Promotion Price Has Ended

    

     It's challenging for an independent author to go up against industry algorithms skewed toward the traditionally published. 

     Still, I’m going to keep trying to reach the reading public that appreciates a fun adventure with a likable protagonist. Wouldn't you agree that ninety-nine cents is a small price to pay for a few hours of entertainment? 

     Please take a chance and have a look. For less than the price of a cup of coffee, you can join Ravin Carolingian as she fights for her freedom. 

     The ebook edition of my debut fantasy novel Into Madness, Book One in the Born From Stone Saga, is still available at the reduced price of $.99 on Amazon. 

     Check it out at https://www.amazon.com/Into-Madness-Born-Stone-Saga-ebook/dp/B088T3D9PM/ref=sr  

     Scroll down for a preview.

Take care,

Shelley Lee Riley

INTO MADNESS Seven day promotion

Starting at midnight and for the next seven days. The ebook edition of my debut novel Into Madness, Book One in the Born From Stone Saga, will be reduced from $2.99 to $.99 on Amazon.

Please feel free to take a look at the opening pages in my previous posting.

And don't forget, reviews are always welcome.

Take care,

Shelley Lee Riley

Into Madness - Book One from the Born From Stone Saga

 

It is an absolute killer trying to get a debut novel noticed. I have tried many things. Since my book blog has been receiving quite a bit of interest, I thought I would try posting the first few pages of Ravin’s story in the hopes of getting a tiny bit of additional exposure. I hope you enjoy this beginning. 

Prologue

Kingdom Carolingian—938 Middle Era


Crouched atop an ancient Building, a giant stone serpent loomed black against a full moon. Nine-hundred years had passed under its frozen gaze. But on this night, as the mist swirled, minuscule particles locked within the moisture carried a scent that evoked a long-dormant memory.

    The dragon stirred, his once drab scales transformed, coming to life in a dazzling swirl of color. His stone pupils blazed to life, and a forked tongue flicked from between misshapen lips. Leathery wings spread and the dragon lifted into the sky.

    Those citizens who traveled the streets cowered at the sight of the dark alterity.

    Ignoring the humans, Mystislav shifted with the cold breeze and drifted toward the far end of the narrow valley. His destination: a hulking stone fortress, silhouetted against a towering V-shaped cliff, and the tumultuous waterfall that cascaded over the pitted surface.

    Dipping through the billowing mists, Mystislav angled his glistening wings to pass over the Carolingian castle walls.

    His acute hearing picked up the squall of a newborn infant. Banking sharply, he spiraled down and landed on the donjon tower, the highest point in the castle keep.

    The dragon curled his long neck to look over the edge at a balcony that protruded from the castle wall. His nostrils flared, and his eyes flashed crimson. Over nine-hundred-years he’d waited to fulfill his vow. It wouldn’t be long now.

    Satisfied, Mystislav folded his wings and returned to stone.


Chapter One

Carolingian Castle—Eighteen Years Later

It wasn’t like her mother hadn’t told her what to expect. But nothing could’ve prepared Ravin for the level of disdain—even outright hatred—displayed in the glittering hall by the nobility that had gathered there.

    Her mother’s icy hand brushed against Ravin’s wrist.

    ~You need to control yourself. Her mother’s mind-speak failed to calm the outrage that threatened to claw its way out of Ravin’s chest. But it was enough.

    “Delinda Carolingian Danpert . . . Ravinia Carolingian Danpert,” the herald boomed.

    Together the two women descended the stairs. When they reached the bottom step, the crowd was slow to part. Ravin ignored the hostility. Instead, she focused her attention on a dais at the far end of the great hall where two men sat on gilded thrones. The older, darkly handsome, with a cruel edge to his countenance. While an arrogant sneer made the other’s golden-hued features repellent. Though Ravin had never seen either man before, she knew who they were—Grigorii and his son, Brakken. Both wore the crowns of the conquered Carolingian kingdom. The kingdom her father had died to protect—Ravin’s kingdom.

    The sea of jewel-toned satins blurred into a wash of color at the periphery of her vision as she concentrated her attention on her mortal enemy.

    The man she had dreamed of killing for the last ten years was a knife’s throw away. How easy it would have been to lodge a blade between his eyes. If only she’d had one.

    Hatred gnawed at her gut as the distance shortened between her and the monster, who waited like a spider in its lair.

