On Tour with Prism Book Tours
A
Cast of Stonesby Patrick Carr
Paperback, 400 pages
Expected Publication: February 1st 2013 by Bethany House Publishers
Premise:
In the backwater village of Callowford, Errol Stone's search for a drink is interrupted by a church messenger who arrives with urgent missives for the hermit priest in the hills. Desperate for coin, Errol volunteers to deliver them but soon finds himself hunted by deadly assassins. Forced to flee with the priest and a small band of travelers, Errol soon learns he's joined a quest that could change the fate of his kingdom.
Protected for millennia by the heirs of the first king, the kingdom's dynasty is near an end and a new king must be selected. As tension and danger mount, Errol must leave behind his drunkenness and grief, learn to fight, and come to know his God in order to survive a journey to discover his destiny.
Available 2/1/13:
The Book Depository
My Thoughts
Sadly I haven't been able to finish this book yet. I have been insanely busy almost non-stop the past two weeks and have barely managed to get any reading done. I did read about 1/5 of it so far and I am really enjoying it! The author writes really well and the story is rather interesting. There has been a decent amount of action so far and by all appearances this won't stop as the book goes on. I can already see that this will be a great book for teenage boys and will probably give it to my brother to read! Based on what I've read so far I will probably be anxiously awaiting the release of book 2!
About the Author:
Patrick Carr was born on an Air Force base in West Germany at the height of the cold war. He has been told this was not his fault. As an Air Force brat, he experienced a change in locale every three years until his father retired to Tennessee. Patrick saw more of the world on his own through a varied and somewhat eclectic education and work history. He graduated from Georgia Tech in 1984 and has worked as a draftsman at a nuclear plant, did design work for the Air Force, worked for a printing company, and consulted as an engineer. Patrick’s day gig for the last five years has been teaching high school math in Nashville, TN. He currently makes his home in Nashville with his wonderfully patient wife, Mary, and four sons he thinks are amazing: Patrick, Connor, Daniel, and Ethan. Sometime in the future he would like to be a jazz pianist. Patrick thinks writing about himself in the third person is kind of weird.
Awards: ACFW Genesis Competition 2010 Finalist for “A Cast of Stones” in Speculative Fiction.
Find & Follow:
The World of A Cast of Stones
Creation:
One of the first reviews for “A Cast of Stones” I received described the story as “intimate.” I really liked
that because that was the fell I’d been striving for. When Bethany House offered me a contract on the
series, they stipulated they didn’t want my book length to exceed 135k words for each installment. For a
romance or detective novel, that might seem like plenty of room, but for an epic fantasy, it was going to
be a tight squeeze. Consider that many epic fantasy novels can fill 800 or even 1000 pages.
I wasn’t complaining, but I did have to make some decisions on how to write and tell the story I wanted to
tell. Since I’d chosen to write a character driven story, I elected to be as economical with world-building as
I could manage. This was one of the reasons I elected to go medieval. The setting would be familiar to my
readers and I could count on their imagination to supply what my word count couldn’t.
What I couldn’t skimp on (at least not too much) was the initial scenes. Errol’s trip into the Sprata had to
be described in sufficient depth or I wasn’t going to succeed in pulling the reader (no pun intended) into
the story. I elected to use a setting I knew very well: Rock Island State Park in Tennessee. It’s a beautiful
place with waterfalls and lush hills and rugged terrain. It was perfect. I’d been hiking and rock-hopping
through the park at least a dozen times and had clear memories to go with the photographs we’d taken
over the years.
Tour-Wide Giveaway:
Grand Prize (USA): Print copy of entire series of three books (#2 & #3 as they are published) + A Cast of Stones Mug + Lend your name to a character in book #3!!
2nd Prize (USA): Print copy of A Cast of Stones
International Entries: eCopy of A Cast of Stones
Open only to those who can legally enter. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by Rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and the winner will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Burgandy Ice @ Colorimetry and sponsored by Bethany House & the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
The Herbwomen of secret lore
The World of The Staff & the Sword
The Readers of the cast lots
The Watchmen, elite warriors
The Clergy of power
Catch the entire Tour!!
LAUNCH-DAY BLAST!
1/23 - Backing Books - Herbwomen
1/24 – Christian Novels – Review – World
1/25 – I Am a Reader, Not a Writer – Readers
1/27 – Reads to Reels – Watchmen
1/28 – LDS & Lovin’ It - Clergy
1/29 – Proud Book Nerd - World
1/30 – Open the Page - Herbwomen
2/1 – RELEASE-DAY BLAST!
2/4 – Bookworm Lisa – Review – Clergy
2/5 – Passion & Life – Readers
2/6 – Kari’s Crowded Bookshelf – Review Herbwomen
2/7 – Coffee, Books & Me - Readers
2/8 – Backing Books – Review – World
2/11 – Jill Williamson – Review – Clergy
2/12 – ADD Librarian Herbwomen
2/17 – CTF Devourer – Review – Clergy
2/19 - Christy’s Cozy Corner – Herbwomen
2/20 – Min Reads & Reviews –
Review Watchmen
2/21 – FINALE BLAST, Winner
announced
3 comments:
Patrick-
Do you think your different homes and vocations have helped you as a writer?
:-) I can think of lots of people who will enjoy A Cast of Stones. It's amazing how much you already know 1/5 the way into a book, hey?
Have an awesome day!!!
Sounds interesting! Thanks for the giveaway! :)
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