Welcome to book tour for Walnut Street: Phantom Rider by Sherrill Joseph. Read on for more info and a chance to enter a fantastic giveaway!
Walnut Street: Phantom Rider (A Botanic Hill Detectives Mystery)
Publication Date: November 9th, 2021
Genre: MG Mystery/ Middle Grade (For fans of Nancy Drew type mysteries)
Objects of value have been disappearing from the Mayfield family’s rural California horse ranch. The Botanic Hill Detectives—Moki Kalani, Rani Kumar, and twins Lanny and Lexi Wyatt—are hired to come for a week to investigate.
Legend has it somewhere on the Mayfields’ forty-acre property is a long-lost gold mine. It was supposedly staked by thirteen-year-old Ben Mayfield’s five-time great-grandfather, “Papa” Mayfield, in 1875.
Adding to the excitement, a nervous Ben reveals a frightening secret to the detectives. At the ranch, he alone has seen a threatening black-clad figure on horseback whom he calls the Phantom Rider. Who is this mysterious person? Is he responsible for the thefts? Where is the lost gold mine? And what’s going on in the nearby, snake-infested ghost town of Rainbow Flats? The four intrepid detectives aim to find out.
Sherrill Joseph will be forever inspired by her beautiful students in the San Diego public schools where she taught for thirty-five years before retiring and becoming a published author.
The author has peopled and themed her mysteries with characters after her own responsible, role-model students, of various abilities, disabilities, races, cultures, and interests. She strongly believes that children need to find themselves and others unlike themselves in books if all are to become accepting, anti-racist world citizens.
Her gift of lexical-gustatory synesthesia enables her to bring richer imagination to her writing.
Sherrill is the recipient of two Gold Awards from Mom’s Choice Book Awards, two Gold Awards from Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards, three awards from Story Monsters Approved, and numerous other children’s book awards. She is a member of SCBWI, the Authors Guild, and Blackbird Writers. Watch for many more adventures with the Botanic Hill Detectives!
Win a signed, personalized paperback copy of Walnut Street: Phantom Rider, some matching book swag (bookmark & sticker), and a $10 Amazon gift card (US ONLY).
A rabbit with the secret ability to read. An axe wielding bear. A warrior princess.
Together, they must find the fabled Library of Elshon, and fight the human empire bent on turning animals into mindless beasts of burden.
In the sequel to the award winning “Theo and the Forbidden Language”, Theo, Brune, and Indigo must find the infamous and feared muskrat, Orjo the Terrible. For only he can lead them to the legendary Elshon, a lost library in a land where reading and writing are punishable by death. At Elshon, Theo hopes to find the cure to Pacification—the empire’s power to make animals mute and mindless.
But can they find the Library and its hidden powers before Theo’s enemy, the vengeful human warlord Ornox, hunts them down? Can they even trust the notoriously conniving Orjo? It’s a race against time and overwhelming odds as Theo and his team must test their friendship, courage, and wits to uncover the secret to defeating the empire. For fans of Redwall, the Chronicles of Narnia and Watership Down comes a fantasy adventure about faith, self-acceptance, and the power of the written word.
Add to Goodreads Available on Amazon Both books are currently free to Kindle Unlimited members.
Excerpt Theo and his friends, the warrior rabbit princess Indigo and the bear Brune, are forced to drink with Orjo (a sly muskrat) in order to persuade him to lead them to the fabled Library of Elshon. *** “There now! I suppose we should toast.” Orjo raised his cup. “Last to drain has manure for brains.” At their stiff expressions, he sighed. “Mankahar is losing its sense of fun along with its freedom, is it? You’ll never get me to take you to the Library if you don’t drink.” Brune and Indigo each took cautious sips, while Theo couldn’t get beyond the smell. He pretended to drink, but kept his lips closed. Even so, he immediately wiped an arm across his mouth. Indigo made a guttural sound and nearly spat it back up. “It tastes better once your tongue goes numb,” Orjo said, refilling their cups. “That’s the way. Now, who else knows you’re here?” “No one,” Theo said. “The sea bats,” Brune blurted. He looked surprised, then grimaced, as if trying to get the taste of the drink out of his mouth. Orjo drained his cup again. “Good. Anyone else?” “An otter rowed us here in his boat.” Indigo frowned, as if confused by her own words. The muskrat chuckled at her expression. “Like I said, brew loosens the tongue, doesn’t it? So it sounds like you’ve exposed my whereabouts, and more than once. Doesn’t make me want to help you.” “Even if it meant defeating the Urzoks?” Indigo pushed her cup away. “That’s a noble cause. But I’ve found noble causes tend to be bad for your health.” “The stories say you’re immortal,” the bear growled. “I can live forever, if that’s what you mean. But that’s assuming something like a blade, let’s say, doesn’t find its way into my neck.” Orjo raised his cup. “To life! And longevity.” At his expectant look, Brune downed his drink, and Indigo reluctantly pulled her cup back for a sip. “How did you become immortal?” “That’s a long story.” Orjo brushed Theo’s question away. “And I’m doing the asking here. Tell me about you, Griffinrider.” “I never rode the griffin.” Orjo made a sour face. “Some free advice, from one legend to another? Never spoil your reputation with truth, lad.” “So your advice is to lie.” Theo sniffed his cup. It definitely didn’t smell like any liquor he’d known. The muskrat put his eye to the bottle, then shook it and listened. “There’s a difference between lying and letting others believe what they want to believe. And I’ve enjoyed all the stories about you.” Orjo stood, teetered unsteadily, and half walked, half groped his way to the cupboard, where he began to rummage for another bottle. “You’re not the one who has to survive the stories.” Theo thought back to the bats. The exaggerations about him were almost more dangerous than the Urzoks themselves. “True! My favorite is the children’s song.” Orjo pushed aside a jar, then pulled out what looked like another bottle of liquor. Not satisfied, he put it back and kept searching. “Aha!” He pulled out a third bottle and returned to the table. “Have you heard the children’s song? No? The gulls sing it once in a while when they pass through here, it goes like this: The omatje’s riding now Riding now, riding now Theo the Omatje’s riding now On his wings of flame. Hide your gold and lock the door Lock the door, lock the door Hide your gold and lock the door For Theo the omatje rides tonight.
