Book Review: Tales from Our Write Side

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A.L. Mabry, A.M. Rycroft, Anthology, Book Review, david wiley, E.C. Jarvis, Elizabeth Abel, Emma T. Gitani, Eric Keizer, J.K. Allen, Katheryn J. Avila, Lorah Jaiyn, Mandy Melanson, Nancy E. Miller, OWS Ink, LLC., R.G. Westerman, Stacy Overby, Stephanie Ayers, Tales from Our Write Side, Tara Roberts, Wendy Strain

Title: Tales from Our Write Side: An Anthology

Authors: Various

Published by: OWS Inc, LLC. (November 25, 2016)

Blurb: From Lewis Carroll and Shakespeare to tales that will keep you up at night, make you cry, and touch your heart comes Tales from Our Write Side, OWS Ink’s debut anthology with 17 authors sharing 17 stories, 2 poems, and one creative screenplay.

My Take: Anthologies are among my favorite things to read these days, because they offer a reading experience that completely departs from what you’d get with a novel, or even a collection from a single author. In this particular anthology there are 17 unique voices sharing poetry, screenplays, and short stories that are categorized. Don’t like Horror or Speculative Fiction? You can clearly see which stories were thrown into that section, although I would recommend not skipping any of these. They are all short enough that, even if it isn’t a genre you particularly like, it will be brief enough to be worth your time. And you might just find that you enjoy at least a few of the tales in every category.

And that is the particular strength in this anthology: the stories are short, they are sorted by category, and they represent a diverse range of authors. It begins with some delightful tales revolving around the theme of Summer kidnapping Winter, and it is fun to see how seven different authors approach that theme.

While I enjoyed them all on different levels, my favorites include Solstinox by Lorah Jaiyn, The Next Best Seller by A.L. Mabry, Dawn’s Light by Wendy Strain, and Patterns by Katheryn J. Avila. Pick this collection up, as you are bound to find some stories you enjoy and might just discover some new authors who you wish to read more of in the future.

As a side note, several of the contributors to this anthology will have their own works published this spring by OWS Ink, LLC. More details on those books will appear here in the future, so if you want to get a feel for whose works you might enjoy, this anthology is a great starting point!

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Ten Books I’m Excited About in 2017

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A.L. Mabry, Books in 2017, Brandon Sanderson, david wiley, Elin Pettersson, George R.R. Martin, John Ryers, Joshua Robertson, Lilian Oake, Neil Gaiman, Sarah J. Maas

In no particular order, here are ten books that I am fairly certain are coming in 2017 that I am excited to get my hands on and read:

**I’m holding out hope that George R.R. Martin will release The Winds of Winter this year, but since it isn’t confirmed it will not make the list.

10. Beren and Lúthien by J.R.R. Tolkien – Seriously. Tolkien = Satisfaction

9. Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson – I haven’t started his Stormlight Archive series yet, but listening to A Wheel of Time right now has me already earmarking this as the next epic fantasy series to dive into.

8. Throne of Glass Book#6 by Sarah J. Maas – The final book in her series, I’ve finally started in on book 5 and cannot wait to see how it all unfolds.

7. Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman – Do I even need to explain myself on this one?

6. Soul Purge: Book One of the Chthonian Guardian Trilogy by A.L. Mabry – One of the talented co-founders of OWS Ink. This one sounds promising!

5. The Glass Thief by John Ryers, Jan. 1 2017 – Start the new year right and grab a copy of this gem of a book.

4. Dark Grasp by Elin V. Pettersson – Zombie unicorns? What an imagination this talented author has!

3. Voices of Jaydur Series Book #1 by Lilian Oake (yet to be named officially), Fall 2017 – I loved her short book, An Ogre’s Tale, and I am excited to read anything she writes.

2. Maharia (Kaelandur Series, Book #3) by Joshua Robertson, April 2017 – I haven’t started on his Kaelandur series yet, but once the third and final book is out I am certain to binge read them all.

1. A Merchant in Oria by David Wiley – Yes, this will be my first non-anthology publication. The wonderful people at OWS Ink are projecting this to be among their Spring 2017 releases, and more details will certainly be following as I get them!