Welcome to a book fair featuring strong female characters. This sample of 10 books is a small part of the full 99-book fair. You'll find all the books in a multi-author book fair on StoryOrigin.
Liz thinks she's just a human girl until she moves into the family cabin. She discovers more about herself and defeats someone who attempts to take her life multiple times. Who knew a magical secret could turn her into a kickass shifter?
A former car thief is broken out of jail by an insane billionaire and tasked with entering the world's most deadly car race across a post-apocalyptic island populated by monsters, to retrieve priceless alien artefacts.
Mercy Brawling learns right before her eighteenth birthday that she's an ancient witch. Not only is she the fifth element, Spirit, born in human form, but she was put on the earth for the purpose of ridding the world of the vampire race. In a span of two weeks, she must learn to harness her magic, trust in her powers, while keeping her friends safe. She is the true example of power, strength, and sacrifice.
When she risks her honor and her life to protect a child she must also risk her heart...
Kayelle Allen
You'll find strong female characters in all books in my story universe.
Download a printable book list and check them off as you read.
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One featured book is not like the others: Science Fiction, Space Opera, Fantasy, and ... Christmas Romance? 0_0
Yep, in a weird sort of way they go together. I have written all these genres. I'd love for you to check out some awesome places to get new books where mine is featured.
This month I'm taking part in three events where I get to share my work with a wider audience.
Check them out below.
Featured Book: Blast Off with Sci Fi
Pick up new reads in Sci Fi, Space Opera, Cyberpunk and more FREE till Dec 31, 2019.
Featured Book: Lights Out!
He can save mankind. All he has to do is die.
Join the Ghost Corps, they said. You'll live forever, they said. You'll save mankind, they said. They didn't say that to do it, first he had to die.
When Tornahdo signs on the dotted line, he puts his life into the steady hands of the mighty Ghost Corps. Three grisly deaths and three agonizing resurrections later, he's assigned duty on the space station Enderium Six.
He's facing his most dangerous mission yet, the very reason the corps exists.
Do they expect him to win? Fat chance. Tornahdo and his team are already dead and this mission is codenamed "Lights Out." No, there's more to this than he can see.
To discover the truth, he must face an unbeatable, unkillable enemy, and this time--somehow--find a way to keep himself alive...
Featured Book: CL Cannon's SF & Fantasy Holiday Sale
Pick up new reads in Sci Fi, Space Opera, and Fantasy on sale until Dec 26, 2019.
Featuring The Last Vhalgenn
Duty. Honor. Ritual.
One of these things may kill her.
The Vhalgenn is the last of her kind, a companion bred to serve the king. Duty and honor burn in her blood. When the queen begs for a secret blessing to save the newborn prince, the Vhalgenn answers.
But when she takes the babe to the queen's homeland for the ritual, what she discovers could topple the king and overthrow the kingdom. If she saves them--she must abandon every last thing she holds sacred, and do the one thing that will destroy her own heart...
Featured Book: Viviana MacKade Christmas Book Fair
Featured Book: A Romance for Christmas
A sweet feel-good holiday romance that reaffirms all you love about Christmas. It's Christmas Eve, and the end of a year in which everything Dara loves was lost. Everything but her little girl and a fierce determination to survive.
When a cop brings Christmas to her door, he brings another gift she never expected to get.
Tropes are literary themes that recur across a genre. Think of tropes as the ‘brilliant detective’ of murder mysteries or ‘the virginal heroine’ in Regency romances. Tropes are more than character descriptions, however. They can relate to plot as well.
Films are often identified by their tropes: chick flick, shoot ’em up, RomCon, or the well known Whodunnit.
Tropes are similar to archetypes and clichés, although not necessarily negative in aspect. Tropes can abbreviate writing — and reading.
