Friday, January 13, 2023

BOOK: Dark Return by Carol Ann Kauffman


 


Dark Return is the sequel to Belterra, Time After Time, and takes place about ten years afterwards. When Belterra was populated long ago by a select group of humans sent here by the ancients in the hope of saving the human race, the indigenous race of bat-like creatures called the Batrach were forced into the ocean and underground sea caves by a giant force field. The force field has now weakened. The Batrach have emerged from their watery prison and they want their planet back.

Available in ebook and paperback

Amazon Buy Link:
https://www.amazon.com/Dark-Return-Belterra-Book-After-ebook/dp/B07KXJKW53



Excerpt:

“Neeka,” called Lira at her door. “I hate to wake you when you get so little sleep as it is, but you are needed.”
“What is it, Lira?” she asked, putting on her robe.
“Your father. He is ill. I can do nothing with him. Will you come and see what you can do?”
“Of course. I’ll be right there. Call Ana and Fen.”
“They are already with him.”
Neeka dressed quickly and made her way to her father’s bedchamber. She opened the door to find a very ashen looking Lord Mica. She edged toward the bed.
“Father, I hear you aren’t feeling so well. What exactly is bothering you?” she asked, noticing his breathing was shallow and rapid. His coloring was off, grayish, pale. She touched his hand and head. No fever, that was good.
“I am sick.”
“Yes, we got that part. Sick from…?”
“Sick from war, sick from death. Sick from looking into the face of the certain demise of our entire species. Sick from my inability to rectify this situation. My heart aches. My people look to me for leadership and guidance; they expect me to figure out a way to save us. I am the Warrior Lord, but I’m no good at this war stuff. We have lived in peace all of my life. I am no strategist. I can hold my own against any human adversary, but not these reptilian monsters. I am, my daughter, a blatant failure.”
“Ana, Fen, come here,” Neeka asked. “Help me.” She put her hand on his chest. Ana and Fen did the same. They closed their eyes and breathed deeply, sending their vibrations into his body. Soon Lord Mica was breathing easier and his coloring had returned to normal.
“May I speak with my father alone please?” Ana, Fen, and Lira left the room.
“Ashamed of me, Neeka?”
She sat down across from him and stared at him. This war had certainly aged him. 
“Never. You are the Lord of the Warrior Clan, a man of healing and finesse. You know the ways of natural healing, of crystals, and light therapy. You know the natural cycles of the sun and the moon. You know the paths of the stars in the sky. You can predict the weather. And you can sense danger by sniffing the air. You know how to communicate with the plants and animals of our kingdom. You can handle any human problem that comes our way.”
“However, the problem facing us right now is non-human and I cannot understand or communicated with these damn bat creatures.”
“What does Lord Jamit say?”
“He’s praying. He’s cloistered himself away in prayer. He’s been praying for three days now.”
“How about Lord Milo?”
“Ineffective little punk. He never was leadership material. He takes orders well, but there’s not an original thought anywhere in his head. And Braedon? He’s the only one among us all who is a true leader and a strong fighter. He’s out there on the front line from dawn to dusk, doing battle with these beasts day in and day out. When I do see him, he looks so tired, so exhausted. Your husband needs rest. And maybe some loving attention from his wife. Your man needs time to replenish himself. Where is he?”
“He wasn’t home when I got back from the hospital. I really don’t know where he is.”
“Well, I do, daughter. He’s out there. If he’s not fighting, he’s carrying back the wounded before they can be eaten. He cannot go on like this. Insist that your husband rest. Take him by his ear and put him to bed.”
“Yes, Father, I will, just as soon as I find him. Now, back to you. Let’s see if I have this right. You’re having premonitions of impending doom.”
“Yes”
“You feel there is no way out of this.”
“Yes”
“You feel as our leader you have let whatever’s left of the human race down.”
“Yes”
“You feel we’re all going to end up dead.”
“Yes,” he shouted.
“And you’re making yourself sick over this.”
“Yes,” he whispered.
“Oh, Father, you are anything but a disappointment, to any of us. Yes, we have our problems. I, too, have had nightmares and premonitions that these beasts are gaining strength and have the definite edge over us in this fight. But, I know you’re going to find a way to pull us out of this. And you are not alone. You have your wonderful sons, the love boys, Lars and Omer and Vin and Emil by my stepmother, Lady Tela. You have your own personal fire-breathing dragon, my daughter, your granddaughter, Ana. You have Fen, My I’m-not-sure-what, but I know I’ve loved that young man since I first laid eyes on him as a sickly, lost, orphan child in Northford, and he grows more mature and intelligent and wise with every single passing day. You have Lira, the third woman you’ve bowled over with your kind, gentle, and loving ways. She is the absolute epitome of patience and devotion to you. And you have Braedon, my fantastic War Lord husband, and me, your wild, impetuous daughter. You aren’t carrying this burden by yourself.”
There was a knock at the door.
“I brought you some tea, My Lord,” Lira came in with a tray. “It will calm your nerves.” She poured and handed him the cup. He drank it down quickly. Lira stroked his head and smiled at him.
“Rest now, Father. Things will look better when you awaken.”
He nodded.
“Sleep, now, My Lord,” said Lira.
“I can’t sleep. I wish I could sleep, but I can’t, I’m so…”
“Of course you can, My Darling. I drugged your tea. Rest now. I will be back soon to check on you.” Neeka and Lira left and Lord Mica was soon sound asleep. Six hours passed. He was shaken awakened by his second in command, Cale. 
“Lord Mica, something is obstructing the view of camera three on the force field,” reported Cale. “I don’t like it. No, I don’t like it at all. They’re trying to obstruct our view for a reason. They may be building something, some large apparatus to break down our force field, then swarm us, and devour our flesh while we’re still alive. Do you want me to ask Lord Braedon to look into it?”
“No, Cale. Braedon needs to rest. I’ll get up and go find Keng and ask him to take a team and find out what it is.”
“Do you want me to go find him so you can rest?”
“No. I’m awake now.”
Lord Mica got up and went to the dining hall and found Keng. 

