Book Spotlight: In Pursuit of the Pale Prince

Today I have a book spotlight for you with the YA fantasy novel, In Pursuit of the Pale Prince by Mark Wallace Maguire. Plus, there's a brief excerpt from the book. Enjoy.

 In Pursuit of the Pale Prince by Mark Wallace Maguire

The Southwen are going to war against the northern kingdoms held together in a fragile alliance by The Pale Prince. Scattered and outnumbered, there is one symbol that can unite them.
It is the lost crown of Ellesund.
Only I know where it is, and only I can deliver it.
My name is Arestus and this is my story.

Told through the eyes of 12-year-old Arestus of The Wood this is a great new addition to the YA fantasy canon. 

In Pursuit of the Pale Prince is available on Amazon

Excerpt from In Pursuit of the Pale Prince

We ate in silence. Dusk dropped and the moon rose. Waxing full.
“A full moon, Cirin. Is that good luck?” I asked.
“What do you think?”
“My father said it was always a good night for healing. A good night to walk in its rays and ward off bitterness. He said it was a good night for a child to be born.” My stone-faced friend was silent. “What do you think?”
“I’ve heard many of us say many different things. An old lady from The Burned Lands told me it was a good omen. A good night to begin a journey or a marriage. I’ve had a young man from Southwen tell me it was evil. It was the eye of the gods judging us and we needed to purge ourselves on such a night.”
“What do you think?”
He looked at me and gave a thin smile.
“I think it is a good night to see, but not to be seen. And I think it is time for you to rest with your questions. I will take the first watch.” 

About the Author

Mark Wallace Maguire is an award-winning author, journalist and columnist who lives south of Atlanta. He is the author of six books, including the highly-praised Alexandria Rising Chronicles for which he was named a Finalist for Independent Author of the Year and a Georgia Author of The Year nominee.

Website

Book Spotlight: The Rose Queen: Book 1 of the Rose Trilogy

Today I have another book spotlight for you. This time it is the fairy tale fantasy, The Rose Queen, Book 1 in the Rose Trilogy, by Alison McBain. In addition to a peek at the book, there's a short excerpt. Enjoy!

The Rose Queen: Book 1 of the Rose Trilogy by Alison McBain

The Beast doesn't always wait for Beauty. Sometimes Beauty IS the Beast.

Princess Mirabella is betrothed to a repulsive old man a year after her mother's death. She refuses the marriage, only to find out her betrothed is a sorcerer as well. He takes his revenge by transforming her into a savage and frightening beast, giving her an ultimatum: she has three years to solve the mystery of her curse—or die.

Exiled to her mother's estate to hide the scandal, Mirabella learns that the sorcerer was not alone in keeping secrets. Her grandfather was murdered before Mirabella was born, and her mother's death is looking less and less as if it came from natural causes. The only point in common to all their ruined lives: her father, the king.

Faced with a conflict between saving her family and saving her own life, the choices Mirabella makes will change the future of the kingdom—and magic—forever.

The Rose Queen: Book 1 of the Rose Trilogy is available on Amazon

EXCERPT FROM CHAPTER 1:

When she was sixteen, Mirabella attended the last ball her mother, the queen, would organize. Although Mira’s beauty was maturing, she was not yet done with the plumpness of youth. Between now and her eighteenth year, she would grow five more inches. At eighteen, she would be the tallest of all the women and taller than a number of the men of court. She would come eye-to-eye with the king, although his stature was greater simply due to the height of his crown.

But at sixteen, something about her was not yet complete.

It was attractive, that unfinished quality in her. At her mother’s ball, one could tell where the princess stood merely by the number of suitors hovering around one spot. Overwhelmed by the crowd, she had learned by that time to smile coyly and say little. She donned indifference like armor, and without intending it, her distant and cool demeanor became her trademark. What would they all say if they knew she felt shriveled up inside under the constant attention?

