Brain to Books Cyber Convention (FAIRGROUNDS) discussion

A.F. Stewart



Ghosts of the Sea Moon

In the Outer Islands, gods and magic rule the ocean.
Under the command of Captain Rafe Morrow, the crew of the Celestial Jewel ferry souls to the After World and defend the seas from monsters. Rafe has dedicated his life to protecting the lost, but the tides have shifted and times have changed.
His sister, the Goddess of the Moon, is on a rampage and her creatures are terrorizing the islands. The survival of the living and dead hinge on the courage and cunning of a beleaguered captain and his motley crew of men and ghosts.
What he doesn’t know is that her threat is part of a larger game. That an ancient, black-winged malevolence is using them all as pawns…

Come set sail with ghosts, gods and sea monsters.




Ghosts of the Sea Moon is the first book in the Saga of the Outer Islands series.

Let us start this sea voyage with the Saga of the Outer Islands maps.

So let me tell you something about me, your captain for this B2BCYCON adventure.

My home port (also known as my website) is Welcome to Avalon: https://afallonblog.wordpress.com/

I'm also often found in my Facebook group, A. F. Stewart's Minions: https://www.facebook.com/groups/34878...
Twitter: https://twitter.com/scribe77
or on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afstewartau...

And I have a cool new Draft2Digital author page over at Books2Read: https://books2read.com/ap/n4wO5R/A-F-...

Here's my official bio:

A steadfast and proud sci-fi and fantasy geek, A. F. Stewart was born and raised in Nova Scotia, Canada and still calls it home. The youngest in a family of seven children, she always had an overly creative mind and an active imagination. She favours the dark and deadly when writing—her genres of choice being fantasy and horror—but she has been known to venture into the light on occasion. As an indie author she’s published novellas and story collections, with a few side trips into poetry.

She is fond of good books, action movies, sword collecting, geeky things, comic books, and oil painting as a hobby. She has a great interest in history and mythology, often working those themes into her books and stories.

And my newsletter signup:: https://afallonblog.wordpress.com/new...

I'm also on Patreon, with exclusive rewards for my subscribing patrons: Become a Patron
Or you can check out the page first, and see what's going on:
https://www.patreon.com/afstewart

Here's a few of my other fantasy books and anthologies:



And the Christmas Lites Anthologies I'm a part of:

So Ghosts of the Sea Moon is the first book in my Saga of the Outer Islands series. This series will be a trilogy.

Book One: Ghosts of the Sea Moon

Book Two: Souls of the Dark Sea (scheduled for release late summer, 2018)

Book Three: Renegades of the Lost Sea (scheduled for release January, 2019)

Here's some tidbits of what to expect from each book.
In Ghosts you get dysfunctional gods, ghosts and sea monsters, plus magic and action.
In Souls you get more magic, the plot of main series villain unfolds, plus there's a quest and a Cthulhu inspired big bad.
In Regengades the main villain's schemes come to a head and there are undead pirates.



You can check out the series book page here: https://afallonblog.wordpress.com/sag...

Here's a short excerpt from Ghosts of the Sea Moon.

Come the Monsters

The captain whirled, spyglass at the ready. Sure enough, the sea churned with the wake of beasts. “It’s a pack of wolf eels, my lads! Get the harpoons primed, and ring that damnable bell! We’ve got a soul to rescue!”
The crew scrambled to ready the silver laced harpoons and their cannons, while Quiet Peter grabbed the bell pull and clanged with all his might. The magic fused into the metal surged across the ship and far out into the sea. Shivers cracked the air like an invisible whip, and every bone oscillated in the wake of the repeated peals of the bell. The poor wretch in the water convulsed and glowed, and the wolf eels screamed.
“Now lads! The harpoons!”
Sharp-tipped iron and silver sliced the air, and three harpoons landed true to their targets, smacking hard with the thud of metal in flesh and the swoosh of bloody spray. In one last screech to curse the dead, the beasts shattered, exploding into magic and meat. More eels swarmed, teeth gnashing, bubbling screams snaking through the water, as the desperate sailor thrashed and flailed in the sea.
Rafe yelled, “Another volley!” and more harpoons sang through the air slashing their targets. The ocean swirled in a bloody mess until the remainder of the pack retreated.

Book Two in Saga of the Outer Islands is slated for a late summer release. So here's a snippet from the currently-in-editing Souls of the Dark Sea

This scene stars Commander Augustus Quartermain Pelham, an officer of the Navy of the Royal Court, and a thorn in the side of my main character Captain Rafe Morrow.

