Today I'm again featuring the newest book in The Wilderhark Tales, The Surrogate Sea. Author Danielle Shipley has provided, for your reading pleasure, a delightful drabble, (which is a teasing prequel to the book), plus some book info, excerpt, and a giveaway over on her website.
Smarter, Wiser,
Better
A daughter.
The South Wind
eyed the newborn. Though he’d not especially wanted a child, neither did he
begrudge the Great Sea’s desire. But why couldn't
she have the sense to birth a son?
The Sea lifted the
baby toward her rolling surface. “Will you hold her?”
Wiser not to.
Smarter to maintain distance. Head shaking refusal, he turned to fly, but the
child’s cry slowed him.
Less a cry than a
song, and sung for him. The sound ensnared his heart.
Alas: He loved
her.
Wiser to go.
Smarter, too. But not better, he
thought, and held her close.
Today I'm playing host, for the wonderful author Clarissa Johal, as part of her blog tour for her novel, Between. Read about the book, plus an excerpt, learn a bit about the author, and check out the Rafflecopter giveaway at the end of the post.
Welcome to the Virtual Book Tour for BETWEEN!
Follow the Tour to Read Exclusive Excerpts, Interviews, and Reviews, and Make Sure to Enter the Giveaway!!
Second Place - Preditors and Editors Readers Poll 2012 Clarissa Johal’s novel BETWEEN is a “haunting” paranormal novel that will have you on the edge of your seat!
How far would you go to redeem yourself?
About BETWEEN:
As a young girl, Lucinda was able to see spirits, a gift that didn't come without its problems. Now, a dedicated young veterinarian, she is committed to the idea that every life can be saved.
After a devastating accident, Lucinda tries to escape her past by moving to a small town. There, she meets a newcomer and feels an immediate connection with him. But there is another mysterious stranger to the small town, one that stirs within her a mixture of unease and desire.
As Lucinda is drawn into a bitter tug-a-war from the forces around her, she is likewise pulled into a dangerous twist of past and present events. Forced to make difficult choices, she finds that the two men are locked in not only a battle for her life...but a battle for their salvation.
Ignoring
him, she ran blindly toward the cliffs and down the steep, narrow path. The
wind blew around her in great gusts. Her long hair swirled around her face,
blocking the cliff’s edge from her view.
Cronan
quickly caught up with her midway and grabbed her arm from behind. He pulled
her around to face him. She teetered at the edge as he gripped her waist.
“I want
everyone to leave me alone!” Lucinda yelled. “All of you people! I want to be
left alone!” The wind gusted, drowning out her voice. From the corner of her
eye, Lucinda saw the woman, making her way down the path toward them. “Oh God!”
She turned and covered her eyes, sinking down to the ground. “I can’t do this
anymore!”
She
felt Cronan kneel behind her, his arms stealing around hers. Lucinda opened her
eyes. The cliff side tilted up dizzyingly in front of her and she could see the
waves crashing below. Her breath came in shallow gasps as they both perched at
the edge. She felt the weight of his body pressing against her before he
stiffened and pulled her back with a tug.
“Lucinda,”
he whispered into her ear, “she is gone.”
“What?”
Lucinda panted. He paused, his arms tightened.
“She
already fell.”
Still
looking down the drop off, Lucinda’s mind reeled. The height and Cronan’s
affirmation pulled the thoughts and breath from her. Rain began to spatter.
Panicking, she struggled out of Cronan’s grip and scrambled to stand against
the cliff side. Laying a cheek on its cold, jagged surface, she heard her own
breath rattle in and out as the wind howled behind her.
Cronan
followed. Placing his hands firmly over hers, he intertwined their fingers
together. His lips, close to her ear, whispered insistently as he pressed
himself against her.
Foreign
words pulled at her memory, words she couldn’t decipher. Words from long ago.
She felt her body tremble against him. Her mind, her thoughts flitted in and
out of focus. Coldness forced its way into her as the heavy weight of his body
stilled her shaking. The sound of the wind began to fade, and her heart and
breath slowed. Her head fell back onto his shoulder. Cronan’s breath merged
with the rhythmic pounding of the waves and her slowing heartbeat.
“No!” a
voice roared from off in the distance.
Lucinda
felt a sudden, painful pull from behind her. There was a rush of cold air, and
she stumbled to the ground, gasping. The sound of the wind returned.
“Leave
her, Cronan!”
“Lucas.”