    Her mother swayed against her, breaking Ravin’s focus.

    ~Ravin, your emotions are tearing at me. Try to control yourself. Please, I beg you.

    Ravin closed her fingers around her mother’s wrist and projected her will. But her mother blocked Ravin’s energy.

    ~Don’t. If you want to help me, you should use your gift to calm yourself.

    Chastened, Ravin concentrated on the gleaming marble beneath her feet. Following their capture, two weeks of hard travel had done little to extinguish her self-loathing. Every mile traveled was a constant reminder of what her arrogance had cost them. This time would be different.

    When Delinda came to a stop, Ravin took a deep breath and looked up. The malevolent gaze of the usurper Grigorii Clovis Mercoviche matched Ravin’s mood perfectly. Pressing her lips into a thin line, she returned her gaze to the floor.

                                                                ~

As the two women made their way across the ballroom, Grigorii wanted nothing more than to prolong his moment of triumph.

     He may have won the right to rule Carolingian through force, but he’d craved far more than the right to wear the crown when he’d turned his eyes toward this kingdom. The blood that ran through these two women’s veins was more valuable than a mere golden circlet to lay upon his head or a gilded chair to sit upon. Theirs was a hereditary claim that extended beyond the land now under his control. Delinda’s lineage, and that of her daughter, traced back to the very first ruler of Carolingian—the infamous sorcerer-king, Remfry Carolingian.

    This deposed queen who stood before Grigorii was a true daughter of Carolingian. And, as such, represented the most critical aspect of bringing a prophecy he’d found outlined in the pages of an ancient illuminated manuscript to fruition.

    But first, he would cement his hold on the Carolingian people by marrying their beloved queen and put an end to the petty rebellion that kept this kingdom in constant turmoil. Even though the land was of little consequence compared to his overall ambition, the unrest remained a continual thorn in his side.

    Grigorii remained seated as the woman raised her eyes. A smug smile played across his full lips. The prize he’d sought for so long was finally his.

    The queen was, if anything, more beautiful than he’d been led to believe. Not that it mattered. Ugly or pretty, it would change nothing. That she wasn’t hideous was just an unexpected bonus.

    Regal beyond words, Delinda appeared as though age would never mark her. Fiery and bright, her red-gold hair gleamed in the candlelight, her luminous skin warm and inviting.

    He moved his gaze to the princess, a contrast of dark versus light, her blue-black hair framed pale porcelain skin, and he noted that she was far too thin to appeal to his randy son. When she glanced up, their gazes locked. Her eyes were remarkable. Neither blue nor gray, but some smoky hue Grigorii had never seen before. What he had seen was the direct challenge reflected within their depths. Few had ever survived long enough to challenge him twice—and never a woman. He quirked an eyebrow, amused.

    Grigorii returned his gaze to Delinda. Despite the poor quality of her clothes, there was no doubt she was the product of a multi-generational monarchy. His gaze raked the queen from head to foot, leering over the swell of her breasts and the curve of her hips. That her mouth tightened under his crude perusal pleased him more than he would have thought. As a means to an end, he hadn’t considered the subjugation of these two women would prove to be such a pleasurable undertaking. His cruel smile widened at the possibilities.

    “Delinda, welcome to my court.” Grigorii rose, descending the steps, he took her hand. He relished the thought of what she endured as she stood helpless before the architect of her husband’s death and the subsequent fall of their kingdom.

    Grigorii still chafed at the galling memory of his triumphant ride into the citadel ten years past only to find the real prize, Queen Delinda, had outwitted him and escaped before he’d arrived.

    “So this is your daughter?” Grigorii turned his avaricious gaze on Ravin. “The resemblance to your late husband is striking.”

    Grigorii drew out the moment of their humiliation. The queen’s features remained stoic. However, the princess rolled her shoulders, and her eyes conveyed a promise she was wise not to utter. His dark eyes narrowed in anticipation as he imagined how pleasurable it would be to crush this defiant child.

    “Let me introduce you to my son.” He turned to glower at the young man sprawled on the smaller of the two thrones, openly flirting with a pair of giggling girls. “Meet Brakken Clovis Mercoviche. Brakken, come and meet our illustrious . . . guests.”

