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Saturday, March 5, 2016

Quest for a Fantasy Book ~guest post by E. M. MacCallum, author of The Demon's Grave #giveaway

Today I'm pleased to have author E.M. MacCallum here to talk with my readers about finding your way around the ever-expanding world of fantasy fiction. Be sure to check out her new release, The Demon's Grave, and also her great giveaway contest at the bottom of this post. 


Quest for a Fantasy Book
by E. M. MacCallum

No longer is it about elves, goblins, and quests to save the kingdom. Fantasy, especially over the last few years, has exploded into something more diverse, gritty, and imaginative.

Sure, some of the basics are there. I've seen Urban Fantasies with elves, and goblins. But, the time of Tolkien, as classic and cherished as it was, is starting to slip onto other avenues. Terry Brooks and the Shannarra series instantly comes to mind. It began, very much like a "Lord of the Rings" quest, but as the series continued, it developed into it's own world, then a post-apocalyptic series etc, all of this within the same world. Laurell K. Hamilton's "Anita Blake" series started a new Urban Fantasy wave, while Joe Ambrocrombie has a gritty, realistic edge to a fantastic world. Now, with the enormity of "Game of Thrones", as books and a TV show, there is no stopping this genre. I don't think Fantasy as a genre every stalled much anyway. It's only started to leak into other genres and creating whole new sub-genres. It's hinted at in Dystopian novels, alongside Sci-Fi, and other genres such as Horror or Steampunk. I think that's why I like the genre so much. The medley of the stories, characters and worlds are only becoming more imaginative. I mean, the only stopper to these stories, is in the author's imagination. 

I've always enjoyed Urban Fantasy because it mixes a bit of what I know, with a bit of the fantastical. Something that couldn't possibly exist in our world does, and this is how people, like your or I, would deal with it. That's why I created "The Demon's Grave". It was a fantastical world within our own that drags the "normal" into the supernatural. I wrote it because I hadn't read anything like it. It doesn't mean a story like this doesn't exist, but I needed to create one of my own. I hope that you can find a fantasy book or genre in fantasy that you can like too. It's only getting bigger.

About the Book

Title: The Demon’s Grave

Author: E.M. MacCallum
Genre: Dark Urban Fantasy

When strange shadows and messages plague Nora's daily life she fears for her sanity. To escape questions from her family, Nora joins her friends on a weekend getaway. Despite not liking Aidan Birket, Nora finds his remote, Victorian house charming. Until they discover the marble doorway on the third floor and, against Nora's better judgment, they open it.

Trespassing into an unfamiliar world called the Demon's Grave, the group face a charismatic demon and six nightmarish Challenges as punishment. Those that make it to the end can go home, but those that don't will be his forever. Friendships are tested, secrets revealed and sacrifices will be made.

Nora battles zombies, doppelgängers, eyeless bikers, and the demon—whose interests are more than just a game of cat and mouse. If it's all in her head, then it should be easy. But, if not, it means the demon knows about her sticky past, and the death of her twin sister.

Book Links:
 Amazon  |  Goodreads  |  Smashwords  |  Createspace  |  Kobo  |  Barnes & Noble  |  iBooks  |  LibraryThing  | 

Author Bio:

 
E.M. loves long walks through bookstores, Disney, horror movies/books, anything supernatural, and researching random facts. She lives by a lake out in the Canadian wilderness with internet access, her husband, and a rag-tag band of pets.

