GHOST DREAMS, a new direction for critically acclaimed novelist, Matthew Hughes

 

GHOST DREAMS 

A new direction for critically acclaimed novelist, Matthew Hughes

 

The book is now available in e-format in North America

Commercial burglar Stan Winkelman encounters the ghost of Jane Manchester, wrongly confined for life in a 1940s insane asylum by a powerful family. She wants to know what happened to Harmon, the baby boy that was stolen from her.

Aided by Jeannie, his ghost-obsessed autistic daughter, Stan and Jane begin a quest to find Harmon, or his descendants. But their search will run them afoul of Andrew Bigelow, reclusive heir to the fortune Jane was robbed of.

And Bigelow is in cahoots with a murderous crew who deal in guns and blood diamonds and will stop at nothing to keep their crimes hidden. 

Amazon.com: Ghost Dreams eBook : Hughes, Matthew: Kindle Store

Ghost Dreams eBook : Hughes, Matthew: Amazon.ca: Kindle Store

 

 

More from Matthew Hughes: 

“I really enjoyed Barbarians of the Beyond. Matthew Hughes does Jack Vance better than anyone except Jack himself.”  — George R. R. Martin

 

Twenty years ago, five master criminals known as the Demon Princes raided Mount Pleasant to enslave thousands of inhabitants in the lawless Beyond. Now Morwen Sabine, a daughter of captives, has escaped her cruel master and returns to Mount Pleasant to recover the hidden treasure she hopes will buy her parents’ freedom.

But Mount Pleasant has changed. Morwen must cope with mystic cultists, murderous drug-smugglers, undercover “weasels” of the Interplanetary Police Coordinating Company, and the henchmen of the vicious pirate lord who owns her parents and wants Morwen returned. So he can kill her slowly…

Amazon.com:  Barbarians of the Beyond: Hughes, Matthew: 9781619474055: Amazon.com: Books

Amazon.ca:  Barbarians of the Beyond eBook : Hughes, Matthew: Amazon.ca: Kindle Store

 

“Lock the door, turn off the phone, get into a comfy chair, and deep-dive into a marvelous continuation of Jack Vance's Demon Princes series. Matthew Hughes is a treasure and Barbarians of the Beyond is a terrific adventure.”  — David Gerrold

“Matthew Hughes follows nimbly in Jack Vance's footprints, then breaks some fresh trail. First-class space opera.”— Robert J. Sawyer, Hugo Award-winning author of Hominids

“Engaging and enchanting…a fine companion adventure to Jack Vance’s The Demon Princes series, told with Matthew Hughes’s excellent sense of charm, ethical complexity and exotic worldbuilding. Let’s hope this is just the beginning!” — Kurt Busiek

“Barbarians of the Beyond is just plain old-fashioned space opera fun with a relatable heroine who is sometimes fallible, rather than some Shaolin Temple kung fu megamaster. I enjoyed it a lot.”
— Glen Cook

“…a tale that captures that special ‘golden age’ feel in which mankind has travelled far into the stars yet still behaves as though it’s the Wild West.” — David White, RNR Magazine 

 

About Matthew:

Matthew Hughes is a Canadian author of science fiction and fantasy.

His speculative fiction novels are: Fools Errant, Fool Me Twice, Black Brillion, Majestrum, The Commons, The Spiral Labyrinth, Template, Hespira, The Other, The Damned Busters, Costume Not Included, Hell to Pay, Song of the Serpent and Wolverine: Lifeblood (both as Hugh Matthews), A Wizard’s Henchman, A God in Chains, Baldemar, and Passengers & Perils. 

His magnum opus is What the Wind Brings, a historical novel with magical realism elements.  It was the first Canadian work to win the international Endeavour Award.  He waited more than forty years to write the novel, and spent a year composing several drafts, made possible by a $25,000 grant from the Canada Council for the Arts.

His major influence as a writer of speculative fiction is the Grandmaster Jack Vance.  Booklist has called Hughes Vance’s “heir apparent.”

