Jilly: Quarantine Bargain

Another week checked off the calendar. Another week closer to the end of this pandemic. Fingers crossed. I hope you and yours are safe and keeping as well as can be expected.

While we’re waiting this crisis out, would you be interested in a great read, at an incredible price, for a good cause?

Any regular reader of 8LW will know that I love, love, love anything written by the husband and wife team who write as Ilona Andrews. Their books are enjoyable, intelligent urban fantasy adventures packed with action, romance, mythology, humor, kindness and much more.

I especially love the Innkeeper Chronicles, a self-published series featuring Dina DeMille, the proprietor of a magical B&B in Texas that serves as a secret waystation between earth and the rest of the universe. There are heroic werewolves, chivalrous martial space vampires, fabulous creatures, smart magic, epic fights, great dialogue and lots of jokes.

I already own the books, but if you don’t, and you feel tempted to try them, you’ll never have a better opportunity. Right now the first three books of the Innkeeper series are on sale for a princely 99 cents. All proceeds, net of Ilona Andrews’ literary agency’s costs, will be donated to the CDP Covid-19 Response Fund.

Go on, try them. You know you want to. The Zon link is here.

I’m pretty sure there will never be a better time, a better price, or a better cause.

Take care, stay safe, and see you next week.

Jilly: Digging Deeper

Do you have a specialist subject or some arcane body of knowledge? Have you ever seen it used to power a novel? Did the author get it right? Does it affect how you feel about their writing in general?

This morning I’ve been reading the comments on one of my favorite blogs with a mixture of awe and fascination.

I’ve mentioned before that I’m a huge fan of Ilona Andrews’ writing, and one of my favorite free weekend treats is to read the latest installment of One Fell Sweep, the third book in their self-published Innkeeper Chronicles (click here to read my thoughts on the second book, Sweep In Peace). The books are posted free as a weekly serial Continue reading

Jilly: Good Book Squee – Sweep In Peace (Ilona Andrews)

Sweep In PeaceYesterday, Michaeline explained her willingness to shell out $15 for a digital ARC of a book that she fully intends to buy again, in hardback, when it’s officially published. Today I’d like to share my excitement that Sweep In Peace, a book I’ve already read for free, is available to pre-order.

I hoover up everything Ilona Andrews writes, even her blog posts. She and her husband, Gordon, have a knack of creating worlds and characters that make me deeply happy. I get a lasting positive buzz from all their books – the mixture of humor, humanity, imagination, good writing and excellent craft fills me with joy – but I have an extra soft spot for the Innkeeper series (Clean Sweep and Sweep In Peace) because of the way I first read them.

The Innkeeper books Continue reading