The Bay of Sins (The Water Road Trilogy, Book 3) by J.D. Byrne

Release date: March 22, 2017

Subgenre: Epic fantasy 

About The Bay of Sins: 

 

The war is over, but nothing is settled.

On the Neldathi side of the Water Road the clans are slowly pulling apart following a sudden murder. Hirrek is tasked with getting to the bottom of a mystery: was this killing the random act of a violent, unstable man? Or was it something more sinister, a hint of what the Neldathi thought they’d defeated during the war? The unity won in blood may be slipping away.

In the rebuilding city of Innisport, life is returning to something like normal. That’s largely due to Mida, given the task of rebuilding the city by Antrey Ranbren herself. After Mida hands power over to the Guild of Politicians, she finds herself on trial for her life, charged with treason and being a collaborator. Along the way she meets someone, a curious remnant of the war, who makes her rethink the way she sees those that destroyed her city.

In the meantime, Antrey returns from exile, escaping to the wilderness of Telebria. She gains new allies, including Rurek, and a new foe, the Sentinel Faerl. He’s best known among the other Sentinels as the man who let Antrey slip away once before, getting all his men killed in the process. Now he has a chance for redemption and revenge. But Antrey is willing to do anything to ensure that her legacy does not slip away.

The chase is on, as the saga of The Water Road barrels toward its explosive conclusion.

Excerpt:

Rurek seeks out an old business associate, but isn't very happy about it.

“Well, well, well,” he said, looking very satisfied with himself. “I believe the words were, ‘I’ll never come anywhere near this place again, you filthy criminal.’ Was that about right, Rurek?” While he spoke, he fiddled with the bracelet on his wrist.
Rurek cleared his throat. “Nice to see you too, Martoh. Believe me, when I said that I meant it. If circumstances were any different I wouldn’t be here.”
“Then I am truly touched that, in your hour of need, you found your way back here.” He signaled to someone, and a drink, some kind of deep-green alcohol, arrived within moments. “Have you had the ordem? It is a local specialty, requires a special kind of grain that grows wild around here. Very strong, but a wonderfully complex flavor, if you can handle it.” He took a long, slow sip and set the glass down on the table. “The girl is fine, by the way. I thought you might like to know.”
“I don’t care.” That was a lie. There wasn’t a night he didn’t think about the little girl and what her life was like in Wellston. He wasn’t about to let Martoh know that, however.
Martoh shrugged. “So be it. What, then, brings you so low that you would go back on your word and return to Modrozon Crossing, to this pub, and seek me out? I hope you did not gamble away all that money. It was so hard-earned.”
“After a fashion,” Rurek said, stifling a chuckle. “I got the money I needed to do what I needed to do. Problem is, now I’m not sure what to do with what I’ve got.”
“How cryptic. If you will not tell me what the problem is, I cannot help you.”
“Except I don’t really trust you.”
“You must trust me a little, Rurek, or you would have gone somewhere else. Did I cheat you? Did I tell you I would pay and then not pay, or pay less than we agreed?”
“No.” Rurek had to admit that.
“Did I lie to you about the nature of the work? And I mean lie, Rurek, really tell you something that was not true?”
“You didn’t tell me—”
Martoh raised a hand. “I told you what you needed to know to complete the task. Entirely accurate information. That you did not ask more questions, better questions, before taking my money is not my fault. You needed the money badly enough to keep you from asking those questions.”
“You’re being overly technical.”
“Overly technical is what put me in prison. Why should I not use it to my advantage now?”
Rurek knew Martoh had been in prison before the war and that he didn’t think he belonged there, but he didn’t know details. He didn’t want to know. “If that’s how you want to live your life.”
“It is.” Martoh sat back, looked out the window, and smiled. “Now that our reunion is out of the way, what is it that you think I might do for you?”

Amazon

 

About the Water Road Trilogy: 

 

• Book 1: The Water Road
• Book 2: The Endless Hills
• Book 3: The Bay of Sins 

 

About J.D. Byrne:

JD Byrne was born and raised around Charleston, West Virginia, before spending seven years in Morgantown getting degrees in history and law from West Virginia University. He's practiced law for more than 15 years, writing briefs where he has to stick to real facts and real law. In his fiction, he gets to make up the facts, take or leave the law, and let his imagination run wild. He lives outside Charleston with his wife and one-eyed dog.

He has a blog series called Water Road Wednesday where he talks about the book, provides excerpts, and more. You can read more about The Water Road Trilogy here.

Website | Facebook | Twitter

The Water Road by J.D. Byrne

release date: June 22, 2016

sub-genre: Epic Fantasy

About The Water Road:

Two women are about to expose a terrible secret that will turn their world upside down.

