Contemporary Authors

Not found in LOC

• Wrath of the Fury Blade - 2018 Shadow Dragon Press, Tijeras
• Unremarkable - 2018 Shadow Dragon Press, Tijeras
• Dinosaur Learning Activity Book - 2010 Artemesia Publishing, Tijeras
• Ars Lingua - 2007 Artemesia Publishing, Tijeras
• The Divine Order: Jute - Faith of Creation - 2006 Artemesia Publishing, Tijeras

• Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/default/e/B002BMERYK/ref=la_B002BMERYK_st?rh=n%3A283155%2Cp_82%3AB002BMERYK&qid=1529786108&sort=date-desc-rank&redirectedFromKindleDbs=true

  Geoff Habiger grew up in Manhattan...Kansas, not New York. (That's the Little Apple, not the Big Apple, for those of you playing along at home.) His co-author (Coy Kissee) was his best friend in high school, and they spent many days reading comics, talking about books and movies, and playing Dungeons & Dragons and other role-playing games. Geoff still does many of these things today. Geoff and Coy's passion for games led them to create the company Tangent Games in 2004, through which they've published a few card games and several supplements, adventures, and rule books for role-playing games. Geoff's passion for dinosaurs (something he never outgrew) led to a degree in Geology at Kansas State University and a couple of years in graduate study at Montana State University. He turned his passion into a popular award-winning children's activity book, the Dinosaur Learning Activity Book. Geoff is a senior partner in the publishing company, Artemesia Publishing, which publishes quality books from quality authors. Unremarkable is Geoff's first work of fiction to be published. He lives in New Mexico with his wife, son, and two cats

• My Life My Books My Escape - blog - https://mylifemybooksmyescape.wordpress.com/2018/04/10/author-interview-geoff-habiger-and-coy-kissee/

  QUOTE:
  My biggest influence was (and is) all of the great crime fiction that is out there, like Ian Rankin’s Inspector Rebus series or PD James’ Inspector Dalgliesh novels. (Not to mention all of the mystery TV shows on PBS.) For me, the Lunaria stories are primarily crime fiction stories about murders and other violent crimes. They just happen to be set in a fantasy world. I’ve also been influenced by Terry Pratchett, Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, and numerous others.

  APR 10 2018
  LEAVE A COMMENT
  INTERVIEW
  AUTHOR INTERVIEW: GEOFF HABIGER AND COY KISSEE
  4393822C-4406-4189-BC6E-F952AF4CF249

  Today I am interviewing Geoff Habiger and Coy Kissee, the writing duo behind the new fantasy novel, Wrath of the Fury Blade, the first book of The Constable Inspector Lunaria Adventure series.
  ◊ ◊ ◊

  DJ: Hi Geoff & Coy! Thanks for agreeing to do this interview!
  For readers who aren’t familiar with you, could you tell us a little about yourselves?
  Geoff Habiger & Coy Kissee: Sure. And first we’d like to thank you for offering to interview us. We’ve been “authors” for several years, with books published for role-playing games, and Geoff has a best-selling coloring and activity book about dinosaurs (Dinosaur Learning Activity Book). Wrath of the Fury Blade (and our supernatural historical fiction novel Unremarkable) are our first actual works of fiction that we have had published.

  We’ve been avid (rabid?) readers since we can remember. Geoff tried to write fiction back in high school and college, but never got beyond a first draft stage back then. (Some of those drafts are still floating around somewhere on an old 5.25” floppy disk – lost forever do to the obsolescence of computers.) We both grew up in Manhattan….Kansas – not New York. (That’s the Little Apple, not the Big Apple for folks playing along at home.) That’s where we met, as we attended high school together. Geoff currently calls New Mexico home with his wife, son, and two cats. Coy resides in Lenexa, Kansas with his wife and one cat.

  DJ: What is Wrath of the Fury Blade and The Constable Inspector Lunaria Adventure series about?
  perf5.500x8.500.indd

  Geoff & Coy: The Constable Inspector Lunaria Adventures will be a series of books that focuses on Constable Inspector Reva Lunaria and her job as a Constable in the elven city of Tenyl. Basically, Reva is a cop in a city in a fantasy world that we have created. (In fact, the city and Kingdom of Tenyl originally started out as part of the campaign setting we created for Dungeons & Dragons.) The different “adventures” that Reva will experience all revolve around crimes committed in the city (generally the major ones, like murder, kidnapping, etc. – though the occasional clash with over-zealous adventurers also takes place). Wrath of the Fury Blade is the first adventure in which we introduce Reva, her new partner, Seeker Ansee Carya, and several other characters as they attempt to track down a serial killer stalking the elite members of the city. Of course, this is harder than it seems since Reva doesn’t like her new partner, gets “assistance” from the King’s Secret Police (the Sucra) who have their own agenda beyond just finding the killer, and must deal with some of her own personal demons.

  DJ: What were some of your influences for The Constable Inspector Lunaria Adventure series?
  Geoff: My biggest influence was (and is) all of the great crime fiction that is out there, like Ian Rankin’s Inspector Rebus series or PD James’ Inspector Dalgliesh novels. (Not to mention all of the mystery TV shows on PBS.) For me, the Lunaria stories are primarily crime fiction stories about murders and other violent crimes. They just happen to be set in a fantasy world. I’ve also been influenced by Terry Pratchett, Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, and numerous others.

  Coy: The plethora of police procedural TV shows that my wife and I watch on a regular basis, along with the Hawk & Fisher books from Simon R. Green.

  DJ: Actually, where did the idea to co-author this book from? Have you done this before, or had you two been joking around with the idea and finally decide to give a go for real?
  Geoff & Coy: We have worked together before on other projects – primarily related to our game company, Tangent Games. We have always loved playing games – board games, role-playing games, and card games, and we decided back in 2004 to make our own games. We have several supplements published for role-playing games, and have two card games (and an expansion) published through Tangent Games. When the ideas for these stories came about, it was only natural that we’d work together as we had done that so well through Tangent.

