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Sarah Beauhall series

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1. Black Blade Blues (Sarah Beauhall) by J.A

Black Blade Blues (Sarah Beauhall #1) by J.A. Pitts

Sarah Beauhall series, aka Black Blade series — by J.A. Pitts. 

Genres and Sub-Genres[]

Urban Fantasy

Series Description or Overview[]

✥ BLURB: Sarah Beauhall has more on her plate than most twenty-somethings: day job as a blacksmith, night job as a props manager for low-budget movies, and her free time is spent fighting in a medieval re-enactment group. The lead actor breaks Sarah's favorite one-of-a-kind sword, and to avoid reshooting scenes, Sarah agrees to repair the blade. One of the extras, who claims to be a dwarf, offers to help. And that's when things start to get weird. Could the sword really be magic, as the "dwarf" claims? Are dragons really living among us as shapeshifters? And as if things weren't surreal enough, Sarah's girlfriend Katie breaks out the dreaded phrase. 'I love you.' As her life begins to fall apart, first her relationship with Katie, then her job at the movie studio, and finally her blacksmithing career, Sarah hits rock bottom. It is at this moment, when she has lost everything she has prized, that one of the dragons makes their move. And suddenly what was unthinkable becomes all too real and Sarah will have to decide if she can reject what is safe and become the heroine who is needed to save her world.

✥ Black Blade Blues is the debut novel of John Pitts, it features a world where Norse mythology has come alive in the Seattle area. Sarah Beauhall is the main protagonist of the story and is an amateur blacksmith who’s trying to earn extra money by serving as a prop manager for various movies. As prop manager her creations get a chance to be featured in the movies. Sarah has an interesting life; she’s from a small town and is into medieval warfare role play and heavy metal. She's also in love with Katie but appears to be in a bit of denial over it. ~ Fantasy Book Critic: "Black Blade Blues"

Lead's Species[]

  • Blacksmith with Nordic powers (not yet awoken)

Primary Supe[]

  • Dragon shape-shifters / Norse mythology

What Sets it Apart[]

  • Dragon shape-shifters as main supe in an Urban Fantasy; The heroine has a unique occupation;

Narrative Type and Narrators[]

  • First person Narrative told by Sarah Beauhall.

Books in Series[]

Sarah Beauhall series, aka Black Blade series:

  1. Black Blade Blues (2010)
  2. Honeyed Words (2011)
  3. Forged in Fire (2012)

Shorts, Anthologies and Guides[]

none yet

World Building[]

Setting:[]

American Pacific Northwest, Seattle area

Places:

  • Portland
  • Seattle
  • Vancouver
  • Leavenworth
  • Redmond

Supernatural Elements:[]

✥ Dragons, dragon slayer, magic sword, Dragon-shifters, fairies, dwarves, giants, witches, fire kobolds, necromancers, trolls, she-troll, orcs, Nordic gods, ogres, giants, Valkyries, Norse mythology, Odin, ravens, dragon slayer, magic-wielding serial killer, blood cult, warrior king, Pegasus, magic map, Renaissance Faires, ,

  • B-grade independent movies about goblins, aliens, and Elvis;

Glossary:[]

Groups & Organizations:[]

  • Dragon Liberation Front: crazed blood cult
  • SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism): associated kingdoms, shires, and mercenaries
  • Black Briar: clan swinging a sword in mock battles at renaissance fairs and Society for Creative Anacronism eventsmercenary band which belongs to the local SCA kingdom—Jimmy Cornett is the leader

World[]

✥ The story takes place in the Seattle area. The tale then kicks off as various elements of Norse mythology start appearing in Sarah’s world. Also at the same time others start taking interest in the blade (which has been named Gram by Rolph) these others include Dragons in mortal forms that see the re-forging as threat to themselves.

Protagonist[]

✥ Sarah Beauhall: Sarah Beauhall is the main protagonist of the story and is an amateur blacksmith who’s trying to earn extra money by serving as a prop manager for various movies. As prop manager her creations get a chance to be featured in the movies. Sarah has an interesting life; she’s from a small town and is into medieval warfare role play and heavy metal. She's also in love with Katie but appears to be in a bit of denial over it. Sarah also gets upheavals in her personal life when Katie tells her she loves her. ~ Fantasy Critic

✥ Sarah Beauhall is a blacksmith in training, an apprentice to another female smith who mostly works on shoeing horses. That's a part-time day job; her night job is as a props manager for a low-budget movie. Her free time is spent mostly with friends in a a medieval re-enactment group. ~ Black Blade Blues | Eyrie

Sidekick[]

  • Name: / What: / Sidekick-to: / About: / Book First Seen:

Characters Chart[]

Characters What About
Sarah Beauhall blacksmith has super Nordic deity powers; 
Katie bard Sarah's girlfriend, met at a renaissance fair; brother: Jimmy Cornett;
Rolph tells Sarah she's a warrior for forging Gram;
Gram sword ebony blade which she re-forges; Nordic origins;
Qindra dragon-serving witch
Jean-Paul Duchamp dragon-shifter started a war;
Anezka artsy woman Sarah temporarily apprentices w/her
Bub kobold
Jimmy Cornett Black Briar leader brains and the coordinator, leader of the Black Briar; Katie's brother; wife: Deidre;
Gram sword A Norse blade
Fafnir Dragon
Julie Hendrickson blachsmith Sarah's blacksmith master; dragon kidnapped her;
Deidre Jimmy's baby sister dragon kidnapped her;
Sruart Black Briar member
Gunther Black Briar member

To expand the table, in Edit–Visual mode, right-press on a Row of the table or Column (Control-press on a Mac)—choose add Row or Column. Or, in Source Mode: copy-paste rows.

