Podcast: Six Stories, Told at Night

Six Stories, Told at Night

By:  K.T. Bryski

Narrated By:  Blythe Hanes

Publish Date:  2016

Format:  Podcasted Audio Drama

Genre:  Fantasy

Series:  Stand alone

First Impression:  One girls tale mixed with fairy and anothers as she learns who she is.

Listen For Free:
iTunes  /  Feedburner 

My Thoughts and Summary:
*I listened to this story for my own enjoyment.

I love audio dramas. KT has added in sound effects to add to the story.

Blythe! Oh my! The emotion and character in her voice as she tells the stories. She slips into different feels to accent KT's writing. We get Sam in the here and now, worried. We get Joelle when she speaks with her French accent. We get the narration feel of old as old tales are told.

This story feels a bit of a different style but it's amazing how it all draws together! Current, past, and fairy stories mixed and easy to follow. These stories are short and quick, give or take 20 minutes each. But dang! They slip by in a moment as I'm listening enjoying the stories. I love the feel and the visions I get from them. We not only get the fairy tale of that episode but it's connected to Sam and Joelle, growing their history and friendship along with driving us to where Sam is going to find her friend.

We get stories of our characters, Joelle and Sam, along with an old, dark fairy tale. The combination of these together leads to the feel of the moment with Sam and adds flavor to emotions. The tale of when the girls were young and events of now show a great connection and friendship between the girls, setting us with the feeling of determination with Sam, to find Joelle.

Oh the background sounds that accent events of the story. Well placed. The music brings a chill to the old, dark tales as well.

One: Bonhomme Sept-Heures
20 mins
Description:
"It just takes the right story, that's all. Something impressive. A story they've never heard before." Sam's childhood friend Joëlle has vanished, leaving behind a note that doesn't make sense, a feather Sam doesn't recognize, and a lifetime of stories. Sam starts her quest with a retelling of Bonhomme Sept-Heures: a monster who steals away children out too late... Additional music by Kerri Lake (flute) and Kevin MacLeod ("Long Note One").

Thoughts:
First thing that caught my attention, the sound effects. Good gracious do I love the sounds that go with narration. It's like I'm sitting there with them. First is the sound of fire crackling, lightly added to the back to go with the voice, just like we are sitting together listening to a story.

This is just the beginning. Sam is determined to find her friend, Joelle. Sam is convinced there is something more to Joelle's disappearance. The big project Joelle was working on had fallen through, losing it's funding, but all Joelle's been talking about is Fairyland and all that exist there.

Two: Rose LaTulippe
23 mins
Description:
"This is a lot of little stories…and at the same time, it’s all one big story. That’s how life works, isn’t it?" Sam's archival investigations prove fruitless, but a clue to Joëlle's plans comes from an unexpected source. Interwoven is the story of Rose LaTulippe: a folktale with over 200 different versions - but none like Sam and Joëlle's. (Additional music: "Long Note One" (Kevin MacLeod), "Fiddle Melody" (Andrew Duke).

Thoughts:
This story is about Rose LaTulippe and how she wanted a dance, and got it, but is then tricked at the end.

This story shows how each tale curves for each listener. Sam sways the story of Rose to her liking, influenced by her desire to help Joelle. I love the personal feel to the stories, the fairy tale we get and Sam's story to help Joelle.

Three: Le Chien d'Or
27 mins
Description:
"I am a dog gnawing my bone/ In doing so, I rest alone/ A time will come that's yet to be/ When I bite him who's bitten me..." Sam finds some of Joëlle's old audio files, and recalls the night that almost ended things. Please note: this episode includes content some listeners may find upsetting. (Additional music by Kevin MacLeod: "Long Note One," and "In a Heartbeat.")

Thoughts:
This story is closely connected to Sam and Joelle as though they are sisters and a man that is important in this past moment. The parallel between the stories and the feelings left behind are what draws Sam to make connects to where Joelle might have gone, like she's done in the past. The mention of the big, dark forest and there is one place like this that Sam knows of. The one and only forest that appears in Joelle's stories.

These stories are stories Joelle shared with Sam as they grew up, and Sam loved them which is the connection to the story. The clues are embedded in these tales and what they mean to Sam and Joelle. This story tells Sam where to go looking next, where Joelle always went to think and be alone.

