- Scott
"Great short story. Perfect for a layover." When I logged in to Amazon today to check my books' stats and to see if I had any fresh reviews this review of Hearts of Avon was waiting for me. It's short, yes, but it meant a lot. As an 'Indy Author' there is a big thrill to know that others are reading my works, and to think about this gentleman sitting in an airport reading Hearts of Avon and immersing himself in the world of the book while he passes his time. Reviews of Independent books serve two purposes. First, they help future readers make the decision to pick up the book as well. But also, the authors of Independent books check to read your reviews. It means a lot to know what our readers think and that pushes us in our drive to publish more books for you to enjoy. I'd like to say thank you to Raymond Fleming for his support and review and say thank you to all my readers. Have a wonderful day, and if you haven't yet read one of my books, I would love to hear what you think in an Amazon review when you finish!
- Scott
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'Fusion: A collection of short stories from Breakwater Harbor Books' authors' is a finalist in the Best Anthology category for the '2014 eFestival of Words Best of the Independent eBook Awards!' This festival is put together by Bards and Sages Publishing, a Publisher of Speculative Fiction and Roleplaying Games since 2002, and nominations are currently being voted on by the general public. That means its time for YOU (Stop looking at other people around you), yes you to go and vote Fusion to the top of the pile! In August the winners will be announced during the actual festival which will include virtual panel discussions, live author Q & As, seminars and workshops. BHB's authors (myself among them) are excited and honored to be finalists! In addition Claire C Riley is a finalist in the Best Novel category for Limerence and Ivan Amberlake is a finalist in the best Contemporary Fantasy/Urban Fantasy category! Check out Fusion below and go to Amazon to get your free copy today! Below is also the link to the eFestival website! http://www.efestivalofwords.com/2014-finalists-for-best-of-the-independent-ebook-awards-t513.html Featuring gripping Independent authors from around the world, FUSION is the first collection of short works published by Breakwater Harbor Books. Contributing heart-pumping tales of Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror and Crime are seven stories that will thrill you, rivet you and some will even make you sleep with the light on. Authors from across a wide variety of genres, Dee Harrison, Ivan Amberlake, Claire C. Riley, Scott J. Toney, Mindy Haig, Cara Goldthorpe and C.M.T. Stibbe. The Sliver of Abilon – A Mirrorsmith Tale – 'and you thought it was safe to look in the mirror?' Diary of the Gone - Without a girlfriend, bullied by the Principal’s son, and haunted by the dead, Callum Blackwell thinks his life can’t get any worse. But he’s wrong. Life Ever After. Nina's Story: Part one. – When the dead begin to rise, it's time to put your differences aside and run! NovaFall – When the Meteor falls, the essences will come, forging flesh and planetary souls as one. Cybilla. – To claim his Muse, one man must find the gate between the mortal and the immortal worlds. Capturing Perfection – An artist's tale of love, loss and beauty in Renaissance Milan Until The Ninth Hour – Until a man loses his daughter to a serial killer, until he loses his best friend, until he is down on his luck, Darryl Williams must put all thoughts of retaliation out of his mind. An excerpt from Dee Harrison’s The Sliver of Abilon – A Mirrorsmith Tale Junah Venmark, Master Mirrorsmith, exited the wayportal directly into the seaweed stench of Abilon. The foul odour tickled the back of his throat and he gagged on a rise of bile. Mirrorsmith Guild protocol demanded that he preview his destination before he arrived but it could not prepare him for an assault on his other senses. He vomited onto the trackway, just thankful that there was no-one to witness his most pitiful entrance ever. He loathed the smell of mouldy greens – it stirred up too many reminders of his wretched childhood in the back alleys of Varna, largest city on his homeworld of Vargo – but this was kabbige soup intensified tenfold. When his heaving subsided, Junah sank down onto his rump, trying to ignore the early evening dew which was soaking into his leggings. He pulled a kerchief from his belt-purse, to wipe the spittle from his lips, and cursed this ill-favoured world. Sissik, his wail, chittered and scurried around him like a silver-furred cyclone, mewing her distress. Junah winced when she skipped onto his tender stomach, the better to peer into his face with her large, prosimian eyes. He ran a finger down her spine and she slowly relaxed beneath his touch. Junah ill? She sent. No, I’m