Far away from Rafe’s words, the predictive intent of them unfolded. As per Lord Merrill’s promise, the Royal Navy patrols increased and sailed regularly around the islands. Assigned the Black Shoals to Tenby Key patrol, Commander Pelham stood on the quarterdeck of his ship, The Sea’s Favour, scanning the horizon with his spyglass. Beside him stood his trusted first mate, Lieutenant Commander Francis Montague.
“It’s an affront, Montague, an affront to decency and order. The blaggard, Morrow, is out chasing phantasms in some cockeyed notion of ancient monsters while we’ve been demoted to patrol duty. And worse, patrols ordered on his say-so by that—that—by Lord Merrill.” Pelham clenched his jaw, lowering the spyglass. “It’s hysteric nonsense inspired by a story from a shipwrecked sailor. The Coral Rose was most likely attacked by pirates, or run aground by a drunken crew. This is why Captain Morrow has to go. He and his magic. He relies on old beliefs, superstition and gibberish to manipulate his doddering betters and the gullible masses.”

And now I'll let my crew introduce themselves.



I am Captain Rafe Morrow, of the sailing ship Celestial Jewel. I am the protector of the Outer Islands and keeper of lost souls. It is my duty to help the poor unfortunates that cannot cross from the world of the living to their place in the After World find peace. It is also my duty, and the duty of my crew, to rescue the ghostly remnants of sailors from the ravenous monsters that roam the seas.

Hello. I am Elliot Blackthorne, first mate on the Celestial Jewel,, and proud to serve under Captain Morrow. It is an honour to sail on his ship.

One-Eyed Anders here. I’m the helmsman of the Jewel and I keep the old girl afloat through storms and calm seas. I’ve seen things that’ll turn your hair white and can drink any man alive or dead under the table. Save the captain. Ain’t no one can out drink him.

I go by Pinky Jasper, and I’m just a deckhand on the Jewel, an old salt willing to do his part. Things have been getting perilous these days though, with all that’s been happening with the Goddess of the Moon. She’s as mad as they come. Mean and crazy as a three-legged mongrel cur drunk on rum. And her beasties, those creatures are only good with a harpoon sticking out of them.

I'm Mouse. I'm generally not much for speaking out, and I can't say I care much for all this danger, but the Jewel and her crew are my home and family.

Starting April 6th until April 8th, you can download for free a four sample chapter preview of Ghosts of the Sea Moon, and the free companion short story, Sea Bound, in the B2BCyCon 2018 Fantasy Giveaway on Instafreebie: https://claims.instafreebie.com/gg/4b...

   

In addition to my fantasy books, I also write fantasy poetry, some which you can view at my Patreon page as I write a poem day this April for National Poetry Month.

My Patreon Page

Well, the CyberCon has started and I've been doing panels and the live feed today, but if anyone wants to know something about my fantasy books, please ask.

Ghosts of the Sea Moon, and Saga of the Outer Islands is an epic fantasy based in the world of the Seven Kingdoms and the Outer Islands, and is a realm of gods, magic and monsters.

The series was inspired by Greek mythology and tales of ghosts ships.

Well then...as we all do from time to time, I imagine you've thought of your books as movies? Given that you're as normal as the rest of us, Who plays the Captain and crew of the Jewel?

Ed wrote: "Well then...as we all do from time to time, I imagine you've thought of your books as movies? Given that you're as normal as the rest of us, Who plays the Captain and crew of the Jewel?"

Well, Blackthorne is actually inspired by Ioan Gruffudd's portrayal as Horatio Hornblower, though he's probably a bit old to play him these days.
I think Tom Hiddleston would be a good Captain Morrow, and Eddie Redmayne would be great as Mouse. Sean Bean would be good as Striker Angus and Simon Pegg as Pinky. Liam Cunningham might be good as One-eyed Anders.

An excerpt from Ghosts of the Sea Moon

The sea air greeted him like wings above the dark waters. On a cascade of blue light and magic energy, he descended to the sea, halting inches above its surface. He hovered for a moment, and then Rafe propelled himself across the ocean’s surface towards his sister. He skimmed the surface, sending a spray of water in his wake, and came to a stop five feet from his sister. He drifted upward until they were both the same height over the water.
“Your madness ends here, sister. No more mortals die. No more souls will be devoured. We end this.”
“So brave. So brave. But no match, no match. Did you forget?”
Rafe smiled. “No. But you may be surprised this time.”
“Tricks or clever words? No matter.” She spun around with a laugh. “It’s you or me, little brother. You and me. Always been. Always been. Yes, yes. One or the other. You or me.” In an instant, her glee turned to a roar, a strident shriek of hopeless perception and pain-fuelled rage. White hot incandescence filled the sky and the space between them, churning the sea below their feet.
“You or me! At the end!” The furious energy burst forward, hurtling towards Rafe like a hurricane.