This post is part of 'WORLDS WITHIN WORLDS', a series of writings about Prunella (Ella) Smith, author, editor & reviewer, and the many worlds she inhabits: her physical reality; her online world where disgruntled author Dita stalks; the worlds of the books she edits; her dream world, and the world beneath the veil of her ordinary reality. Today's offering is very much metaphysical fiction. Click here for the previous offerings in reverse order, or here for links to them in order. Worlds Within Worlds #18 I am a Goddess. I feel like Crap. I am a Goddess. I feel like crap. My back aches, my life as a dancer abandoned because of it. One failure. My heart hurts. Love abandoned in its wake. He went to America to continue his career, I remained behind, trying to find my way in the world outside of classes, rehearsals and performances—without the sweat and the buzz. Two failures. Thoughts bewilder my mind. My present career is in tatters and I don’t know what to do. Three … [Read more...]
Short mystical story FREE until the 25th on Kindle
A lovely, surprising tale, told with warmth and depth, this surreal short story switches between an ancient world and our modern one. Is the main character an unwilling sacrifice to foreign gods, or a modern woman battling deadly cancer? Who is dreaming who? Through juxtaposing seemingly different life experiences, we find a poignant commonality between the characters as they face death. Free until the 25th on Kindle. Download it now on Amazon And please don't forget to write a review when you've read it. You can find more Awesome Indies Approved FREE ebooks here. What readers are saying. 'Not Me, it Can't Be' is far more haunting than any short story should be. As in much of Newland's work, the lines between fantasy and reality are blurred to the extent where the reader is left wondering which is the imagined and which is the real world. The juxtaposition of the two women's situations raises big questions which are delicately crafted so they linger in the mind long after reading. I … [Read more...]
An interesting metaphysical premise: ‘The Problem with God’ by Evan Geller.
The Problem with God takes an interesting premise: what if we could prove the existence of an afterlife. Should we share it with everyone? If you think about the ramifications for our world—as the book stimulates you to—you may come to the conclusion, as characters in this book have, that things are better left as they are. When someone does try to share such proof with the world, certain people from the Catholic Church and the Mormans take notice and make moves to intervene. The story revolves around a Jesuit priest, who rescues a woman from the river after she fell/was pushed off a bridge, and the woman, Grace, who has returned to earth after death to try to destroy the evidence. She must find a way to die again so that she returns to the same realm she was in, not a random one as is possible. In order to do this she needs to pass through a physical gateway and when someone bricks up the one she was planning to use, she has to go to New York to find another. The priest, Julius, … [Read more...]
I sense countless Worlds Within Worlds #4
Worlds Within Worlds is the working title of a series of metaphysically inclined writings that are shaping themselves into a story without my conscious direction. These are essentially unedited first drafts that I have made no attempt to shape. The idea is to let creativity flow as it wishes. Please comment on whatever aspect you would like. An introduction to the series and a list of the posts in order (should you wish to begin at the beginning) is on the Writer's World page. Click here for the previous offerings in reverse order. For_Lucia: http://moblog.net/view/876988/worlds-within-worlds Today, Prunella Smith comments on the fantasy novel she is in the process of editing. I sense countless Worlds Within Worlds #4 Hmmm. Not too bad. The author has me interested at least. And the prose is acceptable. This job shouldn't be too difficult. I wonder about this world I glimpse through the words on my computer screen, like a world within a world within my world. How real is it … [Read more...]
Diamond Peak Series Book Tour: An awesome review of Stalking Shadows.
Here's a review of Stalking Shadows that really made my heart sing. This is the best reward for an author; readers who love what you write. Not everyone does, but those that do make the struggle worth while. Kayla says, among other things: 'Wow! I have to say that although I really, really enjoyed reading Lethal Inheritance, book one in this series, I think I enjoyed the sequel even more. That isn’t something that really happens for me that often and it only makes me wonder what more could come in the rest of the series.' Pop over and see Kayla's wonderful book blog and read the rest of the series. http://caughtbetweenthepages.wordpress.com/2013/12/07/blog-tour-stalking-shadows-by-tahlia-newland/ Don't forget the Special Series Seal If you buy book one, Lethal Inheritance, and send the receipt to tahlia.newland@yahoo.com before the 15th of December, I will send you book 2, Stalking Shadows, for free and enter you in a draw to win the rest of the series. You can also pick up two … [Read more...]