In 2021, Vance’s estate (Spatterlight Press), published Hughes’s Barbarians of the Beyond, an authorized companion novel to Vance’s iconic revenge series, The Demon Princes.  The book prompted George R.R. Martin to say, “Hughes does Jack Vance better than anyone except Jack himself.”

His short fiction has appeared in Asimov’s, Fantasy & Science Fiction, Lightspeed, Pulp Literature, Postscripts, Storyteller, Interzone, Amazing, Unfit, and several anthologies edited by Gardner Dozois and George R.R. Martin, including the bestseller, Rogues.   

His works have been short-listed for the Aurora, Locus, Nebula, Philip K Dick, A.E. Van Vogt, Neffy, Alberta Book Publishing, and Endeavour Awards. 

In 2020, he was inducted into the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Association’s Hall of Fame.

Before turning to writing fiction, he spent three decades as the top-ranked speechwriter in British Columbia, writing for leaders of all three provincial political parties and CEOs of the province’s largest corporations.

Since 2007, he has traveled the world as a housesitter, living in twelve countries.

His web page is at https://www.matthewhughes.org

 

To request additional review copies or an interview with Matthew Hughes, please contact Mickey Mikkelson at Creative Edge Publicity: mickey.creativeedge@gmail.com / 403.464.6925.    We look forward to the coverage!

Judith Pittman and Gail Roughton discuss their new release Mother Shipton and the Sister Witches

 

Welcome to the lovely writing duo of Jude Pittman and Gail Roughton!

 Today I have a special treat. Two authors in one! Jude and Gail are fantastic writers who have collaborated on a book I can't wait to read! Jude is also my publisher and has a great series I've read the first book of so far, Deadly Secrets featuring Kelly McWinter. Don't tell anyone, but Kelly is my new book boyfriend! Dreamy, smart, and a PI. He also has a dog! Judging from the book list, I'm a couple books behind in his adventures. Carry on, ladies, I have some reading to catch up on...

Jude Pittman lived for many years in California and Texas but in 1991 she returned to Canada and married Metis author John Wisdomkeeper. Jude and John now live in British Columbia

Writing since she was a teenager, Jude has followed her dream throughout her lifetime, and in the process has met and worked with countless others following their own personal dreams. Jude is also publisher for BWL Publishing Inc. A Canadian publisher of quality genre fiction.

Her published books include the following:
Mystery series:
    Deadly Secrets, Kelly McWinter PI, Book 1
    Deadly Betrayal, Kelly McWinter PI, Book 2
    Deadly Consequences, Kelly McWinter PI, Book 3
    Deadly Lights, Kelly McWinter PI, Book 4

Paranormal Romantic suspense:
    co-written with author Gail Roughton – Mother Shipton and the Sister Witches

Novella: co-written with author John Wisdomkeeper - Street Justice

Novel: co-written with Katherine Pym, Canadian Historical Brides Collection, Book 5 - Pillars of Avalon, Newfoundland

Jude’s social media links:

@judebookswelove is twitter

Facebook is  https://www.facebook.com/Jude-Pittman-Author-100131784855170/?modal=admin_todo_tour

Gail Roughton is a native of small town Georgia whose Deep South heritage features prominently in much of her work. She’s a retired paralegal who lived in a law office for over forty years, during which time she raised three children and quite a few attorneys. She kept herself more or less sane by writing novels and tossing the completed manuscripts into her closet, most of which have now emerged in published form. A cross-genre writer, her books range from humor to romance to thriller to horror and she’s never quite sure what to expect when she sits down at the keyboard. Now multi-published by BWL Publishing, Inc., her credits include the four book War-N-Wit, Inc. series, The Color of Seven, Vanished, and Country Justice. She also writes with co-author Jude Pittman on the Mother Shipton paranormal series. She usually has a project or two on the backburner but never discusses any for fear of jinxing them. Given her affinity for the supernatural, this should come as no surprise to any reader.

 Published by BWL Publishing, Inc.

