From the Stacks: Baba Yaga's Daughter and Other Tales of the Old Races

Okay, so I was going to hold off on this review until I re-read the Negotiator trilogy that started all of this and then I would review all of them, but I can't wait any longer. Today I'm delving into a world filled with dragons, vampires, selkies, djinn, and gargoyles. This is the world of the Old Races created by C.E. Murphy, and today I am gushing about the amazing collection of stories in Baba Yaga's Daughter and Other Tales of The Old Races.

Baba Yaga's Daughter and Other Tales of The Old Races by C.E. Murphy
ISBN: 978-1-59606-382-2

Summary

"Ancient rivals, worst of friends, best of enemies: dragonlord Janx and master vampire Eliseo Daisani are the threads upon which a tapestry of lives and loves are woven across the centuries. From the coldest Russian nights to the heat of Chicago's greatest fire, nothing brings the immortal adversaries together--or tears them apart--like a woman.

And there is always a woman.

Vanessa Grey has been at Daisani's side for decades but the secrets borne by a witch may be her undoing. Baba Yaga's daughter has plots that are decades in the hatching, but they may only succeed if Margrit Knight, named "the Negotiator" by Daisani and Janx themselves, will work with her. And there are others: the deadliest vampire hunter mankind has ever known, and a woman for whom the Old Races are a wonder to walk away from.

Revisit C.E. Murphy's world of the Old Races with ten stories that delve into the past and future of the two most beloved characters from her urban fantasy trilogy The Negotiator!"

My Thoughts

I purchased this book back in January and was told it would be ready in September. There was a delay and it wasn't printed until October, which meant I didn't get it until November. Despite the wait, this book was well worth it. My copy of Baba Yaga's Daughter is part of a signed limited edition of 1000 copies and I have #72.

This wonderful collection of stories expands on the Old Races universe and shows a lot more of the history between Janx and Daisani. Theirs is a really interesting relationship, almost how you would act towards a sibling. You torment them and challenge them when you can but no one else better even think of doing such a thing. On the other hand, sometimes the two of them seem to be on completely good terms. Getting to see more of their long and complex history was a complete joy to me.

I have been so intrigued by this world since I first read Heart of Stone, the first book in the Negotiator trilogy. Since then I have read and bought every book in the universe (well, and every book C.E. Murphy writes because, honestly, I'm obsessed. She is such a good writer). If I could I would give this book a 10/5. Since that's totally not cool, you can obviously see that it earns a 5/5 from me and I'm anxiously awaiting the next installment in the Old Races universe.

I do not recommend this book for anyone who hasn't read the trilogy, especially considering that the last story takes place after the trilogy and as such, contains spoilers. However, for fans of these books, it is an amazing addition to the collection of C.E. Murphy/Old Races books.

Baba Yaga's Daughter on Subterranean Press ($40, but it is a signed limited edition): http://subterraneanpress.com/store/product_detail/baba_yagas_daughter_and_other_tales_of_the_old_races

Baba Yaga's Daughter on Barnes & Noble ($28.80 hardcover but not signed): http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/baba-yagas-daughter-other-tales-of-the-old-races-c-e-murphy/1113897200?ean=9781596063822

Negotiator trilogy on Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/?series_id=649505

Other Old Races collections on Barnes & Nobles: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/?series_id=813486

C.E. Murphy on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/C.-E.-Murphy/e/B002D656ZI/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1354900498&sr=1-2-ent

Other Readings

For some reason my reading has slowed down the last couple weeks, but I'm going to try and pick up the pace so I can get a few bonus reviews out this month. Also, I don't know how many brand new books I'll be able to review in the next weeks or even months, due to student loan payments. However, I can honestly say that my TBR pile at home is large enough to give me enough books to review for a couple years.

Multi-tasking and Author Friendships

The fun part about being finished with NaNoWriMo is that I don't have to feel bad about working on several different projects at the same time. Of course, the difficult part is that I am not as focused as I would be during a NaNoWriMo or Camp NaNoWriMo month.

