Tag: books

Happy New Year 2022!!

New Year’s Eve was a day for tying up loose ends, making plans, visiting friends, and a quick trip to one of my favourite places in Exeter: the quay.

   

 

The streets were quiet, but the late-night skies were ablaze with fireworks. Now ever-so-slightly-bleary eyed and time to reflect.

2021 has been a memorable year in more ways than one. I was super proud to be able to release The Warder, Blood Gift Chronicles Book 2, and to receive Firebird Awards for both Return of the Mantra (winner of LGBTQ fiction category) and The Warder (winner of YA fiction category). Click here for my award interview.

Like its predecessor, The Warder was a labour of love over many years, and it’s great to hear from readers who have got in touch or listened at various on-line and in-person events this year.

“The Warder is the sequel to one of my favourite books of 2018, Return of the Mantra. I wasn’t sure Susie would be able to increase the enthusiasm I had for her characters and her world, but she left me reeling after a couple of pages.”

“The way Susie was able to expand her world without slowing down the narrative was a masterclass in worldbuilding.”

‘This book is a charming story of loss, love and finding yourself in the most unexpected places. It is epic fantasy with a heart that will leave you scarred but begging for me. Plus it has dragons and who doesn’t love dragons. I can’t wait to return to this world.”

Click here for full review.

I couldn’t wait to return to the world either, and have been immersed in book 3, working towards the conclusion of the overarching story that connects these three books. Tying up loose ends is hugely satisfying, while further developing the landscapes of the world, complete with new characters and familiar faces at the next stage of their lives. With colour, depth, texture and layers, I’m excited to get back to the writing.

For now a pause as we tip into January, complete with a fresh new diary just waiting to be filled.

I love this time of year, these moments of calm after the busyness of Xmas, the quiet after fireworks to consider possibilities for the year ahead.

Wishing everyone a Happy, Healthy, Peaceful, Creative, Wonderful New Year 2022!!

For the Love of Books #12

On these dark winter evenings, with Storm Barra bringing blustering gales, it’s the perfect time to cosy up with a good read. I bring you two recommendations, currently among my favourite fantasy reads:

The Empress of Salt and Fortune, by Nghi Vo

The Empress of Salt and Fortune is a delightfully exquisite read. Set against a backdrop reminiscent of Imperial China, it tells the story of the empress In-Yo who is sent south for a political marriage. With her brothers dead, and her armies and their war mammoths defeated, she is alone in a mage-made summer exile. But this northern daughter is powerful enough to bring her enemies down. Told using layers of stories bound in culture and mythology, tenderly drawn on and richly described, I wanted to linger, and so when I finished the book I went straight back to the beginning and started again.

“Angry mothers raise daughters fierce enough to fight wolves.”

The storyteller is Rabbit, an elderly woman and former handmaiden to In-Yo, the Empress of the North. A cleric named Chih (non-binary) and their hoopoe, Almost Brilliant, are listening to the tale of The Empress of Salt and Fortune. ‘Do you understand?’ Rabbit says infrequently, as if she is speaking to the reader as much as to Chih. The tale is told in magical layers, with a unique structure and flow that challenges convention and tired tropes, and offers the reader the feel of complete immersion into the world of these heart-warming characters. Packed into 118 pages this is an epic, incandescent tale of resilience, rebellion, devastating truths and forgotten secrets. Richly-woven characters often side-lined take centre stage to deliver the tale through memory and meditation, with exquisite prose creatively told, unravelling worlds within worlds that leave you literally spellbound.

The Forgotten Beasts of Eld, by Patricia McKillip

Sixteen-year-old Sybel has grown up on Eld Mountain among a fantastic menagerie called there by wizardry. She cares nothing for humans, until a baby is brought to her to raise.

I adored this magical read with its wild mountainous setting, home to Sybel, a complex, flawed, self-critical, compassionate and brave woman. The presence of the child, Tamlorn, awakens unfamiliar emotions in her, and their relationship develops from simple care and compassion set against a complex world. Her home is the wild, and it is through her relationships with the creatures in her life, including a swan, a dragon, a lion and a boar, that we see her true nature reflected. But caring for the boy brings her into the world of men, where revenge becomes her motive no matter the cost.

A fairy tale with great emotional depth, the story tackles issues from love to abuse to blind revenge, providing a fascinating look at how our desires and fears can make or undo us. A range of human relationships are explored from the perspective of a woman who would choose no relationship at all, except for with her menagerie of beasts. Sybil’s character has realness that feels like a refreshing portrayal, one I could get behind from the start. Her personal journey is the emotional depth, revealing what it is to love, to betray, to be misunderstood, to let go, and ultimately to face yourself.

A compelling and weirdly comforting read that now ranks among my favourites.

 

What are you reading?

 

For the Love of Books #11

I often think dystopian fiction is a great tool for looking at those uncomfortable truths and predicting what might be if we continue down certain paths. With the recent COP26, it feels timely to mention two reads that serve as a cautionary tale to climate change and the socio-political fallout that brings.