Available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Smashwords, iTunes

Gail Roughton on Facebook

Writin' With Southern Stylin'!

What would you say are your strengths as an author?

Jude:  My ability to identify with my characters and bring them to life.

Gail:  To be perfectly honest, I don’t consider myself an author at all. I’m a transcriber. For me, a novel begins with a character, one I didn’t actually create myself, at least not consciously. All the bits and pieces of now and then, here and there, conversations overheard in the grocery store, observations of people made in doctors’ offices, place names that have tickled my fancy—well, they all coalesce into at least one character, male or female, good or bad, could be either, who gradually begins to grow until before I know, they’ve stood up and started walking and talking and inviting other characters in, with or without my permission. They start acting out their own story lines until I’m watching a movie in my head. At that point, all I do is sit down, describe the scenes I’m seeing and transcribe the dialogue I’m hearing. So I don’t really think I’ve (as in me personally) have a strength as an author, I just have very vocal, very pushy imaginary people running around in my head. Go figure.

How often do you write, and do you write using a strict routine?

Jude:  I write sporadically. Because I’m also a publisher my routine is erratic and I may not write for a few weeks and then I’ll suddenly write a couple of chapters in one period. I’m afraid the idea of a “schedule” dries my creative juices right up.

Gail:  Strict schedule? Bwahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha! I will go days, weeks, months and years without writing a word, just ask my cyber sister, co-author and publisher Jude Pittman. (But don’t ask her what she thinks about it.) Or rather, without writing a word on paper. Usually something’s always brewing in the back corners of my brain, often completely without me even realizing it. For me, writing can be summed up in one sentence, if I might modify an old wine commercial. “We write no line before its time.”

Five years from now, where do you see yourself as a writer?

Jude:  Still working away at publishing the best stories I can write and hopefully coming up with stories that readers want to read.

Gail:  Exactly where I am now. Writing doesn’t rule my life, though I let it when I first entered the professional publishing world. For me being a published writer is just a fact about me, not a definition of who I am. I almost let that happen years ago and I’m never even coming close to that again.

If you could offer once piece of advice to a novice writer, what would it be?

Jude:  Learn your craft. Don’t get swayed by the current mass of inexperienced and untrained hopefuls who throw together a manuscript with no idea of what it takes to properly plot and craft a novel, and then rush to self publish so they can call themselves a published author. Would you perform heart surgery after a few months of deciding that you wanted to be a surgeon? Learn to write a story that readers will enjoy reading and you’ll be proud to claim as your own.

Gail:  Learn to read your own work as though you’ve just picked it up in a bookstore and know nothing about the book or the writer who wrote it. Now, having read the first five pages—even the first page—would you keep reading it? And remember you don’t know the first thing about the author.  No?  Why not?  Then fix it. Learn to self-edit with the ruthlessness of a surgeon with a scalpel. Writers so in love with their own words that they can’t concede a book needs editing have an audience of one—themselves.

What would you consider to be the best compliment a reader could give your book?

Jude:  The best compliment a reader can give me is when they ask when the next book in the series will be available.

Gail:  To silently scream “NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! That can’t be the end!!!!” when they’ve reached—you guessed it—“The End”

What are you working on now?

Jude:  Book 2 in the Mother Shipton series; Mother Shipton and the Secret Agent Sisters, and Book 5 in the Kelly McWinter PI mystery series, Deadly Ghosts. I tend to work on a couple of projects at a time switching back and forth between them as the mood strikes.

Gail:  I’ve got several works in various stages of completion, from half done to just a few pages, but I’m very superstitious and am always afraid talking about them jinxing them. That’s the same reason I never want covers before a book is done, a peculiarity that drives Jude crazy.

 

DEADLY SECRETS, Kelly McWinter PI Mystery

Kelly McWinter is a former Fort Worth police officer who suffered a personal tragedy that caused him to quit the force and isolate himself in the community of Indian Creek, Texas. Kelly is the Clint Eastwood, John Wayne type of man who makes everyone feel safe. The characters at Indian Creek are so unique and eccentric that readers and reviewers alike have fallen in love with the regulars who frequent Cam Belcher's Hideaway Bar and Barbecue.

