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Conway's Curse
It's while walking along a quiet road that Tion and Kail unexpectedly collide with Conway, a misguided man on a quest to resolve a potentially terrible he's cursed with bad luck--bad luck that transfers to Tion and Kail in a most unexpected and inconvenient way! Now they must aid Conway on his quest. Along the way, they'll meet duped villagers, a frighteningly ravenous "woof," and their only hope for a reluctant warrior wizard named Wylde who may be able to bring the trio, and himself, to an extraordinary happy ending.
78 pages, Nook
First published June 2, 2010
87 people want to read
About the author
Patric Michael
7 books22 followersOh, the dreaded bio...
Let's see. I was born during one of the largest fires in L.A. history, survived childhood, sort of, and worked a variety of jobs.
Time passed, and here I am!
More than that, and you gotta email me. If you're brave and have the stomach for it, follow me on Twitter. :)
And above all, thank you for visiting!
Let's see. I was born during one of the largest fires in L.A. history, survived childhood, sort of, and worked a variety of jobs.
Time passed, and here I am!
More than that, and you gotta email me. If you're brave and have the stomach for it, follow me on Twitter. :)
And above all, thank you for visiting!
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
October 13, 2010
This book does not fit the conventions (as I understand them) of a romance novel. It is more of a non-explicit YA adventure with characters who happen to be gay. It is fun and well-written, and I do recommend it. Just don't expect it to be about romance.
August 27, 2011
Mischief, mayhem, sprites, wizard and woof!
May 17, 2011
Patric Michael’s delightful book, Conway’s Curse begins as such:
IT WAS a bright and sunny day. The sun shone in happy waves, except at intervals where it was stymied by leafy trees, most of which cast grumpy shadows along the road, and not counting the few that weren’t grumpy so much as sullen because all that happiness raining down on them was damned annoying.
These words, this simple tone, took my hand to begin me on a journey which, knowing the author and his work, would end in a place where the sun would be warm on my back and I’d smile and sigh contentedly. I’d be glad I took the trip with him. And Mr. Michael did not disappoint this reader.
Conway’s Curse is a quick, precious read at about seventy-eight pages. This brief jaunt, though, is packed with such beauty, such emotion and—ultimately—such inspiration that it could easily serve as a daily dose to ward off the gremlins of life that might ail you.
I know my gushes are usually based on one character from the book, but it was impossible to single out one character from this story. They’re each very different individuals, yet are such a curiously, beautifully woven unit—as one of the characters, Wylde, put it—they are the balance of each other. And this balance is one of the truths at the core of the book. Souls connecting with other souls whose needs are as great as their own.
Two of the central figures of the book are Tion, the easy-going, sunny sprite who flashes blue fire in his eyes when miffed; and his lover Kail, who is his polar opposite—grumpy, whiney and flashes green fire when he’s angry. Tion and Kail are sprites. Delicious faerie tale fellows whose chemistry was delightful and pretty damn sexy. I knew nothing about sprites before embarking on this journey with Mr. Michael, but let me tell you, they may not be human, but they sure were the center of some very nicely painted, very sensual intimate scenes.
Our spites cross paths with Conway, and I won’t tell you their plot, only that their first encounter with the human—and their developing friendship—was one of the most delightful relationships I’ve ever read. The wise-cracking Kail resists the ‘oaf’ Conway, but reluctantly succumbs to the kind-natured—and cute, as Kail observes—human. And sweet-tempered Tion patiently watches his cranky lover’s slow acceptance of the human; in fact, Kail’s gradually softening heart was as touching to this reader as it was to Tion.
Conway believes he’s cursed, and is on a journey to find Wylde the Wandering Wizard, who he feels is the only person able to cure him.
Is Conway really cursed, though? This was one of the exquisite parts of this book, one of the elements the author used quite effectively to show that sometimes our perceived weaknesses and flaws are actually our greatest power, our own unique beauty.