                                                                   ~

Prince Brakken didn’t think the tedious charade could get any worse, but he was wrong. He’d spared the two women only a perfunctory glance when they appeared at the ballroom entrance. Why his father would insist on parading his prisoners in front of the entire court was beyond Brakken. But then again, thwarting Grigorii’s machinations was Brakken’s primary goal in life, and the inelegant girl standing before his father was going to make it easy.

    “Brakken!”

    Heaving a sigh, Brakken rose to his feet, swaggered down the steps to stand before the stork. Snagging her icy hand, he raised it to his lips. But instead of kissing her fingers, his lip curled in distaste before he met her smoky-eyed glare.

    ~Surely Father can’t expect me to bed this crone?

                                                
I hope you enjoyed this short excerpt from Ravin's adventure. And thank you for reading it. You can find it in paperback and digital format on Amazon.

Take care,
Shelley Lee Riley

Moon Called - A Mercy Thompson Novel by Patricia Briggs

In a world with kick-ass supernatural heroines, Moon Called is kick-ass fun. Mercy Thompson is a Native-American coyote shifter with the grit and courage of a Bengal tiger. 

She not only doesn't fear the local alpha, but she also takes great pleasure in taunting him. Nestled in her single-wide trailer, she positions a wheelless old junker on blocks in the field that separates their two properties, and she does it in such a way that he will see it every time he looks out of the window of his sprawling mansion. 

One of the things I really appreciated about how Patricia Briggs is the way she takes her time to build her characters. All too often, authors, in an attempt to develop the quintessentially strong, independent character, end up missing the mark and lurching off into snarky, petulant, and for me, irritatingly irredeemable. Not so with Mercy.

If you are tired of cliffhanger endings, you will find each of the Mercy Thomson stories is its own adventure. Recurring characters with storylines? Yes, there are. Moon Called is indeed the start of a long series where you will find lots of fun to enjoy with each new episode. Give it a try.

Shelley Lee Riley - Author of the debut novel Into Madness, Book One in the Born From Stone Saga, and the memoir Casual Lies - A Triple Crown Adventure

Bad Money - Carl Hiaasen

I know that I promised to find novels by lesser-known authors. And I assure you that I will. Still, after my last venture into the unknown, I decided to delve into the past. And to that end, I found a review that I wrote a while back—Carl Hiaasen’s Bad Monkey. I want to share that review with you. 

“There is a thin line that separates laughter and pain, comedy and tragedy, humor and hurt.”—Erma Bombeck.

     I might add to Erma Bombeck’s quote; there’s a thin line between funny and ghastly. Carl Hiaasen doesn’t balance carefully between satire and black humor in the opening paragraphs of this book. He jumps feet first into a situational comedy. The author so skillfully crafts James Mayberry’s character that his arrogance and shamelessness, combine with a bold audacity to leave no doubt in the reader’s mind about this character’s true nature.

     What should be shockingly abhorrent to the reader is adroitly twisted by Hiaasen into a macabre, cynical sort of humor. The reader is left to experience both laughter and discomfort simultaneously. 

     The writing is first-rate; however, I did find it distracting when every reference to the Mayberry character included both his first and last name. After the character’s introduction, I think further references to him could have been with his first name only. This is a small criticism on the whole. 

     I liked that the protagonist, Andrew Yancy, isn’t perfect. Far from it. For me, that makes the character more believable, and I found him quite colorful besides.

     I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and I will be looking for another book by this author.

     I end this review with another quote. “The most wasted of all days is one without laughter.”—E.E. Cummings.

The time I spent reading Bad Monkey was not time misspent.

Shelley Lee Riley - Author of Into Madness, Book one in the Born From Stone Saga, and the memoir Casual Lies - A Triple Crown Adventure

Hush Hush - by Becca Fitzpatrick

I said that I would not review a bad book. I said it right here on this blog. Still, I couldn't resist. So here goes.

While checking out what avid readers are saying on the Facebook group YA Fantasy Addicts, I came across several gushing recommendations for Hush Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick. 

I checked it out on Amazon, and I found that eighty-six percent of the more than 2200 reviews rated it four stars or higher. Well, all right then, rubbing my hands together, I settled in for a fun read. 