Because she didn’t say much, Mira listened. Since childhood, she’d had the knack of paying attention to multiple conversations at the same time. She could be at a crowded gathering like this ballroom, and still distinguish each voice around her. Even as she smiled at her companions, she was mostly paying attention to the conversation now taking place behind her.

“Him? What would the king want with him?”

“Called him from there, you know. The queen said—”

“Country buffoon. Did you know that when he made his bow, he neglected to—”

“Not surprising. What do you expect, letting in riffraff? And look at those clothes—”

She couldn’t help but turn to look for the subject of the conversation.

The person they spoke of seemed alone despite the hordes of people who swirled around him, like a pebble untouched in a stream. His clothes were a touch less elegant, less polished, as if he had spent money frugally and been cheated of the finest materials. It aped the latest style, but was not quite the thing. There was something about him, though, that spoke to her.

His features were forgettable, but his eyes—they were dark and miserable in the crowd.

She managed an introduction and, a touch belatedly it seemed, he asked to escort her around the ballroom. She glanced to each side, at the bodies of suitors piled up around her, and raised one perfect eyebrow at him in conspiracy. “Thank you, sir,” she replied and was granted his smile.

She heard a ripple of whispers after them, but it was unlikely she would ever see this country lord again, and so she didn’t worry about what impression she might be making. For a moment, she breathed more easily in the man’s ostracized presence. He said almost nothing, and it was a definite improvement over the ceaseless prattle of the admirers left behind.

And for a moment, she felt… not alone. Or if alone, it was a shared aloneness. She could be a solitary creature and take comfort with another’s pain in the midst of the crowd.

When the man made his final bow, she felt she had done a good service to rescue him and keep him company. Maybe someone might do the same for her someday.

About the Author

Alison McBain is an award-winning author with more than seventy short stories/poems published in magazines and anthologies, including Flash Fiction Online, Abyss & Apex and On Spec. Once in a while, she puts on her Book Reviews Editor hat for the magazine Bewildering Stories or interviews authors and other creatives on her website, www.alisonmcbain.com.

Book Spotlight: The Black Lily

Today I have  a book spotlight for the newly released fantasy novel, The Black Lily (The Arestea Chronicles Book 1) by Mandy and G.D. Burkhead. Enjoy!

The Black Lily by Mandy and G.D. Burkhead

Courtesan. Spy. Assassin.

Across the Kingdom of Arestea, the shadowy league of professional killers known simply as the Guild has long since earned its terrifying reputation. And none of its current members are more infamous than the Black Lily. No one knows who the Lily is, but everyone recognizes the efficiency with which he or she brings down even the most guarded targets. There is no one, it is said, who is safe from this fiend once they have caught the assassin’s attention.

Now Lily herself is about to discover if her reputation has been inflated or not, for she has just been assigned the most daunting mission of her career: infiltrate the royal palace and eliminate the entire Arestean line of succession to make room for the Guild’s puppet ruler. It’s a challenging job, but one that will secure her place in the history books should she succeed.

But when unplanned circumstances take the king from his country to help secure the front lines in his latest war of expansion, Lily is left trapped in her assumed persona behind the palace walls and forced to stall for time. And when a particularly bad stroke of luck reveals her cover to the king’s brother, Crown Prince Adrian, Lily finds herself ensnared in her own web, forced to use all her skills of subterfuge and manipulation if she is to stay one step ahead of the naïve but righteous young man and finish her mission — or die trying.

You can find The Black Lily on:

Amazon

Smashwords

Author Bio:

Mandy and G.D. Burkhead met in high school in a writing chatroom, where they began an episodic story together. They attended college together at Lindenwood University and both received BA's in Creative Writing. 

They currently live in the Nashville area. Mandy has her MLIS and works at the Nashville Public Library. Gary is a copy editor for the Tennessean. 

When they aren't working or writing, they enjoy reading, playing video games, cosplaying, and attending conventions.

The Black Lily is their first full-length fantasy novel.

You can find and follow them on:

Facebook   Twitter   Amazon   Goodreads