Boosting the Signal: Stronger Than Blood, by Genevieve Griffin

Genevieve Griffin is a local writer friend of mine, about whom I’ve already posted, when I put up my review of her YA werewolf novel. But now I’m delighted to feature her on today’s doubleheader for Boosting the Signal, and to give you a chance to hear about her heroine, B!

Stronger Than Blood

The first real assignment that got dropped in my lap at Gilman High: write an essay about my most important goal.

I didn’t exactly dive into that with enthusiasm. It wasn’t like I had an easy answer, after all, considering my…unique circumstances. On the other hand, maybe it wasn’t simple for the normal kids, either. Lacey confidently dashed off an essay about non-profit work, which figured, but Madison muttered for a while about parental expectations versus what she actually wanted, and then, grumbling, went with the safe version just in case. Emily dithered. Lin went unexpectedly thoughtful, and wouldn’t show anyone a word. And Jake blew off the whole thing as a joke, regaling us all in the middle of lunch with his dreams of becoming a circus clown. The grammar alone was a crime against nature, but at least it was colorful.

Brandon, meanwhile, didn’t do his at all.

When the due date rolled around and Mr. McKay asked for Brandon’s essay, he offered nothing. He just shrugged and reclined in his chair. God only knew how he could recline in those painful, unforgiving things, but he managed it anyway. “I’m not really into the ‘where do you see yourself in five years?’ question,” Brandon drawled. “Unless the answer’s ‘lounging on a beach somewhere.’”

Our teacher sighed. “Brandon…”

“Knock off the points if you want,” he said. “I don’t have it.” Then he shut his eyes, obviously considering the conversation over. There wasn’t much Mr. McKay could do except mark down an “incomplete” and glare.

That left me as the next to turn mine in. And of course I had to go limping up the aisle to deliver it.

I’m sure my wonky health and wonkier social skills would be enough to make everyone wonder about my prospects. Okay, then: the barely functional misfit is going to do what, exactly? Go into gymnastics? Star in the movies? Run for president? I still had no idea, and I felt stupid enough presenting the utterly clichéd, I’m-Gonna-Go-Be-Inspirational! version my brother coached me through.

(“You know it’s total bullshit,” I’d told Grey, after groaning over my own writing. “Me as some kind of motivational speaker? Exhibit A in overcoming obstacles? I’m not exactly Little Miss Plucky, here.” His sardonic reply was that high schools thrive on bullshit. Given the evidence so far, I decided he might have a point.)

But after all that, there I was anyway, handing over my so-called masterwork. I couldn’t exactly beat a hasty retreat afterward, but I did my best. Of course it meant I had to walk past Brandon again. At least he didn’t pull any truly stupid tricks this time, not like tripping me the way he did on my first day.

He did, however, do something almost worse. He smirked up at me and whispered, “So what did you come up with, werewolf girl?”

I stopped cold, went wordless, and stared straight back.

What was there to say, after all? How was I supposed to plan for the future when that was my problem? I wasn’t even human, not really. The things I wanted–having an ordinary, pain-free life. Not needing to lie about myself. Getting out of town and maybe even traveling the world, I don’t know. Even just something simple, like going on a full-moon date without ripping out the guy’s throat mid-movie. Anything–were pretty remote possibilities.

Brandon knew that. He and I were the only werewolves in the room, after all. And I guess he could smirk about it, being luckier than I was, somehow or other. He was the healthy one. He wasn’t waging a constant war against his own body every month, and losing, painfully, with every change.

Then again, his smile was turning oddly self-deprecating. It put me off-balance for reasons that had nothing to do with my aching knees.

For the first time, his question didn’t seem entirely like a tease–because he wasn’t even pretending he had an answer for himself, either.

So. What did you come up with, werewolf girl? I thought in echo as I walked off, oddly nervous now. What are your real goals in life?

Surviving? Healing? Maybe something a little bit more?

I didn’t even dare voice that. I just hunkered down at my desk, hiding under my long, tangled hair. I could tell that Brandon was peering back at me anyway. For now, I ignored it. Maybe there was more going on under the surface with him than I’d thought, but I still wasn’t ready to confide in him about anything.

On the other hand, he’d already started dropping hints to me about other things, too. Like the existence of an entire pack I didn’t know yet. Other werewolves. Other possibilities. And if that was true, maybe somebody out there might understand.

Okay, then, Mr. McKay, I thought, imagining this as my essay–and imagining his face if he ever actually got to read it. Here’s my goal. Meet an entire pack full of dangerous, deadly werewolves, convince them somehow to help me, maybe find a place I finally fit…and if that doesn’t work out, get me, my friends, and my brother out of this unscathed. How does that sound?