“Don’t you guys ever sleep?”
“We’ll sleep when this nightmare of a war is over, Lord Mica,” Keng answered. “We’ll eat like pigs, make love like crazy, get drunk, and sleep for a week.”
“I hope that day will be soon, my friend. Keng, something is blocking a security camera, number three, on the force field and Cale is getting all antsy about it. He thinks it’s a big batrach conspiracy to keep us in the dark until they find a way to destroy the force field. Do you think you could take a team and check it out?”
“Of course, Lord Mica. We’ll leave at first light,” Keng nodded. Keng looked around to find someone to go with him. He saw no one.

“Keng, what is it?” asked Braedon when he walked into the dining hall. “What’s the matter?”
“Oh, nothing. I have to go out and check a blocked camera. I was just looking for someone to take with me, and I can’t find any of our soldier clan.”
“I ordered them all to bed. Have you taken a good look at them lately? They are the most bedraggled lot I have ever seen. They look exhausted. But I’ll come with you. When do you want to leave?”
“At dawn.”

Braedon nodded.




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Thursday, January 12, 2023

TV TIME: Slumberland ( Netflix)






If you're looking for a goofy, crazy feel-good movie, 
check out Slumberland on Netflix. 
Jason Momoa gives his best non-murdering role yet. 
And little Marlow Barkley reminds me of 
a young Saoirse Ronan.

Not for people who like things to make sense and follow logic, 
but this adventure into the world of dreams 
is pure heaven for those who want 
a chunk of beautifully shot 
and well-acted escapism. 






Jason Momoa in a long, pink velour coat with horns. 













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Wednesday, January 11, 2023

INTERVIEW: Multimate-Genre Author Michael D. Young

 

   Michael D. Young

   Pleasant Grove, Utah

USA 

 


Welcome to Vision and Verse, Michael. Can you tell us what you’ve written? 

"He is the author of the novels in The Canticle Kingdom Series, The Last Archangel Series, the Chess Quest Series and the Penultimate Dawn Cycle (The Hunger), as well as several non-fiction works, including An Advent Carols Countdown, The Song of the Righteous, As Saints We Sing, and The Song of the Saints. He has also had work featured in various online and print magazines such as Bards and Sages Quarterly, Mindflights, Meridian, Nugent Magazine, The New Era, Keeping Tab, Allegory, Liahona, and Ensign. He has also won honorable mention three times in the Writers of the Future contest." - Press Release



What is your favorite genre to write?

All

 


Favorite food. 

Lasagna, or basically any good Italian food. 

 


Tea or coffee? 

Neither. The only hot drink I do is hot chocolate. 

 


Pizza or ice cream? 

Yikes, if I have to choose, probably ice cream, by a little. Or better, frozen custard. 


 



Wine or beer or soda or what? 

Definitely soda. I’m a Mountain Dew guy, in all its varieties. 


 

Where would you like to visit? 

I’d love to visit New Zealand. I’m a big Lord of the Rings fan and I’d love to see some of the locations where they filmed the Peter Jackson movies. 

 


Favorite musical artist.  

I love the vocal group Voces8. They are an English group of eight artists and they are unmatched. 

 


Do you listen to music when you write?  What? I love to listen to movie soundtracks when I write. They don’t have words to distract me and they help me focus. 


 

What makes you laugh? 

Stupid dad jokes. I’m definitely a stereotypical dad, and I’m proud of it. 

