Tag Archives: sci-fi

Sci fi series – The Last War: Book One – on sale now!

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A big thank you to all who entered the contest for  a free copy of My Best Mistake! I know I promised to choose four winners, but I ended up choosing 24 people to receive a free copy of the book!  I was so impressed by all the wonderful stories that readers sent me, and very much enjoyed reading them all. It was great fun and I extend my heartfelt thanks!

 This week’s book is on sale!

The Last War: Book One, Khandarken Rising is on sale for 99 cents only!

Here’s the link – Amazon

Buy now —  Sci fi /fantasy at its best!

Khandarken Rising, Book One by SylvieGrayson

Major Dante Regiment must find a way to protect Beth,as the Emperor is not the only one causing chaos in Khandarken

The Emperor has been defeated. New countries have arisen from the ashes of the old Empire. The citizens swear they will never need to fight again. Bethlehem Farmer is helping her brother Abram run Farmer Holdings in south Khandarken after their father died in the final battles. But when Abram takes a trip with Uncle Jade into the northern territory and disappears without a trace, suddenly things are not what they seem and no one can be trusted.

Major Dante Regiment is sent by his father, the General of Khandarken,to find out what the situation is at Farmer Holdings. What he sees shakes him to the core and fuels his grim determination to protect Bethlehem at all cost.

What readers say about The Last War series –  Major Dante seeks justice for Beth in the tough world of Khandarken. Loved this book and couldn’t stop reading. Ready for more in this superb story. 

Sylvie Grayson is amazing. Her books always seem to have layers in them and this one is no different. It makes the reader think about how a society deals with massive war and its aftermath, all in the context of what is actually a pretty darn great yarn, full of just the right amount of action and romance. The result? Wow, what a book. Great stuff. Great fun.

Queen–I want to ride my bicycle

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The weather is cooler and I went for a long bicycle ride yesterday. I ride along the road to get the best exercise—up and down the hills, some that are quite steep where I have to stop at the top of the hill to catch my breath and have a drink of water. Then I ride back home along the trails, which go up and down at a much more sedate pace, which suits me well as I’m tired by then.

Fall is definitely in the air. The huge maple leaves are falling heavily. Some of them are more than a foot in width. The colour is neat, but not as intense as in the east where the leaves turn a delightful red. Ours are more orange and yellow, depending on how fast the thermostat sank in the last few weeks.

I’m working on a new book—Book Six of The Last War, but it is coming slowly. There has been a lot of ‘life’ that has gotten in the way. None of which I regret. We’ve had family birthdays, family visits from near and far. We’ve had a new driveway put in, which is great because now the wave of dust from every vehicle is gone—what a relief.

So, as Queen so ably put it—

I want to ride my bicycle,

I want to ride my bike.

I want to ride my bicycle

I want to ride it where I like.

Blackberries, thick and ripe

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I’ve been picking blackberries the last few weeks. They are the most aggressive plant imaginable. There is a local blackberry on Vancouver Island with small leaves and a thin vine that creeps along the ground in undisturbed forest areas. The berries are small and their season is short.

Then there are the Himalayan blackberries, with thick tough vines and huge thorns. We were picking the Himalayans. They have a long season, stretching into early October depending on the weather, and the berries are huge. The bushes were on the other side of a ditch, so we backed the truck across the ditch and stood on the flatbed to pick. I still got clawed and scratched but they are so plentiful we filled three buckets.

I learned how to pick these berries from the mother of a friend. She always went out prepared. She wore heavy jeans, tucked into socks, with heavy boots and thick soles. That way she could use her foot to flatten the vines and move forward into the jungle. She wore a cotton shirt, with a long sleeved shirt over so the thorns could grab the top shirt and she wouldn’t get clawed. She had a belt around her waist that was threaded through the handle of her berry bucket. Then she wore one leather glove to grab the vine and left her other hand free for picking. She also carried a wire coat hanger to hook the vines and pull them forward if needed.

I lived on Vancouver Island until my eleventh birthday. Then my family moved to the North Peace area. Time passed, we moved on again to the Kootenays, and it was years later that I decided to return to Victoria to attend university. It was early September, and I was waiting at a bus stop to take me up to the university campus for the first time. There was a blackberry bush behind the bench, and I leaned over and picked a few berries. They tasted like home. I had forgotten how good they were, but those few berries reminded me. I’ve lived on the island ever since.

What wild fruit do you pick near your home?

Back Home From an Amazing Trip!

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Just back from a trip to Europe with my hubby. We have tried twice before to take this same trip, so third time lucky. It was fascinating,  travelling on a river cruise through eastern Europe, starting at Prague  and Budapest, ending at Amsterdam.

There we went to a windmill village where some of the mills are still working operations. Here are the inner workings. The fellow told us he could grind limestone  to mix with colour to make paint, and what he did  in a year would take a half day with current equipment. Fascinating!

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Khandarken Rising

 Book One of The Last War series –

the best way to begin the incomparable saga of the Last War.

Khandarken Rising, Book One by SylvieGrayson

Major Dante Regiment must find a way to protect Beth, as the Emperor is not the only one causing chaos in Khandarken.

The Emperor has been defeated. New countries have arisen from the ashes of the old Empire. The citizens swear they will never need to fight again.

Bethlehem Farmer is helping her brother Abram run  Farmer Holdings in south Khandarken after their father died in the final battles. But when Abram takes a trip with Uncle Jade into  the northern territory and disappears without a trace,  suddenly things are not what they seem.

Major Dante Regiment is sent by his father, the General of Khandarken, to find out what the situation is at Farmer Holdings. What he sees shakes him to the core and fuels  his grim determination to protect Bethlehem at all cost.

Buy now!

https://amzn.to/2MDptg7

https://www.books2read.com/u/bQBBq6

What reviewers say about The Last War series—

Hooked. I loved the story and characters, they were all rich  and well developed. Could not put this book down  and must say, I am now a fan…

…I really enjoyed this book. It is well written with a strong female main character and a beautiful storyline  with hardship and pain as well as love. I found it hard to put down and read it in one sitting.  Looking forward to reading more of her work…

Happy Spring! Flowers in bloom

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Spring is suddenly here! Look at the wisteria on my balcony railing. The leaves appeared in one week, and the flowers followed three days later. How great is that?

All at once, everything is in bloom – wisteria, lupines, Japanese tree peonies, rhodos, rose geraniums, azaleas, camellias and sweet william. Luckily I also plant dahlias, because with the overwhelming activity right now, in a month there wouldn’t be anything left to bloom in my garden.

My new book, Dead Wrong, a contemporary romantic suspense, is ready for release but I’m wrestling with what the cover should look like. And we are going travelling for the next while. So I’ve decided to leave those issues all behind and head out with the freedom to see some exciting and wonderful sights and worry about everything else when we get home. Happy Spring!