This is my stop during the book blitz for Trials and Tribulations, these are two anthologies set in Faith Hunter’s Rogue Mage universe. This book blitz is organized by Lola’s Blog Tours. The book blitz runs from 20 February till 5 March. You can view the tour schedule here.

Trials (Rogue Mage Anthology #1)
By Faith Hunter, Diana Francis, Misty Massey, Lou J Berger, Ken Schrader, Spike Y Jones, Christina Stiles, Tamsin Silver and Melissa McArthur
Genre: Anthology/ Urban Fantasy
Age category: Adult
Release Date: November 28, 2016

Blurb:
21 Vignettes and Short Stories set in Faith Hunter’s World of Thorn St. Croix.

The Rogue Mage world began long ago, when the epic battle between the High Host and the Darkness was won and lost. TRIALS takes fans of Thorn St. Croix into the past, before the opening pages of BLOODRING. These stories, set in Faith Hunter’s Rogue Mage world, are adventures with new characters and old, facing dangers unimaginable. And they must save the world all over again.

If you ever wondered what happened between seraphs, kylen, second-unforeseen, mages, seraph-touched, spawn, humans, dragons, and their creatures before the series, now is your chance to delve deeper and wider. TRIALS features new short stories from nine authors—including Faith Hunter—and vignettes from the Rogue Mage role playing game.

TRIALS will be followed soon by TRIBULATIONS, and then by the omnibus TRIUMPHANT.

TRIALS Authors: Faith Hunter, Misty Massey, Lou J Berger, Ken Schrader, Spike Y Jones, Diana Pharaoh Francis, Christina Stiles, Tamsin Silver, Melissa McArthur.

TRIBULATIONS Authors: Faith Hunter, Jean Rabe, Spike Y Jones, Christina Stiles, and Lucienne Diver.

You can find Trials on Goodreads

You can buy Trials here:
– Amazon
– Barnes & Noble

The Trials Authors:
Faith Hunter
Diana Francis
Misty Massey
Lou J Berger
Ken Schrader
Spike Y Jones
Christina Stiles
Tamsin Silver
Melissa McArthur

Tribulations (Rogue Mage Anthology #2)
By Faith Hunter, Lucienne Diver, Spike Y Jones, Jean Rabe and Christina Stiles
Genre: Anthology/ Urban Fantasy
Age category: Adult
Release Date: December 30, 2016

Blurb:
17 Vignettes and Short Stories set in Faith Hunter’s World of Thorn St. Croix

The Rogue Mage story began with the post-apocalyptic novels BLOODRING, SERAPHS, and HOST, when epic battles between Thorn St. Croix and the forces of Darkness were fought. TRIBULATIONS (Rogue Mage Anthology Vol. II) takes place during and after the series timeline. These stories and vignettes, set in Faith Hunter’s Rogue Mage world, are adventures with new characters and old, facing Darkness and an uncertain future.

The relationships between seraphs, kylen, second-unforeseen, mages, seraph-touched, spawn, humans grow deeper, and the battles with dragons and their creatures grow more dangerous. TRIBULATIONS features new short stories from five authors—including Faith Hunter—and vignettes from the Rogue Mage role playing game.

TRIALS and TRIBULATIONS will soon be followed by TRIUMPHANT—the paperback omnibus (both Anthology Volumes I and II in a bound format).

TRIBULATIONS Authors: Faith Hunter, Jean Rabe, Spike Y Jones, Christina Stiles, Lucienne Diver.

You can find Tribulations on Goodreads

You can buy Tribulations here:
– Amazon
– Barnes & Noble

The Tribulations Authors:
Faith Hunter
Lucienne Diver
Spike Y Jones
Jean Rabe
Christina Stiles

Interview with Lou Berger.

You can visit Lou his website here: http://www.LouJBerger.com

1. What was it like to play in the Rogue Mage world?

It was exhilarating!  I was a Faith Hunter fan even BEFORE she asked me to write a story, and I’m an even bigger fan now that I’ve had the opportunity to work with her directly!

She has spent a ton of time thinking through the Rogue Mage world, and her insights are encyclopedic. As a mostly-SF guy, she was very patient with all my attempts at quantifying the mage capabilities.

2. Was it hard to develop your character within the confines of the Rogue Mage world?

A bit, yes.  I have an engineering mindset and struggle with the ephemeral nature of mage powers. I tried to validate them as electricity-like, and Faith encouraged me in my thinking. Together, we crafted a means by which a stone mage could channel creation energy, use it to her purposes, and NOT die.

3. Tell us about your character. What species, etc.

Epena Kawai, which literally translates to “Stone Water,” is a mage who was born just before her own mother was killed. She dislikes going barefoot, since contact with stone tickles her feet, and she finds that unpleasant.  It’s a complete surprise, therefore, when her grandmother explains her powers.

4. When your story was finished, how did you feel about your character and story?

Oh, I *love* Epena!  I like her spunk, her style, her willingness to stare death…or a dark seraph…right in the face without flinching!  She’s a great nurturer, deeply passionate, and she treats her little cousin with the tenderness you frequently only find in moms.

5. Tell us about your other projects.

I have a couple other short stories coming out soon, including one set in Bordeaux, France, during World War II, and a steampunk story set in the Old West, with an automaton that struggles with completing his master’s last order, so is left carrying his desiccated corpse through town over, and over, and over again.