fine, Little One he reassured her. He grimaced. The smell caught me out, that’s all. Sissik wrinkled her own nose. Nasty, nasty stink, she concurred. Junah delved into his purse a further time and extracted a couple of lozenges from a packet. A few chews later and he could smell nothing. “Next time I’ll take ‘em before I get here,” he promised out loud. “Not that there’ll be a next time!” Junah clambered to his feet and peeled the sodden fabric from his buttocks. Sissik took her accustomed place on his shoulders, hiding beneath his long, dark hair and curled around his neck like a fur collar. Wails were native to all the worlds of the Regium, even the undeveloped ones like Abilon. Some wails, the silver-furred ones like Sissik, were prized for their ability to generate the acoustic frequencies that Mirrorsmiths depended upon. Others, the plumper, browner ones, made good eating. Whenever Sissik irritated him, which was often, Junah threatened to dye her coat russet. Now, however, she was quiescent, understanding that it was time for work. The wayportal, part of the network of gates that connected all the worlds of the Regium, had opened between a pair of standing stones that dominated the headland to the north of Abilon. For your FREE copy please visit one of the links below! Tome Tender, a blog website run by Amazon Top 500 Reviewer, Dii, is currently running a giveaway special of 2 FREE NovaForge paperbacks signed by me with a piece of hand drawn artwork next to the signature. Follow this link and add your name for a chance to win! http://tometender.blogspot.com/2014/06/scott-toneys-novaforge-book-blitz.html?zx=5023cc0ddae29799 Solaris. A planet like any other, rife with wars, science and love. But at the peak of its civilization, a great meteor fell, bringing long-dead souls to Solaris, souls that had been sustained by the life-force of one lone man, Ineal. At the moment of impact, these souls scattered across Solaris, giving inhuman abilities to mortals while scarring their bodies and corrupting their lives. Samuel was one such man, a man of faith who thought to use his powers to worship his God: he watched his followers, and his planet, die. Seas turned to lava and the skies darkened. And as Samuel’s heart grew weary and angry, he used his powers to manipulate the world to serve him alone. Samuel became god of a planet whose only life was the symbiotic life so like his own. Centuries later, he discovered others, threats that had not been on this planet before. A winged woman; a cyborg; a future-seer and a child. A great vengeance burned a comradery between them. They were souls that could overthrow him. Souls that he would need to destroy. An excerpt: Darkness consumed Ineal as the voices tore at his thoughts. The sole survivor of the planet Eon, he wanted to shut off his brain, to destroy his consciousness and be nothing. But the voices would not let him. The planets’ souls, he thought, encased in this meteor hurtling through space. The souls of dead planets destroyed us. I am the last. They take me for their own. He did not know when the essences of dead planets first came to Eon. Men and women bonded with them, inviting the haunting gaseous essences to their bodies and allowing the essences to become necessary symbiotes of the flesh. The symbiosis with the dead planetary souls gave his people powers and abilities beyond their dreams. But the price, the price of the flesh was great, and an ultimate death of sacrifice and pain was given in return. Ineal was the last, and the only being of Eon who had not accepted them into his flesh. But you took me, he thought as they spoke with their unintelligible voices, whispering in a constant echo through his mind. When my planet died you came to me. You took my body to keep yourselves alive. They kept him alive too, feeding him their energy as they fed off his living essence. Millennia of time passed as the meteor orbited the solar system. Ineal could take no more. Rock pressed against him, suffocating his thoughts. He closed his mind, pulling blackness from the void beyond and urging it to destroy him and the planetary souls, so that whatever planet they would go to next might be spared. His mind’s darkness came. He forgot speech. He forgot sight. He forgot love. But the essences would not release his life force and the greatness it became in their harnessing embrace. They would not allow him to forget primal sense. Then, in that rawness of life, where he was barely being at all, he sensed a planet. They had intended this new planet as their destination from the start. The essences’ telekinetic connection pulled away from him, severing the symbiosis and sending searing heat through his form. There was a moment of silence for Ineal, of freedom. Then came the violent crack of stone, as meteor met planet. A great boom consumed him. Ineal’s consciousness was lost… almost. But his essence lingered