Blog - C Gockel Writes

Featured Fantasy: Berserk (The Dragon Seed Series Book 1) by Resa Nelson

September 21, 2023 by Carolynn

FREE as of September 21, 2023
Click for current price: Amazon US, United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Australia

An Epic Fantasy Novel.

When you lose everything, can you trust a monster to help?

When Benzel is a boy, his family is murdered and his village is destroyed by berserkers. Now grown, he dedicates his life to finding the berserkers responsible but is stymied at every turn by magic, dragons, and dragonslayers. Benzel meets a monster that can help him, but at what cost?

Get this book today to begin the Dragon Seed series, one of four series in the Dragon Cycle.

The Dragon Seed series:
Book 1: Berserk
Book 2: The Dragonslayer’s Heart
Book 3: The Dragonslayer’s Curse
Book 4: The Dragonslayer’s Fate

Featured Science Fiction: Ganwold’s Child (The Sergey Chronicles Book 1) by D.T. Read

September 21, 2023 by Carolynn

New Release
Click for current price: Amazon US, United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Australia

“A boy raised by savages comes of age in the midst of interstellar war—fast action and characters you can care about.” — David Drake, author of Hammer’s Slammers

Darcie was taking her young child Tristan to rejoin her husband Lujan in the Enach system when nonhuman slavers attacked and captured their transport. Darcie escaped with Tristan in a lifepod and touched down on Ganwold, a primitive planet controlled by their long-time enemy. Unfortunately, due to a malfunction in the lightskip drive, they’d also accidentally jumped several years forward in time and can’t expect to be rescued, so Tristan grows to manhood hiding among the alien ganan.

But when Darcie contracts a lingering, life-threatening illness, Tristan and his gan “brother” Pulou set out on a quest to find the father Tristan never knew, and they are faced with technology they’ve never seen. Captured and turned over to the Sector General, Tristan is used as a bargaining chip in the ongoing war.

Now Admiral Lujan Sergey must figure out a way to counter the impending attack, while realizing he could lose the family he’s just learned is still alive.

“This novel is exemplary for showing how the effective military mind really works—you’ll find no romantic military nonsense here.” — Orson Scott Card, author of Ender’s Game

Fantasy Series Sale: Empire Ruin by David Green

September 17, 2023 by Carolynn

FREE, 99¢, & $1.99 on Amazon
Click for current price: Amazon US, United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Australia

The tides of fate are shifting.

The Banished have returned, and they have set their eyes on the walls of Solitude.

Zanna Alpenwood, a powerful mage, and two hundred aged and forgotten Sparkers are all that stand between the Banished and the nation of Haltveldt. With time running out and the world at stake, Zanna is forced to reach out to her estranged daughter, Calene, and set her on an impossible quest.

Calene quickly learns that enemies make unlikely allies as she teams up with both friend and foe on her journey to save her mother and Haltveldt. Forging their way over land and sea, uncovering dark plots and secret societies, Calene is forced to decide between her masters and her own conscience.

Will they arrive in time to save the fortress of Solitude from destruction? Only one thing is certain; Ruin is assured if Solitude falls.

Featured Science Fiction: The Navigator (The Apollo Stone Series) by PM Johnson

September 17, 2023 by Carolynn

Featured Science Fiction: The Navigator by PM Johnson

FREE as of January 22, 2023
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Apple, Nook, Kobo, GooglePlay

EARTH HAS CHANGED. The old world order collapsed following the meteor impacts of 2031 when fire rained down from the skies, instantly vaporizing millions. Billions more died during the Long Winter and resource wars that followed. Over one hundred years have passed since those devastating events and new societies have formed around the globe.

In North America, the fragile peace that exists among the continent’s independent nations and city-states is under threat. The ambitious Grand Guardian of the People’s Republic of America is mobilizing his massive war machine in order to make real his dream of reunifying a former great power. But on the eve of the offensive, a leading scientist dies under mysterious circumstances, though not before he entrusts another with the key to unlocking a secret so powerful, it could not only unravel the Grand Guardian’s designs, but also doom, or save, all of humanity.

The Warrior, The Renegade, and The Conqueror (the final book in the series), now available.

See all the Box Set List Featured Fantasy | See All Featured Sci-Fi

Featured Fantasy: When Vices Reign (Bedlam in Bethlehem) by Nicole Zoltack

September 17, 2023 by Carolynn

FREE as of September 17, 2023
Click for current price: Amazon US, United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Australia

Apple, Nook, Kobo, GooglePlay

Vice Detective Clarissa Tempest will stop at nothing to keep Bethlehem, PA safe.

This proves difficult, though, when a new drug hits the streets. Ocean Tears makes the users think they can breathe under water, and it certainly doesn’t help any that the supplier is a woman who seems to dress like a mermaid. Oh, and she’s giving the drug away for free to teenagers.

Whoever this supplier is, Clarissa is going to find her and lock her up or at the very least run her out of town.

When vices reign, no one wins, and just simply isn’t acceptable to Clarissa.

WHEN VICES REIGN is a part of A Mayhem of Magic World Story and is a prequel to the Bedlam in Bethlehem series.

Book Review: The Queen of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner

September 11, 2023 by Carolynn

$1.99 on Amazon US & Canada September 11, 2023
Click for current price: Amazon US, Canada
(also available in United Kingdom, Germany, Australia)

Apple, Nook, Kobo, GooglePlay

This isn’t really a review–it’s a heads up that this book is currently on sale in the U.S. I have read the entire series, and it is well worth your time. This is technically the second book in the series, but it can be read as a standalone.

Features authentic emotions and complex characters set in a mythological world reminiscent of ancient Greece. If you can’t get it at your favorite vendor, check your library. It is traditionally published, and a NYTimes Bestseller.

From the blurb:

Discover and rediscover the world of the Queen’s Thief, from the acclaimed novel The Thief to the thrilling, twenty-years-in-the-making conclusion, The Return of the Thief. The epic novels set in the world of the Queen’s Thief can be read in any order.

New York Times-bestselling author Megan Whalen Turner’s entrancing and award-winning Queen’s Thief novels bring to life the world of the epics and feature one of the most charismatic and incorrigible characters of fiction, Eugenides the thief. Megan Whalen Turner’s Queen’s Thief novels are rich with political machinations and intrigue, battles lost and won, dangerous journeys, divine intervention, power, passion, revenge, and deception. Perfect for fans of Leigh Bardugo, Marie Lu, Patrick Rothfuss, and George R. R. Martin.

The brilliant thief Eugenides has visited the Queen of Attolia’s palace one too many times, leaving small tokens and then departing unseen. When his final excursion does not go as planned, he is captured by the ruthless queen. The Queen’s Thief novels have been praised by writers, critics, reviewers, and fans and have been honored with glowing reviews, “best of” citations, and numerous awards, including the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, a Newbery Honor, the Andre Norton Award shortlist, and the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award.

This edition of The Queen of Attolia includes “Knife Dance,” an exclusive story about Eugenides by Megan Whalen Turner, an introduction to the characters from the world of the Queen’s Thief, and a map of the world of the Queen’s Thief.

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