Cronan grimaced. “I wondered when you would show.”
“You
have no business with her, Cronan.”
“Neither
do you, anymore.”
Lucinda
flattened herself against the cliff, leaning heavily against the damp rock.
Staring wildly at them both, she began to shake. “What’s going on?”
“Go, Lucinda. Just go.” Lucas stood to one
side on the path. “I’ll take care of him.”
Cronan
laughed without mirth. “Oh, how gallant.”
Lucinda
edged away from Cronan. The rain was now a steady drizzle, dampening her hair
and clothing. She stood between the two men, clutching the slippery cliff face.
“Go,
Lucinda!”
“Why?”
“Yes,
Lucas,” Cronan mocked. “Why?” He took a step toward Lucinda.
“Leave
her!”
The
smirk on his face died. “You should have never broken the rules.”
Lucas
moved forward quickly and pulled Lucinda toward him. Lucinda was crushed into
his chest and felt the pressing weight of both men — Lucas pulling her toward
him and Cronan approaching from behind. She closed her eyes tight and felt
Cronan leaning in. He pressed on her heavily and whispered something into
Lucas’s ear. She felt him slide a hand over her hip as Lucas tightened his grip
on her shoulders and murmured something unintelligible back.
Cronan
suddenly gripped the back of her neck. A shock went through her body, and
everything went black.
About the Author:
Clarissa Johal has worked as a veterinary assistant, zoo-keeper aide and vegetarian chef. Writing has always been her passion. When she’s not listening to the ghosts in her head, she’s dancing or taking photographs of gargoyles. She shares her life with her husband, two daughters and every stray animal that darkens the doorstep. One day, she expects that a wayward troll will wander into her yard, but that hasn't happened yet.
Escape Into a Book"I loved how original the idea was for this book, I haven't
read a book like this one...fast paced and kept my interest till the very
end."
MommaSez"Creepy, scary, haunting–just up my alley...gothic romance
that makes the hair stand up on my neck!"
Musings from an Addicted Reader"It was haunting, unpredictable, and intriguing. All the
characters were unique and draw you in from the first chapter. Excellent
read."
Shut Up & Read"I love a good ghost story, and this
one did not disappoint...I've heard the saying painting a picture with words,
and that is exactly what the author does here. Each sentence is vivid and
alive."
Happy Tails and Tales"I would recommend it to my fellow
ghost lovers, Gothic lovers, and historical paranormal lovers alike. There are
some interesting paranormal characters...I wasn't expecting them...a really
well done plot twist. "
Demons Do it Better"Between kept me guessing. I had no clue where the story was
going to end but I made a couple of guesses along the way and I was
wrong."
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How did you come up with the idea for
BETWEEN?
Three years ago, I was working on a sequel to a fantasy
novel when I had this weird “calling.” Two characters came to me in a rush;
Lucas and Cronan from BETWEEN. They weren't fantasy characters nor they didn't
fit into what I was writing but they wouldn't go away. I kept setting them
aside but they’d come back, stronger than ever. I put the fantasy sequel on
hold, wrote non-stop for a month, and finished the first draft. That never
happens! It usually takes memonthsto finish a first draft. A year later,
my edits were finished, and two months later, BETWEEN was picked up by Musa
Publishing. I've got my feet firmly planted in the Otherworld now, the ideas
come faster than I can write them down.
What first inspired you to become a
writer? And what compels you to continue your career as an author?
I wrote my first short story in grade six. I was asked by
the teacher to read it aloud to the class, which terrified me. After I was
finished, I realized that I actually had everyone’s attention! I was shy and we
moved every year, so I was always the new kid. When you’re in that situation,
it’s kind of like being invisible. Finding my voice through story-telling made
me realize how powerful writing could be. As far as continuing—truthfully? I
think I’d go nuts if I didn't write.
What made you choose the genre of
paranormal gothic horror?
I started out writing fantasy fiction. I was working on the
second installment to my PRADEE series when there were two characters that kept
showing up on the page, over and over. They didn't belong in fantasy novel, nor
did they belong in my story! But their backstory came to me so vividly, that I
set aside my series and wrote my first paranormal novel, BETWEEN. I've been
pulled into the Otherworld permanently now. The ideas come faster than I can
write them down.
Today, the blog is a stop on the virtual book tour for the novel 32 Seconds by talented author, Johanna K. Pitcairn. There's a spotlight, a bit about the author, and a few fun facts about the book and its writer. So read on, and enjoy!