somehow in the planet’s form. The planetary essences fled their transport, consuming life and searching for prey. "Another gem in the pile that defies genre! NovaForge by Scott J. Toney is an excellent science fiction read, but it’s also a wonderful fantasy, filled with imagination, creativity and adventure. Sometime in the future on Solaris, a planet far, far away a meteor crashes and scatters dead souls over the entire planet, enslaving people’s minds. Only one man can control these souls and there are four brave warriors who are out to stop him, each empowered by “essences” who give them each a distinct ability. Are these “essences” really friend or foe? How many planets have been destroyed when they accepted the dead souls into their bodies? Is the call of amazing power so great that people are willing to give up their own souls or will they find the price too high, after it’s too late? Is this invasion a matter destiny or can this destiny be changed? Scott J. Toney builds an amazing world to journey through, teasing our own imaginations to grasp onto each word and to see what he sees, feel what his characters feel and become part of the action as its screams by at breakneck speeds one moment and slows enough to meet the characters on a more personal level. Is there a touch of romance, here, too? I believe so! The camaraderie that grows between our four heroes is earned and feels right as the weight of the future weighs heavily on their shoulders. Without wasting a word, Mr. Toney writes with a sense of timing and intrigue that will hold you prisoner until that last page. I guess that means we are on parole until the next book in this trilogy arrives!" - Dii, Amazon TOP 500 REVIEWER Drop down drag out FIGHT for the existence for a sequel! Come one! Come all! VOTE on which book you'd like to see expanded into a second book! Romantic Suspense/Christian V.S. Fantasy/Christian! If you've read one or both, or just want to vote, I want to hear from you! Whichever book has the most votes by this Sunday, 5/17, is the winner! My wife's vote counts for 3! :) Let the bout begin!!! Vote in the comments section below! 'Fusion: A collection of short stories from Breakwater Harbor Books' authors' has been nominated in the Best Anthology category for the '2014 eFestival of Words Best of the Independent eBook Awards!' This festival is put together by Bards and Sages Publishing, a Publisher of Speculative Fiction and Roleplaying Games since 2002, and nominations will be narrowed down to finalists and then voted on by the general public starting in July. In August the winners will be announced during the actual festival which will include virtual panel discussions, live author Q & As and even run a seminars and workshops. I am excited and honored to have the nomination alongside my fellow BHB authors. In addition Claire C Riley has been nominated in the Best Romance and Best Novel categories and Ivan Amberlake has been nominated in best Contemporary Fantasy/Urban Fantasy! Check out Fusion below and go to Amazon to get your free copy today! Below is also the link to the eFestival website! http://www.efestivalofwords.com/post3276.html#p3276 Featuring gripping Independent authors from around the world, FUSION is the first collection of short works published by Breakwater Harbor Books. Contributing heart-pumping tales of Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror and Crime are seven stories that will thrill you, rivet you and some will even make you sleep with the light on. Authors from across a wide variety of genres, Dee Harrison, Ivan Amberlake, Claire C. Riley, Scott J. Toney, Mindy Haig, Cara Goldthorpe and C.M.T. Stibbe. The Sliver of Abilon – A Mirrorsmith Tale – 'and you thought it was safe to look in the mirror?' Diary of the Gone - Without a girlfriend, bullied by the Principal’s son, and haunted by the dead, Callum Blackwell thinks his life can’t get any worse. But he’s wrong. Life Ever After. Nina's Story: Part one. – When the dead begin to rise, it's time to put your differences aside and run! NovaFall – When the Meteor falls, the essences will come, forging flesh and planetary souls as one. Cybilla. – To claim his Muse, one man must find the gate between the mortal and the immortal worlds. Capturing Perfection – An artist's tale of love, loss and beauty in Renaissance Milan Until The Ninth Hour – Until a man loses his daughter to a serial killer, until he loses his best friend, until he is down on his luck, Darryl Williams must put all thoughts of retaliation out of his mind. An excerpt from Dee Harrison’s The Sliver of Abilon – A Mirrorsmith Tale Junah Venmark, Master Mirrorsmith, exited the wayportal directly into the seaweed stench of Abilon. The foul odour tickled the back of his throat and he gagged on a rise of bile. Mirrorsmith Guild protocol demanded that he preview his destination before he arrived but it could