Page after page, I kept waiting for the fun to begin. Unfortunately, I was destined to be disappointed. Even after I'd realized I was bored, I persevered through one unrealistic scene after another. The boys rolling around on the filthy pool room floor, play fighting. Really? Just so we can rip Patch's shirt to reveal a clue? A v-shape scar on his back. Oh, I get it. He must have had his wings cut off. Right? I kept reading. I mean, really, with twenty-two hundred reviews? It's got to get better.

So at the point when our less than brilliant protagonist is peeling off her puffy cold-weather coat in freezing weather and using it as payment for directions from a bag lady. I say, are you kidding me? Enough. End of transmission. There are too many good books waiting to be read.

Bottom line, silly, boring, and dull. How do books like this get so many five star reviews? 

Shelley Lee Riley - Author of Into Madness Book One of the Born From Stone Saga and Casual Lies - A Triple Crown Adventure, a memoir about a horse with two names.

Identity Revealed - J.M. Butler

This entry within the vast landscape of fantasy offerings has left me in a bit of a quandary. To read or not to read book two. 

Let’s start with why I was attracted to this book. It wasn’t the ebook cover. However, I do like the paperback cover.  Still, the cover art did give me insight into what kind of story I would be reading. There’s a pretty, adult woman, dressed in adventurous looking clothes. She’s holding a glowing orb, and dragons are frolicking in the background. So...fantasy. I like fantasy.

What really drew me to the look inside feature was the fact that there were only thirty-five ratings. Remember, I said I would try to ferret out a good read from those titles buried within the impenetrable jungle of Amazon listings. 

Once inside, I found the first line engaging. “Laughter sounded in the distance, breaking the quiet summer afternoon.” Now granted, if I’d been writing this line, I would have added ‘of the’ before the word summer, and thus breaking the quiet, rather than the summer afternoon.  

Still, I understood what the writer meant when she began writing the scene, and the sentence made me curious about what caused the laughter. So I read on.

As you know, I’m not particularly eager to write spoilers, so let’s start with a small section from the marketing blurb. “Cursed and isolated, young princess Amelia lives with one goal: to rescue her people from an invading army. Her family is captured, the royal court slaughtered, and her people imprisoned, but she’s trained night and day to defeat the army’s shapeshifting warlord, Naatos. There’s only one problem: if she ever kills someone, she will die.”

Well, that’s intriguing. She’ll die if she kills? And yet, she has to defeat a shapeshifting warlord. What kind of skills do you need to accomplish this? So I read on.

I finished the book. Did I like it? Hmmm? I finished it.  

Among other things I dislike, and will always make me uncomfortable, are plots that attempt to manipulate me into thinking that killing is acceptable as long as it furthers the goal. In this case, world domination for the good of the minions they plan to conquer. I also find unpronounceable names tend to stop me and drop me out of the story. This book is full of them.

There were also some interesting references to sex, though there were no sexual acts in this book, like the word ‘feshatoon.’ Which was cringe-worthy for me. So, if you're expecting descriptive episodes of 'feshatooning,' you'll need to look elsewhere. 

Character development was spotty. Still, when the author got it right, it really worked. In particular, WroOth is charming, funny, and loyal. Then there is AaQar, who is circumspect and reasonable as he deals with his deeply tortured soul. And Naatos is simply unredeemable. 

The unfortunate part is that the main protagonist is a relatively bland, vanilla character. 

In conclusion, while there were issues, which other reviewers have pointed out. . . I finished the book! And in my opinion, this book should have been marketed as a young adult fantasy romance. It is not high fantasy by any stretch of the imagination. It might have received more attention if it had been listed as YA.

I think this author has real talent and should get better as she continues to write. Her prose is exuberant, like a child skipping when they could walk. Her enthusiasm is as evident as if a smile had been inscribed onto the page.

So, in answer to my conundrum? Should I read the second book? Yes, I will read the second book. In fact, I’ve already started it, and I’m glad I did. 

Pre-posting update—I couldn’t finish the series. Naatoss, the main love interest, could easily be compared to Leatherface from The Texas Chain Saw Massacre films. 

I’m sorry, at least for me, even in a hate to love plot line, the love interest cannot be irredeemable. Even though there is a secondary love interest in the character, Shon, Amelia still begins to have feelings for Naatos, even when he's covered in blood following a session of slaughtering. 

Shelley Lee Riley, author of: The debut YA fantasy novel Into Madness, Book One of the Born From Stone Saga. The memoir, Casual Lies - A Triple Crown Adventure