Hi lovelies! It
gives me great pleasure today to host D.C. Fergerson and his new book, “The
Singer and the Charlatan”! For other
stops on his Goddess Fish Promotions Book Tour, please click on the banner
above or any of the images in this post.
Be sure to make it
to the end of this post to enter to win a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble Gift
Card! Also, come back daily to interact
with D.C. and to increase your chances of winning!
Thanks for stopping
by! Wishing you lots of luck in this
fabulous giveaway!
The Singer and the Charlatan
Book One of
The Wicked Instruments
by D.C. Fergerson
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GENRE:
Fantasy
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BLURB:
Leanna Moonbody
dreams of playing at the Saul Amphitheater. With just one adventure to fund her
trip, she meets up with a priestess that dreams of a massive flock to take on a
pilgrimage. Together, Leanna will set up the crowds, and Priestess Trixi will
bring them to Our Lord.
With an elf, dwarf,
rogue, pixie and a paladin on their side, they set out to realize both their
dreams. They just have to maneuver past a lovesick noble, the clergy, a
deranged halfling that can’t seem to die, and a plague.
What could possibly
go wrong?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EXCERPT
ONE:
“Ooh,
this is exciting,” Leanna said with a smile, grabbing up Tear and Jonathan’s
hands.
With
the circle complete, Trixi looked to the ceiling.
“Lord.
Oh, Lord, who is great and true. Take this offering of Form R226 and whatever
leftovers we have here from dinner. Commune with me so that I may be a better
Fawnspear, walking the path of truth. May it be really, really funny.”
With
that, the scroll burned away before their eyes. Then, nothing. The silence
became awkward.
“Did
it not work?” Jonathan asked.
“Quiet,”
Trixi demanded, turning her ear to the table.
The
faint sound of terribly boring music filled the space all around the table. Any
old ear would think it came from the building next door, but the trained ear of
a Thistlite knew better. She listened to the song for a moment with her eyes
closed.
Leanna
joined in, leaning in to try and make out the tune. Suddenly, a loud voice
spoke out, scaring her so bad she almost fell out of her chair.
“Our
Lord is currently speaking with another faithful! You are very important to Our
Lord! Your prayer shall be heard in the order it was received!”
Leanna
broke the circle. “Oh, come on! Why did that have to be the loud part?”
“Leanna,
you must be quiet,” Trixi whispered. “I’m sure he’ll be here soon.”
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YOUTUBE VIDEO:
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YOUTUBE VIDEO:
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GUEST
POST:
Writing
Women in Comedy
The most common
advice you’re given as a writer is to ‘write what you know’. That’s easy, right
up until you bump into the other half of the population that isn’t your gender.
How can I, as a male writer, have two female leads in The Singer and the
Charlatan that don’t fall into a male perspective of humor?
Just recently, when
I got back my manuscript for the second book, The Princess and the Holy
Juggernaut (coming February/March!) from my editor, Michelle Luxembourger, it
was fascinating to see where she notated the jokes that really cracked her up.
They were always more subtle and born from knowing the characters very well.
They were intimate jokes, for lack of a better term. I’ve been able to
cultivate a lot of that intimate humor through world building, but I honestly
couldn’t have done any better than roleplay.
A nerd to my core,
my wife and I were brought into Dungeons and Dragons and other tabletop
roleplaying games by my sister and her husband. Two guys, two girls. By
assuming the roles of these characters, I was able to see things from such a
different perspective, one I can’t really take credit for. The life and
complexity of Leanna Moonbody and Priestess Trixi in The Singer and the
Charlatan was due entirely to the love my wife and sister had for these
characters. They sat down and asked the questions, ‘Where is she from? What
makes her tick? What does she want in life?’ I can write them all I want, but
these characters, and the depth within, comes from a place I never wrote. I got
lucky to watch them unfold as people, to know them like friends, and to be able
to put their story to paper.
Early on in the
book, the dwarf Cort confronts their employer, Lord Lloyd Demarq, about a bit
of dark business the main characters had undertaken for him. Cort believes Lord
Demarq is an evil undead that has tasked them with finding his remains for some
nefarious purpose.
