When I first read about the A to Z Challenge and how the goal was to blog nearly every day for a month, I was like, “Oh, hells no…” I mean, I blog once a month, sometimes twice a month if I’ve got my act together. Blogging nearly every day seemed like a masochistic experiment (and it might still be; ask me about it once it’s all over).

Yet I found the concept interesting, and it got me thinking — if I were to blog every day for each letter of the alphabet, what would I write about?

The Theme

Listed among my favorite things in the world is mythology and folklore. Fairy tales, constellation myths, stories about things that go bump in the night. I love all these things. In order to have the stamina to blog for most of April, it would have to be about something I love. And so, to that end, I decided on the theme of A Bestiary of Mythological Creatures (and People).

I was originally just going to post about creatures. But once I got started, I was drawn to posting about people as well.

And So? What Makes This Theme So Interesting?

Honestly, it probably won’t be that interesting unless you’re like me and like this sort of thing. I am trying to write about things that are perhaps lesser-known than the standard mythological icons like Zeus and unicorns. Most of the entries will be of people and creatures from actual folklore of different cultures, but there are a couple in there that are my own fictional creations from my newly released book.

In the posts themselves I describe various creatures, and what it is I like about them. Other entries are basically synopses of stories. Some will have my own thoughts, explaining why I chose them. Others will simply stand on their own, because for those, there’s really nothing I can add other than to say how awesome they are.

And that’s basically it. I’ve been having a blast writing the posts for the challenge so far. I hope you’ll enjoy reading them!

Here are the posts if you’d like to read them.

Well, there goes the neighborhood. My very first book, The Thirteenth Tower, has been released! Woohoo! Pretty exciting, but pretty freaky too. People are actually going to read it. I know that’s the whole point of this, and I’m very delighted. But it still just seems so… weird.

Anyway, it’s only the ebook version that’s available right now, and currently it’s only up for sale at Amazon and Google Play. It will probably take a few weeks before the book shows up at all the retailers.

As for the print version, that’s on its way. We’ve updated the printer files and are currently waiting for the new proof. We’re hoping it will arrive next week, and, providing there are no new issues, it will hopefully be available for sale soon after. I imagine it will be like the ebook and take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks before it shows up in stores.

As an aside, you may or may not have noticed the Kirkus quote in the description. We sent the book off to be reviewed by them. That was a scary experience, because they are known to be rather harsh. The review itself does have negatives, but also positives. Overall, I felt the review to be a good one, so I was pleased. Plus, I got a usable quote, which is why I sent the book to be reviewed by them in the first place. If you want to read it, you can do so here. Though, be warned, the review contains information that some might consider to be spoiler-ish (there is a disagreement in our house about whether it does).

In the meantime, here’s where you can buy the book. I’ll keep updating the list as new stores crop up:

Amazon US          Amazon UK          Google Play       Apple iTunes

The Towers

Jordan Jeffers

Published November 2013

Book source: Received for free through The Masquerade Crew in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: Four Stars

The Towers is an interesting fantasy tale of a mountainous people and their battle against the Nightmare— a group of nasty creatures that comes around once every seventy years. The ways the people protect themselves against the Nightmare forms a belief system that is essentially a religion.

It’s an interesting story, and I like the questions it brings up about human nature, about the lengths one is willing to go in order to protect others against danger. It illustrates well how humans are fundamentally flawed and who, despite best intentions, can often make a bad situation worse. It’s also a story that keeps love at its core, and the power that unconditional love can bring.

On the downside I feel that the storytelling, on occasion, wasn’t as strong as it could be. There were a few areas where I felt the backstory was delivered in a rather heavy-handed manner (the 20-page prologue falls into this category) and a couple interlude-esque chapters that I felt could have been omitted without any detriment to the story overall. I do, however, like Jordan Jeffers’ writing style, which was a pleasure to read even when the story, at times, seemed to lag a little.

On the whole, The Towers is a good story that brings up some interesting questions about humanity that gets you thinking, and that’s always a good thing.