32 Seconds by J. K. Pitcairn
To the average onlooker, the city of Los Angeles represents glitz, glamour, and the celebrity lifestyle. But to seventeen-year-old Julie Jones, the city is a vast host of problems she’s longing to get away from. The latest? An unfortunate disagreement with her ex-boyfriend Mark—one that could land her in some serious hot water.
So rather than face the troubles that torment her, Julie decides to run away from her old life and start fresh somewhere new. But her parents aren't on board with the plan, and she soon finds her bank accounts frozen and her wallet empty.
With just seventy-five dollars and a full tank of gas, the troubled teen is far too stubborn to turn around and head home. So what’s a girl to do?
What Julie doesn't know is that her travels are about to take her somewhere unexpected—a place where she’ll be forced to come face to face with the ghosts of her past in order to secure her future.
A tale of redemption, hope, and freedom lost and found, 32 Seconds is a thought-provoking exploration into the human spirit and the nature of forgiveness.
1) To trigger my inspiration, I binge on Netflix. I pick shows from any genre, and study the dialog and the plot. I also watch video game walkthroughs on YouTube. It's a great help to develop my characters. 2) I can't remember the last time I've had a bad case of writer's block. Plotting helps eliminate that issue. 3) My biggest pet peeves: misspellings, grammatical errors, and inconsistent formatting. 4) Julie Jones has named her car "Bubble", and when she swears, she says things like "shizzle", "shizzle nizzle" or "crapola in a peanut butter jar". 5) The original title for the first draft of the story, before it became 32 Seconds, was Death by Chocolate. 6) Julie Jones loves In&Out burgers, and strawberry milkshakes. 7) Julie is also a surfer. Her favorite beach is the one in Oceanside, CA. 8) I'm a cat lover. I have four cats, and they all distract me from writing by taking turns and lying on top of my laptop.
About the Author:
Johanna K. Pitcairn has dreamed of becoming a writer since childhood--authoring her first novel at the age of nine, and countless poems, stories, and screenplays by the age of seventeen. Later, rather than pursuing a career as a director and screenwriter, she decided to go to law school, driven by her father's opinion that "writing does not pay the bills."
Ten years later, she moved to New York City, which inspired her to go back to the excitement, wonder, and constant change of being a writer. Pitcairn is a huge fan of psychological-thriller novels and movies, and delves into her hopes, fears, friends, enemies, and everything in between in her own writing.
Sunflower by Cass McMain
Michael is a metalworker with a name for building good fences. He’s even known by some neighborhood kids as Mr. Fence Man. But he wants to be something more: an artist like his former business partner, Alex. An artist, like his girlfriend, Jess, wants him to be. The commissions are starting to come in, and along with steady work making fences, things are looking good. The only problem he has is with his closest neighbor, who won’t allow visitors to pass through a gate between their properties. This dispute becomes a fight and Michael, enraged, makes a wrong choice.
Haunted by the result of his choice, Michael starts to fall apart: a death weighs down on him, exposing the weaknesses in the persona he was creating for himself, the weaknesses at the heart of him.
Sunflower is a story about a man having a bad day and making one bad choice. But underneath that, it also about his coming to terms with himself: who he is - and who he is not. Ultimately, Sunflower is about how we define ourselves as people, and how we seek to be what we are not.
An extraordinary and beautiful novel.
"Yet in the end this about strength and hope, about life-giving light as well as life-denying darkness. It is indeed a story of small things and profound truths." Robert Peett, Editor's Review
About the Author
Cass McMain was born in Albuquerque and raised in the far North Valley, among the cottonwoods. Her first love was always houseplants, and she now maintains a house full of them.
Her background as a greenhouse manager led to a long career in garden center management, but when the bottom fell out of the local industry, she took a new path. Or rather, an old path; Cass started writing at the age of six, knocking out stories on her typewriter.
While her love of nature came in part from her father, a man with the heart of a farmer and the soul of a philosopher, much of the writing Cass did as a child was done to please her mother, a woman with the heart of a philosopher, the soul of a demon and the unquenchable thirst of the mind reserved for the brilliant.
Recently, Cass’s writing muse has again been speaking to her: a voice she stopped paying attention to a long time ago. Her plants, some of which she has had since she was nine years old, remain the heart of her life, but now she has a desire to express herself in other ways.
