People sometimes ask me what’s the purpose of a writer’s group in today’s world. Why not connect online and be done with it all?

Because there’s magic when you can connect in person and realize the person you’ve gotten to know online is so much more interesting in person.

Such it is with my buddy Jon Sprunk, who is a true writer pro and a super dude. And he’s got a new book out, as well. Which means he’s taking a turn in the spotlight.

Jon, what song makes you think of your book?

Answer: “Revelations” by Iron Maiden. I’m a child of the 80’s metal wave. This song in particular evokes the majesty and mystery that I tried to put into every line of my new epic fantasy, “Blood and Iron.” But, of course, I’m not writing just for the metal crowd. This new series is about the clash between rival cultures, the friction between social strata, and the real price of liberty. You won’t elves or unicorns within its pages, but you will find magic, the kind of elemental sorcery that can destroy as well as create. I hope you’ll give it a try.

 

Wait. He said IRON MAIDEN??? Duuuuuuude. I told you he was cool, didn’t I?

Now, after all that, you totally need to know what Blood and Iron is about.

This action-heavy EPIC FANTASY SERIES OPENER is like a sword-and-sorcery Spartacus set in a richly-imagined world.

It starts with a shipwreck following a magical storm at sea. Horace, a soldier from the west, had joined the Great Crusade against the heathens of Akeshia after the deaths of his wife and son from plague. When he washes ashore, he finds himself at the mercy of the very people he was sent to kill, who speak a language and have a culture and customs he doesn’t even begin to understand.

Not long after, Horace is pressed into service as a house slave. But this doesn’t last. The Akeshians discover that Horace was a latent sorcerer, and he is catapulted from the chains of a slave to the halls of power in the queen’s court. Together with Jirom, an ex-mercenary and gladiator, and Alyra, a spy in the court, he will seek a path to free himself and the empire’s caste of slaves from a system where every man and woman must pay the price of blood or iron. Before the end, Horace will have paid dearly in both.

 

Jon’s gotten some good reviews on this already, especially about his world-building, and especially from some of the industry’s big names in reviews. How can you ignore that??? You can’t, I know, so here are some buy links:

Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Books-A-Million
Indie Bound

Get to know Jon. You’ll be glad you did.

Jon’s website
Jon’s facebook fan page
Jon’s twitter

Hey, guys. Sorry I haven’t posted in such a long time, but I just have been sorta busy. Today I have a good book for you. Crater, by HOMER HICKAM as in October Sky, and Rocket Boys. This is the first in a series, and is a great mix of Sci-Fi, Action, adventure, and more.

Lets get in.

Crater, by Homer Hickam
🙂 out of 😀

It’s the 22nd Century. A tough, pioneering people mine the moon for Helium-3 to produce energy for a desperate, war-torn Earth. Sixteen-year old Crater Trueblood loves his job as a Helium-3 miner. But when he finds courage he didn’t know he had and saves a fellow miner, his life changes forever. Impressed by his heroism, the owner of the mine orders Crater to undertake a dangerous mission. Crater doubts himself, but he has no choice. He must go.

With the help of Maria, the mine owner’s frustrating but gorgeous granddaughter, and his gillie—a sentient and sometimes insubordinate clump of slime mold cells—Crater must fight both human and subhuman enemies. He’ll battle his way across a thousand miles of deadly but magnificent lunar terrain before vaulting into the far reaches of space, there to recover an astonishing object that could mean the difference between life and death for every inhabitant on the moon.

Far into the future, the moon has been colonized and helium-3 found on the moon. A few men live on the moon and mine it of it’s Helium-3 to provide to a war-ravaged Earth. One day, when he save his best friend, the mining company owner calls him in and decides to send him on a very dangerous mission.

Crater, having no choice in the matter, is switched to the convoy company and is sent across the moon to retrieve a package for the owner. On the road, he must face everything from traffic delays to the subhuman trying to stop the convoy and, most of all, kill Crater. Crater is no warrior, let alone adult. Crater must wrestle with a budding interest in Maria, the mine owner’s REALLY stubborn granddaughter, who Crater Trueblood, a sixteen-year-old miner truly is, what he really wants to be and CAN be…

Wow. Hickam hit this one out of the ballpark. It has been a while since I read this, but it is amazing. Well, the book was a non-stop kind of book, you know, those books you can’t put down. I enjoyed this book a lot, and was joyed when I was able to check out Department 19, and will be giving you that review next week.

Sorry Again for the lack of reviews these past 2 weeks.

Stay bookworming, (is that a word?) my friends,

Your friend at TBR