  DJ: Could you briefly tell us a little about your main characters? Do they have any cool quirks or habits, or any reason why readers with sympathize with them?
  Coy: Reva is an atypical female fantasy character. She’s not a damsel in distress, she’s not a princess looking for her prince, and she’s not a barmaid for the “real” main character to flirt with and/or conquest. She’s a cop, plain and simple. Her job is her life – and she’s good at it. She has high expectations of herself, and holds others to the same standard; unfortunately for them, in most cases, as she does not suffer fools. She is fiercely loyal to her family and to anyone who she considers to be a true friend (which to her means that they are the family she has chosen rather than the family she was given). She’s also got her own issues. She’s got a short fuse, and an often ineffective filter between her brain and mouth. I can’t speak for other readers, but I completely identify with Reva, since she’s basically a female elven cop version of me. I don’t know if Geoff intended that when he came up with the idea for her character, but I told him that explicitly during the editing process, which made it really easy for me to find her voice.

  Geoff: (No, I didn’t start with Coy in mind when I first created Reva, but he’s right, she is him. LOL That does make it easier for me to write her character at times. (grin))

  If Reva is very much like Coy, then Ansee Carya has a lot of me in his character. Ansee always sees the best in people, maybe naively at times, and has a habit of trying to not shake people’s branches and cause trouble. He tries to please everybody, which inevitably means that he sometimes pleases nobody. He is also curious and a thinker, trying to look at each situation in multiple ways before making a decision. Ansee is not a complete Boy Scout, as he has causes he is passionate about, such as how the half-bloods in the Kingdom are treated. (The Kingdom has several “Purity Laws” which define by law who is an elf, and thus a citizen, and who is not. Those that are “halpbloeden” (half-blooded) are shunned, ostracized, and abused with Royal approval.) This passion causes Ansee to sometimes lash out, which does lead to trouble for him.

  DJ: What is the world of Ados and setting of The Constable Inspector Lunaria Adventure series like?
  Geoff & Coy: The Kingdom of Tenyl, where the city of the same name is located, is located on the planet Ados. Ados was originally developed as a campaign setting for our role-playing games and has many unique and different cultures, people, and races. The inspiration for the Kingdom of Tenyl was actually Nazi Germany, as Geoff pictured elves as the epitome of arrogance and striving toward racial purity. (Elves goose-stepping along a grand boulevard filled with massive statues just didn’t seem all that far-fetched.) Tenyl has a hereditary monarchy with a King currently on the throne. While politics touch our characters lives in small ways, all of that is in the background for them.

  Tenyl is located in the Northeastern part of the main continent, so it experiences weather similar to what you might find in the Atlantic coast of Canada with the same seasonal variations. The elves are obsessed with their ancestry and while they have “moved out of the forest” their cities reflect their woodland heritage. They have many different architectural styles, from massive trees grown and shaped though magic to become important buildings, to buildings more resembling the wood and plaster “post-and-beam” styles of Europe. One of the things we wanted to do was to make the city of Tenyl feel lived-in, so it has a variety of styles to reflect the stages of growth of the city as well as the status and power of the citizens in different parts of the city.

  Ados is a world dominated by the gods, who actually use the common people as pawns in a great game they are playing. Religion doesn’t come to the front for this story, as neither of our main characters is very religious, but religion is ingrained in the world and the different societies and cultures. (Religion actually plays an important part of the plot in our second Lunaria Adventure book – Joy of the Widow’s Tears.)

  Ados generally, and Tenyl specifically, is a world filled with magic. It is commonly used and found throughout the world, though its access is limited more for economic reasons than for its abundance. (As with many areas of power, those who have it and can wield it will try to control it, so magical items are considered expensive.) Most people get by with mundane, non-magical solutions to problems, but magic is prevalent throughout the society. In Tenyl, access to magic either comes from faith (praying to the gods) or through study at the wizard academy. (This provides another plot point as Ansee Carya is a sorcerer – a spell-caster who can tap the innate magical energies to cast his spells so he doesn’t have to study magic in the same way that wizards do.)

  There are many other smaller ways that we have tried to make Tenyl feel like a living city, and not just a backdrop for our characters, from what the different neighborhoods in the city are called (they are known as “groves”), to their preferences in beverages. (The elves of Tenyl are obsessed with cacao (or chocolate) in the way that many Americans are obsessed with coffee. Reva adores nothing more than to have a cup of hot cacao in the mornings to start her day. We even mention that there are different ways in which cacao can be prepared, to show that the Kingdom is not isolated.)

  DJ: How do you outline and break up who writes what? And I’ve also read that some authors who co-write books will edit each other’s chapters, too.
  Geoff: We each have different strengths. I am more of the creative type, while Coy is much better at ensuring that content and characters stay true to what we have written. For Wrath, I wrote a first draft of the entire story, then gave it over to Coy for massive editing, because I can’t remember to write the word “that” to save my life, and I never met a comma that I either didn’t put where it didn’t belong, or left out where it was supposed to go. So once we had the drafts and first round of edits, we then sat down at our respective computers and got on Facetime to read the story aloud and to find all the other mistakes that we missed the first time through.

  Coy: Geoff has done all of the writing. We go through the events of the book at a high level, then discuss in more detail as things come up. My role on our books is primarily editing and proofreading, but my other focus is to ensure continuity of character and story in order for the characters to always act in character. I also provide streamlining and polish to the overall end product. As I stated before, it was very easy for me to make sure that Reva acted in character, since I’d do whatever she did under the same circumstances.

  DJ: What was your favorite part about writing Wrath of the Fury Blade?
  Geoff: Creating a new world in which to play and geeking out at the different Easter eggs to role-playing games in general (and D&D specifically).