“Infantile,” Orjo said, setting the bottle on the table and fishing out a knife from his pocket. “But catchy.” “We need you to find the…” Indigo frowned, as if trying to herd her thoughts. “Library. And then I can kill you.” Theo and Brune stared at her. She glared at Orjo. “There’s something in this brew!” “I told you, brew makes conversation flow.” Orjo leaned forward. “So you want me to take you to the Library, and then kill me. Is that your plan?” “No!” “Yes.” Theo had never seen Indigo drunk. She had the occasional cup of ale, he knew, but she was too keen on control to ever let it get any edge on her. But she clearly had no control of her words and seemed to know it. “Well, Theo,” Orjo commented. “Seems you don’t know your own friends’ intentions. Doesn’t make me trust you.” “Orjo, no one is killing anyone! We just want to find the Library,” Theo insisted. Now Brune was swaying a little, eyes glazed. Theo had a sudden, random memory of his best friend Pozzi from Willago, who’d always argued that drinking brew was like sport. You got better at it with practice. How practiced was Orjo? Could he possibly outdrink a bear ten times his weight? Pop. Orjo had managed to work the wood cork out of the bottle and began refilling the cups. “The cups don’t lie, Theo.” The cups. Theo cursed his stupidity, and snatched the drink from Indigo’s paw. But it was too late. She slumped over the table. Brune stared at her, blinking. “The cups…” The bear managed a slur of words and tried to stand, but his legs wouldn’t cooperate. Bottles and sheaves of paper flew as the giant crashed into the wall, then slid to the ground, blinking. “You poisoned them!” Theo scrambled to his feet and put a paw to Indigo’s nose. She was breathing. Brune tried to push himself up on the toolbox, but only managed to knock it over before succumbing to the brew and lying still. Orjo calmly poured himself another serving. “I said the brew wasn’t poisoned. And it wasn’t.” “What do you call this then?” The muskrat smiled. “A very simple truth tonic that I dipped the cups in. I needed to know who you told about my island. But if you manage to kill me, they’ll wake up with nothing but nasty headaches and the thirst of a four-humped camel.” Theo clumsily freed Indigo’s sword from her scabbard, trying to keep his paws from shaking. “And if I don’t?” The muskrat wiped his lips with his sleeve and stood. His smile, unlike his stance, was disturbingly sober. “Then I kill all of you.”
Melanie was born in Windsor, Ontario to a Chinese mother and a Canadian father, and grew up in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Taipei, and Beijing. She spent grades one to three in a Chinese primary school with concrete floors and no heating, so when she moved to a school with carpets and its very own library, she thought she’d gone to heaven. She spent all her free time devouring books of every kind—including ones that most adults probably wouldn’t recommend for children. Animal Farm, Watership Down, and The Chronicles of Narnia became staples, with a generous helping of Stephen King thrown in. She is currently a producer and screenwriter, with an MFA from USC in film producing. Over her diverse career she has directed a zombie film, been held at gunpoint, and had the good fortune to work with some of her idols. She lives with her husband and two impossibly energetic children in Ballarat, Australia.
Melanie enjoys writing dark fantasy stories about the power of language, self-acceptance, and the courage to stand up for one’s beliefs. Her first novel, Theo and the Forbidden Language, was the winner of Best YA at the 2018 IndieReader Discovery Awards, and the sequel, Theo and the Secret of Elshon, will be released November 2021.
