Contemporary Authors

Betsy Dornbusch writes epic fantasy, and has dabbled in science fiction, thrillers, and erotica. Her short fiction has appeared in over a dozen magazines and anthologies, and she's the author of three novellas. Her first fantasy novel came out in 2012 and her latest trilogy, BOOKS OF THE SEVEN EYES, wraps up with ENEMY in 2017. SILVER SCAR, a standalone future fantasy thriller, also drops in 2017.

In her free time, she herds her teenagers (like cats, only they talk back), snowboards, air jams at punk rock concerts, and follows Denver sports teams. She's just a quick google away by her name or Sex Scenes at Starbucks.

Short bio:

Betsy Dornbusch is the author of over a dozen short stories, three novellas, and four novels. She lives in Colorado with her family.

Betsy is represented by

Sara Megibow of kt literary.

Betsy Dornbusch
answers the Usual Questions
Writer Betsy Dornbusch, photograph courtesy of the author; 220x229

Betsy Dornbusch

Betsy Dornbusch is the author of a dozen short stories, three novellas, and two novels, the latest of which is Exile. She also is an editor with the speculative fiction magazine Electric Spec and the longtime proprietress of Sex Scenes at Starbucks. Emissary is due out from Night Shade Books in 2015.

Has your interaction with fans, for example, at conventions, affected your work?

Hellayeah. Being on the con circuit has helped me a lot with the just plain enjoyment of what I do, what I like to write. I cut my reading teeth on fantasy but as an adult I moved to mysteries. I read a lot of English crime fiction in the 90s. Crime fiction is so very adult, right? Fantasy was for kids, at least it was back then, and I still think some muggles think fantasy lovers are immature or whatever in our reading tastes. So seeing how others love the genre has helped me own my love for it.

It's also made me more comfortable with my own characters. I've naturally leaned toward characters of color, toward writing women with agency, characters with sliding sexuality. That's sort of a thing in SFF right now and so for once my timing is good. Mostly that has encouraged me to do more of that and do it as well as I can, as well as develop my personal philosophy about writing fantasy about people other than the 14-year-old Caucasian lost prince.

Is there any particular incident (a letter, a meeting, a comment that stands out?

So, so many. Okay, we'll go with heartwarmingly cool instead of people gushing over my books. I was just at a con in Omaha and I'd made friends with the hotel bartender, as usual. I went to get a couple of beers late one evening and some drunk guy was berating the bartender for being rude, which he wasn't at all; I'd been around the guy for two days at this point. I left, but I felt bad because the bartender was alone and this bully had totally settled in. Six or seven male con attendees were hanging out talking in the hallway outside the bar. I asked them if they would go in and surround that bully and ask the bartender for a coke or beer or even water. Everybody knows bullies don't do well with an audience. They did it! They didn't confront him at all, they just went in and filled up the bar and ordered cokes. I guess he ran off pretty quickly. The bartender and his manager thanked me later, but I hope they thanked those guys.

Oh, and one time someone serenaded me with his harmonica at another con. For an hour. I guess I have one of those faces.

Do you have a favourite author or book (or writer or film or series) that has influenced you or that you return to?

A few, and some of it is lowbrow. Star Wars is a staple for me when I'm writing SF; I saw it 17 times in the theater as a kid and I've never tired of it. I like to watch Kingdom of Heaven, too (I know, a lot of folks don't like that film but parts of it speak to me and I write a lot about the religious experience, Christianity and otherwise. Plus, because hot guys in armor). I've studied certain scenes of the new Robin Hood film, too. The book that probably most affected my writing in general was The Outsiders. S.E. Hinton came to our school when I was in fourth grade, the year my best friend and I started writing stories. My first book was an Outsiders riff, written at 13. I still have it. And the best friend? A fiction writer, too.

Who is the person you would most like to be trapped in a lift with? or a spaceship?

My husband. So boring, I know.

Who is the person you would most DISlike to be trapped in a lift with? Or a spaceship?

It has to be somebody dead, right? I mean I can list off fifteen people right now and piss them all off or I can just pick someone who is dead. So I pick Christ because I think he'd have that gentle, quiet quality that makes me nervous. Social awkwardness is a Bad Thing when stuck in an elevator. And I can't really imagine peeing in my Big Gulp cup in front of Him either. So yeah, definitely Jesus Christ.

