practical sense. When I was younger I was a far more timid person, very much inclined to say no rather than yes to something, partly out of fear at what might go wrong. As I got older, I realised a life ruled by fear is a life half-lived. You only get one opportunity to experience everything the world has to offer. This helped put a lot of my fears into perspective and I found their reality to be far less intimidating than what I imagined. A positive mindset makes a massive difference to how you confront a situation you’re afraid of. I still don’t like heights. LL MacRae: I’m very lucky to be in a supportive relationship with a partner who is my absolute rock! Very little ever bothers him, whereas I am a ball of anxiety about most things. He’s brilliant at keeping me grounded and helping me through particularly stressful times where my anxiety is spiralling, or I go into a full-blown anxiety attack. I do try and break things down into smaller, manageable events. If I have something scary coming up (for example, a flight), I literally do not think about it until it happens. I focus solely on what’s in front of me right now now, so anything in the future doesn’t really appear in my awareness. That helps keep me calm! I am also naturally quite conflict averse. I’m hyper-vigilant and tend to keep myself away from situations that make me fearful and am also fortunate enough to work from home. This means I am 1) basically a hermit and 2) have a wonderful dog who is pretty good at keeping people away from the door should they have nefarious purposes! Holly: Are there any writing projects you are working on now you can tell us about? Sean Crow: Currently focused on finishing the 3rd and final novel in my Godless Lands series. It should be out by the end of summer 2023. After that, I’ll likely dive into a novel in the very world I’m writing about for the Anatomy of Fear. If, for some reason, it doesn’t click then I’ll shift my focus into my Valhalla Steel universe and write a novel there. I’m considering writing one that follows a broken Crusader named Santiago (my readers will know him from Quenched in Blood and a couple short stories I’ve put out) but I also have another idea that would follow the next Jarl of Valhalla Steel. I have lots of stories in my head, and plenty of time to write! Tim Hardie: 2023 is going to be a busy year. In addition to this fantastic anthology, I’m about to release my first standalone fantasy novel, A Quiet Vengeance, probably in March or April. A Quiet Vengeance is set in the same fantasy world as my other novels but takes place in a different continent with a new set of characters. The setting is inspired by the Middle-East and Africa, so this has a very distinctive look and feel and I’ve also experimented with using a different narrative style. I’m also working on my Viking-inspired fantasy series The Brotherhood of the Eagle. I released the third book in that series, Lost Gods, back in November 2022. Now I’m working hard on the fourth and final instalment, Broken Brotherhood. It’s the culmination of 11 years of work and counting, so this is going to be an emotional year as I bring that sprawling story arc to an epic conclusion. LL MacRae: I’m currently working on The Shadow Gate, which is book two in my Dragon Spirits epic fantasy trilogy and the sequel to The Iron Crown. Once that’s out, I’ll be diving straight into the third and final book in the series to get it wrapped up! I also have two final books in the World of Linaria epic fantasy series to write and release—I’m looking forward to having two complete epic fantasy series soon. The Anatomy of Fear Kickstarter is live now and runs until the 22nd February. To find out more or become a backer for exclusive rewards, visit - https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hltinsley/the-anatomy-of-fear Please feel free to comment on this and future blogs and I will be sure to get back to you. Chat soon! Happy New Year everyone, welcome to 2023, and my first post of the year! May you all have a safe and prosperous 2023! It's always hard to choose "top books of the year" from so many fantastic books that I read in 2022. However, every reader has individual tastes, and when one makes a top book list, one needs to remember that someone else's top list will be completely different. Thus, these lists can be useful in helping guide readers towards a variety of books that perhaps they might not have otherwise discovered. Additionally, I want to state here that I believe books are books, whether self-published or traditionally published. The