Guest Blog: Gail Z. Martin

Gail Z. Martin returns to the Hotlist with a guest blog post for her Days of the Dead blog tour.

Space, Spells and Spooks

By Gail Z. Martin

Whether your taste runs to epic medieval fantasy, daring space adventure, or modern-day urban fantasy, we’ve got you covered.

I’ve written epic fantasy and urban fantasy for quite a while now, and I’ve come to enjoy flipping back and forth between series set in the past and in the present day. I love the history and legends that I draw from to create the worlds, religions and magical systems in my four epic fantasy series. And I really enjoy getting to know the modern cities and their folklore, history, and urban legends as I create the supernatural threats menacing real-world places in my three urban fantasy series.

So it just seemed inevitable that we’d add space to the mix.

Three of our newest books take readers to the Middle Ages, into outer space, or to historic, haunted Charleston, South Carolina.

Vengeance, the second book in my Darkhurst epic fantasy series, picks up where Scourge left off. When undertaker brothers Corran and Rigan Valmonde became outlaw monster hunters and fled beyond the walls of Ravenwood, they thought they had defeated the source of the abominations that killed so many of their friends and loved ones. But the more successful they become at destroying the creatures, the more they realize a greater evil is at work – larger and more monstrous than they ever could imagine…

I love the world of the Darkhurst books because it’s really different from the kinds of kingdoms I’ve written about before. The kingdom is a collection of city-states which are all bound together by trade agreements, yet all competing for most favorable terms, scarce resources, and the favor of the king. Think Medicis and Machiavelli, in a political system structured like the Hanseatic League. Building the world was a real challenge, and I’m enjoying following the story to its conclusion. I tell people it’s like Supernatural met Game of Thrones.

Tangled Web, the third novel in my Deadly Curiosities urban fantasy series, is set in Charleston, and as usual, it draws on local legends and lore as well as European myth. When zombies rise in Charleston cemeteries, dead men fall from the sky, and the whole city succumbs to the “grouch flu,” Cassidy, Teag, and Sorren suspect a vengeful dark witch who is gunning for Teag and planning to unleash an ancient horror. Cassidy, Teag, and Sorren—and all their supernatural allies—will need magic, cunning, and the help of a Viking demi-goddess to survive the battle with a malicious Weaver-witch and an ancient Norse warlock to keep Charleston—and the whole East Coast—from becoming the prey of the Master of the Hunt.

I always enjoy writing the Deadly Curiosities series, because I’ve come to love Charleston and the characters. Charleston has so much rich history and so many wonderful scandals and ghost stories that there’s plenty of inspiration to draw from!

Salvage Rat is the first solo novel by my husband (and frequent co-author) Larry N. Martin. It’s definitely space opera/adventure not hard sci-fi, so the characters and action take center stage, not the physics. Larry’s wanted to do this for a while now, ever since we did three short stories in this universe for some of the themed anthologies at Origins Game Fair. I think of it as Bonnie and Clyde meets V for Vendetta in a Firefly-esque universe.

Here’s the blurb: Star Force pilot and hero Wyatt McCoy left his medals and career behind after the Rim Wars, disillusioned and bitter when he learns the truths behind the conflict. He takes his converted gunship, the Nellie B, and heads to the Near Fringe, salvaging derelict ships and abandoned stations and mining colonies. Dr. Beth Parker is a space archeologist, documenting the history of planetary expansion and colonization for Kalok Enterprises and the Interplanetary Mining Group. A piece of alien technology embeds itself in Beth’s arm, giving her the ability to see the energy impressions of long ago people and events. When Beth uncovers proof of genocide that could bring down the big mining companies, she’s the target of assassins. Wyatt makes a split-second decision to intervene, launching them both into a high-stakes cat-and-mouse game with some of the most powerful organizations in the system. They can prove Kalok and Interplan killed millions—but can they live long enough to tell their story?

Whether you like epic fantasy, urban fantasy or space adventure, we’ve got something to help you read through the winter cold!

My Days of the Dead blog tour runs through October 31 with brand new excerpts from upcoming books and recent short stories, interviews, guest blog posts, giveaways and more! Plus, I’ll be including extra excerpt links for my stories. You’ve got to visit the participating sites to get the goodies, just like Trick or Treat! Get all the details about my Days of the Dead blog tour here:

Book swag is the new Trick-or-Treat! All of my guest blog posts have links to free excerpts—follow the tour and grab them all! Enjoy this excerpt for Vengeance https://docs.google.com/file/d/15JT0DGmrMAq1_HgL-XsqWTebVIdKgFFH/edit?usp=docslist_api&filetype=msword

For Tangled Web https://docs.google.com/file/d/1bJEi7jqpOGMb4rNRbzXrU37LtZWa3w7G/edit?usp=docslist_api&filetype=msword

And Salvage Rat: https://www.ascendantkingdoms.com/books/salvage-rat/salvage-rat-excerpt/

Enter my Rafflecopter giveaway to win a Kindle Prize Package with a free copy EACH of — Tangled Web, Assassin’s Honor, Salvage Rat, The Dark Road and Sons of Darkness! http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/9751c04215/? Let me give a shout-out for #HoldOnToTheLight 2018, back for more with new authors and fantastic new posts! 150+ genre authors blogging about their personal struggles with depression, PTSD, anxiety, suicide and self-harm, candid posts by some of your favorite authors on how mental health issues have impacted their lives and books. Read the stories, share the stories, change a life. Find out more at www.HoldOnToTheLight.com

About the Authors

Gail Z. Martin writes urban fantasy, epic fantasy and steampunk for Solaris Books, Orbit Books, Falstaff Books, SOL Publishing and Darkwind Press. Urban fantasy series include Deadly Curiosities and the Night Vigil (Sons of Darkness). Epic fantasy series include Darkhurst, the Chronicles Of The Necromancer, the Fallen Kings Cycle, the Ascendant Kingdoms Saga, and the Assassins of Landria. Newest titles include Tangled Web, Vengeance, The Dark Road, and Assassin’s Honor. As Morgan Brice, she writes urban fantasy MM paranormal romance. Books include Witchbane, Burn, Dark Rivers, Badlands and the upcoming Lucky Town.

Larry N. Martin is the author of the new sci-fi adventure novel Salvage Rat. He is the co-author (with Gail Z. Martin) of the Spells, Salt, and Steel/New Templars series; the Steampunk series Iron & Blood; and a collection of short stories and novellas: The Storm and Fury Adventures set in the Iron & Blood universe. He is also the co-author of the upcoming Wasteland Marshals series and the Cauldron/Secret Council series.

Find them at www.GailZMartin.com , on Twitter @GailZMartin and @LNMartinAuthor, on Facebook.com/WinterKingdoms, at www.DisquietingVisions.com blog, on www.Pinterest.com/Gzmartin and on Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/GailZMartin. She is also the organizer of the #HoldOnToTheLight campaign www.HoldOnToTheLight.com Never miss out on the news and new releases—newsletter signup link http://eepurl.com/dd5XLj