Click the link below for a chance to win a paperback edition of Theo and the Forbidden Language (The Book of Theo #1) Rafflecopter
Theo and the Forbidden Language (The Book of Theo #1)
For fans of Watership Down, Redwall, Lord of the Rings, and Dragon Riders of Pern comes a fantasy adventure about courage, friendship, and the power of the written word.
In the land of Mankahar, where reading and writing are punishable by death, a battle is raging. The human empire is robbing animals of speech using a poison called “pacification,” and is marching to the furthest corners of the land to enslave creatures large and small. The only thing standing against them is the Order, a society of free animals determined to defend their way of life. On the western fringes of Mankahar, the rabbit Theo hides a secret: he knows the forbidden language, the symbols used to “catch words”. When his village exiles him, he joins Brune, an axe wielding bear and loyal member of the Order, in the epic fight against the empire. But the Order’s cause proves dangerous. Whom can Theo trust, when the empire punishes those who read or write with death? Worse, his fellow animals view the written word as sacrilegious. As the war for Mankahar’s fate looms, Theo must risk everything to learn the full power of the forbidden language, or be silenced forever.
My thoughts: growing up most of my favourite books were ones with animal characters (Black Beauty, Narnia, Redwall Abbey, the collective works of Dick King-Smith, KM Peyton, The Animals of Farthing Wood, City Cats and many, many more, all of them rife with traumatic storylines in many ways) And of course I read Watership Down, another deeply traumatising book and one I was definitely a bit too young for (I think I was about 6 or 7). I still have the slightly tatty paperback copy I found in our house when we moved in.
So I was excited to read about Theo and his friends. I recommend reading the first book so you know all the ins and outs of the world Theo lives in and why he’s so special. It also helps to understand the world building and mythology underpinning the friends quest in this book.
In this installment of Theo’s adventures, the naive bunny and his friends, set off in search of the mythical library of Elshon, where Theo will hopefully be able to find a way to stop the Uroks (humans) and reverse the grim pacification process that robs animals of their speech and intelligence. Along the way they meet new friends and enemies, and Theo has be braver than ever.
This is a really fun series, although definitely not for children as it is violent and some scenes are upsetting – no one likes to think of animals hurt or killed, even by sword wielding animals! I like the magic system being words and Theo’s ability to read being what makes him so special – all the answers they need are in books. I like Theo, his journey towards being a hero is interesting and he uses his herb knowledge to help others as well as his “word catching”. His friends, Brune and Isabel are brave and supportive, they’re much more battle hardened than Theo is but they help him in other ways too. I hope there’s more adventures to come.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.
Today we are celebrating the release of Deadly Scars, book 4 in her Scars of Days Forgotten series! Read on for more info!
Deadly Scars (Scars of Days Forgotten Series #4)
Publication Date: November 16th, 2021
Genre: YA Urban Fantasy/ Paranormal Romance
Nothing is as it seems. No one is safe.
Wren is alive, but she’s not happy about it. Not when she’s in the clutches of The Council and soul-linked to Darshan, a man whose misplaced loyalties have gotten far too many killed. From the moment she wakes up in the Council’s fortress in the Mountains, she is desperate to find a way out and back to Misha and the Resistance. But this time there will be no rescue. Not when the Resistance thinks she’s dead.
Now a Commander in the Psi Army, Darshan is determined to protect those he cares for and stop the Council. But he can’t do it alone. There are still so many secrets he doesn’t have answers to, and every choice he makes could be a death sentence to someone he loves. He and Wren soon realize that to get what they want they need to work together and play the parts the Council has set out for them. But can they trust each other? Or will one of them end up betraying the other?
Misha believes he watched the woman he loves die the death that was meant for him and now he’s bent on revenge. But his revenge is put on hold when Psi begin attacking humans and draining them of blood. As he, Greta, and those left with the Resistance begin to investigate, things only get worse and more confusing. And soon the Psi attacks aren’t the only ones they have to worry about.
Because something worse is coming. Something that might make monsters of us all.
Natalie J. Reddy is a Canadian Author who spends her days trying to escape reality by making up stories about the characters in her head.
Natalie realized at an early age that she had a passion for storytelling and that passion followed her into adulthood. There is nothing she loves more than to be pulled into a fictional world whether it’s in her own writing or the writing of others. Natalie is the author of the Scar of Days Forgotten series, a New Adult Urban Fantasy series with characters who have supernatural abilities and dark and sometimes unknown pasts to overcome.
When she’s not writing, Natalie can be found having all sorts of real-life adventures with her husband and daughter or curled up with a good book and a cup of tea.
To keep up to date on upcoming books, subscribe to Natalie’s newsletter at nataliejreddy.com
Welcome to the cover reveal for Danielle M. Orsino’s novel, Thine Eyes of Mercy (Birth of the Fae #2) which is the highly anticipated follow up to Locked Out of Heaven!
