Andrew Q. Gordon

I would like to thank the ever popular Mercedes Lackey for taking the time to talk with me today. AQG: Which authors or books most influenced you as a writer? ML: Well, C.J.Cherryh was my mentor, so obviously she influenced me a lot. Andre Norton, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Thomas Burnett Swan, Anne McCaffrey, T.H. White, Vera Chapman, Elizabeth Goudge, and Alan Nourse I think are my principal influences. AQG: What was the first story you wrote—whether published or not? ML: Oh dear god, it was probably around when I was twelve or thirteen, and it was the first of a series of stories I wrote in Andre Norton’s Space Patrol universe. I illustrated them too! I never showed them to …

Jeremiah Cain has a new MM fantasy romance out: Thorns of Chaos. And there’s a giveaway. “Cain crafts a vivid world … rich with detail and myth-lore that traipses brightly through the darker themes of oppression and suffering.” –BookLife Reviews Queer Grimdark Fantasy: Finn is no hero, chosen born, or noble. Despite escalating tensions from the Dayigan soldier’s occupation of Feah lands, the happy-go-lucky twenty-five-year-old is content to spend his days fishing and flirting with the other men in his Celtic-like village. But everything changes at their midyear’s eve festival when an angry Dayigan commander catches Finn in the arms of another man. Suddenly framed for murder, he must flee his village or face death. However, Finn isn’t the Dayigans’ …

Lee Hunt has a new epic fantasy out in both eBook/print and audiobook formats, set in the world of the Dynamicist Trilogy: Last Worst Hopes. And there’s a giveaway! Their world was ending, all the heroes were dead, the leaders confused, and their enemies were head and shoulders above them. But there was no one else; they were the dregs, the last worst hopes. Nehring Ardgour has summoned Skoll and Hati from hell. They have torn through the proud and ancient country of Engevelen and the angelic Methueyn Knights that protect it. Armies have died, cities have fallen. None of the great remain. No brilliant inventors, no powerful knights, no master wizards. No heroes. But it gets worse. Farrah Harbinger …

Lee Hunt has a new epic fantasy coming out in both eBook/print and audiobook formats, set in the world of the Dynamicist Trilogy: Last Worst Hopes. And we have the cover reveal! There’s a giveaway too. Their world was ending, all the heroes were dead, the leaders confused, and their enemies were head and shoulders above them. But there was no one else; they were the dregs, the last worst hopes. Nehring Ardgour has summoned Skoll and Hati from hell. They have torn through the proud and ancient country of Engevelen and the angelic Methueyn Knights that protect it. Armies have died, cities have fallen. None of the great remain. No brilliant inventors, no powerful knights, no master wizards. No …

  S.R. Cronin has a new historical fantasy coming out (The War Stories of the Seven Troublesome Sisters book 7), and we have the cover reveal: She’s the One Who Scares Us All. Plus there’s a giveaway! Iolite, the youngest of seven sisters, was born a frundle, a rare condition that makes her both shunned and feared in Ilari. This has made her family doubly protective of her, even though she only wants to live a normal life and have the sorts of adventures her sisters do. Although frundles suffer from some physical and emotional challenges, they also have valuable powers that no one discusses. Iolite learns more when she forges a connection with a roving army on horseback from …

SI Clarke has a new quirky queer sci-fi book out (ace/aro/agender): The Left Hand of Dog. And there’s a giveaway! Escaping intergalactic kidnappers has never been quite so ridiculous. When Lem and her faithful dog, Spock, retreat from the city for a few days of hiking in Algonquin Park, the last thing they expect is to be kidnapped by aliens. No, scratch that. The last thing they expect is to be kidnapped by a bunch of strangely adorable intergalactic bounty hunters aboard a ship called the Teapot. Falling in with an unlikely group of allies – including a talking horse, a sarcastic robot, an overly anxious giant parrot, and a cloud of sentient glitter gas – Lem and the gang …

M. Timothy Murray has a new space opera out: Time Paradox. And there’s a giveaway! The time crew are unexpectedly thrust six hundred years into Thumar’s past, where a planet wide plague is raging. These intrepid time travelers are predestined to find a cure. When they return to the future, they discover their actions dramatically changed their original timeline. With help from Derak’s brother and the mysterious Time Sentinels of the universe, they set out across time, space, and dimension to fix their time paradox. Can they stop the space-time-continuum from tearing itself apart and destroying the known universe? | Amazon | iUniverse | Giveaway Timothy is giving away an Amazon gift card with this tour: a Rafflecopter giveaway Direct …

Lee Hunt has a new fantasy audiobook out in his Dynamicist Trilogy: Herald. And there’s a Giveaway! Robert thought becoming a dynamicist would enable him to change the world, starting with saving all his friends from being slaughtered. He was wrong. Acts of genuine creativity used to bring mortal punishment. But now, wizardry is dead and Robert, Koria and Eloise live in a world where change and invention is possible. Robert hopes that mathematically-framed dynamics will enable him to change the new world. But he keeps having prophetic dreams where his friends are all murdered by a mysterious cloaked man, and the grain protestors are more menacing than ever. They declare dynamics is dangerous and that the changes must stop. …

J. Scott Coatsworth’s MM “elf-meets-trans-man in post-climate-change San Francisco” book Cailleadhama is now out in audiobook format. And there’s a giveaway! Colton is a trans man living in a climate-changed world. He plies the canals that used to be city streets, earning a living taking tourists on illicit journeys through San Francisco’s flooded edges beneath the imposing bulk of the Wall. Tris is an elf who comes through the veil to the City by the Bay – the Caille – on a coming of age pilgrimage called the Cailleadhama. He is searching for his brother Laris, who went missing after crossing through the Caille years before. The two men find they have common cause, and together they set off to …

Leigh Jarrett has a new MM fantasy romance out: Age of Mycea. And there’s a giveaway! The Marjar attack on Mycea sets in motion a series of changes in the ruling structure of the empire that will forever impact the lives of three powerful men. King Meshia, supreme ruler of the empire, Sebastian of Cardin, Commander of the Third Empirical battalion, and Sebastian’s Cardinian lover, a gifted healer beyond any that have come before him. King Meshia has a secret, one that might lose him his crown. One that would certainly diminish his capacity to rule and lead the empire’s forces into battle. One night of unbridled passion, one weakness, one longing that could bring the monarchy to its knees. …

Please join me in welcoming Natalina Reis to the Land of Make Believe! She has stopped by to share her thoughts on writing outcasts and celebrate the release of her new MM gay/bi paranormal/urban fantasy romance, Of Magic & Scales book two: Of Scales and Fire. And there’s a giveaway! Welcome, Natalina! Natalina Reis on Writing Outcasts I’m often accused of writing “weak” characters, immature and insecure. I admit, I often write characters riddled with doubts about themselves and how others feel about them. I also know my characters usually come off as being a bit childish either because of my penchant to use a lot of humor or because, well, they display a lot of insecurities. But I never …