"The Demon's Grave" trilogy came out mid-2015
"Zombie-Killer Bill" novella will be re-released 2015
If you'd like to know more, please visit: www.emmaccallum.com

Author Links:
Twitter @EMMacCallum:  https://twitter.com/EMMacCallum

Book Excerpt:
Chapter One

"Good idea," Phoebe said and changed the subject. "We should ask Aidan to come."
"Uh, no."
"He's cute."
"He's creepy."
Phoebe rolled her dark green eyes. "You're irrational."
"And you're pushy." I looked up at her and flashed teeth in a satisfied grin.
Phoebe sighed. "Touché. So, meet at lunch tomorrow and we'll figure it out? And, just so you know, Aidan's coming. Read's already asked him."
I faltered in my step. "Read is an asshole."
Phoebe grinned. "Told'ja. And we might not have to look for a place to camp."
Adjusting my backpack on my shoulder I started to slow as we reached my locker. I noticed Phoebe didn't carry anything with her. She rarely left the school with more than a few books at a time. "What do you mean? Did Robin get angry about Whitefish Lake again?"
Phoebe snorted. "Yes, but that's not it. Aidan says he has the perfect place."
Aidan Birket was coming. Something about that made my stomach drop. I never really liked Aidan and not knowing why was doubly frustrating. He wasn't mean, cruel, annoying, or any quality I can list that would stretch my dislike beyond instinct. There was something about him that was just off.
"What perfect place?" I asked, hearing the edge. I focused on the locker door instead of Phoebe.
"Wouldn't say. I guess we find out tomorrow." Phoebe leaned against the locker next to mine and stretched her arms over her head. Her olive tanned stomach was toned to perfection. I suppose wanting to get into physical education had benefits.
"You do that to make people jealous?" I asked and tugged down her white t-shirt. "You'll stop traffic."
Already there was an anonymous whistle from the crowd.
Grinning, Phoebe lowered her arms and jutted her chin at me. "What's that?"
To my horror, she was looking at my fist. A bit of paper poked out.
So much for a temporary distraction. "Nothing."
Dismal is the Demon's Grave. It didn't even make sense. Maybe it was someone with really similar handwriting and it somehow got stuck in my book.
Unless it wasn't my book. Students scattered their stuff across the library tables like they were prepping a picnic. Marly from my media class had been across from me this afternoon.
Dropping the backpack off my shoulder, it fell with a thud against the linoleum.
"You okay, Fuller?" Phoebe quirked a thin, yellow brow.
"Yeah, yeah," I muttered and pulled the Writing for the Media book free.
"Are you missing something?"
Flipping the book open I saw my name scrawled at the top.
My shoulders slumped and hope whistled by. It must have been a prank. There was no point wasting time thinking about a stupid note with finals in a few weeks.
"Hey look." Phoebe's swan-like neck stretched. "It's your book, imagine that," she said flatly.
Part of me wanted to tell her what I'd found but if she mentioned any of it to my family I'd be wheeled off to the sanitarium. I wish that were a joke.
Until I could explain the note, I'd have to hide it.
Slipping the note in my jeans pocket I started stuffing the locker with books I didn't need. Slamming it shut I met Phoebe's eyes. "It's nothing," I said, hearing the darkness in my own voice. "You should go save Robin instead."
Looking past Phoebe I could see the petite former cheerleader arguing with a handsome, blonde guy from the football team. Phoebe had pointed him out once or twice. If someone was into sports, leave it to Phoebe to know who they were.
"That's weird," Phoebe said slowly, eyes narrowing.
I took advantage of Phoebe's distraction and slammed my locker shut. "I'll see you tomorrow!" Before she could speak, I bolted into the streaming crowd.
As much as I adored Phoebe, she'd never understand the note or my family.

Giveaway: an eBook copy and $10 Amazon gift card. 
*~*~*
Marsha A. Moore is a writer of fantasy romance. The magic of art and nature spark life into her writing. Read her COON HOLLOW TALES of paranormal romance and her ENCHANTED BOOKSTORE LEGENDS for adventurous epic fantasy romance. For a FREE ebook download, read her historic fantasy, LE CIRQUE DE MAGIE, available at Amazon and Smashwords.

4 comments:

E.M. MacCallum said...

Thank you for featuring my book today! You have a beautiful blog. <3

Marsha A. Moore said...

Thanks lots! It's great to have you spend a day here. I love your cover art.

Majanka Verstraete said...

Thanks so much for hosting this post.

Marsha A. Moore said...

Glad to help!