manner in which a book is published has no bearing whatsoever on how well it is written. I only separate my top traditionally published book from my top self-published book in order to let more than one book share the spotlight! I love reading fantasy and science fiction books. There are some fantastic books out there in those categories. I had the privilege of reading some of these books, and posting reviews of what I thought of them on Goodreads. If you haven’t read these books, and if you don’t know about these authors, you’re definitely missing out! Let’s celebrate some awesome books! There are so many incredible books that are not listed in this post! My top indie book of the year was a book I simply cannot stop thinking about, and the debut novel of a breakout author who has taken the indie book community by storm, with the success of his first book. It's an amazing tale of prophecy, intrigue, betrayal, and found family. I can't recommend it enough, and am eager to see where this author will take his series next. My top traditionally published book of the year was by an iconic writer whose body of work spans approximately five decades! In my estimation, and the opinion of many others, she is one of the greatest fantasy writers - EVER. This book of hers that I've chosen is a standalone novel, and one that has had a profound impact on me. It's my favourite standalone fantasy novel of all-time. I have provided snippets of my reviews of these books accompanying the listing. For the full review, please see the Goodreads links attached! Without further ado, here is the top indie fantasy / sci-fi book, and the top traditionally published fantasy and sci-fi book, that I read between January and December 2022! Please feel free to comment on this and future blogs and I will be sure to get back to you. Chat soon! P.L.'s Top Indie Book for 2022 - ILLBORN by Daniel T. Jackson  Why is it so good? Jackson spins a marvellous tale of desire, loss, forbidden powers, beatific visions, rife with political and religious intrigue, overcoming and adapting through adversity, facing one's fears, and thrilling action. Jackson skillfully weaves it all together via multiple POVs, each one, that the reader will care about. It’s a mastercraft effort, especially for a first novel. Everything about it resonated with me, and after more than 700 pages I did not want it to end. I wanted more. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4160869099?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1 P.L.'s Top Traditionally Published Book for 2022 - TO RIDE HELL'S CHASM by Janny Wurts  Why is it so good?
In the aspect of prose, no other writer I have ever read writes in a manner that forces you, as the reader, to read EVERY word. It is simply the most lush, most COMPLETE prose one can find anywhere in fantasy, perhaps in literature. I would also submit that Wurts brings the additional skill of being a world-class illustrator of her own books, to the equation. The pictures of the characters on my beautiful copy of To Ride Hell's Chasm, truly bring those characters to life. "To Ride Hell's Chasm" is to-date my favourite standalone fantasy book and, while I never say never, I don't believe anything is ever going to come close. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4382880222?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1 Welcome to my final blog post of 2022!
I'm writing this one, on a much needed vacation, from sunny Barbados, my home away from home!!! The year has absolutely flown by! And what a busy year it's been for me and Deb (my wife, best friend, my rock, business manager, and partner in everything authorpreneur)! Another busy, wonderful year gone by, since we began this crazy but exciting journey of writing and publishing books! In March, we successfully published The Last of the Atalanteans, book two in The Drowned Kingdom Saga, to very successful reviews, and strong sales. It's fascinating and rewarding to see people respond so positively to the sequel to the bestselling A Drowned Kingdom! The consensus seems to be, it's a great follow-up to the first book, for which I am very happy! We attended our first ComicCon, in London, Ontario, and wow that was an amazing experience! We met amazing fellow authors, lots of great and passionate fans of various ComicCon events, and sold a record number of books! https://www.londoncomicconspring.com/ I had two fantastic book signings at Canada's premier bookstore, Chapters-Indigo, in different locations! The staff at this book store chain were so supportive, and