Adventures & Travels, Book Updates, General Musings, Time of the Wolf, Uncategorized, Writing News, Writing Tips

Time of the Wolf Review

By Catherine Asaro

Time of the Wolf, by author Julie D’Arcy, is a dark fantasy with elements of romance. It tells the story of Lady Keahla of Dros-Delnoch and Radin Hawk, prince of the Wolfhead Clan. Keahla comes through a time portal that takes her 300 years into the future. Her goal: to find Radin. A prophecy has named him as the warrior who can lead her people in their fight against the tyranny of the sorceress Anayha.

D’Arcy makes entertaining plays on genre conventions as she sets up the plot. In the first scenes, Keahla is trying to escape slave traders who have followed her through the portal. She sees Radin up on a ridge and calls for help. In traditional stories, the heroic Radin would come dashing down the slope to her rescue; in more modern versions, Keahla would kick butt herself. Neither happens, though Keahla does show herself quite capable of applying her ambulatory appendages to good effect, here and later. Unfortunately, the reluctant Radin arrives too late, long after the slavers have hauled off Keahla. Radin doesn’t see her again until the slave auction. Noble hero that he is, he buys her for himself. Needless to say, none of this sits well with Keahla.

Now Out in all good online Bookstore.

Eventually they work things out and Radin agrees to help, though at first he is motivated primarily by annoyance with Keahla’s blunt disbelief that he can save anyone, let alone her people. However, she takes him back through the portal and they join the rest of her party. So begins their quest to free Keahla’s land, the realm known as Tarlis.

D’Arcy creates a vivid world in Tarlis, with evocative descriptions and a good cast of characters. She has a knack for names, such as the elf Jarl, whose full name is the musical Jarlisendel Ballindoch. The prose is strong and moves well. I appreciated that it didn’t become purple or overdone in the love scenes. In a few places, it did become a bit melodramatic, but that was rare. I enjoyed the visual images D’Arcy created, particularly of places and people.

Some of the scenes in the book are especially powerful. In one, Anayha must make her way past an ensorcelled wall of roses. Having roses as demons is itself a clever twist on the usual floral arrangements as elements of beauty. The passage where Anayha converts herself into a monstrous rose creature to creep past the tangled vines is well done, chilling in its effect.

Time of the Wolf reminded me in some ways of Robin Wayne Bailey’s critically acclaimed Shadowdance, which placed on the Nebula preliminary ballot a few years ago. Both novels rely on the portrayal of a sorceress queen who requires the death of humans to keep her power. In Time of the Wolf, Anayha is a vampire; she must drink the blood of her lovers to maintain her youth and abilities. Rather than biting them, she cuts their throats. I have to confess, those scenes disturbed me. I didn’t want to see such appealing characters come to such harm! Of course, that shows that D’Arcy did a good job in drawing me into the characters and their situation. The plot line of the evil sorceress/mother also bothered the feminist in me. However, such tropes are part of the dark fantasy genre, D’Arcy knows how to use them well, and she doesn’t dwell on the violence.

The relationship between Keahla and Radin works well. The novel combines two genres often considered disparate: romance and dark fantasy. In D’Arcy’s capable hands, the blend succeeds, with the romantic elements balancing the darker aspects.

Time of the Wolf offers an absorbing read to fans of dark fantasy blended with other genres. D’Arcy is a strong voice with a great deal of promise.

Copyright © 1999 by Catherine Asaro

Catherine Asaro writes hard SF space adventure and near future romantic thrillers. Her book, The Radiant Seas, came out in November 1999 and The Veiled Web in December 1999. Her work has been nominated for the Hugo and Nebula and has won various other awards, including the Analog Readers Poll and Compuserve’s HOMer.
Book Updates, Elven Magick, General Musings, The Dragon and the Rose, The Tarlisian Sagas, Time of the Wolf, Uncategorized, Writing News, Writing Tips

TIME OF THE WOLF Book Trailer

A Tarlisian Saga

“Time of the Wolf” is a Fantasy Romance with lots of action. It was released 13th. January 2021.

And is available on Amazon all over the world and other major online book stores.

The Prologue is available for you to read at the bottom of the page or you may like to read it in the book preview.

Book Trailer by Julie A. D’Arcy. If you would like to share it on your Blog or share it with a friend you are quite welcome.
Just push share.
Read Free Preview- Click on the Book


Prologue

Come sit by the fire lad and warm your bones. The air is chill and the night long when the heavens are without the moons. Here, take a draught of this Upland Fire. ‘Tis the finest in the land.
The evening is dull now. My guests have filled themselves with good Highland whiskey and retired to their rooms. You look in need of a cot yourself, and it is to my regret that I have none to spare. For tomorrow the clans meet in celebration of the coming of the Wolf, and on such a day, every tavern within a day’s ride be full to overflowing with any man old enough to hold a tankard and wield a hefty sword.
What is so special about a wolf, you ask?
The Wolf be not an animal, lad, but a warrior the likes of which will never come again. He stood alone amidst a field of ten thousand warriors to fight to save this world. Or so the legend goes.
What was that? Speak up, boy. I am old and my hearing is not as it should be.
Do I not believe in the legend?
Aye. There are stories and there are stories. Some lose something in the telling, others gain. Who can say what truly happened except someone who was really there? And would the stories be truly worth the telling if all the truth were told?
You would prefer the truth. Nay, you would not want to hear it; no listener ever did. They find boredom in truth. They want shining heroes, handsome men—tall and strong—good deeds and fair damsels. There is no room for such things as human frailties and indecision in legend.
Yet still you would hear it?
Perhaps just this once, for in me I feel a need to release that which has been held too long. To once again free it to the air.
Aye, ‘tis midnight.
A good time for a story. A time for memories. A time for ghosts.
You say I speak as if I was there?
Well, maybe I was, and maybe I wasn’t. What is time but someone else’s dream? There have been many tales told of the man, but let it be said that I know this story as well as any man can. You are sure you wish to hear it?
Aye, we do have all night.
Then settle back, and I shall relate to you the story of the warrior they called the Lord of the Wolves or the Wolf, as it be, the way it truly was. The legend of Radin Hawk.
For some uncanny reason you remind me of him. Same coloring—same eyes. I never have seen eyes that exact color again. The color of the moors in spring; deep blue almost purple.
Well, where shall I start? I suppose the beginning is as good as any… ‘Twas a time long ago…
…a time of sorcery and myth, when legends were forged and magick flowed in the land like water. Men were real men, and women more beautiful than the first rose of spring. And under a younger sun, Dros-Delnor still stood. The mightiest castle in the realm…

Book Updates, General Musings, The Tarlisian Sagas, Time of the Wolf, Uncategorized, Writing News

NEW RELEASE: TIME OF THE WOLF

After the hectic rush of Christmas(Whew! I am glad that is behind us.)

My Mum

It has been a very sad time for me. My beautiful independent Mother of 87 years old has moved into an aged care facility. My sisters and brothers and myself have the job of sorting through my Mum’s belongings. So many memories are attached to just about everything I touch. I found back copies of every novel I had ever written, all signed that I had given to her over the years. I could not let them go so I brought them all home.

On to a brighter note. Time of the Wolf, was released yesterday by The Wild Rose Press. It is now available on any sort of mobile device you can think of, and the Paperback is absolutely beautiful. I received an author copy to check over and it really came up lovely. Hopeful you will all take a look. I will put up a few links at the bottom of this page.

Thank you for visiting today.

Book Updates, The Tarlisian Sagas, Time of the Wolf, Uncategorized, Writing News

Diving into a New Year

Well we are on our way. Hopefully you all enjoyed a great Christmas or Holiday time, and celebrated New Years eve, with lots of drink, food, and making merry. Not forgetting those new year resolutions for 2021, some which will be achieved and some which only magick could see achievable. But we have to try right?

What a year 2020 was for most of us with the bringing of Covid-19! A virus akin to a horror movie!

I give my heartfelt condolences to my FB friends, family and readers of Fantasy and Paranormal who lost people during the pandemic, and those still battling it.

Available 13th January 2021 from Amazon Everywhere.

On a brighter note my long awaited release of TIME OF THE WOLF, a Fantasy/Romance with sword, sorcery, action, excitement, Elves and magickal creatures is almost here. So mark 13th of January in your diary or on your calendar to make sure you do not miss out on your copy, which hopefully will allow you to escape into a land of myth, magick, and legend away from the everyday grind of our not so safe normal life, if only for a short time.

Doesn’t everyone want for that?

I will be holding a virtual book release on Facebook so please join JULIE A. D’ARCY Author page for updates, or Mark this page in your browser for Jan. 13th. or you can pre-order your copy of ‘Time of the Wolf’ from Amazon Australia.

Writing News

I am Back

I am proud to say I have almost finished editing my new novel, Guardians of the Underworld. You are the first to know the complete name of this novel as I do not like sharing the title of my books until I finish writing them.

Currently I am working on finishing a vampire novella spin off to Night’s Eternal Vow. This title is available in paperback and eBook.

Already I am thinking on who I might submit them to. There are a lot of good publishers out there. Or there is always self publishing.

I cannot believe how much I love writing again. New stories are beginning to shape in my head at the most inappropriate times when I have no paper and pen or have forgotten my phone. So I have to attempt to commit them to memory.

Now if my two Oriental cats would leave me alone and not try to sit in my lap while I am typing, jump up on the printer or desktop computer box. Or, walk through the jumble of wires at the back of my monitor, I might be able to get more work done.

So if you have not seen me on Facebook for a while you can only surmise that I am lost in the would of one of my novels either on a quest, kissing a hero or battling an evil villain!

#fantasy, A Whisper on the Wind, General Musings, Uncategorized, Writing News, Writing Tips

Publishing in the Dark Ages.

So it has been brought to my attention that I need to learn to blog and use social media. Apparently, these days blogging and social media are a big deal. Or so my daughter keeps telling me.

When I published my first book around twenty years ago blogging wasn’t all that popular and the height of social media was MySpace. The internet was still a baby then, and internet promotion was almost unheard of unless it was a mailing list.

Back then, you couldn’t just type up your manuscript and submit it Online. It was a process of printing up the pages and physically mailing them out to publishers. It cost a fortune in postage and computer paper and you were lucky to even receive a rejection letter. Most of the time you were just left hanging.

And finding publishers? I used to buy books and writing magazines, just to search for someone or somewhere to submit my book. It was a very different writing world back then.

The biggest help in the road to publishing was getting involved with writing organizations. The Romance Writers of Australia (RWA) was a huge help back in the early days for networking among authors and publishers. Also, I was grateful for our small writing group in Wangaratta Vic. where I live. Thankfully it still survives, although that too is now online.

And promotion, as I mentioned earlier. Online promotion especially wasn’t so huge. Yahoo Groups were very popular, along with MySpace, but Twitter was a sound a bird made and Pinterest sounded like a sewing term. Nowadays there are so many different avenues to pursue.  Facebook, Tik-Tok, and Instagram to name just a few.

So many to keep up with for someone like me. I’m a little behind on the times, but I’ve twisted my daughters arm and she has agreed to try and teach me.

Hopefully, this will be the beginning of many tweets… ah, I mean blogs.