What would you pack for space? (Is there a food, beverage, book, teddy bear, etc that you couldn't do without?)

My iPad mini. It has my current TBR (to be read) books on it! Tea. A big ole bottle of Bushmills. My best, awful sweatshirt stolen from my husband in 1991.

What is the most important thing you would like to get/achieve from your work?

This is a tough question because I avoid metacognition. It distances me too much from what I'm working on (or hell, maybe it does the opposite) and I really think my exploration could be completely different from the reader's takeaway. I hope readers get that invested, actually, to find their own meaning. To me that's one of the grand things of writing and reading, that the same words strung along could mean different things to different people.

But all writers have their personal themes: I guess right now I'm trying to normalize the abnormal. I'm interested in prejudice, religion, combat as communication, social exclusion, cultural differences, aging. I think if I can expand characterization within the genre, we're good.

What is the special satisfaction of your work?

I've always been a creator so that's it, really. Putting my craft to work every day and watching the stories unfold. I imagine it's the same satisfaction anyone gets from work they really like to do. It sounds a lot more exotic than it is. :-)

submitted by Betsy Dornbusch

16 October 2013

Enemy: The Seven Eyes, Book 3
Betsy Dornbusch. Night Shade, $25.99 (352p) ISBN 978-1-59780-864-4

In this bold sword and sorcery fantasy, the last in the Seven Eyes trilogy (following Emissary), the season of Frost comes to the land of Brîn, rendering it windy and frozen. Draken vae Khellian, a former bounty hunter now married to Akrasia’s Queen Elena—who’s now missing and presumed dead—has been commanded to protect Brîn in the ongoing war between Monoea and Akrasia. The Brînians don’t know that Draken is secretly a bastard relative of the Monoean king; if they did, they’d likely run him through, as would many Akrasians. When Lord Ilumat, Elena’s cousin, enters Brîn equipped for a coup, Draken is caught completely off guard. Adventurous swordsmanship, derring-do, and relentless dodging from onslaughts flow satisfactorily from page to page, but those who haven’t read the previous volumes will find this one confusing in the extreme. Agent: Sara Megibow, KT Literary. (Feb.)

A review of Betsy Dornbusch's Exile

Written by Seregil of Rhiminee
Published: 11 July 2014

Betsy Dornbusch's Exile was published by Night Shade Books (Start Publishing) in January 2013.

Information about Betsy Dornbusch:

Betsy Dornbusch is the author of a dozen short stories, three novellas, and two novels. She also is an editor with the speculative fiction magazine Electric Spec and the longtime proprietress of Sex Scenes at Starbucks.

Information about Exile:

Draken vae Khellian, bastard cousin of the Monoean King, had risen far from his ignominious origins, becoming both a Bowrank Commander and a member of the Crown’s Black Guard. But when he is falsely condemned for the grisly murder of his beloved wife, he is banished from the kingdom and cast upon the distant shore of Akrasia, at the arse-end of the world.

Compared to civilized Monoea, Akrasia is a forbidding land of Moonlings, magic, and restless spirits. It is also a realm on the brink of a bloody revolution, as a sinister conspiracy plots against Akrasia's embattled young queen - and malevolent banes possess the bodies of the living.

Consumed by grief, and branded a murderer, Draken lives only to clear his name and avenge his wife's murder. But the fates may have bigger plans for him. Alone in a strange land, he soon finds himself sharing the bed of an enigmatic necromancer and a half-breed servant girl, while pressed into the service of a foreign queen whose life and land may well depend on the divided loyalties of an exiled warrior...

Exile is the beginning of an ambitious fantasy saga by an acclaimed new author.

A REVIEW OF BETSY DORNBUSCH'S EXILE

Betsy Dornbusch's Exile is the first part of The Seven Eyes fantasy series. The sequel, Emissary, will be published next year.

Before I write more about this novel, I'll have to mention that writing this review is difficult for me, because Exile is both a good and flawed fantasy novel. I'm a bit torn between liking and criticizing this novel. (I'll also briefly mention that I mostly agree with many other reviewers who have reviewed this novel and have pointed out the flaws in the story.)