Bowed, but not broken, Cass keeps her eye on the horizon, looking for a greenhouse to manage. Her favorite saying these days is “that was then; this is now.”
An Excerpt from ‘Sunflower’:
Michael got home late in the afternoon, and he was worn out. He didn't feel like working on the Tragedie piece. But if he didn't do anything on it, he knew Jess would nag at him. Maybe he could sort of review it, without a lot of work. Those guys had taken a lot of energy out of him. He mixed himself a gin and tonic and walked out to the shed.
The piece stared at him. He wondered again why the owner of this restaurant was so determined to have such a somber image as their icon. That reminded him about the curls he was going to try on the cheeks. He set his drink down and took up the coil he had experimented with before. The heat from the torch had definitely brought out some different coloring. Michael decided to give it a shot on a grander scale.
Working with a much larger strip of metal, Michael fashioned a coil about a foot across and two inches thick. To change the color of it he fired up his torch and played the flame across the metal. This gave the coil some irregular markings that brought out depth and made it more interesting. Michael ran his hand along the edge and realized it was dangerously sharp, so he ground down the edges and ran the torch over it again. He doubted anyone would be actually petting the artwork, but it wouldn't be smart to take the risk.
Once the metal was curled, he welded it to the cheek of the mask, under the left eye. The mouth was unevenly curved by design and as Michael worked he came to the conclusion that the second curl should be placed lower, to follow the direction of the mouth. He stepped back to look at the piece from a distance, and bumped into the table which held his drink. Michael caught the drink before it spilled, and absent-mindedly swallowed it at a gulp. The ice had melted; he had not realized how much time had passed, and it was now after 5:00.
Michael set down the glass again. It can’t be that late, he was thinking, when he heard Jess pull into the driveway. It was indeed that late. He went out to meet her.
She stepped out of the car. Her cotton skirt blew out behind her as she moved toward him, making her look almost like she was floating.
“Hi sweetie,” he called to her. “How was your day?”
“Was OK, how about yours? Get anywhere on your mask?” She caught up to him and gave him a peck on the cheek.
“Yeah, come look at this idea I got,” Michael said enthusiastically. “I really think this helps the piece look less formidable.” He led Jess to the shed.
She looked in at the mask. “The curlicue?” she asked. When Michael nodded, she said “I like it. Doing another on the other side?”
“Yeah,” Michael said. “Down lower though, to keep with the mouth.” He pointed at the spot. “Think it helps?”
Jess agreed that it did make the mask less frightening. “But it still looks mean,” she said. “It isn't supposed to look mean, it’s supposed to look sad.”
“Well, I don’t know what else I can do,” Michael said. He was irritated, but he tried not to let it show. Easy for her to say, he thought. “What do you think I was trying to do with the curls?”
“Honey, don’t get upset,” Jess replied. “I just mean—well here, why don’t you add some turned down eyebrows?” She took up a notepad nearby and sketched. “Like this.” She held the pad up for Michael to view.
It was perfect. It would only take a couple of hours to do, and it would completely change the piece. Michael was stunned and, he hated to admit, resentful. She did in three seconds what I couldn't do in three weeks, Michael thought. Just like Alex.
Today we welcome talented author, Sheila Deeth, as she stops by on her blog tour for her new book, Divide by Zero. She chats about her writing, her book and...
Being a Storyteller
I love to write but, more importantly, I
love telling stories. I’ve been telling stories since long before I learned to
put pen to paper or finger to keyboard. In elementary school the teachers of
older classes would send students to “borrow” me, so I could keep the class
quiet with a story while the teacher stepped out of the room. I imagined all
sorts of exciting lives for an every-changing cast of characters ranging from
cats and dogs to superheroes and angels and saints. Then in high school a
teacher asked for an essay on whether I’d prefer a short exciting life or a
long boring one. Which one would you choose?
Short and exciting seemed like the obvious
answer. After all, if I didn’t want a short exciting life, why did I keep
telling short exciting stories? But I’d learned the joy of making people cry
somewhere along the line. (My teacher said it’s much harder to make them laugh,
but I was working on that.) Class-mates cry when heroes and heroines die. And
short exciting lives do tend to end in haunting tears.
I’d already started my essay but I turned
it around. No, I thought, I don’t want a short exciting life. I want a really
long and boring one in which I can write a million books and live and die
vicariously through the characters I create.