Almost as if he’d heard me, Brandon grinned. And Lacey leaned over to whisper, “Don’t worry about him. I think what you said was inspiring.”

I blinked, suddenly disconcerted. “Um. What?”

“Your essay. I read it, remember? That whole part about overcoming obstacles? I could tell you really meant it.”

I gave her a disbelieving look. Brandon laughed outright. And I turned away before either of them could see me blush, which meant I was looking at the calendar on my student planner instead. I touched the wide, white circle of the next full moon, looming all too close, and I chuckled wryly, too.

Yep. I had a goal, maybe even some help…and I had a deadline.

What could possibly go wrong?

Genre: YA Urban Fantasy

Buy the Book: Amazon.com

Follow the Author On: Twitter | Tumblr

Mirrored from angelahighland.com.

Boosting the Signal: Stronger Than Blood, by Genevieve Griffin

Genevieve Griffin is a local writer friend of mine, about whom I’ve already posted, when I put up my review of her YA werewolf novel. But now I’m delighted to feature her on today’s doubleheader for Boosting the Signal, and to give you a chance to hear about her heroine, B!

Stronger Than Blood

The first real assignment that got dropped in my lap at Gilman High: write an essay about my most important goal.

I didn’t exactly dive into that with enthusiasm. It wasn’t like I had an easy answer, after all, considering my…unique circumstances. On the other hand, maybe it wasn’t simple for the normal kids, either. Lacey confidently dashed off an essay about non-profit work, which figured, but Madison muttered for a while about parental expectations versus what she actually wanted, and then, grumbling, went with the safe version just in case. Emily dithered. Lin went unexpectedly thoughtful, and wouldn’t show anyone a word. And Jake blew off the whole thing as a joke, regaling us all in the middle of lunch with his dreams of becoming a circus clown. The grammar alone was a crime against nature, but at least it was colorful.

Brandon, meanwhile, didn’t do his at all.

When the due date rolled around and Mr. McKay asked for Brandon’s essay, he offered nothing. He just shrugged and reclined in his chair. God only knew how he could recline in those painful, unforgiving things, but he managed it anyway. “I’m not really into the ‘where do you see yourself in five years?’ question,” Brandon drawled. “Unless the answer’s ‘lounging on a beach somewhere.’”

Our teacher sighed. “Brandon…”

“Knock off the points if you want,” he said. “I don’t have it.” Then he shut his eyes, obviously considering the conversation over. There wasn’t much Mr. McKay could do except mark down an “incomplete” and glare.

That left me as the next to turn mine in. And of course I had to go limping up the aisle to deliver it.

I’m sure my wonky health and wonkier social skills would be enough to make everyone wonder about my prospects. Okay, then: the barely functional misfit is going to do what, exactly? Go into gymnastics? Star in the movies? Run for president? I still had no idea, and I felt stupid enough presenting the utterly clichéd, I’m-Gonna-Go-Be-Inspirational! version my brother coached me through.

(“You know it’s total bullshit,” I’d told Grey, after groaning over my own writing. “Me as some kind of motivational speaker? Exhibit A in overcoming obstacles? I’m not exactly Little Miss Plucky, here.” His sardonic reply was that high schools thrive on bullshit. Given the evidence so far, I decided he might have a point.)

But after all that, there I was anyway, handing over my so-called masterwork. I couldn’t exactly beat a hasty retreat afterward, but I did my best. Of course it meant I had to walk past Brandon again. At least he didn’t pull any truly stupid tricks this time, not like tripping me the way he did on my first day.

He did, however, do something almost worse. He smirked up at me and whispered, “So what did you come up with, werewolf girl?”

I stopped cold, went wordless, and stared straight back.

What was there to say, after all? How was I supposed to plan for the future when that was my problem? I wasn’t even human, not really. The things I wanted–having an ordinary, pain-free life. Not needing to lie about myself. Getting out of town and maybe even traveling the world, I don’t know. Even just something simple, like going on a full-moon date without ripping out the guy’s throat mid-movie. Anything–were pretty remote possibilities.

Brandon knew that. He and I were the only werewolves in the room, after all. And I guess he could smirk about it, being luckier than I was, somehow or other. He was the healthy one. He wasn’t waging a constant war against his own body every month, and losing, painfully, with every change.

Then again, his smile was turning oddly self-deprecating. It put me off-balance for reasons that had nothing to do with my aching knees.