Acid tripping metaphysical fiction: ‘Season of the Serpent’ by David Nova
Season of the Serpent is pretty much an acid trip. It starts reasonably normal and quite slowly as the author builds up Paul's character. He's just an ordinary guy going off to college, meeting another guy called Eric who turns out to be the Serpent and who tempts him into drugs. The story takes place during the cold war and details Paul's transformation from naive freshman to someone with a vastly different view of the universe. The marijuana expands his perception and awakens latent abilities nurtured by forgotten extra-terrestrial visitations throughout his life. These otherworld beings have plans for him. The story is written from the point of view of an omniscient narrator, and between the chapters of Paul's exploits the narrator explains the truth about flying saucers, the politics behind the cold war and outlays a vision of a multi-universe. These sections are interesting if you're interested in the subject matter, but if you aren't, they may not hold your attention. As the … [Read more...]
High action mystical fantasy quest: Nephilum Awakening by Henry R. Yarghn Jr
Nephilum Awakening is a kind of mystical fantasy quest full of action, exotic temples, awesome superpowers and a budding romance. Kiran's father is kidnapped and the ransom is to find and deliver three special blades that form the key to the prison that holds the Nephilum's Fathers. Releasing them is supposed to bring whoever opens it ultimate power, others say it will bring death and destruction. The reader has to read to find out which it will be. Kiran is a Nephilim, only she doesn't know it until now when the Nephilim spirit in her begins to awaken. The plot has a couple of layers, the characters and their lives as they are in this world, and their Nephilum aspect as they existed in other bodies in the past. At first, Kiran sets out to do as she's told, but along the way, she begins to remember the past and her relationship with the other two Nephilum who are out to get her. As she learns more, the stakes increase and the story becomes more complex. Kiran, an old friend and an … [Read more...]
A real gem: Dark Night of the Soul by E.M. Havens: metaphysical fiction
Dark Night of the Soul is a real gem. E.M Haven has used magical realism to examine suicide and the issues that surround it, and like all the very best indies, it's a completely unique voice that explores its theme in a brave new way. Seventeen year old Jayden commits suicide and finds herself in a kind of purgatory where teams of people who have committed suicide protect other suicidal souls from the demons that whisper in their ears and incite them to suicide. Life in this purgatory is a series of battles, if they defeat the demons, the person lives, if they lose, the person succeeds in their quest for death and their soul joins the team. When a new member arrives, the Judgement- a kind of sparkly storm cloud- comes for another. If it's you it comes for, you'll meet a statue of yourself and you can either submit to the judgement or fight to keep the demons off your statue/soul. If the judgment takes you, you'll either move on to the next realm, or you'll go back to your life. It's a … [Read more...]
Eternal Destiny has its first review and it’s 5 stars!
Eternal Destiny has its first review and it's 5 stars. It's by Awesome Indies reviewer, Clive Johnson. A couple of excerpts: "Following on from the previous books in the series, all the characters continue to gain depth and colour, discovering more about themselves. This is particularly true of Ariel and Nick, and their relationship. Nick's long running fears about his ability to defeat Cogin are also resolved, but with a twist I'd best not reveal here, other than to say that it marries well with the overall thrust of the deeper narrative." "The writing is of a high standard, effortlessly bringing the tale alive and making it thoroughly engaging. A fine end to the Diamond Peak Series." You can read the whole review here. … [Read more...]
Eternal Destiny is out! Are you ready for the mind-blowing finale to the series?
Intrepid traveler Ariel Malony and demon slayer Nick Walker face their deepest fears and their greatest challenge as they search for the Master Demon who holds the key to the future of mankind. Slay him and the world goes free; fail, and it falls irrevocably into violence and chaos. Guided by a wisdom master of a mystical tradition that uses mind power as the basis of powerful magic, the assault party, including Kestril, the Magan Chiefs' son, Layla, the flying Noble One, and Twitchet, the talking cat, must travel from the ancient granite walls of the Hermitage, up the kilometer high Steps of Death, and through a labyrinth of shifting gorges to the Palace of Skulls where flesh-eating demons demand to be fed. Even if Nick wins his struggle with the scars of his past and defeats the green-eyed head of the Cogin clan, they still must cross the scree slope, where the bones of Ariel's father lie, and pass through the territory of vicious elementals to get to the ice caves beneath the … [Read more...]
