The Write Stuff

Happy April everyone,

Spring has sprung here in beautiful Ontario, Canada. Winter snows have (hopefully) given way to April showers. The birds and squirrels have made their return, which means the nice weather can’t be far behind.

One of the most enjoyable things for me is to sit in the sunshine and read a fantastic fantasy book. I love being transported to some other world to take part or follow along on an adventure. A love of fantasy came early. I was in grade 3 when Mr. Mayes read The Hobbit to our class – I was hooked!

Over the intervening years, I have read The Lord of the Rings several times. I have also read some lesser fantasy type novels like the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon. I have also read epic fantasy stories, like The Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini.

Like many readers, I find an author I enjoy and then I read everything they’ve written, or at least, I try to. To help you along with that, I am excited to introduce you to some authors and books you may not have heard of, but everyone needs more books for their TBR list, and a good adventure story.

VISITOR Preview by Wayne Meyers

Professor Douglas Keller meets extraterrestrial Aldrea, a beautiful Quenterian scientist stranded on Earth, while hiking in the Adirondack Mountains. Hunted by the FBI and a warring faction of Aldrea’s people called the Radicals, she turns to Doug for help. Doug is no hero, but after Aldrea used her telepathic abilities to heal him from a lethal wound, a psychic bond formed between them that opened their minds to each other in ways Doug cannot understand and Aldrea cannot explain.

In a nightmarish turn for the worst, Doug, Aldrea, and the FBI agents find themselves very far from Earth in the middle of a violent galactic coup engineered by the ruthless Radical leader, Veera, who aspires to dominate the galaxy. They must defeat Veera before Earth is enslaved—or destroyed. Out of their league and out of time, only the bond between Doug and Aldrea might prevent disaster, if they can figure out how to use it to defeat Veera before it’s too late.

Queen of Serpents by Dan R. Arman

The story of Egle comes from Lithuanian folklore and, while it may be well-known in Europe, it is not often told to American audiences. Through its more than 100 different versions, It tells the tale of a young girl who discovers a grass snake in her blouse while bathing with her sisters. The snake refuses to leave her clothes unless she agrees to marry him. Unaware of the consequences of her actions, she finally relents. Days later, an army of grass snakes arrives to collect her and take her off to their kingdom under the sea. Attempting to thwart the serpent king, the family tricks the serpents into taking away geese, sheep, and even a cow. But eventually, the serpent people wise up and force them to surrender Egle. She is taken to the serpent king’s palace where she is surprised to find that he is no longer a snake but a handsome man. They marry and she bears him children. But she still longs for home. In this retelling, the author is most interested in what happens to the adult Egle, the anger that over the years transforms into a love of her captor husband and how that love has had a transformative power over the serpent king as well. It’s also a story about choices and consequences and the guilt and resentment that can arise when one makes a choice that harms others.

April Books - Get these books fast! This promotion ends April 30th!

Feeling Epic - Get these books fast! This promotion ends April 30th!

For all my future happenings, contests and giveaways, join me on my website at patrickpenwright.com. Be sure to follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok.

Cheers,

Paddy

P.S. Today, I have a fun surprise to share with you...

I’ve teamed up with 50 fantastic authors to give away a huge collection of Young Adult Sci-Fi & Fantasy novels to 2 lucky winners! Oh, and did I mention the Grand Prize winner gets a BRAND NEW eReader? 😁 

You can win my novel TIME’S TRODAI, plus books from authors like KRISTAN JULIUS and S L DOOLEY. Enter the giveaway here. YA Sci-Fi & Fantasy Book Giveaway.