Author Archives: James
Goddess of the River by Vashnavi Patel [Book Review]
It took me a while to get into the style of Goddess of the River by Vaishnavi Patel. It's a partial retelling of a part of the Mahabharata from the perspective mostly of Ganga, the river goddess. It's well executed but it definitely takes you a while to get the strange perspective of a river deity as a character. I did enjoy it when I was able to get a solid run on a couple of longer train journeys. Goddess of the River by Vaishnavi Patel Cover of Goddess of the River by Vaishnavi Patel There are two main point of view characters in Goddess of the River. The first, and majority POV character, is Ganga, the devi of the river. The second is her son Devavrata, who also goes by a couple of other names in the story. The…
Fierce Released TODAY!
Fierce, my heroic fantasy novel with a relatable female lead, is finally out and you should be able to buy it in paperback or digital versions by following this link Fierce is on a special introductory price of £ on kindle until 5th June. After that it will go to £ The paperback is £ You can read the first chapter of Fierce elsewhere on this blog. Copies of Fierce by James Kemp in a cardboard box (Photo: James Kemp) Reviews So far Fierce doesn't have any published reviews, but I've had some feedback from ARC readers that they thought Fierce had a relatable female main character, and that they wanted more of it. NB if you're a reviewer it's not to late to get an ARC, the booksprout link will work for another month or…
Fierce Advance Reading Copies (ARC) Available
My fantasy novel Fierce is now available for pre-order and that means that I can make Advance Reading Copies (ARCs) available for those that are willing to read and review it ahead of formal publication in May. Ideally I'd like people who can read and review it before the end of May 2024 so that there are reviews available shortly after it is released. About Fierce book cover for Fierce (image: James Kemp) You can read the first chapter of Fierce elsewhere on this blog, I've updated it to reflect the current edit. Fierce was written very deliberately to the template of the Hero's Journey. So the first chapter is the pre-adventure normal. The enticing incident is in the second chapter and crossing the threshold follows that. Although I wrote twelve chapters, one for each of the stages of the…
Ben Vorlich (Loch Earn) [Munro #9]
I went up Ben Vorlich, on the south bank of Loch Earn with the Dundee Mountain Club (DMC) and a few others yesterday. There are two Ben Vorlichs, the other one is further west. Planning Ben Vorlich This is the first one that I didn't plan personally. Instead I joined in a club walk. That said I did look at the map, confirmed the start point and plotted the route on OS Maps so that I knew where we were going and roughly how long it would take. The route is pretty straightforward, there's a series of laybys on the road on the South of Loch Earn next to a stone bridge. From there is a path heading North that goes all the way to the top of Ben Vorlich. There are no side paths or junctions. On the top…
Air a’ bheinn / On the Mountain [Poetry] [Write Club]
Air a’ bheinn / On the Mountain was written for Write Club's January 2024 meeting in response to the general prompt for poetry. I thought I’d write something about the pleasures of walking in the mountains, given that’s one of the things I enjoy. It turned out to be a wee bit harder than I thought, and my second thought was to write something a bit shorter, and use my 800 day streak in duolingo learning Scottish Gaelic to see if I could write something that showed that I was as fluent as a bard (I don’t think I’m anywhere near that). Anyway, here's a short poem that looks a bit like a bottle on its side, and serves as a little bit of mountain advice for those that enjoy both the water of life and being out in the…