2013 May Reading List

The Prince of Mist by Carlos Ruiz Zafon – This isn’t the type of fantasy I usually enjoy, but Zafon’s prose is too beautiful to pass on. 3/5 stars

Barrayar by Lois McMaster Bujold – I liked Shards of Honor better, but this one was good too. 4/5 stars

Mistborn 2: The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson – Just as enjoyable as the first book, and it’s obvious that Sanderson’s writing has improved since. Cool twists. 4/5 stars

Mistborn 3: The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson – I loved this entire series, and I’m absolutely floored by how well the book was plotted. I didn’t care that much about the ending, but I’ll let this one slide.  4/5 star

Have Spacesuit, Will Travel by Robert A. Heinlein – I must say that Heinlein’s humor is much better than this particular book. Each time I wanted to put it down, I ran into a line that made me laugh so I gave it one more chance. 3/5 stars

The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold – Too slow, too wordy, too preachy. And Caz in not as exciting as he could have been. Pouts. Quite a disappointment after Bujold’s sci fi books. 3/5 stars

"Instincte umane" at Bookfest 2013

Bookfest (international book fair) is taking place this weekend in Bucharest.

Two events are particularly important as far as I'm concerned:

"Instincte umane" -  Millenniun Books launch - Saturday, June 1st, at 16:30, at Art/Paladin stand.

"Calatorii in timp" - Nemira launch - Sunday, June 2nd, at 14:30.

I won't be there, but that doesn't mean you can't go and buy some books. Aside from those mentioned above, I also recommend you the following (all from Millennium Books):

"Efectul de nautil" by Ioana Visan

"Zombii: Cartea mortilor vii" edited by Mircea Pricajan

"Cele 1001 de scorneli ale Mosului SF" edited by Stefan Ghidoveanu

"Steampunk: A doua revolutie" edited by Adrian Craciun

"Dansand pe Marte si alte povestiri fantastice" edited by Michael Haulica

Update: Here's a video from the book launch courtesy of Assassin CG.

About "Instincte umane"

It's been almost a year since Human Instincts has been released on Amazon. About the process of writing Human Instincts I wrote here.

Now here we are a year older and, hopefully, wiser. Like I've already announced, the Romanian edition, "Instincte umane", was picked up by Millennium Books to be published, with a launch at Bookfest book fair at the end of May.

So now I'm going to tell you how this particular project came to life. Shortly after my Romanian short story collection "Efectul de nautil" was released, I got a phone call from Horia Ursu from Millennium Books. He began by saying something like "How about making another book?"

At first, I was stunned. I had no idea what he was talking about. I was working on something, but I had nothing ready to be published. I answered with a tentative "Okaaay... What book?"

"Human Instincts!"

Ah. OK, now it made sense. Kind of. Unfortunately, it led to one of the most moronic conversation I have ever had, with my answers consisting mostly in "Yes... okay... sure... of course... if you want to..." It ended with me promising to send him the final Romanian draft correlated with the English version. When I put the phone down and replayed the conversation in my head, I was convinced he was going to call again in the morning and tell me he changed his mind. I mean as a writer people expect you to be more articulate, and I had been nothing of that sort.

Lucky for me, Horia is wiser than that, and the next contact we had was him sending me the cover art for approval. This time I had no objections. I liked it from the start, even if it's so different from the one I used for the English edition. And there it was, we had another book.

It just proves that no matter what you do, you have to write the stories for yourself. Someday, someone is going to like them. It took three years to see this baby going to print, but it's been three happy years with little disappointment on the way. I wish you all the same thing!

The actual book looks like in the photos below (Photos (c) Horia Nicola Ursu), and it can be ordered here or purchased at Bookfest in Bucharest, between May 29 and June 2nd.

"Calatorii in timp" Bookfest Launch

"Calatorii in timp", the time travel anthology edited by Antuza Genescu, which includes my short story "Punct de rendez vous la +3000", will be officially launched at Bookfest, in Bucharest, on June 2nd, at 14:30. Special guests: Marian Truta and Christian Tamas.

