Yes, you read that correctly. Would you like a signed copy of “The Cliffs of Connemaigh” for yourself or as a gift? If you do, you can purchase a copy or copies directly through me! Contact me through Facebook or Twitter and we can do this. The price is $14.99 plus shipping.
You can also purchase the unsigned copy at Amazon.
The world is forever changed. Two dimensions are now one, and our heroine, Elaine Castle, a human, is navigating a world filled with dragons, orcs, and a mysterious enemy utilizing every power at its disposal to make sure that Elaine does not survive to unite the humans, Forest Elves, and Sky Elves. Our heroine is a wielder – a magic wielder, that is, and she definitely retains ancestral memory of being an elf, but is Elaine a helmannigr, a human born with an elven soul?
While she trains and her teacher tries to determine if she is, indeed, helmannigr, she fights with her blocks against two of the seven elements that all wielders have access to. These blocks are killing her, as magic kills the untrained. Is the answer in Connemaigh, the abandoned city of the Sky Elves that she arrived at in “The Autumn of the Whitewood”, or is it elsewhere in this new and dangerous world?
An epic fantasy with elements of romance, a hint of sci-fi, and a creative plot, “The Cliffs of Connemaigh” uses traditional fantasy tropes with new twists, and challenges the boundaries of the genre of fantasy. “The Cliffs of Connemaigh” is nominated for the Summer Indie Books Award hosted by Metamorph Publishing.
Another great question comes over Facebook from Ninett Aarmo. In this one she asks:
Do you think the series would be better suited as a TV-show, or a series of movies?
Given that this series is going to be at least 8 books, I think a TV show would probably be better. A TV show would also be able to go into greater depth but considering there is some sex and violence it would probably be better if the show was on a station like HBO, Cinemax, Epix, Showtime, etc. I could also see movies but that might take a lot of editing. Keep up the great questions!
If you purchase my ebook of “The Autumn of the Whitewood” and/or “The Cliffs of Connemaigh” from Amazon today (November 5, 2016) and tomorrow (November 6,2016), I will discount ($3 off) a signed trade paperback for you of either book or both if you purchase both. You can DM me on either Twitter or Facebook and show me that you have purchased the book(s) and then we can make arrangements for the other(s). For those who have already purchased the trade paperbacks, we can transfer the credit to the next book. Enjoy!
It’s 5 stars!
You can read it here or below. Spoilers below:
Easanal Takes Her Rightful Place Amongst the Elves
The second book of the Chronicles of the Starborn is now out. “The Cliffs of Connemaigh” continues the saga so well begun in “The Autumn of the Whitewood”. Elaine is recognized by the elves as a helmannigr, a human with the soul of an elf, welcomed into Elven society and confirmed by the choosing and binding of her new name, Easanal. Quinero and she continue to search for a way to remove the blocks she still suffers from in wielding two of the elements. The solution appears on the horizon, even if not yet clearly defined. A dragon appears and is defeated, although not until a lead character is struck a near-fatal blow by its tail whip-lash. These are some of the elements around which the tale continues to be woven.
What struck me in reading the ” The Cliffs of Connemaigh” was the development of my attitude towards some of the characters, conditioned of course, by Dennis’s amplification of her characters. I’ll single out two in particular: Jack, and a new character who almost immediately became my favorite, Gannymede.
I didn’t much like Jack in the first book, but by the end of the second, I thoroughly loathed him. Jack is completely self centered and does not respect anyone else – not as individuals, and not as members of classes of individuals. He particularly harbors a feeling of obsessive ownership towards Elaine (I’ll refer to her by that name since Jack seems unwilling to even recognize Easanal’s true nature) that causes him to say and do the most objectionable things to her. This in spite of a tiny thread of introspection which continually has him saying to himself “I really screwed that up. I need to stop doing that.” Whenever he has that insight, it seems that his very next reaction to Elaine results in a doubling down on his dishonorable behavior. I found myself profoundly sorry that Jack wasn’t the one struck down by the dragon. Fatally. But, paying attention to the clues left by Dennis throughout the story, I suspect that Jack has yet a role to play, for good or bad, in this tale. I especially wonder if Jack isn’t the Fox in the Prophesies.