Editorial Review:

Tammy from Fallen Angel reviews describes the Kelly McWinter P.I. mysteries as "A fabulous mixture of Texas humor, heart-pounding action, sexy nuances and mounting suspense. There's plenty of excitement, plenty of intrigue, a local flavor to tickle the toughest of taste buds and a good serving of hot, steamy romance to titillate the senses."

 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08129M4VD

 

MOTHER SHIPTON AND THE SISTER WITCHES

The Shipton history is complicated. Some families have a guardian angel. The Shiptons have a guardian ancestor who whizzes through the centuries and jumps right in whenever one of her girls is in trouble.

All the girls have power and they’re watched over by elder sister Lillian, who takes her job as family trouble shooter seriously. There’s no shortage of trouble to be sorted out either and even with their own powers each of the girls needs help. First Katherine's oilman fiancé disappears in the Gulf of Mexico, and then Irene's world champion saddle bronc rider fiancé is sabotaged and in danger of being trampled by a bucking bronco.

The spider-web of trouble stretching between these three modern sister witches might be too much for even a time-traveling guardian angel to handle on her own.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08J6NWX55

Janet Walters talks about Children of Fyre and Forgotten Dreams

Welcome to featured writer, Janet Lane Walters!

Janet Lane Walters has been a published writer for 50 years. She began with short stories and as that market dried up, she turned to novels. She has lost track of how many books she has written but there are fifty plus. She has been married sixty plus years. Her husband's a retired psychiatrist who says he has no thought of curing her obsession with writing. She is also a nurse, long retired. Janet has a BA in English and a BS in Nursing. She has four children. The youngest is an adopted biracial girl. Her grandchildren number 7. Four are black and three are Chinese. She bills herself as an eclectic writer since she writes romance in contemporary, with historical notes, paranormal, and fantasy. She has also written non-fiction and worked as a ghost writer. She writes cozy mysteries and YA fantasy. She has won several awards for her writing and has also finaled in a number of contests. Most days will find her in her recliner with a pen and paper writing drafts of her story or at the computer typing them.

Tell us about your life outside of writing.

            Actually, I have a rather boring life outside of writing. I talk to my grandchildren on the phone and occasionally see the ones who live nearby. They have very busy lives. I also care for my semi-invalid husband and that takes much of my time. I read a lot and spend time with my writing friends in a very active critique group. I’ll admit I’m addicted to crime shows and watch them but I don’t hit the TV until after 8 PM. Soon I’ll be doing Christmas stockings for fourteen people. That goes on for months when I find something interesting. I’m becoming an excellent chicken taco maker. Also in a month plus I’ll be baking Christmas cookies. Occasionally I do house cleaning but that’s only when I can’t find the words to create stories.

Do you have a work in progress?

            I always have a work in progress. When I’m working on the final edits of the story I am currently working on, I’ve begun planning the next one. Right now the work in progress is Lines of Fire Challenged, the second in the series. Since it’s due by the end of the month, I’m doing the final re-write and working hard on finishing it. When that’s finished, I’ll be working on a book in the dream series – Virgo and Cancer but it’s still in the I know the hero and heroine but I have no idea about their adventure.

Was there a person who encouraged you to write?

            I’ve dabbled with writing for most of my life. My father enjoyed books and was a self-educated man. When I first published, he touted my books to everyone he knew and some he didn’t know, like the nurses at the hospital when he was ill. I was published in the seventies and during the eighties put writing aside to work as a nurse. I met Jane Toombs at a meeting and she sold my return to writing book to her editor. She and I encouraged each other over the years and I do miss her. At present I have a great critique group. We encourage each other. My publisher Jude has become a friend and she also is an encourager. There is my husband, a psychiatrist who thinks I have an obsession he doesn’t want to cure. My children are proud of me also. The girls read many of the books but not the boys.