Birth of the Fae: Thine Eyes of Mercy, Book Two
Expected Publication Date: December 2021
Genre: Fantasy
Queen Aurora, monarch of the Court of Light Fae and King Jarvok, Leader of the Court of Dark Fae are exhausted and battle worn after centuries of fighting. A war of attrition had taken its toll upon their kin and power bases.
What happens when you have to give in to your enemy?
All wars eventually end even magical ones. The Dark and Light Fae have set their elemental magick and weapons down but, all is not quiet in the Veil…
King Jarvok was confident his army could win the war, but at what cost? It was time to act like a King not a power hungry megalomaniac. That was his Creator’s title not his. He reaches out to Queen Aurora, and the Treaty of Bodhicitta is signed.
The treaty promises the Fae will never spill each other’s blood again. Rules for their human worshipers are put into place. The Court of Dark must not interfere with humans in a malignant way, but they can act as gods and goddesses of atonement. The Court of Light can return to acting as advisors to the European royal families, as they have done for centuries.
However, Queen Aurora and King Jarvok will learn that while they were playing war games, their humans have changed and moved away from the old ways.
The two monarchs face unknown challenges in a world where Christianity not paganism is the new power.
Sometimes the devil you know is better than the one you do not.
Coming Soon!
Locked Out of Heaven (Birth of the Fae #1)
Ride on the backs of fire-breathing dragons with the Dark Fae and watch the Light Fae play in the shadows of primitive humanity as they build their magical world. Abandoned by their creator, two factions of powerful angels remain on earth after the Great War with Lucifer. They struggle to comprehend their Creator’s plan while their angel wings, a symbol of their angelic lineage, slowly and painfully decay. With no hope of returning to the Shining Kingdom, two groups of angels denounce their angelic lineage and develop into separate factions – the Court of Light, led by Queen Aurora, a former Virtue Angel, and the Court of Dark, ruled by King Jarvok, a former Power Brigade Angel. The two monarchs have opposing views on how to govern their kin, but the one belief they agree on is that human worship equals power. Birth of the Fae: Locked Out of Heaven is an epic-fantasy adventure of heartbreak, rebirth, and hope that examines the bonds of family, friendship, and love. It is a fantastic tale of good versus evil in a beautiful world, where the Light Fae and their potent elemental magick are tested by the raw power of the dragon-riding Dark Fae warriors. They are their own beings and masters of their own destiny. They are the Fae.
About the Author
Danielle M Orsino, destined to be a writer from a young age, was working as a nurse and treating a patient who needed some distractions during long I.V. Treatment sessions. So, Orsino reached back to a forgotten skill, A childhood dream. Danielle had wanted to be a writer and so she decided to tell a story. Little did she know the seed would grow into a fantastically epic adventure of heartbreak, hope and rebirth — Birth of Fae: Locked Out of Heaven. Drawing from her passion for comic books, Cosplay and fantasy along with her expert martial arts expertise, Orsino brings forth an electric and hopeful debut.
Danielle is taking on her biggest challenge to date: taking the story born from the long treatment sessions with a patient into a fantasy book series-Birth of the Fae: Locked out of Heaven. Expanding her love of writing, comics and exploring the world of fantasy novels, she delves into the realm of fairies and retells their origins from a completely new perspective. Orsino has a Bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology and Exercise science and is an LPN with a special interest in Lyme disease research. Orsino has been widely recognized from her influence and experience in martial arts realm, training for over 20 years and with over 500 tournament wins, and accumulating national and world titles. She has performed for former President of the United States Bill Clinton and has been featured on “Soap Talk, Fox Five news CBS, TLC and E! With this experience, she worked as a Fight Choreographer on ”Wonder Woman: Balance of Power” and has worked with the likes of martial arts legend Vincent Lyn and WWE marvel and action star Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Nothing Danielle ever does is simple, look at what NY times Bestselling author Clete Barrett Smith has to say about her debut endeavor: “After summoning this world into existence through an imaginative force of will, Danielle has scoured every inch of the landscape several times over. Critics often praise a story’s world building by saying that it feels “lived in.” Well, the world of the Fae certainly seems like that because Danielle herself has happily lived there for years as she worked to put all of this together…My favorite part of this story is that it is gloriously depicted in vibrant images.
I’m happy to share this beautifully illustrated novel, Child of Awareness with you all today! Read on for more details!
Child of Awareness (Redeeming Grace Trilogy, Book One)
Publication Date: July 2021
Genre: NA Sci-Fi/ Fantasy/ Illustrated
Intended Age Group: New Adult (targeted at 18+)
Gracie’s fire burns holes in the fabric of spacetime. A friendship with her long-dead sister and unsettling dreams can’t penetrate the dark mystery of her father’s past. If her light can’t illuminate the truth, her father and everything she loves may be lost.