Of course, in school I had a captive
audience for those tales. I still remember the faces of elementary students as
I perched precariously on the teacher’s chair. I still remember high-school
friends sitting silent while the teacher read out one of my stories. But real
life, long and boring, was soon joyously filled with the excitement of growing
children. My new captive audience was my kids and I told them exciting stories
while delighting in their lives. Now they’re grown. I’ve started writing those
“million books” and I wonder if anyone will read them. My precious needling
words hide in a haystack as big as the world or, at least, as big as the
internet. My teacher’s chair sits in front of a blank computer screen. And I
can’t see my audience.
Will you read my book? If you do, I just
might make you cry, like I did in school. I hope I’ll make you laugh a bit as
well. And I hope you’ll feel the time spent with my characters was
well-employed. For the most part, they’re just living their everyday lives,
joyously filled with the excitement of growing children, and haunting
overshadowed by the past. But even some relatively boring lives get cut short.
And excitement might be less important than knowing how to move on.
Divide by Zero creeps into the heart of
community, then watches a small boy’s innocence and wisdom set that heart
beating again after trauma intervenes. I hope you’ll read it but, more
importantly, I hope you’ll like it.
Divide by Zero
It takes a subdivision to raise a child, and a wealth of threads to weave a tapestry, until one breaks.
Troy, the garage mechanic’s son, loves Lydia, the rich man’s daughter.
Amethyst has a remarkable cat and Andrea a curious accent. Old Abigail knows
more than anyone else but doesn’t speak. And in Paradise Park a middle-aged man
keeps watch while autistic Amelia keeps getting lost.
Pastor Bill, at the church of Paradise, tries to mend people. Peter mends cars. But when that fraying thread gives way it might take a child to
raise the subdivision—or to mend it.
Sheila Deeth grew up in the UK and has a
Bachelors and Masters in mathematics from Cambridge University, England. Now
living in the States near Portland Oregon, she enjoys reading, writing,
drawing, telling stories and meeting her neighbors' dogs on the green.
Today the spotlight is on the book A Prince from the Shadows by J.Curtis Mace, as he stops by as part of his Blog Tour.
He's bringing with him a post detailing the fascinating background on the magic of the world inside A Prince from the Shadows, and a giveaway of a PDF copy of his book and some digital character art to one lucky commenter :
The Myst
The
magic of Erthlynd is called the Myst. This is the force of energy that
surrounds and permeates everything. It can be moved and manipulated and
even seen, but only by someone with a gift for the art. True mystics can
harness this energy. They and use their own energy and even cast it out
from themselves. It can also be combined with elemental magic (and
other ancient strengths) and moved to a greater effect.
Before
the breaking of the Old World and the "coming apart of all things,"
this Myst was contained in core of the great earthstone and only touched
the world indirectly. Still, men abused the power and everything around
them to know end, until the planet destroyed itself to be free of them.
And with the breaking, the Myst was set free.
Of
course, there was no one to use (or abuse) this magic, no life left to
benefit from it. The great destruction erased even the memory of living
things. But the Myst is the energy of everything, and it never dies. The
deepest magic remained, and eventually it brought about another change.
It took a countless age for the Myst to manifest itself again. But life was eventually given a second chance.
On
the barren surface of the stone that would later become Erthlynd, a
small flame appeared. Flaring blue at first then green with it and then
red, this fire was the raw manifestation of the Myst burning in its
purest form. These Fyres of Creation, the Incyn Vi'Ari, were literally
the spark of life and the catalyst for living things brought back into
the world.
Of course, Man tried to control this fire and its elder magic and take it for their own.
The Incyn Vi'Ari ended the First War by changing
the face of Erthlynd again to protect itself from Man's lust for power.
Closed off from the world by the Genesys Mountains, the power of the
Myst housed beneath the base of Ilsfore's Peak, still touches the world
directly, but it's protected by the surrounding stone and by the fabled
few who swore oaths to protect it.
The
hands of Man can no longer touch the flame and the power of the Myst
within, but those with the gift can manipulate the Myst and move it at
their will.
These are mystics, and Jeodyn is one of them.
In
the East, the art of mystic manipulation was lost and forgotten. Those
with the gift were/are looked down on as witches and evil men. In West
though, the Myst was embraced. Vallyn, Jeodyn's first forefather,
brought the study of the art with him into the West, and for a long time
it flourished. The Blood of Vallyn was known from its beginning as a
line of mystic kings, until one king without the gift took the throne.