Five years from now, where do you see yourself as a writer?

      In five years, I will be 88. I plan to still be writing and hopefully sharing stories with people. My goal is to be at my computer typing stories until the end.

What are you working on now?  

            As I said earlier, I’m working on a fantasy romance, the second in a trilogy. Lines of Fire Challenged. The culture of this land uses the duel to solve quarrels and for other purposes. The heroine, Lasara is a duelist and a member of the Defenders. The hero Jens is a Desert Rider and also a duelist. They both can read the lines of fire on people’s skin and use them when they duel. They learn about Petan, the villain, a Defender of a mysterious background. He has gathered a band of renegades. He is able to absorb power from the lines of fire of young women. He and his renegades steal girls from the farms and also the clans of the Riders. Part of the challenge is defeating him. Another part is convincing Jens a heart bond really exists.

           

Forgotten Dreams

 Chad Morgan is tired of his Hollywood life and his role as action hero Storm. He's ignoring the contracts for two more movies in the franchise. He wants to take a different direction and make a movie of his friend's book. He has bought the rights. But his agent and the studio want more Storm. His personal life is also bouncing from one woman to another. His thoughts have turned to Emma Grassi, the woman he left behind in his quest for fame. He decides to return to Fern Lake and speak to his friend and renew his friendship with Emma.

Emma is now a nurse practitioner sharing an office with her doctor friend. She has waited for Chad to return and has decided this isn't going to happen. She's decided to confront him and put an end to the dream she has remembered and he has forgotten. Life takes a twist when Chad 's auto accident on the outskirts of Fern Lake bring them together. She wants out. He wants in.

Children of Fyre

In this return to the Island of Fyre, each of the heros and heroines of the three previous books have children. Lorton is the youngest son of the Wizards of Fyre and he has bonded with the yellow dragon.
The dragon through the magic of the stones has been rejuvenated and is now green. Dragon sends Lorton to travel to where the Dragons of Fyre are raised. There he meets Arkon son of the hero and heroine of the Dragons of Fyre.
There have been four eggs laid and there must be two young men and two young women found to bond with them. On the island where the evil wizards were exiled, Cerene has grown up as little more than a slave. She can use all the fyrestones unlike her father. She learns about the kidnapping of Riara, daughter of the hero and heroine of the Temple of Fyre and vows to save her.
The four must unite with their dragons and finally destroy the evil.

My Places

https://twitter.com/JanetL717

https://www.facebook.com/janet.l.walters.3?v=wall&story_fbid=113639528680724

http://bookswelove.net/

http://wwweclecticwriter.blogspot.com

https://www.pinterest.com/shadyl717/

Where to buy Janet's books:

http://bookswelove.net/authors/walters-janet-lane-romance-fantasy-suspense-medical/

Halloween Round Robin Blog Fest October 24th

Happy Halloween!

This month's Round Robin Topic is:  Do you believe in angels, spirits, ghosts, demons or other ethereal beings or locations? What do you think when they appear in stories? Have you used them in your own stories?

Wow! Hard to believe it's already that time of year again. Halloween is one of my favorites. Every year I am involved with a Haunted Dojo (basically a fun Haunted House, but built in a karate school) and get to meet and greet dozens of trick-or-treaters. I love the magic of the holiday as well as the way we are able to suspend all belief in the way things "should be" for "what is possible." Including how we are more willing to think about spirits, ghosts and demons, even for just a couple of days.

I used to love to read stories of the paranormal and have actually edited a couple. A well written book of any sort can get me to suspend all belief in reality. Something spooky and logically done, could totally convince me it is all real. I have read one or two that made me want to keep the lights on at night. One of which was written by my friend Richard Goodship called "The Camera Guy."

While I have never used ghosts or demons in any of my own stories, I am currently writing a cozy mystery with a psychic as one of the minor characters. Watch for "Life is Better Brunette" coming out in Spring 2016!

And now for my own ghost story....

