http://www.lulu.com/content/463033

http://www.fictionwise.com/eBooks/eBook39601.htm?cache 

To buy all books directly from me for £9.99 including postage (and signed, you lucky ducks!), just click the Paypal cart button - UK Customers only, sorry!

The world stands on the brink of peace, the first peace for a thousand years.  A fragile alliance has been formed between the New Kingdom and Telesia, and they have agreed in principle to set aside their centuries-old quarrel over land and culture.  The deal has been forged by the efforts of Alex, the peace-loving newcomer to the throne.  But things are about to change...

Alex meets and falls in love with Lydia, a fisher's daughter from the east, to the displeasure of both his family and his friends.  His aunt has already arranged for the alliance with Telesia to become a permanent and marital one, and the sudden arrival of Lydia throws all her carefully laid plans into jeopardy.

And then an horrific act of betrayal plunges the world once more to the brink of war...

Finalist in the 2007 EPPIE Awards ( http://www.epicauthors.com/eppiewinners2007.html)

Nominated for the 2007 Pluto awards (http://www.yellow30scifi.com/PLUTOAWD.html)

REVIEWS

It’s the first peace in a thousand years. The New Kingdom and Telesia have agreed to set aside their centuries old quarrel over land and culture for this alliance of peace. This fragile alliance brokered by the newcomer to the throne is about to be put to the test. Alex, the new king, meets and falls in love with Lydia, a fisherman’s daughter from the east. His family and friends are outraged. Plans have already been put into place and Lydia’s appearance jeopardizes the alliance.

In the author’s own words, “The story is about love, betrayal, death, loyalty, madness. It's about a fisherman's daughter who falls in love with a king, and how they suffer the worst kind of betrayal from one they trusted.” I chose to use the author’s own words because I feel they best describe the story, but also because they are what keeps the story moving. There is no stall out with this story. It is suspenseful. It is the type of book that grabs you and won’t let you put it down until you’re done, even if it means burning some midnight oil.

At first glance, I thought this book was just another romantic novel. I was tempted to lay it down, but was glad I didn’t. It has enough twists and turns to keep you guessing, and even when there is a little bit of predictability, it has enough momentum to carry you over those areas, because even when you think you know what will happen, how and when they happen are a mystery. The author does a good job of holding your attention.

The only thing I didn’t particularly care for was the ending. It definitely leaves it wide open for a second book, but I felt like I will be forever hanging on the edge of this cliff until the next book arrives. By then, my arm will be ready to fall off. All in all, I would recommend this book. — Gracie Lightfoot Y-30 Staff

This review can be found at  http://www.yellow30scifi.com/HierathREV.html

Hierath is the first book in a trilogy of fantasy stories by author Joanne Hall that is filled with twists and turns...

Hierath is an intriguing novel for both young adults and avid readers, with interesting characters to carry the ending of the story into the second book in the trilogy by Joanne Hall. An enjoyable fantasy.

Reviewed By

Dakota Wind
July 2007 ©

This review can be found in full at :

Rolling Seas Reviews
reviews@rollingseas.com.au
enquiries@rollingseas.com.au

Hierath by Joanne Hall (238pp, ISBN0978977222421) is the first volume of an epic new fantasy trilogy that looks set to extend beyond the original three books in the same way as other series such as Terry Pratchett's Discworld and Raymond E Feist's Riftwar series have, and which will appeal to all connoisseurs of magic and sword and sorcery.

On a world very much like ours, the most obvious difference is that there are two moons and magic works, two young young hunters find a young woman lying unconscious by a pool. They rescue her from an attack by creatures lurking in the pool, and take her back to the castle of Hierath.

As she is convalescing, the young woman, Lydia grows attracted to one of the men Alex, before learning that he is the ruler of the little Kingdom. By contrast, Lydia is a commoner whose parents died in a recent famine, and is travelling through the kingdom to stay with relatives.

Alex is an uncommonly egalitarian ruler, in stark contrast to his aunt, who has plans for her nephew that she hasn't bothered to consult him about. Aunt Ammaline is furious that those plans are disrupted by a mere commoner, and with the aid of her accomplices sets out to rid herself of this troublesome newcomer. The King is entirely unprepared for treachery from those close to him, and his furious response escalates the conflict, until Hierath stands on the very brink of war.

It's a richly drawn and complex world, full of well-drawn characters; the heroes are heroic, while the villains are suitably malevolent, and there is a fine show-down with the forces of darkness.

The Electronically Published Internet Connection (EPIC) is a writer's organization that is geared solely to electronically published writers. Those writers published in old-fashioned print books are not specifically excluded, but the criteria is that they must be published in e-book format.

Many long-time genre writers are dismissive of such organizations, but the reality is that electronic publishing is not going to go away, and that the only way to raise standards is to participate rather than to ignore the field. The EPPIE Awards, which are given by EPIC each year, is one such mechanism, and Hierath --having come from nowhere-- was selected as a finalist for the best fantasy novel, a massive honour for a first novel by an unknown Briton.

