XC Publishing

New Release - The Challenge Accepted

Sun, 01 Jul 2012 03:07:00 -0700

Summary: Brydon’s quest for the Gauntlet of Ven-Kerrick continues as the mysterious Dark Master sends him on an unexpected journey that will take him through ruined cities and forgotten castles. On the way, he gathers new friends and new enemies, but will time run out before he can save his former companions?

In this second installment of The Gauntlet Trilogy, Dyson takes our hero on an adventure you won’t want to miss!

Price: $2.99 USD
Genre: Fantasy, Action/Adventure
Published: July 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-930805-11-8

Get it now, on our website.

A mysterious drawing found in the Temple of Might in Kaneelis.

Mon, 28 May 2012 14:42:01 -0700

A mysterious drawing found in the Temple of Might in Kaneelis.

The crests of Tarma, the world of The Gauntlet Trilogy.

Mon, 21 May 2012 08:16:25 -0700

The crests of Tarma, the world of The Gauntlet Trilogy.

Have you ever wondered what the world of The Gauntlet...

Thu, 17 May 2012 14:34:00 -0700

Have you ever wondered what the world of The Gauntlet Thrown looks like? Wonder no more! We now have maps for you to explore! This map shows us the continent and all of its countries.

Join us for an in-depth question and answer session with Cheryl...

Fri, 11 May 2012 01:44:00 -0700

Join us for an in-depth question and answer session with Cheryl Dyson. She’ll be answering questions about her first book, The Gauntlet Thrown, and about her forthcoming sequel, The Challenge Accepted.

RSVP at our Goodreads profile and let us know you’ll be there!

The Gauntlet Thrown - FREE on Smashwords!

Mon, 07 May 2012 15:13:00 -0700

Brydon’s quest was simple. Borrow the fabled Gauntlet of Ven-Kerrick, bring it home to prove his worth, marry the princess, and ascend the throne. He had planned for the dangerous terrain and Redolian assassins, but he did not expect the Gauntlet to be missing, nor to find the Kerrick royal family murdered. Luckily, his worst enemy was there to help him out.

REVIEWS:

“Very compelling, the first installment of this series is an action packed and startling view of a new world on the brink of invasion. The main characters begin as disparate enemies and come to form a relationship as strong as the enmity under which they met. I am looking forward to the second work, and hope it contains the same intensity and imagination as the first.

Congratulations Ladies on the beginnings of a wonderful and enlightening series.”

J.Whidden, Lake View literature critic.

Review by: frostschutz on Nov. 04, 2010

“This book is so well written it’s hard to understand why it’s free. It has everything a good fantasy story needs - a knight on a quest, unlikely companions, and unforeseen trouble when they finally reach their goal. I’m looking forward to the sequel!”

“What sets this book apart from the many fantasy books I’ve read over the years is the natural-ness and believability of the characters. While many typical fantasy characters find themselves “swept along”, you get the sense that the authors have given great thought to the choices each character would make rather than slavishly following a plot.

….

This is a cracking read and I would pay good money to have it in hardcopy.”

Paul Bennet of FantasyBookReview

Get your copy of The Gauntlet Thrown, FREE at Smashwords, Barnes & Noble Nook, and iTunes.

Photo

Mon, 07 May 2012 14:06:00 -0700

theanimalblog: Snowy Fox

Thu, 03 May 2012 07:56:35 -0700

theanimalblog:

Snowy Fox

theanimalblog: Verreaux’s Sifaka, Madagascar by Robyn Gianni

Thu, 03 May 2012 07:56:25 -0700

theanimalblog:

Verreaux’s Sifaka, Madagascar by Robyn Gianni

theanimalblog: Coyote Curled at Sunset by Timothy Brooks. ...

Thu, 03 May 2012 07:56:11 -0700

theanimalblog:

Coyote Curled at Sunset by Timothy Brooks. Grand prize winner of the National Geographic Student Expeditions Photo Contest.

omgthatartifact: Transformation Mask Richard Hunt, 1993 The...

