Thrall Web

Buy Forge HERE

By T.K. Anthony

Hello, Dear Reader!

Have you thought about what you like best about reading?

I didn’t. Until my cousin recommended a well-regarded science fiction author. The author’scraftsmanship was simply...flawless. But he didn’t have a single character I liked well enough to cheer for, and when bad things happened to them, they never rose to the occasion. I didn’t even finish the book to see if they got the fates they richly deserved.AndI learned that if I don’t care about the characters, I don’t really care what happens to them, no matter how well the story’s written.

Turns out, characters also drive my writing. In the first draft of Forge, I had no idea what the story was going to turn out to be. But a few characters walked out of my backbrain, and they told me their tales. They’d wake me up at night if I hadn’t captured the scene the way they’d lived it.

And, just as in real life, you can tell what makes a character tick when they’re facing troubles. Boy, did my characters have a sea of troubles, playing for high stakes—their lives, their love, their souls...and the fate of the galaxy.

Keir and Nica, finding their way to love—while accused of treason, hunted across three star domains by an enemy agent who has gained the trust of their high king. Col, who had once rescued Keir from servitude, now captured and enslaved by the enemy. Would Keir and Nica rescue him from the enemy before she turns him against all he believes, all he loves? I had no idea, and the words poured out through my fingers, because I had to find out What Happened Next. And then they’d veto my idea, and take the story in another direction. The process of writing often seemed more like channeling rather than something I did on purpose. I had to chuckle when a professional editor told me I had a masterful grasp of plotting—it was really a masterful grasp on the seat of my pants while hanging onto my characters for dear life!

 And as I hung onto them, I came to love them, and wanted to see them succeed. (Well, not the villains.) SoI’m very excited that Forge: Book I of the Thrall Web Series recently cracked Amazon Kindle’s Top Ten in the Romance: Futuristic/Science Fiction category. Because none of this would’ve happened without the characters. Or you, dear Readers. On behalf of authors everywhere...thank you for sharing the love of the written word.

Forge blurb:

Warned by a Seeing…

The high king of the Scotian Realm expects the arrival of an enemy, a race of psychic predators bent on galactic conquest. The Realm’s one hope is alliance with the neighboring star domains in defense of a shared colony, Forge.

Caught in Fate’s grim weaving…

Mindblind, amnesic, Tazhret lives out his drug-induced visions of servitude on Forge. He wants to believe the beautiful woman with the nut-brown hair who whispers reassurances to his harrowed heart: “You have a name.” But is she even real? Or just one bright thread in his dark dreams?

An unexpected hope…

Tazhret’s destiny leads him to freedom and the woman he yearns for—and to a desperate struggle against the enemy.

Tazhret can save Forge, and the clan of his beloved. But only at the cost of all he has hoped for: his name, his freedom, and his love for the woman with the nut-brown hair.

Ten Fun Facts about T.K. Anthony

Buy Forge HERE

I’m the youngest of five (a brother and three sisters); an aunt to three nieces and three nephews; and grand-aunt (ye gods!) to two girls, two boys. I’d like to reiterate that I’m the youngest of five, so I get to be the young, cool aunt. Being the baby of the family is finally a good thing.

Like writing, music is essential to my sanity. I sing in a choir, with the family, in the shower, and while driving. I play bluegrass/folk acoustic guitar, largely self-taught. Back in high school/college, I taught myself five or six pieces on the piano, ranging from “Won’t You Come Home, Bill Bailey?” to “Fur Elise”, and mostly remember them still. Now, I’m starting to pick up a little mandolin.

I serve two cats. Pip the SweetieBaby, is a 12-year-old Maine Coon. Orange-and-white Taz is a seven-year-old roadside rescue. I named him after Tazhret, the hero’s alias in Forge because my godson delivered him from the highway and into my care when I was first drafting the story. And, like Keir, Taz was a lost and traumatized creature when he first came to live with me. He’s a fat cat now, and picks on Pip when he’s bored. I can give them both baths, without getting a scratch on me.

After many years of single life, I married the man with the kindest heart I’ve ever met. Our wedding united two tribes. Neither of us has to explain our family to the other. We just get it.

I love to travel, whether by road trip or air. So does my husband. We almost never unpack our bags. But the best thing about traveling is coming home and sleeping in our own bed.

I love my in-laws.Which makes me an exceedingly fortunate woman, given how many of them I have.

I also my love my numerous cousins. In almost any conversation, I find myself saying, “I have a cousin who...[insert cool/odd/fun fact here].” This also happens with siblings, but the cousins outnumber them.

My obscure contribution to pop culture: When I was little, one of my favorite colors was magenta. Except I thought it was pronounced “magneta.” I told my cousin Chrissy this story, and she told her sister, who was in rehearsals for a community theater production of Rocky Horror Picture Show in Oklahoma City. In their playbill, the character Magenta was spelled—on purpose—“Magneta.” (See how my conversation gets around to my cousins somehow or other?)

