Release Week buffet!

Seriously, we’ve had a lot of good new books by Mad Genius Club authors out recently – and first I thought I’d first show off our latest, newest release.

Tales Around the Supper Table: -An Anthology of Texas Writers

A few years ago, when congratulating Tom Rogneby on the release of his alt-history Romans on the silk road (Via Serica), the guys gave me a very nice gladius-like knife and told me to present it to Tom on behalf of all of us. Desperate to think of what to call our gang of misfits, I did what many a person has done through the millennia: I ad-libbed. “On behalf of the North Texas Writers, Pilots, and Shooters Association…”

And somewhere along the way, people started thinking this was a real thing, not just “the gang what shows up for supper at Jim Curtis’s house, with a rotation of who cooks.” And it’s true – some of us are shooters and pilots, some are pilots and writers, but not nearly as deep into the world of shooting, and some are shooters and writers, and we might have a couple that are writers who may or may not occasionally shoot and think pilots are crazy… And even some that edit and shoot sometimes. They count! We feed them!

And then this anthology happened, over the dinner table. (And the kitchen island, where the appetizers were stashed.) I told Jim I didn’t know how to write short… and I tried, but I can’t. And I want to fix the ending but it’d take another 3,000 words and I think he’d tell Peter to sit on me if I tried. That, or threaten to not feed me shrimp and grits with tasso gravy when he makes it next.

But that’s okay: John Van Stry tried to write a story, and then said over dinner, “So, the short story I was writing for you? I’m about to start on my third book of the series!” He did get a short written as well, and it’s a lot shorter than mine!

But we also have other MGCians: Jon LaForce, Peter Grant, Alma Boykin, and Pam Uphoff. (They’re auxiliary members, and welcome by for food any time they drive all the hours into town.)

Check it out! There are lots better writers in there than me… Oh! And Class III Beverage Alert when you read LawDog’s story! Put down ALL drinkables, and do not try to eat anything while reading! I am not responsible for coughing, choking, or ruined keyboards from failure to follow this warning while reading and howling with laughter!

This collection is from ten different Texas authors. There was no ‘world’ or set up for the stories. It was up to the individual authors to write their stories, so you get a wide variety! Vampires, dragons, werewolves, enchanted swords, runaways, SciFi, and cowboys… Stories for everyone in this collection of Texas authors!
Alma TC Boykin- Pigmentum Regium;
Monalisa Foster- Caliborne’s Curse;
Dorothy Grant- Business not Bullets;
Kathey Grey- The Invisible Train;
Pam Uphoff- Runaway;
JL Curtis- A Favor Owed;
Jonathan LaForce- Knights and Dragons;
Peter Grant- Starting Over;
Lawdog- Bad Night in Falls Town;
John Van Stry- They Only Ever Just Send One;
Wayne Whisnand- For a Child.
This is the result of that collaboration- May I present Tales Around the Supper Table- The Anthology.

Also our recently from we few, we merry few, we crazy band of writers:

Tangled Magic, By Margaret Ball

After waiting ten long years for Richart Dalkey to realize she’s no longer the awkward young girl he grew up with, Elspet is thrilled when he finally comes to pay her court . . . until he divulges the true reason for his visit. His proposition? A sham engagement to discourage debutante Dorothea Turvoll, who’s infatuated with Richart and whom his mother wants him to marry. Elspet convinces him to pretend he’s desperately in love with her and actually court her instead, certain that with time—and a little bit of magic—he’ll see they’re meant to be together.

But another woman in Din Eidyn has her sights set on Richert, as well as some dark magic of her own, and she’ll stop at nothing to win the one man who can give her the social standing she desperately desires. Before long, the charade gets out of hand, and as scandal engulfs the ton, Elspet must decide how much she’s willing to sacrifice for the love she’s always wanted.

Judiciously Familiar: Familiar Tales Book Fifteen by Alma Boykin

“By the Pricking of my thumbs/ Something wicked this way comes!”

“Caw! Caw!”

A raven the size of an eagle appears in Riverton. When it begins haunting Familiars, Lelia and André Lestrang have to decide if it needs their special attention. Lelia, battling fatigue and postpartum depression, juggles family, magic, and working at Belle, Book, and Blacklight. Her employer, Arthur Saldovado, too wonders about the raven and its meaning.

Something from the past stirs, something dark and deep. A new sorceress and the raven hint at dangers hiding in the shadows. Shadows perhaps too dark even for shadow mages to master.

A Touch Of Night: Pride, Prejudice, Werewolves and Dragons, Oh, My! by Alyx Silver and Sofie Skapski

A Pride and Prejudice Variation.
In a world that puts shape shifters to death, Mr. Darcy was unfortunate enough to be born as a were-dragon.
But the cruel laws don’t always find their victims. Mr. Darcy has survived and protected Mr. Bingley who is a werewolf.
Meanwhile, in Hertfordshire, Lizzy has been protecting her sister Jane who turns into a beautiful hunting dog.
When Mr. Bingley rents Netherfield, the Were-Laws and the shape shifting of three of them add extra complications to the flowering of romance between the well-loved couples. And Mr. Wickham. joining the Royal Were Hunters, lends additional danger to the situation.
Will they get together despite the danger, Lizzy’s active imagination and Mr. Darcy’s excessive nobility of character?

A Magical Portent by Ellie Ferguson

Storm clouds gather. An unknown danger nears, one that may spell the end of Mossy Creek, TX, and all those who live there.

Dr. Jax Powell and her best friends, her sisters from other misters, are determined to do whatever it takes to protect their town and loved ones. Each of them, once considered the town’s wayward children, have returned home. All but one: Magdalena “Maddy” Reyes. She’s not refused to return to Mossy Creek, but she appears to have dropped off the face of the Earth—or at least from the streets of Dublin.

Can they find Maddy and save their town or is it already too late?

A Magical Portent is novella-length story that follows Rogue’s Magic.

Inktail, Too! Dragon and Friends Coloring Book by Cedar Sanderson

A coloring and activity book full of dragons, with room for you to create alongside the enchanting fantasy creatures you can color in. Inktail is a little dragon with no particular size, and in this book, he has many adventures! Poetry, silliness, and no less than 45 full-page coloring plates will keep you busy. The pages are laid out to allow only one side for primary coloring, the other side can then be safely hidden if you are using markers that bleed or want to hang your creation up to admire. The coloring activity book is designed to appeal to young and old alike, and is sweetest as a shared experience.

What about you, Mad Genius Commenters? Have you released anything recently?