Cover Reveal: Confronting the Demon by Ciara Ballintyne

Today, I'm excited to give you a first look at new cover art from fantasy author Ciara Ballintyne. Read more below from the author about this terrific, coming release!

 

This is the first time I’ve ever had cover art commissioned, but as far as I can tell from the writers I know, seeing the cover art for the first time never gets old. I have to agree it’s a definite ‘SQUEEEE!’ moment. And I’m not generally the kind of person who ever says ‘Squee’. In fact, I’m pretty sure the only time I have ever previously said squee was when HarperVoyager requested a partial of my manuscript Deathhawk’s Betrayal.

So here it is – the cover art for Confronting the Demon, my 25,000 word novella.

Many thanks go out to my artist, NadicaBoskovska. Check out more of her work at http://theswanmaiden.deviantart.com/gallery/

Blurb - Confronting the Demon

The gates to hell are thrown wide when Alloran is betrayed by his best friend, Ladanyon, and framed for forbidden magic. He is hunted by the guards and the wizards both, tormented by the gruesome murder of his friends and loved ones, and crippled by fear for the living. Now Alloran must face his demons, or damn the woman he loves.

The novella also includes a free bonus short story, A Magical Melody, which was previously featured in the ebook anthology, Spells: Ten Tales of Magic.

When a lethal spell is stolen from a locked and warded room, Avram must hunt down the thief before the song of power buries a city of innocents beneath a thousand tons of ice.

Confronting the Demon is due to be released mid- to late-September, and I’ll be signing copies at the IndieVengeance Day Book Signing in Dallas, Saturday, October 12, 2013 from 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM (CDT). Register for free here if you’re interested to come along - http://www.indievengeanceday.eventbrite.com/.

About the Author

Ciara Ballintyne was born in 1981 in Sydney, Australia, where she lives with her husband, two daughters, one masochistic cat, and one cat with a god complex. She holds degrees in law and accounting, and has been a practising financial services lawyer since 2004. She is both an idealist and a cynic.

She started reading epic fantasy at the age of nine, when she kidnapped Castle of Wizardry by David Eddings from her father. Another two years passed before she began her first attempts at the craft of writing. Confronting the Demon is her debut book.

She enjoys horse-riding, and speculation about taking over the world. If she could choose to be anything it would be a dragon, but instead she shares more in common with Dr. Gregory House of House. M.D.

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/CiaraBallintyne

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/CiaraBallintyne

Website: http://www.ciaraballintyne.com/

~ ~ ~ Marsha A. Moore is a writer of fantasy romance. The magic of art and nature spark life into her writing. Read her ENCHANTED BOOKSTORE LEGENDS for adventurous epic fantasy romance: Book One, SEEKING A SCRIBE, Book Two, HERITAGE AVENGED, Book Three, LOST VOLUMES, and Book Four, STAUROLITE. For a FREE ebook download, read her historic fantasy, LE CIRQUE DE MAGIE, available at Amazon and Smashwords.

Speculative Fiction Video Book Club – All Comers Welcome

Today, I'm delighted to help spread the word about a wonderful new video book club called Club Fantasci. My good friend, fantasy author Ciara Ballintyne, is here to explain more about this new and exciting group. I'm looking forward to it!

 

Club Fantasci is a new video book club in the style of Vaginal Fantasy Hangout. If you’re familiar with Vaginal Fantasy, you’ll know the hosts meet once a month via Google+ Hangout to review the book of the month, and members participate in discussions via the Goodreads group discussion boards.

Unlike Vaginal Fantasy, though, we’re not limited to a small sub-set of speculative fiction (fantasy romance and erotica) and will be reviewing books from the full gamut of the speculative fiction genre, including science fiction, hard SF, militaristic SF, high/epic fantasy, dark fantasy, dystopian, cyberpunk, steampunk, space opera, paranormal, urban fantasy, SFF romance and erotica, and everything in between.

Membership is also open to men – not that Vaginal Fantasy Hangout excludes men, per se, but it’s a brave man, I think, who will admit to participating in any group the name of which includes the word vaginal. There are a great many men who are fans of speculative fiction – as one of very few women in the audience at a Brandon Sanderson book-signing, I ought to know – but their interest probably doesn’t lie so much in the fantasy romance and erotica genres. We have something to offer those men (and the women interested in other speculative fiction genres) and at the same time we will be including fantasy and science fiction romance and erotica.

If you love speculative fiction, of any kind, we have something to offer you.

The first G+ Hangout is on 31 August at 7:00pm CST, and the Book of the Month for August is ‘The Night Circus’ by Erin Morgenstern. Feel free to drop by our Facebook Page or Goodreads group and make suggestions for future books. I’ll be revealing September’s Book of the Month at the August G+ Hangout.

Here’s a bit more about the club:

Club Fantasci is a book club taking the stigma out of speculative fiction. We want to expose you to the full gamut of the speculative fiction genre, including science fiction, hard SF, militaristic SF, high/epic fantasy, dark fantasy, dystopian, cyberpunk, steampunk, space opera, paranormal, urban fantasy, SFF romance and erotica, and everything in between.

We want to educate readers on good writing in speculative fiction, entertain with witty banter, and above all have a fantastic time. Fiction need not be literary to be well-written, and good writing need not be boring or mundane! We promise you we’ll do our best to bring you a good book every month, and if not, we’ll tell you why it’s not! For a bit of light fun, we’ll also be featuring a wine of the month and picking a song that best fits the book. So bring your book, keep that wineglass topped up, and don’t forget your i-pod!

Your hosts are David Lowry, Dionne Lister (author of Shadows of the Realm), entertainment personality and model Shannon Million, and myself – your resident fantasy writer/lawyer extraordinaire combo!

Club Fantasci is also featuring a “Wine of the Month” – August’s pick is a 2011 “Suited Muscat” from Sort This Out Cellars Winery in Las Vegas, NV. Club members are entitled to a discount – check out the club Facebook page for more information.

You can learn more about us by checking out our Website

Club Fantasci blog - http://clubfantasci.wordpress.com/

Goodreads - http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/73444-club-fantasci

Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/ClubFanatsci

Hosts:

David Lowry - http://www.thelowryagency.com/

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/TheLowryAgency

Twitter - https://twitter.com/lowryagency

Dionne Lister - http://dionnelisterwriter.wordpress.com/

facebook - http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dionne-Lister/271228272940603

Twitter - https://twitter.com/DionneLister

Shannon Million - https://twitter.com/ShannonMillion

Ciara Ballintyne - http://www.ciaraballintyne.com/

http://www.facebook.com/CiaraBallintyne

https://twitter.com/CiaraBallintyne

~ ~ ~ Marsha A. Moore is a writer of fantasy romance. The magic of art and nature spark life into her writing. Read her ENCHANTED BOOKSTORE LEGENDS for adventurous epic fantasy romance: Book One, SEEKING A SCRIBE, and Book Two, HERITAGE AVENGED. She has also authored the Ciel's Legacy series, with fast action mermaid/pirate storylines: TEARS ON A TRANQUIL LAKE and TORTUGA TREASURE.  For a FREE ebook download, read her historic fantasy, LE CIRQUE DE MAGIE, available at Amazon and Smashwords.