Nemira's official announcement can be found here.

The book can be ordered here.

Thumbs up for The Impaler Legacy cover art

Joel Friedlander from The Book Designer liked The Impaler Legacy covers:

"I like both these covers, Ioana, and the very strong branding colors, textures, and exotic knives. Sticking to a few elements is a great strategy that yields good results on this series."

It's time to make the next two covers and, hopefully, they'll be just as good.

Blue Moon Cafe Series Review (7)

I'm glad to see Blue Moon Cafe Series: Where Shifters Meet for Drinks is being read and so pleased when it's getting 5 star reviews:

"I soon adapted to the shapeshifter thing. Visan made if fun. Of course, the book has the qualities of any good read: strong characters, plot, drama, and professional writing. At the end, she reveals why the book appealed to me: it was her first shapeshifter book "which allowed me to develop a world based on my own set of rules." Her world rules include a sense of humor--that's the winning ingredient." -  Shaun McLaughlin

Read the full review here.

Blue Moon Cafe Series: Where Shifters Meet for Drinks is available through Amazon, Amazon.uk, Amazon.fr, Amazon.de, Amazon.es, Amazon.it, Amazon.ca, Amazon.co.jp, iTunes, Kobo and Smashwords, for only $0.99 for a short period of time. 

Human Instincts Review (14)

Now and then another review of H uman Instincts pops up, this time on My Seryniti blog:

"I completely recommend this to anyone that enjoys apocalyptic but with a more military edge. At 100 pages it is well worth the read, especially if you enjoy those genres." - Nova

Read the full review here.

Human Instincts is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, iTunes, Sony, Smashwords. 

The Impaler's Revenge Reviews (3)

Two new reviews of The Impaler's Revenge showed up this week.

One is on My Weekly Book blog.

The other one is on Fantasy World blog.

Thank you, Rox and Diana, for your reviews! It's always interesting to see the world I created through the readers' eyes.

The Impaler's Revenge is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iTunes, Kobo and Smashwords.

The Impaler's Revenge Excerpt

Issue no. 8 (May 2013) of Revista de suspans includes an excerpt of The Impaler's Revenge.

This particular excerpt is actually part 9 of the novella. It's well into the story so you won't find it in any online preview. It explains how the current state of affairs regarding Romania and the vampires came to be. I hope it will catch your interest and make you want to read more.

The Impaler's Revenge is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iTunes, Kobo and Smashwords.

"Zombii. Cartea mortilor vii" Review (3)

May 1st also brought a review of "Zombii. Cartea mortilor vii" on Subtext.ro. Radu Romaniuc said:

"Ioana Vișan, una dintre cele mai ambițioase scriitoare implicate în self-publishing, cu mai multe volume în librăria electronică a Amazonului, scrie literatură pop într-o proză alertă, sigură. Noapte bună, Mihai, urmărește un grup de prieteni dintr-o așezare de provincie, care încearcă să recupereze o bătrână rătăcită noaptea pe coclauri. Se pare că e greu să recuperezi băbuțe în vremuri de zombi:" (followed by a quote)

In the end, Radu said that he tried to keep his tongue in check because Millennium Books' anthology project is an initiative that deserves to be supported and not put down. I liked that.

"Zombii. Cartea mortilor vii" Review (2)

A new review of "Zombii. Cartea mortilor vii" appeared in the May issue of Nautilus Magazine. This is what Mr. Radu has to say about my story "Noapte buna, Mihai!":

"Ioana Vișan – Noapte bună, Mihai! Nu cunoșteam textul, apărut inițial pe AtelierKult. Unul dintre cele câteva texte extraordinare din antologie. Povestea este bine localizată, cea a Laurei Călin era în mediul urban, asta e în cel rural, dar amândouă au o încărcătură emoțională impresionantă." - Liviu Radu in Nautilus

Dunno why but I get ridiculously happy each time Mr. Radu enjoys one of my stories. So this month has started well.