This old tale is a bit more coded in words than straight forward telling, though fairy tales do leave openings for you to draw your own conclusions. ;)

Four: The Wendigo
26 mins
Description:
"During harsh winters, starving people become wendigo to survive..." Sam enters the deep, dark woods and meets a helper. Sure, she's on Joëlle's trail - but nothing's more dangerous than a Trickster. Additional Music by Kevin MacLeod ("Long Note One," "Ossuary 6: Air," "Ghostpocalypse - 1 Departure") and Kerri Lake (flute).

Thoughts:
Into the dark woods Sam goes, and she crosses paths with Coyote, the trickster. The clues Joelle left for Sam come in handy, we see them connect to Sam being on the right path. One clue fits when Coyote transforms into a raven, matching the feather Joelle left behind.

This story shows when Joelle and Sam's friendship started to stretch thin and cool between them. Life changes, but they tried...

From the beginning of this story, my attention is drawn in. I love the feeling described with the woods at night and how Sam feels. It's written together and gives the feel we are to have, nervous and a slight bit anxious. Blythe vocalizes these words with the same trepidation we feel.

Five: La Corriveau
32 mins
Description:
"Whatever you do, don’t look back until I tell you. Otherwise, you’ve lost your friend forever." Sam takes Coyote's tests, and shares the last story Joëlle told her: that of La Corriveau, a witch who had seven husbands and killed them all... (Additional music by Kevin MacLeod: "Long Note One," "Heartbreak," "Ossuary 6 - Air.")

Thoughts:
Oh! I almost forgot to share thoughts on this one as I was so drawn into the story and wanted to jump into episode 6, as I had it waiting when listening to this one.

Sam is getting closer. She must pass Coyote's tests. They are a trick of the mind, but hard to follow, like walking in front of Coyote and not look back.

Sam remembers the last time she saw Joelle. Joelle didn't look good, but all she could think about is Fairyland. She wanted to know anything more that Sam knew of Fairyland... how to get there, the land of where all stories come from. Sam breaks it to Joelle, it's not real. Joelle freezes over. This feels like the breaking point of their friendship. It's sad to see it at this point, I'm attached to them both.

Like I said, I was drawn to the tale as we are getting closer to Fairyland as we follow Coyote's tests. Oh soooo close! I'm still drawn to the blend of writing and emotion of voice here. Now, I can't wait any longer! To story six!!

Six: The Storyteller's Tale
22 mins
Description:
"This is the last story." Additional music by Kerri Lake (flute music) and Kevin MacLeod ("Reminiscing").

Thoughts:
This is the end of the tales. It brings Sam, and us, to learn who Sam is and has become. She finally tells her first story.

Oh my. Blythe sounds as though she's really crying at the end, the stuffiness to her nose and voice. I love this! This is so hard to impersonate, to actually make me believe it.

Now this story brings to my mind that the search for Joelle is more a search to learn herself for Sam. Do we find Joelle? Mmm, I can't say. I do want more tales from Sam though. And to know what's inside Fairyland, I even wonder on Joelle too.


Should you listen to this podcast? Absolutely! The weaving of the stories that K.T. does here is all talent and gives the feel of an old soul traveling the world to share her words. Stories that hold your attention and heart, leading you to a conclusion that you finish in your mind. Time very well spent listening to.

Author Post: What Fairy Tales Taught Me

I'm thrilled to invite KT Bryski back to the blog to share on her newest stories with us, Six Stories, Told at Night.



Hi! I’m KT Bryski—Canadian author, podcaster, and playwright. I’m so thrilled to be back on Mel’s blog—it’s a delight every time. :)

I’ve recently released a one-woman audio drama: Six Stories, Told at Night. Five traditional Canadian folktales interweave within a larger framing narrative. Our heroine Sam is trying to save her friend Joëlle from the Faerie realm, and the only way to enter the Otherworld is to tell the Faerie Queen a story she’s never heard before. Hence, my folktales.

In preparation for this project, I read a lot of fairy tales. That said, I’ve been reading fairy tales for as long as I can remember, so it really wasn’t too different. You might say that I’ve been steeped in them. So what has a lifetime of reading fairy tales taught me?

Take the first step

For an adventure to happen, you actually have to…you know, set out on an adventure. Fairy tales usually start in a place of calm and stability: the family farm, the castle, the once upon a time. And then something happens.

And then, you have a choice. Stay by the fire and pretend things are still the same?

Or leave the safety of your cottage and venture into the woods?

