BLOGGER BOOK FAIR 2013
WELCOME
BLOGGER BOOK FAIR -
THE WORLD FOR A SHILLING
WHEN: FEBRUARY 7-10, 2013
WHAT IS IT: This is the second bi-annual Blogger Book Fair, featuring over 75 authors and bloggers of all genres.
There will be give-aways and free promos. Plus,you can pick up some good deals on some fantastic books.
COST: Absolutely free to log on and browse.
FOLLOW ON FACEBOOK:
This year our theme is The World for a Shilling, based on the cost of the entrance fee back in 1851 for the Great Exhibition held in Hyde Park, England.
The Great Exhibition was organized by Queen Victoria's husband, Prince Albert and attended by notable writers of the day including Charlotte Bronte (Wuthering Heights), Charles Dickens (A Tale of Two Cities, A Christmas Carol, David Copperfield, Great Expectations, Oliver Twist), Lewis Carroll (Alice in Wonderland), George Eliot (Silas Marner, Middlemarch), Alfred Lord Tennyson (Ulysses, Lady of Shalott).
It was meant to be a platform where the countries of the world could display their achievements.
A special building called the Crystal Palace was built to house them.
Six million people or roughly one third of the population of Great Britain visited the exhibition.
In keeping with the theme of the Great Exhibition of 1851, I’d like to announce a CONTEST and then introduce a fabulous author and his work.
First, the CONTEST:
Read the blurb of Wild Point Island and leave a one sentence comment with your email. During each of the four days of the Blogger Book Fair, one reader will win a free Kindle e book of my newest paranormal romance. At the end of Day Four, I will pick again from all the readers who have participated. The prize: $25.00 Amazon gift certificate.
And, now the author:
Dan O'Brien
Dan is a psychologist, author, philosopher, freelance editor, and skeptic. Dan O’Brien has published several novels and currently has many in print, including: The End of the World Playlist, Bitten, The Journey, The Ocean and the Hourglass, Deviance of Time, The Portent, The Twins of Devonshire and the Curse of the Widow, and Cerulean Dreams. Follow him on Twitter (@AuthorDanOBrien) or visit his blog at http://thedanobrienproject.blogspot.com.
He also works as an editor at Empirical, a national magazine with a strong West Coast vibe. Find out more about the magazine at www.empiricalmagazine.com.
Here is an excerpt from Dan's book:
ⱷ
Fe’rein
T
|
here was a grand crystallized window
along the port side of the vessel––the Harbinger.
It afforded a view that overlooked Terra, as the blue planet had been called
for the past thousand years. The sun cast a glare over its edges. Had one known
what the world had looked like millennia previous, they would have seen the
changes. The dark coloration of the seas, the murky, bruised clouds that
covered a good portion of the land––save for the hundreds of square miles just
beneath Culouth, the world above as it was called by those below.
A figure
stood abreast the window; the one-piece jumpsuit was dark black, matching his short-cropped
hair. The tight spikes were flushed forward. Hands clasped behind his back, he
wore the expression of a military man.
His
furrowed brows formed a sinister line over his cold brown eyes; the solitude
that encompassed him reflected in his frozen glare. The corridor around him was
bathed in shadow. The only light came from the glow of the planet below and
faded illuminators that lined far off into the distance.
He was
called Marion. Once he had been a respected member of the House of Te’huen, a warrior
sect of Culouth that had waged wars against man and rim worlds alike.
He broke
from Culouth, a clear distinction being made between those who chose to align
themselves with Intelligence: fiber optic enhancements and regenerative
replacements and those who opposed these technological interventions.
The
clicking of footfalls resonated in the dismal chambers.
Marion did
not bother to turn.
His dark
eyes watched the slow rotation of Terra. His cheek muscles flexed. “So Kyien
would not come himself I see,” Marion spoke with an air of confidence.
Deeper down
the hall the lights flickered.
The running
lights dimmed and then exploded in a shower of clear sparks. Black boots walked
over the carpet of glass as each one shattered in turn. The face was shadowed
over; only the stark white pants and the dark boots emerged from the darkness
that seemed to surround the being.
“To see
you?” responded the shadow man.
Marion
lowered his head.
Eyes
closed, his hands were still firmly placed behind his back. “A peace must be
reached. Even your master must understand this….”
The man
snorted indignantly.
He still
hid in the shadows. His eyes were now illuminated crimson. Billowing energy
flowed freely from his face. “There can be no peace. There will be no peace.”
“Why then
did you bother to come here?”