  Coy: For me, it’s the collaboration. Geoff is a very creative person, and I am much less so, but our strengths complement each other very well. I have a very critical eye when it comes to the content that I consume for entertainment, from books and music to TV shows and movies, and I cannot count the number of times that, after I have finished with the product, I think “That was good, but it would have been so much better/cooler if they would have done this…”. By working with Geoff, I was able to put those types of thoughts into practice rather than just theory.

  DJ: What do you think readers will be talking about most once they finish it?
  Geoff: For me I hope that readers will come away with a couple of things. The first is the strong characters that we have created – especially Reva. As Coy mentioned above she is not the “damsel in distress”, or the princess looking for her true love. I wanted Reva to be a strong and empowered woman and I think that comes through. She has her lighter moments, and is fiercely loyal, but I wanted her to be somebody that would be able to solve any problem that was thrown at her.

  The second is the world we have created. As George Lucas did with the Star Wars universe, making it appear lived in and used, to the way that Ian Rankin makes Edinburgh and Scotland come alive in his Inspector Rebus novels, I wanted to make Tenyl seem alive and lived in. Some readers may find that we went over the top in Wrath, and maybe we did a bit, but I wanted the world that Reva, Ansee, and all the others inhabit to be real to the reader. I wanted them to smell the hot chocolate in the air when Reva walks into her favorite cacao house. I wanted them to understand how the idea of racial purity is a strong undercurrent for everybody living in the Kingdom. I might have overdone it, but with a fantasy setting that’s never been described before I felt that it was necessary to do more to describe the world, rather than less.

  Coy: I’m hoping for a couple of things. First and foremost, I hope that they enjoyed the book enough that they talk about just how much they enjoyed it to all of their friends, family, and complete strangers both locally and on the internet around the world in blogs, social media, and reviews on websites like Amazon and Goodreads . Second, I hope that they will be talking about Reva as a strong female main character. She may be a woman in armor but that does not make her a “chick in chainmail”. Third, I hope that they will be talking about the genre. I don’t know of another book that is a police procedural story that is set in a non-modern fantasy setting. There may be others, but if so, I have yet to find one. Lastly, I hope that they will be talking about the world that we have built. Many years were spent making the land of Ados into a rich, detailed setting, and I hope that comes through to the reader.

  DJ: Now that Wrath of the Fury Blade is released, what is next for you?
  Geoff: We have a second series that features vampires in Prohibition-era Chicago. The first book in that series, Unremarkable, was released in February and I am nearly finished with the first draft of the second book in that series. In addition, I am about half way through the first draft of the next Constable Inspector Lunaria Adventure, Joy of the Widow’s Tears.

  Coy: Geoff is working on writing the sequels to both Wrath of the Fury Blade and our first novel, Unremarkable. I am working on being the primary writer for a new, unrelated novel.

  DJ: Where can readers find out more about you?
  Geoff:
  Website: www.habigerkissee.com
  Blog: https://www.habigerkissee.com/blog/
  Facebook: @HabigerKisseeAuthors
  Twitter: @TangentGeoff
  Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B002BMERYK
  Author Newsletter: (still in progress – but you can sign up on our website.)
  Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/geoff-habiger
  Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1007658.Geoff_Habiger
  Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/117561355695197963689
  Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/geoff-habiger-bbba5a7/

  Coy:
  Website: www.habigerkissee.com
  Blog: https://www.habigerkissee.com/blog/
  Facebook: @HabigerKisseeAuthors
  Twitter: @TangentCoy

  DJ: Before we go, what is that one thing you’d like readers to know about Wrath of the Fury Blade and The Constable Inspector Lunaria Adventure series that we haven’t talked about yet?
  Geoff: That Reva is a fun and exciting character to write, who is practical, no-nonsense, and not without her flaws, but whose strong will and desire to get to the truth will make readers want to come back for more.

  Coy: There’s definitely more to come, so if you like what you read and want more, you’ll be happy to know that we have plans to extend this series at least into a trilogy, if not further.

  DJ: Is there anything else you would like add?
  Geoff & Coy: Just that we will be adding a lot of background information about Ados, Tenyl, and Reva and the other characters to our website in the near future. If you want to get more into the “nuts and bolts” of the world we’ve created that’s where you’ll be able to find it.

  DJ: Thank you so much for taking time out of both of your days to answer my questions!
  Geoff: My pleasure. It was fun to explore Reva and Wrath of the Fury Blade with you.

  Coy: Thank you for your time and for the opportunity to let us promote ourselves and our products to your audience. We truly appreciate it!

  ◊ ◊ ◊

  *** Wrath of the Fury Blade is published by Shadow Dragon Press and is available TODAY!!! ***
  Buy the Book:
  Amazon | Barnes & Nobel | Goodreads | Kobo
  ◊ ◊ ◊

  perf5.500x8.500.inddAbout the Book:
  The brutal murder of Lavalé fey Avecath, the King’s First Magistrate and advisor, interrupts Constable Inspector Reva Lunaria’s day off. The victim’s status makes this a high-profile investigation, bringing with it unwanted attention from Senior Inquisitor Ailan Malvaceä of the Sucra, the King’s secret police. The manner of the victim’s death makes this case even more intriguing. A body cut perfectly in half – from top to bottom – is a rare occurrence, even in a city filled with all manner of magic weapons. All of this would be challenging enough, but Inspector Lunaria must also deal with a new partner, Seeker Ansee Carya, who is clearly not up to her standards.

  As Reva faces a growing body count, Senior Inquisitor Malvaceä undertakes his own mission to find the same killer, but with a very different agenda. Reva’s investigation takes unexpected turns as wild conspiracies, hidden addictions, and Dark Elf soldiers all threaten to distract Reva from tracking down the killer. Reva’s only hope of stopping the serial killer from cutting more prominent citizens of Tenyl in half is to figure out how to work with Seeker Carya and overcome her own weaknesses.

