Advance Review (or sometimes called Reader) Copies are books released to reviewers ahead of publication. These reviewers then post their honest opinions about the book on release day across multiple platforms (like Amazon and GoodReads). Whether it’s a 5 or a 1 star, an honest review is worth it’s weight in gold—which is one of the reasons ARC editions are free to the reviewer.
Our first read is FOURTH WING, by Rebecca Yarros! Book club starts today, but if you're seeing this after Sept. 1 2023 don't worry: you have until the end of October to join and finish the book!
Life has been a little all over the place for the past couple months. I had surgery, my sister had surgery, my husband was let go from Twitch, and now we're in the middle of moving! So with all that excitement, the newsletter and Book of the Month went to the wayside.
I want a way to continue Book of the Month, but in a way that lets me get to know you all better, and lets you see what an author looks for when analyzing and learning from a novel. That means, Book Club Time!
1. Sign up for a Fable.co Account
2. Join the Sword & Board Discord
3. Click on the Fable Link pinned in #Book-Club
4. Follow the Fable instructions on how to pick up the book.
As an author, my mantra is to tell challenging stories and minimize harm. The major failing I see with sexual violence in many media forms is where the point of view and gaze fall. Particularly in western media, that gaze is often heterosexual masculine. That means sexual violence comes from that same perspective, and makes grotesque GoT Sansa scenes where her rape is all about the men (either perpetrator or witness). The violence is there to horrify and titillate the viewer. We should be horrified. We should never be titillated. Respect for the survivor is missing in these situations. I could break down where this failing is in a lot of media, but I don’t think that is the most important conversation to have. I think the more important questions are: 1) should sexual violence be included in stories for shock value, and 2) how can sexual violence be written.
If you’re looking at this before May 1, 2022, we’re currently running a special promotion on our Patreon where when you sign up at any tier, you receive the patron-only Gods Chronicle Anthology, volume 1. It is an alpha read edition that gives a great deal of backstory for characters within The Dying Sun, such as Merikh, Loralee, and Nikias. It also gives perspective to oft talked about characters Mansur and Rajiya.
Below are snippets from each of the shorts within the anthology. If you’d like to read them in full, please consider becoming a patron. Tiers start at $5/month. Thank you!
Shepherd.com is the up and coming new book site for excellent book recommendations. I was approached by them at the end of last year with a request: what book list would I like to make? And naturally, the first list that came to mind was The Best Non-Western Fantasy Books. How could I not write it?
“Your medical record isn’t proof of your condition.”
I’m paraphrasing and summarizing the response I received after four hours of trying to resurrect a dead “Ask Me Anything” on r/IAMA on Reddit. The AMA had gone fantastically, with plenty of engagement from other people with my condition asking questions that the answers might help them make their days (or in one case, the life of their 4-year-old daughter) a little easier. But then, in one fell swoop, a comment appeared from the mods and the post removed. Why?
We’re taking the plunge into new territory: WattPad! Think of it as a massive ebook library, and now you can find Gods Chronicle short stories there too!
If you’re looking at this before May 1, 2022, we’re currently running a special promotion on our Patreon where when you sign up at any tier, you receive the patron-only Gods Chronicle Anthology, volume 1. It is an alpha read edition that gives a great deal of backstory for characters within The Dying Sun, such as Merikh, Loralee, and Nikias. It also gives perspective to oft talked about characters Mansur and Rajiya.
Below are snippets from each of the shorts within the anthology. If you’d like to read them in full, please consider becoming a patron. Tiers start at $5/month. Thank you!
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, by V.E. Schwab, is the story of a young woman ahead of her time. Adeline LaRue is a young woman in 1714 France who has no desire to play housewife. She wants to be free, to make her own choices and to see more of the world than her little village. Her mentor, Estelle, teaches her the hidden magic of the woods near her home, the streams and meadows. All with the warning to never pray to the gods after dark. But as Adeline grows, and as her life takes a turn for the ordinary, she makes a deal with the dark for an extraordinary life—only, it’s a life no one can remember.