Blending science fiction, fantasy, and family drama, Child of Awareness introduces us to the flawed, immortal Usuriel Family. Called a “masterclass in world building,” this sweeping coming-of-age story weaves in themes of loss, belonging, and first romance.
Trigger Warnings:
Mature language, implied sexuality, violence, self-harm, and child neglect
Excerpt
Chapter 1 – My First Heartbreak
The first time I met my father I didn’t know anything about his history. In fact, I didn’t know he existed until I was old enough to read.
As a young child, I knew little outside of the yellowing paint and peeling wallpaper of my mother’s apartment. Occasionally Mother and I traveled to an outdoor park. She’d push me on the swings, a smile on her gaunt face and her dyed blonde hair up in a messy bun. That was rare. More often, my mother slept during the day and didn’t have the energy to take me places in the daylight. Thus, those stained walls contained most of my world.
Not to say that my mother was unloving. Each day she brushed my hair, tutting at how my wavy red strands tangled.
“My hair was just like this when I was a little girl,” she’d say, running her fingers through its silky length. “And so was my nose – covered in freckles, just like yours!” The warm pad of her thumb would wiggle the tip of my nose and I’d giggle. Her smile lit up my whole world. “Ah well, at least you got your father’s eyes.”
“What was my father like?”
A dreamy look would come into her lined face and she’d pull me into her lap. “He’s very handsome. And powerful. I think you’ll like him.” Her arms squeezed me tight. “One day I’ll take you to meet him.”
That day never came.
Like all small children, the rest of my early years have been reduced to a few bright flashes of color and the smell of old tobacco smoke. The last memory I have of my mother, however, has not faded or blurred with age.
I was about five at the time and home alone in our apartment, playing with a stack of chipped wooden blocks. After a time, I rummaged up a bowl of rice crackers from our pantry. I nibbled the edge of one. Stale, but still edible. Standing on tiptoe, I ran the tap into a battered plex drinking cup we kept near the sink. Bringing my prizes with me to the living room, I grinned at my growing block metropolis on the stained rug.
Voices in the hall. My head shot up.
“Stay quiet and…” my mother had said as she walked out the door, waiting as always for me to fill in the end of the phrase.
“Don’t open the door,” I’d intoned dutifully.
With a smile and a kiss on my brow, she’d left in a cloud of perfume and fake fur.
Her instructions had never been tested before. No one ever knocked. The only time the door slid open was at my mother’s palm. To say I was startled at the loud, sudden rapping from the entrance hall is an understatement.
A spooked rabbit, I scurried toward the relative safety of the bedroom. One scuffed shoe caught the edge of my block tower and it fell in a loud jumble behind me.
Abigail Silver grew up in central Pennsylvania but currently makes her home near Charlotte, NC. She shares a humble, one-story abode with her husband, young son, and two fur children. She holds a BFA from Edinboro University in Applied Media Arts. She has been writing novel length work since high school, which was longer ago than she cares to admit. She grew up immersed in her father’s classic superhero comics and his collection of sci-fi thrillers. As an adult, she is an avid Star Trek and Dr. Who fan. When she isn’t reading, writing, or drawing (which is rare) she enjoys blasting music with the windows down on long car trips.
“THERE MAY BE NO GHOSTS OR GHOULS HERE, BUT THERE ARE MONSTERS. IT’S OUR JOB TO STOP THEM.”
Fleeing Al’Myrah, Tzarik sails with Sybal as far away from Sharar as they can. Landing on the far eastern continent of Xia, they discover there are no Runers on Xia and a civil war is heating up between the traditionalists and those who believe it is time for Xia to join the ways of the modern world.
A mysterious creed called Wushito culls the monsters without runes or the white blood. Revered or feared, Wushito exists to support the ruler of Xia–the one touched by the White Dragon. But with Runers ashore, their secrets may soon be brought to light and the traditions on which Xia is built will be tipped into chaos.
Put in the middle, Tzarik and Sybal set events into motion they must see through to the end or risk unleashing a malevolent force into the world. However, a shadow from the past appears amidst their new struggle, complicating their sojourn and quest for sanctuary.