There are always helpers

Sometimes, it’s a fairy godmother. Sometimes, a talking cat. Sometimes, it’s a giant’s wife, or the mysterious old crone down the lane, or a kindly king. Sometimes, it may even be your neighbour, your former high school teacher, your best friend.

But there are always helpers. Even (especially?) when you feel most alone.

Magic often comes disguised

Much like the polar bear who’s actually a prince, or Donkeyskin labouring in the kitchens (I know she’s not magically disguised, bear with me), the best things aren’t always apparent when you first see them. Sometimes, it takes a while to recognize the magic. The key is to never stop looking for it.

The deep, dark woods is never where the story ends

The deep, dark woods is the testing ground. It’s the descent to the underworld, where our hero or heroine undergoes figurative (and sometimes literal) death and rebirth. But for all the fear, trials, and pain, the deep dark woods is never the end of the story. It’s the hour of the wolf, the darkness before daybreak.

So when you find yourself there—push through. Even when the shadows are at their fullest, it is never, ever the endpoint.

A real “fairy tale ending” is transformation

So the story’s over, and you’ve got the castle, the gold, and the glory. That’s a fairy tale ending, right?

Not necessarily. Remember how the deep, dark woods is a place death and rebirth? The ending of the fairy tale is the hero/ine transformed. It’s like a butterfly emerging from its chrysalis—after a time of darkness and change, you emerge as something else. Something that can soar.

Transfiguration isn’t always pretty. It’s not always gold and glory. But ultimately, I think it’s more satisfying.

Thanks again for having me, Mel. You can check out Six Stories, Told at Night wherever fine podcasts are found—and navigate the woods with our heroine.

Cheers!
KT

KT Bryski is a Canadian author and podcaster. She has short fiction in Daily Science Fiction, and stories forthcoming from Strange Horizons and Apex. Her audio dramas “Six Stories, Told at Night” and “Coxwood History Fun Park” are available wherever fine podcasts are found, and she is currently at work on her next novel. KT is a graduate of the Stonecoast MFA in Creative Writing. As you may have guessed, she also has a mild caffeine addiction. Visit her at www.ktbryski.com.

Author Guest Post: If You Love the Thing

I'm thrilled to have K.T. back to the blog today. I enjoy reading, and living for a short time, in K.T.'s imaginary worlds. She's talented in crafting the world in her story. Today, K.T. shares with us about her newest world for use to visit in Heartstealer. If you are curious about the book and my thoughts, hop over to my review.

Please welcome K.T. Bryski to the blog!

If You Love the Thing: Worldbuilding in Heartstealer

Heartstealer is set in a backwoods place, a place where the forest runs wild and the streams trill cold and clear. That sense of remoteness, of being up north—it fills the air, mingling with the sharp scents of falling leaves and rising wood-smoke. The village of Grey Run is tiny against Skarland’s rolling green hills and the stately cities to the south. It’s analogous to magic 1860s Ireland—but not.

And it was born among the harsh red rocks of the Outback: 16,626 kilometres from home. I was pretty melancholy.

Modelling: Physical Places

I work at a living history museum, right? We’ve got forty restored nineteenth century buildings on thirty acres of land.

So as I set about building the village of Grey Run, I used our buildings as a model. Some of them, like our early settlers’ log cabin, pulled double-duty. Some survived mostly intact. Others got pumped up, exaggerated. Most of them got moved around. But for the most part, they’re easy to spot.

Why does modelling help? For me, visualization is key. When you know something, when you know all the weird little details that only come through intense familiarity, when you can physically put yourself in the scene, because you’ve physically stood on that spot—it helps nearly everything…

Physical description. Choreographing scenes. The nitty-gritty details that ground your reader in your world (how would they bake bread or brew beer in an 1860s-level society?).

Then there’s love. There’s a beautiful quotation from heritage interpretation theorist Freeman Tilden: “…if you love the thing, you not only have taken the pains to understand it to the limit of your capacity, but you also feel its special beauty in the general richness of life’s beauty.”

When you love something, you know it. When you love something, you know why it’s special: what sets this tavern, this hearth, this farmhouse apart from every other tavern, hearth, and farmhouse. And that is precisely what we need to know as writers. What are the distinctive, unusual, defining traits of this particular place?

Loving the place is half the battle. Is it really any surprise that Heartstealer is my love song to my place?

Modelling: History

But you can’t really just plunk some buildings down in a fantasy word and call it a day. There needs to be context and history beyond that. Through the characters I’d developed, I knew that there were two distinct cultures in this country: the native Skars, who had mostly been driven up to the far north, and the Aldorans, who conquered Skarland some several hundred years prior.

