Tag: Historical fantasy

Glimpses of Time and Magic: A Historical Fantasy Anthology

Featured Ariel Paiement

Finally, we’ve come to the point with this anthology that we have both the pre-order link and the cover to share! Our reveal party for the cover happened yesterday and went very well. Now, myself and the other authors in the anthology are sharing the cover, blurb, and information on our sites so you all can find it easily!

So, to begin with, what is this anthology? It’s a collection of nine stories from nine authors, and the theme Joanna White and I gave everyone was history with a fantastical twist. We definitely got that! With stories ranging from Victorian England to Ancient Rome and Arthur, we’ve got stories with a fantastical twist to share with you all now! The best part? We wrote and organized this anthology as a way to raise money to donate to Feed My Starving Children, a charitable organization that uses donations and the time of their volunteers to pack and ship meals around the world to feed starving children for a year. Isn’t that great?

If you want to know more about the organization, you can check them out here. I’ve been to the location near me twice to help pack the food. It’s a great activity, especially if you want to take the whole family to do something. Be prepared to work hard, but it was a lot of fun and a great team building exercise for the groups I went with while also allowing us to be involved in helping feed these kids who would otherwise go hungry.

And now, the cover! This cover was created by illustrator_aesthetics (Anne Zedwick). You can see her blog and her Fiverr here if you’re interested in having her do cover art for you as well! She also does things like logo design, product branding, and more.

Blurb:

We know the stories from history we’ve heard since childhood, but what if, behind the tales, there were magical secrets desperate to be revealed?

Pompeii was a tragedy the world will never forget, but what really caused the volcanic eruption that ended it all? Why was the great sword Excalibur really destroyed? The rolling hills of Victorian England seem peaceful enough, but what secrets really lurk there?

And would it surprise you that there are darker secrets in Ancient Rome than people ever dreamed? If the Great Fog of London isn’t what it seems? You think you know Harry Houdini, but do you know the man behind all the tricks?

And what if the mystery of Roanoke runs deeper than you could ever imagine? Could Ireland’s potato famine really be caused by a mage gone mad? What if a ghost ship off the coast of England was more than a phantom?

If you like fantasy and history, then you’ll love this collection of nine fantastical stories. Buy Glimpses of Time and Magic now to find out what secrets really lurk behind the stories we’ve all been told.

Besides Buying a Copy, How Can You Help?

We need reviewers who will follow through on their word and review the book between July 14th and July 28th. If you’re a fan of historical fantasy and can promise a review, we’d like to have you in our ARC group! We’re not requiring much. Just your email so we can keep in touch closer to the review date. The author you sign up through (me, if you’re signing up on my blog) will get in touch with a friendly reminder about submitting reviews just before the first day when we’ll have the paperback live for reviews to be submitted. They will also follow up with you a few days after the 28th (to give reviews posted last minute time to process on Amazon) to check in if your review isn’t posted.

If you do sign up, please note that we’re not questioning your integrity if a review isn’t posted by July 28th. I’ve had issues with customers posting reviews on Amazon’s Australian website, say, and I’m not able to see them because I use Amazon.com for the US. Stupid? Yes, yes, it is. But with the issues I’ve had, let’s just put it this way… If I can’t see the review, I’m not assuming you didn’t post it. I’m just looking to see what happened in case there was an issue with posting that I need to hound Amazon about. (I still haven’t sorted out the issues with other books’ reviews not showing on all sites, but it doesn’t hurt to try.) Point is, if you don’t provide us with a link to the review after it’s posted and we’re not seeing it by end of July, we’re going to ask just to make sure everyone’s on the same page.

As such, if you’re interested in helping out with this, please get in touch! I can direct you to the form to fill out to join, give you more info if you like, and verify that I’m sending the book to the most convenient email address. You can contact me at arielpaiement@gmail.com. I’m friendly, and I love talking to new people, so don’t be shy! Get in touch if you want a review copy of Glimpses of Time and Magic. We’ll talk over it and get you signed up! 🙂

