Lately, many people post here asking for their friends' assistance in various endeavors, some financial, others literary. I'm joining the trend. 

I sent a fragment of my fantasy novel Eagle En Garde – the winner of 2015 EPIC eBook Award – to Grimdark Magazine’s Battle-Off competition. The conditions are simple: only scenes of battles (less than 1,000 words) from published works in speculative fiction genres need to apply, and only indie writers are eligible. Then, readers vote. The winner with the most votes gets a Kindle, plus a bunch of other prizes are available.

Here is my battle scene. I’ll be blatant about it. I want that Kindle. As far as I understand the rules of this game, that’s how it’s done. Writers apply to their friends and utilize their network to the utmost. If I want the prize I must play the game.

Please VOTE FOR ME!

Eriale is almost an Adept magician, the most powerful there can be.  As the seventeen-year-old half-sister to the Queen, Eriale is found in the midst of a scandal when she turns a suitor into a sheep, she is sent on her first Journeyman's quest until the incident is forgotten.  While on her quest, Eriale is bound to use her magic to help those around her, but she also wants to do one important thing so that she can become fully adept- lose her virginity.  She hopes to do this with the help of Kealan, the courier who delivered the request for help.  First, however, Eriale and Kealan must stop an evil force that is destroying the lives of the people of Grumesh.  

I tend to be far more picky about Fantasy books then I wish to be. If a book fits into certain sub-genres, I'm generally sure to love it - dragons, fantasy mixed with Alternate History, and Urban Fantasy to name a few - but I've been attempting to give what to me is regular fantasy more of a try. So I was extremely excited to see what Eagle En Garde had in store for me.

But I didn't expect to love it as much as I did.

Squirrel Of Magic is a contemporary-YA book (don’t let the cover deceive you!) It’s a very refreshing read. Darya is a modern witch who is the witch-protector of her city, Vancouver. She lives the life of a common girl in Canada and has a squirrel, Beatrice (who is her familiar.) Darya and Beatrice share a magical bond which enables them to communicate through telepathy. Darya is kind-hearted, good-natured and loves helping everyone using her magical powers.

Beatrice is funny and adorable. Her sarcastic comments made me laugh throughout the book. Her sense of humour is better than any squirrel! She loves mango and walnuts and of course male squirrels. Together, Darya and Beatrice solve a series of interesting mysteries. Squirrel Of Magic is a collection of some of their adventures.

It’s one of those books which make you smile to yourself after reading. I really don’t know why, but this book made me feel joyous and delighted. This book has made it’s place among my favourite ones and I’m sure as hell reading it again very soon.

Note: I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Read all my reviews (including this one) at The Reading Bud

Eagle En Garde is a fun fantasy adventure that follows Darin, a lieutenant in the mercenary group, the Eagles. He lives in the kingdom of Talaria, which has a border that prevents all magic from entering. The Cleaners, a religious group, has formed and preaches against magical beings. Within Darin's travels as a mercenary, he has saved Elves, bore a half-elvish daughter, rescued witches and befriended Dwarves. To Darin, magic is helpful, not harmful; so when he uncovers a Cleaners plot to decimate all the magical beings in the area, he must act quickly in order to save his family and friends.

This story kept me intrigued throughout. Sometimes I have trouble with a story told completely through a male point of view; however, Darin's character was easy to read. He was intelligent, thoughtful and performed his job well without the many stupid mistakes that often trip up this type of hero. The way Darin finally stops the Cleaner's troops in insightful, rather than a bloody battle. Most of all I liked his relationship with his daughter. Darin might not of known that he even had a daughter until she was four, but he is determined to go see her as soon as he finds out. I do wish that we got to see more of that relationship grow. The world building is wonderful with beautiful descriptions of the magical worlds. I especially loved the Elves tree-top world where they magically wound trees together and hardened them.

This book was received for free in return for an honest review.