  4393822C-4406-4189-BC6E-F952AF4CF249 About the Author:
  The writing duo of Geoff Habiger and Coy Kissee have been life-long friends since high school in Manhattan, Kansas. (Affectionately known as the Little Apple, which was a much better place to grow up than the Big Apple, in our humble opinion.) We love reading, baseball, cats, role-playing games, comics, and board games (not necessarily in that order and sometimes the cats can be very trying). We’ve spent many hours together over the years (and it’s been many years) basically geeking out and talking about our favorite books, authors, and movies, often discussing what we would do differently to fix a story or make a better script. We also loved playing games, generally role-playing games, but also board games and card games, and would spend hours talking about why a particular game was fun or not, and what made the games fun to play.

  In the early 2000’s we decided to not just talk about games but to start making our own games. We created Tangent Games and began designing role-playing supplements (adventures, modules, and role-playing aids) to be used for Dungeons and Dragons (3rd and 3.5 editions). We also designed our first card game (called Bankruptcy: The Card Game!), which was a finalist for the Origins Award for best card game in 2007. We continue to work on game design, and still play games at every chance we get, but in 2010 we decided to start working on a novel together.

  Unremarkable is our first novel and the idea for it was sparked on a trip to Chicago. Chicago is known for its gangster past and we began talking about famous events, like the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre and how maybe the massacre of seven gang members might have been staged as a cover-up for something else. As we drove back to Kansas City the basic idea for the story was fleshed out, and on a trip to GenCon (the largest game convention in the US) a month later we fleshed out the full plot and characters. It took several years or starting and stopping to get Saul’s story finished and published, not least because Geoff got another story idea. In a world of magic and monsters (your typical fantasy world) how would the police solve crimes? That basic premise led Geoff to create the character of Constable Inspector Reva Lunaria and eventually the story that became Wrath of the Fury Blade, Geoff and Coy’s second novel. Geoff wrote drafts of both stories, often alternating between one and the other, and then Coy worked to polish off all of the rough edges. We work to our strengths and having collaborated for years on game design we work well together and make a very effective writing team.

  Coy lives with his wife in Lenexa, Kansas. Geoff lives with his wife and son in Tijeras, New Mexico. They are currently working on sequels to both Unremarkable (called Untouchable) and Wrath of the Fury Blade (called Joy of the Widows Tears).

• Smashwords - https://www.smashwords.com/interview/ghabiger

  QUOE:
  I first started writing when I was in high school, a few short stories mostly, though I did give a go at writing a novel. It was bad. I contiued writing in college, but never put the effort into the craft that I needed to make it work, so while I came back to writing short stories in the early 2000's I never got anything published. But I kept coming back to wanting to tell stories, so after nearly 30 years of false starts I have finally gotten my stories published.

  Interview with Geoff Habiger
  When did you first start writing?
  I first started writing when I was in high school, a few short stories mostly, though I did give a go at writing a novel. It was bad. I contiued writing in college, but never put the effort into the craft that I needed to make it work, so while I came back to writing short stories in the early 2000's I never got anything published. But I kept coming back to wanting to tell stories, so after nearly 30 years of false starts I have finally gotten my stories published.
  What's the story behind your latest book?
  Wrath of the Fury Blade is a fantasy crime novel that is set on Ados, a world filled with elves, magic, and monsters. Constable Inspector Reva Lunaria has just been assigned a new partner and a new case – the murder one of the King’s ministers. Reva’s partner doesn’t meet her high standards, must deal with the “assistance” of the King’s Secret Police, and her own problems to stop a serial killer stalking the city.
  What were some of your influences for The Constable Inspector Lunaria Adventure series?
  My biggest influence was (and is) all of the great crime fiction that is out there, like Ian Rankin’s Inspector Rebus series or PD James’ Inspector Dalgliesh novels. (Not to mention all of the mystery TV shows on PBS.) For me, the Lunaria stories are primarily crime fiction stories about murders and other violent crimes. They just happen to be set in a fantasy world. I’ve also been influenced by Terry Pratchett, Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, and numerous others.
  Where did the idea to co-author this book from? Have you done this before, or had you two been joking around with the idea and finally decide to give a go for real?
  We have worked together before on other projects – primarily related to our game company, Tangent Games. We have always loved playing games – board games, role-playing games, and card games, and we decided back in 2004 to make our own games. We have several supplements published for role-playing games, and have two card games (and an expansion) published through Tangent Games. When the ideas for these stories came about, it was only natural that we’d work together as we had done that so well through Tangent.
  How do you outline and break up who writes what? ((Alternate chapters or certain POV characters?)) And I’ve also read that some authors who co-write books will edit each other's chapters, too.
  We each have different strengths. I am more of the creative type, while Coy is much better at ensuring that content and characters stay true to what we have written. For Wrath, I wrote a first draft of the entire story, then gave it over to Coy for massive editing, because I can’t remember to write the word “that” to save my life, and I never met a comma that I either didn’t put where it didn’t belong, or left out where it was supposed to go. So once we had the drafts and first round of edits, we then sat down at our respective computers and got on Facetime to read the story aloud and to find all the other mistakes that we missed the first time through.
  How do you approach cover design?
  Generally while writing the story I will get an image in my head of what I think the cover should look like. I then try to see if it will work, sometimes by doing mock up covers, before deciding on a cover that I think will fit for the book. For Unremarkable I had one idea for the cover that actually didn't work, so we changed it to the scene of the St. Valentine's Day Massacre. It took some tweaking to get it just right. With Wrath of the Fury Blade I knew from the beginning exactly what I wanted the cover to look like, and our artist, Mike Wagner, delivered on the first attempt. There was no editing required.
  What motivated you to become an indie author?
  Knowing that I have stories that I want to tell other people. I suppose I would be happy to be picked up by an agent or a large publishing house (hint, hint) but until then I will be happy to publish my stories by myself so that readers can read them.
  What do you read for pleasure?
  A lot of different genres. I like reading history and books on science, and I love reading historical fiction, fantasy, science fiction, thrillers, and crime fiction. A lot depends on whether the title of a book is compelling enough for me to want to know more, or if the cover catches my eye.
  Published 2018-04-03.
  Smashwords Interviews are created by the profiled author, publisher or reader.
  Books by This Author
  Wrath of the Fury Blade by Geoff Habiger & Coy Kissee
  Series: A Constable Inspector Lunaria Adventure. Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 100,780. Language: English. Published: April 10, 2018 by Artemesia Publishing. Categories: Fiction » Fantasy » General, Fiction » Mystery & detective » Police Procedural
  A brutal murder, the victim’s body cut in half, thrusts Constable Inspector Reva Lunaria into a dangerous investigation. Reva faces wild conspiracies, unwanted ‘assistance’ from the King’s secret police, and a new partner who is not up to Reva’s standards as she tries to stop the killer stalking the streets.
  Unremarkable by Geoff Habiger & Coy Kissee
  Series: Unremarkable. Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 56,420. Language: American English. Published: February 14, 2018 by Artemesia Publishing. Categories: Fiction » Horror » Undead, Fiction » Historical » Paranormal
  Publishers Weekly Review: "The premise invokes classic black-and-white noir, while lurid supernatural details add a touch of blood red." Saul’s life was uneventful until the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre changed it. Now the Feds, Bugs Moran, and Al Capone all need him. Saul is desperate to make them all happy and keep his parents safe. That may be difficult when Saul learns that vampires are real.