 

My mother-in-law passed away in October 2013 a day before my kids and I were meeting up with family in Collingwood, Ontario. Since it was difficult for us to get away to attend Grandma's funeral 2,000 miles away, we held our own memorial on the shores of Lake Huron with Grandma's favorite Tim Horton's coffee and timbits (donut holes!) We also bought a bright green star balloon to release over the lake as we said our goodbyes. 

The kids and I made a circle, said our goodbyes and released the full-to-bursting helium balloon to the elements. To our surprise, it didn't sail off into the sky as we expected. Instead, the balloon sank to the ground and bobbed toward the highway. We all started to laugh and cry at the same time. Grandma had a notorious bad sense of direction as well as being a bit of a joker and it seemed she wanted to get in one last laugh. We all shouted to the balloon - and Grandma - that she was going the wrong way and needed to go up over the lake into the sky. No word of a lie, the balloon did a 180 degree turn and rose up over the lake then disappeared into the clouds.

We tried again the next year on Mother's Day to launch one more balloon in her honor. My youngest son clutched the balloon in his hands, the long ribbon tied so tight around his hand he nearly cut off circulation. As we walked from our home to our launch site, a gust of wind came up out of the blue and ripped the balloon off the ribbon and right out of his hands. He was nearly in tears as we watched the balloon sail off over the trees and into the sky. Then we burst out laughing. Grandma was never one for sitting around feeling sad. She would have preferred to go for an ice cream cone and make the best of things. 

Which is exactly what we did...

Have a wonderful, wonderous Halloween and make your way over to visit Beverley Bateman to see what she has stirred up on her creative cauldron!! Be sure to check out the rest of our amazing authors as well!

Marci Baun  http://www.marcibaun.com/blog/
Margaret Fieland  http://www.margaretfieland.com/blog1/
Diane Bator http://dbator.blogspot.ca/
Beverley Bateman  http://beverleybateman.blogspot.ca/
A.J. Maguire  http://ajmaguire.wordpress.com/
Fiona McGier http://www.fionamcgier.com/
Heather Haven http://www.heatherhavenstories.com
Bob Rich http://wp.me/p3Xihq-wU
Anne Stenhouse  http://annestenhousenovelist.wordpress.com/
Helena Fairfax  http://helenafairfax.com/
Hollie Glover  http://www.hollieglover.co.uk
Rachael Kosinski  http://rachaelkosinski.weebly.com/
Connie Vines  http://connievines.blogspot.com/
Skye Taylor   http://www.Skye-writer.com/blogging_by_the_sea
Rhobin Courtright  http://www.rhobinleecourtright.com/

Round Robin October 2013

We are back with another adventure with the monthly Round Robin! Check out what I wrote then follow the links around the world to see what other writers think!

Paranormal themes run rampant through fiction across many genres. Are you a believer in the paranormal or a skeptic? Have you ever experienced (or known someone who had) a paranormal experience?

I know many people who are firm believers in paranormal and have had experiences they can't explain. One of my favourites actually happened to my oldest son in October 2012.

We had our black and white cat Oscar from the time he was 6 weeks old until he passed away in September 2012, a month shy of 19 years of age. Our kids grew up with him always around, sleeping on their beds and following everyone through the house. He was never a real cuddly cat though, not until his 18th year. Stricken with arthritis and other health issues, he suddenly wanted to spend time with each of us and eat anything that smelled good and try anything that looked like fun. Like the doting parents we are, we carried him up and down the stairs when he struggled and made sure he was warm and comfortable.

While it wasn't a real shock when he died peacefully on a Sunday morning, it was difficult for all of us. He was family. Not long after Oscar passed, my oldest son Nick was sitting on his bed with our younger cat Jazz sound asleep at his side. Nick was startled when something cold brushed past him and touched his hand. Jazz, suddenly alert and on his feet, looked around like he'd sensed something. When Nick told me about the incident a few minutes later, he was a bit spooked, but also relieved. Wherever Oscar was, he was happy and able to get back up onto his bed again.

 

 

And now off to Connie Vines to find out about her paranormal perspective.