There had been others to carry Vallyn's blood and not his passion for
the Myst, but this last king's pride and insecurity got the better of him, and he banished the practice, forcing it underground.
With
the practice banned, those who studied the Myst were forced into
hiding. They banned together to form the Brothers of Sodal, and they
studied the Myst in secret. They were a close-knit of group of brothers
who vowed to never let Vallyn's teachings die. It was always understood
that one should know the Myst and study and keep it, so that they may
keep it safe from those who would abuse it. This promise kept the mystic art alive in Vallynhelm.
When
my story starts, the art of mystic manipulation has been banned for
generations. Jeodyn is the first of the Royal line to be accepted as one
of the Brothers of Sodal. His friend Leye is a very strong mystic, who
would only take their offer to join if they took him.
The Brothers have their traditions, and a young mystic's seeking
is one of their oldest. Earning a beard and dreadlocks during the year
alone in the wild is another, though it's now custom to shave them
before coming home (Jeodyn decides to keep them as tribute to the old
ways). He spent all year in seclusion studying his art and realizing his
talent.
Jeodyn
can move objects by focusing on the energy surrounding them, he can
even break them apart. Focusing on the energy of the Myst inside him
(which is very strong, the strongest since Vallyn himself, though Jeodyn
doesn't know it yet), he can cast his Myst as a punch or a strike, as
an extension of himself. He's learning to channel it, and he even has
the opportunity to use his own strength with another magic just as
powerful and just as old as the Myst.
With
the new incarnation of an ancient darkness now gunning for his family,
Jeodyn's gonna need every bit of the strength he possesses and then some
to keep his family safe. He knows his greatest power is rooted in the
royal blood he shares with his namesake (Vallyn), and he knows he must
use everything he can to keep that bloodline unbroken.
A Prince from the Shadows
A reluctant prince, determined to be a better man than his father,
the king, has ever been, Jeodyn spent his last year in the wild,
secretly studying the banned art of manipulating the Myst. Returning
home, he knows he'll have to face his king's wrath and his mother's
worry. But what Jeodyn finds with his younger sister is completely
unexpected: Jynn has become dark and distant of late and has committed
herself to a lover whose sinister demeanor personifies her own rebellion
perfectly. No one realizes just how dark Jynn's heart has turned though
or how deeply she's fallen, until she disappears. Now, everything
Jeodyn has learned and everything he's ever known about himself will be
tested, when he sets out to do what his father should but never will:
defend their family. Convinced Jynn will only leave again if they force
her back, King Thayne gives the order that no one is to follow after
her. So, to keep the promise he makes to his mother, Jeodyn must leave
out alone to face the creature of darkness that has taken his sister. Noirlok
was born a man of Vallynhelm, but he lost his love and his life to the
throne he swore to protect. Now, he has sworn revenge. To him, Jynn is
that vengeance he's wanted for so long and the face of the love he'd for
so long been without, and he takes her as his own. With the dark legion
of shadowmen known as Shadorym behind him and the night at his command,
Noirlok is ready to use all his power to keep what is his. When
Jeodyn ventures into the darkness of the ShadowLands to face Noirlok and
take Jynn back, the fight to defend what they all have at stake begins. A Prince from the Shadows is Book One in the series, Heroes and Flame, Blood and Myst.
J.Curtis Mace was born in Baltimore, MD, lived in Colonial Beach, VA, then North Hartford, MD and moved to Caroline County to in the ninth grade. He graduated from CHS, class of ’96. He's lived in Richmond, VA ever since (except for brief stints in Abilene, TX and Venice, CA).
He's married, he and his wife Heather have three children, and a dog. He loves writing, art, and telling stories. Sharing them with the world is a new thing for him, but he's quickly learning how much he loves that too.
Today we have a guest, author Jack Whitsel. Jack is currently on a blog tour for his new fantasy book, Shadows of Kings, and he brings us an introduction this novel, the first in the Dragon Rising series.
Welcome to Shadows of Kings and the Dragon Rising Series
With the June release of Shadows of Kings upon us - I thought I would share a sneak peak of the region and provide a list of characters. Thanks to everyone who have contributed to this journey.
Shadows of Kings
Steel and sorcery clash as the Harhn incursion sweeps through the Hugue. Only Lord Baudouin and Lady Lucia, a Dragon Maiden from the Order, stand in the enemy's path. Only together will there be any hope to repel the onslaught, and preserve the future for a mysterious girl they do not know.