Take right now, for example. I am working on the edits for Project Death: Resurrection so I can follow through with self-publication, but when I can't work on that, I end up pulling out The Life and Death of a Seer, or I'll put out my other little side project, House of Librarians. The idea came to me a couple months ago and as a librarian myself, I love librarians as characters, but this book follows a group of librarians who moonlight as superheroes, though right now the focus seems to be on the connections and relationships between the librarians.

I'm also trying to take a little bit of time to read and then catch up on some of my television shows. Today I was lucky enough to get distracted with re-reading a not-yet-published story by a good friend of mine. Yesterday we had a conversation and it ended with me being sent copies of the story, as well as the partially written sequel of the story, something that makes me feel pretty darn awesome. I'm hoping sometime in the future to have either an author interview or a guest post with her.

I met Donaya Haymond through fictionpress.com and I loved her writing even back then and we started talking with each other quite a bit and formed a friendship I truly treasure. When she started publishing with Eternal Press, I made sure to write articles about it for my college newspaper, and I told everyone I could about those books. I ended up earning a spot in the acknowledgments for a book (which I proudly showed off to each of my friends because I thought it was one of the coolest things ever.)

Her fifth book came out last month, but I'm still waiting for it to show up in the NOOK store so I can read it again. I read it back when it was on fictionpress.

I highly recommend her books, and right now I'm going to jump back into the stories I was sent yesterday, but here are the links to her books:

Donaya Haymond on Eternal Press: http://www.eternalpress.biz/people.php?author=256

Donaya Haymond on Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/Donaya-Haymond?store=allproducts&keyword=Donaya+Haymond For some reason the e-book version of her third book is under a misspelling of her last name so: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/Donaya-Hammond?store=allproducts&keyword=Donaya+Hammond

Donaya Haymond on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_nr_scat_283155_ln?rh=n%3A283155%2Ck%3ADonaya+Haymond&keywords=Donaya+Haymond&ie=UTF8&qid=1354662806&scn=283155&h=622635e5fbd44c69123d91fb7816b292ed9c2d4e

From the Stacks: Marianne Curley

Okay, I know...by last review isn't up yet and I'm sorry, but I did just find some book news that makes me very very happy. When I was in high school there was an Australian author I thoroughly loved named Marianne Curley. My first experience with her was finding Old Magic in the library. I read it, loved it, and ended up checking it out so many times that the librarian (aka my mom) told me that she would not let me check it out again.

Needless to say, that was not an option I approved of, so I went out and bought my own copy. Then when her Guardians of Time trilogy (The Named, The Dark, and The Key) came out, I devoured them as well. After that I kept waiting and looking and waiting some more for new books to be released and nothing came.

Yesterday, I randomly decided to get on and look for her books, because my library no longer has the Guardians of Time trilogy and I really want to re-read them. I fully planned on buying them. Then I saw a new book by Marianne Curley, to be released next summer. If it wasn't for the fact that I was at work, I probably would have started jumping up and down and giving a loud fan-girl squeal.

According to her new author bio for the book, she has spent the last several years fighting a rare form of bone marrow cancer, where she had a very slim chance of surviving, but by miracle her sister happened to be a perfect match, and by another miracle she survived the marrow transplant, and has been recovering from this major health scare.

Like a number of authors who love their job, she couldn't stay away from writing, so now she has a new book coming out and I will definitely be buying a copy as soon as it comes out. Typically I tend to wait for paperback copies, but I am so glad to have new Marianne Curley books that it will be completely worth the extra cost to get hardcover.

Here are some helpful links if you want to get swept away into these amazing stories as well:

Marianne Curley's web site: http://www.mariannecurley.com/

Marianne Curley's books on Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/Marianne-Curley?store=allproducts&keyword=Marianne+Curley

Marianne Curley's books on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Marianne-Curley/e/B004NA72T0/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1354465004&sr=1-2-ent

Her new book, Hidden, will be the first in the Avena series, and is expected June 25, 2013

Writing Plans for 2013

Okay, everyone, this post is going to have a lot of pictures (nine, if anyone actually cares to know). I've made some changes in my plans for 2013, but I'd really like to get some of my books written. So, here is my tentative schedule for the year.