• Geoff Habiger and Coy Kissee - https://www.habigerkissee.com/bio

  ABOUT US
  The writing duo of Geoff Habiger and Coy Kissee have been life-long friends since high school in Manhattan, Kansas. (Affectionately known as the Little Apple, which was a much better place to grow up than the Big Apple, in our humble opinion.) We love reading, baseball, cats, role-playing games, comics, and board games (not necessarily in that order and sometimes the cats can be very trying). We’ve spent many hours together over the years (and it’s been many years) basically geeking out and talking about our favorite books, authors, and movies, often discussing what we would do differently to fix a story or make a better script. We also loved playing games, generally role-playing games, but also board games and card games, and would spend hours talking about why a particular game was fun or not, and what made the games fun to play.

  In the early 2000’s we decided to not just talk about games but to start making our own games. We created Tangent Games and began designing role-playing supplements (adventures, modules, and role-playing aids) to be used for Dungeons and Dragons (3rd and 3.5 editions). We also designed our first card game (called Bankruptcy: The Card Game!), which was a finalist for the Origins Award for best card game in 2007. We continue to work on game design, and still play games at every chance we get, but in 2010 we decided to start working on a novel together.

  Unremarkable is our first novel and the idea for it was sparked on a trip to Chicago. Chicago is known for its gangster past and we began talking about famous events, like the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre and how maybe the massacre of seven gang members might have been staged as a cover-up for something else. As we drove back to Kansas City the basic idea for the story was fleshed out, and on a trip to GenCon (the largest game convention in the US) a month later we fleshed out the full plot and characters. It took several years or starting and stopping to get Saul’s story finished and published, not least because Geoff got another story idea. In a world of magic and monsters (your typical fantasy world) how would the police solve crimes? That basic premise led Geoff to create the character of Constable Inspector Reva Lunaria and eventually the story that became Wrath of the Fury Blade, Geoff and Coy’s second novel. Geoff wrote drafts of both stories, often alternating between one and the other, and then Coy worked to polish off all of the rough edges. We work to our strengths and having collaborated for years on game design we work well together and make a very effective writing team.

  Coy lives with his wife in Lenexa, Kansas. Geoff lives with his wife and son in Tijeras, New Mexico. They are currently working on sequels to both Unremarkable (called Untouchable) and Wrath of the Fury Blade (called Joy of the Widows Tears).

QUOTE:
A wider conspiracy puts the kingdom at risk, and the charming, flawed protagonists prove themselves
a winning combo worth visiting again.
This rich fusion of crime and fantasy should enchant readers.

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Print Marked Items
Habiger, Geoff: WRATH OF THE FURY
BLADE
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(Mar. 1, 2018):
COPYRIGHT 2018 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Habiger, Geoff WRATH OF THE FURY BLADE Shadow Dragon Press (Indie Fiction) $17.95 4, 10 ISBN:
978-1-932926-61-3
A killer targets high-ranking victims in a society of elves obsessed with genetic purity.
On the world of Ados, in the elven city of Tenyl, Constable Inspector Reva Lunaria tries to enjoy her day
off. She's summoned, however, to the office of First Constable Aescel for assignment to an important case.
First Magistrate Lavale fey Avecath has been murdered, cleaved clean in half one night in his study. With
her longtime partner recently transferred, veteran Reva must work with the inexperienced Ansee Carya,
who as a Seeker can investigate any magic used at the crime scene. In the First Magistrate's study, the two
encounter Green Cloaks--or the Sucra--who act as King Aeonis' secret police. Inquisitor Ailan Malvacea
orders that all documents be collected from the study, which infuriates Reva. In turn, she graciously allows
the Sucra to witness a Speaking, during which the corpse is magically induced to offer verbal clues about
the murder. In this way, the investigators learn that a black blade committed the deed. At the scene of a
second killing--this time Lady Tala Ochroma, the king's treasurer, is the victim--a healer refuses to save the
life of a collaterally injured halpbloed (half-blood). Ansee loses his temper and strikes the elf, revealing the
extent to which bigotry divides the citizens of Tenyl. In this marriage of fantasy and procedural thriller, the
team of Habiger and Kissee (Unremarkable, 2018) gives fans of both genres a master class in
worldbuilding. Everything from idioms ("But tread carefully, Inspector. You are on a narrow branch here")
to fascist racial doctrines mesh in a narrative that pulses with innovation on every page. While much of the
emotional heft comes in comparing King Aeonis' purity laws to those wielded by the Nazis, personal
demons also haunt the characters in this series opener. Reva finds herself addicted to the stimulant Wake,
and the halpbloed Cedres Vanda desperately wants to reunite with his family despite his wife's disgust for
him. A wider conspiracy puts the kingdom at risk, and the charming, flawed protagonists prove themselves
a winning combo worth visiting again.
This rich fusion of crime and fantasy should enchant readers.
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Habiger, Geoff: WRATH OF THE FURY BLADE." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Mar. 2018. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A528959701/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=46457aee.
Accessed 23 June 2018.
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QUOTE:
Habiger and Kissee (Unremarkable) bill this as a series opener but fail to
build ongoing reader investment in Reva and Ansee as a team.

