HMS Lanternfish #newrelease

Ciao, amici! You know how happy I am to open my blog to people who want to share their good news (or even just to chat). Today, I have the pleasure of welcoming a return guest to the site. I’ll give you a hint… he’s a fan favorite. I’ll give you another. He’s a colleague at Story Empire. For the two of you who haven’t guessed yet, I’ll just tell you.

Craig Boyack’s here again! And he’s going to be talking to us about the first trilogy he’s ever tackled. More specifically, his new release—book 2, HMS Lanternfish—and a specific kind of character.

Take it away, Craig!

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Thanks for inviting me back, Staci. It’s always nice to visit friends, but almost a requirement when you have a new book available.

The new title is HMS Lanternfish, and it’s the second book of a planned trilogy. I’ll drop a cover and blurb at the end of this, but I want to get to our topic of the day: Con Men.

Lanternfish is loaded with fun deceit and larceny, including the original book, where the crew posed as a naval vessel from another country to pilfer an order of bronze cannons from a foundry. They made off with the goods before the rightful owners appeared.

As pirates, they occasionally fly the wrong flag to slip past obstacles or fool their enemies.

HMS Lanternfish has much of the same flavor. We have a princess who has no real standing. James, the pirate captain, has to pass her off as the Western ideal of what an Eastern princess might be. As the seventeenth child of the emperor, she is more of a burden than a child of value as far as the throne is concerned. James acquired her as a backfire to one of his own acts of deceit. It’s kind of convoluted here, but as it plays out over a sequence of chapters, it’s not that hard to follow.

Then there are the Palumbos. He sells curses in a coastal village, she sells the cures. Together, they milk their patrons for all they’re worth. They narrowly escaped the hangman’s noose and wound up aboard Lanternfish. They don’t seem to have much value aboard a sailing vessel and caused a few problems involving gambling. On the other hand, they have a unique skillset and could have value in the war zone Lanternfish is headed for.

For fans of the root monsters, they’re back, too. These guys are always pilfering and plundering something, yet somehow they manage to remain helpful to the cause.

It’s hard to talk much about deceit and con games without spoiling part of the story. The fun of those is in watching them unfold as you read. I expect to weave in even more as the trilogy comes to an end next year. I need to come up with a big one and already know what it’s going to involve. I’m in the planning phase right now and hope to start writing by the end of the year.

I have HMS Lanternfish priced at 99¢ right now to draw some early sales. Take advantage of this and grab your copy. The price will go up once I finish this blog tour.

About the Book:

The Lanternfish crew completed their original mission but got exposed to a more global problem. An entire continent is at war, headed up by a head-strong young king with dreams of power,and pushed from behind by a mysterious religious order known as the Fulminites.

Rather than let their country fall under the iron boot of conquest, James and his crew set sail once more to see what kind of muscle Lanternfish can lend to the war effort. Acting precariously under an unofficial charter as a privateer, even his allies aren’t always his friends.

HMS Lanternfish explores new worlds on its way to war and drifts considerably off course. It features an international crew of characters, and for fans of the first book, the root monsters are back, too. Tall ships, a few con games, martial arts, and everything you loved about the original book is all returning.

Hoist the colors and wheel out the guns. Lanternfish is taking to the high seas once more.

HMS Lanternfish: 99¢ for a limited time.

Voyage of the Lanternfish: Book one of the trilogy.

You can contact Craig at the following locations:

Blog | My Novels |  Twitter | Goodreads | Facebook | Pinterest | BookBub

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How about that? I’m over the moon that the root monsters are back (I I I I !). And the rest of the gang, too. If you haven’t already grabbed your copies of books one and two, get ’em now while the deals are hot. And as soon as you do, come back here to share the post (if you don’t mind) and leave Craig your best wishes. I’m tipping my glass to him, and I hope you’ll join me.

Grazie!