helped make this experience fabulous. I met lots of awesome readers, and once more, along with the networking and stimulating interactions, sold a lot of books! Thank you Chapters-Indigo! My efforts as a blogger and assistant editor for Before We Go Blog www.beforewegoblog.com have met with praise for my reviews of some great books. I've also made the top 100 reviewers weekly on Goodreads several times in 2022, much to my surprise, and have been humbled by the recognition! As I've noted, it's easy to write reviews when the books are phenomenal. The team the stupendous Beth Tabler has assembled at Before We Go Blog is second to none. What a talented, zany, lovely bunch of people! I'm having a blast with my blogging colleagues, and right now we're deep in judging the final round of the Self-Published Fantasy Blog Off (SPFBO) version 8! Thrilling times, as we work our way, in tandem with the other 9 blogging sites engaged in judging the contest, in picking from the ten finalists remaining, and choosing the ultimate champion for SPFBO 8! https://mark---lawrence.blogspot.com/2022/10/finalists-for-8th-spfb.html PAGE CHEWING, a YouTube feature, on either the YouTube channels of booktubers Steve Talks Books or Maed Between the Pages (two of my favourite people, and the other co-hosts of Page Chewing) has become a rousing success! We're on track to surpass 40 episodes of Page Chewing early in 2023!!! Unbelievable, considering we only began this adventure mid last year! I've truly enjoyed chatting with the creatives we've had on the show, and learned so much! We hope you, our audience, have enjoyed it too, and judging by the number of views, you have! Thank you for tuning in, and we have a lot more great content in store for you in 2023! https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLw6bQEbZ9ujT45twa4FhQIRqEQS2K6KxA Finally, Lord and King, book three in the seven-book Drowned Kingdom Saga, is in editing stage, with an anticipated release date of 2023! This book promises to be more explosive than even the previous two, and I can't wait to reveal what Othrun gets up to next! https://www.plstuart.com/ Combined with our regular jobs, Deb and I need to recharge, and the holiday season, with one of our children and grandchildren, in beautiful Barbados, was the perfect place to do it. We all need a break, to rejuvenate, do some self-care. It's also a great time to pause and reflect on the past year, re-set goals for next year, and look forward to what's to come! Remember, take time out of the busy holiday season to take care of yourself, rest, and ensure you're having some down time aside from the bustle! May you and yours have a safe and happy holiday season, and all the best for a prosperous 2023! Please feel free to comment on this and future blogs and I will be sure to get back to you. Chat soon! Hello everyone! Welcome to my blog post for the month of October. A lot of people love "best of" lists, and I'm no different. Of course such lists are very subjective. Nevertheless, nothing incites discussion and interest when it comes to things such as books, as calling out one's favourites. For this month's blog post I have a special list, where I note my all-time favourite opening installments in a fantasy series. These books are not ranked in any particular order - just know that they are those that made the cut as my top-ten. Many of the series these books are part of are, no surprise, some of my most beloved fantasy series ever. In several instances, I liked the second or third or other books in the series better than the first. Still, in some cases, the overall body of work for the series did not quite crack my top ranking. Regardless, these books are dynamite, iconic, my favourite first installments, and I still think about them, long after reading them. These books often truly launched the careers of the writers who wrote them, turning them into household names among fantasy readers. The ten novels I have listed below have certainly made a huge impact on me, as both a reader and a writer. With my ranking, I've tried to include a short review, to elaborate on why each book is so great. Hopefully this top ten list will inspire you to add these wonderful books to your TBR! Or perhaps my list will motivate you to consider your own top ten list, and perhaps re-read some old favourites or recommend them to a friend, and ultimately, hopefully read more fantasy books! Please feel free to comment on this and future blogs and I will be sure to get back to you. Chat soon!
Welcome to my blog post for the month of September!