not prepare him for an assault on his other senses. He vomited onto the trackway, just thankful that there was no-one to witness his most pitiful entrance ever. He loathed the smell of mouldy greens – it stirred up too many reminders of his wretched childhood in the back alleys of Varna, largest city on his homeworld of Vargo – but this was kabbige soup intensified tenfold. When his heaving subsided, Junah sank down onto his rump, trying to ignore the early evening dew which was soaking into his leggings. He pulled a kerchief from his belt-purse, to wipe the spittle from his lips, and cursed this ill-favoured world. Sissik, his wail, chittered and scurried around him like a silver-furred cyclone, mewing her distress. Junah winced when she skipped onto his tender stomach, the better to peer into his face with her large, prosimian eyes. He ran a finger down her spine and she slowly relaxed beneath his touch. Junah ill? She sent. No, I’m fine, Little One he reassured her. He grimaced. The smell caught me out, that’s all. Sissik wrinkled her own nose. Nasty, nasty stink, she concurred. Junah delved into his purse a further time and extracted a couple of lozenges from a packet. A few chews later and he could smell nothing. “Next time I’ll take ‘em before I get here,” he promised out loud. “Not that there’ll be a next time!” Junah clambered to his feet and peeled the sodden fabric from his buttocks. Sissik took her accustomed place on his shoulders, hiding beneath his long, dark hair and curled around his neck like a fur collar. Wails were native to all the worlds of the Regium, even the undeveloped ones like Abilon. Some wails, the silver-furred ones like Sissik, were prized for their ability to generate the acoustic frequencies that Mirrorsmiths depended upon. Others, the plumper, browner ones, made good eating. Whenever Sissik irritated him, which was often, Junah threatened to dye her coat russet. Now, however, she was quiescent, understanding that it was time for work. The wayportal, part of the network of gates that connected all the worlds of the Regium, had opened between a pair of standing stones that dominated the headland to the north of Abilon. For your FREE copy please visit one of the links below! Solaris. A planet like any other, rife with wars, science and love. But at the peak of its civilization, a great meteor fell, bringing long-dead souls to Solaris, souls that had been sustained by the life-force of one lone man, Ineal. At the moment of impact, these souls scattered across Solaris, giving inhuman abilities to mortals while scarring their bodies and corrupting their lives. Samuel was one such man, a man of faith who thought to use his powers to worship his God: he watched his followers, and his planet, die. Seas turned to lava and the skies darkened. And as Samuel’s heart grew weary and angry, he used his powers to manipulate the world to serve him alone. Samuel became god of a planet whose only life was the symbiotic life so like his own. Centuries later, he discovered others, threats that had not been on this planet before. A winged woman; a cyborg; a future-seer and a child. A great vengeance burned a comradery between them. They were souls that could overthrow him. Souls that he would need to destroy. An excerpt: Darkness consumed Ineal as the voices tore at his thoughts. The sole survivor of the planet Eon, he wanted to shut off his brain, to destroy his consciousness and be nothing. But the voices would not let him. The planets’ souls, he thought, encased in this meteor hurtling through space. The souls of dead planets destroyed us. I am the last. They take me for their own. He did not know when the essences of dead planets first came to Eon. Men and women bonded with them, inviting the haunting gaseous essences to their bodies and allowing the essences to become necessary symbiotes of the flesh. The symbiosis with the dead planetary souls gave his people powers and abilities beyond their dreams. But the price, the price of the flesh was great, and an ultimate death of sacrifice and pain was given in return. Ineal was the last, and the only being of Eon who had not accepted them into his flesh. But you took me, he thought as they spoke with their unintelligible voices, whispering in a constant echo through his mind. When my planet died you came to me. You took my body to keep yourselves alive. They kept him alive too, feeding him their energy as they fed off his living essence. Millennia of time passed as the meteor orbited the solar system. Ineal could take no more. Rock pressed against him, suffocating his thoughts. He closed his mind, pulling blackness from the void beyond and urging it to destroy him and the planetary souls, so that whatever planet they would go to next might be spared. His mind’s darkness came. He forgot speech. He forgot sight. He forgot love. But the essences would not release his life force