Arie Farnam

by the hearth

The Book Nerd

This is the home of the book nerd. If you would rather read a book than watch TV, you'll fit right in. Here's the spot by my hearth where I share all good things literary:

- rants and humor about books, readers and writers;

- book reviews with a literary and outsider bent;

- lists of great books for specific topics, tastes and purposes;

- helpful tips for anyone who writes on style, voice, world building and characters;

- war stories from the world of indie publishing;

- And tasty morsels about my books, settings and characters.

September 14, 2014

Werewolf romance may be nothing new but here's a fresh twist

September 14, 2014/ Arie Farnam

This week's featured author on the Goodreads PFDR discussion board is Irish writer Mandy Lou Dowson. While I am not personally on good terms with werewolf romances and I find the extreme proliferation of these stories in recent years to be perplexing, Dowson's first book Bound by Fate has earned fantastic reviews the hard way - by finding real readers. No expensive advertising or big media-powered publishers to toot the horn here. These are real readers who say this writer brings something fresh and real to the sub-genre.

Here's a quote from one reviewer: "I consider myself to be a PNR, shifter connoisseur ;) and this book kept me on my toes and anxiously guessing at what would happen next."

You can read more comments from enthusiastic reviewers HERE.

Bound by Fate is available on Amazon in Kindle format and at iBooks. Check the Goodreads page for more formats.

Arie Farnam

Here is a place of shelter. My readers are often the outsiders of the modern world in one way or another, whether you're earth-centered, social justice activists, urban homesteaders, people of diverse and mixed ethnic, religious and racial backgrounds, people with disabilities, people with non-standard gender and sexual orientation or just the people who didn't quite fit into the typical crowds in high school. That is why I have made this site to be a safe zone for outsiders, a place where you can speak freely and be respected. Most importantly a place were you just plain belong.

Get links to new posts and a free book from my Books by the Fire collection. Click here.

Just as all of nature grows, children grow and mature with each challenge they overcome. This Summer Solstice story. Shanna and the Goddess tells how a brother and sister stand up to a crisis and save the family garden.

Shanna and the Water Fairy ebook cover.jpg

The warriors of today's Beltane celebrations are water protectors and defenders of the earth. Here is a story to ignite passion. Shanna and the Water Fairy is the third book in the Children's Wheel of the Year series but also a stand-alone adventure story pf positive kid power.

Kids can handle bullying and stand up for their beliefs. Here is an Ostara story that empowers today's kids. Shanna and the Pentacle is the second book in the Children's Wheel of the Year series, which brings real adventures to earth-based holidays.

Adventure, intuition, courage and real magic! Shanna and the Raven is a gripping Imbolc story for kids ages six to twelve. None of that "teachy" stuff! This is fun and affirming for Pagan kids. It's also the first in a series of eight, the Children's Wheel of the Year.

Direct link to Kindle preview - no need to go to Amazon or download an app

Adult and Young Adult Urban Fantasy and Dystopia

Cross urban fantasy with contemporary dystopia and you get The Kyrennei Series. It’s the story of a young woman who doesn’t fit the mold, a band of international freedom fighters in the heart of America and half-forgotten legends coming to life. Constant emotional tension and living, breathing characters make this an unforgettable saga.

Get the first book FREE.

The facade of freedom is a thinly veiled lie. In present-day America, a power cult can usurp your will and turn you against your friends and family.

Once - more than a thousand years ago -there were people who were immune to Addin control of hearts and minds. Legends around the globe still speak of them - slight people with pointed ears, now relegated to fantasy stories. Their true name has been forgotten.

They were the Kyrennei.

A prophecy says they will one day return, but the Addin vow to exterminate them. The Meikans, the descendants of human allies of the Kyrennei, yet exist, though they live under a tyrannical treaty with the Addin that has bought their survival at the cost of centuries of silence. Now those who have kept faith with the ancient gods for a millennium stand at the cusp of a new era - the time of the Seed.

It begins in a large round valley in the mountains of northeastern Oregon. One day Aranka Miko is a small-town student. The next, she's a prisoner, a reviled mutant and not even considered human.

At the same time, a young doctor code-named Kenyen fights with a band of international outlaws in a clandestine war with impossible odds. His mission is to infiltrate the Addin labs in Idaho where those who carry the genetic code of the Kyrennei are being studied... and murdered.

Kenyen is barely keeping his cover, when Aranka turns up in his lab. She is not like the other young people imprisoned there. For one thing, she can see that he isn’t Addin. A careless word from her could destroy the resistance and doom Kenyen’s soul. But she could also bring unimagined hope.

Can one girl hold “the seed,” the first flicker of hope in a millennium? Can she even survive one more day in the labs?

The Soul and the Seed is the first book in The Kyrennei Series - a dystopian fantasy thriller of today's world. The second book is The Fear and the Solace.