For the first time, his question didn’t seem entirely like a tease–because he wasn’t even pretending he had an answer for himself, either.

So. What did you come up with, werewolf girl? I thought in echo as I walked off, oddly nervous now. What are your real goals in life?

Surviving? Healing? Maybe something a little bit more?

I didn’t even dare voice that. I just hunkered down at my desk, hiding under my long, tangled hair. I could tell that Brandon was peering back at me anyway. For now, I ignored it. Maybe there was more going on under the surface with him than I’d thought, but I still wasn’t ready to confide in him about anything.

On the other hand, he’d already started dropping hints to me about other things, too. Like the existence of an entire pack I didn’t know yet. Other werewolves. Other possibilities. And if that was true, maybe somebody out there might understand.

Okay, then, Mr. McKay, I thought, imagining this as my essay–and imagining his face if he ever actually got to read it. Here’s my goal. Meet an entire pack full of dangerous, deadly werewolves, convince them somehow to help me, maybe find a place I finally fit…and if that doesn’t work out, get me, my friends, and my brother out of this unscathed. How does that sound?

Almost as if he’d heard me, Brandon grinned. And Lacey leaned over to whisper, “Don’t worry about him. I think what you said was inspiring.”

I blinked, suddenly disconcerted. “Um. What?”

“Your essay. I read it, remember? That whole part about overcoming obstacles? I could tell you really meant it.”

I gave her a disbelieving look. Brandon laughed outright. And I turned away before either of them could see me blush, which meant I was looking at the calendar on my student planner instead. I touched the wide, white circle of the next full moon, looming all too close, and I chuckled wryly, too.

Yep. I had a goal, maybe even some help…and I had a deadline.

What could possibly go wrong?

Genre: YA Urban Fantasy

Buy the Book: Amazon.com

Follow the Author On: Twitter | Tumblr

Mirrored from angelahighland.com.

Boosting the Signal: Blades of the Old Empire, by Anna Kashina

Anna Kashina is a fellow former author from Drollerie Press, and I’m pleased to feature her as the second of two posts for my doubleheader Boosting the Signal premiere day! Her newly fantasy novel, Blades of the Old Empire, has just been released by Angry Robot and is her first novel with a major SF/F publisher–and here, she gives us a look at her antagonist Nimos.

Blades of the Old Empire

I am Nimos, a member of the Kaddim Brotherhood. I am gifted with mind magic, which enables me to bend people to my will, pry into their thoughts, and affect their judgment. I taught other Kaddim Brothers the basics of this magic, but no one else is as good as I am.

In the days of the old Shandorian Empire, our brotherhood rose to power and was able to place our leader, the Reincarnate, on the imperial throne. However, our timing had been unfortunate and a group of renegades was able to overthrow us, leading to the bloodshed that is now referred to as the Holy Wars. The empire fell, and our brotherhood was forced to retreat into shadows, gathering enough power to rise again.

And now, our time has come. Once again, we stand strong, and we are in a great position to restore the glory of the Old Empire out of the scattered kingdoms that formed in its place. The Kaddim are formidable warriors, wielding rare and exotic weapons–orbens–that no one is able to resist. The only warriors to match us are the Majat, but they, like everyone else in the kingdoms, are susceptible to our mind powers. Through the anti-magic laws that our brotherhood helped to put into place during the empire days, everyone with a magic gift had been carefully weeded, leaving us with virtually no opposition to our plans.

And then, a problem arose. Prince Kythar, the heir to the throne of Tallan Dar, had somehow escaped the magic control laws. His inborn gift grants him control of the elements and a unique ability to focus, rendering him immune to the Kaddim magic. Worse, as we became aware of the problem and gathered efforts to capture the prince, he was able to pass his immunity to his Diamond Majat bodyguard, Kara. As long as she is by his side, we cannot possibly defeat him.

Kythar’s magic is rare, and fortunately he has no idea yet how to use it to its full power. Time is of essence. We must take care of the prince before he figures it out. But to do that, we first must take care of his bodyguard Kara, and this is a task no Kaddim warriors are able to accomplish. Her weapon skill makes her nearly undefeatable.

Fortunately, I have a plan. If we cannot take care of Kara, all we need to do is pitch her against her Majat Guild, and they will have no problem finishing the job.

A lot of mind control work went into carrying out this plan. And now it is all in motion and nothing could probably stop us.

Mwahahahahaaaaaaa…

Genre: Fantasy

Buy the Book: Angry Robot | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Random House

Follow the Author On: www.annakashina.com (official site and blog) | Facebook | Twitter

Mirrored from angelahighland.com.