After nearly a year and a half as an author, and two years on social media, a lot of amazing opportunities have come my way, and some incredible events have taken place! I currently have two published novels, and a third on the way. In the past two years I've appeared on numerous podcast appearances and interviews, acquired a bestselling tag and become a Staff Favourite Book Selection with FriesenPress, my Indie publisher. I won a writing award (Picky Bookworm Best Indie Mythology https://thepickybookworm.com/book-awards/ ) becoming a blogger and an assistant editor of a blogging site, and so much more! I thought it might be time to re-introduce myself to my audience, because boy has a lot happened in two years! I have evolved as a writer, and an authorpreneur, and taken on so many new and thrilling roles and challenges! With my lovely wife and business partner Debbie at my side, my writing and my profile will hopefully continue to grow in new positive directions. I am very excited for the journey! So, here is a list of five things to know about P.L. Stuart, Canadian fantasy fiction author and blogger. 1. Foremost, I am a husband, a father, a grandfather. My beautiful wife Debbie, the love of my life, is also my business partner. Between us, Debbie and I have seven incredible children and two lovely grandchildren with another on the way! 2. P.L. Stuart LOVES to write! Writing fantasy novels is absolutely my passion, and the achievement of a lifelong dream. My first novel has been completed later in life, however the ideas and concepts behind the work have been decades in the making. Now that I have started writing novels, I will be writing them for as long as I am able to lift a finger to the keyboard. I write primarily to entertain, but like most authors, I feel I have interesting stories inside of me, bursting to get out, that are worth telling. In those stories, there are various themes that I find relevant, timely, and poignant, and I believe others will too. It is my drive to write that has resulted in The Drowned Kingdom Saga. 3. I am the author of The Drowned Kingdom Saga, and a large planned body of work that will follow my original series. A Drowned Kingdom , the first novel in The Drowned Kingdom Saga is the starting point, yet it is just the beginning of the story! There are seven planned novels in the chronicles known as The Drowned Kingdom Saga. Yet, following completion of that series, there are two prequel trilogies to the main series planned, and then an additional follow-up seven-book series. The journey begun in A Drowned Kingdom will take interesting and unexpected paths as things progress. The additional seven-book series and prequels that follow The Drowned Kingdom Saga will bring readers to a variety of dynamic geographical settings within the worldbuilding scope of the series and will introduce the readers to new compelling characters and diverse and exciting storylines. A Drowned Kingdom and The Last of the Atalanteans are the books currently published in the initial seven-book series. The third book in that series, Lord and King, will be released in Spring 2023. 4. I am a fan of all things fantasy fiction! I’m a huge fan of the fantasy genre, and an avid reader of all things fantasy. Among my favourite classical fantasy authors are C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, T.H. White, and Sir Thomas Malory. My contemporary favourite writers include Janny Wurts, N.K. Jemisin, Mark Lawrence, Joe Abercrombie, George R.R. Martin. I spend a great deal of my free time indulging in my love of fantasy books, reading into the wee hours! Being a reader and fan of fantasy has led me to becoming a blogger, co-hosting booktube shows, and judging writing contests. 5. I am an Assistant Editor of Before We Go Blog, an SPFBO judge, and a co-host of PAGE CHEWING! Page Chewing with the marvellous booktubers Steve Talks Books https://www.youtube.com/c/SteveTalksBooks and Taylor - Maed Between the Pages https://www.youtube.com/c/MaedBetweenthePages is an interview series on YouTube where writers, booktubers, bloggers, and other creatives are featured. The audience gets to learn more about the creatives, and what they create, discuss writing and books in general, and overall just have a lot of fun! Check out Steve and Taylor's channels of amazing content including Page Chewing! I am humbled to be a co-host of Page Chewing with Steve and Taylor. We started the show Spring of 2022, and already have completed more than 25 awesome episodes, with many more great creatives to feature in the coming months! Check it out! I am honoured to be an Assistant Editor with the awesome Before We Go Blog https://beforewegoblog.com/ review site, under the leadership of the incredible Beth Tabler. As noted on our website "Before We Go Blog is a collective of Fantasy, Sci-Fi and Graphic Novel fans from around the world, passionate about providing awesome, enjoyable reviews for anyone who loves a good book!" You can also find my book reviews posted on Goodreads, where I am humbled to have recently made the top one hundred in weekly rankings for reviewers on Goodreads! Follow me there https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21031579.P_L_Stuart ! In my capacity as a member of Before We Go Blog, I am also a judge with Before We Go Blog's SPFBO (Self-Published Fantasy Blog Off) Eight Contest http://mark---lawrence.blogspot.com/2022/05/spfbo-8-self-published-fantasy-blog-off.html Team! https://beforewegoblog.com/spfbo8 Thanks for taking the time to get to know me a bit better or get reacquainted with me! Please feel free to comment on this and future blogs and I will be sure to get back to you. Chat soon! Welcome to my blog post for August!
