Lynn Kurland's Star of the Morning

[jmward14]

When Patty Briggs was kind enough to cite Lynn Kurland in her blurb for With Nine You Get Vanyr, I was flattered.  I loved Lynn's RITA-awardwinning novella "To Kiss in the Shadows" and interviewed her for Crescent Blues based on the strength of that story.  In the interview, Lynn talked about her then current novel, From This Moment On, and her love for and desire to write fantasy.  
Since I interviewed her as the first wave of the paranormal romance tsunami was beginning to crest, I didn't think a lot about the fantasy comment.  Everybody and their dog was selling paranormals.  Why wouldn't Lynn want to ride the wave?
I should've listened harder.  Lynn was talking about epic fantasy.  And she meant every word.
The proof is in her new book, Star of the Morning.  Run--do not walk--to your bookstore and buy this book.  Star of the Morning follows the adventures of Morgan, a practical mercenary swordswoman, who finds herself saddled with a magical knife, a growing party of minions--including a blustering king and his heartbreakingly wonderful wizard brother--and a destiny she rejects with every fiber of her being.  The characterizations are glorious.  The humor, especially the fish-out-of-water sections where King Adhemar tries to act like a regular guy, will leave you laughing so hard it hurts.  There be dragons, dwarves and a dash of elves too, but the book is so yummy, I refuse to hold that against it.  LOL  A perfect read to refresh the soul on a blustery winter night.
My only real complaint is this is the first book of the Nine Kingdoms trilogy, but I can't find anything on future volumes--not even when the next book will be released.  Arrgh!  But I did find two novellas set in the same world "A Whisper of Spring" from the anthology The Queen in Winter, and "The Tale of Two Swords" from To Weave a Web of Magic.  Not enough to hold me, by any means.
Well, I knew Patty's blurb was fabulous.  I just didn't know how fabulous.  Another one I owe her.  Right now my karmic debt is so big she owns a 30-year mortgage on my next life.
And it couldn't be held in kinder hands.  :D
Happy New Year, everyone!

Comments

Re: oh, here I am

[annvremont.livejournal.com]

You can save as png, gif, tif, bmp, jpg, tga and psd -- and you can build an image that way, but, for the mirror type image, for example, between multiple render times and postwork to seamlessly combine the layers, you wind up with a 12-15 hour result. I have a lot of sympathy for the cover artists (which may mean I short myself on what I ask for in covers).

Meaning--Samhain pays pretty well, by most epub standards ($150 I think?). If you spend 3-5 hours and don't incur any significant costs (e.g. stock photos or specific CG models (I bought a $30 CG motorcycle for one cover and then the publisher folded)), that's $50-$30 an hour. (If this counts as self-employment wages, then 7% comes out for unemployment, 2X% comes out for this that and the other--taxes for the self-employed suck!)

I'm right there with your mom! We have two smoke/fire alarms in our house. They're both considered food timers. :-)