The shadow
man paced outside of viewing range, ignoring the question and posing another.
“How many refugees are here with you?”
Marion’s
surprise showed visibly in the cock of his head, looking back toward the
shadowed figure. The twin clouds of energy shone like two animal eyes in the
night. “What?”
“How many
of your tainted kind walk this hollow home?”
“What is
the meaning of this?”
The man
emerged from the darkness, his features apparent for the first time. His bald
head was tan. A jagged scar ran diagonally across his face, carving a ridge
over his eye, nose, and ending just below his lip. A light brown beard covered
his chin.
His brown
eyes were tainted.
Crimson
clouded where white should have been.
He wore a
gray suit, fitted around his waist and flared out loosely over his thighs and
legs. Marion inhaled sharply upon seeing the man move into the light.
His
features darkened, outlining the set of his strong jaw. “He who kills his own
kind,” whispered Marion. His words were like a hiss, a curse at the man who
stood before him.
“I have no
kind.”
“You have
tainted the power of Terra, used its energy for the Intelligence. You were once
a man, a human not unlike us,” reasoned Marion, his voice wavering.
“How many are
here with you?” pressed the warrior with a level, unrelenting glare. A sweep of
his hand dismissed Marion’s words.
“I am
alone,” responded Marion.
The shadow
warrior turned his head and looked toward the corridor wall. His face curled
into a cruel grin. Turning back to Marion, the shadow warrior clucked his
tongue against his cheek. “You lie,” he spoke with a hint of sarcasm and wagged
his finger as if he were doing so to a sullen child.
“No,”
called Marion, but it was too late.
Five Star Review from Amazon.com:
Wow! I was blown away. 5 Stars for readability, excitement and character development.
It's a sci-fi allegory of today's society. "Intelligence" runs the show, like the Wizard of Oz behind the curtain, where everyone lives in a controlled environment and seems happy because the truth has been hidden from them. And, the closer humanity embraces cybernetic enhancements & technology, the greater hold the Intelligence will have on them.
Although it's a simple plot, the forces of light vs. dark, the story is more complex. It is entertaining and even humorous. You feel as if you really know the characters.
Like the description says, the protagonist will define a realm where evil does not sleep, and neither will you once you start reading it. The book is hard to put down, especially the closer you get to the end.
(Ten reviews - Average 4.5 stars)
Five Star Review from Amazon.com:
Wow! I was blown away. 5 Stars for readability, excitement and character development.
It's a sci-fi allegory of today's society. "Intelligence" runs the show, like the Wizard of Oz behind the curtain, where everyone lives in a controlled environment and seems happy because the truth has been hidden from them. And, the closer humanity embraces cybernetic enhancements & technology, the greater hold the Intelligence will have on them.
Although it's a simple plot, the forces of light vs. dark, the story is more complex. It is entertaining and even humorous. You feel as if you really know the characters.
Like the description says, the protagonist will define a realm where evil does not sleep, and neither will you once you start reading it. The book is hard to put down, especially the closer you get to the end.
(Ten reviews - Average 4.5 stars)
Links for Purchase for The Path of the Fallen and other Works by Dan O'Brien:
Path of the Fallen (US): http://www.amazon.com/The-Path-Fallen-Chronicles-ebook/dp/B009D2PNIU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1348005293&sr=8-1&keywords=the+path+of+the+fallen+dan+obrien
Path of the Fallen (UK): http://www.amazon.co.uk/Path-Fallen-Chronicles-ebook/dp/B009D2PNIU/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1348194299&sr=1-2
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authordanobrien
End of the World Playlist (US): http://www.amazon.com/End-World-Playlist-ebook/dp/B0072KE9EO/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1328663887&sr=1-1
Cerulean Dreams (US): http://www.amazon.com/Cerulean-Dreams-ebook/dp/B005S9ZKLM/ref=sr_1_1_title_1_kin?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1328664085&sr=1-1
The Journey (US): http://www.amazon.com/The-Journey-ebook/dp/B005MEND1M/ref=sr_1_1_title_0_main?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1328664146&sr=1-1
The End of the World Playlist (UK): http://www.amazon.co.uk/End-World-Playlist-ebook/dp/B0072KE9EO/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1328664608&sr=1-1
Cerulean Dreams (UK):
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cerulean-Dreams-ebook/dp/B005S9ZKLM/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1328664681&sr=1-1
The Journey (UK): http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Journey-ebook/dp/B005MEND1M/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1328664706&sr=1-1
