Thanks for having me back, Sue. I recently published my newest book, and am making the rounds telling everyone about it. I prepared all kinds of things, like excerpts, character studies, and more to do this blog tour. Then I have options depending upon who offers to host me.

For your blog, I wanted to talk about a bit of magic.

Voyage of the Lanternfish is a pirate fantasy story. In most cases, this would mean some adventure, and a sea monster or two. Sounds like a good recipe to me, but as one of my stories, I wanted a bit more.

There is magic in this world. It isn’t the main focus of the tale, so I don’t spend an inordinate amount of time explaining how it all works. It just shows up from time to time.

Mal is the main practitioner in the story, but far from the only one. Mal is a captured cannibal, who is fresh from the boat. He doesn’t have the grooming a freed slave might have. He is what he always was when my main characters rescued him. He’s an old man, and even though the main characters tried to get rid of him, he sticks around.

Mal is a witch doctor of sorts. His main focus seems to be root work, but he dabbles in other areas too. He becomes the ship’s surgeon aboard Lanternfish, which makes for some unusual situations.

He claims that his wives and children are all gone now, taken by slavers to god knows where. He has a childlike fascination with new experiences and places, and wants to see as much as he can at this stage of life.

To demonstrate this, I had him spend some time with a practitioner of Asian traditional medicine. This part of the world is trying to westernize in the story, so some things the Easterner knows drift beyond traditional medicine. We’re talking leeches and maggots here.

Mal is a supporting character, so I don’t dedicate a lot of time to his education. It really helps bring something new to him, and to expand my fantasy world.

He is not limited to medical assistance though. He performs some pretty powerful magic during this story. We’re talking game changing stuff too.

There are other magical characters in the tale, but they’re mostly referenced a generation beyond. Meaning the presence of magical artifacts. We don’t see them being made, but they are deployed in this story.

I like how this makes the world feel more complete. An entire race who occasionally made magical items. A pendant that the user did not create herself. That kind of thing. In a way, it helps demonstrate a world that has been around and had other stories before my pirates showed up.

Voyage of the Lanternfish

C. S. Boyack

Now available on Amazon

An honorable man is mistaken for his disreputable father. Now he’s pushed into a political scheme to start a war that will spread across multiple kingdoms. James Cuttler’s fiancé is being held captive to ensure he goes through with the plan.

He soon decides his skills are at sea and procures a ship to wage war upon those who disrupted his simple life. He can’t do it alone, so he recruits a band of cutthroats to help him. But first, they need guns and munitions to outfit the ship properly. Deception and trickery will only get them so far. Eventually, they’re going to have to engage the enemy.

James’ goals aren’t necessarily the same as his crew. It’s a delicate balancing act to collect enough loot to keep his crew happy, while guiding them back to rescue the girl.

Voyage of the Lanternfish is filled with adventure, magic, and monsters. Lots of monsters. Hoist the colors and come along for the ride.

About the author

I was born in a town called Elko, Nevada. I like to tell everyone I was born in a small town in the 1940s. I’m not quite that old, but Elko has always been a little behind the times. This gives me a unique perspective of earlier times, and other ways of getting by. Some of this bleeds through into my fiction.

I moved to Idaho right after the turn of the century, and never looked back. My writing career was born here, with access to other writers and critique groups I jumped in with both feet.

I like to write about things that have something unusual. My works are in the realm of science fiction, paranormal, and fantasy. The goal is to entertain you for a few hours. I hope you enjoy the ride.

Find and follow Craig

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Find all Craig’s books on Amazon

Click the titles or pictues to go to Amazon

Below are just a few of Craig’s books…

The Hat

Lizzie St. Laurent is dealing with many of the struggles of young life. She lost her grandmother, and her living arrangements. Her new roommate abandoned her, and she’s working multiple jobs just to keep her head above water.

She inherits an old hat from her grandmother’s estate, but it belonged to her grandfather. This is no ordinary hat, but a being from an alternate dimension. One with special powers.

Lizzie and the hat don’t exactly hit it off right away, but when her best friend’s newborn is kidnapped by a ring of baby traffickers, Lizzie turns to the hat for help. This leads her deep into her family history and a world she’s never known.

Lizzie gives up everything to rescue the babies. She loses her jobs, and may wind up in jail before it’s over. Along the way, she and the hat may have a new way of making ends meet.

Humorous and fun, The Hat is novella length. Wonderful escapism for an afternoon.

“Short, snappy and very funny, Craig Boyack’s new novella is a magical and engaging read.” Extract of Amazon review by Anita Dawes.

The Experimental Notebook of C. S. Boyack

A speculative selection of micro-fiction and short stories. These were designed to be short reads for your commute, coffee break, and other times when readers are pressed for time. This book contains a bit of science fiction, some fantasy, and paranormal stories.

“The Experimental Notebook of C.S. Boyack” is a delightful – and occasionally scary – collection of short stories that combines humor and horror with a dash of fantasy thrown in for good measure.
Boyack wanders all over the literary map with this small collection and readers will, I think, be delighted with the tales he has to tell. A young woman who has been abused by a bully sees him get his comeuppance from a very unusual source; an alchemist plots his revenge on the world in the ruins of his home and… well, suffice it to say that Boyack will hold your attention with this collection.”  Extract of Amazon review by  Mike Billington author of Corpus Delectable

The Experimental Notebook of C. S. Boyack II

A second collection of short stories and micro-fiction. Every story can be read in a single session. This time there are a few tributes to the pulp era. Stories include science fiction, paranormal, and horror.

“The second Experimental Notebook by C. S. Boyack is another adventure into some entertaining and downright genius short stories. The beauty of most of the stories is they grab you right in the beginning and then lead you down a path you never expected. It is a path that you are glad you traveled but where it comes out is an unusual surprise. “Extract of Amazon review by  John W. Howell  author of My GRL.

Will o’ the Wisp

There is something evil up Bergamot Holler, and it’s been targeting the Hall family for generations.
Patty Hall is fifteen years old. She loves stargazing, science fiction, and all things related to space exploration. This leaves her perfectly prepared for the wrong problem.
Patty is afraid her mother will send her to a care facility if she tells her what she’s seen. If she doesn’t figure things out soon, she’s going to join her father in the Hall family cemetery plot.
Patty has to come to grips with her own physical handicap, face the wilderness, and an ancient evil all alone if she’s going to survive.
Will O’ the Wisp is suitable for young adults. It involves elements of suspense, and is set in the mid 1970s.

“The strange goings on in their town and friendship between these characters brought to mind Stranger Things on Netflix and the movie, Stand By Me, based on the short story, The Body by Stephen King. And I enjoyed the hell out of it.” Extract of Amazon review by Teri Polen, author of Sarah.

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