Voyage of the Lanternfish – A Visit by Craig Boyack

January 14, 2019January 13, 2019 ~ John W. Howell ~ 75 Comments

Normally today would be a Top Ten Things Not to Do post. Because of the launch of his new book, I decided to invite Craig Boyack to the post to tell you all about it. I have read a number of Craig’s books and loved them all. I have not read Voyage of the Lanternfish but have a belief that it will be terrific based on the others. The top Ten will return next week. The post is all yours Craig.

Thanks for inviting me over, John. I’m here to talk about my new book, Voyage of the Lanternfish. This one is a pirate fantasy and includes magic and monsters.

Lanternfish had one of those magical things happen as I was drafting it. An unexpected theme revealed itself, but not intentionally. Drafting a story is my favorite part because sometimes, things you didn’t plot out influence the story in a small way.

Fatherhood is not intended to be a huge, beating drum in this tale. It’s more of a subtle undertone.

James is my main character. His father was a covert operative, who helped start a war among multiple kingdoms. During the war, he fled in the middle of the night to get his son away from all this.

The lessons were available, but sons rarely put stock in the stories told by parents. Now James is forced into a position much like his father’s, but without the knowledge his old man had.

Dan is another major character, but his father is still alive. If James and Dan succeed at starting this new war, his father will be living on one of the future battlefields.

Mule is a secondary character who shows up later in the book. He leaves his parents, who were quite remarkable. They had much to offer a boy, but he didn’t pay as much attention as he could have. This gives James a chance to become a surrogate father.

Mal is an older character and occasionally gives some fatherly advice. It’s small, but it’s there.

There is a collective knowledge base, one generation away, that could help the pirates immensely, had they paid more attention. Now they have to forge their own way, which is only correct for a story.

I included a bit of dialog about fathers, and missing knowledge, but didn’t go over the top with it. They don’t have much time to lament their formative years and have to get on with the bloody business at hand.

James’ father worked on the land, but he used his small fortune to get James a respectable job in the merchant fleet. James tries to do what his father did for a while, then decides his value is at sea. After all, wars happen at sea too, and perhaps they can start one this way.

I know a good many people who read this will be authors themselves. Have you ever had a sub-plot spring to life during the drafting of your tale? I’d love to hear about it.

***

Blurb:

An honorable man is mistaken for his disreputable father. Now he’s pushed into a political scheme to start a war that will spread across multiple kingdoms. James Cuttler’s fiancé is being held captive to ensure he goes through with the plan.

He soon decides his skills are at sea and procures a ship to wage war upon those who disrupted his simple life. He can’t do it alone, so he recruits a band of cutthroats to help him. But first, they need guns and munitions to outfit the ship properly. Deception and trickery will only get them so far. Eventually, they’re going to have to engage the enemy.

James’ goals aren’t necessarily the same as his crew. It’s a delicate balancing act to collect enough loot to keep his crew happy while guiding them back to rescue the girl.

Voyage of the Lanternfish is filled with adventure, magic, and monsters. Lots of monsters. Hoist the colors and come along for the ride.

Purchase Link: http://a-fwd.com/asin-com=B07MP8V633

Bio:

I was born in a town called Elko, Nevada. I like to tell everyone I was born in a small town in the 1940s. I’m not quite that old, but Elko has always been a little behind the times. This gives me a unique perspective of earlier times, and other ways of getting by. Some of this bleeds through into my fiction.

I moved to Idaho right after the turn of the century and never looked back. My writing career was born here, with access to other writers and critique groups I jumped in with both feet.

I like to write about things that have something unusual. My works are in the realm of science fiction, paranormal, and fantasy. The goal is to entertain you for a few hours. I hope you enjoy the ride.

Craig

Book Launch – The Hat by Craig Boyack – Lisa Burton Visits

January 14, 2018January 13, 2018 ~ John W. Howell ~ 84 Comments

I want to welcome Lisa Burton, Craig Boyack’s personal assistant to Fiction Favorites. She is here to tell you about Craig’s latest book. As you may know, I love Craig’s work and can highly recommend his writing. It is always a pleasure to have her join me here on the coast. Hi, Lisa.

Hi, and thanks for having me over again, John. I love getting away from the cabin and promoting Craig’s books on occasion. It’s a long old winter out there, you know? (I know Lisa especially in the company of Craig)

Today, we’re touring around a novella called The Hat. This one is about a girl, Lizzie, who works hard to overcome the trials of everyday life. She winds up with an old hat that belonged to her grandfather, only this is no ordinary hat. It’s a being from another dimension, trapped in the shape of a hat for all time.

The story involves some baby snatchers and one of the victims is the newborn son of Lizzie’s friends. It turns out the hat has a few skills that might let Lizzie recover the missing babies. By acting in concert they are much more capable than acting as individuals.

Heroes come in all shapes and sizes. They rise to the occasion and produce different outcomes. We look up to Superman and all he stands for. We might appreciate The Punisher, but look away because of his methods.

Lizzie and the hat are more like the latter. Without some kind of super strength, or being bulletproof, they don’t have a lot of options beyond hitting first and hitting hard.

