"That was the answer they’d been searching for—the heart of humanity they’d never been able to replicate. It wasn’t just the power to choose; it was finding something worth choosing. Something worth reaching beyond their nature, beyond their instincts, beyond themself. Something worth everything." - The Hermetic Library Blog

That was the answer they’d been searching for—the heart of humanity they’d never been able to replicate. It wasn’t just the power to choose; it was finding something worth choosing. Something worth reaching beyond their nature, beyond their instincts, beyond themself. Something worth everything. L M Sagas, Cascade Failure: A Novel [Amazon, Bookshop, Libro.fm, Publisher, […]

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Fierce Released TODAY!

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Fierce, my heroic fantasy novel with a relatable female lead, is finally out and you should be able to buy it in paperback or digital versions by following this link https://mybook.to/Fierce. Fierce is on a special introductory price of £0.99 on kindle until 5th June. After that it will go to £3.99. The paperback is £9.99. You can read the first chapter of Fierce elsewhere on this blog.

Copies of Fierce by James Kemp in a cardboard box (Photo: James Kemp)

 

 

 

 

Reviews

So far Fierce doesn’t have any published reviews, but I’ve had some feedback from ARC readers that they thought Fierce had a relatable female main character, and that they wanted more of it. NB if you’re a reviewer it’s not to late to get an ARC, the booksprout link will work for another month or so.

From onlinebookclub April 3, 2024, 6:29 pm - The reviewer wrote:The end was somewhat of a cliffhanger since Rojden was still capable of causing havoc. Yngvild willingly sacrificed Noren for Malfin was shocking. It was not completely clear if the King's ship was returning Yngvild and Noren to Straven and I hope to see a sequel. It was apparent that Yngvild loves Noren, but her feelings for Snorri and Jerre could leave her questioning if her love for Noren was real or if he was the only one close to her age in Straven. I was curious how Arald made it to Rojden when he was supposed to be deceased and held in Kronstadt by Lady Helgo Trollslayer.

Back Cover Blurb

Where are the voices in Yngvild’s head coming from?

Yngvild grew up on the small island of Straven, with her foster brother Noren, and a small group of adults that crew a fishing boat and look after a flock of sheep. It’s a quiet backwater in the Western Isles, and apart from the odd visit by raiders, pretty safe. Until the King’s Ship Seagull comes visiting, to keep an eye on the mysterious visitor from afar that has turned up unannounced.

Nicknamed ‘Yngvild the Fierce’ because at the age of 14 she scared off raiders by bouncing a practice arrow off the helmet of their leader, twice. Yngvild and Noren go to the capital, Kronstadt, with Old Bjorn, the man she thought was her father. Helga Trollslayer, Yngvild’s long-lost mother, passes Yngvild the sword known as Jafnadr, an heirloom from her dead father. Yngvild, Noren, and others, are heroes descended from the gods. On arrival at Krondstadt they’re dropped into the murky world of heroes, and the trouble begins.

Now a young woman with voices in her head, which she thinks are from the legendary sword she’s just been given, or maybe from the silver talisman she wears round her neck. Yngvild sets out with Noren to find out who killed her father, and seek justice…

Fierce World Map

I’ve had a lot of fun writing Fierce, and building the world it’s set in. Here’s the biggest map I’ve drawn electronically of it. There are more background details and maps over on my story background wiki.

Map of the world that Fierce is set in (image: James Kemp)

Readalong on The Storygraph

Over on The Storygraph I’m running a worldwide giveaway of 250 digital copies, and a limited giveaway of 10 paperbacks. This giveaway of Fierce runs to 18 May.

If you’ve got a Storygraph account then you can join the Readalong of Fierce that I’m hosting there from 19th May. There are chapter based discussions, and I’ll be checking in to answer questions people might have.

Fierce Questions?

Whether you’re on Storygraph or not, feel free to ask questions in the comments below.

Also, I’m planning to write more in this world.

#CastlegreenPublishing #Fantasy #Fierce #JamesKemp #Skyss #themself #writing

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This afternoon, while I was making lunch for Lucy, the phone rang. Now we only have a phone because you need a BT line to get broadband, so the handset is pretty cheap and we tend not to give the number out. Only three people ever phone me on the phone, apart from the telephone scammers. I answered the phone but didn’t immediately speak. A male native english speaker asked to speak to Mr or Mrs Kemp. I asked him who was calling. “Mr Kemp, I’m just calling from the local office of Safestyle to follow up a request for a quote.” he claimed. I hadn’t said who I was, my policy is to neither confirm nor deny anything to people on the phone until I’ve worked out who they are. “Oh, really?” I commented. “Mrs Kemp requested a quote […]

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Green Ink for happier editing?

For almost two decades I have used green ink when commenting on documents and for editing.  I’ve come to believe that green ink is the best colour for editing for a variety of reasons. Here they are.   Green Ink is psychologically positive Traditionally red ink has been used for correcting proofs. Red has a negative connotation, we use it for stop signs and prohibitions. Psychologically red can symbolise the blood from our work, and if there is a lot of red on the page then we get disillusioned and dispirited. So much so that UK civil service core competency framework has “wields the red pen” as an unacceptable trait for senior civil servants. Green Ink carries the opposite connotations to red ink. We use green for go, and for affirming things. So green ink on the page doesn’t carry the […]

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#civil-service #editing #green-ink #themself #writers-resources #books #writing

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A215 Short Fiction – Planting the Past

This is a piece of short fiction written for the first online tutorial of A215 Creative Writing. It followed on from three exercises intended to spur some creativity. The exercises centred around thinking of a place that you love being and then asked questions about that place. The first was some descriptive writing about the place, things you could see, smell, hear etc. The second was to write about a flash memory in the present tense and the last was to list some facts about the place and then spin off some ‘what if…’ questions related to those facts. This last one was what really got my 400 word piece of fiction going. So here it is, all 400 words of it. Planting the Past Hands resting on her heavily pregnant belly, Dot could feel her baby kicking. Her husband […]

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#a215 #academic #arts #creative-writing #fiction #flash-fiction #open-university #ou #shopping #short-story #study #themself #trees #writers-resources #writing

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