Boosting the Signal: Blades of the Old Empire, by Anna Kashina

Anna Kashina is a fellow former author from Drollerie Press, and I’m pleased to feature her as the second of two posts for my doubleheader Boosting the Signal premiere day! Her newly fantasy novel, Blades of the Old Empire, has just been released by Angry Robot and is her first novel with a major SF/F publisher–and here, she gives us a look at her antagonist Nimos.

Blades of the Old Empire

I am Nimos, a member of the Kaddim Brotherhood. I am gifted with mind magic, which enables me to bend people to my will, pry into their thoughts, and affect their judgment. I taught other Kaddim Brothers the basics of this magic, but no one else is as good as I am.

In the days of the old Shandorian Empire, our brotherhood rose to power and was able to place our leader, the Reincarnate, on the imperial throne. However, our timing had been unfortunate and a group of renegades was able to overthrow us, leading to the bloodshed that is now referred to as the Holy Wars. The empire fell, and our brotherhood was forced to retreat into shadows, gathering enough power to rise again.

And now, our time has come. Once again, we stand strong, and we are in a great position to restore the glory of the Old Empire out of the scattered kingdoms that formed in its place. The Kaddim are formidable warriors, wielding rare and exotic weapons–orbens–that no one is able to resist. The only warriors to match us are the Majat, but they, like everyone else in the kingdoms, are susceptible to our mind powers. Through the anti-magic laws that our brotherhood helped to put into place during the empire days, everyone with a magic gift had been carefully weeded, leaving us with virtually no opposition to our plans.

And then, a problem arose. Prince Kythar, the heir to the throne of Tallan Dar, had somehow escaped the magic control laws. His inborn gift grants him control of the elements and a unique ability to focus, rendering him immune to the Kaddim magic. Worse, as we became aware of the problem and gathered efforts to capture the prince, he was able to pass his immunity to his Diamond Majat bodyguard, Kara. As long as she is by his side, we cannot possibly defeat him.

Kythar’s magic is rare, and fortunately he has no idea yet how to use it to its full power. Time is of essence. We must take care of the prince before he figures it out. But to do that, we first must take care of his bodyguard Kara, and this is a task no Kaddim warriors are able to accomplish. Her weapon skill makes her nearly undefeatable.

Fortunately, I have a plan. If we cannot take care of Kara, all we need to do is pitch her against her Majat Guild, and they will have no problem finishing the job.

A lot of mind control work went into carrying out this plan. And now it is all in motion and nothing could probably stop us.

Mwahahahahaaaaaaa…

Genre: Fantasy

Buy the Book: Angry Robot | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Random House

Follow the Author On: www.annakashina.com (official site and blog) | Facebook | Twitter

Mirrored from angelahighland.com.

Day of Signal Boosting! And also news!

So happy Boosting the Signal Premiere Day, y’all! If you haven’t seen ‘em already, I’ve got the first two posts up, featuring Genevieve Griffin and Anna Kashina!

Quite excited to give these authors a shot at getting the word out about their work, and I hope y’all will consider giving them a look.

***

And now, additional items to signal boost!

Michael F. Stewart is a fellow former Drollerie author, and he’s got a Kickstarter! He’s writing YA, with zombies. And as y’all know, zombies ARE relevant to my interests!

If they’re relevant to yours, go give him a look and maybe a pledge, mmkay? Do it for Canadian indie science fiction! Do it for Michael! Do it for ZOMBIES.

***

My pal Dejah Leger, about whom I have enthused on this blog more than once, performs with her family under the name La Famille Leger! And they’ve just dropped a brand new shiny album! It’s called L’étoile du nord, and it’s chock full of tasty Acadian music. If you have any interest in French-Canadian trad, you should totally check this out. This is La Famille Leger’s first professionally engineered album, and I’ve listened to it now streaming off of Bandcamp, and whoa and damn it sounds good. I particularly commend to your attention tracks 8 and 12–especially track 12, which contains a tune I’m learning how to play since we’re doing it in session! Come for Dejah’s lovely singing and the wry vocals by her beau-père Louis, as well! Stay for the cracklin’ foot-stompin’ tunes!

The album lives right over here on Bandcamp. And if you can see the embedded player in this post, you can just click right on it! Check it out! And if you like what you hear, give it a buy, won’t you? All that’s stopping me from buying this RIGHT NOW is that I’m buying a physical CD directly from the Legers. But the rest of you out there in Internetland, throw ‘em some dollars through Bandcamp and tell ‘em I sent you!