Wrath of the Fury Blade: A Constable
Inspector Lunaria Adventure
Publishers Weekly.
265.7 (Feb. 12, 2018): p61.
COPYRIGHT 2018 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
Wrath of the Fury Blade: A Constable Inspector Lunaria Adventure
Geoff Habiger and Coy Kissee. Shadow
Dragon, $17.95 trade paper (338p) ISBN 9781-932926-61-3
Habiger and Kissee's elven take on the police procedural may amuse those who enjoy the lighter side of
both genres, but it's bloated with exposition of the administrative details of its bland setting and naively
shallow in its political components. In a world that will feel comfortably familiar to anyone who's dabbled
in fantasy gaming, pure-blood elves hold fascist sway over the land of Tenyl. Members of Pfeta fey Orung,
the highest rank within the Elves of Purity, are murdered by a masked elf with the Fury Blade, a weapon
that can cleave victims in half, but warps the mind of its wielder. Feisty Constable Insp. Reva Lunaria and
her new partner, Seeker Ansee Carya, are put on the case, but the king's secret police get in the way of a
clean investigation. Halpbloeden, elves considered to be of impure lineage and stripped of their citizenship,
react to their persecution with an unexplored glum resignation, and Ansee's defense of them, clearly
expected to telegraph goodness to the reader while being uncouth and risky in-world, is not tied in to a
deeper sense of his character. Habiger and Kissee (Unremarkable) bill this as a series opener but fail to
build ongoing reader investment in Reva and Ansee as a team. (Apr.)
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Wrath of the Fury Blade: A Constable Inspector Lunaria Adventure." Publishers Weekly, 12 Feb. 2018, p.
61. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A528615499/ITOF?
u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=0a5de400. Accessed 23 June 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A528615499
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QUOTE:
The premise invokes classic black-and-white noir, while lurid
supernatural details add a touch of blood red.

Unremarkable
Publishers Weekly.
265.1 (Jan. 1, 2018): p43.
COPYRIGHT 2018 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
Unremarkable
Geoff Habiger and Coy Kissee. Shadow Dragon, $15.95 trade paper (216p) ISBN 978-1-93292649-1
Tangent Games cofounders Habiger and Kissee kick off their supernatural noir series with this slim,
atmospheric entry, which begins, "Al Capone murdered me tonight." After that deathbed declaration, Saul
Imbierowicz narrates events leading up to his murder, beginning when his girlfriend Moira is killed in the
crossfire of the St. Valentine's Day Massacre. Saul has no time to grieve; as a newly hired postal service
worker, he has an opportunity to steal evidence from the Feds that might incriminate Capone, and if he
doesn't do it, rival gangsters will execute his family. Bad turns weird when Moira rises from the dead and a
"love bite" becomes something more. The premise invokes classic black-and-white noir, while lurid
supernatural details add a touch of blood red. The story is grounded in Jewish culture, and readers
unfamiliar with Yiddish may occasionally struggle, as it's liberally peppered throughout the narrative. The
setup for a sequel is intriguing and will keep readers coming back for more of Saul's supernatural
adventures. (Feb.)
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Unremarkable." Publishers Weekly, 1 Jan. 2018, p. 43. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A522124985/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=32c751e5.
Accessed 23 June 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A522124985

"Habiger, Geoff: WRATH OF THE FURY BLADE." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Mar. 2018. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A528959701/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF. Accessed 23 June 2018. "Wrath of the Fury Blade: A Constable Inspector Lunaria Adventure." Publishers Weekly, 12 Feb. 2018, p. 61. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A528615499/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF. Accessed 23 June 2018. "Unremarkable." Publishers Weekly, 1 Jan. 2018, p. 43. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A522124985/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF. Accessed 23 June 2018.

• Foreword Reviews
  https://www.forewordreviews.com/reviews/unremarkable/
  Word count: 583

  QUOTE:
  It is an entertaining story that isn’t confined by the shackles of stale genre conventions.
  Unremarkable is, in fact, remarkable. It is a thrilling gangland drama that reveals unexpected supernatural depths.
  UNREMARKABLE
  Geoff Habiger Coy Kissee
  Shadow Dragon Press (Feb 14, 2018)
  Softcover $15.95 (216pp)
  978-1-932926-49-1

  Clarion Rating: 4 out of 5

  Unremarkable is a thrilling gangland drama that reveals unexpected supernatural depths.

  Unremarkable, a thriller written by Tangent Games cofounders Geoff Habiger and Coy Kissee, blends genres to tell an enthralling story about an ordinary man who gets in over his head in an increasingly perilous underworld.

  Opening with the powerful and intriguing line “Al Capone murdered me tonight,” this gangland noir novel follows 1920s Chicago postal worker Saul Imbierowicz, whose mistress Moira gets seemingly randomly shot during the infamous St. Valentine’s Day Massacre. Saul gets mixed up in a citywide feud between Al Capone, Bugs Moran, and the feds. Though grounded in a convincing historical accuracy, the book takes a supernatural turn, and vampires soon bare their fangs.

  Compelling writing depicts action such as police raids with tension and intrigue. Gunfights are captivating, dramatized but not romanticized; they show the human toll. Unremarkable makes its threats feel real, as when Capone angrily beats up Saul, pulling no punches.