 


Favorite work of art or sculpture. 

I love “The Night Watch” by Rembrandt. I saw it in person and it is breathtaking and much larger than it seems in textbooks. 

 


How old were you when you started writing? 

Very young. I still have my creative illustrated books from when I was about seven or eight. 

 


Do you plan out your book with outlines and notecards? Or just write? 

I use a computer program, called Scrivener that lets you create a bunch of digital notecards and documents that you can organize in folders. 



 



Describe your perfect evening.

A perfect evening is one in which I can be productive after having a good meal with my family. I will have time to work on creative projects with nowhere else to go all while sitting in the comfort of my favorite chair or working in my office. 

 

Where do you get your inspiration?

I often find inspiration in music. Music so easily invokes powerful emotions and I hope that my writing can do the same. It takes a lot more to make words do that, though! 


 

What do you do when you get a writer's block? 

I shift my focus to another project for a while and give my mind a break from that original project before going back to it. Usually, that’s all I need. There’s no point in running up against a break wall until you’re super frustrated.

 

 

Who is your favorite author? 

Brandon Sanderson. 





 

Best book you ever read.

I have many favorites, but one of the best overall experiences was “Jonathan Strange and Mister Norrell.” It is such an ingenious book! 

 



Last book you read. 

I just read “The Worry Cure”, which is a great book about metacognition, training yourself to think in positive ways about your own thoughts.

 

 

What would you do for a living if you weren’t a writer? 

I’m also an instructional designer, which actually does involve quite a bit of writing. I’d also love to be a professional musician, and I already do a bunch of singing on the side. 


 

Who is the one person who has influenced your personal life the most and why? 

My father. He showed me what it meant to be a strong family man who balances his career with his personal responsibilities and is willing to sacrifice anything for those he loves. He’s a man of integrity and compassion and my prime example about how to conduct myself. I am very blessed to be his son. 

 

If you could sit down and have a conversation with ONE person, living or dead, real or fictional, who would it be and why? 

I’d love to speak with Beethoven. He’s my favorite composer and as I actually speak German, I could talk to him in his native language. He also overcame so much adversity to leave the world a lasting legacy. I think it would be fascinating to get to know him personally and learn firsthand how he went about composing music. 





 

What advice would you give someone who aspired to be a writer?  

Be patient. Nothing in the publishing world goes quickly. While you are waiting to hear back about a project you have submitted, start something else. Thicken your skin and get ready to learn to keep pushing on despite rejection. It can be done, and the rewards are wonderful. 


 

Do you have some links for us to follow you?

 

Facebook: www.facebook.com/authormichaelyoung

Website: www.authormichaelyoung.com

Twitter: www.twitter.com/mdybyu

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Michael-Young/e/B003HCB8AE

YouTube Channel: https://bit.ly/michaelyoungmusic










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Note:

Vision and Verse does not store any personal information like email addresses, home addresses, etc. We do not give any information to third parties. And cookies? We eat cookies.

Tuesday, January 10, 2023

BOOK REVIEW: The Shaman’s Secret, A Manny Rivera Mystery by Rich Curtin


 I am always sad when I finish a Manny Rivera book. I miss him already. The Shaman’s Secret by Rich Curtin is another well written, well plotted Southwest mystery with my favorite Deputy Sheriff, Manny Rivera. Deputy Rivera has not one, but  two mysteries to solve in this one but Manny, as always, up to the challenge. 

The topic of wildlife conservation is timely and relevant. The ancient petroglyphs introduced a new topic of Southwest history that I found interesting. 

I love Curtin’s descriptions of the gorgeous four corners area of our country, and it immediately brings me back to my beloved Southwest. And Manny is one of the best fictional lawmen in current literary fiction. 

Yo, Netflix! This would make a great TV series.







VISION AND VERSE DISCLAIMER

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Vision and Verse does not store any personal information like email addresses, home addresses, etc. We do not give any information to third parties. And cookies? We eat cookies.

Sunday, January 8, 2023

SCHEDULE: January 9 - 13, 2023


 Mon., January 9 - ART:
Nuclear Nuns
by Parker Kauffman 

Tues., January 10 - BOOK REVIEW:
The Shaman's Secret
by Rich Curtin

Wed., January 11- INTERVIEW:
Multi-Genre Author
Michael D. Young
 
Thurs., January 12 - TV TIME:
Slumberland 
(Netflix)

Fri., January 13 - BOOK:
Dark Return,
Belterra, Time After Time
by Carol Ann Kauffman 








VISION AND VERSE DISCLAIMER

Note:

Vision and Verse does not store any personal information like email addresses, home addresses, etc. We do not give any information to third parties. And cookies? We eat cookies.