Laurel Anne Hill

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GLYPHBINDER by T. Eric Bakutis is a Spellbinder (Review by Laurel Anne Hill)

Every year I read the opening pages of at least fifty novels.  Some in my local library.  Others in bookstores or at science fiction/fantasy conventions.  I particularly love perusing the giveaway books at the World Fantasy Con.  Alas, relatively few of these novels grab hold of me and refuse to let go.  Plus, I must do plenty of other reading to research my own stories or serve as a speaker.  My completion rate of novels that aren’t self-assigned homework or written by masters of the craft is abysmal.

So imagine my delight when I picked up Glyphbinder—the debut fantasy novel by T. Eric Bakutis—and didn’t want to put it down.

As Glyphbinder opens, magic paralyzes Xander.  His father and grandmother have arrived to murder his unborn daughter, Kara.  His family contains gifted persons who use their own blood to scribe “glyphs”—powerful symbols capable of altering reality.  The future magic potential of the unborn Kara is unusually strong.  If she is permitted to survive, mind-invading demons will claim her body and soul, then destroy the world.  By the end of the first chapter, Kara is allowed to live, only because Xander is forcibly separated from his pregnant wife and their true memories replaced with false ones.  The demons must never read the truth and discover Kara’s identity.

In chapter two, the reader meets Kara as a nineteen-year-old student enrolled in the academy of Solyr.  There are a number of magical disciplines in Kara’s world and she can scribe blood glyphs from all of them with ease.  Her main goal, however, is to heal her mother, who has a painful and fatal illness.  In secret, Kara gathers ingredients needed to perform a transference glyph—magic that would allow Kara to exchange bodies with her mother.  But Kara encounters a wounded man on her foray for an ingredient.  Wolves driven by magic attack her and the stranger.

Kara’s life changes forever.

Glyphbinder, as you can probably tell by now, has engaging characters, plenty of action, and strong forward momentum.  The book does have some unsettling—bordering on horrific—scenes, however, and may not be appropriate for everyone.  There are occasional point-of-view shifts, and pivotal action toward the end could have been set up better beforehand.  Fuzzy minds such as my own may have trouble keeping track of all the characters.  Overall, these matters are minor in comparison with the rich and exciting story.  Glyphbinder is a spellbinder, and would make a great gift this holiday season—for you or fantasy readers on your holiday shopping list.  You can purchase Glyphbinder (McBryde Publishing LLC) on Amazon.com.

Happy reading,

Laurel Anne Hill  (Award-Winning Author of Heroes Arise) http://www.laurelannehill.com

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Authors for Literacy Event in San Mateo, CA, on September 21, 2013, with Belva Davis, State Senator Jerry Hill, Dr. Joy DeGruy, Laurel Anne Hill, and More!

Attention those in the San Francisco Bay Area! Please  come to the “Authors for Literacy” book signings and readings in San Mateo, CA, on Saturday, September 21, 2013, 10 am – 4 pm. The location will be the Martin Luther King Center at 725 Monte Diablo Avenue. I’ll be reading from my award-winning novel, “Heroes Arise,” at 11:15 am in the Yellow Room. Other authors present will include State Senator Jerry Hill, Belva Davis, Marc Little, Elise Frances Miller, Dr. Joy DeGruy, Rafael Jesus Gonsalez, McHenry Skip Norman, Lian Gouw, Nadia Lataillade, Beth Barany and many more. 

At 2:00 P.M., everyone will take a seat in the main auditorium to hear from Belva Davis (Author of Never in My Wildest Dreams). At 3:00 P.M. we will hear from Dr. Joy DeGruy (Author of Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome). 

Each year for over 30 years, The North Central Neighborhood Association in San Mateo has held an annual Essay and Poetry Contest (preschool to 12th Grade) celebrating the great Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The authors scheduled to participate in the upcoming “Authors for Literacy” event supported this contest in 2013.

Go to http://northcentralneighborhoodassociation.org/index.html for more information about San Mateo’s North Central Neighborhood Association.

Warm wishes,

Laurel Anne Hill

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Lindsay Wildlife Museum First Annual Wild About Writers Celebration

Hello all,

I’m posting the following information from my friend and writing mentor, Charlotte Cook.  I’m wild about the “Wild About Writers Celebration!”

Warm wishes,

Laurel Anne Hill (Author of “Heroes Arise”)

A Unique Writers Conference

Lindsay Wildlife Museum
First Annual
Wild About Writers Celebration 
(wildlife-museum.org) 

A one-day intimate, inspiring and unique writers conference

November 2, 2013 at the Lindsay Museum in Walnut Creek, CA (8 am to 6:30 pm)

To benefit both the museum and attending writers 

Keynote speakers include: Malcolm Margolin of Heyday Books and Gary Bogue, former wildlife columnist and Curator Emeritus, Lindsay Wildlife Museum

Presenters include writers and poets and established writing professionals providing workshops and office hours to attending writers as well as Lindsay staff offering their insights into local nature and history topics. Profiles and a calendar will be available online shortly.

Limited attendance: 125

Fee for full day of activities includes workshops, special tours and consulting opportunities, breakfast, lunch and a Wine and Cheese Mingle as well as special surprise gifts and book bags — all included in the $150 per person fee. 

Registration instructions are online. Go to the “Special Events Page” on the Lindsay Wildlife Museum website. (http://wildlife-museum.org/visit/special-events)

We’re adding three contests (poetry, fiction, nonfiction) with offer cash and gift prizes … information to come online. Five finalists in each category will receive special gifts with the winner receiving a $100 cash prize and the opportunity to read at the Wine and Cheese Mingle.

Charlotte Cook
Conference Director
Lindsay Wildlife Museum
First Annual Wild About Writers Celebration (November 2, 2013)
http://wildlife-museum.org/visit/special-events

 

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Broad Universe Rapid Fire Reading at the World Science Fiction Con on September 1, 2013

 

Broad Universe Rapid Fire Reading at the World Science Fiction Con (LoneStarCon) on September 1, 2013

Going to LoneStarCon in San Antonio?  Be sure to attend the Broad Universe RFR.  The readers will include Rachael Acks, Carol Berg, Folly Blaine, Valerie Estelle Frankel, Elektra Hammond, Laurel Anne Hill, Alexis Glynn Latner, Katherine Mankiller, Tracy S. Morris, Roberta Rogow, Kathryn Sullivan, and Barbara Ann Wright.

Broad Universe is an international organization with the primary goal of promoting science fiction, fantasy, and horror written by women.

 

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Author Laurel Anne Hill at “Steam U”

Read Moon-Flame Woman by Laurel Anne Hill
Nominated for an Aurora Award in Canada!

 

Your assignment, if you care to accept it, is to head for the blog of Melanie Karsak: Steam U!  There, my character Cho Ting-Lam (the Moon-Flame Woman in SHANGHAI STEAM) provides tips for unpublished characters.  If you’re a writer, be sure your characters visit the Steam U page, as well.  Besides, Melanie has done a beautiful job of presenting my Steampunk Beyond England writing tutorial.

Go to:  http://melaniekarsak.blogspot.com/2013/08/steamu-author-laurel-anne-hill.html

 

Warm wishes,

Laurel Anne Hill (Author of “Heroes Arise”)