For centuries the great river known as the Water Road separated the Altrerians in the north from the Neldathi in the south. When the Neldathi clans united and struck out across the river, the nations of Altreria formed an alliance, the Triumvirate, to drive them back. For more than a hundred years after, the Triumvirate kept the Neldathi barbarians at bay, fighting amongst themselves across the Water Road.

Antrey is a woman without a country, the daughter of a Neldathi mother and an Altrerian father. She’s found a role for herself in Tolenor, the headquarters of the Triumvirate, that's given her access to a secret the alliance has kept for generations. When she finds it, she explodes with rage and embarks on a quest to find justice for the Neldathi people.

Strefer is a reporter without a story, desperately working the streets of Tolenor for any kind of lead. When Antrey flees the city, Strefer slips in and discovers her uncovered secret, stained with blood and fury. It’s the story of a lifetime, one powerful forces want to keep her from telling. With the help of a renegade Sentinel, Strefer sets out for a mythical city in hopes she can make the world listen to the truth.

Together, they’ll inflame the passions of a people and set the world alight. The Water Road - first book of The Water Road trilogy.

Excerpt:

“Antrey, you know how happy it makes me to see you so involved with books,” Alban said, adopting a fatherly tone, “but your grasp of history is rather shallow at this point. Bringing together the Guilders, the Arborians, and the Telebrians has brought out the best in all of us. It has shown that we can work together peacefully in common cause.”

“Can you actually hear yourself, Alban?” Antrey asked. “How can you make that argument, to me of all people, in the face of this enthusiastic embrace of bloodshed? I know you, Alban. You are such a good man. If not, I wouldn’t be here right now. Why would you, of all people, defend this?”

“Because it’s worked, damn you!” Alban shouted, all pretence of respect and calm shattered. “Because in the century since the Neldathi revolt was put down and this alliance was formed the Neldathi have stayed where they belong, in those horrible mountains south of the Water Road. Their nature is base. They seek only conflict and know only strife. Better those urges be turned on themselves than on us.”

Antrey staggered under the weight of his words, unable to respond for a moment. “Is that it, then, Alban? No matter how distasteful the means, so long as your people benefit, the suffering of others is all right? You care nothing for the Neldathi who dies, cold and alone in the falling snow, in the wake of some pointless battle?” Although she spoke calmly and chose her words with care, Antrey’s fury was still present and had begun to focus itself. Her initial reaction to the Triumvirate’s policy had been abstract, a rage against something done long ago by people long since dead. All that had changed, however, the more Alban talked. Now the anger in her was directed at the man in front of her. He was her employer, her mentor, and her savior. Still, she hated him for the secret he kept and the way he kept it.

As she had come around the desk, Antrey had somehow picked up the pikti, the ancient Sentinel fighting staff, that was normally propped in the corner of Alban’s office. It was so light that it felt like barely anything was there. The weight surprised her. She had held a sword once, a small one, and by comparison it was a clumsy weapon, a weight that hung on the end of her arm like a dead limb. Not the pikti. Even when she took it in both bands, it felt like a part of her, an extension of her will. As if it would do whatever she commanded. She held it out in front of her, hands about a foot apart.

“Antrey, put that down,” Alban said, raising his hands again. His tone had softened considerably since he, too, noticed the weapon in her hand. “You have no idea what that can do, and you’re liable to hurt yourself. Neither of us wants anyone to get hurt, right?” He started to back away from her slowly.

Amazon

About J.D. Byrne:

JD Byrne was born and raised around Charleston, West Virginia, before spending seven years in Morgantown getting degrees in history and law from West Virginia University. He's practiced law for more than 15 years, writing briefs where he has to stick to real facts and real law. In his fiction, he gets to make up the facts, take or leave the law, and let his imagination run wild. He lives outside Charleston with his wife and one-eyed dog.

He has a blog series called Water Road Wednesday where he talks about the book, provides excerpts, and more. You can read more about The Water Road Trilogy here.

web-site | Facebook | Twitter

Interview with J.D. Byrne, author of Moore Hollow

J.D. Byrne, author of the newly released Moore Hollow (see October 21) is the latest writer to answer the Speculative Fiction Showcase's challenging interview questions, including the one about the green smoothie...


Apple or PC?

PC all the way! I grew up a computer geek and so I've always been happy with computers that actually acted like computers. Plus, my day job’s in a field that has always been a PC one, so it makes sense to have some commonality across my regular computing venues.

Do you use Scrivener or Word?

