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Lazette Gifford,
Editor
Margaret McGaffey Fisk,
Assistant Editor

Issue # 55
January/February 2010

Table of Contents

Forward Motion for Writers has many published authors as members.  Here are just a few of the currently available materials that they have had published!


Lazette Gifford

The Silky Novel Pack

Silky &

Silky 2: Lord of the Land

Follow Silkation's life from a young slave boy to a powerful lord of the land, with danger always close at hand, and magic both his gift and his bane.

As Anthica faces dangers from the outside, can Silky's enemies turn away from their old hatreds to help keep their country safe?

Silky is also available as part of a bundle of Lazette Gifford's fiction and nonfiction works.

Lazette Gifford also has a short story, No Beast So Fierce, appearing in Volume 2, Issue 1 of Darwin's Evolutions. For more information, go here.


Shana Norris

(Site Member shana)

Troy High

Narrated by Cassie, a shy outsider who fears that an epic high school rivalry is about to go up in flames, the story follows the Trojans and Spartans as they declare war on the football field. After the beautiful Elena--who used to be the captain of the Spartan cheerleaders--transfers to Troy High and falls madly in love with Cassie's brother Perry, the Spartans vow that the annual homecoming game will never be forgotten.

Available from Amulet Books and most bookstores as well as Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com. Details here.

Published August 2009 by Amulet Books

ISBN-13/EAN: 978-0810946477 - 272 Pages




Holly Lisle

Hawkspar: A Novel of Korre

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Stolen away from their families, they are slaves; women with no names and no futures. Every moment of their day is controlled by the avatars of the stone Eyes: Obsidian, Emerald, Raxinan, Ruby, Windcrystal, Sapphire, Sunspar, Tigereye...

Plucked from the ranks of slavery, protected by forces unseen, she is put to trial and found worthy. With her eyes replaced by eyes of Hawkspar stone, she can slip into the streams of time. Her vision—of the past, the present, and the future—lets her see the secret of the Eyes—and their evil.

Kings and despots come to her to know their futures. As she pulls apart the sticky threads of time to arrange the world to her satisfaction, the new avatar knows that she must find a way to use time to her own ends—to free the slaves once and for all, and to destroy the Eyes, even if it means destroying herself in the process.

Order your copy at your local bookstore, or at:

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The Silver Door (Book 2 of Moon & Sun)

In the battle between nightlings and humans, it's prophesied that the Sunrider is destined to unite the magics of the sun and moon for the good of all. She alone can lead the fight to defeat an immortal evil.

Genna is the chosen Sunrider, and under nightling protection, she must learn the ancient magics so she may bring an end to the war between slaves and masters. When she escapes a brutal plot concocted by the evil kai lords, Genna finds herself cast into the depths of the Sun Wizards' world.

As the war begins to cross the moonroads, threatening to destroy all the worlds beneath the sun and moon, Genna must rise and harness her new powers in order to save her people.

Will Genna, with the help of her brother, Dan, and their friends Catri, Doyati, and Yarri, be able to fulfill her fate?

Master storyteller, Holly Lisle, once again transports readers to the twilit realms of the night worlds in this enchanting and gorgeous second tale.

Order your copy at your local bookstore, or at:

Holly Lisle's How To Find Your Writing Discipline

How To Find Your Writing Discipline

A Three-Day Plus 20 Minute Do-It-Yourself Writing Bootcamp

You want to write. You've always wanted to write. But you:

Can't find the time

Can't find the initiative

Can't find the discipline

Buy it here



Justin Stanchfield

(Site Moderator Justinvs)

Space Cowboy

This debut young adult novel is now available from Usborne Publishing Ltd in the United Kingdom.

Check it out here.



Tamara Siler Jones

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Valley of the Soul

Detective Dubric Byerly returns in the third and final installment of this medieval fantasy-meets-thrilling mystery, genre-bending series from the author of Ghosts in the Snow and Threads of Malice.

For more information, check here




C. E. Murphy

book cover of

Walking Dead (The Walker Papers Book 4)

For once, Joanne Walker's not out to save the world. She's come to terms with the host of shamanic powers she's been given, her job as a police detective has been relatively calm, and she's got a love life for the first time in memory. Not bad for a woman who started out the year mostly dead.

But it's Halloween, and the undead have just crashed Joanne's party.

Now, with her mentor Coyote still missing, she has to figure out how to break the spell that has let the ghosts, zombies, and even the Wild Hunt, come back. Unfortunately, there's no shamanic handbook explaining how to deal with the walking dead. And if they have anything to say about it which they do no one's getting out of there alive.

For more information, check here


Wen Spencer

Endless Blue

The Very Large Object That ATE the Other Very Large Objects!

The Sargasso. Space ships go in, and they don't come back. But as the all-destroying Nefrim drive humanity from the stars, everything depends on one captain's desperate gambit: to dial his stardrive to zero—to "fall off the map"—and plunge into the ocean-covered pocket universe that is the Sargasso. Within is a secret that can change a galaxy. And, though escape is a trick generations of trapped starfarers have tried and failed to master—now the fate of two universes depends on Mikail Volkov being the first to GET OUT!

For more information, check here


Lynn Viehl

Stay the Night: A Novel of the Darkyn

Outlaw, immortal vampire, and art thief, Darkyn Lord Robin of Locksley has evaded authorities for the last 700 years. At the moment, he's falling for undercover federal agent Christina Renshaw, who has no time for an affair. She hopes to snag an elusive art thief, but soon has no choice other than to join forces with Robin. When the chase becomes dangerous, both will have to choose between losing each other and losing everything they value...