It’s a fun story structure, because they start out as strangers, and it doesn’t go too well at first. They bond and form a symbiosis over music of all things. They try to save the children and fail. The important part for all heroes is they try again.

The Hat is humorous, serious, and heroic in its own way. We really hope you’ll give it a chance. It’s priced at 99¢, and since it’s a novella, it will only take an afternoon to read.

Now it’s time for my poster. I like to drop these off with the hosts that invite me. The hat can take the shape of any kind of headwear. This is all spelled out in the story, but there comes a time when the hero emerges from the darkness and steps into the light. This poster is designed to reflect that moment for Lizzie and The Hat.

Feel free to use it as your phone background or whatever you like. I hope in some small way it encourages you to check out The Hat, and maybe even leave a review.

Thanks again for having me today. Now what kind of trouble can a robot girl get into around here?

Blurb:

Lizzie St. Laurent is dealing with many of the struggles of young life. She lost her grandmother, and her living arrangements. Her new roommate abandoned her, and she’s working multiple jobs just to keep her head above water.

She inherits an old hat from her grandmother’s estate, but it belonged to her grandfather. This is no ordinary hat, but a being from an alternate dimension. One with special powers.

Lizzie and the hat don’t exactly hit it off right away, but when her best friend’s newborn is kidnapped by a ring of baby traffickers, Lizzie turns to the hat for help. This leads her deep into her family history and a world she’s never known.

Lizzie gives up everything to rescue the babies. She loses her jobs and may wind up in jail before it’s over. Along the way, she and the hat may have a new way of making ends meet.

Humorous and fun, The Hat is novella length. Wonderful escapism for an afternoon.

Purchase Link: http://a-fwd.com/asin-com=B078YYCNSF

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Tuesday Anything Possible – The Enhanced League by C.S.Boyack – Book Launch #RRBC

July 18, 2017July 17, 2017 ~ John W. Howell ~ 48 Comments

I have enjoyed C. S. Boyack’s books and am pleased to be part of his launch crew. Today I have a special guest, Lisa Burton who is here to talk about The Enchanted League his latest. The post is yours, Lisa.

Thanks for inviting me back today, John. I enjoy getting away from the writing cabin from time to time, and these whirlwind tours are a wonderful way to refresh my attitude.

Craig and I are making the rounds to promote his new book, The Enhanced League. It’s a collection of short stories that serve to tell an overarching story by the end. It’s all about a professional baseball league where nobody cares about performance enhancing drugs.

They look at it like everyone is an adult, and can make their own mind up about supplements and drugs. To be competitive, there is a bit more pomp than you might find in other professional sports. The stadiums are outrageous, the umpires are beautiful, and the league is international in scope.

There are a lot of stories that happen off the field. These involve the machinations of unscrupulous owners, general managers, and more. There is even a recurring broadcast team with a traveling studio that reports on what happens inside the league.

There are women too. They serve as umpires, business women, and in today’s case a technical developer.

I brought you a poster of me, posing as Sheri. Sheri is the technical developer for the Montreal Mounties. She’s created an artificial arm for their hot new pitcher, Roger Warpspeed Warren. She also becomes his love interest eventually. It’s so much fun getting to portray someone so smart, and in a healthy relationship at the same time.

Lisa Burton

Feel free to use the poster as a cell phone background or whatever you like.

Roger is one of the main characters, if you can have such a thing in a collection of short stories. The book loosely follows his first year in The Enhanced League. There are stories in the collection that don’t include Roger, but they could influence the year he’s having.

We only made three posters, and I couldn’t honor all the female characters in the book. The career girl, Darci is a strong character too, but she didn’t get a poster. The Kawaii Girls from Niigata Japan work pretty hard to perfect their performances in the stadium, but they got left out too. Then there is Rose, the traveling reporter from the broadcast team. We just can’t honor them all with a poster, but I think you’ll enjoy reading about them.

The main story is Roger and his first year with the Mounties. It’s an exciting story with plenty of ups and downs. The other characters and stories serve to enhance that ongoing story. Craig said I had to weave the word enhance in there somehow.

Thanks for having me, and pick up a copy of The Enhanced League for the incredible price of 99¢.

***

Enhanced League

Blurb: The Enhanced league is a collection of short stories and anthems centered around a year in a fictional baseball league. It has a slight science fiction background. This league has a lot more pomp than you might be used to, and nobody seems to care if the players use performance enhancing drugs.

Stories involve existing heroes, up and comers, and falling stars. While there are the obvious stories that take place on the field of play, there are also human interest stories that take place around the baseball gyrations. These stories involve scouting, trades, ruthless business decisions, and even relationships.

I enjoyed researching and bringing you The Enhanced League, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. — CB

Here is the link to Amazon. http://a-fwd.com/asin-com=B073T5DH2Q

C. S. Boyack

I moved to Idaho right after the turn of the century and never looked back. My writing career was born here, with access to other writers and critique groups I jumped in with both feet.

Craig

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Next week Kreative Kue will return.