Let's start with January and February 2013, where I will be jumping into the second book in the Project Death series. Project Death: Revelation is a fun story because it is both prequel and sequel. Not only do I get to do more with the Tamesis and Thanos story line, as well as getting more into the Leaders and the Resurrectors, but I also get to explore how Thanos came to be Death, which is pretty fun.

Then comes March 2013. You guys have heard me mention this story before, though I am pleased to say that it actually has a title now. Previously I referred to it as Amaranth 1, but I have come up with both the title for the trilogy and the titles for each individual story. The first book, which will be undergoing a massive re-write since I first worked on it in November 2006, will be called Amaranth Enchanted, and it will be the first book of The Morrigan's Legacy.

 

 In April and May 2013 my focus will shift back to the Project Death series. The reason why the Project Death novels are getting two months is because I really want them to have a more complete rough draft by the time I am finished, whereas the other books will simply be as much as I can write in that time. So April and May will be for Project Death: Redemption. It introduces the character of Julianne, who was told of both Death and the Resurrectors and fully expected someone to be with her when she died. No one was there and she was left unclaimed, drifting alone.

 For June 2013, I'm hoping to be able to jump into the second book of The Morrigan's Legacy. I'm actually really looking forward to this because I have missed writing the adventures of Lexa and her friends, and more importantly the mythological land of Amaranth. So, I will be focusing on A Kingdom Cursed, which takes place a year after the first book.

Then in July and August 2013 I will once again be back to the Project Death series, working on the final book, which follows two new characters, Pax and Treasa, who are the daughters of Tamesis and Thanos. The war between the Resurrectors and those who protect Balance will finally end and even now it is unclear to me who will survive, so I'm predicting that Project Death: Restoration will have quite a few surprises for me.

In September I will be wrapping up the Souls trilogy, by focusing on Souls Crossing. I have decided that 2013 is mostly for me to try and finish up some of my oldest books and series. The story lines have buried themselves in the back of my mind and I'd like to finally get them written down so I will be more able to write my new story ideas.

Speaking of finishing books and series, in October 2013 my goal is to finish The Morrigan's Legacy. It should be an interesting story and it will be nice to have so many books finished by this point. I really enjoy reading about mythology and reading books with mythological elements so I enjoyed writing the first rough draft of the first book for NaNoWriMo. Anyway, the final book in this trilogy will be A Land Blessed.

Though I have mentioned working on old books for 2013, November and December are not exactly as old as the rest. For NaNoWriMo 2013 in November, I plan on working on The Graveyard Shift, which I wanted to work on for NaNo in 2010 but got wrapped up in another idea instead. Also, the cover may end up changing because I'm thinking of going to a cemetery to get a sunset or twilight shot to better fit the feel and premise of the story, but for now, here's what I have:

Finally, in December 2013, I will be working on Dare to Touch, which is an idea I've wanted to work on for a couple years now but haven't really had the chance. I'd really like to feel like I've accomplished something in 2013, so I guess you could say that writing for each of this stories is my New Year's Resolution, even though I'm making it now.

Again, I feel like saying I lied...At the beginning of the post I said I was putting up nine pictures, but there's one more I have to add. There is another story I work on a little at a time, when I am blocked on another story, and I plan to continue on it through 2013 and see just how far I get with it. So my "on the side" story is The Life and Death of a Seer.

Well, I guess that's for all. Until next time.

From the Stacks: The Lost Prince

Sorry for the delay guys. I was busy and without internet, and then I was trying to catch up on sleep. Anyway, this week take a walk into the land ruled by the fey with The Lost Prince by Julie Kagawa.

The Lost Prince by Julie Kagawa
ISBN: 978-0-373-21057-2

Summary:

"Don't look at Them

Never let Them know

you can see Them

That is Ethan Chase's unbreakable rule. Until the fey he avoids at all costs - including his reputation - begin to disappear, and Ethan is attacked. Now he must change the rules to protect his family. To save a girl he never thought he'd dare to fall for.

Ethan thought he had protected himself from his older sister's world - the land of Faery. His previous time in the Iron Realm left him with nothing but fear and disgust for the world Meghan Chase has made her home, a land of myth and talking cats, of magic and seductive enemies. But when destiny comes for Ethan, there is no escape from a danger long, long forgotten.