This novel has all the necessary ingredients and elements that are needed to create an excellent fantasy novel, and it's definitely an entertaining and intriguing read, but - in my opinion - it lacks a bit of depth and style. The lack of depth and style isn't exactly a bad thing, because this novel is pure entertainment, but experienced adult fantasy readers will easily notice what's missing from the story. Readers who are looking for an entertaining and light story, will most likely enjoy this novel very much, because it's an exciting novel and a good start to a new fantasy series that differs from other series.

Here's a bit of information about the story:

- Draken vae Khellian is locked up in a ship's hold. He's half-breed - both royal blood and Brinian blood courses through his veins. The ship he's on is headed towards Akrasia, "the arse-end of the world". Draken has been in Black Guard and knows a few things about the world. He gained information about the world by interrogating Brinian soldiers. His wife has died in the hands of Akrasian magickers, and he is falsely condemned and banished to Akrasia for the murder of his wife. Draken is driven forward by his will to avenge his wife's death.

- Osias is a necromancer who saves Draken from spirit possession. He warns people of the banes (spirits). Osias takes Draken to meet Queen Elena, because he wants Draken to testify about the dangers of the banes. Setia is Osias' companion and half-Moonling.

- When Draken and Osias go to meet Queen Elena, the queen is almost killed, but is saved by Osias. Soon Draken tries to find the person who tried assassinate her...

Here's a few words about the good things in this novel:

- The best thing about this novel is that the fantasy world is genuinely interesting. For example, there are seven moons (Seven Eyes) at the sky that are worshipped as gods. There are also different races in the world.

- I also enjoyed reading about how Draken was torn between his desire for revenge and his duty to a foreign queen. To be honest, this made me read the whole novel as fast as possible, because I had to find out what happens to Draken and how he handles matters.

- There's intriguing magic in the world and it was interesting to read about it, but the magic system isn't fully explored in this novel. I hope that more things about the magic system will be revealed in the sequels, because reading about magic is always fun.

And here's a few words about the flaws in this novel:

- There's one very easily noticeable flaw in this novel. In my opinion things are too easy for the protagonist and he seems to overcome obstacles too easily. His situation improves too fast for my taste, because it feels unrealistic (when he's cast upon the shores of Akrasia, he almost immediately gets out of trouble and finds himself in a foreign court).

- The other noticeable flaw is that the characterization isn't as good as it could be. The characters are interesting, but there's not much depth in them. This bothered me, because in this kind of darker fantasy novels I expect to read about characters that have plenty of depth in them. Because Draken and Osias are interesting characters, it would've been nice to read more about their feelings, traits and flaws.

I have to mention that I found it interesting that the author refered to such difficult things as bisexuality and racial differences. Because these references added both originality and freshness to the story, it would've been nice if the author had written more about them.

Despite a few noticeable flaws Betsy Dornbusch definitely does have ambition and shows talent for writing adult fantasy that differs nicely from the new novels that other authors have written during the last couple of years. I'm sure that when she develops her writing style a bit further, she will become an author to watch for in the near future.

Rating this novel is a bit difficult for me, because despite its flaws I found myself liking it and look forward to reading the sequel. After careful consideration I decided to give Exile 3.5 stars, because it's good and harmless entertainment.

My final words are:

Although Exile does have flaws, it's a good, exciting and entertaining fantasy novel for adults, because it's something a bit different. I think that readers who get caught up in this novel's world will be thrilled to read what happens to Draken, because the story is a nice combination of familiar elements and a touch of originality and freshness. It's an excellent summer read.

Review of Exile by Betsy Dornbusch
Feb
21
2013

Exile
by Betsy Dornbusch
320pp (Hardcover)
My Rating: 3/10
Amazon Rating: 5/5
LibraryThing Rating: --/5
Goodreads Rating: 4.10/5

Exile is the first book in a new fantasy series by Betsy Dornbusch, The Seven Eyes. It was released in hardcover and ebook earlier this month, and Emissary, the second book, is scheduled for release in 2014.

Born into slavery as a bastard relative of the royal family, Draken gained the king’s esteem and rose to become one of the more important officers in the Black Guard—until the day he was accused of murdering his wife. Draken came home to find his wife gutted, and when he was found with her dead body, he was blamed for the crime. His punishment was exile to the island of Akrasia, where his survival would be left to fate.