Word, although I’ve never really played around with Scrivener. Again, I use Word at work and have for years, so I’m pretty familiar with it. Having said that, I use yWriter for first drafts, because it has a nice way to organize non-manuscript stuff (characters, settings, items, etc.) so it’s at hand while I’m writing. Then I dump to Word to edit.

Do you have any pets? Do they influence your writing?

Until very recently we had a black cat, Kali, as well as a one-eyed dog, Maia, but Kali died last weekend, so we’re down to being a one critter household. Maia thinks she influences my writing, mainly by wandering into my studio and begging for attention while I’m doing it, but none of the critters have found their way into a story. Yet.

Would you rather see your stories on the big screen or the little screen?

Depends on the story, I suppose. Moore Hollow, my new novel, would work well on the big screen. It’s a fully enclosed story, not part of a series, and could be adapted without jettisoning entire portions of the book. On the other hand, The Water Road trilogy (coming in 2016) would fit better on the small screen. It’s much longer (obviously), has a more expansive universe to explore, and would require a longer term commitment by viewers, I would think (particularly when they don’t see any human beings on screen!).

But, you know, either way, I don’t think I’d be that picky so long as the checks cleared. :)

Are you hooked on any of the shows on the sci-fi channel? If so, which one(s)?

My wife and I just burned through the first season of 12 Monkeys, which was really good. Very different from the Gilliam film (which I adore), but I'm glad they didn’t try to stretch that over too many hours. I’m also very excited about The Expanse, which debuts in December. I’m about to finish the second book in that series (Caliban’s War). It’s got real potential for a good series.

Do you own copies of Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings DVDs? The extended version? Do you ever watch them?

I’ll make a confession - I’ve never been a huge Tolkien fan, in spite of my love of progressive rock, which takes more than a few cues from the man’s work (my favorite band is Marillion, after all). I’ve seen all the Jackson movies and enjoyed them, but didn’t feel the need to have them for posterity, much less in the extended versions. Now if he’d made a series of movies from Terry Pratchett’s books, I’d be all over those.

Are you a Luddite? Or do you prefer to be on the bleeding edge of technology?

I don’t really think of myself as a Luddite. I’m not afraid of new tech and once I get something I tend to use it all the time (ask my wife about how I’ve learned to love a smart phone). It’s not like I’m hunched over my grandfather’s old manual typewriter or anything. But at the same time, I’m hesitant to upgrade stuff that’s working for me and run the risk of new stuff going wrong. I’m not on the cutting edge, but I’d like to think I follow fairly close behind.

Are you--or have you ever been--a gamer?

My first gaming experience involved a Vic-20 computer and a cassette tape deck. So, yeah, I’d say I’m a gamer. But I tend to run in spells where I play and then I don’t. Honestly, a lot of free time I once had to do that kind of stuff is given over to writing now. When I get a chance, I like to sit down with my PS3 (what did I say about upgrading?) and play the kind of sports that I could never play in real life due to the fact that I’m a clumsy old nerd.

Do you cook? What is your best/favorite/most popular recipe?

I do cook, pretty much every day. My most requested dishes are probably jambalaya (without seafood, thank you very much) and beef stew. Both are recipes I found on the internet and tweaked a little bit for my own tastes. Seems like a good formula.

Have you ever heard of or had a green smoothie? If you’ve ever had one, what did you think about ?

Yes. One of my co-workers one day brought in enough stuff to make smoothies for everyone out of lots of leafy green bits (mostly kale, I think). It was one of the worst things I’ve ever had in my mouth in my life. It was like sucking yard clippings through a straw. If that’s what good for me it, I guess I’ll keep being bad.

What are you wearing right now?

An old DC United jersey (from the VW sponsorship days – a little awkward now). I keep telling myself I’ll wait to update until they win another championship and add another star to the logo. Seems like that might be a while.

Does life fascinate you?

Sometimes it does. One of the things about my day job as a criminal defense lawyer is that I see a lot of people with very odd life stories. Things that you could never use in a book because readers wouldn’t believe it. What’s the old saying? “The difference between fiction and reality is that fiction has to make sense?” But even beyond that I’m frequently amazed, in both good and bad ways, by the way people treat each other and the reasons for doing do.

What would your animal totem be?

It would be a two-faced totem – think of the old carvings of the Roman god Janus – with Rat on one side and Pig on the other side, from the comic strip Pearls Before Swine. They represent the parts of my personality so well it’s scary. Rat’s my cynical, down on the world part, while Pig’s my bouncy, fundamentally optimistic part. On any given day either one of those can take control, so I’d need both for my totem.