When I first drafted the scene in Forge where the Khevox capture an important supporting character, I had both bronchitis and pleurisy. I’d say my respiratory difficulties showed up in the story. Let’s just say I shared my misery.

My father will turn 92 on March 13^th. He got a Kindle just so he could read Forge—the first science fiction he’s read since grade school: Lost on the Moon, by Roy Rockwood. He remembers the space ship had “carbide engines.” (Yes, my dad is an engineer. How did you know?) Happy early birthday, Dad!

~~~Forge blurb~~~

Warned by a Seeing…The high king of the Scotian Realm expects the arrival of an enemy, a race of psychic predators bent on galactic conquest. The Realm’s one hope is alliance with the neighboring star domains in defense of a shared colony, Forge.
Caught in Fate’s grim weaving…Mindblind, amnesic, Tazhret lives out his drug-induced visions of servitude on Forge. He wants to believe the beautiful woman with the nut-brown hair who whispers reassurances to his harrowed heart: “You have a name.”But is she even real? Or just one bright thread in his dark dreams?
An unexpected hope…Tazhret’s destiny leads him to freedom and the woman he yearns for
—and to a desperate struggle against the enemy. Tazhret can save Forge, and the clan of his beloved. But only at the cost of all he has hoped for: his name, his freedom, and his love
for the woman with the nut-brown hair…

~~~Excerpt~~~ 

Keir, on the threshold of recovering his true name, meets the haunting woman of his dreams...

Floating in a soothing sea, he didn’t open his eyes until the door clicked.

A tall and slender woman strode into the room with the grace of a dancer, and [he] forgot to breathe. A tunic in Scotian healer’s gold fell past her slim hips, belted over black trousers with the four-stranded azure braid of a Water adept. She came to his bedside, a smile turning up the corners of her wide, wonderful lips, dimpling her cheeks, crinkling the corners of her eyes—her large, luminous eyes, glimmering with brighter sparks of topaz and emerald in the softer glow of dark amber. Her nut-brown hair fell to the clean line of her jaw, framing her bonny face. Her perfect nose sat slim and straight between exquisite cheekbones. Her dark, winging eyebrows arched above her beautiful eyes.

His heart pounded, and he stared, slack-jawed. She’s real. I didn’t really believe. But…oh, Trinity, she’s real.

“How do you feel?” she asked in a soft contralto; the same voice he had followed from his nightmare entombment.

[Keir] snapped his jaw shut. How did he feel? He didn’t even know. Too much had happened, too fast. And-and she was there. Right there. In front of him. Expecting an answer.

Closing his eyes, he considered the question, waiting for the familiar, desperate jangle of jagged pain along his nerves, of slow recovery from old exhaustion and long starvation. But they were silent, and in their place….

[Keir] drew his first breath since she’d entered the room. “I feel…good, honored healer,” he said, “Hungry. Tired. But otherwise, really…really good.”

Find me at:

Website: http://www.scotianrealm.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tk.anthony.90

Twitter: @TK_Anthony_

Email: tesskanthony@gmail.com

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/TK_Anthony

Traveling Through the Wormhole

Buy Forge HERE

By T.K. Anthony

I like to travel. Which is a good thing, since I do a lot of it. For example, my husband and I took a 3600-mile road trip over 23 days for the Christmas tour of the in-laws in Illinois and the relatives in Pennsylvania before returning to Texas.

While it was all fun (we both enjoy road trips, especially with each other; and really do like our in-laws), I’m really groovin’ on this whole stay at home thing. Purring cats on my lap. The luxury of sleeping in my own bed. A cup of decaf tea whenever I want it. And Skippy peanut butter in the pantry. (Yes, I’ve been a Skippy addict since childhood.)

Even while I’m home, I still like to travel. Preferably, with my feet up and a cup of teaclose at hand, and perhaps some dark chocolate, and a nice fat book. Books have long been my passport to new and interesting people, places, ideas and adventures. I’ll read just about anything. But science fiction has always been my favorite genre, because only SF takes you through the wormhole to places you can’t get to from here, and the challenges can be drawn on an epic scale. No, it’s not just the fate of the planet at stake. It’s the fate of the galaxy! And even on the galactic scale, it’s still the fate of the soul that matters, the individual choice for good or evil, to fight or submit. I love the heroes who take on the dark, scary bad guys—and their own fears and flaws—against the odds, no matter the cost.

If your taste runs in the same direction, I invite you to travel through the wormhole with me to the colony planet of Forge in the Scotian Realm.

As a final note...in honor of the wandering, whether on the road or through the wormhole, here’s a link to the incredible Chris Thile, mandolinist extraordinaire, playing his happily frenetic tune “Wolfcreek Pass” from his album, “All Who Wander Are Not Lost.” Enjoy!

Forge Blurb:

Warned by a Seeing…The high king of the Scotian Realm expects the arrival of an enemy, a race of psychic predators bent on galactic conquest. The Realm’s one hope is alliance with the neighboring star domains in defense of a shared colony, Forge.

