Hi, Jackson! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?

This is like one of those icebreaker questions at team meetings. I write books, obviously, otherwise we wouldn’t be here. Specifically, I’ve just released my first fantasy novel, which is quite a ballsy move because I’ve spent most of my career writing sci-fi, and it turns out that fantasy is way, way harder than I thought it would be. Still, I’m pretty good at what I do, so you should probably read the book. It’s solid.

What else? I’m from South Africa, I’ve visited over 40 countries, and I have no sense of smell.

When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?

It’s literally the only thing I’ve ever been good at. I was the smallest kid in my class, and the youngest, and I had a funny accent thanks to family who came from all over. But writing and telling stories was the one thing nobody could beat me at.

Yes, I am in therapy, no need to bring it up.

Quick lightning round! Tell us:

• The first book you ever remember reading: A pulpy adventure story by a long-forgotten writer called Willard Smith.
• The one that made you want to become an author: The Hunger Games. It felt like crack cocaine in book form. I wanted to write something like that.
• The one that you can’t stop thinking about: Illuminae lives in my head rent free. Not just an absolutely incredible story, but a staggering technical achievement. I still have no idea how that book exists but I’m awfully glad it does.

Your latest novel, The Bone Raiders, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?

Giant lizards? Let’s ride them.

What can readers expect?

A patently misguided attempt by a group of raiders to tame and ride giant fire-breathing lizards, so they can stop themselves being wiped out by a newly-crowned ruler.

Where did the inspiration for The Bone Raiders come from?

Saturday morning cartoons. I’m not joking. Even when I was a kid, I always wondered why the bad guys on cartoons lived in crappy old castles and wore lots of bone-covered spiky armour and generally looked evil as hell. That seemed like a waste of time, if you asked me. But when I became an adult, and became capable of having slightly more sophisticated thoughts, I decided it might be fun to explore that why.

Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?

There’s a particular raider called Khun who has lost her marbles. I mean that literally. She’s completely detached from reality. That makes her both the funniest person in the entire book and also the scariest. She was an absolute delight to write.

Did you face any challenges whilst writing? How did you overcome them?

See aforementioned comment about never having written fantasy before. Turns out, building an entire world from scratch is incredibly difficult. I made a lot of mistakes. I overcame them by throwing them all out and starting again.

What’s next for you?

Bone Raiders 2: BONE HARDER. Pretty sure it’ll have a different title, but it’s out next May.

Lastly, what books have you enjoyed reading this year? Are there any you’re looking forward to picking up?

The Devils by Joe Abercrombie, which was funny as hell. The Wings Upon Her Back by Samantha Mills, which was not only a great story but had the best cover (excluding mine) of any book currently out there.

Right now, I really want to read The End Of The World As We Know It, an anthology set in the world of Stephen King’s The Stand. That looks pretty dope.

Will you be picking up The Bone Raiders? Tell us in the comments below!

The post Q&A: Jackson Ford, Author of ‘The Bone Raiders’ appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Reminiscent of the publication of The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North (later revealed to be Carnegie-nominated Catherine Webb), Jackson Ford is a pseudonym for an author of “16 bestselling novels.” But while the author may be a mystery (for now) the book’s mission statement is clear. It hits the ground running from the very beginning – with sh*t hitting the proverbial fan as well as flying through the air – and doesn’t let up for pretty much its entire four-hundred-odd-page run.

The story is told from the point of view of two characters: Teagan, whose chapters are told in first-person, and Jake, a mysterious young man whose search for answers threatens to take him to some very dark places, whose chapters are told in the third person.

Teagan’s voice is immediately engaging, while also being dry and sarcastic—”On second thoughts, throwing myself out the window of a skyscraper may not have been the best idea. Not because I’m going to die or anything. I’ve totally got that under control. It wasn’t smart because I had to bring Annie Cruz with me. And Annie, it turns out, is a screamer.” Plus it’s also full of pop-culture references and it’s been described as a “blue-collar X-Men” and the book is aware of the similarities, with frequent references to both the franchise and the particular character of Jean Grey. And though Teagan is not without her vulnerabilities. Underneath the sarcasm is the knowledge and the sadness that her abilities mean she will never be able to lead a normal life and that it is only the tenuous goodwill of the slightly sinister Tanner—the government agent in charge of their little outfit—that’s keeping her from being locked away forever as a lab-rat, and possibly dissected to find out how her powers work, and presumably how they can be replicated.

Jake’s chapters, simply by dint of the fact they’re written in third person, are slightly more sedate, making them welcome breathers from the relentlessness of Teagan’s as well as furthering the plot. They also act as a pretty good tragic character study, with one particular revelation casting a character –who you may have thought you had the measure of –and their actions in a new light.

Teagan’s team starts out as very much not a cohesive team, rather a group of mismatched individuals who tolerate each other (to varying degrees) because they have to. During the course of the book they come together, so that by the end it feels as though this instalment is a curtain raiser onto the stage where future adventures will be set.

The Girl Who Could Move Sh*t With Her Mind is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers.

Will you be reading The Girl Who Could Move Sh*t With Her Mind? Tell us in the comments below!

Synopsis | Goodreads

For Teagan Frost, sh*t just got real.