I continue to be amazed and extremely grateful by the positive response to The Drowned Kingdom Saga, and the first two books in the seven-book series, A Drowned Kingdom and The Last of the Atalanteans. I am so grateful that so many people are enjoying Lord Othrun's journey, and wanted to chat to my readers about what is coming next. When we discuss what's coming next, it all begins with Book Three in The Drowned Kingdom Saga entitled Lord and King. Without providing spoilers for the first two books, for those reading this blog post who have not read A Drowned Kingdom or The Last of the Atalanteans, Book Three will be perhaps the most exhilarating, dark, and stupefying book of the series to-date. Let's first talk about our protagonist who's really the antagonist of his own story, Othrun himself. Othrun will be tested in Lord and King in ways that he could not conceive when he first aspired to be a lord and leader of his people. He will be confronted with both his wildest dreams and greatest nightmares. Leadership is a very difficult role in the lands of Acremia at the best of times but with the amount of enemies Othrun has accumulated, survival is far from guaranteed, much less the ability to flourish and conquer all. The complicated Othrun will undoubtedly continue to struggle with his faith in his Single God. And, in the face of the undeniable power of the Six Elemental Goddesses wielded by Eltnia's mages, and the strength and cunning of Eltnia's warlords, Othrun's plans to impose monotheism to the continent have never looked more shaky. Slowly, incrementally, more will be divulged on the magical and supernatural side of the story, especially regarding the mysterious Anchali, - Othrun's guardian angel. Additionally, there will be more shocking reveals about the mages of Eltnia as, gradually the true powers and purpose of the mages will be uncovered. These are disclosures that the main character will not be prepared to deal with, and will irrevocably change the fate of Lord Othrun, and indeed all Acremia, forever. As for the characters in Lord and King, female characters will play a VERY prominent part in this third installment to the series. As Othrun's narrow, bigoted world-view has expanded slightly, so has the role of women in his world, and in the series, grown. In particular, as hinted in any promotion I have done for Lord and King, a great Queen is coming to Eltnia. The Queen of the Anib, the race of Black people who were the ancient founders of Eltnish civilization. Othrun had originally scorned the Anib, thinking them inferior savages. That is, until the evidence began mounting so glaringly he could no longer deny that the Anib were very different from what Othrun was raised to believe. Othrun's upbringing as a prejudiced and superior Atalantean Prince made him dismiss the Anib entirely as being worthy of paying attention to at all, much less value. Now, with the arrival of the Anibian Queen in Othrun's orbit, he could be faced with his most daunting opponent yet. In addition to the Anib, other races who have been previously referred to, but not yet seen, will also appear in Lord and King, as The Drowned Kingdom Saga expands to include more of the diverse tapestry that actually makes up Acremia, rather than merely the three kingdoms and cultures visited so far in the series, being Atalantyx, Nyrimia, and Lynchun. All told, I believe readers will find Lord and King to be a series-changing book that will hopefully resonate with them for a long time. I look forward to bringing Lord and King to its audience, in Spring of 2023. Please feel free to comment on this and future blogs and I will be sure to get back to you. Chat soon! Welcome to my blog post for July!
One of the things I am most grateful for is having my first two books in The Drowned Kingdom Saga - A Drowned Kingdom, and The Last of the Atalanteans - stocked on the shelves of Indigo, Canada's leading bookstore. https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/?link-usage=Header%3A%20indigo-logo It is a huge honour for me! I cannot completely describe the overwhelming feeling of pride and joy, walking into the fantasy section of select Southern Ontario stores, and seeing my books featured next to the likes of some of my most beloved fantasy authors, such as Janny Wurts, John Gwynne, N.K Jemisin, and the like. There are numerous benefits to having my works carried by Indigo stores. Among those benefits are the opportunity to do physical in-store book signings! Book signings are typically hosted by libraries or physical book stores, places where customers can walk in and browse book titles to their heart's content. At book signings, the author of one of the books which is carried by the library or book-store attends for a specific time period, and autographs copies of any customers' books who approach and request that the author sign their copy. The author sometimes also signs items such as photographs or bookmarks from the readers, and the author may sometimes bring promotional material to be signed such as clothing, stationery, or posters, all to be given away to the audience. After all, everybody loves a little swag! As we all know, it was a difficult past few years on many fronts, where we battled the global pandemic, and lost many face-to-face activities. One of those activities lost was the ability for writers