Caught in Fate’s grim weaving…Mindblind, amnesic, Tazhret lives out his drug-induced visions of servitude on Forge. He wants to believe the beautiful woman with the nut-brown hair who whispers reassurances to his harrowed heart: “You have a name.”But is she even real? Or just one bright thread in his dark dreams?

An unexpected hope…Tazhret’s destiny leads him to freedom and the woman he yearns for
—and to a desperate struggle against the enemy. Tazhret can save Forge, and the clan of his beloved. But only at the cost of all he has hoped for: his name, his freedom, and his love
for the woman with the nut-brown hair…

~~~Excerpt~~~

Clenched in the grip of a fateful vision, the black web of Tazhret’s nightmare suffocated him, paralyzed him. While his heart pounded in terrified denial, the ensnaring net grew dense, and tight, cutting off all light, all sound…every breath of air. The nightmare shifted, and the web became chains, chains of red fire burning into his skin, binding him, crushing him in nameless enslavement to an evil will while his soul cried for freedom.

One thread of light, an answer to a desperate prayer, shone in Fate’s grim weaving of a dark future.

She was beautiful. She gazed at him, her luminous amber eyes sorrowful in a pale face framed by dark hair. She insisted against all evidence, You have a name. A good one.

He knew he loved her. His heart ached for her.

He wondered who she was.

Links:

Website: http://www.scotianrealm.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tk.anthony.90

Twitter: @TK_Anthony_

Email: tesskanthony@gmail.com

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/TK_Anthony

Thrall Web

Buy Forge HERE

by T.K. Anthony 

Here we are, five days after the end of the world, and two days into Christmas. No matter what you’ve celebrated this season, chances are you’ve earned a little down time from all the cleaning, cooking, shopping, wrapping, traveling, and quality time with the extended family. You’ve got to be looking for an escape. How do I know this? You’re here, reading this blog.

If you’re looking for escape, Calgon ™ain’t really gonna take you away, honey. What you need is a nice, big fat book full of love, adventure, and danger, in the Scotian Realm, and its colony planet of Forge. Half a galaxy and a thousand years from here and now...is just far enough away for an escape from this world and all its cares. Kurt Vonnegut says all good stories can be summed up as “Man in hole.”With respect to the master, I’ll add the caveat: “And heroes make the difference.”

Keir, the hero of Forge, is in a deep hole, filling fast with hot water...and oh, look...what are these heavy rocks he’s holding?When the story opens, he’s just been found naked and hung over. Convicted of vagrancy, Keir’s sentenced to seven years’ indentured servitude on the planet Forge, a colony shared by the human Scotians with the reptilian Xerni and Tormin amphibs. Known only as “Tazhret”—“Nameless’ in the Tormin tongue—Keir can’t remember his name...or the name of the beautiful woman who haunts his amnesia-scrubbed memory. Her message that he has a good name is Keir’s lifeline in a sea of troubles. Laboring under the whip of his abusive master, Keir never dreams that Fate has cast him as thehope to defeat a race of psychic predators bent on the destruction of Forge and the enslavement of Scotians, Xerni, and Tormins alike. If you like heroes who play for high stakes against impossible odds...get Forge on your e-reader, put your feet up, and enjoy!

Blurb:

Warned by a Seeing…The high king of the Scotian Realm expects the arrival of an enemy, a race of psychic predators bent on galactic conquest. The Realm’s one hope is alliance with the neighboring star domains in defense of a shared colony, Forge.

Caught in Fate’s grim weaving…Mindblind, amnesic, Tazhret lives out his drug-induced visions of servitude on Forge. He wants to believe the beautiful woman with the nut-brown hair who whispers reassurances to his harrowed heart: “You have a name.”But is she even real? Or just one bright thread in his dark dreams?

An unexpected hope…Tazhret’s destiny leads him to freedom and the woman he yearns for
—and to a desperate struggle against the enemy. Tazhret can save Forge, and the clan of his beloved. But only at the cost of all he has hoped for: his name, his freedom, and his love
for the woman with the nut-brown hair…

Excerpt:

Keir, called Tazhret by his Tormin master, is surviving on hope and the scraps of kindness thrown him by his master’s mate. When another human shows up, “Tazhret” thinks his luck might have changed at last. Or, maybe not...

The wagon compartment was hot, dusty...and far more cramped than the shed. Tazhret sagged in the grip of his chains, too weak even to laugh at his delusions of hope. Even she was silent, although he felt her presence like a prayer for mercy. He twisted his wrists in his shackles. Apparently, Trinity didn’t listen to her prayers, either. The dark gods of the Xern, the Te, were toying with him. Or Trinity's angels were visiting new punishment upon him for the depravity of sins he couldn't even remember. Oh, Trinity…. The wagon trundled forward, taking him away from the Paggett Farmhold. Away from Zinderz Paggett—and away from Holdwife Sarvy. The frying pan looks pretty good when you're in the fire. The depth of his despair swallowed even his bitter prayer.

Find me at:

Website: http://www.scotianrealm.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tk.anthony.90

Twitter: @TK_Anthony_

Email: tesskanthony@gmail.com

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/TK_Anthony