Tag: Paranormal

Some Monsters Never Die: Bringing Fantasy To Life

Featured Ariel Paiement
Some Monsters Never Die

Introduction

I recently finished reading Some Monsters Never Die by E.A. Comiskey, and let me say, I was impressed. More on that in a few. To start with, E.A. Comiskey is an author that I already know fairly well from working with her in our critique group. She’s awesome to work with, and when I put out the word that I was looking for fantasy books to review for The Fantasy Nook, she asked if I’d be interested in her book, Some Monsters Never Die. Boy, am I ever glad I chose to take her up on the offer.

Some Monsters Never Die: Reader’s Review

E.A. Comiskey really brought fantasy to life with this book. First off, it’s set in the real world in real (or fairly realistic) places, and that alone makes this piece seem more real than some. I loved the humor, magic, and larger than life events that moved the story along. The characters themselves were masterfully written. They’re also the most unlikely heroes and heroines. I mean, the female lead maybe works, aside from being a bookworm. But two old guys from a retirement home hunting demons and the unnatural?

Let’s just say it makes for quite the ride, and more importantly, it opens up all kinds of opportunities to grow on the parts of all the main characters. They set off on a quest all together and end it all together but as better, stronger people than they started out. Definitely worth the read!

Writer’s Review

Some books I’ve reviewed, like the Vine Witch, have done an excellent job of weaving magic into the world. Others have done a phenomenal job of world-building. But in this book, E.A Comiskey has managed to bring fantasy to life. Granted, most of the fantasy stuff she brought to life is the horrifying, monster side. The kind you never want to meet, right?

But, if it’s any consolation, her main characters are two old men and one bookworm woman. Not exactly the kinds of people you’d think would be able to handle things that belong in fantasy books as the antagonists coming to life, but hey. They manage.

And that’s part of what makes this book such a great piece. Comiskey took characters that seem so unlikely to succeed or even cope, with the exception maybe of the old guy who’s a hunter, and she threw them into a world where the horrors of a fantasy tale are all real. Skinwalkers? Check. Giant worm-like things that burrow in the ground and try to eat people? Also check. Dragons? Well… Stanley killed the last one a while ago, but beside the point.

Comiskey uses humor, unexpected heroes, and larger than life threats to really bring fantasy to life in this book. I’d label it as paranormal or maybe urban fantasy, but it’s by far one of the most unique takes on both genres that I’ve read in quite some time.

The Takeaway?

There’s lots to learn from and glean from reading this book, but for today’s focus, I have just one takeaway. Focus on how she weaves the monsters and their magic into every day life and then apply those techniques and principles to your own work. You may not be writing something that’s meant to be even a little bit funny. You may not intend to focus mostly on supernatural monsters and magic spells to kill them.

But if you’re writing fantasy, then there’s going to be some fantastical element you need to make real to your audience. And if you want to bring fantasy to life, especially if you want to do it in our world, Comiskey’s book will show you one way how, and it will do it well.

Don’t waste the opportunity!

Flash Fiction Fridays – Ansiel’s Quest

Ariel Paiement1 Comment

This week’s flash fiction is about a new character, Ansiel. This particular character features in a short story on the Fae Queen of the London Fae Court. If you haven’t gotten your free copy of Revelar’s Queen and read through it, then I’ll let you know now that the Fae Queen in my short story, Unseen, is the same one who was in charge of the London Fae Court during the events of Revelar’s Queen. With that note out of the way, let’s dive right in!

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Ansiel leaned on the railing of his balcony with a sigh. A quest to scout out a bride for his king was quite a weight. And while he felt honored that his master had seen fit to send his personal bodyguard to do the scouting, he wished it didn’t have to be him. He wasn’t cut out for all of the diplomatic nonsense and courtly fawning required of ambassadors. It wasn’t even in his job description. Or it wouldn’t be if he’d had a job description. But, he couldn’t tell Faread no. So, here he was on the night of his departure, moping.

Soft footfalls alerted him to an intruder, and he spun on his heel. A slender figure stepped from the shadows, and he sighed. Then he shook his head with a soft smile. “Still at it, Ceili? When will you accept that you can’t sneak up on me?”

“Never.” Ceili matched his grin with one of her own. “So, what is this I hear about my brother becoming a diplomat?”

He put his hands on his hips. “Where did you hear that?”

“‘Read may have let it slip.”

Ansiel crossed his arms. “Nicknames, now, eh? Have you moved from mistress to prospective bride?”

She snorted. “Really, Ansi. Is it necessary to be that way? When are you going to accept that your baby sister is old enough to make her own choices? If I choose to warm my mate’s bed, that’s my own decision. Given what we went through over my career choice, I assumed you’d learned I was an adult.”

“That’s hardly fair! I’m your older brother. It’s my job to protect you, and I can’t do that if you give your heart to a man planning to wed another and risk your life protecting his kingdom from the threats he sees in every shadow.”

“He’s my mate.” She crossed her arms. “What do you want me to do? Abandon him?”

“He’s abandoning you.”

“Mates only happen once for us. You know that. And there’s only a fifty percent chance that you will.”

“I know that too,” he noted.

She shook her head with a huff. “And as for my career choice, I like what I do.”

“You enjoy killing people and living in the shadows. Never thought I’d hear that coming out of your mouth. A year ago, before he finally noticed you, you hated it.”

“Well…” Ceili groaned. “Well, I guess I still hate some aspects.”

He laughed and turned his back on her to watch the moon rise over the Irish countryside. “Ceili, he’ll be the death of you. Marry a man who can love you. A man who won’t make the woman he should cherish into a glorified prostitute.”

She didn’t answer him, but her soft intake of breath spoke volumes. A rustle of cloth filled the silence that stretched between them. When he finally turned, she’d already gone. He dragged his fingers through his hair with a groan. He shouldn’t have said that. Even if it was the truth, he didn’t like that it separated them and caused anger between them. And he really didn’t like that it meant leaving her with a bad taste in her mouth while he traipsed off to the Fae Court in England. Unfortunately, the words had been said, and she was already long gone. Probably headed off to cry in Faread’s arms. The man would console her like he always did, give him an earful about hurting his sister’s feelings, and then move on without a care in the world.

Ansiel gritted his teeth and stomped over to his four-postered bed. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the man wanted to marry a woman besides Ceili. The king wanted to make a ruined woman out of his baby sister, and she seemed determined he should. That alone was enough to make him want to kill the man. But he always bit his tongue and held back his true feelings towards the king. Admitting his hatred would be the best way to his job and his head. And when it all fell apart, Ceili needed someone to be there. He was all she had. He slid into bed and yanked the covers up over his head. For her sake, he would continue suffering this charade of a child in a man’s body and pretend that it didn’t make him sick. For her sake, he would turn a blind eye. And for her sake, he would pick up the pieces when it all shattered.

~~~

That’s it for this week! What did you all think? Have something you’d like to see in future Flash Fiction Fridays? Share your thoughts and comments 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.

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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.