My name is Ethan Chase.

And I may not live to see my

eighteenth birthday."

My Thoughts:

I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed every one of Julie Kagawa's books, though I have yet to read The Immortal Rules. I didn't find the Iron Fey series until the third book was about to be released and I devoured them extremely quickly. So, finding out that she was starting a spin-off series featuring Meghan's little brother Ethan was awesome. 

It took me just a little bit to adjust to having Ethan as a grown young man. In the books centering around Meghan, Ethan was just a child. I will also completely admit to crushing on him just a little bit, though in the beginning I did not like how he acted like a jerk to keep people at a distance. But then enter Kenzie, who is persistent and doesn't just let Ethan push her away.

Kenzie adjusted to being brought to the Nevernever fairly quickly, which I kind of liked, but discovering the secret Kenzie was hiding knocked me for a loop. I'm pretty sure I will end up crying at a later time, unless Julie Kagawa has some secret plan in mind.

This spin-off series had special guest appearances by some of my favorite characters in the original series: Meghan, Ash, Puck, and Grim, so I was pretty darn happy. Then of course there was the new trifecta of main characters: Ethan, Kenzie, and Keirran.

It is amazing and I can't wait until the next one, The Traitor Son, which is expected in late 2013 (Goodreads says September). All in all, 5/5.

The Lost Prince at Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-lost-prince-julie-kagawa/1110313568?ean=9780373210572&itm=1&usri=the+lost+prince

The Lost Prince at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Lost-Prince-Iron-Fey/dp/0373210574/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1354072989&sr=1-1&keywords=the+lost+prince

Other Readings:

I'm in the middle of A Soul for Trouble by Christa McHugh, as well as Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. I am also reading Alchemystic by Anton Strout and Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas. So far I have finished 71 books this year.

How Time Flies

It seems like just yesterday that I was waiting for November to arrive so I could start work on my novel. Now, here it is, the 20th of November, and I am dangerously close to reaching that 50,000 word mark. This has also been a week where I start planning my ideas and stories for the next couple of months. I have to do my final edits for Project Death: Resurrection and then come January I'll be able to jump into the sequel, Project Death: Revelation.

I'm both looking forward to and dreading 2013. I have a lot of writing plans and goals and so I'm eager to spend the time working on and editing those projects. At the same time, next year I turn 25. I'm as-of-yet still unpublished, still looking for a job in a library so I can utilize my Master's in Library and Information Science, and though I'm not looking, my romantic life is pathetic as well. Sometimes it makes me feel like a bit of a failure, especially seeing all of my friends and classmates married and having children.

I want 2013 to be a good year.

That means that I really need to focus on my writing and getting as much finished as I can. I will continue with my Tuesday writing update posts and my Friday From the Stacks review posts, but my non-online self needs to set specific goals for writing time and reading time. Maybe by creating a schedule will help me not waste so much time.

Anyway, NaNoWriMo is going quite well. On Saturday I went up to my old region for a write-in and that was pretty fun. I think I managed something like 2,100 words there, which was nice, and then I came home and continued writing for a few more hours.

I plan on doing about 3,500 words today and then hopefully the other 3,500 I need tomorrow. I want to cross the 50,000 word mark before Thanksgiving so I don't have to worry about my writing when I'm spending time with my family and then going in to work. After work on Thursday I am going to drive down to one of my best friend's house because we are going to a concert on Friday. Basically it means that I won't be able to do much writing Friday or Saturday even.

I will say that I will have a From the Stacks post up on Friday...I just don't think that it will be Alchemystic like I said last week. I think I'm going to move Julie Kagawa's The Lost Prince up to Friday since I read it a couple weeks ago, and then I'll move Alchemystic to Dec 7th, which was when I was originally going to review The Lost Prince.

NaNoWriMo Word Count: 42,862
At This Rate You Will Finish: November 23, 2012

From the Stacks: The Stepsister Scheme

Boy, what a week this has been. I'm thinking that maybe at the end of the year I'll have to do a week of From the Stacks post because of how many books I've been reading lately. See, doing one review a week means that I'll be doing 52 reviews...but I read more like 80+ books in a year. I feel bad about those books who get left behind. What do you guys think? Would it be nice if I did a week of reviews at the end of December?