This sounded familiar.

Starting about the mid-1500s, England started colonizing Ireland. Early English and Scottish settlers would form the ruling class of future British administrations in Ireland—and the Irish would become a political and economic minority in their own land.

So if our time period in Heartstealer is analogous to the mid-1800s, the Aldoran Conquest happened some 300 years prior. The Skars are a minority, clustered in far, remote northern villages like Grey Run, but relations are mostly peaceable.

For now. My heroine, Sara, meets a Skarrish woman who helps her investigate her husband’s supposed death. If Mairi were ever to travel south with Sara, that lovely, lilting accent of hers would become increasingly more of a problem.

Not that I’m already thinking about that...

Politics aren’t really my strength. I admit that openly. History is another story. Researching similar dynamics and events gives an idea of how people react in these situations. It also opens up a lot of “what if?’ questions that can take your story in a totally different direction.

You know what they say about history: it tends to repeat, especially in fantasy novels.

Improvising

So, I had a village. I had history. Those are broad strokes—what about the details, the sense that there is more happening offstage?

Honestly, sometimes it’s helpful to throw something down, and then work around it. I made a map of Skarland and Aldoran by tracing a map of England and turning it upside-down. Then I threw cities down in logical places. As long as the name sounded Skarrish or Aldoran, depending, I didn’t fuss too much.

But now I had cities. At one point, a character references a nearby little god in…oh, the village of Wynnemuir. Little gods protect places where the curtain separating our world from the wraith-filled Gloaming is thin. And so…I guess Wynnemuir is vulnerable. Why?

Similarly, as a grad school assignment, I had to write a piece of short fiction in the style of old Irish epics. I opted to write a scene from the Aldoran Conquest—and mostly winged it. It appears nowhere in Heartstealer, but just getting something down deepened my understanding of the conflict.

Decisions can always be changed later. Often, a large part of world-building is just playing.

And with these three things—physical models, historical models, and improvisations—I discovered a world that’s a whole lot of fun to play in. More, it’s a world that feels like home. I hope that you enjoy visiting it, too!

-KT

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Heartstealer
Description:
Autumn came early... 

Sara Wolfe was told three things: 

Her husband and sister-in-law died in a backwater village. Wraiths are only stories. Her nephew needs her. 

She believes none of it. 

Following her husband’s supposed death, Sara travels to Grey Run in search of answers, quickly becoming embroiled in the village’s old hurts and older magic - 

Grey Run sits on the crossroads between the human realm and the Gloaming: a shadowy world of ghosts and little gods. With the curtain between the worlds thinning, Sara must unravel the truth behind her husband’s disappearance— 

Because the wraiths are not the only ones lurking in the night.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

About KT:
KT Bryski is a Canadian author and podcaster. She made her podcasting and publishing debut with Hapax, an apocalyptic fantasy (Dragon Moon Press) and she has stories in Black Treacle Horror Magazine, When the Hero Comes Home Vol. II, Tales from the Archives, and Tales of a Tesla Ranger.

Select playwriting credits include Key of D Minor (Sears Ontario Drama Festival) various scripts for Black Creek Pioneer Village, and East o’ the Sun and West o’ the Moon (Canadian Children’s Opera Company). KT also manages The Black Creek Growler, the official blog of the Black Creek Historic Brewery. She is currently at work on her next novel while pursuing her MFA through the Stonecoast Creative Writing Programme at the University of Southern Maine. As you may have guessed, she also has a mild caffeine addiction. Visit her at www.ktbryski.com.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Find KT:
Site & Blog:  KT Bryski
Facebook Author Page
Twitter: @KTBryski

Book Review: Heartstealer

Heartstealer

By:  K.T. Bryski

Publish Date:  October 7, 2015

Format:  ebook

Genre:  Fantasy

Series:  Stand-alone

First Glance Feel:  Urban Fey, Fantasy. Magic and mystery.

Synopsis:
Autumn came early that year…

Sara Wolfe was told three things:

Her husband and sister-in-law died in a backwater village. Wraiths are only stories. Her nephew needs her.

She believes none of it.

Following her husband’s supposed death, Sara travels to Grey Run in search of answers, quickly becoming embroiled in the village’s old hurts and older magic -

Grey Run sits on the crossroads between the human realm and the Gloaming: a shadowy world of ghosts and little gods. With the curtain between the worlds thinning, Sara must unravel the truth behind her husband’s disappearance—

Because the wraiths are not the only ones lurking in the night.