Excerpt The sulfates calming inside her, Sybal gathered all that remained of her patience and followed the general. Not wanting to ever be that close to the general again, she chose a perch a few yards away behind a boulder. Just as she ducked down, the small army came into view. She’d expected them to be out3tted in matching regalia, gleaming armor, and spears. The troupe that emerged was a ragtag team in mismatched pieces of armor. Some wore furs patched together with black leather. These had black paint on their faces and over their eyes. They looked harder and 3ercer than the others. The placards they carried were the only uniform item; it bore the familiar crest of House Xhiaoh. “They’re peasants,” she whispered. “People.” Wu-Zhiang scoffed. “What did you expect of a people who want to overthrow Wushito? Ignorant rats.” Touching her runes under her tunic, Sybal said, “I will not kill them. I will stop them.” The Masahk narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “As you wish. I have no qualms with killing those who seek to overthrow my creed. On my signal...” Swallowing hard, Sybal prepared herself. For the 3rst time, her crime 6oated to the front of her mind. She could not cut down another sentient being. She didn’t know what would happen. All she knew was that the recompense was said to be horrifying to witness and painful for the oath breaker. A long, grueling death, no doubt. Rearing up, Wu-Zhiang held her yari aloft and struck down into the army. Without hesitation, Sybal jumped after her, drawing halat as she landed. She opted for her bow, kiting away from on-coming attacks. Drawing buhkar, she misted away and was able to stay back from the attackers. Wu-Zhiang was not as merciful nor inhibited by a magical oath that would take her life. Her fangs 6ashing in the moonlight, she bit the enemy with quick, deadly strikes. Arching her spine, she turned upside down to 3re a fatal arrow into a man who threw a spear at her. Sybal thought they’d gotten the upper hand too quickly. She’d released a half dozen arrows into shins and feet when the invading army turned and ran forward into the trees. “Follow them!” Wu-Zhiang hissed, wiping blood from her lips. “They are heading right to Yasuke!” A wicked grin warped her face into demonic joy. “To the blus.” Chasing after the serpentine woman took all Sybal’s speed and strength. When the Masahk went down onto her belly and shot o, she moved with the speed of a hunting viper. A whipping, hissing sound alerted her to ShanBao’s arrow going up from where the others waited. This should have been their signal, but Wu- Zhiang had preemptively struck. Now it signaled Yasuke and Jin to move in. Sybal saw how well ShanBao knew his generals when she heard Yasuke give a wild, canine cry. The two women came over the rocky outcropping and stopped. “A trap!” Wu-Zhiang shouted. Below, another horde of Wu-Tang warriors waited, unleashing arrows towards Jin and Yasuke. Sybal prepared to scream for the boy to duck, but he easily dodged the arrows with elegant lips, scaling a tree before hopping across to another, shooting his own arrows down at the same time. Yasuke leapt into the frey for melee attacks, using his claws. His fur stood on end as he roared. A 3ery fox shadow appeared behind him as his attacks grew in rage. From behind Jin and Yasuke, the Shiuki warriors emerged, spears and staves in hand. Sybal skirted around the edge, the blood from the Wushito general’s savage attacks painting the vibrant green grass red. She met with ShanBao and the royal commander. “I will lose my rank for this,” Commander Zhen stuttered, his face white. “We are involved in a civil dispute. A battle! The Di- Huan will have my head.” “This was unexpected, Zhen.” ShanBao watched, horri3ed at the bloodletting. “They played us for the peaceful fools we are.” Below, Sybal watched a royal warrior brought to his knees by a man welding the banner of House Xiaoh. The royal warrior begged for his life before the Xiaoh 3ghter stabbed him with the placard, standing it up in his corpse. Unable to bear the sight, she leased an arrow into the Xiaoh warrior’s knee. “Careful, Sybal!” ShanBao cried. “Your oath.” Glaring at the evil sigil, she spat. “It is far worse a punishment that I cannot take my revenge.” In truth, she had killed Whoang Xiaoh twice. She had tasted her revenge. But the opportunity to fell more of his kinsmen and followers loomed before her in insatiable temptation. “Guard your anger,” ShanBao whispered, touching her shoulder gently from behind. “I do this to protect Xia. House Xiaoh wants one of their own on the throne.” “Why are they striking now?” Zhen cried as he watched his men fall. “I thought we were close to an accord.” “Hardly,” ShanBao replied. “The Di-Huan is ignorant and indecisive. His son has no desire to rule.” Zhen swallowed hard before he spoke. “He is not touched by the dragon. They must be frightened their rule will be challenged.”
Abi has been a writer all her life, but is a mentor at heart. When she is not writing, you can find her slaying enemies online or hunting for the next bohemian adventure. She has published works of fiction, poetry, academia, and even won awards for her short stories in science fiction and horror.
Abi is also a proud mom of two…ferrets! She live streams on Twitch where you can enjoy her terrible gaming skills and join the live discussion. She works part-time as a freelance ghostwriter, editor, and audiobook narrator, hoping to one day make these passions her full-time job. She currently resides in Kansas.
She is one of nine children–all who share the creative spark.
Click the link below to enter for a chance to win one of two loot boxes depicted above! a Rafflecopter giveaway
My thoughts: running away never ends well in fiction. Tzarik and Sybal have found themselves in the middle of a civil war, pursued by old enemies, making new ones and drawn right into the middle of various conspiracies. Probably should have gone somewhere else. They stand out a bit too much in Xia, where there are no Runers and attract too much attention. Sybal seems to have a hard time keeping things to herself, confessing her crimes to people Tzarik isn’t too sure they can trust. He’s not happy about what’s happening around them at all. He doesn’t want to get involved with a strangers war, but Sybal has mixed them up in it.
