Tour Stop and Giveaway: The River Against the Sea

 

Check out the new book, The River Against the Sea and make sure to enter the tour wide giveaway as the author is awarding $20 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. The tour is sponsored by Goddess Fish Promotions and you can find all the tour stops HERE.

Talking with Z. Lindsey

Q: How did you decide where your book was going to take place?

A: I live in Quintana Roo, Mexico, so it felt natural to place my fantasy book in a jungle.

Q: What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book, <The River Against the Sea>?

A: A young bureaucrat (who happens to be a devil) is about to find out the real world ain’t like college as she uses her stubborn attitude and a magic pen to trick pirates, fight an occasional world-destroying monster, and eat very bad food.

Q: Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?

A: I’ve always edited as I go and once I’m done, but with my National Novel Writing Month project, I wrote the whole thing without major edits for the first time. We’ll see how it turned out once I dust it off next year.

Q: Describe your writing space/office!

A: I’m a parent, so . . . right now I’m at the kitchen table with a mermaid backpack and some Polly Pocket toys at my side. Don’t judge me!

Q: What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?

A: That’s a funny question to ask for this book, because there’s a running joke about the main character Essie Darkenchyl eating hearts (“not raw!”). Food is actually a big part of the entire trilogy, with differences in food culture across the world causing more than one mixup. But my own personal favorite food is and has always been classic pizzeria pizza. I live in a very small town in southern Mexico, so good pizza is a rare treat, though.

Q: What’s your favorite genre to read?

A: If a book is good, I’ll give it a shot no matter the genre. I’ve read widely across genres. But I’ve been reading fantasy and adventure since I was a little kid, and it’s the genre I always come back to.

Q: What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?

A: Recently, I’ve been reading a lot for nonfiction projects, so I can’t tell you much unless you’re interested in the history of radio in Mexico . . . If you are, though, email me!

My favorite TV show of late is Star Trek: Lower Decks. They’ve managed to create a show with adult humor while still preserving the sense of hope and exploration that makes Star Trek so great. Most cartoons for adults focus on raunchiness and dark humor, and we see nothing but the characters’ flaws. Lower Decks characters are certainly flawed, but they have traits that make them deserving of being members of Starfleet. Ironically, I don’t think most of the live-action Star Trek of late has really captured the fun and adventure of Star Trek in quite the way the cartoon has. 

Q: What do you do when you have free time?

A: I’m a parent, I don’t have free time! I do study Maya hieroglyphs when I have a moment to myself, though.

 

Q: What are three words that describe your Main Characters?

A: Bright-eyed, pedantic, and (a tiny bit) cheesy

 

Q: What can readers expect from you next?

A: This series is a trilogy, so there are a lot more of Essie’s antics in the pipeline.

 

 

The River Against the Sea

by Z. Lindsey

GENRE:   New Adult Fantasy

Some heroes have swords. Essimore Darkenchyl has a pen. But it’s a magic pen.

Some wizards have spellbooks. Essie has Gossen’s Guide to Shipping Law. But it’s a current edition.

Some sailors have . . . experience. Essie has a new diploma and a year-long contract, and her people have won wars with less.

And that’s good, because between stolen weapons, a coup, and a strange disease creeping in around her and the crew, she might need to win a war.

In a world that blends traditional fantasy with the Age of Exploration, Essie knows a pen is mightier than a sword, especially since hers sometimes shoots lightning.

But what she thinks is a routine political dispute turns out to be something much, much more, and she may have finally met the one problem she can’t talk her way out of.

Amazon preorders (for ebook): https://www.amazon.com/River-Against-Sea-Z-Lindsey-ebook/dp/B0CH3TW3YD/

B&N preorders (for paperback): https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-river-against-the-sea-z-lindsey/1144077772

Excerpt Two:

 

“My cousin believes they’ll attack on One Wyrm.”

 

“One . . . Wyrm?” Essie asked as she tried to adjust the ropes around her.

 

Bunts scoffed.

 

“Didn’t you read your briefing?”

 

Essie felt the blood rush to her cheeks.

 

“I read about the calendar, but it was confusing. It was like math, but it had this religious undercurrent going on. Did not like.”

 

The captain squinted at her and raised his lip in distaste.

 

“Bunts, tell our bureaucrat what One Wyrm is.”

 

“Heh,” Bunts said. He cleared his throat, then shrugged.

 

The captain squinted at him, too.

 

“One Wyrm is New Year’s Day.”

 

“New Year’s Day, of course,” Bunts said. “Those jerks.”

 

“And what do you want me to do about it?”

 

“Nothing,” the captain said. “Report that the cargo got handed over and let us go on our way.”

 

“And if I don’t agree, you’ll throw me off the ship,” she said.

 

Bunts snorted.

 

“Seriously?”

 

The captain scratched his chin.

 

“To be honest, I was just hoping you’d agree. If you don’t . . .” The captain puffed up his cheeks and stared at the ceiling in thought. “I guess we’ll lock you in the brig until the weapons are safely delivered and we’re back at sea. That’ll give me a good lead on any Agency cutters.”

 

She tried to adjust herself in her chair, but couldn’t do much, so she frowned. Slowly she turned to Bunts and gave him her best puppy-dog eyes.

 

“Can’t you undo these bonds?”

 

Bunts shook his head.

 

“Nuh-uh. I’m told you’re stronger than you look. And that you eat people’s hearts.”

 

Essie frowned.

 

“Not raw.”

 

 

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 

Zac Lindsey is an anthropologist and a linguist who focuses on the Maya people of Quintana Roo. Since childhood, he's had a not-so-secret love of weird, silly, and well-structured fantasy. When other people's parents were reading them picture books, his mom was reading him Terry Brooks. He typically writes hopeful and character-driven fantasy.

 

Today, he lives in Quintana Roo, Mexico with his wife, daughter, and various stray cats.

 

Insta: https://www.instagram.com/z.lindsey_fiction/

Face: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61550498257222