It's a well-deserved honour.

This review can be found at : http://scififantasyfiction.suite101.com/article.cfm/hierath_by_jo_hall

and Colin Harvey's novels "Lightning Days" and "The Silk Palace" can be found at www.swimmingkangaroo.com 

http://www.lulu.com/content/596438

http://www.fictionwise.com/eBooks/eBook44333.htm?cache 

Nominated for the 2008 Pluto Award at www.yellow30scifi.com

Alone and in hiding, the young widowed Queen takes on a new identity as she mourns the death of her husband and the loss of her newborn son, abandoned to the care of strangers for his own protection. Hatred for the man who ripped away all she held dear tempers her grief and haunts her nightmares as she relives his brutality, his betrayal. The support of her cousin and a new love do little to ease the pain of her emotional scars.

A face from the past finds her in Cape Carey with a revelation that sends her on a journey across the Kingdom, from the high mountains of the north to the rolling hills of the Estmarch, her birthplace. It is a mission to restore hope.

But can the mission succeed with the prowling Wolfpack always at her heels? Can she stay ahead of the men of the Wolfpack dedicated to returning her to Hierath, to Valery? They will stop at nothing to bring her down.

REVIEWS

In Exile picks up with Queen Lydia working under a pseudonym as a tavern maid in a place called Mouse On The Table. Shen, as she is now called, can hold her own against the scraggly likes of the tavern patrons, but what weighs most heavily on her mind is the husband she lost and the son she has not seen since that dark night she headed into an unknown future.

Shen's cousin, Meganne and her husband, Jorge, and a fellow worker named Callum, who are intimately familiar with the goings on in her life, help her make it through the rough times. Their love and friendship, though, are never quite enough to ease her grief or calm her nightmares.

King Valery, who has now taken the throne at Hierath Castle by treacherous means from King Alex, is continuing his search for Rhodri, Alex's son and rightful heir to the throne. Valery knows he must eliminate this threat if he is ever to have absolute control in his kingdom. Valery is not above selling his soul to get what he wants.

In Exile, the 2nd book in the "New Kingdom Trilogy," is an excellent. The story is fluid and moves quickly, but at the same time Ms. Hall does a nice job of allowing you insight into the characters. The character development and the story line are consistent throughout so you don't have to backtrack to figure out what is going on from the first book to this one. Ms. Hall's progression as a write is ever apparent in this book

To quote her press release, "this book is an exciting story of romance and betrayal, with enough twists to keep the reader guessing right up to the end." I, for one, am looking forward to reading the last book in the Trilogy to see exactly what happens. --Gracie Lightfoot, Y-30 Staff 

This review can be found at  http://www.yellow30scifi.com/InExileREV.html

http://www.lulu.com/content/1405809 

http://www.fictionwise.com/eBooks/eBook53107.htm?cache 

From the desert wastelands, from the schemes and plotting of the Telesian court, to the Endless Mountains of the north, the Three Kingdoms prepare themselves once more for war. And Lydia Westmoorland finds herself in the heart of it, with a promise to keep and a people to avenge. But, even with the help of the Old Ones, will she be able to find the inner strength to face up to her greatest enemy?

REVIEWS

Eagle of the Kingdom is the third and final book of the New Kingdom Trilogy series by Joanne Hall. The story opens with Alex awaiting trial, held captive in the desert prison of Telesia, which lies across miles and miles of barren desert. Escape appears hopeless. 

Alex is awaiting trial for publicly humiliating, Penram, the royal princess. Alex invoked the wrath of her father, King of Telesia, after he sent her home. Humiliation was not what Alex had intended for the princess; nevertheless, that’s how it was viewed by the Telesian ruler. But Alex could not help himself; he could love no one but Lydia. But now he was about to pay the price for that love.

Through a series of events at the prison, Lydia came up with a successful plan to free her husband. It was costly, but in the end it meant their freedom. After their release, they begin to make their way back to their own kingdom, to gather friends and allies along the way. Alex and Lydia are determined to take back the throne and their kingdom and their son from the heinous ruler who is now in command.

Once Valery knew for sure that Alex and Lydia were still alive, he becomes all the more obsessed with killing them. Treachery and betrayal abound on both sides.

Eagle of the Kingdom is a great finish to the New Kingdom Trilogy. The characters are memorable and consistent from book to book, so it is easy to dive in and pick up where the last book left off. I stayed up late more than one night to read on. Ms. Hall is a great story teller, and I can only hope she has another book on the horizon. Even though we only have a 5 star rating, I would it rate it higher than that.—Grace Lightfood, Y-30 Staff

This review can be found at http://www.yellow30scifi.com/EagleofKingdomREV.html 

Many thanks to Gracie Lightfoot for her support!

(All artwork on this page (c) by Clare Brown - for more of Clare's work please see her website, http://www.clare-brown.co.uk)