The Players:
Lady Lucia – Dragon Maiden of the Order Lord Baudouin – Son of Duke Theudis Rizela – Princess and Sorceress of the Darkfey Ghruelnar – Sorcerer and leader of the Harhn Horde Alaric – Dragon Initiate of the Order Norris – Cousin and Standard Bearer of Lord Baudouin Flannery – Cousin of Lord Baudouin Isidore – Knight of Mersalia Gui - A peasant from Marcellus Dragana – Young sorceress, daughter of Lord Yannic of the Order. Celestine - Sorceress Duke Theudis – Duke of Camille and Standard Bearer of King Amger. King Amger – King of Mersalia
The Founding:
According to the Hugue Calendar, the region was established over five hundred years ago. Following the Great War between Elves and Men, Humans from the Ancestral Plains, fearing another onslaught from the Elves, left their homes and traveled across the Barren Steppe to the region called the Hugue.[1] The settlers comprised of nobles and commoners from the various cities decimated by war. Together, they made the long journey, putting aside cultural differences in order to start a new beginning. Upon reaching the Hugue, they found the region infested with Harhn and all manner of foul beasts. Led by Lord Theudemund of House Amric, the warriors from the assembly of Men, combined with the native Humans and Halflings of the region, drove the beasts from the Hugue. After this great victory, the Principalities were established. Each sovereign of the three strongest factions were married to one of Theudemund's daughters as a token of good will and to strengthen the newly formed alliances. Theudemund’s son became the King of Mersalia. The other Principalities formed were Pratalsia, Gruneheim, Cadyrnia, and Mersalia. The already existing Principalities were Verslund, Vhor, and Henstubber.
[1] There is no documented evidence that describes who started the war. The scholar’s sentiment suggests the Elves were purely behind the conflict.
You can find more on Jack, his blog tour and his books at his website: www.jackwhitsel.com
Welcome, Dear Readers, author D.W. Hawkins as he stops by for an interview as part of his blog tour. He talks about his book The Sentient Fire (the first novel in his series, The Seven Signs), fantasy and writing. And for three lucky people who leave comments, he is giving away one free Smashwords coupon for his book and two 50% discount Smashwords coupons.
Also you get the chance to win a 25$ Amazon gift card by using the Rafflecopter widget thingie found at the bottom of the post. Apparently (if I understand it correctly) you get entry points if you "like" D.W. Hawkins & this blog post (as well as the other blog stops) on Facebook, and follow him on Twitter. You also get 2 points for tweeting the blog posts on the tour, which you can do once per day. And the points leader at the end of the tour is the winner.
The winner of the Amazon gift card will be announced on April 12th atD.W. Hawkins' blog and website, so if you enter be certain to check those sites on that date to see if you are a winner.
Okay, now that explanation are done, on with the interview:
Interview with D. W. Hawkins
1. Why don’t you begin by sharing a little about yourself.
Well, I guess you could say that I’m one of those people that have treaded many different paths in life, trying to decide which was best for me. As a younger child, my first love was drawing, and for the longest time I wanted to be a comic book artist. As I got older, I tried guitar, and up until about four or five years ago I wanted to be a rock star. I even left computer networking school to go to music school. Then, because music didn’t pay the bills, I joined the Army. I’ve spent the last nine years or so of my life in the military, at home and in combat. I started writing in college to pass the time and because I found that I enjoyed it very much. It took me ten years to finish my first novel, and I wrote it through tumultuous times in my life, taking it with me on deployments and through major life changes. Finally, I polished it, had it edited, and decided that the writer’s path was for me. I haven’t looked back since.
2. Can you tell us about your book series, The Seven Signs and the first book, The Sentient Fire?
The Seven Signs is the story of a few people who are thrust together by chance, and end up having to discover the mystery of a secret artifact of great power. That sentence doesn’t sum it up completely, though – it is also a love story, a story of redemption, a story of revenge, and an adventure that will span the breadth of an entire world. The Sentient Fire sets up the series, and follows a young wizard named Dormael and his friends as they are hounded across two continents while trying to discover the purpose of an artifact, and what exactly it is. It is a heavily character-driven story, but is also packed with action, magic, and excitement. It is set in a world of my own creation, which I painstakingly built over the course of ten years. I even wrote over one thousand years of history for the setting to stand upon.