(From
The Singer and the Charlatan)
“Wait,” Leanna
said. “Are you guys saying he’s hundreds of years old?”
“I’m saying good
old Lloyd here was after this urn because he’s in it,” Cort replied.
“But he’s up there
on the stairs, Cort. Have we thought this through?”
These kinds of
interactions and banter just aren’t possible exclusively from a male point of
view. If there were no women in this scene to bring levity and common sense,
it’s a more serious, jump-to-conclusions-and-kill-him action scene. I owe a lot
of laughs and a lot of my insight to having my wife and my sister play these
characters, reacting as Leanna and Trixi would react, almost cheating to get a
genuine female voice when I don’t understand the first thing about being a
woman or seeing the world through their eyes.
I’ve been very
lucky to have surrounded myself with some of the funniest, greatest women I
know. The Singer and the Charlatan is a fantasy story that doesn’t mind poking
fun at its own genre, and it does so because of that intimate element of humor
and two incredible female leads. Any other writer would have jumped on
supporting character Jonathan Twilight - the well-dressed, good looking rogue
that is quick with a dagger and full of secrets. Or perhaps they’d find the
paladin Sante best to carry the story - fresh from his military training and
out on his first mission, leaving his new wife back home so that he can safely
escort Leanna Moonbody to the city of Saul. These guys can carry action movies,
and that just wasn’t me.
The best thing I
can say about writing women in comedy is this - surround yourself with smart,
witty women and soak up conversation like a sponge. Nothing can substitute for
a woman’s perspective and voice.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR
BIO:
An avid reader,
fantasy gamer, humorist, husband, and father. I wear a lot of hats, some of
them terribly silly, with feathers and such. I’ve channeled years Dungeons and
Dragons campaigns and late-night stand-up comics into a series full of wit, charm,
magic, and laughs.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CONNECT
WITH D.C.:
Blog:
Facebook:
Twitter:
Goodreads
Author Page:
Amazon
Author Page:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BOOK BUY
LINKS:
Amazon
Kindle:
Amazon
Paperback:
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GIVEAWAY
INFO:
D.C. Fergerson will be awarding a $25 Amazon or
Barnes and Noble Gift Card to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during
the tour.
**This post contains affiliate links and if clicked and a
purchase made I may receive a small commission to help support this blog. This does not cost you anything, it just
helps pay for all those awesome giveaways on here.**
This contest is sponsored by a third party. Fabulous and
Brunette is a registered host of Goddess Fish Promotions. Prizes are given away by the sponsors and not
Fabulous and Brunette. The featured author and Goddess Fish Promotions are
solely responsible for the giveaway prize.
congrats on the tour and thanks for the chance to win
ReplyDeleteHi Lisa ~ Thank you for stopping by! It's great to have you here! Good luck in the giveaway!
DeleteDan's my hero. I <3 his friggin' face. He's a very pretty princess.
ReplyDeleteGreat story, wonderful characters.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the kind words.
DeleteHi! Yes, it does sound like such a great read! Thanks for stopping by and good luck in the giveaway!
DeleteHi D.C. ~ Thanks for stopping by! I enjoyed featuring your book on my blog! Good luck on the rest of the tour!
DeleteCongrats on the book. Thanks for the giveaway. I hope that I win. Bernie W BWallace1980(at)hotmail(d0t)com
ReplyDeleteHi Bernie ~ Great to see you here again! Thanks for stopping by! Good luck in the giveaway!
DeleteThanks for sharing your post, I enjoyed reading it!
ReplyDeleteHi Victoria ~ Thanks! I enjoyed being part of this tour! Great to see you here again! Good luck in the giveaway!
DeleteI really liked the excerpt. Sounds like a great book.
ReplyDeleteHi Teresa ~ As always it great to have you here too! Yes, this book does like such a great read! Good luck in the giveaway!
DeleteNerds of the world, unite! Thanks for sharing, sounds like there is lots of tongue-in-cheek humor.
ReplyDeleteHey! You made it! Thanks for stopping by! It's great to have you here :)
DeleteMy pleasure! Thanks for stopping by!
ReplyDelete