December Newsletter - Davis Ashura

What I’ve Been Reading
Mike Shel is a fantastic author. I’ll start with that because while his debut, Aching God, is a quest book, which sounds 1980s, and it’s definitely an homage in that sense, it’s a quest book in which the characters are older, wiser, and have earned their rest. Unfortunately, the world turns and calls them back to action. In this case, it’s Auric Manteo, a one-time adventurer. In the beginning we learn some of Auric’s past, and Mike’s descriptive prose, his ability to insert backstory is so seamless that it’s a joy to read.
Then comes the meat of the story, the steady sense of increasing dread. The quest that feels like a horror movie with tension driving the plot. I won’t say anymore, except to say that it’s a wonderful book.

What I’ve Been Doing

I saw Creed 2, which was a lot of fun. In a lot of ways, it’s like a merger between Rocky III and Rocky IV but waaay better than both. It’s about Victor Drago, the son of Ivan Drago, the Russian juggernaut who killed Apollo Creed in Rocky IV and of course, Adonis Creed, the son of Apollo. The two are destined to repeat the tragedy their father’s started. It starts out like Rocky III with Adonis winning the heavyweight crown, and like Rocky III, instead of Clubber Lang, we have the menace of Victor Drago looming in the background.
Adonis and is fiance are expecting their first child, and instead of celebrating the upcoming birth of his baby as well as the fact that he’s the heavyweight champion of the world, he has Victor on his mind.
The actor who plays Victor, Florian Munteanu, doesn’t get to say much, but he has a presence that can’t be denied. He dominates the screen when he’s on. It was surprising, but I’m looking forward to seeing him in other movies.

Other things that happened. Hmm. Let’s see. My van was totaled when I was heading north for Thanksgiving. Luckily, no one was hurt, including the other driver, who simply took his eyes off the road and crashed into us at a stop light. We were a 1/2 mile from our destination, Paula Deen’s restaurant, in Pigeon Forge. Oh well. After it was all said and done, the insurance covered the van, we eventually replaced it with a newer vehicle with less miles, and we still went to Paula Deen’s.

Grab a book! Deeply discounted and all that!

The Gryphon Riders Trilogy Boxset by Derek Alan Siddoway

A land under magical siege. An elite band of warriors flying to its defense. To save their kingdom, a quiet blacksmith must fulfill her destiny.

3 books. 600+ pages of page-turning YA epic fantasy for only $0.99!

The Buried Goddess Saga by Rhett Bruno and Jaime Castle
A cunning thief. A stubborn knight. Only together can they save a broken kingdom.

Self-proclaimed “World’s Greatest Thief”, Whitney Fierstown, and the steadfast knight, Torsten Unger, are thrown together. This unlikely duo must overcome the Queen’s treasonous brother, steal back the prince’s missing soul, survive the horrifying monster lurking in the darkness . . . or die trying.

Book one, Web of Eyes, is on sale between Dec. 4-6 for only $0.99.