As I said—and as always—no plot leakage from me. I will tell you, though, that the story does contain, as any good faerie tale worth its weight in spritely gold should do, a dark element that was portrayed with such depth that I found myself shivering a bit. And that menacing factor was the Woof. No, not Wolf, but Woof. This creature, Mr. Michael’s version of a werewolf, only prowls—unlike werewolves—when the moon is dark.
A glimpse of the woof which is much, much more frightful that his name would imply:
It had stopped chasing villagers and stood in the middle of the path, swinging its head from side to side as though satisfied with the carnage it had caused. Huge shoulders dwarfed small hindquarters and supported a head easily as large as the sprites. Croggled teeth dripped foam and blood and its elongated snout sniffed the air. Dank, shaggy fur swung as it turned in a slow circle, and Tion watched, horrified, as it carelessly flipped one of the village men over onto his back.
This creature is not in the story to make nice-nice. But he DOES serve as a catalyst, as most menace in real life always does, to bring our characters out of their own comfortable elements and into the face of horrific trial. Do they buckle, or will they find strength and meet their fears—both their own inner weaknesses as well the living, breathing threat with the blood dripping from its teeth—and come out on the other side stronger and wiser? Not going to tell you.
But I will tell you that this little gem of a book—with one of the most delightful, fits-the-story-to-perfection covers by Paul Richmond—magically whisked me back in time to my childhood, to my beloved book, Shirley Temple’s Fairy Tales That Never Grow old. My parents would be most grateful to Ms. Temple for not including beautifully crafted love scenes such as Mr. Michael has incorporated into his story, as I was a mere tyke when I owned my book. But I’m an adult now, and I prefer my sprites to be grown-ups as well.
In all seriousness, though, I highly recommend this luscious masterpiece of a book to anyone who longs for just pure, simple magic with just a little grown-up, sexy beauty stirred in by the loving, magical spoon of Patric Michael.
IT WAS a bright and sunny day. The sun shone in happy waves, except at intervals where it was stymied by leafy trees, most of which cast grumpy shadows along the road, and not counting the few that weren’t grumpy so much as sullen because all that happiness raining down on them was damned annoying.
These words, this simple tone, took my hand to begin me on a journey which, knowing the author and his work, would end in a place where the sun would be warm on my back and I’d smile and sigh contentedly. I’d be glad I took the trip with him. And Mr. Michael did not disappoint this reader.
Conway’s Curse is a quick, precious read at about seventy-eight pages. This brief jaunt, though, is packed with such beauty, such emotion and—ultimately—such inspiration that it could easily serve as a daily dose to ward off the gremlins of life that might ail you.
I know my gushes are usually based on one character from the book, but it was impossible to single out one character from this story. They’re each very different individuals, yet are such a curiously, beautifully woven unit—as one of the characters, Wylde, put it—they are the balance of each other. And this balance is one of the truths at the core of the book. Souls connecting with other souls whose needs are as great as their own.
Two of the central figures of the book are Tion, the easy-going, sunny sprite who flashes blue fire in his eyes when miffed; and his lover Kail, who is his polar opposite—grumpy, whiney and flashes green fire when he’s angry. Tion and Kail are sprites. Delicious faerie tale fellows whose chemistry was delightful and pretty damn sexy. I knew nothing about sprites before embarking on this journey with Mr. Michael, but let me tell you, they may not be human, but they sure were the center of some very nicely painted, very sensual intimate scenes.
Our spites cross paths with Conway, and I won’t tell you their plot, only that their first encounter with the human—and their developing friendship—was one of the most delightful relationships I’ve ever read. The wise-cracking Kail resists the ‘oaf’ Conway, but reluctantly succumbs to the kind-natured—and cute, as Kail observes—human. And sweet-tempered Tion patiently watches his cranky lover’s slow acceptance of the human; in fact, Kail’s gradually softening heart was as touching to this reader as it was to Tion.