Thu, 03 May 2012 07:56:00 -0700

omgthatartifact:

Transformation Mask

Richard Hunt, 1993

The Minneapolis Institute of Art

omgthatartifact: Rattle Haida, 19th century The Royal Ontario...

Thu, 03 May 2012 07:55:51 -0700

omgthatartifact:

Rattle

Haida, 19th century

The Royal Ontario Museum

zerogate: Depiction of Christ’s tomb as a traditional Roman...

Thu, 03 May 2012 07:55:41 -0700

zerogate:

Depiction of Christ’s tomb as a traditional Roman mausoleum; the three Marys look like Roman matrons; Christ rising from the dead to grasp his Father’s hand in heaven is depicted as a Roman heroic youth. c. 400 A.D.

Photo

Sun, 29 Apr 2012 23:23:21 -0700

stormwolves: I think it’s important to have people who aren’t...

Sun, 29 Apr 2012 23:22:49 -0700

stormwolves:

I think it’s important to have people who aren’t actors around you. You get a warped view if you stay in it for too long. […] I spent most of my life watching HBO series wishing at some point in my career I might be able to work with them and then having the opportunity so young is kind of awesome. I was trying to keep cool throughout the audition process, but it’s by far the biggest thing I’ve ever done. I’m a year out of drama school, so I’m very, very lucky. My character […] goes through the biggest journey possible. She starts off as this very submissive, exiled princess, then by the end she’s kicking ass. I’ll immerse myself so much into the character that I won’t have time to get starstruck.

Photo

Sun, 29 Apr 2012 23:22:39 -0700

omgthatartifact: The Rubens Vase Byzantine, 400 AD The Walters...

Sun, 29 Apr 2012 23:22:30 -0700

omgthatartifact:

The Rubens Vase

Byzantine, 400 AD

The Walters Art Museum

“Carved in high relief from a single piece of agate, this extraordinary vase was most likely created in an imperial workshop for a Byzantine emperor. It made its way to France, probably carried off as treasure after the sack of Constantinople in 1204 during the Fourth Crusade, where it passed through the hands of some of the most renowned collectors of western Europe, including the Dukes of Anjou and King Charles V of France. In 1619, the vase was purchased by the great Flemish painter Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640). A drawing that he made of it is now in Saint Petersburg, State Hermitage Museum, inv. 5430. The subsequent fate of the vase before the 19th century is obscure. The gold mount around its rim is struck with a French gold-standard mark used in 1809-1819 and with the guarantee stamp of the French departement of Ain. A similar late Roman agate vessel, the “Waddesdon Vase” or “Cellini Vase,” in now in the British Museum, London.”

omgthatartifact: Amuletic Armband with Holy Rider, Saints, and...

Sun, 29 Apr 2012 23:22:17 -0700

omgthatartifact:

Amuletic Armband with Holy Rider, Saints, and Magical Symbols

Byzantine, 6th-7th Century AD

The Walters Art Museum

“Originally made up of seven inscribed medallions, this armband demonstrates the intermixing of Christian, Jewish, and pagan imagery on an object of magical, medicinal purpose. Judging by the inscriptions, most armbands (made in Byzantine Syria and Egypt) were used to treat abdominal disorders.”

omgthatartifact: Diptych with Circus Scenes Byzantine, 5th...

Sun, 29 Apr 2012 23:22:08 -0700

omgthatartifact:

Diptych with Circus Scenes

Byzantine, 5th century AD

The Hermitage Museum

"He’s like a brother and I love him … We understand each other, even if we look at each other in..."

Sun, 29 Apr 2012 23:22:00 -0700

“He’s like a brother and I love him … We understand each other, even if we look at each other in silence. He sweats a lot and I’m like a mother worried he’ll get sick so I wipe his sweat with a towel I carry around on set. He also eats a lot and usually they close the food area during certain times of the day and sometimes I have my leftovers and I give it to him. I have his back like he has mine. I just wish he was shorter.”

- Jensen Ackles on how he would explain Jared (JIB, 2012)