I know, I know, I know … I’m in the middle of releasing “The Children of Lubrochius” so I should probably keep my eye on one target at a time. But I couldn’t resist. This week I uploaded a collection of three short stories to both Amazon and Smashwords. The title of the collection is “Of Dragons, Love, and Poison.” I kind of dig that title. Here’s a look at the cover:

And here’s some of the backcopy for each short story:

Of Dragons, Love, and Poison: The king’s daughter and her younger brother have vanished and the warrior Thrigon is tasked with finding them. Can he unravel the web of lies and dark magic surrounding their abduction? Or will he find himself a victim to the same power that claimed them?

The Red Archer: Return to the land of Athron in this exciting tale that pits the world’s greatest archer against a master thief.

Fate Unchained: In this tale, a young prince is denied his birthright by an inauspicious augury. Now an adult, the young prince must confront his younger brother for the crown of the kingdom and its ultimate fate.

So, if you like my writing, feel free to purchase a copy and write a review. I’d be very grateful. The collection can be found here on Smashwords and Amazon.

Announcement: This Blog is Moving

I’ve had this blog for a bit over a year now; I’ve gained quite a following. Still, it’s time for me to close up shop here on wordpress … sort of. I’m moving back to my original site: http://www.matthewdryan.com . It’s been a blast on here on A Toast to Dragons, but I’ve decided to centralize my efforts, upgrade the site, and add more functionality. I will keep the domain name: http://www.atoasttodragons.com and simply point it at http://www.matthewdryan.com (I think that’s how it works) so traffic destined for A Toast to Dragons will be redirected to the new site. It’s still going to be powered by WordPress, but unfortunately the followers are not automatically uploaded to the new site. Which means those of you who wish to follow the blog will have to re-follow (Sorry! 😦  ) Hopefully the transition will go smoothly and I won’t lose too many followers. Oh, and did I mention that the new site has a newsletter? You can sign up so you will be informed immediately when my next book comes out.

Old Movie Review: The Monk (2011)

My friend and I rented “The Monk” (rated R) because it sounded kind of intriguing: A mix of medieval monks, mystery, and sin. The basic plot is that the main character, Ambrosio, is abandoned at the doorstep of a monastery as a child and raised as a strict Capuchin monk. He grows up into a fervent disciple of Christ, renowned for his splendid, inspiring sermons and his great faith. Then, he gets involved with a woman and everything goes to pot (That’s putting it mildly). It is quite a spectacular fall from grace. The most holy monk of his order goes on to commit a whole litany of sins: fornication, incest, and finally murder.

Overall, the movie was interesting; it kept me engaged even though it was a foreign film and all in subtitles. I’m not sure if I should be annoyed at the portrayal of the religious here (I was raised Catholic). It’s set in the 17th century and the church did do some nasty things (like the Inquisition) in medieval times. Still, I don’t know if they would have starved a nun to death for getting pregnant. Maybe they would have. I don’t know (They certainly wouldn’t do that today!). Anyway, they are portrayed as very strict and sometimes, as in the above example, cruel and heartless. That was the backdrop of the movie, and it makes Ambrosio’s ultimate hypocrisy all the more profound. Satan makes a couple of appearances in the film. There’s dark magic, ghostly apparitions, and profound vice. All the elements of a twisted tale, and a twisted tale it was.

Strengths: the acting was good, the script, although twisted, was coherent and logically sound (assuming you accept the premise of Satan, Satanic witches, and what have you). The downfall of the Monk was portrayed quite well. Weaknesses: I think I saw every one of the twists in the movie coming. I mean, they were good twists, it’s just that they were kind of predictable. Again, I remain ambivalent about the portrayal of the church, but since I’m really not up on the history, I can’t really formalize a complaint. Also, the special effects were kind of lacking. I’ve said it before, special effects alone will not make a movie, but they can add to it. Here, they were obviously low budget and not very impressive. Finally, the ending was a little unclear to me. Part of me (most of me) is convinced that Satan wins, but there is a last fleeting image before the credits that made me wonder.

Anyway, I’ll give “The Monk” three and a half, or maybe four, out of five stars.

Blurb Blitz Blog Tour: Stop #20

My blurb blitz blog tour for my vampire fantasy novel, Drasmyr, comes to an end today. It is  July 19th, the last day of the tour.  Today

we have: Andi’s Book Reviews (http://andisbookreviews.blogspot.com/) Please check them out and show them your support.

 

And check out the sponsor of the tour: http://www.goddessfish.com/.

Blurb Blitz Blog Tour: Stop #19

My blurb blitz blog tour for my vampire fantasy novel, Drasmyr, continues today. Every day until July 19th, I’ll be visiting a variety of blogs across the Internet where promotional material for my book will be posted consisting of a blurb and an excerpt, or so. At the end of the tour, one of the commenters on the tour (the tour sites, NOT AToastToDragons) will win a prize. Today

we have: Straight from the Library (http://straightfromlibrary.blogspot.com/) Please check them out and show them your support.

 

And check out the sponsor of the tour: http://www.goddessfish.com/.