Today we're celebrating Duane Simolke's Fantasy Adventure, THE RETURN OF INNOCENCE.Majoring in English, Duane Simolke received degrees from Belmont University (B.A., 1989), Hardin-Simmons University (M.A., 1991), and Texas Tech University (Ph.D., 1996). His doctoral dissertation was on Sherwood Anderson's Winesburg, Ohio.
StoneWall Society gave Pride in the Arts literary awards to The Acorn Stories, Degranon, and Holding Me Together. AllBooks Reviews gave The Return of Innocence a Reviewers Choice Award.
Simolke also edited and co-wrote a fundraiser, The Acorn Gathering: Writers Uniting Against Cancer.
BLOG *** GOODREADS *** YOUTUBE
THE RETURN OF INNOCENCE: A FANTASY ADVENTURE
Duane Simolke blends humor and romance with exciting fantasy action.Visit Theln, a planet of magic, dragons, nobility, and heroes. Sasha Varov was born into a noble home in the Thelni kingdom of Jaan, but Sasha's father dared to oppose the king's sorcerer, Wuhrlock. Sasha and her family became exiles on a desolate island. At sixteen, Sasha left her island home to buy seeds in Jaan. She stumbled into a series of misadventures that ended with the death of Wuhrlock and made Sasha a legend, known as "Innocence." Never mind that the legend barely resembled the truth, or that Sasha caught Wuhrlock in an unguarded moment.
When Sasha returned for more seeds, the people of Jaan expected her to defeat a much more ruthless and powerful sorcerer. Duane Simolke wrote the short story "The Return of Innocence" in 1983. With contributions by Toni Davis, he later developed it into a novel.
BUY THE BOOK *** READ THE EXCERPT *** WATCH THE TRAILER
WIN - Leave Duane a comment or question today at his Cyber Launch Party and your name goes in the hat for an autographed copy of THE RETURN OF INNOCENCE! Please leave your email address so we can contact you if you are today's winner - Good Luck!
Congratulations on your release. I really enjoyed the excerpt and I do enjoy a good fantasy story so I know I'd like this one.
ReplyDeleteseriousreader at live dot com
Morning Duane!
ReplyDeleteLoved the excerpt - already cared about your heroine Sasha and what happens to her. Well done!
Love fantasy romance and strong heroines, so your book sounds like a winner!
Tell us a little bit about how this idea became a novel. And something I love to ask, if this book were to be made into a movie, who would love to see play your hero and heroine?
I wish you the very best with your book and thanks so much for offering up a copy of it for our readers!
Oh and readers, there's another copy up for grabs on our contest page over at AuthorIsland.com!
Hello Duane,
ReplyDeleteI loved the excerpt. My interest is already piqued. The book trailer is amazing as well.
Question: Who are your favorite authors?
Thanks for offering a copy of your book to us readers!
CONGRATS! LOVED THE EXCERPT. CANT WAIT TO READ THE BOOK. GREAT COVER.
ReplyDeleteREGINA ROSS
reginamayr@aol.com
Looks like a great book. I LOVE fantasy stories and read all the great authors in that genre.
ReplyDeleteI liked the excerpt, it captured me and the book trailer is good too.
So, how did you come úp with the idea for this story?
Valerie
valb0302@yahoo.com
in Germany
AuthorIsland, Keira Knightley or Leelee Sobieski would be great as Sasha, but I would probably want an unknown actor in her late teens/early twenties.
ReplyDeleteBecca, Too many to list! Among fantasy writers, I love Terry Goodkind, Mercedes Lackey, Ursula K. Le Guin, Edgar Rice Burroughs, etc.
ReplyDeleteValerie, I really don't know how this one came to me. I remember, though, that I had the idea of an accidental hero--someone who stumbles into trouble. I wrote the original short story years ago, when I was a teenager.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the release of your book!
ReplyDeleteI don't read a lot of fantasy, but your excerpt made me want to read more of this book.
kissinoak at verizon dot net
Hello, there!
ReplyDeleteHow long did it take to create the book trailer?
Thanks,
Tracey D
booklover0226 at gmail dot com
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteTracey D, Not long at all. Windows Movie Maker is easy to use. You can import picture files and add words. It has a long list of special effects to easily add.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations!! I want to read much more after that excerpt so well done.
ReplyDeletemarypres@gmail.com