In the 1990 Arnold Schwarzennegar film Total Recall, the futuristic world had so many futuristic elements that it was hard to recognize roles. In one scene, a woman sitting at a desk casually changes the color of her nails by applying it with a special wand, while she answers a phone. Instantly, her secretarial role became recognizable. The shorthand of her actions told us what we needed to know, without spending time doing it. If a character walks in the room and he’s wearing a white coat and has a stethoscope hanging around his neck, we expect him to be a doctor. The props themselves are part of the tropes for these kinds of characters. It can become a cliche, yes. Even become part of a character archetype. Evil laugh for the villain? Check. But tropes are not necessarily a bad thing. There are thousands of tropes.
Tropes in Trailing Kaiwulf
To see where these colored boxes come from and to understand their concept, click HERE to open the Periodic Table of Storytelling in a new window.
Ind – Adventurer Archaelogist (Dr. Viva Post)
An older woman, Dr. Viva Post was confined to a hoverchair after a cave in at a ruins injured her spine. She uses a silver “strength suit” to walk or climb limited distances.
Ag – Action Girl (Jee Tonopah)
Jee is the personification of an Action Girl. She can go toe-to-toe with her male counterparts without breaking a sweat. The day she has to be rescued will never dawn. Although she is tiny in comparison to her beefy partner, she is the undisputed brawn to his brain.
Gb – Genius Bruiser (Dane Raphyel)
The Genius Bruiser is a big guy who is also a geek. Dane is far from being Dumb Muscle. He understands the significance of the MacGuffin being sought, as well as some of the history of the Gates Technology (Applied Phlebotinum).
Cal – The Call (TRAIL mission)
The first step in a hero’s journey is the point where our heroes learn they must abandon their well-earned vacations, saved for over a period of years, and go on a dire quest to retrieve a MacGuffin. A Living MacGuffin in this case.
There are multiple Obstructive Bureacrats for the price of one in this story. Their machinations generally meet dire ends, as befits the annoying natures of the characters.
Phl – Applied Phlebotinum (Gates Technology)
As the tropes site explains, this is science, magic, and strange things unknown to science or magic. In Trailing Kaiwulf, there are various advanced technologies that are unexplained because they seem commonplace to the characters using them (intersteller flight, strength suits, communication devices, etc.). However, the defining “phlebotinum” of this book is the Gates technology. The ruins of twin steel arches over 200 feet high have been found on several previously thought uninhabited worlds. Scientists have puzzled over their intended use. On the planet Ust, they find a dying race that still uses the technology — or would have, if the key to turning on the Gates hadn’t been stolen. Finding and retrieving the person who stole the key is the crux of the story.
Mcg – MacGuffin (Kaiwulf)
Kaiwulf is a “Living MacGuffin” whose presence in the story serves to drive the plot. He’s an invisible man who can enter another dimension, and the heroes of the story must find and return him to this dimension.
Here’s a link to the original post on Melissa’s site for last year’s event.
Learn More About Tropes
A popular site for fans is TV Tropes. It started out as a small wiki for TV watchers, and has grown into millions of fans in every media. During the month of July, Author Melissa Snark is featuring a number of authors on her Snarkology site who will discuss tropes in their stories. The series is based on the Periodic Table of Storytelling, which is linked to the TV Tropes site. For this event, Melissa’s site and the TV Tropes site will be linked. Be sure to visit both. You won’t want to miss.
Each author in the Tropes event will have the opportunity to show off the varied tropes within one tale. Here is a list of appearances. I’m up first, on July 7th with The Last Vhalgenn.
July 7 Kayelle Allen
July 8 Jax Daniels
July 9 Nicole Zoltack
July 10 Houston Havens
July 11 Melissa Snark
July 13 Caroline Warfield
July 14 Jude Knight
July 15 Emily Walker
July 16 Mari Christie
July 17 Jami Brumfield
Please visit Melissa’s site and follow her on Twitter to hear more about the event. If you sign up for my newsletter you’ll be the first to hear when the post comes out. Signing up is easy. Just click the link shown above, or enter your email in the link on the left. Why not also follow the blog by choosing one of the options listed? Or sign up for one email when a new book is released by clicking here: Author Alarms Thank you for your support!