Shadows & Light II Final Cover/Blurb

I realized that I never posted the final blurb/ cover for Shadows & Light Volume II. I decided to go the simple route with the blurb, the one I wrote for Shadows & Light: Tales of Lost Kingdoms sounded a little pretentious, so here is the one for Volume II:

The struggle between man and evil has always been a mainstay of fantasy. Pill Hill Press pays homage to this tradition in the sequel to their critically acclaimed anthology, Shadows & Light: Tales of Lost Kingdoms.

Volume II features thirteen brand new magical tales of the epic battle between good and evil, including:

Choices in the Dark by Ray Tabler, Master Race by Gerald Costlow, The Hand of Fate by David J. West, Azieran: The Secret in the Mist by Christopher Heath, Mania's Children by Gustavo Bondoni, Champion by Marc Sorondo, Night Ambush by Scott Harper & Diane Smith, The Tithe of Hell by Edward McKeown, The King of Sorango by John M. Whalen, Zhea by Gregory L. Norris, Spread Your Wings and Die by Lydia Sharp, Sons of Odin by John Richard Albers & Aquila's Ring by Cat Rambo.

And here is the final cover:

A short story published

My short story, Let Justice Be Done, has just been published in The Scroll of Anubis, a mummy anthology. My story features a group of roman soldiers who were mummified in a bog. But they were Vigiles Urbani, the watchmen of the city who died hunting a criminal and they do not rest easy. The thieves that stole their bodies soon find that the phrase, Fiat justia, ruat caelu, “Let Justice be done, even though the heavens fall” is more than just a motto. Amazon link

My story Mortis Lupus was also accepted for publication in Bards & Sages Quarterly today.

A shameless plug

With the holidays coming up I thought I would shamelessly plug the sci-fi anthology I edited this summer. Hey it is my blog, what better place to try and get some sales. Anyone interested in buying the book can get it from amazon or from barnes and noble It also available in the Pill Hill Press Book Shoppe. Right now there is a limited edition hard cover that can only purchased from the Book Shoppe, the hardcover is available until the end of December and it is only $3 more than the soft cover!

Blurb:

This short story collection features thirteen fantastic adventures set in the cold vacuum of space. Read about rogues, scoundrels, aliens, robots, heroes, junkers and priests as you explore the rich and creative diversity of the following stories: Junker's Fancy By Rosemary Jones, Leech Run By Scott W. Baker, A Space Romance By Paul A. Freeman, Hawking's Caution By Mark Rivett, Parhelion By David Schembri, To Stand Among Kings By Kenneth Mark Hoover, The Unicorn Tree By Alethea Kontis, The Beacon of Hope By Gregory L Norris, Tangwen's Last Heist By C.B. Calsing, The Stand-Ins By Gef Fox, Glacier Castle By Will Morton, Rescue By Margaret Karmazin, At One Stride Comes the Dark By Murray Leeder.

Reviews:

Amazon/ Diane Jones- Avid Reader: Exactly what the cover says, this is a collection of fascinating stories set in deep space, most having a good balance of science and fantasy and all offering enough suspense to make them very hard to put down.

Fred Warren/Residential Aliens: If you love stories about lone-wolf pilots, sentient spaceships, interplanetary power politics, rogue computers, lost colonies, and Terrors From Beyond, Zero Gravity, a new anthology of science fiction adventures from Pill Hill Press, will light your boosters and shove you deep into your acceleration couch… Read the rest here

JM Kirk Writer of Fantasy and Science Fiction: …Zero Gravity was an entertaining anthology that had more character driven stories than technology driven plots which is something I much prefer in my science fiction. This good range of stories is bound to appeal to many readers whether they are fans of the genre or not. Read the rest here

Tales of the Talisman/ Shawn Oetzel: …Pill Hill Press’ anthology, Zero Gravity Adventures in Deep Space is an eye-catching and fun read. It is filled with thirteen science fiction stories all nicely edited by Alva J. Roberts. I think fans of genre fiction will enjoy Zero Gravity Adventures in Deep Space immensely. I know I did. Buy a copy of the issue

Science Fiction Review: I haven't read a volume of short stories since, well, since about forever. I like getting engrossed in the plot and feel of a full-length novel. However, I picked up a copy of Zero Gravity while on an extended trip, and I read it immediately following a great but lengthy novel by Carol Berg. My flight was going to land in about an hour, so the short story format seemed appropriate to read one or two before landing, going through customs and immigration, getting a ride to the hotel, etc. I am glad I made that choice… Read the rest here

The Future Fire Reviews: As a whole, Zero Gravity is full of stories that seem to understand that humanity is no longer physically evolving in the original sense. We no longer worry about those genetic markers that in the past made a mate unacceptable. Today we evolve through social interaction and technology and this will most likely still be the case as we hurl ourselves outward beyond the stars. On the perimeter of the universe it will be our technology and our ability to co-habitat with our fellows that will serve us and I feel this collection gets that right. It is just plain good reading that should easily please any fan of deep space fiction. It is light, good for afternoons on the porch or, if you’re like me, a quick story to relax a bit before bed… Read the rest here

If any book reviewers are interested please drop me a line via the contact form and we will get see about getting a review copy to you. The book is available through many other online book stores inlcuding the many versions of amazon ie amazon.ca, amazon.uk., etc. And the Pill Hill Book Shoppe has very reasonable international shipping rates.