3. What drew you to write in the fantasy genre?
I write fantasy because I love to read fantasy. I believe that many people discount a lot of speculative fiction as respectable literature because of its many otherworldly elements, but I heartily disagree. When I read, I love to escape the world we live in – to me, that is the entire point. I am currently writing projects in other genres, but The Seven Signs is my favorite, and would love for it to be considered my defining work. With The Seven Signs, I wanted to write a story that emphasized the things that I think make a good story, and change the things that I don’t enjoy.
There are a few, in my opinion. I hate the “black and white” morality that many books portray in their storytelling. There’s no such thing as pure evil and pure good, in my opinion, and so my writing reflects that. I’m also incredibly tired of the battle scenes where the hero cuts down hordes of useless enemies while laughing or doing something else completely ridiculous. Battles are hard. They’re bloody, adrenaline-drenched struggles to stay alive, and they should be reflected as such. To tell the truth, I’m also tired of elves, dwarves, dragons, and such things. That last is a simple matter of taste, but there have been so many stories out there that are based on the same template of races that were created years and years ago. Lately, if I pick up a book that has any of those races or creatures in them, I usually put it right back down. That isn’t to say that there are no good stories containing elves or dragons; it’s just my own taste.
5. Did anything surprise you about the process of writing your book?
Almost everything! When I sat down and typed the very first sentence of my novel, I had no idea what I was getting into. It has been a labor of love ever since and there is a new surprise around almost every corner in the publishing world, and I’m still learning. On the whole, I think the thing that surprised me the most, though, was how easy it is to self-publish these days, and how many writers are doing it. Until I did it myself, I had no idea. I’ve met and talked to some wonderful people since, and I hope to keep right on meeting them.
6. What do find the most challenging aspect of being a writer?
The mental discipline required to keep writing instead of spending all your time marketing on social media sites, and keeping your delusions of grandeur to a minimum. It takes time, patience, and perseverance to make it, especially for indie authors.
7. What sort of research did you do for your book series?
I researched many different things, from the movement of the earth and why we have solstices and equinoxes to ancient ships and how fast they actually sailed. I read about horses, and I read about swords. I even read a bit about quantum physics and the universe itself. There were many times that I came to a point in the book where I needed a better understanding of a subject before I could portray what I was trying to write as accurately as possible, and so I stopped and went into research mode.
8. Who has inspired you as an author?
There are many authors that I love and who have inspired me. I think the largest inspirations have been Jim Butcher, Joe Abercrombie, Patrick Rothfuss, and Robert Jordan. I could go on forever, but I’ll stop there.
9. What’s next for you?
Well, my first priority is to finish The Seven Signs. Book Two, The Awakening Storm, should be on the market this November. After I finish The Seven Signs, I’m going to publish a sci-fi novel I’ve been working on, and then work my way into the urban fantasy genre with a series that I’m tentatively calling The Outriders. It’s about a motorcycle club that hunts demons. I’m also working on something a bit tamer, called Lainey’s War, which is an alternate history set in a modern-day fascist America, and it’s a love story more than anything else. So, my plate is pretty full, as you can see. I just hope that I can continue to provide people with great books to read, and that everyone enjoys all my work. I can’t ask for anything more than that.
Author Bio:
D.W. Hawkins is a three time combat veteran, a guitar player, and a biker. He's a lover of all literature, but the Fantasy genre is his favorite. He has a son on the way, and Pit Bull who thinks she's a fifty-pound lapdog. He lives in Savannah, GA, and at any given time you can find him writing, riding his Harley, or spending time with friends and family.
In one short night, Dormael Harlun’s life was changed forever.
Tired and half drunk, Dormael stumbled upon Shawna Llewan, a beautiful young woman, wounded and near death. What he didn’t realize was that his decision to come to her aid would be only the beginning of his unwitting role in a labyrinthine and perilous game.
Suddenly, Dormael and Shawna find themselves surrounded by enemies bent on their destruction. All avenues to safety are closing rapidly, and their only hope is to find the key to a dangerous secret lost to antiquity. With every ally a potential foe, they can rely only on Dormael’s brother Allen and his cousin D’Jenn to escape the will of a tyrant, the designs of a traitor, and the attention of powers beyond their imagining. Dormael has never been much for games, but destiny has rolled the dice for him and irrevocably placed him in the middle of a deadly game he must desperately play for keeps. Should he lose, he will forfeit not only his own life, but the lives of the ones he loves.
The Sentient Fire is available at the following places:
