New Short Story: "SEEDS" by Benjamin Tate

Looks like I can finally announce my latest short story sale: "SEEDS" to Juliet E. McKenna! It will be included in an anthology called Unexpected Journeys, edited by Juliet E. McKenna, which is being released by the British Fantasy Society for its members and as a membership drive perk. Here's the art that will be used for the cover:





I'm proud to be part of this anthology and thank Juliet for considering me for the project! For the Ben Tate fans out there, this story is set during the first time jump in Well of Sorrows, between when Colin first enters the Ostraell forest and when he leaves. It doesn't feature any of the characters that are in Well of Sorrows, however, focusing on the dwarren and the incursion of the humans onto their lands.

And here's the table of contents. Some great authors in this anthology!

Table of Contents:

A Thief in the Night by Anne Lisle
Seeds by Benjamin Tate
Steer a Pale Course by Gail Z. Martin
The Groppler's Harvet by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Oak, Broom and Meadowsweet by Liz Williams
The Sin Eater by Stephen Deas
King Harvest Has Surely Come by Chaz Brenchley
The Queen's Garden by Kate Elliott

Book Review: ONE SALT SEA by Seanan McGuire

I've been reading Seanan McGuire since her first release from DAW, and while I've fallen slightly behind (she's fairly prolific after all), I'm still an avid fan. This is the fifth book in her October Daye urban fantasy series, and I'm happy to say that it's by far the best one in the series so far.





This time, October "Toby" Daye finds herself pressed into the service of the Luidwaeg, who asks Toby to find the two kidnapped sons of the Duchess of Saltmist, who's convinced that the Queen of the Mists has something to do with the abduction. If Toby can't find them within three days, war will break out between land and sea. And while the Mists are preparing for battle, they haven't fought a war in hundreds of years. Saltmist is far more prepared for battle. Toby will have to travel to the undersea kingdom with the help of the Luidwaeg to track the kidnappers down. But before the end, the hunt will become far more personal than Toby ever dreamed.

One of my issues with past October Daye books is that Toby's investigations did not often make much sense. They felt loose, with Toby wandering from place to place, action to action, without any significant plot thread connecting each sequence or scene. Toby often acted completely on impulse or instinct, or was simply reacting to events around her, rather than following her own course of action. So while the stories were still fun to read, her decisions and the plots often left me frustrated as a reader. This is why they often received only 3 or 4 stars: fun and interesting, but frustrating.

Not so with One Salt Sea. This is the first book in the series where I felt the plot was rock solid and Toby's investigation into the two boys' disappearances made total sense. Toby wasn't just reacting to the events around her, she was actively controlling them and following the leads that she found as she investigated. Toby's special abilities also factored into the search in significant ways. Overall, it was a much more satisfying read as both urban fantasy and mystery than any of the previous books.

In fact, the overall writing was excellent. Not just the plot was rock solid, but the characters and their development as well. It was smooth reading and great flow all the way through. While I enjoyed Seanan's previous books in this series, I walked away from this book completely satisfied.

I'm certainly looking forward to the sixth book in this series now, and have even moved it up higher in my short TBR stack near my bed (as opposed to the huge TBR stack that's relegated to a separate room). I'd definitely recommend this book to any urban fantasy enthusiast.

Signal Boost: STONECAST by Anton Strout!

I'd like to point out that second book in Anton Strout's Spellmason Chronicles urban fantasy series, which is all about gargoyles in New York City, has just been released! Here's the cover art and cover copy, for those that might be interested.





Cover Copy: Alexandra Belarus was an artist stuck working in her New York family’s business… until she discovered her true legacy--a deep and ancient magic. Lexi became the last practicing Spellmason, with the power to breathe life into stone. And as her powers awoke, so did her family’s most faithful protector: a gargoyle named Stanis. But when a centuries-old evil threatened her family and her city, Stanis sacrificed himself to save everything Lexi held dear.

With Stanis gone, Lexi’s efforts to master Spellmasonry--even with the help of her dedicated friends--are faltering. Hidden forces both watch her and threaten her, and she finds herself suddenly under the mysterious wing of a secret religious society determined to keep magic hidden from the world.

But the question of Stanis’s fate haunts her--and as the storm around her grows, so does the fear that she won’t be able to save him in her turn.