It took me a while to get to grips with the magic system (I hadn’t read book 1) but once I did, I thought it was quite clever and I liked grumpy Tzarik, who’s just trying to get on and keep out of trouble while staying one step ahead of the past. Sybal’s a bit of a hopeless romantic and hasn’t learnt to keep her mouth shut about things. Unfortunately both her sharing and their past misfortunes lead them into further danger before they can get away. The answers to what happens next are still to come but I can foresee more trouble ahead…
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.
Happy publication day to authors Candace Robinson and Amber R. Duell! To celebrate the release of Tik-Tok, the final book in the Faeries of Oz series, book one Tin will be FREE from today until November 14th!
Tik-Tok (Faeries of Oz #4)
Publication Date: November 10th, 2021
Genre: NA Dark Fantasy/ Dark Romance
Spicy NA fantasy romance for fans of Sarah J. Maas, Laura Thalassa, and Jennifer L. Armentrout.
A world to escape…
North has always tried to pave her own path, to break free from the shadows of the most powerful fae in Oz. Being born without magic of her own makes it difficult, but she still has the love of her life in her corner. Or, at least, until she learns that he doesn’t return her feelings, ripping a gaping hole in her heart.
Tik-Tok does what he wants, says what he wants, and rules how he wants. The sea has been his home—his—except when he was begrudgingly bound to serve the now-dead Wizard. But even after decades of freedom, he is still without the one thing he needs: the prophesied female who can open portals through the sea. Without her, he can’t fulfill his destiny.
When Tik-Tok finds North—the fae he’s been waiting for—he wastes no time stealing her away. He isn’t expecting to fall in love with her, perhaps a quick tumble, sure, but nothing more. However, a past he is forced to confront may do more than haunt him … it may destroy North.
Tik-Tok is the final book in this dark fantasy romance series. If you love seductive fae pirates, independent female leads, and Hades and Persephone vibes, then you won’t want to miss this epic conclusion.
Tin is the most famous fae in Oz for all the wrong reasons. Cursed with a stone heart, he is the perfect assassin: ruthless, efficient, and merciless with thousands of kills to his name. When his old friend, Lion, offers him a small fortune to deliver Dorothy to the South for his lover to wear the girl’s head as her own, Tin doesn’t hesitate to accept the unsavory deal.
Dorothy Gale lost everything—her family to illness, her dog to age, and now her farm to foreclosure. The entire town thought she was crazy for believing in a faerie world called Oz, but even after ten years have passed, she can’t help knowing she was right. So when an emerald green portal opens in her wheat field, she jumps at the opportunity to return to the only place she ever felt like she belonged.
Tin wasn’t expecting a grown woman to step through the portal, just as Dorothy wasn’t expecting Tin to have his stone heart back, but Oz holds more unexpected things than either could have imagined. Magic has hidden dangerous lies behind glamour, trapped innocents in curses, and left the land of Oz in turmoil—none more so than the South. As Tin and Dorothy travel together for the second time in a decade, their lives begin to make sense again. Soon, they must decide who to give their loyalties to before Lion takes Dorothy’s head and Tin’s cursed heart is forever doomed.
Perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas, Laura Thalassa, and Jennifer L. Armentrout. Tin is the first book in this dark fantasy romance series. If you love hot fae assassins and strong female leads, then you won’t want to miss this one.
Amber R. Duell was born and raised in a small town in Central New York. While it will always be home, she’s constantly moving with her husband and two sons as a military wife. She does her best writing in the middle of the night, surviving the daylight hours with massive amounts of caffeine. Her favorite stories are dark with a touch of romance and a villain you either love to hate or hate to love.
Candace Robinson spends her days consumed by words and hoping to one day find her own DeLorean time machine. Her life consists of avoiding migraines, admiring Bonsai trees, watching classic movies, and living with her husband and daughter in Texas—where it can be forty degrees one day and eighty the next!
She’s spent years forced to serve her wealthy cousins rather than attend society events alongside them, waiting for the chance to prove herself and exact revenge. When a ball is announced at the castle, promising to bring many powerful people to town, she seizes the opportunity to strike.
She bets her best friend, a small-time thief and con-man, that she can land a greater score the night of the ball than he can. They embark on parallel heists. But as their plots unfold, things begin to unravel: by the end of the night, the castle’s on lock down, a duchess is dead, a mansion has burnt to the ground, and Cinna hasn’t stolen anything. Or has she stolen something more valuable than gold and jewels?
