Royce Sears-Sci-Fi/Fantasy Author

The Human Division by John Scalzi My rating: 4 of 5 stars While The Human Division is a collection of short stories, and it's normally difficult to write a review of such a collection, this collection is situated in Scalzi's Old Man's War universe and the stories are interrelated enough to make writing a review much easier. I enjoyed the way the stories accented events in Scalzi's other books while telling their own stories at the same time. We get to experience the growing pains of the CDF as they learn to deal with things through diplomacy rather than brute force. All in all, a great collection of shorts that fleshes out the universe more fully than before. I love Scalzi's brash characters and the situation's he throws them into. Who else could have thought of making a diplomatic incident out of a Lhasa Apso's encounter with a carnivorous plant? Leave it to Scalzi... View all my reviews

Sharing the most recent reviews of my debut novel, "Prophecies of the New World." Available on Amazon Kindle Format: $1.99 Paperback:$11.99 A cross By: dabj  on April 8, 2017 Format: Kindle Edition A great story that blends the old days and the new with a hope for the future. Anxiously awaiting the next book. Captivating! By: Amazon Customer on April 7, 2017 Format: Paperback This was a thoroughly enjoyable read from start to finish. The kind of book you'll find impossible to put down. Get swept away by the rich scenery, absorbed in the vivid characters and their fantastic struggles. You'll find yourself tingling on the edge of your seat. This story has the perfect amount of ebb and flow, allowing fast paced action and quiet periods of reflection. With likable, compelling characters, larger than life creatures and intriguing, detestable villains you'll be dying to see come to life on the pages. Thought provoking without bein...

It's a wet and rainy day in West Virginia, but we ventured into the murky weather to visit the Huntington, WV StinkFest today. Yes, I said StinkFest. Ramps! For those of you who are unfamiliar with them, ramps: Allium tricoccum  (commonly known as  ramp ,  ramps ,  spring onion ,  ramson ,  wild leek ,  wood leek , and  wild garlic ) [2]  is a  North American  species of  wild onion  widespread across eastern  Canada  and the eastern  United States . [1]  Many of these English names are used for other  Allium  species, particularly  Allium ursinum . After visiting StinkFest, we stopped by the Flea Market in Milton, WV. Much to my delight, I found two vintage Anne McCaffery novels at one of the used book vendors.  Sassinak - Circa 1990 Crystal Singer - Circa 1982 Score!

We dread query letters, synopses, and trying to get the pacing of the novel to flow ...just right. Here are some of my thoughts and what I've accumulated so far.  These three words have been my entire existence for a few months now! Pulling my hair out? What hair? It's gone already. Queries: What have I learned? I've learned a great deal, actually. Keep it short! When we begin this process, many of us start with the common phrase, "Query letter? What's that?" So we Google it...ah, Google my good friend... and our wise GoogleBot Guru tells us that a Query letter is a one-page letter wherein we pitch our book to an agent.- No sweat- One page. I can do that. Umm.. not as easy as it looks.  Upon further research- and after a few rejections- we find that one-page stuff is nonsense. An agent doesn't want to read a whole page about your book. They want your book in a nutshell--an easily crackable nutshell with the meat of the nut in a ready to eat ...

The Giver by Lois Lowry My rating: 5 of 5 stars Fantastic book! The Giver, while I would categorize it as a MG/YA, is a wonderfully insightful novel that explores some surprisingly deep themes for its age group. Perception, wisdom, and hidden truths shape the novel's main character, Jonas, as he learns these things and much more from the Giver in his role as the new Receiver of Memory. Highly Recommended novel for all age groups! View all my reviews

Nemesis Games by James S.A. Corey My rating: 5 of 5 stars Nemesis Games had a different feel to it. For the first time in this series, the crew of the Roci splits up and goes off on their own separate tasks. We get to explore the back stories of the crew, what made them who they are now, and what might lie in the future for the individual characters. More great story-telling, lots of fun, action, and adventure from James S.A. Corey. As usual, highly recommended! View all my reviews

Consider Phlebas by Iain M. Banks My rating: 2 of 5 stars Consider Phelbas was a difficult book to make it through. I found the plot twisted and disjointed at times, almost like a jumbled collection of short stories loosely linked by a common character. I found Horza's character a confusing cipher as the author explored the different sides of the culture war because of Horza's almost middle ground in the conflict. Yes, he was against the Culture and working for the Idirians, but I was never able to put my finger directly on why he was against the Culture, other than his dislike of the 'Minds.' I found the author's use of AI in his construction of the Minds intriguing and honestly, my interest in the Minds was what got me through the rest of the twisted subplots. All in all, an interesting read, but I'm not overly inclined to read more of this author's work, although I probably will because it's possible Consider Phelb...