Anyway, yes, today I am back to another Jim C. Hines book. Why? Because he is an amazing author! I absolutely loved Libriomancer and I can't wait for the next book to come out. Seeing that he had a series of four books that twisted princess fairy tales, I couldn't resist. Fairy tales are back to popularity, and you can especially see that with shows like "Once Upon A Time" and "Grimm" and I really just love reading fairy tales  anyway.

Today on From the Stacks I'm looking at The Stepsister Scheme, which takes a few very well known princesses and brings back some of the dark elements of their stories, you know, the ones Disney didn't include.

The Stepsister Scheme
ISBN: 978-0-7564-0532-8

Summary:

"You know how all those old fairy tales take you through lots of scary adventures till you finally reach that inevitable line: "And they lived happily ever after..." Guess what? It's not true. Life in never-never land isn't all sweetness and light. Cinderella-whose real name is Danielle Whiteshore (nee Danielle de Glas)-does marry Prince Armand. And (if you can ignore the pigeon incident) their wedding is a dream-come-true.

But not long after the "happily ever after," Danielle is attacked by her stepsister Charlotte, who suddenly has all sorts of magic to call upon. And though Talia-otherwise known as Sleeping Beauty-comes to the rescue (she's a martial arts master, and all those fairy blessings make her almost unbeatable), Charlotte gets away.

That's when Danielle discovers a number of disturbing facts: Armand has been kidnapped and taken to the realm of the Fairies; Danielle is pregnant with his child; and the Queen has her own very Secret Service that consists of Talia and Snow (White, of course). Snow is an expert at mirror magic and heavy-duty flirting.

Can the three princesses track down Armand and extract both the prince and themselves from the clutches of some of fantasyland's most nefarious villains?"

My Thoughts:

Loved it! Loved it! Loved it! Mr. Hines, your books are amazing. There is a romantic interest of one of the three princesses that first caused me to gasp in surprise and then start hoping for much more (and I certainly hope for more of it in the next books). Do I really have to say here that I'm giving this book 5/5?

Okay, so I'll be completely honest: Danielle/Cinderella...not my favorite character, but I've felt that way about Cinderella for a number of years and I can't really describe why. In this book I definitely loved Talia and Snow (whose real name is Ermillina) so much more. Talia has a really dark past and I have to say when she finally told the true story of her past, I was shocked. It definitely wasn't a happy tale, but it does help you to understand her so much as a character.

A majority of the characters in this book are female and I thought that Jim Hines did a great job in handling them, and honestly, I was sort of glad that Armand wasn't in the book all that much. I liked seeing the bonds of companionship and then friendship building between the main three ladies. And they really are some strong female characters, who don't need men to fight their battles for them. They are real too. They have emotional depth and histories that make you empathize with them.

I definitely will be picking up the second book, The Mermaid's Madness, which brings in (obviously) the Little Mermaid, then the third book, Red Hood's Revenge, which has Red Riding Hood as an assassin, and then the series ends with The Snow Queen's Shadow. 

Jim Hines...after reading and loving two of your books now, I can say that I am a fan for life.

The Stepsister Scheme at Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/stepsister-scheme-jim-c-hines/1100361105?ean=9780756405328

The Stepsister Scheme at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/The-Stepsister-Scheme-PRINCESS-NOVELS/dp/0756405327/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1353086819&sr=8-1&keywords=The+Stepsister+Scheme

Other Readings:

Next Friday I am going to a concert, but I will still have my From the Stacks post up for you guys. I have been reading the amazing Elemental series by Brigid Kemmerer (two novellas and two novels so far) so I'll probably be reviewing them in my end-of-year specials. I am in the middle of reading Alchemystic by Anton Strout and that will be next week's book. I've also just started Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas and I'm really enjoying it so far. And I have to tell you guys...I really need to focus so I can finally finish reading Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey. It's good but I typically only read a couple chapters at a time so it's slow going. 

Well, that's all for this week. I'll be back on Tuesday for another NaNoWriMo writing update. Speaking of...I should probably get back to writing.