First Sentence:
I had not felt so ill since the funeral.

Purchase At:
Amazon eBook & Print

My Thoughts and Summary:
Mrs. Sara Wolfe is heading to Grey Run to tend to who should care for her quiet nephew since she's his only family remaining. Sara doesn't want to believe her husband, who came to help his sister, has passed away along with his sister. She is determined to finish Findley's care decisions, as someone that knows him wishes to care for him, then out to question the woman who found the bloody path, Miss Evelyn Black, along with others that knew Ned's sister. Things don't add up in Sara's analytical mind, and she is determined to get to the bottom of it.

This town is full of old stories and beliefs of those who's heritage runs deep in these parts. The veil between our world and the other runs thin at two times of year, one in particular rather thin. Sowain Night. And it's nearing. But the curtain at Grey Run is tearing with no repairs done to it. Charlotte has been working hard, but needs help from her brother to keep an eye on the curtain, stopping it from the darkness of wraiths and worse cascading into the world of the living.

There is a magic here with the Gloaming. The Gloaming is where the wraiths, fey, and little gods live. But there is a connection to those in the real world as well. Charlotte and Ned have that connection. And Evelyn has her own connection as well, though a little different than the others.

The author lead me right to where she wanted me to think through the story. I was aware of all the highlight points that bring me to the conclusion of this story. And I believe all the brick work is placed so the back up is there when I go back to look at it. K.T. brought me to a heart twisting, tear stream at the end of the book. Well done. I was fully invested with the characters by the end of the book, and had that trickle of hope...

We get views from Charlotte, Sara, and others. It draws the world as a complete whole by doing this. At the beginning I wasn't sure if Sara, Ned, and Charlotte scenes were all happening at the same time, then it clicked all at once what I was reading and when they each were happening. Oh, I felt the fear for Sara.

There is a mystery here! From the moment I started I knew, but once Sara entered the inn... It was there. We were going to dig deeper with Sara. While reading Sara I picked up on potential suspects and ideas, but I had a one up on her as I also got to read other POV's that gave me what I needed to come to conclusions before Sara, and Sara was right on task with her thinking. When I read Charlotte I became curious of her and what she could do. I wanted more and to see what was happening here and who was working to their advantage. Oh, I was hooked at Charlotte's first appearance. I was curious about Findley, Charlotte's boy. I knew he was something special but wasn't sure what. Even Sara's new best friend, Mairi. She was so kind and right with all the people. Then, there was a moment... I needed more with each page passing. And I got it! I learned all the little secrets I was looking for.

There came a point where I didn't want to stop reading, even though I felt K.T. had my hand and was leading me through what felt familiar I wanted to know if I was right and what would come in the end. A few surprises popped up, but K.T. had placed the path so firmly I knew they were the only answers to the story.

K.T. has created an urban fey story with a historical fantasy feel. I enjoyed the blend of all the elements here and the characters that fulfilled the story. I do hope K.T. writes more in this world for us.

Cover Release: Heartstealer

I'm so excited to share this new cover and book with you. When I saw it my eyes went wide with the stunning beauty of it.

This author is an author I fell in love with after listening to her first book, Hapax. It was an amazing story set in a unique world she so elegantly crafted. I'm sold and will read all her books from here out. Yes, she made a huge impression on me with that book (which you all should get and read!).

So on to her next release coming soon.

Ready for the amazing cover?

Here it is....

Heartstealer

By: K.T. Bryski

Due Out:  March 15, 2015

Description:

Autumn came early that year…

Sara Wolfe was told three things:

Her husband and sister-in-law died in a backwater village. Wraiths are only stories. Her nephew needs her.

She believes none of it.

Following her husband’s supposed death, Sara travels to Grey Run in search of answers, quickly becoming embroiled in the village’s old hurts and older magic -

Grey Run sits on the crossroads between the human realm and the Gloaming: a shadowy world of ghosts and little gods. With the curtain between the worlds thinning, Sara must unravel the truth behind her husband’s disappearance—

Because the wraiths are not the only ones lurking in the night.

Amazing! Right!?! I love the cloak and the blending of nature with it. Wow. It's not over done, yet so stunning looking.


