Heroika Goodreads Giveaway! Click Here!

Enter to win a paperback of Dragon Eaters, and learn the art of dragon killing.

Dragons have been eating humans for centuries. Now you can join the heroes throughout history stalking their legendary foe. A literary feast for the bloody-minded.

In Janet Morris' anthology on the art of dragon killing, seventeen writers bring you so close to dragons you can smell their fetid breath. Tales for the bold among you.

HEROIKA 1: DRAGON EATERS, an anthology of heroic fiction featuring original stories by Janet E. Morris, Chris Morris, S.E. Lindberg, Walter Rhein, Cas Peace, Jack William Finley, A.L. Butcher, Travis Ludvigson, Tom Barczak, J.P. Wilder, Joe Bonadonna, Milton Davis, M. Harold Page, William Hiles, Beth W. Patterson, Bruce Durham, Mark Finn.

Blackgate eZine raves that Dragon Eaters is "a terrific set of stories".

About the editor: Best selling author Janet E. Morris began writing in 1976 and has since published more than 30 novels, many co-authored with her husband Chris Morris or others. She has contributed short fiction to the shared universe fantasy series Thieves World, in which she created the Sacred Band of Stepsons, a mythical unit of ancient fighters modeled on the Sacred Band of Thebes. She created, orchestrated, and edited the Bangsian fantasy series Heroes in Hell, writing stories for the series as well as co-writing the related novel, The Little Helliad, with Chris Morris.

To enter the giveaway, click the button above this post!

Fantasy Short Film Review: "Cassandra"

Teaser - Cassandra from Guy-Roger Duvert on Vimeo.

Today I was fortunate enough to receive a request from Guy-Roger Duvert to review his short fantasy film "Cassandra." I was waiting for my kids to get dressed so we could go out for dinner, so I had a bit of time and I thought "why not?" 

So I asked for the link, and sat back to watch the 14 minute film. It only took about 30 seconds for me to decide that I want to see a feature film made by this guy, and at the end of the preview, I was conniving to get him to adapt my novel "The Reader of Acheron" to a feature film (seriously, you're the man for the job, and "Reader" could be filmed inexpensively--it's post-apocalyptic!).

Guy-Roger Duvert has some serious talent. Just check out how fantastic this knight looks:

Or check out this establishing shot of a distant village:

I sat up when I saw that one. I admit that I wasn't expecting to see such quality. I assume this was made on a small budget, but those two shots rival any similar scene in major Hollywood releases that were made for hundreds of millions of dollars.

At around 14 minutes, the film doesn't have a lot of time to establish a convoluted plot, but you see plenty to learn Duvert is a capable filmmaker. The acting is solid, the fights are solid, the costumes are great, and the art direction is absolutely fantastic.

The plot revolves around two thieves who get in a little over their heads and have the opportunity to show what they're made of. We meet the titular Cassandra when she's having a bit of an existential crisis, but let's just say that by the end of the film, it's fair to say Cassandra has found whatever iron she thought she might be missing.

If you're a fan of Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones, or Black Angel--Cassandra is a short film you have to check out. You can go have a look at it for $5 at IndieGogo here. Is $5 too much? Not if it gets a filmmaker like this to make a feature length movie. Reference the teaser up above, and if you decide to watch the film, please leave your comments below. 

As far as I'm concerned, we need more movies like this! Check out the Cassandra Facebook page here.

Hail the Dragon Eaters!

The dragon eaters have come!

It has been fun to watch Heroika perform on Amazon since its release a few weeks ago. I've worked with Janet Morris on several projects over the years, but this is the first time I've participated in one of her anthologies. It's great fun to watch the interviews and articles written about the book get promoted by the other authors in anthology. It's also fun to watch the positive reviews trickle in.

I'm pretty familiar with the works of most of the authors in this book. Quite a lot of them hang around on the Heroic Fantasy Facebook group, so check that out and say hello. We've even had a few writers stop by and inquire about joining forces with us. The best way to go about doing something like that is to pick up a copy of Heroika and write a review. We do read the reviews, and believe me a review is read with much greater attention than a query letter (that's just human nature--take advantage of it whenever you can).

If you're curious about Heroika, here are a couple interviews I've done recently about it:

A Week With the Dragon Eaters--Library of Erana

Sunday Surprise--Interview with Walter Rhein

Do check out a copy of Heroika, it's great fun and if you're a fan of dragons this is a must have addition to your personal library.