{"id":6538,"date":"2020-07-01T22:08:13","date_gmt":"2020-07-01T22:08:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/?p=6538"},"modified":"2020-07-01T22:08:13","modified_gmt":"2020-07-01T22:08:13","slug":"mocha-memoirs-coffee-beans-and-conquest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/mocha-memoirs-coffee-beans-and-conquest\/","title":{"rendered":"Mocha Memoirs, Coffee Beans and Conquest"},"content":{"rendered":"

Blimey, there\u2019s a lot of creativity going on out there, so let\u2019s slam out a mid-week medley of hot-off-the-press independent press projects. Today we spotlight author and publisher Nicole Givens Kurtz<\/strong> and her new supernatural private investigator mystery, a debut sword and soul fantasy novel from Sarah Macklin<\/strong>, and a new Mapp and Lucia book by Hugh Ashton<\/strong>. And we also have news of a big dark humour initiative from Crystal Lake Publishing \u2013 Coffee Beans and Conquest \u2013 in which that ancient reprobate John Linwood Grant<\/strong> himself is involved…<\/p>\n

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KILL THREE BIRDS<\/h2>\n

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Nicole Givens Kurtz is an experienced American writer with many short stories and novels behind her, and she has a new book coming out on 20 July 2020, called Kill Three Birds<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cSent to investigate a string of murders in a quiet remote egg, can Hawk Tasifa find the killer before she becomes the next target? Prentice Tasifa is an investigative hawk whose been deployed from The Order to the small egg of Gould, a mountain village. A missing girl had been found dead. Hawks investigate strange and difficult situations throughout the Kingdom of Aves. They can \u201csee the unseen,\u201d by accessing a unique ability to activate hawk-like vision, a trait they carry through their bloodlines. \u201cWhen Prentice arrives in Gould, she soon discovers that there isn\u2019t just one bird dead, but three. There\u2019s a serial killer operating in Gould, and she has to find the person before she ends up next.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

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And if you want to get a feel for what Nicole writes, you can read the first chapter of Kill Three Birds<\/em> online simply by following this link:<\/p>\n

https:\/\/midwestbsfa.com\/2020\/06\/08\/excerpt-of-nicole-givens-kurtzs-kill-three-birds\/<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cYou wanna see what a killer looks like? Look in the reflecting glass,\u201d Prentice Tasifa said over her shoulder. Her voice rose above the evening\u2019s insects chittering. Not getting a reply, she stood up and looked over to Dove Baltazar. \u201cAnyone is capable of killing.\u201d<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThose that are with the goddess and follow along her path, don\u2019t slaughter others.\u201d Dove Baltazar said, with a sweeping arm across the bloodied body between him and Prentice. The white, gold-trimmed sleeves of his cloak just missed the carnage. \u201cHawk Prentice, try to remember how this woman lived. Holy. Pure.\u201d<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s a teenager.\u201d<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Prentice pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. Baltazar, like most in the rural egg, was about to discover the true nature of human beings. Anyone was capable of great violence when dumped in the right situation. Doves like him only saw goodness in people. That was their role.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

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You check out the full range of Nicole\u2019s writing through her Amazon author pages:<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Nicole-Givens-Kurtz\/e\/B0057XEF0G?ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vu00_tkin_p1_i0<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/Nicole-Givens-Kurtz\/e\/B0057XEF0G?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_3&qid=1593613421&sr=8-3<\/a><\/p>\n

Regular listeners will know that we are always keen to support good small and independent presses, so we must mention that Nicole is also owner of Mocha Memoirs Press<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Mocha publish “engaging stories that amplify diverse experiences with vivid storytelling, robust protagonists, and fearless voices.”<\/p>\n

And they do produce all sorts of fascinating books. We\u2019ve been aware of them for a while because they have also published in another of our favourite areas, Holmesian pastiche and related fiction, such as with An Improbable Truth: The Paranormal Adventures of Sherlock Holmes<\/em>, which came out in 2015.<\/p>\n

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You should definitely go check out their site and full catalogue:<\/p>\n

https:\/\/mochamemoirspress.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n

