Wednesday, October 10, 2012

"The Dark Lady" by R.J. Hore {Review & Giveaway - Ends 10/21}



Synopsis: 


A young girl, Nefasti, wakes to discover her father, the King of the ancient kingdom of Vadio, has been poisoned and her mother, the Queen, is near death, leaving her the sole heir to the crown. Princess Nefasti has three uncles who feel otherwise. Two uncles believe the solution to controlling the kingdom is to betroth her to one of their sons, the third thinks that by marrying her himself he will secure the crown. To compound Nefasti’s problems, Vadio is surrounded by three hostile kingdoms, the remnants of the days when Vadio ruled most of the known world. These kingdoms plot to take control, whether through an arranged marriage, or war, or by whatever manner they can.

Princess Nefasti has two main goals, to survive, and to discover who is responsible for the death of her parents. Surrounded on all sides by plots, in order to save her life, is she destined to the side of darkness, or is she simply a misunderstood child? She must find allies and use her wits while trying to hold on to the throne. If I had to look at what prompted the idea for this novel, it was first wondering how certain individuals in fiction or history obtain their reputation, and second, looking at the life of Queen Elizabeth the First as a young girl in a precarious position surrounded by scheming nobles.


About the Author, R.J. Hore:




A reader of genre fiction since a very early age, got down to serious attempts at writing over thirty years ago, although employment kept getting in the way.

 I did write a considerable amount of non-fiction during my business career, enough to be listed as a professional writer by the Canadian Authors Association.

 Hobbies include trying to keep on the good side of my wife, keeping track of my children and grandchildren, and wrestling the blasted cat off of the keyboard. In my diminishing spare time I sail on Lake Winnipeg and try not to get lost.

 My writing history includes:

 Winning first prize in a National Canadian Authors short story contest (a romantic ghost story) and having that published in an anthology, and having a modern vampire tale published in an anthology that seems to be doing quite well.

 A current member of three writing organizations, for several years I was in charge of the judging for a national Canadian history book contest, and chaired a writer’s workshop in Winnipeg that self-published an anthology, including three of my pieces: a sci fi piece, an attempt at an epic poem, and a true tale of how I almost drowned my brother and his wife in a storm the first year I owned a sailboat.

 I currently review science fiction and fantasy genre novels and anthologies for an on-line magazine aimed primarily at school libraries. I’m losing track, but I have done somewhere over 60 reviews so far.

 In 20I0 co-authored a non fiction history: “The Rotary Club of Winnipeg-100 Years of Service”.

 Through BURST Books, writing as R.J.Hore, I have a medieval fantasy tale of murder and intrigue entitled “The Dark Lady” that came out in February 2012 and a fantasy detective story scheduled for December 2012 called “Housetrap”. Housetrap is designed as the first in a series of novellas; I have three others in the set already completed, but not scheduled, as of this date: “Dial M for Mudder,” “The House on Hollow Hill,” and “Hounds of Basalt Ville.” Already scheduled for publication, I have a novella “Knight’s Bridge” another medieval tale arriving in March 2013, and a full length novel, again a medieval fantasy, working title “Pawn, Queen, Checkmate,” coming out in April 2013.

 And of course, I also have a large stack of completed manuscripts in various stages ranging from a “What If” — the North Americans discovered Europe first, set in 1215AD – to a contemporary bickering married couple swept away to an alterative universe, or a futuristic tale of a lady archeologist set in outer space.

Learn more about R.J. and his books on:

Purchase "The Dark Lady" on:

Review:


Beautifully descriptive book with a well written plot.  R.J. pens his characters strong in this young adult fantasy.  The quotes at the top of each chapter kind of threw me, but once I figured out how important they were, things flowed nicely.  Recommended for all YA fans.

I give "The Dark Lady" a 4 star rating.

Giveaway:


Open to those 18 and older.  To enter, simply complete the Rafflecopter below.

Good Luck!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
* Disclosure of Material Connection: I am a member of Reading Addiction Blog Tours and a copy of this book was provided to me by the author. Although payment may have been received by Reading Addiction Blog Tours, no payment was received by me in exchange for this review. There was no obligation to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are entirely my own and may not necessarily agree with those of the author, publisher, publicist, or readers of this review. My Cozie Corner is not responsible for sponsor prize shipment. This disclosure is in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255, Guides Concerning Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.


Reading Addiction Blog Tours

4 comments:

  1. Ron,
    Just stopped by to say good luck with your book. The cover and story line is so intriguing.
    The blog tour for my book, ELIZA, wrapped up last Friday, so I know the newness of the experience.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm new at this technocal stuff so it takes me a while to get things done!

      Thanks for the comments.

      Just another learning experience when I'd rather be writing.

      Thanks again.

      Ron

      www.ronaldhore.com

      Delete
  2. Thanks for the review and comments.

    I realized the number of characters might cause some readers a problem, so I set up a bio and map of Vadio that can be downloaded off of my website.

    Hope this helps improve the enjoyment.

    Thanks again.

    Ron
    www.ronaldhore.com

    ReplyDelete
  3. I hopped over for the tour and have signed up to follow. Thank you for sharing about The Dark Lady, definitely has peaked my interest :)

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...