If you'd like to learn more along with what K.T. was listening to while writing the book check out her blog/site at:  http://ktbryski.com/2015/02/03/heartstealer-cover-reveal/

Author Guest Post with KT Bryski: An Unlikely Combination

I hope you caught my review yesterday of Hapax. I was stunned with the blend of magic, science, and religion that K.T. created. After listening to HAPAX, I had a great idea for K.T. as a guest post. I had to take advantage of it. And I'm THRILLED! K.T. agreed to do it. This post will help you see more of the world, and I hope drive you to try this read out as well. (Or listen to it as I did.)

Please welcome K.T. Bryski to the blog!

An Unlikely Combination: Developing Hapax

Ever have that moment where a scene flashes across your mind’s eye? Every detail shines sharp and clear, you know some things, but you’re buzzing with questions?

That’s how my novel Hapax started.

A pretty young woman in a cream-coloured evening dress sat in a theatre, watching an opera. The music thrilled her, but she was also terrified and distracted—because she was concentrating on moving her chest in and out so that the man next to her would think she was breathing.

Spoiler: this scene appears nowhere in Hapax.

But this woman fascinated me. Why wasn’t she breathing? Why was she so scared? Deep down, I knew she was an android. No question. But see, I had wanted to write about magic....

...and so I wrote about magic androids.

Personal archaeology into my own notes reveals a gradual, convoluted creation process. Over the next several months, I’d think about her sometimes. “River” was a librarian—magicians had collections of information too vast for a human brain to catalogue. She was a Magically Created Being who was starting to have emotions. That was a bad thing. But who would have the skills/power to create a Magically Created Being in the first place?

A university-like organization emerged, along with a system of magic in which magicians carried blue fire from another dimension and bound it into doing their will. I called it Ayr.

So, I had a pretty good grasp of my MCB and magic system, a general idea of the university, and no idea what their story was. I let them drop.

A year later, another woman barged into my life: a flaming redhead with a sense of humour that ranged from playful to downright sardonic. Through all my notes, the same name emerges over and over, right from the start:

Serafine.

Around the same time, I learned two interesting things:

1. A hapax legomena is a word that occurs only once in a text, corpus, or language.
2. In the beginning was the Word. The Word was with God and the Word was God.

What if the Word of God was a hapax? slightly-older KT wrote. And what if no one knew what it was, because no one heard it the first time? That would really suck if you needed to create a new world, like if it was the Apocalypse...

And Serafine flashed me one of her now-infamous grins.

It was the Apocalypse, and she was determined to stop it. Based on two main ideas (“The Word was with Ael and the Word was Ael,” and “Ael is That Which is All,”), I sketched out a theological system and religious institution. I even had a rough plot outline. But somehow, it never quite worked. I let it drop.

None of these ideas ever really went away. My magic system and my theological system, River and Serafine, my college and my cathedral...they lurked in the background, emerging from my subconscious every so often.

Until the day they joined together.

My two half-stories collided and set off a spark. Magic made Aelism make sense. Aelism explained the “aither” (my old Ayr). The two institutions I’d created—Magistatiem and Ecclesiat—conflicted with each other, and in probing that conflict, I found history that illuminated the world and suggested the story.

It was still the story of my terrified, emotional MCB. It was still the story of Serafine stopping the world’s end. But each half of the story depended so completely on the other that it’s strange for me now to think that aither and Ael had ever been separate. When developing Hapax, there was no story without the world—but the world wasn’t whole without the story.

There’s a lesson in this. There always is. In this case, I learned that nothing you create is ever wasted, and that you never throw anything away. You never know what combination of ideas might ignite when brought together.

At least I get further along with every novel, teenaged KT wrote. So hopefully I’ll be able to see River’s story through to the very end.

It took a while. But I’m so thankful I did.


Author Bio:
K.T. Bryski is a Canadian author and podcaster. She made her podcasting and publishing debut with Hapax (Dragon Moon Press, 2012. Select credits include stories in Black Treacle and When the Hero Comes Home Vol.II (Dragon Moon Press, 2013), the libretto for East o’ the Sun and West o’ the Moon: A Children’s Opera (Canadian Children’s Opera Company, 2014), and various scripts for Black Creek Pioneer Village, Toronto. When not writing, KT enjoys Doctor Who and Pokémon Crystal. She is currently working on the prequel to Hapax.