***

And speaking of awesome French-Canadian music, Dara and I are about to scamper up to Canada for round one of our March musical shenanigans! We’re hitting Festival du Bois, the Francophone music festival in B.C., at which quite a few of my favorite musicians will be performing! Not only the aforementioned La Famille Leger, but also the Yves Lambert trio! Real excited about seeing Monsieur Lambert, since he’s the singer whose lead vocals on La Bottine Souriante way back in 2000 got me hooked on Quebec music in the first place.

And! AND! There will also be Vishtèn! Y’all may recall that Dara and I got to see them in Newfoundland in 2012, and they were awesome, and I am very much looking forward to seeing them again!

Last but most assuredly not least, my boys of De Temps Antan, about whom I have failed to be able to shut up, almost as much as I’ve failed to stop gushing over Le Vent du Nord. ;D

Forecast for this weekend is perfectly ridiculous amounts of fun, and I’ll be roping several friends into attending the shenanigans with us! Best of all Dara and I get to meet up with maellenkleth and siestabear for the De Temps Antan show at St. James Hall–two years and a day after the delightful Le Vent du Nord show at the same venue! Which means that Sunday night will be our second anniversary of getting Canada-married, which means we’ll have not only badass music to enjoy, but an anniversary to celebrate as well! SO AWESOME. \0/

Mirrored from angelahighland.com.

Day of Signal Boosting! And also news!

So happy Boosting the Signal Premiere Day, y’all! If you haven’t seen ‘em already, I’ve got the first two posts up, featuring Genevieve Griffin and Anna Kashina!

Quite excited to give these authors a shot at getting the word out about their work, and I hope y’all will consider giving them a look.

***

And now, additional items to signal boost!

Michael F. Stewart is a fellow former Drollerie author, and he’s got a Kickstarter! He’s writing YA, with zombies. And as y’all know, zombies ARE relevant to my interests!

If they’re relevant to yours, go give him a look and maybe a pledge, mmkay? Do it for Canadian indie science fiction! Do it for Michael! Do it for ZOMBIES.

***

My pal Dejah Leger, about whom I have enthused on this blog more than once, performs with her family under the name La Famille Leger! And they’ve just dropped a brand new shiny album! It’s called L’étoile du nord, and it’s chock full of tasty Acadian music. If you have any interest in French-Canadian trad, you should totally check this out. This is La Famille Leger’s first professionally engineered album, and I’ve listened to it now streaming off of Bandcamp, and whoa and damn it sounds good. I particularly commend to your attention tracks 8 and 12–especially track 12, which contains a tune I’m learning how to play since we’re doing it in session! Come for Dejah’s lovely singing and the wry vocals by her beau-père Louis, as well! Stay for the cracklin’ foot-stompin’ tunes!

The album lives right over here on Bandcamp. And if you can see the embedded player in this post, you can just click right on it! Check it out! And if you like what you hear, give it a buy, won’t you? All that’s stopping me from buying this RIGHT NOW is that I’m buying a physical CD directly from the Legers. But the rest of you out there in Internetland, throw ‘em some dollars through Bandcamp and tell ‘em I sent you!

"David Thibault - Elvis - Blue Christmas" (Watch on YouTube)

***

And speaking of awesome French-Canadian music, Dara and I are about to scamper up to Canada for round one of our March musical shenanigans! We’re hitting Festival du Bois, the Francophone music festival in B.C., at which quite a few of my favorite musicians will be performing! Not only the aforementioned La Famille Leger, but also the Yves Lambert trio! Real excited about seeing Monsieur Lambert, since he’s the singer whose lead vocals on La Bottine Souriante way back in 2000 got me hooked on Quebec music in the first place.

And! AND! There will also be Vishtèn! Y’all may recall that Dara and I got to see them in Newfoundland in 2012, and they were awesome, and I am very much looking forward to seeing them again!

Last but most assuredly not least, my boys of De Temps Antan, about whom I have failed to be able to shut up, almost as much as I’ve failed to stop gushing over Le Vent du Nord. ;D

Forecast for this weekend is perfectly ridiculous amounts of fun, and I’ll be roping several friends into attending the shenanigans with us! Best of all Dara and I get to meet up with maellenkleth and siestabear for the De Temps Antan show at St. James Hall–two years and a day after the delightful Le Vent du Nord show at the same venue! Which means that Sunday night will be our second anniversary of getting Canada-married, which means we’ll have not only badass music to enjoy, but an anniversary to celebrate as well! SO AWESOME. \0/

Mirrored from angelahighland.com.