This Is Our Undoing by Lorraine Wilson

This is our Undoing is speculative fiction interspersed with mystery, cli-fi, alternate futures, and a sprinkling of the supernatural. In a near future Europe fracturing under climate change and far-right politics, Biologist Lina Stephenson works in the remote Rila Mountains safely away from London State. A fugitive from her former life, her father persuaded her to get out. Now she is protected by the local militia after signing over citizenship. But following the assassination of a London minister, Lina’s name comes into question, threatening the safety of herself and her family. And to make matters worse, she is trapped with the dead man’s family.

So begins this complex, intricately woven tale, written in the third person although told primarily from Lina’s perspective. The cast is diverse, each battling events greater than themselves. As entwined personal histories are revealed, the characters are left wondering who they can trust and the readers are left wondering who is a reliable witness, making for a compelling plot. A character I particularly enjoyed was a mysterious young boy, Kai, who Lina is inexplicably drawn to. I was left wanting to know more about the boy who fights monsters, but parts of the mystery remain just beyond our reach, leaving space in the narrative for the reader to draw their own conclusions. I also loved the remote mountainous setting and Lina’s role as a biologist studying the conservation of biodiversity. The rich descriptions of place and wildlife were beautifully told, offering an immersive and atmospheric experience that I didn’t want to end. Yet despite the vast landscape the sense of claustrophobia and tensions grow, as the ultimate question is posed: who might you condemn to save another?

O Man of Clay by Eliza Mood

“They said sea level would rise one day when the polar caps melted and fell into the sea but this was not the future, it was now.”

O Man of Clay offers a dystopian future with a cautionary tale of climate change. After the tsunami hits Eastern England, Scotland, Denmark and the Netherlands, it brings it close to home with Hartlepool as the setting. For those of us in the UK, having a local feel adds power to the message, and the story pulls no punches with the bleakness of that message.

As the walls goes up, three teenagers face being trapped in the flooded zone: Zoe, from Hartlepool, haunted by all she has lost, collecting fragments of humanity in her treasure tin; Volk, a refugee from a Soviet prison colony; and Alma. The present day is woven into each of the character’s pasts, and for me, Alma’s backstory was one I particularly enjoyed. Her ancestors are Buryats, consisting of Evenki hunters and Mongol herders who lived on the shores of Bailgal Nuur. The mythologies and beliefs of an indigenous people are beautifully told, highlighting voices often marginalised but with the most to say and the deepest connections to the natural world and all that is at stake.

I found the story to be a slow burn with literary merit, rather than a fast-paced thriller/adventure. There is huge depth to the prose that meanders with the interlinking past and present, that feel like well-investigated snap shots in time. Time is running out, and while some survivors search for a way to live, others look for ways to die, in a story that reveals the depth, harshness and beauty of humanity and the life we all stand to lose.

What are you reading?

 

For the Love of Books #10

A drizzly grey day brings the promise of Autumn, and with Halloween approaching, I’m thinking ghosts and ghouls and fantastical monsters on the reading list.

Fledgling by Octavia Butler

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The Warder: Review

I often think there are two pillars we seek to accomplish as published writers. The first is to see our work in print. That moment of finally holding a copy of a book you wrote is pure joy. In my case, the writing journey takes years and many sleepless nights, especially in the planning stage. I am no stranger to scribbling ideas at 1am, getting thoughts down before they escape me, resolving those sticky plot holes. The sentences flow, some days a trickle, others a downpour, fleshing out the characters and the world, bringing it to life until it really does take on a life of its own. And just when you think you’re there, there are edits and more edits, and always more edits. So yes, years later, bound in its signature cover, holding that book for the first time is joy.

The second pillar is to discover that your story connects with readers. I love my characters and it means the world to me that others do too. It’s always wonderful to hear that these worlds I create are understood and embraced, and that a character’s hopes, dreams, struggles and aspirations touch on emotion and affect readers on a personal level. Stories have always been a form of communication, and I love to hear what messages readers take from mine.

As someone who deals in words, it can be surprisingly difficult to take a step back and give a succinct response to the common question, ‘What is the book about?’ Thank you to all those who take the time to share their thoughts. One book reviewer recently published a review of The Warder, which made my day!

‘This book was worth the wait and more. The Warder is the sequel to one of my favourite books of 2018, Return of the Mantra.’

Phew! The Warder has a different vibe to Return of the Mantra, and with that comes nerves on how it might be received. I introduce a new character, Luna, a complex girl through which hidden powers are revealed.

‘I wasn’t sure Susie would be able to increase the enthusiasm I had for her characters, and her world. However, she left me reeling after a couple of pages as I was drawn back into this African inspired fantasy. The way Susie was able to expand her world without slowing down the narrative was a masterclass in worldbuilding.’

And on Luna – ‘The development of her powers during the narrative is handled with a sensitivity I haven’t read in fantasy before.’

‘This book is a charming story of loss, love and finding yourself in the most unexpected places. It is epic fantasy with a heart that will leave you scarred, but begging for more.’

Fortunately, there will be more with Blood Gift Chronicles Book 3.

Click here for full review – The Warder

Click here for full review – Return of the Mantra

Happy Reading!

 

 

For the Love of Books #8

It’s the month of Pride, and for the second year running, colourful parades are cancelled. To mark the occasion, I have two SFF book reviews with references to the Pride community.

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The Warder – one month on

It’s approaching a month since the release of The Warder, and it has been a busy, few weeks, chatting with Devon Book Club, and appearing as a guest on Sarah Ash’s blogsite. Easter weekend was spent attending a virtual SFF convention from the comfort of my writing room. Convention days go by in a flurry, with the chance to meet writers and readers, be introduced to new work, and chat through an eclectic mix of topics that exposes what a fascinating and wide-ranging genre this is. At the end we are all left tired and inspired.

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For the Love of Books #6

As a reader, I love to discover authors who I come to trust that pretty much whatever they write, it’s fairly certain I will enjoy. For me, Nnedi Okorafor is one such author.

She is a prolific writer and I have read a number of her works. For the sake of this blog, I have selected two sci-fi titles.

 

Lagoon by Nnedi Okorafor

I am frequently in awe of the imagination and inventiveness this author brings to her stories, but even by her own standards, Lagoon is exceptional. Aliens have arrived in Lagos, and right from the beginning when we meet an eco-warrior swordfish, I was hooked.

The three main characters – Adaora, the marine biologist, Anthony, the world-famous rapper, and Agu, the troubled solder, (not to mention Ayodele, the lead alien) – are supported by a diverse cast which bring to life this modern-day Nigeria. They are refreshingly free from stereotypes, while the author does not shy away from the reality of prejudice and bigotry. The richness of setting is further emphasised by the appearance of monsters and masquerades, which add depth that creates the feeling of folklore as much as sci-fi.

Overall, Lagoon is a breathtaking read, with an urgent pace in line with the enormity of an alien invasion. I loved the attention to detail, offering an immersive experience into the vibrant city of Lagos. And when I came to the end, after I had caught my breath, I was left yearning to sit down to a meal of jollof rice, egusi soup and pounded yams.

The Book of Phoenix by Nnedi Okorafor

In a time when much of Manhattan was under water, Times Square was land stable enough to house Tower 7. There were 39 floors to this two-hundred-year-old skyscraper, and on the 28th floor lived Phoenix – a genetic experiment, a speciMen, an abomination.

She is an accelerated woman, just two years old, but with the mind and body of an adult, and powers beyond imagining. Finding love and friendship with Saeed, another biologically altered human, Phoenix is content to abide by the rules and live a quiet life. Until she is given cause to question the truth of her identity, and discovers that everything she has ever known is a lie. When her powers are unleashed there is no going back.

The richly described world and inventive plotline, had me gripped from the first page to the last. The characters are extraordinary, with multi-faceted personalities and motivations that make them completely relatable; heroines and heroes speaking hard truths to the world, dealing with social injustices and inequalities from the personal to outright war. I was swept away by Phoenix’s journey as she encounters love, truth, power and betrayal, and struggles to comprehend and accept the timeless nature of her powers. This is a multi-layered story, spanning continents; from America to Africa and beyond… literally to the stars.

What are you reading?

 

The Warder

What would you sacrifice for the ones you love? In a land of gifts and curses, nothing is as it seems.

Return of the Mantra came to an end, but there remained questions unanswered. How did a King ever become so completely consumed? What is this ancient power that has cast a shadow over the land for so many years?

And so The Warder was born, a story that delves into these mysteries as we revisit the land of Shendi ten years on.

The release date is yet to be finalised by the publisher, but it is coming soon, and I am thrilled to finally be able to share the front cover. Like its predecessor, this has been a labour of love, revisiting my characters ten years on, further developing their personal story arcs, while introducing some new faces, and a new land, into the mix.

Expect another character-driven, fantasy adventure, with themes of wildlife and the environment, animism, magic and dragons, and being true to oneself.

Blurb

The King has been defeated and the spirit of the Mantra has been restored, Suni has been reunited with her father and all is – not quite right.

Wanda and his cousin Luna are living in the valley beyond the mountains: Luna is possessed and dreams of dragons while Wanda, gifted with the ability to communicate with animals, struggles with the curse of Orag. Ntombi blames Wanda for her daughter Luna’s condition.

Meanwhile, in the town by the sea, Suni fears for Wanda, and watches over him using her gift for dreamwalking. Many, including Suni’s father, suffer from a strange affliction and the townspeople are blaming the Mantra.

Then strangers arrive from the sea bringing hope for the town: but in this land of gifts and curses, is anything what it seems to be?

***

I look forward to welcoming The Warder into the world, and will keep you posted on the release date. For those yet to read Return of the Mantra, this is a sequel but it also works well as a standalone. (Though why wouldn’t you want to read Return of the Mantra!)

In the meantime, for me more writing beckons, and Book 3…

Happy Reading!

 

For the Love of Books #5

Following Devon Book Club’s #fantasyfortnight event, my reading list has grown substantially. In turn I’ve been able to share some of my recommendations, including the titles in this blog. I have my local St Thomas library to thank. I’ve always regarded libraries as an essential hub of the community, and in the time of a global pandemic, they came to the fore. Courtesy of the library’s online click and collect service, I’ve been able to get my hands on some really great reads.

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