Find K.T. At:
Blog:  K.T. Bryski
Twitter:  @KTBryski
Facebook:  The Group Page of K.T. Bryski's Writing


Hapax
Description:
The Apocalypse has come, and in seven days the world will be no more. Only the Hapax, the Word which began the universe, can recreate the world and avert the Apocalypse, but that Word has been lost. Brother Gaelin finds his faith crumbling as he is forced to shelter two fugitives from the Magistatiem, the college of magi which has been divorced from the Ecclesiat monks for centuries. As time slips away, the monks and magi must do more than just heal the ancient rift that divides them—they must trust in the very Being who drove them apart.

Want to pick up the book now?
On Amazon:

Barnes & Nobles

Book Depository

Audio Book Review: Hapax

Hapax

By:  K.T. Bryski

Publish Date:  October 2012

Format:  Podiobook

Genre:  Fantasy

Series:  Stand-alone? Series?

Recommendation:  Yes! Stunning. Loved the blend of magic and religion to create this amazingly crafted world. Worth reading, or listening, too. Wow. Well thought out and crafted to explain all.

Synopsis:
The Apocalypse has come, and in seven days the world will be no more. Only the Hapax, the Word which began the universe, can recreate the world and avert the Apocalypse, but that Word has been lost. Brother Gaelin finds his faith crumbling as he is forced to shelter two fugitives from the Magistatiem, the college of magi which has been divorced from the Ecclesiat monks for centuries. As time slips away, the monks and magi must do more than just heal the ancient rift that divides them—they must trust in the very Being who drove them apart.

First Sentence:
The time, at last, had come.

Purchase At:
Amazon  /  Barnes & Nobles  /  Book Depository

Listen For Free:
iTunes

*I listened to this story for my own enjoyment.

My Thoughts and Summary:
The sun has vanished from the sky. The Angel does not accept their sacrifice and the fires do not light. The end of days are feared to be near. They have seven days to find the word Ael spoke to create all. The Hapax is hidden somewhere in his creations and is needed to create a new world for the people to live in. The magic school, Magistatiem, and the religions order, at the Ecclesiat, each hold pieces of history. Not knowing they both hold pieces of history and their strong believes against each other could destroy the world and everyone in it.

Aaah, this little fantasy caught me by surprise. And I'm thrilled I listened to it.

First, I like to mention I listened to this story in podcast form. The sound effects and the voices used were amazing. The combination of the two always draw me in emotionally to the story. There are different voice actors used and I enjoyed hearing a different voice to each character. Particularly the twangy sound to the MCB (Magically Created Beings). But, at times, the back sound of rain or crowd of people was a little to loud and made it hard to hear the reading. I found I had to focus very closely to hear all that was being said.

By the end of the first chapter, I was hooked with curiosity. We got a view of the religious side and the magi side. And there are MCB's, (Magically Created Beings). Oh yes. I was curious! By the second chapter, I realized K.T. has created a full fantasy world here. Very thick world of religion and magic build.

The best part about the Ecclesiat religious order and the Magistatiem school of magic, neither are perfect. Both have flaws that are not seen by their followers. Those flaws are very important and the characters that see past that and try to come to a conclusion to save the people of the world are amazing.

The characters are all of different personality. Their strong believes and realizations on those believes make them far more than anything. They all react and differently. There is growth in each with what they see and learn of the world. When their eyes are opened to the real way of things, they have to make choices. I love River, also known as River of Knowledge. Her growth is exponential in the story, and a pivotal one needed with the story line. She doesn't feel forced to me either. She comes around in her own time. Then we have Alesta. The only reason I love her, is because I hate her so. Well done in creating a three dimensional character I can hate.

I love the well crafted world, religions, and story. So related, yet no one knows it. As the story unfolds we see they are both needed, but they are separated by belief. One of the god Ael and his two parts. The other of magic in the world. I felt the creation here was believable in it's setting.

The twist on the gods mesmerized me. It sounded like a circle, but made perfect sense at the same time. I loved the riddle in it. Then, the thought of Beast and Angle and the twist to the extreme and care that is found in them. They are so different from what one would have expected. LOVED this twist. So well played out. Maybe the "evil" isn't as evil as all think. And maybe the "Angel" is extreme.

The story held suspense for me with the crumbling of the world. The things that come upon the world were not kind. I kept wondering: What will come next? What is the Hapax and how will they find it? Will they live or will the End of Days come to pass?

Stunning. Loved the blend of magic and religion to create this amazingly crafted world. Worth reading, or listening, too. Wow. Well thought out and crafted to explain all.