  Saul gets an in-depth characterization. He’s unsparingly self-deprecating when taking Moira out to a speakeasy, writing himself off as a skinny average Joe who’s “not very tall.” His arc is well-plotted and satisfying. Other characters do not get as much shade or nuance, in some cases serving as straightforward antagonists with little inner life of their own.

  Dialogue motors the story forward and often seems realistic, though long stretches of expanded quotations come to seem like a crutch. Even so, the dialogue advances the narrative and comes across as appropriate to the historical era.

  Unremarkable feels a little unsure about its Chicago backdrop, throwing out the Uptown neighborhood’s Green Mill Cocktail Lounge as a setting perhaps one too many times. The ironic characterization of the Chicago River as, in quotes, “picturesque” strikes an anachronistic chord—it was not then; it is very much so now. Though generally well-crafted, settings lean on stereotypes, as when one of the ubiquitous mobsters threatens a character with becoming “just one more unremarkable victim of our city’s violent culture.” Such knocks on the otherwise vivid setting are common.

  Native Chicagoans will find much to nitpick, though the book is obviously well researched. For other audiences, Unremarkable shines. It is an entertaining story that isn’t confined by the shackles of stale genre conventions. Its interesting forays into the criminal underworld and vampiric intrigues captivate, and it takes a notably clever approach to what could easily have become a tired tale.

  Unremarkable is, in fact, remarkable. It is a thrilling gangland drama that reveals unexpected supernatural depths.

  Reviewed by Joseph S. Pete
  January 3, 2018

  Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The author of this book provided free copies of the book and paid a small fee to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. Foreword Reviews and Clarion Reviews make no guarantee that the author will receive a positive review. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

• U.S. Review of Books
  http://www.theusreview.com/reviews/Wrath-of-the-Fury-Blade-by-Geoff-Habiger-and-Coy-Kissee.html#.Wqg_42rwaM9
  Word count: 739

  QUOTE:
  Intrigue and wonder fill the story, but underneath everything run darker, more relevant themes: race, culture, and the absurd, over-emphasized importance of social standing. The world Reva lives in has declared elves pure and worthy and casts any half-breeds into lowly positions in society for their bloodline alone.
  Wrath of the Fury Blade is a masterful marriage of genres and a must-read for fantasy and thriller lovers alike.
  Wrath of the Fury Blade: A Constable Inspector Lunaria Adventure
  by Geoff Habiger and Coy Kissee
  Shadow Dragon Press

  book review by Yuliya Geikhman

  "Lavalé had no time to move. He could only watch, helpless, as the blade, bright red lines twisting through it like a breathing forge, swept down upon his head. Lavalé's last thought was that he did know that blade."
  First, the magistrate is killed—brutally murdered in his own study by a familiar elven figure wielding a powerful black blade. Then the King's Treasurer is taken down in the middle of the road, along with anyone who happened to be too close in the moment. For Constable Inspector Reva Lunaria these murders mean one very important thing: She can kiss her well-earned day off goodbye. Along with her new partner, Ansee "Antsy" Carya, Reva sets out to uncover the masked murderer. As they investigate the murders, they uncover a web of intrigue and conspiracy that's been in motion for years. Magic blades, complex elven politics, murder, mayhem, and a talking parrot that won't stop saying "Reva is sexy"—all these things and more make Wrath of the Fury Blade a thrilling adventure from start to finish.

  The idea may seem familiar: one murder leads to another while a no-nonsense inspector investigates the action and gets into danger as a result. However, this book is anything but typical. The action happens not in our world but in a fantasy world of elves and magic—a combination which may seem out of place. In the hands of the authors, though, Reva and her fantasy home come alive with every nuance of a real world. The novel is both a murder mystery and a police procedural that plays remarkably well with its fantasy elements—sort of like an episode of CSI penned by J.R.R. Tolkien. Every aspect of the world, from its history to its politics to its modern-day struggles, is thought out and presented in the pages for the reader to pick up on. Everything from the elven police procedure to the rules of magic is predetermined, with the authors clearly thinking everything through in great detail. Reva's home is imbued with such a richness and depth that it becomes difficult to remember the place does not and cannot exist.

  Reva herself is a strong, fierce heroine who puts her service in the name of justice above all else. Through her partnership with the much mellower (but equally moral) Carya, she is fleshed out in all her elven glory. Despite the two making a remarkable—though mismatched—team, neither is without their flaws. And as they proceed towards their goals, the demons of their past and present rear their ugly heads. In fact, no character is extraneous, no matter how short their appearance in the story is, and each is driven by his or her own ambitions and fears. The writing is likewise descriptive but tight with no words wasted. Yet every passage tells readers more about the story, the people, the environment, and every other aspect of the world in question.

  Intrigue and wonder fill the story, but underneath everything run darker, more relevant themes: race, culture, and the absurd, over-emphasized importance of social standing. The world Reva lives in has declared elves pure and worthy and casts any half-breeds into lowly positions in society for their bloodline alone. It is, in a way, a dystopia which reflects the vices of our own world. It's clear from the beginning that the assassin is seeking to right wrongs he believes were committed by the elite in the society. But what is truly happening in this world? What drives anyone to commit unspeakable crimes? Magic, revenge, or is it something more? Wrath of the Fury Blade is a masterful marriage of genres and a must-read for fantasy and thriller lovers alike.

