Guest Post Author Spotlight Shanda Sharlow

The Psyonic is a different sort of Fantasy book than one might usually associate with its type. Sure, it's got princesses a plenty, kings and kingdoms and moons  in it. It's got advisers and kindly old men and wizened sages, and it's got magic...of a sort.

But it's not all swords and sorcery and knights and nobility. There are no highly regarded wizards, and no lightning bolts striking the enemy forces on the battlefield. Although...that would be pretty cool to see.

There are no fantastic creatures, no differing races, no prophecies or legends to fulfill or tyrants to overthrow. But there are people. There is war and scheming, there's assassinations and manipulation and deceit. The Psyonics—born with their power—don't go to great illustrious schools to learn their powers, and they don't get to be raised to high, revered positions for all that work.

In The Psyonic, those born with telekinesis, telepathy, the ability to see the future, or even something like empathy are thrown out into the wilderness and banished as soon as that ability shows itself, even if they're only infants. Even if the parents are wrong about whether that vase really moved while the child was crying. These Psyonics are banished from all nations and forced to wander alone in the uninhabited plains between them on the threat of death. They must learn to fend for themselves and control their abilities on their own...and their only rewards are continued survival.

Even those who manage to slip back into their home kingdoms eventually must live in hiding. Even someone suspected of being a Psyonic would risk death, and there are very well paid bounty hunters who roam in search of unwary Psyonics who hope to make lives for themselves where they're unwelcome.

Hale, the one the book follows, spends much of his time in the book in such hiding, afraid to use his own abilities and accept who he is.

Of course, it is Fantasy. There's still magic and swordcraft...but the story of The Psyonic  follows more than just that. The Psyonic asks the question of just how people might react to natural-born magicians, the lengths one such 'magician' might go to just to survive in a world like that...and what it takes to find someone's humanity underneath and besides all of that.

Of course, neither is a better or worse kind of Fantasy, but it is a different kind of Fantasy. And in the wide world of books, as in life, variety is the spice of choice.

~Shanda Sharlow

Amazon Links - http://www.amazon.com/The-Psyonic-ebook/dp/B0032UYI44 ebook http://www.amazon.com/Psyonic-Shanda-Sharlow/dp/1453735119 paperback

Shanda Sharlow Bio:

Shanda Sharlow began writing short stories from the time she could hold a pencil. Through the years, she's scribbled down thousands of pages of random stories and unfinished novels that were eventually abandoned or forgotten about. In 2005, she set down to finish a full fantasy novel in the form of the Psyonic, which she managed in a few months. For awhile, she shelved the book without any way to get it realistically published. AfterAmazon Kindle came out, she found the opportunity to release the Psyonic to the public, and is now working on another full novel. Currently, she lives in Vancouver WA with her father and brother, and edits novels for other people when she's not writing.

The Psyonic:

Hale lived his entire life in hiding, traveling through slums and nondescript villages, never staying anywhere long enough for the people there to recognize his face. Never staying long enough for anyone to ferret out his secret.

When he comes across a woman who recognizes him, he becomes the confidante of a Princess. Yet the halls of the palace hold far more danger than that of the streets, for within its shadows lurk dark mysteries and murderous intent. Desperate to remain hidden from those who hunt him, Hale must unravel the hidden machinations of the gathered royal families before it's too late, or it will be more than his life that he loses.