Tag: Books

Posted on by — 3 Comments

The Bookish Owl – Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett

Wyrd Sisters Terry Pratchett

New book, and it’s Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett.

I ran out of City Watch books, so my Discworld reread is moving to the Witches subseries now. I remember not liking this book as much as the other Discworld books when I first read it, but I think it might be because I didn’t yet have the deep appreciation of Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg that I developed later. Not sure why it took me so long to get into the Witches books, but it wasn’t until about “Maskerade” that I really started liking them as much as the rest of the series.

I think it might be because, in the beginning, they weren’t as funny as the others, though they had better plots. Or, maybe, it was just because Esme Weatherwax and I can be a bit too similar for comfort…

Either way, I’m hoping to enjoy my reread of the earlier books more!

(Also, don’t worry about Artemis being creepy – I told him it was October, so he’s just getting into the Halloween spirit)

Wyrd Sisters
by Terry Pratchett

Three witches – Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg and Magrat Garlick – have gathered on a lonely heath. A king has been cruelly murdered, his throne usurped by his ambitious cousin. An infant heir and the crown of the kingdom, both missing . . .

Witches don’t have these kind of dynastic problems themselves – in fact, they don’t have leaders.

Granny Weatherwax was the most highly-regarded of the leaders the witches don’t have. But even she found that meddling in royal politics was a lot more complicated than certain playwrights would have you believe . . .

Wyrd Sisters Terry Pratchett

Posted on by — 6 Comments

Paperbacks, Oh Paperbacks

Paperbacks Michelle Louring

Yesterday, I received the first paperback copies of the new editions of my books.

I picked up the package at the post office.

I got home.

I put the package on the table.

Then I proceeded to circle said package for half an hour, acting like it might go off and kill everyone (everyone being  me and my owl) if I were to open it.

Amazon package

I then opened the package because I was running late for an appointment and I didn’t have time to be scared of inanimate objects.

Somewhat anticlimatically, nothing blew up.

Paperbacks Michelle LouringTitle page Resounding Echo

While not as bright as their digital counterparts (as expected, since ink has its limitations), the covers were still beautiful. The interior was gorgeous, with the choice of fonts and text size having hit the mark, and the title page I spent 3 hours obsessing over being worth every minute even though no one besides me is going to care.

But don’t worry: I hate the spines. They got a good talking to where I explained to them that their clashing colors were unacceptable and changes would have to be made.

I haven’t turned lenient all of a sudden.

Paperback spines Michelle Louring

 

Posted on by — 1 Comment

Ghostly Scream – Excerpt (Chapter 48)

Excerpt Ghostly Scream

“Maiya was an archangel,” Selissa reminded him.

The Nephilim shot her a look. “So is Cadeyrn.”

“I’m a little fuzzy on the details, but I get the impression that being trapped inside a human body severely hampers your ability to zap demons off the face of the earth,” she said dryly.

Seymour blinked. “‘Zap’?”

Selissa rolled her eyes. “I don’t actually know how demons are banished. I imagine a big bolt of lightning to be involved, for dramatic effect.”

‘Nothing quite that flashy. A bit of smoke and fire, but no wrath from above.’

‘No one asked you,’ Selissa shot back.

Posted on by — 1 Comment

The Bookish Owl – We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal

We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal

This time it’s We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal!

I have been looking forward to this post, simply because the cover of this book is so gorgeous. I actually started following the author on Twitter long before the book was even released, because I had seen people sharing the cover and I couldn’t get enough of it.

Yes, I have a thing for pretty covers. Sue me.

In my defense, I did actually read the description of the book to make sure it sounded interesting before I bought the book. I’m over that phase where I would buy books simply because they were pretty, because there’s some really bad books with some really great covers out there.

Hopefully this is not one of them, because it really does sound good!

We Hunt the Flame
by Hafsah Faizal

People lived because she killed. People died because he lived.

Zafira is the Hunter, disguising herself as a man when she braves the cursed forest of the Arz to feed her people. Nasir is the Prince of Death, assassinating those foolish enough to defy his autocratic father, the sultan. If Zafira was exposed as a girl, all of her achievements would be rejected; if Nasir displayed his compassion, his father would punish him in the most brutal of ways.

Both Zafira and Nasir are legends in the kingdom of Arawiya―but neither wants to be.

War is brewing, and the Arz sweeps closer with each passing day, engulfing the land in shadow. When Zafira embarks on a quest to uncover a lost artifact that can restore magic to her suffering world and stop the Arz, Nasir is sent by the sultan on a similar mission: retrieve the artifact and kill the Hunter. But an ancient evil stirs as their journey unfolds―and the prize they seek may pose a threat greater than either can imagine.

We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal

Posted on by — 8 Comments

Ghostly Scream – Release Date and Cover Reveal

Ghostly Scream Michelle Louring

It took me way too long, but I’m happy to finally announce a release date for Ghostly Scream.

You’re not getting a lot of warning: Ghostly Scream will be out as ebook on October 17!

If you want the paperback, it’s already available here.

Ghostly Scream

They might be better dressed, but mages can be just as fickle as demons . . .

Disavowed by the clergy, Selissa is left to fend for herself when her actions lead her to become a prisoner of Var’nori.
She is given the choice between staying locked up within the walls of the mage city or accepting to become an apprentice of the secretive magister, Feryll. It’s really not much of a choice.
Because while her life has changed a lot over the last few years, one thing is still very much true:
Selissa really, really doesn’t like mages.

Since I’ve been so slow with everything, I’m going ahead and doing the cover reveal at the same time. The first reaction I got on this went something along the lines of “I love it, but mostly because it screams ‘vampire’!”, so I feel obligated to say that this book features no vampires whatsoever. I’m very sorry if I got your hopes up.

Without further delay, here you have the deceptively vampire-y cover of Ghostly Scream:

Ghostly Scream Michelle Louring cover