JAPitts1

J.A. Pitts

Author[]

J. A. Pitts

Bio: I learned to love science fiction at the knee of my grandmother, listening to her read authors like Edgar Rice Burroughs and Robert E. Howard during my childhood in rural Kentucky. My life has always been heavily influenced by strong women. My mother first among them: raising three boys after the death of my father, with grace and wit. There were always women coming and going in our house, friends, family, folks who needed a hand, and folks who had one to lend. All of my life has been steeped in the stories of average people doing extraordinary things — and most of them were women. That is why I was drawn to the character Sarah in my new novel. She embodies all the strength of the women who have influenced me over the years. I can’t remember a time I wasn’t absorbing and creating story. I read early, and became a regular at my local library. There for a while, I thought the coolest thing in the world would be to grow up and be a librarian. I even got the degree. Once I hit the workforce, I discovered how poorly most librarians are paid, and I ended up in high tech instead. But I live my life surrounded by books and story. Selling my own tales still comes as a surprise to me. The characters and worlds I build have been given loving care by some pretty spectacular editors. I’ve been very lucky. I continue to launch my words into the world, for all to read if they have the mind. I just hope you are entertained. The opportunities for you to read my work has just gotten even better. ~ J.A. Pitts

Contributors[]

Cover Artists[]

Artist: Dan Dos Santos — Source:  ISFdb: Cover: Black Blade Blues

Other Contributors:[]

  • Audio Book Narrator: — Source:
  • Editor: — Source:

Publishing Information[]

Book Cover Blurbs[]

✤ BOOK ONE BLURB—Black Blade Blues (2010): Sarah Beauhall has more on her plate than most twenty-somethings: day job as a blacksmith, night job as a props manager for low-budget movies, and her free time is spent fighting in a medieval re-enactment group. The lead actor breaks Sarah's favorite one-of-a-kind sword, and to avoid reshooting scenes, Sarah agrees to repair the blade. One of the extras, who claims to be a dwarf, offers to help. And that's when things start to get weird. Could the sword really be magic, as the "dwarf" claims? Are dragons really living among us as shapeshifters? And as if things weren't surreal enough, Sarah's girlfriend Katie breaks out the dreaded phrase. 'I love you.' As her life begins to fall apart, first her relationship with Katie, then her job at the movie studio, and finally her blacksmithing career, Sarah hits rock bottom. It is at this moment, when she has lost everything she has prized, that one of the dragons makes their move. And suddenly what was unthinkable becomes all too real and Sarah will have to decide if she can reject what is safe and become the heroine who is needed to save her world. ~ Black Blade Blues - FF

✤ BOOK TWO BLURB—Honeyed Words (2011): Sarah Beauhall is a blacksmith, has a night job as a props manager for a low-budget movie, and spends her free time fighting in a medieval re-enactment group. Her world falls apart when she discovers that dragons are real and live among us as shapeshifters; in fact, it is they who have been the secret masters of our world from time immemorial. On top of all this, it appears that Sarah has managed to reforge an ancient sword that everyone suddenly wants... and those who don't want the weapon want Sarah to take on her destiny and become humanity's saviour. As Sarah tries to make her way in this new world, she discovers just how little she knows of reality. Fairies and dwarves and giants abound, the fault line of the Pacific Northwest is rife with ancient Norse magic. Odin himself appears with ravens at his side and cryptic advice for the fledgling heroine. And the cherry on the sundae? The discovery that Sarah's girlfriend is from a family that has been battling these forces for generations and they look to Sarah as their last best hope. What's a girl to do when the powers of the world decide that you're responsible for cleaning up the magical mess? ~ Goodreads | Honeyed Words

✤ BOOK THREE BLURB—Forged in Fire (2012): Sarah Jane Beauhall, the blacksmith turned dragon slayer, has it all figured out—little things like dealing with the political intrigue of dragons who secretly run our world, and learning to wield the magic that she has been given by none other than Odin, who has been fighting the dragons for millennia. And then there is the matter of coming to terms with who she is…and how to build a life with her partner, Katie. All these things are forced into the background however when a magic-wielding serial killer starts prowling the Pacific Northwest. And all of his victims have ties to Sarah. Sarah must unravel the web she finds closing around her as a powerful necromancer and a crazed blood cult known as the Dragon Liberation Front work to tear apart everything she holds dear. ~ Goodreads | Forged in Fire

First Sentences[]

  1. Black Blade Blues (2010) — The warrior king stood atop the hill, the light of a new dawn cresting behind him.
  2. Honeyed Words (2011) — Jimmy Cornett, the leader of the Black Briar, paced the length of the room, eleven long strides before turning and making the return trip.
  3. Forged in Fire (2012) — I kept Katie back and to the right of me as we followed the she-troll into the clearing.

Quotes[]

“My heart was pounding in my chest. I watched her place her guitar and cooler against the wall by one of the cleared worktables, thinking back to the first time I'd watched her.” ~ Shelfari

Trivia[]

~ ranked on Goodreads | Best Urban Fantasy Series (181 series)

Awards[]

BLACK BLADE BLUES, Tor Books, April, 2010

  • Finalist for the Compton Crook award
  • American Library Association: Over the Rainbow list for 2011

HONEYED WORDS, Tor Books, July, 2011.

  • Winner of the Spectrum Award for Best Novel
  • American Library Association: Over the Rainbow list for 2012

~ Source: J.A. Pitts » Fiction

Read Alikes (suggestions)[]

Notes[]

See Also[]

See Category links at bottom of page

External References[]

Books:

Summaries:

World, Characters, etc:

Reviews:

Interviews & Guest Posts:

Artist:

Author:

Community, Fan Sites:

Gallery of Book Covers[]

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