Conway believes he’s cursed, and is on a journey to find Wylde the Wandering Wizard, who he feels is the only person able to cure him.
Is Conway really cursed, though? This was one of the exquisite parts of this book, one of the elements the author used quite effectively to show that sometimes our perceived weaknesses and flaws are actually our greatest power, our own unique beauty.
As I said—and as always—no plot leakage from me. I will tell you, though, that the story does contain, as any good faerie tale worth its weight in spritely gold should do, a dark element that was portrayed with such depth that I found myself shivering a bit. And that menacing factor was the Woof. No, not Wolf, but Woof. This creature, Mr. Michael’s version of a werewolf, only prowls—unlike werewolves—when the moon is dark.
A glimpse of the woof which is much, much more frightful that his name would imply:
It had stopped chasing villagers and stood in the middle of the path, swinging its head from side to side as though satisfied with the carnage it had caused. Huge shoulders dwarfed small hindquarters and supported a head easily as large as the sprites. Croggled teeth dripped foam and blood and its elongated snout sniffed the air. Dank, shaggy fur swung as it turned in a slow circle, and Tion watched, horrified, as it carelessly flipped one of the village men over onto his back.
This creature is not in the story to make nice-nice. But he DOES serve as a catalyst, as most menace in real life always does, to bring our characters out of their own comfortable elements and into the face of horrific trial. Do they buckle, or will they find strength and meet their fears—both their own inner weaknesses as well the living, breathing threat with the blood dripping from its teeth—and come out on the other side stronger and wiser? Not going to tell you.
But I will tell you that this little gem of a book—with one of the most delightful, fits-the-story-to-perfection covers by Paul Richmond—magically whisked me back in time to my childhood, to my beloved book, Shirley Temple’s Fairy Tales That Never Grow old. My parents would be most grateful to Ms. Temple for not including beautifully crafted love scenes such as Mr. Michael has incorporated into his story, as I was a mere tyke when I owned my book. But I’m an adult now, and I prefer my sprites to be grown-ups as well.
In all seriousness, though, I highly recommend this luscious masterpiece of a book to anyone who longs for just pure, simple magic with just a little grown-up, sexy beauty stirred in by the loving, magical spoon of Patric Michael.
June 13, 2017
Fun lite read.
May 29, 2016
I won this book in an online competition and, having read and enjoyed "Timeless" and "Night Moves", I was intrigued to see what else Patric Michael had written.
If I was a gay teenager who loved books by writers like Piers Anthony, full of puns and quirky characters, I'd love "Conways Curse".
Well, I'm not gay and I'm not a teenager, but I still enjoyed reading the story once I worked out what was going on.
The main characters, Tion and Kail are sprites not fairies, well they are gay, but that's almost immaterial to the plot. A fact of life. As natural as breathing, though with them, nothing is really natural as when Kail's eyes flash green fire, they actually do.
One of the most enjoyable aspects of the book is the way literary cliches and phrases take on a life of their own in a marvellousy punny way.
Take these for example:
That must have cost a pretty penny.”
Em nodded to Tion. “And a few ugly ones too,
“Conway, are you on a quest, by any chance?” Tion’s voice was earnest. Despite his now-frantic bailing, his stomach sank to the bottom, because he already knew the answer.
Kail rolled his eyes at the innkeeping couple’s confused expressions. They toppled like ten-pins.
Mock irritation dripped from his voice and briefly stained the quilt that covered the bed before it evaporated.
These and the many others in the book are classics.
From the above, you might think that the book was going to be PG, but then Kail and Tion get down and dirty. Though in their case, it's roses springing up on the stomach as a kiss travels over it.
The sex though, like their homosexuality is seen as a natural part of their life. It's for this reason, I can imagine this book would really hit the mark for teenagers and young gay adults who can't identify with the mainstream heterosexual heroes.