  RECOMMENDED by the US Review

• U.S. Review of Books
  http://www.theusreview.com/reviews/Unremarkable-by-Geoff-Habiger-and-Coy-Kissee.html#.WpzLWmrwa01
  Word count: 744

  QUOTE:
  Readers with an interest in suspense, historical drama, or supernatural fiction are sure to discover a story here that is unlike anything they’ve ever read before.
  heories and guesses will be paid off in the story’s satisfying conclusion which wraps things up neatly but also lays the foundation for adventures to come in this exciting, living, fictional world.
  Unremarkable
  by Geoff Habiger and Coy Kissee
  Shadow Dragon Press

  book review by Michael Radon

  "'Maybe you should explain to Saul just what it is that we are dealing with here.'"
  In the 1920s, Chicago is gripped in a gangland war between Al Capone and Bugs Moran. Of lesser concern to the city’s daily activity is Saul Imbierowicz, a young Jewish mail sorter who lives a modest, mundane life save for the smoking hot girlfriend he began seeing a week ago. The mysterious Moira flits in and out of Saul’s life without any warning, but Saul is always happy to see her. However, being in the wrong place at the wrong time leads to Moira being gunned down in the aftermath of the Valentine’s Day Massacre. Shortly afterward, Saul draws the attention of Moran, who sends goons to his apartment and forces him to steal evidence in federal agent possession in order to keep his parents and sister safe. Next, the federal agents strongarm Saul into helping them track down Moira, who miraculously and mysteriously is not dead after all, even with Saul watching her bleed out on the street.

  Tugged in several different directions, Saul is caught in the middle of a feud between Capone and Moran while also being trapped between his loyalty and love for Moira and a plan to help the agents in order to protect his family. All is not as it seems with Moira, however, and an intense, intimate encounter with her leaves Saul with a wound on his belly that won’t heal and plenty of doubts and questions that seem to vanish into thin air whenever she’s around. Soon Saul falls head first into a supernatural arms race between Capone and Moran, struggling to keep his head on straight, protect his family, and not lose his job. The gruff federal agents who have been demanding and uncooperative with Saul may be his only hope. Saul’s decision on who to double-cross could leave the fate of the entire city of Chicago hanging in the balance.

  Readers with an interest in suspense, historical drama, or supernatural fiction are sure to discover a story here that is unlike anything they’ve ever read before. Saul’s everyman qualities as both main character and narrator are fiercely endearing. Caught in a seemingly unwinnable scenario full of breakneck action, there is still plenty of time for him to muse on his overbearing mother or his inability to produce a decent cup of coffee in his modest apartment. Moira’s relationship with Saul is forever shifting from mysterious to cute; sensual to dangerous, and his fixation and fascination with her propel the story forward whenever the tension builds to a height. These human elements go a long way toward setting this book above its peers in the various subgenres that it occupies. The nosy neighbor who seems oblivious to the danger Saul constantly flirts with and the co-worker that comes dangerously close to prying into Saul’s business before being distracted by a pretty girl keep the story’s tone even—balancing action with levity.

  Without getting too deep into the revelations that make the last quarter of the book a fast-paced thrill ride, the undercurrent of the paranormal in this story does as much to make it one-of-a-kind as the humanity of the cast. This book creates historical fiction with a pulse—and a crime drama that embraces the impossible—blending it all together into a truly well-balanced and entertaining read. Right away, it seems that Moira is too good to be true for Saul, but her reappearance after being gunned down in public firmly sets the reader’s mind in motion to expect the unexpected. Theories and guesses will be paid off in the story’s satisfying conclusion which wraps things up neatly but also lays the foundation for adventures to come in this exciting, living, fictional world.

  RECOMMENDED by the US Review

• Manhattan Book Review
  https://manhattanbookreview.com/product/unremarkable/
  Word count: 573

  QUOTE:
  I would highly encourage you to read this book. It’s a quick read and it’s entertaining. I think you’ll love it if you enjoy stories from that time period, and you’ll really love it if you enjoy vampire stories.

  Home / Historical Fiction / Unremarkable
  🔍

  Unremarkable
  We rated this book:

  $15.95

  Saul Imbierowicz is Unremarkable. There is nothing terribly special about him. He’s a young Jewish man who just moved out on his own in 1920s Chicago. He recently started working at the Postal Office sorting mail, and he has a new girlfriend named Moira. Valentine’s Day comes around, and he is out on the town with Moira when they happen to walk into the famous Valentine’s Day Massacre of Bugs Moran’s gang by Al Capone’s gang. Moira ends up shot and Saul walks away unharmed. After that night, Saul is approached by both Moran and Capone to steal some ledgers from his work, as well as by the Feds, who want to bring down Capone as well as Moira. Turns out there is a lot more to Moira than meets the eye, and she has plans for him Saul can’t even comprehend. Sometimes gangsters wanting you dead is not the worst thing that can happen to you. Once Moira’s done with him, if they succeed in killing Saul, he just might not stay dead.

  When you are presented with a book that is unknown and either published independently or by an also unknown publisher, there is always the possibility it’s because it’s not very good. I was nervous that this book would live up to its title and be unremarkable. I am not going to go so far in that it deserves an award for fantastic writing, but I was pleasantly surprised with this book. It took a supernatural turn with gangsters from the twenties and added some vampirism to the mix. I can never turn down a good vampire story. My only criticism is that I wish it was longer. I think the authors could have expounded more on certain characters or plot points, but it is the beginning of a series, so they have time to improve their craft.

  Saul was the perfect character for this story. He had just the right sense of humor and likable qualities that make a character enjoyable to read about. I loved how this book had all the classic characters from 1920s Chicago like Al Capone, Bugs Moran, and even Eliot Ness. I also love how the next book in the series will be called Untouchable. It’s the perfect homage to the classic movie and story of Eliot Ness, and it also fits with what actually happens to Saul in this story.

  I would highly encourage you to read this book. It’s a quick read and it’s entertaining. I think you’ll love it if you enjoy stories from that time period, and you’ll really love it if you enjoy vampire stories.

  Reviewed By: Christina Boswell

  Author Geoff Habiger & Coy Kissee
  Star Count 4.5/5
  Format Trade
  Page Count 216 pages
  Publisher Shadow Dragon Press
  Publish Date 2018-Feb-14
  ISBN 9781932926491
  Amazon Buy this Book
  Issue May 2018
  Category Historical Fiction
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