Teagan Frost is having a hard time keeping it together. Sure, she’s got telekinetic powers—a skill that the government is all too happy to make use of, sending her on secret break-in missions that no ordinary human could carry out. But all she really wants to do is kick back, have a beer, and pretend she’s normal for once.

But then a body turns up at the site of her last job—murdered in a way that only someone like Teagan could have pulled off. She’s got 24 hours to clear her name—and it’s not just her life at stake. If she can’t unravel the conspiracy in time, her hometown of Los Angeles will be in the crosshairs of an underground battle that’s on the brink of exploding…

Full of imagination, wit and random sh*t flying through the air, this insane adventure from an irreverent new voice will blow your tiny mind.

The post Review: The Girl Who Could Move Sh*t With Her Mind by Jackson Ford appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

There’s also some exciting YA fantasy releases including Kat Cho’s Wicked Fox, which follows a gumiho, a nine-tailed fox who must devour the energy of men in order to survive, Taran Matharu’s Chosen, where a boy finds himself in another realm, and also Gena Showalter’s The Evil Queen, which is an intriguing retelling about the Evil Queen from Snow White.

In other fantasy releases, there’s Kevin J. Anderson’s Spine of The Dragon, which obviously features dragons so it could be a perfect post-Game of Thrones fix, Alexis Hall’s The Affair of The Mysterious Letter pays homage to Sherlock Holmes with a twist, and Karen Lord’s  Unraveling, which features spirits and myths.

Read on to discover our June fantasy and sci-fi picks and tell us below if you will be checking any of them out!

Recursion by Blake Crouch
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

At once a relentless pageturner and an intricate science-fiction puzzlebox about time, identity, and memory, Recursion is a thriller as only Blake Crouch could imagine it—and his most ambitious, mind-boggling, irresistible work to date.

Wicked Fox by Kat Cho
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Eighteen-year-old Gu Miyoung has a secret–she’s a gumiho, a nine-tailed fox who must devour the energy of men in order to survive. Because so few believe in the old tales anymore, and with so many evil men no one will miss, the modern city of Seoul is the perfect place to hide and hunt. But after feeding one full moon, Miyoung crosses paths with Jihoon, a human boy, being attacked by a goblin deep in the forest. Against her better judgement, she violates the rules of survival to rescue the boy, losing her fox bead–her gumiho soul–in the process.

Storm and Fury by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Eighteen-year-old Trinity Marrow may be going blind, but she can see and communicate with ghosts and spirits. Her unique gift is part of a secret so dangerous that she’s been in hiding for years in an isolated compound fiercely guarded by Wardens—gargoyle shape-shifters who protect humankind from demons. If the demons discover the truth about Trinity, they’ll devour her, flesh and bone, to enhance their own powers.

Spine of the Dragon by Kevin J. Anderson
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Bestselling author Kevin J. Anderson’s triumphant return to epic fantasy, Spine of the Dragon, is a politically charged adventure of swords, sorcery, venegeance, and the rise of sleeping giants.

The Affair of the Mysterious Letters by Alexis Hall
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

In this charming, witty, and weird fantasy novel, Alexis Hall pays homage to Sherlock Holmes with a new twist on those renowned characters.

The Evil Queen by Gena Showalter
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

In the realm of Enchantia, creatures of legend still exist, magic is the norm and fairy tales are real. Except, fairy tales aren’t based on myths and legends of the past—they are prophecies of the future. Raised in the mortal realm, Everly Morrow has no idea she’s a real-life fairy-tale princess—until she manifests an ability to commune with mirrors. Soon, a horrifying truth is revealed. She is fated to be Snow White’s greatest enemy, the Evil Queen.

The Girl Who Could Move Sh*t with Her Mind by Jackson Ford
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

The Chosen by Taran Matharu
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Cade is settling into a new boarding school, contemplating his future, when he finds himself transported to another realm. He soon discovers their new world is populated with lost remnants from the past: prehistoric creatures, ancient relics, and stranger still―people. Overwhelmed by his new surroundings, Cade has little time to adjust, for soon he and his fellow classmates are forced to become contenders in a brutal game, controlled by mysterious overlords. But who are these beings and why did they choose these teens? Cade must prepare for battle . . . because hiding is not an option.

Unraveling by Karen Lord
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

In this standalone fantasy novel by an award-winning author, the dark truth behind a string of unusual murders leads to an otherworldly exploration of spirits, myth, and memory, steeped in Caribbean storytelling.

The Girl In Red by Christina Henry
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

From the national bestselling author of Alice comes a postapocalyptic take on the perennial classic “Little Red Riding Hood”…about a woman who isn’t as defenseless as she seems.

Fall, or Dodge In Hell by Neal Stephenson
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Fall, or Dodge in Hell is pure, unadulterated fun: a grand drama of analog and digital, man and machine, angels and demons, gods and followers, the finite and the eternal. In this exhilarating epic, Neal Stephenson raises profound existential questions and touches on the revolutionary breakthroughs that are transforming our future.

Across The Void by S.K. Vaughn
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

A visceral space thriller—perfect for fans of Arrival and The Martian—following the sole survivor of a catastrophic accident in space that leaves her drifting in the void with only the voice of her estranged husband, a NASA scientist, to guide her back to Earth.

What June fantasy or sci-fi release are you most excited to check out? Tell us in the comments below!

The post June 2019 Book Releases: Fantasy + Sci-Fi appeared first on The Nerd Daily.