Saturday, September 28, 2013

Cover Reveal and Re-Release Party for 
The Gathering: Book One of the Lia Fail Chronicles by S.L. Dearing





 Synopsis:


 Another world war has happened and everything we knew is now gone. There are no more countries.  No more government... only survivors who have created a new world made up of small colonies.  It has been  thirteen years and the village of Lia Fail sits peacefully above the Hollywood Reservoir in the Santa Monica Mountains. 

 The settlement is making ready
to host the fall Gathering, a time where every six months the other colonies from various parts of what was once Southern California visit for ten days of fun and reminiscence.  The Gathering begins as any other party.  A time for new loves, old friends, family, dancing and fun, but all too soon that changes.  The people in Lia Fail begin to experience strange goings on they can't explain, unseen forces attack several guests and friends begin to distrust friends.  When they receive news of a horrific massacre, they realize they must face an impending dark evil that threatens to descend on the tranquil village.  


Alia Stark, the queen of Lia Fail, must face this darkness.  But she will face the evil along side her oldest and dearest friends, as well as an amazing new ally.  The fate of her people, the lives of her children and freedom itself rests in her hands.  Will she have the courage to do what must be done?  

This is the beginning of a journey that will change all of their lives forever.

The Gathering: Book One of the Lia Fail Chronicles is the first in a new Paranormal,  Fantasy, and Adventure Series.





About the Author:
Although she grew up in Arizona, S. L. Dearing was born and raised in California and considers the Golden State her home. Shannon attended Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, studying biology, then moved to Los Angeles where she spent several years studying at Los Angeles City College’s renowned Television/ Film program. She learned the art of storytelling from her father when she was very young and has been writing since the tender age of five. As an author of many genres, she is always hoping to learn more by exploring the world of story.

She has written her first novel The Gathering: Book One of the Lia Fail Chronicles.  She also has short stories in several anthologies: Apocalypse: An Anthology by Readers & AuthorsParanormal Anthology with a Twist and the soon to be released Stalkers: A Collection of Thriller StoriesShannon currently resides in Los Angeles.




 Here is my review of The Gathering.
November 12th, 2012




"The Gathering"

by
S.L Dearing

Synopsis


Thirteen years after the last world war, the village of Lia Fail sits peacefully above the Hollywood Reservoir in the Santa Monica Mountains. The village is making ready for the fall Gathering, where the other colonies from various parts of what was once Southern California visit for ten days of fun and reminiscence. What begins as a normal Gathering, soon changes as the people of Lia Fail begin to see magic around them. Then they receive news of a horrific massacre and face a nightmare as a dark evil descends on the tranquil village. Alia Stark, the queen of Lia Fail, must face this evil along side her oldest and dearest friends as well as an incredible new ally as the fate of her people and the lives of her children rest in her hands. Will her new magic be strong enough to save those she loves the most?


My Review


Lia Fail means the great stone of destiny.
Just a tad bit of history for you before I give you my review. To me this was an important thing to know.

S.L. Dearing has brought so many elements to this story line. It is every

thing I love rolled into one.
Romance~Villains~Mythical Creatures~and of course Love.
In a post apocalyptic world this medieval fantasy brings other families together from different villages. This is known as "The Gathering."
Alia Stark is a headstrong queen of Lia Fail. She has 11 kids. In this book you get to know them one by one. They will captivate your heart. You will take the journey along with them and they're mother. Love will be found among many and villains are exposed.
Little do they know there is an evil force that desperately wants something from Alia. A gift that Alia doesn't even know she has hidden within her.
Alia will discover the goddess that is waiting to be unleashed.

This book is a definite must read! I can't say that enough. I was on my toes until the very end. Turning page after page with the anticipation of what would happen next. I was rooting for the characters in this book and for they're fight and will to survive.
The last few chapters literally gave me chills.
I was beyond saddened that it came to and end.
Then I brought myself back to reality and realized that S.L. Dearing is working on book 2.
I cannot wait for it and you will feel the same way.
 


~NARLY'S Q & A with S.L. Dearing~ 



 First of all I have a question for you that I have always wanted to know.  

 
1~How did the title of "The Gathering" come about? 

  S.L. Dearing: Wow, Ok, let me think... honestly, I'm not sure.  I knew I wanted there to be a lot of colonies and I wanted then to come together in one location.  Every time I pictured it I pictured a Renaissance Faire setting (well, not the Ren Faire of today, more like the Ren Faire of 15 years ago) and the fact that they gathered together must have influenced me to title the book that.  But once I knew the title, I knew that was it. And that led me to the titles of the next 3 books.  
 