Paranormal and scifi settings have two great advantages – first that they're not constrained by the past and the present, secondly anything is possible.
By basing this story (and I gather sequels have been considered) in a mythical world, the characters can do things their human, real world counterparts could only dream of.
So, in one scene near the end when a townsperson takes exception to a character's sexual preference, calling it unnatural, he's temporarily turned into a rabbit.
"The only thing unnatural here is your apparent inability to appreciate the fact that my friends saved your feckless ass"
I could imagine young gay readers the world over applauding.
But it's not just gay teenagers and young adults who would enjoy this book. Anyone who was a fan of Piers Anthony style of writing in his Xanth novels would also appreciate the marvellous play on words as the ephemeral becomes real.
The only little niggles I had were with some craft inconsistencies. But, hey, I'm also an editor by trade, so I can't help myself.
Most readers once they got caught up into the world probably wouldn't notice them.
I would have taken a star off for that, but I added one back on for originality and daring to do something different. Dreamspinner Press should be applauded for publishing it.
If I was a gay teenager who loved books by writers like Piers Anthony, full of puns and quirky characters, I'd love "Conways Curse".
Well, I'm not gay and I'm not a teenager, but I still enjoyed reading the story once I worked out what was going on.
The main characters, Tion and Kail are sprites not fairies, well they are gay, but that's almost immaterial to the plot. A fact of life. As natural as breathing, though with them, nothing is really natural as when Kail's eyes flash green fire, they actually do.
One of the most enjoyable aspects of the book is the way literary cliches and phrases take on a life of their own in a marvellousy punny way.
Take these for example:
That must have cost a pretty penny.”
Em nodded to Tion. “And a few ugly ones too,
“Conway, are you on a quest, by any chance?” Tion’s voice was earnest. Despite his now-frantic bailing, his stomach sank to the bottom, because he already knew the answer.
Kail rolled his eyes at the innkeeping couple’s confused expressions. They toppled like ten-pins.
Mock irritation dripped from his voice and briefly stained the quilt that covered the bed before it evaporated.
These and the many others in the book are classics.
From the above, you might think that the book was going to be PG, but then Kail and Tion get down and dirty. Though in their case, it's roses springing up on the stomach as a kiss travels over it.
The sex though, like their homosexuality is seen as a natural part of their life. It's for this reason, I can imagine this book would really hit the mark for teenagers and young gay adults who can't identify with the mainstream heterosexual heroes.
Paranormal and scifi settings have two great advantages – first that they're not constrained by the past and the present, secondly anything is possible.
By basing this story (and I gather sequels have been considered) in a mythical world, the characters can do things their human, real world counterparts could only dream of.
So, in one scene near the end when a townsperson takes exception to a character's sexual preference, calling it unnatural, he's temporarily turned into a rabbit.
"The only thing unnatural here is your apparent inability to appreciate the fact that my friends saved your feckless ass"
I could imagine young gay readers the world over applauding.
But it's not just gay teenagers and young adults who would enjoy this book. Anyone who was a fan of Piers Anthony style of writing in his Xanth novels would also appreciate the marvellous play on words as the ephemeral becomes real.
The only little niggles I had were with some craft inconsistencies. But, hey, I'm also an editor by trade, so I can't help myself.
Most readers once they got caught up into the world probably wouldn't notice them.
I would have taken a star off for that, but I added one back on for originality and daring to do something different. Dreamspinner Press should be applauded for publishing it.
November 3, 2012
Cute story, but I wanted a lot more development
Warning: This review might contain what some people consider SPOILERS.
Rating: 6/10
PROS:
- The very first paragraph establishes a whimsical tone that had me smiling: “The sun shone in happy waves, except at intervals where it was stymied by leafy trees, most of which cast grumpy shadows along the road, and not counting the few that weren’t grumpy so much as sullen because all that happiness raining down on them was [darned] annoying.”