Work-In-Progress Wednesdays #29

Ariel Paiement

This week, I’ve got an excerpt from Unseen, a short story I’m working on for the short story collection I’m hoping to release in 2021. Yes, I know that’s a long way off. But I want a headstart on things because I have so much on my plate. Anyway, Unseen connects most obviously to Revelar’s Queen, though it also connects to In Darkness Lost in a roundabout way and to Leap of Faith, which will be in the anthology Glimpses of Time and Magic, an anthology myself and author Joanna White are compiling with a group of other authors.

~~~

Saeread blinked. Her ears popped, and voices pressed in on every side. But the only one she really heard was the smooth baritone of the young man with the glowing amber eyes. Those molten pools pierced into her and held her in place while his silken voice lured her like a moth to a flame. She jolted into a ramrod straight position on her throne and stared at him. In the back of her mind, something nagged at her about this man, this ambassador from Ireland. But she brushed it away the next instant and smiled warmly before allowing herself to sink back against the cushioned seat. “It is wonderful to have you here, Ambassador. I trust you found the young woman I sent to your master’s court pleasant?”

He grinned. “Very affable, mi’lady.”

She nodded. “And your accommodations here?”

“More than generous, truth be told. I have been received far more warmly than I had anticipated.”

She laughed. “What did you expect, sir?”

“Certainly not a woman of such ravishing beauty and wit. And certainly not the warmth with which I have been greeted.” He bowed with a smile. “After all, you didn’t have to stoop as low as to notice an unworthy descendant of the Unseelie. In the fae world, we are the least of the least, after all.”

She grimaced. “Sarcasm doesn’t befit you, I think, Ambassador.”

He lifted his head. “Then if I may be so bold, mi’lady, it’s Ansiel, not Ambassador.”

She rolled the sounds around in her head. Ahnshiel. It was a nice name. But she shouldn’t encourage such a public display of forwardness. “An ambassador is what you are, and so you shall be respected as such when in formal settings.”

A gleam entered his bright gaze. “And might there be an occasion for an informal setting?”

She crossed her arms with a smirk. “Around here, Ambassador, we have more than our share of informal settings. I am certain you will run across more than a few if you remain this charming.”

He ducked his head. “I have offended already. Forgive me, mi’lady. On occasion, I forget myself and am, as a result, too blunt.”

“Honesty isn’t a bad thing.”

“Only when it is presented to those it could most benefit. For I fear, they are the least happy to hear it.”

“Perhaps.” She cocked her head to the side. “You’re a strange one, Ambassador Ansiel.”

He smiled at her, and it held a subtle, feral note to it. How odd he was! But, he was King Feread’s chosen liaison, and she couldn’t turn him away, so she ignored the strangeness of his behaviors and the smile he now bestowed upon her. His grin widened when he saw she wouldn’t remark on it. “If I may, mi’lady, I wish to retire to my chambers. I find myself more worn than I anticipated.”

She stifled a laugh at how formal he made everything sound and gave him a brief nod. “Do as you like. A servant will fetch you later. I wish to dine with you and speak with you of the state of matters for King Feread’s court. It has been some time since he and I last spoke.”

There was that curious glint again. It was almost as if he was mocking her, but she didn’t know what the misstep was. More than likely, she was being to sensitive. She brushed it off and watched him go with a soft sigh. There would be time enough to figure him out later. For now, there wasn’t a point to giving herself a headache in trying.

~~~

That’s if for me this week, everyone! What are you guys up to? Anything interesting? Feel free to share about your projects in the comments below!

Work-In-Progress Wednesdays #13

Ariel Paiement

This week, I’m sharing a part of an anthology piece I’ve been working on with a few author friends of mine. The piece is a historical fantasy short story about two characters that will feature in a prequel series to The Gate Chronicles.

The Gate Chronicles were the first books where I started exploring the concept of Gates or Pathways. The books will, at some point, receive a serious edit and re-work, but before that, I plan to focus more on the prequel and the other series I have going. For now, let’s take a look at the short anthology piece! This selection is from the opening scene.

~~~

RAIN began to drizzle down when Alantha pulled her horse to a stop in front of a run-down inn. A carriage rumbled up behind her as she slid off her horse, struggling not to collapse under the sudden weight of her soaked skirts. She knew she probably shouldn’t have hiked her skirts up to ride astride when a side-saddle was more appropriate, but she’d wanted to feel the wind in her face and the horse’s powerful body rippling beneath her. Was that so wrong? Every once in a while, surely she was allowed to have a bit of controlled freedom. Always controlled, but freedom, nonetheless. Her version, anyway.

She’d come here looking for an escape from her broken heart and the feelings she didn’t want to acknowledge, whatever her sister said about how unhealthy it was. Alantha didn’t want to feel anything. Didn’t want to be disappointed in Zeke for leaving instead of trying to change. Didn’t want to mourn the broken dreams of a love match that Lord Trevain’s insanity had ground into dust. And for about an hour before the rain had come pouring down, she’d found it.

She tied the horse to a nearby rail and undid the cinch on his saddle. It was heavy work for a lady, but she was no lady despite the station her sister’s marriage had acquired for them, so what did it matter? Footfalls splashed through the puddles on the cobblestones from a recent storm that had washed through before this one. That storm was responsible for her soaked garments. She glanced down at her clothes with a sigh. Why the blazes had she worn this pastel pink blouse and baby blue skirt today? Not only did it defy her mood, but now that it was drenched, it was most definitely not appropriate. Curse it all! She didn’t even have a jacket. She’d have to use the horse’s blanket. Hopefully—

“Miss?”

She jumped, nearly whacked the horse’s rump with the saddle as she spun. Her foot slipped on a moss-covered cobblestone at the edge of the inn’s small paddock, and she dropped the saddle at the man’s feet before tumbling unceremoniously onto her bum in the mud of the pasture. Wonderful. That would ruin her skirts entirely. Maybe even her chemise. She could feel the cold mud oozing through her garments and soaking clear through to her unmentionables.

The man stared down at her passively, his amber eyes calm. At least he had the good sense not to laugh. Or to stare at her inappropriately given her state of undress.

Alantha struggled to her feet and tried to brush the mud off the back of her skirts. Her hands came away coated in mud with her skirt not a bit cleaner for it. Well, forget it, then. It was no use trying to fix it now. She pulled the horse’s blanket out from beneath the saddle and wrapped it around her shoulders with a huff. “What do you want?”

A flare of amusement did enter his gaze then. Strange man. “I saw you struggling with the horse, and I thought I would offer assistance. But I see you already have it handled.”

Her jaw clenched. “Do not mock me, sir. Had you not scared the life out of me, I would not have had any issues at all.”

He stepped closer and raised a brow. “Oh? I apologize if I frightened you so badly, though you still seem rather lively to me.”

Despite the rain, her cheeks flushed with heat. And she was annoyed to discover that the heat was the result of both a visceral reaction to his closeness and frustration at his obvious mockery of her situation. This man knew nothing about her. What right did he have to behave this way? To play the rake with a woman he knew nothing of was simply not something that should be done. It defied logic, after all. “I think, sir, that your companion is waiting for you.”

He glanced over his shoulder at the other man standing in the doorway of the inn with a mulish expression on his face. “Ah. Never mind about Cassius. He’s as empty-headed as his name would imply.”

Wasn’t that a bit rude? She crossed her arms and clutched the blanket closer as he continued to stand only inches away. The rain came down harder in that moment, but she couldn’t miss the shout from the man in the doorway. “I heard that, Bram.”

“You were meant to, Cassius.” He didn’t take his eyes off her. “Here, let me help you with the saddle. And we’d better get the horse turned out into the paddock.”

She bit her lip. How had Cassius heard that? Bram hadn’t spoken loudly enough for someone to hear him from a few yards, let alone from the inn’s doorstep. “I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

What was she supposed to do? Logic dictated that she should accept his help. After all, she couldn’t easily put the horse out to pasture and stow the saddle out of the rain if she had to keep this blanket around her to keep herself decent. And now that there were men around, decency wasn’t something she planned on throwing to the wind. Lady or not, she had some sense of propriety. You just couldn’t parade about with your underclothes clearly visible through your blouse and skirt. It simply wasn’t done.

But even though she knew logic said that, the irrational part of her brain wanted to run from this man, screaming at the top of her lungs if possible. She didn’t know why. Aside from a serious inability to understand personal space, he hadn’t done anything wrong. He’d actually been quite kind. Surprisingly. Men were mulish beasts, from what she could see. The ones who weren’t tended to be fops or too weak-willed to assert themselves, in any case. This man didn’t seem to be either.

“No, I don’t think it will be.” He frowned at the horse. “Your gelding needs to be able to move around to make sure he stays warm enough. He won’t be happy tied to a post like this. And he needs feed. There’s a barn around the corner. If you’d prefer I put him there for you. And we can’t leave your saddle in the rain.”

A frown furrowed her brow. “You know this area well, sir?”

A slow smile spread over his lips. “You might say that. I live in the mansion a few feet up the road.”

~~~

Well, that’s it for this week! You guys know the drill. If you would like to give feedback or share parts of your own works-in-progress, feel free to do so in the comments. I’d love to see what you all are up to.