Official Release - The Howling Wind

Millennia old teenage vampire Alex Hayden is back in a new adventure!  With the official release of “The Howling Wind”, book two of the Alex Hayden Chronicles, Alex, Harry and the rest of the gang return to action in a Christmassy Blackpool.

Here’s the blurb for the book, which is available on Amazon in both paperback and Kindle editions by clicking here.

 It's been a peaceful two months in Blackpool since the battle at the Church of the Merciful Heart and the destruction of the vampire pack, but when human remains are discovered on Marton Mere, the police try to play it off as a wild animal attack.

Teenage vampire Alex Hayden is not so easily convinced and soon reveals a cover up of the murders. However, he discovers that the truth is worse than he feared.

A pack of Lycans have made their home in Blackpool and with the full moon just days away, it's up to Alex, detective Harry Shepherd and their friends to stop the werewolves before they kill again.

I’m very excited about the release of this sequel as it’s the first real follow on book that I’ve written.  The challenge for me has been to reintroduce the character from “Under A Blood Moon” and put them into a new story, without compromising the history of the first.

Of course, there are new characters and new villains, this time with a werewolf pack moving in but trust me, a Twilight rewrite this is not.  I’ve tried to stay true to my plans for the series and kept to the old myths and lore about the paranormal world, while still introducing a couple of twists of my own.  However, be warned, I have taken the proverbial sword to the cast list so don’t expect everyone to make it out alive this time!

Anyway, it’s now up and available, perfect in time for Christmas (if Mr Postman delivers on time!)

 

Away from Alex and Harry, work is now underway on a side project that has been kicking around in my head for some time.  With a work in progress title of “Left Behind”, I’m waiting to see how the plot inspires me to discover if it will be a short story or a full length novel.  A nice little chiller thriller and a lovely front cover.

I have also been a busy little reader as well and have recently read two very different but very good books.  “Ephraim’s Curious Device” by Lita Burke is the sequel to the Clockpunk story “Forever Boy” while “The Sleeping Pool” by P. Zoro is an imaginative thriller set in Zimbabwe.

This is my four star review of “Ephraim’s Curious Device” which you can buy here.

I was introduced to the genre of Clockpunk through Ms Burke's first book Forever Boy and so I was delighted when I received a copy of the sequel in exchange for my honest, non-reciprical review.

The story is longer than Forever Boy, coming in at around double the length, which allowed the author to take me on a longer journey within her magical world. We are re-introduced to Kadmeion and Sir Bright, along with the cyanthrope Furgo and meet a host of new creatures and characters along the way.

The plot itself is a simple but effective one. Something is taken from the main characters and held hostage and in exchange, they have to discover Ephraim's Curious Device. They set off on a journey that takes in several widely different magical locations and they battle to overcome the problems caused not only by the creatures living there but also the Goons sent to protect them. Imagine the village idiot and then make him dumber. That's a Goon!

The narrative is mostly good, although personally I found in parts that the sentences were broken and too short. Not a grammatical error at all, just a different style of writing than I am used to reading. The descriptions of the locations are excellent, leaving you with the images that you need without going overboard but for me, what worked the best was the interaction between Sir Bright and his travelling companions. The conversations flowed well and were just enough that you could imagine being part of their group, trapsing along on the quest, listening to the banter back and forth.

All in all this is a solid fantasy book and an very good sequel to the first.

 

This is my four star review of “The Sleeping Pool” which you can buy here.

  This is not my normal genre of reading but I was pulled into the story within the first few pages and found it difficult to stop reading when it was time to turn off the light. The author’s descriptive talents are excellent and you can easily imagine that you are there, in Zimbabwe, next to the pool or in the caves beneath.

Ms Zoro creates a wonderful cast of characters, all of them believable, as the battle for the boardroom takes a dramatic twist into a battle for life.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and would recommend it to those readers who like a little bit of magic in their suspense thrillers.

 

In my last blog, I did say that I was going to review a new band, but unfortunately with the pressure of finishing up “The Howling Wind”, I just ran out of time and with Christmas already here, I spent far too long in the shops getting presents.  So look out next time for my first ever music review!

Finally, I’d just like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year.  See you all in 2015!