Since Draken’s wife was killed in a manner commonly associated with Akrasian magic, Draken is hoping to find the killer and vengeance for his deceased spouse. Soon after arriving, he instead finds Osias, a necromancer who saves him from suicide by spirit possession. Osias is searching for the missing Mance king and also warning people about the banes, the same type of spirit that took control of Draken. Osias forces Draken to accompany himself and his companion Setia on a visit to warn Queen Elena so he can personally testify about the dangers of possession by banes.

They are escorted to the queen and are able to warn her about the threat Osias fears. However, the queen is nearly struck by an arrow in front of them and is only saved by Osias. Osias and Draken remain in the castle, along with Setia, and plot to hide Draken’s true identity from the queen. Next time they see the queen, Draken offers to find the one who tried to assassinate her, and she accepts his offer. Draken sets out to find a potential killer but finds far more than he believed he would.

To be blunt, I was not a fan of Exile. It had an intriguing opening with Draken being exiled for a crime he didn’t commit, and I was interested in finding out what happened to him in the beginning. The book was decently paced with a lot of major occurrences and revelations, but I didn’t care about any of the characters enough to be concerned about what happened to them. The characters’ motivations often did not make sense to me, and there were some parts where the dialogue seemed awkward or cheesy. In addition, the main character suffered from a severe case of Special Snowflake Syndrome, and the whole book had far too many cases of Surprise! Identity for my taste (especially considering the way one of these was slipped into the conversation).

My biggest problem with Exile was that this was a book in which the main character was portrayed as someone extraordinarily special, and I never understood why the other characters seemed to be in awe of him. Draken certainly had admirable traits, such as respect for human life and reverence for the dead. Before the beginning of this book, he’d risen quite far to go from being a slave to a respected officer in the Black Guard, and once he gets to Akrasia, he also rises quickly to a powerful position. However, he didn’t strike me as being nearly as amazing as all the other characters seemed to think he was, and I felt like I was constantly hearing about how wonderful he was more than I was being shown how wonderful he was.

For instance, when Draken looks upon Osias, he sees great beauty. This is important since those who look upon Osias simply see a reflection of their own character (for reasons I never quite understood other than that it seemed like a convenient way of telling the reader how amazing Draken was without his actually exhibiting any sort of charisma through his dialogue and characterization). There were many conversations in which a character told Draken something along the lines of, “I see why you are held in such esteem by others,” and in my opinion, there was nothing to make him stand out more than any other character involved in these discussions. In fact, I thought Osias was far more impressive than Draken. He’s a necromancer who caught an arrow out of the air with his bare hands.

For much of this book, I kept thinking of Draken as a passive character, even though that wasn’t necessarily true when I stopped to consider his actions. He did act. Even as early as the first couple of chapters, he took the initiative and freed a slave from the men holding her captive. His quick rise on Akrasia was due to his actions (even if I did feel there was more luck than skill involved and that the reward was not entirely suitable, but I’ll talk about that in a bit with some spoiler tags). I believe the reason I kept thinking of him as passive was that he did seem to be swept along by events rather than instigating them and also because the regard others had for him seemed to be out of proportion with his actions. Also, Draken was a character who didn’t have a lot of obstacles. Early in the book, I had some sympathy for Draken since he’d just lost everything—his wife, his status, his home, and his respect. Yet he was barely even on this island before his life was looking up. He was found and rescued by a necromancer who put him in contact with the queen, and from there, his situation improved drastically. It seemed as though he didn’t even have to do a whole lot and people were ready to bow down at his feet!

This brings me to the spoiler discussion of Draken’s rise to prominence on Akrasia:

Show Spoiler »

This isn’t the only instance in which a character’s actions made me wonder why they would ever do such a thing. Unfortunately, the other example I think best illustrates this was also late enough in the book that it should be hidden behind spoiler tags.

Show Spoiler »

Osias had some potential as a character since he’s a necromancer who can do amazing feats, but all the characters were flat and bland, especially since they seemed so intent on how wonderful Draken was. The characters did not seem like people in their own right, but they seemed as though they existed solely to revolve around Draken whether it was to praise him, advance him, inform him, make not-so-subtle hints about him, help him, or be a foil to him.

The setting seemed fairly generic to me, even though it isn’t the common European-based fantasy world. It’s a world with 7 moons that are worshiped as gods with different attributes, and it’s composed of several different races of people, some of which are somewhat original. There is a history involving strife and wars among the different kingdoms, but none of it was particularly interesting or original. There’s a lot of magic, but it’s often used as a plot device, whether its Osias and his necromantic powers or the magic sword and its abilities. I prefer magic in my fantasy to be explored with all its advantages and disadvantages instead of used when there needs to be a convenient way of making the plot happen.