2~The fact that I know you pretty well, tells me this is much bigger than your first release.  Tell me how this re-release is different?
S.L. Dearing: Yes, you do know me very well!  LOL!  The book actually dropped back in 2010, sometime between August and November, I don't remember specifically.  Back then I knew very little about the Facebook release parties and was just starting out, so I never had a release party.  So, A, this is my very first release party.  And B, the other item of information is that I am getting a new cover.  

My forst cover was painted by my cousin Gayleen Beyers and I love it.  It was different and unusual, but eventually I got feedback that it didn't quite show the epicness of the book or truly represent what readers saw.  So I called Rene Folsom (author and designer - Phycel Designs) and asked her to help.  I needed a POP, WOW, ZING kind of cover.  And I think that's what I got!

3~Let's give recognition to the wonderful cover artist Rene Folsom.  What did it take for the two of you to get this just right?  Details please? :)  

S.L. Dearing:  Well, it's was a lot of chatting about what I wanted.  I had envisioned something like the movie poster from Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Rene was totally on board.  Then we had to look for pictures.  That's where is got tricky.  We both gelled on the kind of picture we were looking for, but trying to find it was difficult, and I can't afford a photo shoot at this stage in the game.  So we finally found the right photo of Alia.  Then it just came down to who or what elee would be on there.  I had a different idea about what I wanted, until I saw the almost completed cover and Rene far surpassed my expectations and we went in slightly different direction.  But it's amazing!

 
4~A little birdie has said this is the first book in a series.  Is there any truth to this rumor?
S.L. Dearing:  What's this birdie's name?  LOL! Yeah, it is the first book.  I'm currently working on the second as well as some other goodies.
 

5~I personally LOVED this book!!  What do you have in store for us?
S.L. Dearing:  Right now I know that there will be three more, as well as a group of sort stories I'm working on that will be eventually grouped together as a volume and they will fill in some of the time between books.  This series will pick up 2-3 years after the last book.  No cliffhangers on each book. :)  I also have 4 stand-alones in the works, a horror anthology, a very special project with Rene Folsom the Author and I'm planning a multi-genre anthology that will feature all my stories that are currently published as well as some new stories.  I might even try my hand at a mystery.

6~Last, but not least, What books or authors inspired you to become an author? 
S.L. Dearing: Wow, I've been reading for as long as I can remember.  But the books that stand out as favorites of mine are The Stand by Stephen King, The Bad Place by Dean Koontz, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien, The Weird Museum Trilogy by Robin Jarvis and the Harry Potter books by JK Rowling.  Each one of these authors and books took me to another place.  As I said, I've been writing for a while, but I realized that I wanted to write something that would do that and so I wrote a book I wanted to read.  I think one day I woke up and said "What the Hell?"  I can do this and I did.

Thank you for having me on your blog, Nat!  You're support means so much. 



A special message to S.L. Dearing....




 For those of you that do not know this.... S.L. Dearing is not only a great author, but she is my Soul Sister.  I was lucky enough to review this book for her last year around this time. I fell in love with the book before I knew her genuine and awesome heart.  We found out how much we had in common and well book lovers... the rest is Soul Sistory.... ha ha...

I love you Shannon with all of my heart and congrats on this re-release and cover reveal.  I am so blessed to be on this amazing ride with you!! xoxo





Join us October 5 from 3-7pm PST on Facebook for a grand party event.  There will be games and prizes from LOTS of authors and Swag artists.  Please come and join the fun!!




Links: 





Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/sldearing



 --

Shannon L. Dearing
Author/ Writer - S. L. Dearing
The Gathering: Book One of the Lia Fail Chronicles
Apocalypse: An Anthology by Readers & Authors
Paranormal Anthology with a TWIST


Don't forget to check out the lovely Rene Folsom to whom of which designs these amazingly eye catching covers!!  I just love this woman!

Twitter: @ReneFolsom
 
 

4 comments:

  1. Thank you, My Beautiful Soul Sister!! I couldn't be more excited, more thrilled to share this with you today! It's been a long time coming and planning and you have been there all the way. I'm so glad that we found each other and so glad to share in our Soul Sistory (I'm gonna have to steal that I think). I've been so lucky to have you in my life. I love you!! and thank you again!
    And I want to say Thank you to Rene Folsom for doing such an AMAZING job on the cover. She is an exceptional designer as well as incredible author in her own right. Go to my website and go to contributors and you can find her links there. :)

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  2. Shannon--- I absolutely LOVE the new book cover!! Congrats! You are an amazing person with such a wonderful, loving, & giving soul! I wish you so much success on your journey and know many good blessings will come about. I will be getting the new cover book to add to my collection. Love you girl!!

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  3. And here on the blog. Rene Folsom's links are up! She is an amazing designer and I love her to pieces!!
    She does the most amazing job on everything she does.

    Here is to more soul sistory and doing what we love!! XOXO

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