A new character introduced in the second book is Gannymede, a grindylow or water-being from the lake. And not just any grindylow, but their Chieftain. Elaine killed Gannymede’s brother, who had attacked two of her party at the lake’s edge. She then chased Gannynede into and under the water where she captured him and brought him to the surface. Gannymede revealed that he possesses knowledge about Elaine and Quinero which they themselves do not, but says little else. Throughout the book, Ganymede reveals a bit more, but only as much as is necessary and never too much so that the balance of things is not upset. It is obvious that Gannymede knows a great deal, and has a pivotal role to play. I can’ say that at this juncture I have a feeling for whether he is on the side of good or the side of evil. He may be simply outside the realm of either, much as Tom Bombadil in Lord of the Rings. In any case, I look forward to see his role in the coming tale.
If I can find anything at all to criticize, and that is perhaps too intense a word for it, it is the place of the tale told in the Prologue of a man’s flight through the land towards Connemaigh whilst pursued by the banshees. I was left wondering who the fugitive was, and even after his identity was revealed upon his arrival, I admit I did not think of either Dan or his companion Richard from the first book. Even after his arrival in the cliff town, that flight didn’t seem to mesh in with the rest of the story, or become an integral part of the whole. Perhaps there is more to come to tie them together?
All that I said in my review of the first book “The Autumn of the Whitewood” concerning Dennis’s skill in and style of writing holds true for this book. It is a stupendous read, flows quickly, and ends all too soon. Now I have to yet again wait for the next book. — Richard White
You read that right! “The Cliffs of Connemaigh” is nominated for the Summer Indie Book Awards 2016 under the fantasy genre. Metamorph Publishing is hosting the awards. Voting is currently underway and will continue until the 10th! If you wish to vote for “The Cliffs of Connemaigh”, you may do so here. It’s down towards the bottom. Thank you!
“The Cliffs of Connemaigh” is now available for purchase as both an ebook (Kindle edition) and as a print book from Amazon. It is also available from CreateSpace. You can also ordered a signed copy through me. The best way to do this is to contact me through my Facebook page. If you haven’t read the first book of “The Chronicles of the Starborn”, “The Autumn of the Whitewood” it is also available through Amazon, CreateSpace, and Barnes and Noble. And if you haven’t already, check out the prologue from “The Cliffs of Connemaigh” and check out the back cover description. Enjoy!
Here it is! The full cover for “The Cliffs of Connemaigh”. Enjoy! So for those of you who have read the first book, can you guess who the people are on the cover?
Here’s the back cover description…and a cover teaser! Enjoy!
“The world is forever changed. Two dimensions are now one, and our heroine, Elaine Castle, a human, is navigating a world filled with dragons, orcs, and a mysterious enemy utilizing every power at its disposal to make sure that Elaine does not survive to unite the humans, Forest Elves, and Sky Elves. Our heroine is a wielder – a magic wielder, that is, and she definitely retains ancestral memory of being an elf, but is Elaine a helmannigr, a human born with an elven soul?
While she trains and her teacher tries to determine if she is, indeed, helmannigr, she fights with her blocks against two of the seven elements that all wielders have access to. These blocks are killing her, as magic kills the untrained. Is the answer in Connemaigh, the abandoned city of the Sky Elves that she arrived at in The Autumn of the Whitewood, or is it elsewhere in this new and dangerous world?
An epic fantasy with elements of romance, a hint of sci-fi, and a creative plot, The Cliffs of Connemaigh uses traditional fantasy tropes with new twists, and challenges the boundaries of the genre of fantasy.”
C.D. Dennis the Author 