and readers to participate in physical book signings! With book signings, authors have the incredible opportunity to engage in person, where the reader can pose questions to the author, provide direct feedback to authors about their work, receive a special copy of the books they want, signed by the author himself, and generally have fun! Book signings are a joyous event, where readers and authors leave happy and inspired, feeling in a very positive mood for the interactions. It's exciting to speak to your favourite author, or learn about a new potential favourite author that you might never have heard about, until you saw their book signing advertised, or simply encountered them on a trip to the bookstore! And who wouldn't treasure a personalized book, with a dedication to the specific reader, signed by the author, in the flesh? For authors, whether a seasoned and more established writer, or someone like me who is a newer author, book signings are definitely worth your time. It provides authors with the chance to have readers get to know a bit about an author as a person, hear what you have to say about your own books, introduce your books to new readers, and increase your overall brand awareness. This exceptional marketing opportunity can potentially help boost sales generically, along with any books actually sold as a direct result of the book signing. Perhaps most importantly, speaking to people directly who are interested in your work is particularly satisfying, and a feeling like no other. The privilege of being able to meet someone who has spent their hard earned time and money to want to purchase and read your book, and value meeting the person behind the book, is something that is priceless. It will potentially earn you, as a writer, a lifelong reader, who going forward wants to read your work not just because they enjoy your writing, but because they have made a personal connection with the author. I had the pleasure to participate in a book launch for The Last of the Atalanteans at the amazing Imperial City Brewhouse in Sarnia, Ontario, https://www.imperialcitybrew.com/ where I was able to meet some fantastic people, have stimulating conversations with those who also bought my book! It was very rewarding, I had a blast, and I was very enthusiastic to be able to do something like that again. Now I can happily announce my first official book signing, taking place at Indigo Windsor, 3100 Howard Ave, Windsor, ON N8X 3Y8, at Devonshire Mall, on Saturday July 23, 2022, from 1pm to 3pm Eastern Standard Time! If you are in the area, please stop by, say hi, and check out all the incredible books Indigo has to offer, including those from The Drowned Kingdom Saga! I will have copies of A Drowned Kingdom, and The Last of the Atalanteans on hand to be signed, just for you! See you there! Please feel free to comment on this and future blogs and I will be sure to get back to you. Chat soon! Approximately a year ago, I announced via my blog post that I would be entering A Drowned Kingdom in The 7th Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off (SPFBO7). I explained all the many benefits of entering this prestigious contest.
I was not disappointed in terms of the fact that SPFBO7 proved to be an exciting, enlightening experience for me. Although unfortunately A Drowned Kingdom did not advance past the first round, I would not trade that experience for the world. A Drowned Kingdom received a largely positive review and score. The recognition merely from participating in SPFBO gained additional interest in my book, and I even enjoyed a noticeable spike in sales while my book was in the contest! The fantastic contacts and connections to be made with people in the writing community was very beneficial. I loved the sense of camaraderie and fellowship I felt by participating in the event! Finally, real hype and buzz about SPFBO, with most of the eyes of the indie fantasy community squarely trained on the year-long contest, if you’re not paying attention to SPFBO at some point during the year, what are you doing? Now, a year later, incredibly, I find myself on the other side of the table, as one of the judges with the wonderful Before We Go Blog www.beforewegoblog.com for the 8th Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off (SPFBO8)! Before I speak further about being a judge for the current iteration of SPFBO, let’s revisit what SPFBO is, as defined in that blog post from a year ago, for those who are not familiar with the competition. SPFBO is an annual contest designed for English-language fantasy writers and readers. The patron and host of SPFBO is famous British Grimdark fantasy author Mark Lawrence. Mark has penned ground-breaking books such as the internationally best-selling Broken Empire Series. The opening book of the Broken Empire Series, Prince of Thorns, is one of my personal favourite top 100 books of all-time. And the protagonist of the series, I feel, is one of the most memorable - not to mention most controversial - fantasy characters ever written: the flawed, dangerous, and compelling Prince Jorg Ancrath. You can learn all about Mark Lawrence and his outstanding books here: https://www.marklawrence.buzz/ Altruistically, although he is heralded world-wide as a traditionally-published fantasy star, Mark Lawrence created SPFBO. He wanted to design a vehicle for his