and the greatness it became in their harnessing embrace. They would not allow him to forget primal sense. Then, in that rawness of life, where he was barely being at all, he sensed a planet. They had intended this new planet as their destination from the start. The essences’ telekinetic connection pulled away from him, severing the symbiosis and sending searing heat through his form. There was a moment of silence for Ineal, of freedom. Then came the violent crack of stone, as meteor met planet. A great boom consumed him. Ineal’s consciousness was lost… almost. But his essence lingered somehow in the planet’s form. The planetary essences fled their transport, consuming life and searching for prey. Now available in Ebook and Paperback! Support an Indy author and check it out today! I'd like to introduce to you today Scott J. Toney. Co-founder of the Indie-Imprint BREAKWATER HARBOR BOOKS that I'm a part of. He's sharing with us his newest release - Nova Forge, so if you love sci-fi and fantasy, this might be right up your street, plus the guy is one of the sweetest people I've ever met. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Interview With Scott J. Toney Social Media Links | Website Goodreads | Amazon Author Page Tell us about your latest book? Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy Title: NovaForge Brief run down in your own words: Scott- Here’s a review below by a fellow author to give you a good grasp on the book. “Nova Forge is a Sci-Fi book that also fits in to the Fantasy genre. There is a distinct voice that makes this story what it is and from the onset, I knew it was going to be a good one. A meteor punches through the atmosphere and we meet Julieth, bow and arrows in hand, fleeing a scorched city with the ten-year-old Bayne. As she meets Ivanus something strangely wonderful happens. Not only can she fly, but Ivanus can help her people. Is this perhaps the winged woman the dark-hearted Samuel is afraid of? The descriptions in the narrative are strong and we can ‘feel’ Julieth’s pain and her sense of mistrust. Already she is a character to root for. Bayne is injured and so she must carry him to safety. This cleverly fulfils the ‘pet-the-dog’ theme through the first chapter and we can only hope he survives. Toney has cleverly set the scene of devastation, raging battle, ripping explosions and a crumbling city in this opening chapter that will keep readers rooted to the end. I can’t recommend Toney’s work more. He never fails to entertain. A five star review for another roller-coaster ride into the unknown.” CMT Stibbe Author of Chasing Pharaohs and The Fowler’s Snare Release date: 5/3/2014 Anything in particular that you want to say about it? Where did you get the inspiration from? Favourite characters? Tell us something unusual. My favourite character in NovaForge is Julieth. The character Julieth in NovaForge is an intense, headstrong female character with vast feathered wings and a leaning towards the bow and arrow. She’s tough, and yet in a world that has been decimated by years of corrupt humanity, she is the character with the most heart. She understands the need for battle, and yet struggles in her mind against it. The origin of the name Julieth has a long history for me. Each one of my books has a character in it that in some way came out of my poetry book, Dusk Crescence. In NovaForge Julieth is that character. There was a character in Dusk Crescence named Julieth who was a winged woman. She had a different personality than this Julieth, but that is the name’s original usage in my books. When I created the name I was in High School, sitting in class looking at a friend of mine, Judy. I needed a name and I thought… Judith, Judie, Julie, Juliet. But Juliet is Shakespeare’s character’s name. Then I added an H. Julieth. So now you know where and how. Julieth is a key player. There are many fantastic characters in NovaForge; a cyborg, a telepath, a dark priest, were-beasts, Julieth and a young boy who has to come to terms with the decimated realm he exists in, just to name a few. But Julieth is certainly my favourite. What are you working on next and when can we expect to get our greedy little mitts on it? I’m currently deep in the grind of writing NovaForge’s sequel, NovaSiege. It will release June 2015 and is just as high-intensity as NovaForge. I’ve got some striking plans laid out for NovaSiege. NovaForge Book Cover & Blurb Solaris. A planet like any other, rife with wars, science and love. But at the peak of its civilization, a great meteor fell, bringing long-dead souls to Solaris, souls that had been sustained by the life-force of one lone man, Ineal. At the moment of impact, these souls scattered across Solaris, giving inhuman abilities to mortals while scarring their bodies and corrupting their lives. Samuel was one such man, a man of faith who thought to use his powers to worship his God: he watched his followers, and his planet, die. Seas turned to lava and the skies darkened. And as Samuel’s heart grew weary and angry, he used his powers to manipulate the world to serve him alone. Samuel became god of a planet whose only life was the symbiotic life so like his own. Centuries later, he discovered others, threats that had not been on this planet before. A winged woman; a cyborg; a future-seer and a child. A great vengeance burned a comradery between them. They were souls that could overthrow him. Souls that he would need to destroy. Look for NovaForge's release Tomorrow, Saturday, May 3rd! Ivanus, NovaForge, An excerpt as the meteor falls -- NovaForge to release Saturday May 3rd4/29/2014 Ivanus stood in awe, watching the radiant orb and its tail of fire growing larger and larger in the sky. He stood in the market of the city of Asil. Men and women streamed around him, while others did as he did, watching death come down. It had been prophesied that the meteor would come, and then the world would die of fire. It radiated a striking hue. Ivanus shut out the sounds around him. Silence loomed past the screams of his city’s people. A vast burning ring ripped in his planet’s atmosphere as the meteor punched through. A second passed. It hit as if in slow motion, pummeling the earth miles before him, and a massive shockwave blinked the plants, city and people from existence. But in that instant, something punched Ivanus through his skin and muscle. It held his body solid while he watched the world flatten in the meteor’s wake. He watched as glowing spirits splintered and burst forth from the crag. His stomach lurched. Black swelled over him. His body disappeared from the expanse of the land, leaving nothing where he once stood. He was gone from that time. When Ivanus opened his eyes, centuries later, radiant sunlight burned his retinas. Before him, a woman screamed in pain. The character Julieth in NovaForge is an intense, headstrong female character with vast feathered wings and a leaning towards the bow and arrow. She’s tough, and yet in a world that has been decimated by years of a corrupt humanity, she is the character with the most heart. She understands the need for battle, and yet struggles in her mind against it. The origin of the name Julieth has a long history for me. Each one of my books has a character in it that in some way came out of my poetry book, Dusk Crescence. In NovaForge Julieth is that character. There was a character in Dusk Crescence named Julieth who was a winged woman. She had a different personality than this Julieth, but that is the name’s original usage in my books. When I created the name I was in High School, sitting in class looking at a friend of mine, Judy. I needed a name and I thought… Judith, Judie, Julie, Juliet. But Juliet is Shakespeare’s character’s name. Then I added an H. Julieth. So now you know where and how. Julieth is a key player in NovaForge. Check out an excerpt below involving her character. I take great pride in Julieth. NovaForge releases Saturday May 3rd. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- She fell to the ground, clenching earth with her hands and barely seeing Ivanus dragging Bayne’s limp body away from her. Her back quaked as something ripped from her flesh. It felt like a writhing serpent, moving, but still connected to her. A moment later another surge of pain struck her as another massive thing burst out of her back. A slimy substance oozed around her on the red soil. The pain receded as regular sight returned. Feathers blew in the wind away from her, covered in the same gooey substance on the earth around her body. “You have wings!” Ivanus called out nearby. “Vast, beautiful wings. I didn’t know what they were when I saw them in my sight.” What is he saying? Julieth worked through the remaining pain, trying to pull together her thoughts. She could move the things protruding from her back, and could feel them as if they were her limbs. What is going on? Do I really have wings? She could believe it if she had somehow bonded with an essence, but had never seen wings in person before. All species of flight perished shortly after the meteor, except for one man who had been possessed by the essences. He was rumored to be part dragon, but she had never seen him. Whatever struck me when Ivanus arrived, those must have been essences from his time, if he is telling the truth. Julieth touched her chest where the things had entered her, and then reached around her back to feel for their markings. Her hands touched slime, and then the intricate patterns of fresh muscle and feathers. A shiver ran through her and she used the new muscles protruding from her back to curve her wings before her and into her sight. Their ivory white feathers were beautiful. They are a part of me, she thought in surreal wonder. |
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