Exile did have an intriguing start, and there was a small part of me that was interested in reading to see what the next big revelation would be. Mostly, though, I was just bored with it and did not find it interesting.

My Rating: 3/10

Where I got my reading copy: From the author.

Enemy – By Betsy Dornbusch: A book Review
January 21, 2017swordsandspectres
enemy

Blurb:

Everything Draken thinks he knows is wrong.

The last time Draken travelled Akrasia, he was the highest lord in the land. His journey before that was eased by royal favour and the grace of the gods. This time is different. His adopted country buckling under attack from religious fanatics and his Queen presumed dead, Draken must flee a deadly coup by an upstart lord. Bitter from fighting an insurmountable war and losing the life he’s built, he lets the ghosts of past mistakes drive him into vigilante revenge. But Draken is about to learn gods and wars have a way of catching up to a man.

In the thrilling conclusion to Dornbush’s Book of the Seven Eyes trilogy, follow Draken as he tries to find peace solace in a life that has been surrounded by bloodshed. Will he avenge those he cares about, while striking down those that stand in his way? Enemy covers all this and more in this epic fantasy series.

Author: Betsy Dornbusch

Publisher: Night Shade Books

Release Date: 21/07/2017

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 308

My chosen format: Kindle

My rating of ‘Enemy’: 4 out of 5

Purchase: Amazon UK, Amazon US

Review:

I received a copy of ‘Enemy’ in exchange for an honest review.

The cover does very well in covering a lot of points throughout the book. The bandage/mask worn by Draken, his faithful horse that he pushes through terrifying situations and the multiple moons. I like the colour scheme and feel the artist has done remarkably well in making it feel like a true night scene rather than just an image of someone riding a horse at night. The blurb does enough to give the reader the feeling that poor Draken isn’t going to be in for three-hundred pages of smooth sailing. Just shows the barest hint of the misery that will be inflicted upon the poor guy.

When initially contacted by Betsy in regards to reviewing ‘Enemy’, I was hesitant due to it being the third instalment of a trilogy that I had not yet read the first two volumes. She did, however, assure me that it was easy to pick up and gain an understanding of the world from this novel alone. She wasn’t wrong in saying so. Obviously, jumping in at book three, I was left scratching my head when certain things crop up such as past characters or some instances of the terminology unique to the universe Betsy has created in the Draken books etc … but it is easy to puzzle out who’s who and what’s what, so I never truly felt out of my depth whilst reading ‘Enemy’.

Betsy has done a remarkable job of creating a diverse cast of characters. These range from the protagonist ‘Draken’ who rivals Robin Hobb’s ‘FitzChivalry Farseer’ for the amount of misery that befalls him. Even through all of his ill-fortune, Draken never stops fighting, despite his frequent wishes to do so. He is guided by one of my favourite characters ‘Bruche’. Bruche is Draken’s ‘swordhand’ (a spirit existing within him that acts as both a conscience, at times, and a skilled warrior when Draken needs to defend himself). Bruche’s sarcastic nature make him a thoroughly enjoyable character to read. He is certainly a nice contrast to Draken who, at times, can come across as cold and unlikeable. ‘Enemy’ features a whole variety of other characters from ghosts to gods and necromancers to assassins, all of which make the title a very interesting and pleasing book to read.

The story has everything you want in the final instalment of a trilogy (war, betrayal, feel-good moments that leave the reader with a smile on their face etc …), in fact, with everything that happened it almost felt like a much larger tale condensed into one manageable volume. Betsy’s writing style lent towards the strength of the book as, besides the odd typo here and there, she has a very strong style that just helps the story flow ever so well. The strength of the characters and the uniqueness of either them or the abilities they are gifted, simply keeps the enjoyment rolling as you read.

There were parts of the book that I felt slightly rushed but these were not frequent. There were also parts where I felt as though the world didn’t feel like a ‘complete world’ but this could simply be my having not read the first two books in the trilogy.

All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed reading the end of Draken’s tale and, if ever the character was to have any more adventures, I would certainly pick up any future titles to read up on his exploits.