self-published brethren, so we may potentially one day acquire the sort of success he currently enjoys. The purpose of the SPFBO contest is to shine a light on self-published fantasy books, promoting the fact that there are more than solely great traditionally-published literary works in the genre. SPFBO is a phenomenal opportunity to increase the credibility and visibility of self-published fantasy books. Read about SPFBO, its rules, and why you, a self-published fantasy author, should consider entering here: https://mark---lawrence.blogspot.com/2018/06/the-official-self-published-fantasy.html Here is how SPFBO operates: fantasy novels are submitted by their authors to the SPFBO website. Then the novels are distributed to 10 prominent fantasy blogging sites (who are essentially the judges) for review. 300 books maximum are selected, based on a first-come, first-serve basis. The books selected are divided evenly amongst the blogging sites. So, each blogging site has a pile of 30 books to review. Next, each individual blogging site has the task of choosing ONE finalist from among their 30 books. Thus, there are a total of 10 finalists. Then, those 10 finalists are subjected to further scrutiny by ALL 10 blogging sites. The overall winner of the contest is the finalist amongst those 10 who receives the highest average review score received from the blogging sites. Despite the immense celebrity of the host Mark Lawrence as a top fantasy author, and all the acclaim the contest has garnered to-date - surprisingly - many self-published authors I spoke to had never even heard of SPFBO. Since there are many wonderful awards and prizes open to independent authors, I suppose even one so prominent as SPFBO can escape attention. Still, I can think of no more prestigious and impactful award out there right now in the world of self-published writers than SPFBO. The ability to have top bloggers review your work cannot be understated. The potential for increased sales due to exposure from the contest is considerable. Some independent authors have even found agent or traditional publishing contracts specifically because of their success in SPFBO. SPFBO6 winner Justin Lee Anderson, author of The Lost War, recently signed with Ian Drury of Sheil Land Agency, on the heels of his big victory. In my September 2021 blog post I had announced my joining Before We Go Blog, led by the amazing Beth Tabler, as a blogger. Bloggers who review SPFBO-entered books are considered judges for the purposes of the contest. In addition to providing honest reviews of the books entered, individually and collectively in their blogging team, they ultimately decide if a book will advance to the next round (either semi-final, final round). They also help decide who the ultimate victor is for the contest. Being a judge is quite the honour, and quite the responsibility. For the most part, with the extremely high level of competition, due to the high quality of self-published fantasy entered in the contest, it is typically very difficult to select which books to advance. Yet that is the judges’ job, and that means that some very good books will be eliminated from the competition, at various stages. There can be only one winner of SPFBO, in the end. No judge feels good about cutting a book from the competition. Many of the judges are authors themselves, and can certainly empathize with how it would feel to have someone write a critique of your book - even if it is overall quite unfavourable - that takes your book out of the running. I know I can. It is an emotional, and potentially devastating experience. Yet that is the nature of the contest, and with candour, care, and consideration for the time, effort, and achievement of writing a book, and the courage to submit it for judging, books are removed from contention by SPFBO judges, in order to move the contest towards its ultimate conclusion. Along the way, bloggers try to write cut reviews that also try to highlight the book’s positives. A blogger may not necessarily find a particular book to their specific taste, but they generally highlight the positive aspects of a writer’s work, along with any areas for perceived improvement. Even if a blogger did not enjoy a certain book for whatever reason, that does not mean that book may not be exactly what someone else wants to read! With a blogger getting the word out there about a book, it can potentially lead the perfect reader to that book! As we all are aware, reading tastes are very subjective, and it is not the blogger’s goal to turn readers away from books, but rather to turn them towards the books that are best suited to their reading preferences. Therefore, the main reason I volunteered to be an SPFBO judge was to do just that! A cut review can still increase a writer’s wider audience, just by virtue of receiving a review from a popular blog site like Before We Go Blog. Moreover, if I do my job well enough as a judge, readers who read my review might find just the book they are looking for, based on my feedback, even if I end up cutting the book. And besides wanting to read even more great self-published books, that’s why I became a judge: to help shine a light on as many of those books as possible! Please feel free to comment on this and future blogs and I will be sure to get back to you. Chat soon! Welcome to my blog post for May 2022!