On a scale of 1-10, how eccentric are you?

6.784681357.

Do you consider yourself a slave to the muse?

Not so much. I think one of the important things new writers learn from listening to those who have been at it for a while is that writing is as much perspiration as it is inspiration. That isn’t to say being inspired doesn’t help – I’ve certainly had days when it seemed like the universe was pouring stuff out through my fingers. But, in my experience, those days are few and far between. If you can’t get up and keep writing even when the muse is attending to other customers, you won’t get very far.

About J.D. Byrne

JD Byrne was born and raised around Charleston, West Virginia, before spending seven years in Morgantown getting degrees in history and law from West Virginia University. He's practiced law for more than 15 years, writing briefs where he has to stick to real facts and real law. In his fiction, he gets to make up the facts, take or leave the law, and let his imagination run wild. He lives outside Charleston with his wife and one-eyed dog.

website   Moore Hollow on Amazon

Moore Hollow by J.D. Byrne

Release date: October 5, 2015

Sub-genre: Fantasy, Paranormal and Urban

About Moore Hollow:

Ben Potter’s life is a shambles. As a journalist he’s hit rock bottom, writing dreck about monsters and ghouls to make ends meet after a big story blew up in his face. As a son he’s a disappointment, unwilling to follow his father, grandfather, and great grandfather into the family business. As a father, he’s mostly just not there.

Now a new assignment could change all that. All he has to do is go from London to the hills of West Virginia to investigate the strangest of stories his great grandfather told. Did a sleazy politician really raise the dead to try and win an election? And if he did, what happened to the zombies? Could they still exist? Ben needs to find out, to solve the mystery and find a way to get his life back on track.

But finding the answer only presents Ben with a whole new batch of problems. Does he use what he learns to put his life back on track? Or will he be compelled to do the right thing, even if it leaves his life a mess?

The hardest part of a mystery is deciding what to do once you’ve solved it.

Excerpt:

Nightfall came about half an hour after Ben left town. He stopped at a small convenience store, fulfilled the tank’s enormous thirst for fuel, and grabbed a cup of coffee. It tasted like it had been made from the warmed-over remains of a small woodland creature, but it made him fully alert. He got back on the road and turned north, back to town and back to bed.

There had not been much traffic on the way down, nor was there much on the way back. At some point, however, Ben picked up someone following behind him. They weren’t close enough to be dangerous, but the other car’s headlights became a constant presence in his rearview mirror. Ben didn’t give much thought to it except when the undulations in the pavement shot the lights’ full brightness into his eyes.

A few miles from town, something caught Ben’s attention, something he didn’t expect to see on a road like this. It appeared to be a person walking slowly down the road on the right hand shoulder. Ben clicked on his high beams, then the ridiculously powerful fog lights to try to provide more light for the walker. At the very least, he didn’t want to run him over. Under the best of circumstances, anyone walking down this road was taking their life in their hands.

Ben lifted off the gas and slowed down, trying to get a good look at the walker. It was a man, but Ben couldn’t tell anything else about him—his age or whether he was black or white. His clothes looked rough and ragged, but beyond a general impression, Ben couldn’t tell much else. Then he noticed something odd about the man. It was his gait, the way he was moving. It wasn’t really walking in the strictest sense. It was more of a shuffle, a slow plodding step that fell somewhere between a limp and a gallop.

It hit Ben’s mind so fast he said it aloud. “Don’t zombies walk that way? Slowly shuffling along?” he asked himself. “At least they do in the films.”

He thought about stopping to try to talk to the man, who showed no interest in the presence of the tank near him, but that was impossible. The car that had been a constant companion behind Ben was now right on his bumper, brought near when Ben slowed down. He pulled around the shuffling figure on the side of the road and accelerated back to full speed. Immediately, he began to look for someplace to double back. About a quarter of a mile down the road was a small church with an equally small parking lot. It would do as a place to turn around, so Ben signaled, slowed, and turned into the church parking lot.

The car behind did the same.

Ben’s eyes fixed on the white headlights in the rearview mirror, which were quickly augmented by flashing blue and red.

Amazon | Kobo | Barnes & Noble | iTunes | Inktera | Scribd | Oyster

Also available as a paperback from Amazon and Empire Books & News

About J.D. Byrne

JD Byrne was born and raised around Charleston, West Virginia, before spending seven years in Morgantown getting degrees in history and law from West Virginia University. He's practiced law for more than 15 years, writing briefs where he has to stick to real facts and real law. In his fiction, he gets to make up the facts, take or leave the law, and let his imagination run wild. He lives outside Charleston with his wife and one-eyed dog.

website