For more information, check here

Shadowlight: A Novel of the Kyndred

With a single touch, Jessa Bellamy can see anyone's darkest secrets. She's tried to hide her psychic ability from everyone, but a biotech company called GenHance has discovered her talent, and intends to take her, kill her and harvest her priceless DNA to sell it to the highest bidder.

A mysterious photographer named Gaven Matthias is also interested in Jessa; he's been trying to find her for months. When GenHance makes their move, Gaven has no choice but to kidnap Jessa himself so he can protect her and convince her to join him in helping protect others like her. Jessa discovers that she can't see any of Gaven's secrets, so she doesn't know if he's telling the truth, but as a monstrous assassin created by GenHance's experiments closes in on them, she must decide if the strong attraction they share is proof enough that Gaven is her greatest ally — or is a smokescreen hiding a terrible secret.

For more information, check here


Jack Scoltock

(Site Member Jakers)

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Golden Weddin' and the B.V.M.

An older YA Novel

May and Joe McPartland are getting ready to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary in the small Irish town of Derry with their entire family. All should be happy on this momentous occasion, but fractious family issues and a visit by the Blessed Virgin Mary (the B.V.M.) to some of the children reveal that all is not as it should be.

Available from Virtual Tales here.

Product Cover

Challenge of the Red Unicorn

Chalice, the sacred supreme unicorn, has been captured with other unicorns by the Weers—wolf-like monsters whose evil leader, Rashark, is stealing all of their magic. And because Chalice has the most powerful of magic of all the unicorns, Rashark wants him the most. For the moment, Chalice's disguise is keeping him from Rashark's notice—but it won't hide him for long.

Available from Virtual Tales here.


Maria Zannini

(Site Member mz)

Touch of Fire

Touch of Fire

Between mage and man lies fire.

Leda has been ordered by the House of Ilia to use her fae gifts to find an alchemist's bible, no matter what the cost. In a world where technology has been replaced by Elemental magic, this book is more dangerous than any spell or potion.

This futuristic fantasy was released in May 2008 by Samhain Publishing (ISBN: 978-1-60504-031-8). It starts life out as an e-book and will go to print in Winter 2009.

You can read an excerpt and buy a copy here.


Robert A. Black

(Site Member ShutterBob)

Lunar Pioneers

Lunar Pioneers

"We are all pioneers on the frontiers of our own lives. Each day is a new trip into the unknown." It's the biggest day of 13-year-old Blair Kelly's life, but she's not sure whether to be excited or anxious about it. If all goes as planned, her family will soon be leaving the Earth and moving to Clementine Colony, at the south pole of the Moon. The only person who seems to understand her mixed feelings is her grandfather, who reminds Blair of the things her ancestors faced when they settled the Nebraska prairie, centuries before. Blair and her older brother, Tom, have both gone to "Moon School" to prepare for the journey, but classes can't prepare them for leaving their friends, extended family and most of their possessions behind. As they become more settled, Blair begins volunteering with the group that maintains the colony's plant life, while Tom competes in many of the unusual sports that can be played in the Moon's light gravity. Just as she's selected to help with a special project at a new research facility, a tragedy on her grandparents' farm divides Blair's loyalties. Should she return to Earth? Or should she remain on the Moon?

This YA novel was named winner of the Youth Moon Fiction category for OutOfTheCradle.net's Best of the Moon awards for 2008. For more details about the contest, go here. For information about the book, click here.


Stephanie Green

Site Member Lysistrata)

33 Mistakes Writers Make About Blind Characters

In 33 Mistakes Writers Make about Blind Characters, you learn about:

  • What it's really like to be blind
  • How a blind person tackles daily living – eating, dressing themselves, working, cooking, putting on makeup, travelling and playing sport.
  • Resources and technology available for people who are blind
  • Treatment of the blind throughout history
  • Famous blind people and their feats – you'll be amazed at the achievements of these people!

Available from Holly's Shop.


David Toft

(Site Member dmtoft)

End Game

End Game

Across the world, suicide attacks are bringing previously stable governments to the brink of collapse. Scotland Yard's Stuart Wilson, and Bill Rubek his American counterpart, must track down the organization responsible and stop the carnage before the entire planet descends into anarchy. The results of their investigations are as frightening as they are unbelievable. A single mastermind, not of their world, is behind the attacks, seeking out the vulnerable and desperate, buying the souls of those who love them, and turning them into instruments of carnage.

Available from Wings ePress in both ebook and print formats. For information about the book, click here.


Jennifer R. Povey (Site Member NinjaFingers) sold the following stories:

Queensmen to the Zombie Feary Tales anthology, scheduled to be published by Library of the Living Dead Press in early 2010.

Ellis Ridge to the Library of the Living Dead anthology Zombist: Tales of the Undead West with a planned release date in early 2010


Kirby McNarie (Site Member ezimachia) sold her story The Beginning of Something Wonderful to Aurora Wolf. It can be read here.


Jeff Hall (Site Member bookworm1605)'s short story, Wine and Bread, was published by Everyday Weirdness on the November 15th, 2009.


Chris Ward (Site Member headofwords) has a story in A Fly in Amber called The Cold Pools. Check it out here .


Anne Lyle (Site Member redfox) debuts with her short story Hopeful Monsters in The Tangled Bank, an anthology celebrating Darwin's centenary.

There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written, or badly written. That is all.
-- Oscar Wilde