- The story is interesting and contained some character types that I wasn’t familiar with. That might be because I don’t read fantasy very often, but I was quite amused by the different creatures that appear in the story.
- At first, I didn’t like one of the main characters much at all. He’s grumpy and constantly picks on others, with few moments of tenderness to temper him. As the story progresses, though, he softens a bit and reveals a kind personality under the scaly surface. In the end, I found him to be one of the more believable characters.
CONS:
- The plot, although cute and unusual, seemed to sort of run away with itself and left me behind in the dust. The cute ideas come one after another in quick succession, and I wanted them to be far more developed than they are.
- The story takes a serious turn about halfway through that I wasn’t expecting based on the light-hearted tone early on. I won’t quote anything here because I don’t want to give anything away, but I’ll say this: there is violence and a bit of gore.
Overall comments: There are a lot of clever ideas here, but they’re not well fleshed out. I think if this story were about twice as long as it is--with nothing more happening, just more description of everything that DOES happen--it could have been great.
Warning: This review might contain what some people consider SPOILERS.
Rating: 6/10
PROS:
- The very first paragraph establishes a whimsical tone that had me smiling: “The sun shone in happy waves, except at intervals where it was stymied by leafy trees, most of which cast grumpy shadows along the road, and not counting the few that weren’t grumpy so much as sullen because all that happiness raining down on them was [darned] annoying.”
- The story is interesting and contained some character types that I wasn’t familiar with. That might be because I don’t read fantasy very often, but I was quite amused by the different creatures that appear in the story.
- At first, I didn’t like one of the main characters much at all. He’s grumpy and constantly picks on others, with few moments of tenderness to temper him. As the story progresses, though, he softens a bit and reveals a kind personality under the scaly surface. In the end, I found him to be one of the more believable characters.
CONS:
- The plot, although cute and unusual, seemed to sort of run away with itself and left me behind in the dust. The cute ideas come one after another in quick succession, and I wanted them to be far more developed than they are.
- The story takes a serious turn about halfway through that I wasn’t expecting based on the light-hearted tone early on. I won’t quote anything here because I don’t want to give anything away, but I’ll say this: there is violence and a bit of gore.
Overall comments: There are a lot of clever ideas here, but they’re not well fleshed out. I think if this story were about twice as long as it is--with nothing more happening, just more description of everything that DOES happen--it could have been great.
January 16, 2012
I really liked the idea of this book. I thought it was going to be a fun romp full of humor and mishaps...and to some extent it was. It was also much more of a fantasy than it seemed to be from the description (which isn't a problem; I love fantasy), and the world building felt sloppy at times. I spent the first couple chapters confused about Tion and Kail, and even once I understood that they were sprites, I never got a good image of what that was supposed to be.
However, there were good things about this book as well. The premise was definitely fun, and when the humor hit, it made me laugh out loud. The villagers were entertaining, as was the reluctant wizard, and I liked the point that he made about being summoned. There were also some good action sequences and some very entertaining conversations.
However, there were good things about this book as well. The premise was definitely fun, and when the humor hit, it made me laugh out loud. The villagers were entertaining, as was the reluctant wizard, and I liked the point that he made about being summoned. There were also some good action sequences and some very entertaining conversations.
July 30, 2010
Bravo Patric!! This book is a delightful romp! If you like hot men, sometimes silly situations and unexpected heros, this is the book for you. Run, don't walk, to your nearest computer terminal and pick up an e-copy...and possibly buy one for a friend. Er...if they've been a very good friend that is...cause this little gem is a "I only got this cause you're my BFF(not to be confused with British Best Friend--my acyronym stands for best friend forever) and you gave me a kidney" kind of gift!!
I'm anxiously waiting for the next installment Patric, so get cracking hon!!
I'm anxiously waiting for the next installment Patric, so get cracking hon!!
October 13, 2010
Maybe I'm just overly tired at the moment (I was falling asleep while reading), but the story just didn't do much for me. Oh well.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews