Backlist Blog Hop: My First Two Books

This blog hop is to promote an author's older books, and I have a couple of those. They're not really that old, but it's nice to pull them up into the spotlight once in a while.

Forest of Fenris was the first book I had published, and it was also the first fantasy story that I had ever finished. I really like this book, becuase it was one of those that just happened. I was just going to write a response to a prompt, then it continued with the next prompt, and the one after that, until the whole story was laid out before me. All I had to do was write it down.

These characters just came to me out of the blue, and their story ran smoothly. I didn't really have any bumps in the road with it; it was pretty straight forward. 

Never bet against a dark forest filled with monsters...

Desperate for the approval he hopes it will gain him, Mihai accepts a challenge from his brother: Venture into Fenris Forest, and retrieve a leaf from a rare tree to prove he did it. Though he has been warned to avoid the forest and the monsters that fill it all his life, Mihai’s longing for approval trumps his fear. Mihai soon realizes, however, that it is his fear he should have heeded. Just as victory seems within his grasp, he is attacked by warg, the most dangerous beasts in the forest. Alone and helpless, Mihai resigns himself to being just one more person who went into the woods and never came out—

...until he is saved in the most unexpected of ways.

Desert Fire was my second released book and it is the sequel to Forest of Fenris. As with FoF, this story was one that just came to me as well, and though it started out one way, the characters took it another, and I just went with it.

I think it turned out rather nicely, though one character in particular is wanting his own story told. It's planned, but not written yet, though it will be.

This story was not inspired from a prompt, but rather from Brand, who was first met in FoF. Brand took over and demanded his own happy ending -- and he got it. This is, perhaps, one of the books I am the most proud of.

Brand is a man adrift: he is wolf shifter and fire mage, a traitor to his people for saving a friend on whom he turned his back long ago, a friend who no longer has need of him. He has no place to call home, no one to call family or friend, and no idea where he belongs.

With nothing better to do, he decides to seek out the infamous dragons in the firelands, curious to see if their fires will be hot enough to burn a fire witch, to see if perhaps a place that welcomes fire might have a place for him...

* * * CONTEST * * *

The contest is pretty straight forward. One (1) commenter will win a book of his/her choice from my backlist, and all you have to do is comment on this post with your book of choice, your preferred format, and your e-mail address.So get commenting people, you can grab a copy of any of the books you see on the left sidebar!

Have a nice weekend everyone, and enjoy the rest of the participants in the blog hop!