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THE ROYAL HERETIC<\/h2>\n

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Now, another new book from an independent press, this time from Milton Davis<\/strong>\u2019s MVMedia. MV have a great range as well, but have been especially noted for their work on Sword and Soul. This fantasy\/historical sub-genre brings Black fantasy characters to the fore and offers every reader a chance to go somewhere different. It abandons the pseudo-medieval European settings of most fantasy books, and takes us to rich new cultures, the perils of the open savannah, and Afrikan ports full of intrigue.<\/p>\n

Sword and Soul not only gives Black readers real involvement in the action, but at the same time it\u2019s a shot in the arm for the Fantasy genre as a whole (we\u2019d recommend something like MVMedia\u2019s Griots<\/em> collection of short stories as an introduction to the\u00a0 fun — and fear). \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

This week MVMedia have published Sarah Macklin<\/strong>\u2019s debut novel (we\u2019ve already nabbed a copy to see what she\u2019s come up with). The Royal Heretic<\/em> is out right now.<\/p>\n

\u201cBakari is the netkoleh, ruler of the Ega empire and the living embodiment of the gods. When his eldest son and heir falls ill and dies, Bakari drowns in despair. He decides that the gods are nonexistent and bans the empire’s religion. He expects the people to rejoice at being “liberated” but talk of rebellion soon begins instead.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cIn the north, in a long ago conquered kingdom, the second queen of the empire is sent to deliver the news. Her father, the king, wants to bargain with the netkoleh but she and her siblings know the man can’t be reasoned with. Their religion was the last bit of dignity th Ega had left their people. To defy this decree will bring the wrath of the netkoleh down on their lands and hopefully the path to freedom.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

“Macklin has created a vibrant world with a conflict that is simultaneously deeply personal and epic in scope. Do not miss this one!”
\nRodney Turner, Microphones of Madness<\/em><\/p>\n

The Royal Heretic<\/em> is available in print and epub directly from MVMedia and on Amazon (all three links below)<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.mvmediaatl.com\/product-page\/the-royal-heretic<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.mvmediaatl.com\/product-page\/the-royal-heretic-epub<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/amzn.to\/2NN96zE<\/a><\/p>\n

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MAPP\u2019S RETURN<\/h2>\n

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Also on our \u2018Must Read\u2019 pile is Hugh Ashton<\/strong>\u2019s sequel to his recent (and delightftul) short novel in the style of E F Benson, Mapp at 50<\/em>. Faithful to Benson\u2019s original Mapp and Lucia<\/em> stories, we are once again drawn into a delightfully wry, very English world of village intrigues, posturing and general cattiness, with the new Mapp\u2019s Return<\/em>, from j-views Publishing. A beautiful cover again, as well.<\/p>\n

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\u201cSince the disaster that was her fiftieth birthday party, Elizabeth Mapp-Flint has been avoiding Tilling society. But just as she decides to re-enter the round of bridge parties and dainty teas, an unexpected visitor to Mallards throws her plans for a triumphant return as the social leader of Tilling into confusion. Lucia and Georgie, Diva, the Padre and Evie, the Wyses, and quaint Irene (and of course, Major Benjy and Mapp herself) all come alive again in this tale of genteel snobbery and social climbing.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

mapp’s return amazon uk<\/a><\/p>\n

mapp’s return amazon us<\/a><\/p>\n

We covered Hugh\u2019s Mapp at 50<\/em> here a few weeks ago: http:\/\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/past-and-future-dreams\/<\/a><\/p>\n

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COFFEE BEANS AND CONQUEST<\/h2>\n

\u00a0<\/a>\"coffee<\/a><\/p>\n

Finally, dear merciful gods, we have to mention another Brand New Thing, this time from Joe Mynhardt<\/strong>‘s independent press Crystal Lake Publishing. We say \u2018have to\u2019, because we\u2019ve been contributing to it. Here comes the spiel…<\/p>\n

COFFEE BEANS & CONQUEST IS LIVE!! But don\u2019t celebrate just yet, dear friendo, cuz you’ll have to JOIN US to survive.<\/em><\/p>\n

Sent to Earth to prepare the world for the coming of the elder-gods, the Preditor is here to save you from being harvested when the world is ultimately invaded and destroyed. Only those wise enough to subscribe to this newspaper (and partake in the Preditor\u2019s Guatemalan Butt-Blend coffee bean side hustle) will be saved.<\/em><\/p>\n

Our crack team of interdimensional journalists include:<\/em><\/p>\n