One of the biggest ways in the 21st century to connect and engage with others who have the same sorts of interests that you do, build relationships, and have fun doing it, is through the amazing medium of YouTube. YouTube is in its second decade of existence, and only continues to grow. With the growth of YouTube, so grows the online community of vloggers and viewers, in massive proportions. There's something fascinating about vlogging, and captivating about viewing vlog content. In all of this emergence of vloggers, perhaps some of the biggest expansion has been in the world of booktubers who are also reviewers. And possibly within that subset of vloggers, no type of booktube reviewers are becoming more pervasive than fantasy and sci-fi booktubers. These vloggers are a special breed of person. They genuinely care about their audience, and create these enormous followings yet with an atmosphere that feels like tight knit family dynamics. They generate stimulating conversation, create incredibly relatable content, and add so much to the fantasy-sci-fi writing community, which is composed of writers, poets, readers, literary agents, reviewers, publishers, and more. One of the most important things fantasy-sci-fi vloggers - as all reviewers do - is spread the word about authors and their work. In my opinion, among some of the most skilled, and most entertaining at their craft, https://www.youtube.com/c/PetrikLeo https://www.youtube.com/c/LiteratureLofi https://www.youtube.com/c/LoreLullabies https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGTeYZEBPBWScWXkqBnZrQQ https://www.youtube.com/c/MaedBetweenthePages https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCObUCiZk90lu5sqDSZ3lJlg https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCt7u2yaCcESbs7bWd0XZk-g . One other name that belongs on that list of some of the best vloggers out there is the incomparable Steve, from Steve Talks Books. https://www.youtube.com/c/SteveTalksBooks . With a calm and soothing presence, insightful commentary and analysis, and a penchant for attracting some of the most interesting creatives out there to his channel, Steve's acclaim in the vlogging community continues to rise, at a rapid pace. He is beloved in the community, and for good reason. I was blown away when, after I had the privilege of being interviewed by Steve, he asked me to co-host a series of author interviews on his channel. Of course, I jumped at this amazing opportunity to collaborate with Steve! And so, after a poll to figure out a name for our new endeavour, lining up prospective guests, and working out some other logistics, PAGE CHEWING was born! PAGE CHEWING is a relaxed, fun, and informative regular event where Steve and I interview some of the Writing Community's brightest lights. At the time of this writing, we have completed episode 6 of PAGE CHEWING. Wow, have we had some fantastic guests in the first six episodes! These guests have included authors Zamil Akhtar, Sean Bell, Angela Boord, T.L. Coughlin, Tim Hardie, Krystle Matar, Thomas Howard Riley, Mark Timmony, H.L. Tinsley, Janny Wurts, and vloggers Lore Lullabies and Maed Between the Pages. Steve and I don't particularly stick to any scripted questions. We love a free flowing, open conversation, and see where it takes us as interviewers and those we interview. The broadcasts are live and interactive, where anyone can join virtually, message in comments and observations, and be part of the interview. Check out Steve's channel for all his other excellent content, and do check out PAGE CHEWING as well! You won't regret it! We welcome you to visit the live broadcasts, say hi, engage in the discussion by posting a question or a comment, or simply stopping by to hang out, listen, and enjoy! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fT-RZyKSJww&t=339s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bNEdjOlfAI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83FXe2WpxFo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhWRnZNhvWo&t=9s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgJVH4eK-3c&t=9s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qns_P8uf5Sw Please feel free to comment on this and future blogs and I will be sure to get back to you. Chat soon! |
P.L. Stuart's BlogI am a Canadian high fantasy author. My debut novel, A Drowned Kingdom - first in The Drowned Kingdom Saga, is now available! Book 2 in The Drowned Kingdom Saga, The Last of the Atalanteans, is now available here! Archives
March 2023
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