Win a signed copy of Pretty Deadly & a signed copy of Platformed
Excerpt How interesting, Cinna thought. She had spent so many hours bent over a stove in the kitchen or crouched before the hearth, stoking flames carefully that refused to light. But she had prepared: this house was waiting tinder, ready to be consumed. She couldn’t hear the screams over the roar of the flames, but surely they were there. Strangely, she didn’t feel cheated to have not heard their voices. It was fine that they died in silence. It did not take long for the neighbors to begin streaming out of their own houses, and she did hear their screams. They swarmed around the flames, politely mute once they realized they could not do anything, full of awe before the enormity of the fire. Cinna blended into the crowd, nearly invisible in her costume. At last, just as she had always pledged she would, she watched the house fall in on itself.
I am a software engineer and author living and working in Silicon Valley, California. I studied computer science at Stanford University, but I’ve always loved stories in all their forms. I approach writing fiction the same way I approach writing code: I like to know where it’s going, but I want to figure out the details as I go along. Good software is a lot like a good story, full of neat and clever solutions to tricky problems, beautiful at a granular level but also from a distance.
Originally from Seattle, I love getting outdoors and living in places that allow me to escape to the mountains on the weekends, and I care deeply about the ecosystems that humans impact and that impact us. My writing explores these issues while also following classic coming-of-age arcs in science fiction and fantasy. I’m also very interested in stories and characters that complicate the traditional and familiar, leading me to fairytale retellings from unexpected angles. Kelsey Josund | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads
My thoughts: this was really good, Cinderella but if she was the villain. A really clever, interesting take on the fairytale with strong characterisation, a deeply dislikeable protagonist, a plot that keeps you guessing at her schemes, and a heck of an ending. What might happen next?
Cinna is working as a servant for her mean cousins, and committing crimes on the side. She bets her friend Johann that she can get away with the biggest heist at the Royal ball, he thinks “game on” but her plots are deadlier and darker than mere theft. Unwitting Johann is a pawn in her evil scheme. As is pretty much everyone else. I enjoyed this so much, I love a fairy tale retelling (I know a ridiculous amount about them thanks to my dissertation) and this was such a joy, a dark, twisted pleasure.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.
In a quiet village in rural Kent, a magical mystery leads to murder . . .
Woodville has returned to ‘normal’ after the departure of the Crow Folk. The villagers put out fires from aircraft shot down in the Battle of Britain, and Faye Bright discovers that magic can be just as dangerous as any weapon.
The arrival of a trio of Jewish children fleeing the Nazis brings the fight for Europe to the village. When their guardian is found dead, Faye must play nanny to the terrified children while gathering clues to uncover a dark magic that threatens to change the course of the war. And she must do it quickly – the children have seen too much and someone wants them silenced for good.
Mark Stay co-wrote the screenplay for Robot Overlords which became a movie with Sir Ben Kingsley and Gillian Anderson, and premiered at the 58th London Film Festival. He is co-presenter of the Bestseller Experiment podcast and has worked in bookselling and publishing for over twenty-five years. He lives in Kent, England, with his family and a trio of retired chickens. He blogs and humblebrags over at markstaywrites.com.
My thoughts: I usually avoid Second World War fiction as it’s often either jingoistic or exploitative, but Mark Stay has handled it beautifully here. The three Jewish children are very much the heroes of the story, having been brought over on the kindertransport ship and protected by their cousin Klaus, they come to the unusual village of Woodville, hoping to find some peace.
Unfortunately for them, and Faye Bright, peace is in short supply and they soon find themselves in danger. But the village witches, Faye, Miss Charlotte and Mrs Teach, will do what they can to protect not only the children, but also a very special apple tree.
One of my favourite random facts is that all apples are descended from the original apples grown in Kazakhstan, which is relevant to this story. And that apples feature in lots of notable myths, legends and religions, tells you how important they are to humanity. Magda, Max, Rudolf and Nelson the dog will have to be very brave and clever to outwit some rather nasty people and save the day. Faye’s visions help guide events and her final one of the book, made me smile. It was filled with hope.
This series just gets better and better as the witches of Woodville grow in their strength and the village stands strong against a variety of evils.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.
When a reaper comes to collect Wallace from his own funeral, Wallace begins to suspect he might be dead.
And when Hugo, the owner of a peculiar tea shop, promises to help him cross over, Wallace decides he’s definitely dead.
But even in death he’s not ready to abandon the life he barely lived, so when Wallace is given one week to cross over, he sets about living a lifetime in seven days.
Hilarious, haunting, and kind, Under the Whispering Door is an uplifting story about a life spent at the office and a death spent building a home.
My thoughts: TJ Klune writes books that make me cry, The House in the Cerulean Sea had me in tears and now Under the Whispering Door. Beautiful, moving queer love stories set against odds that seem to be insurmountable. Here Wallace is a ghost, he and Hugo can’t even touch. But they fall in love slowly and surely anyway.
The teashop is something rather magical, something special, and not just because there’s a door to the afterlife in it. The people that live there, even the dead ones, have a wonderful bond and kindness abounds, which helps break Wallace’s walla down. He never really had a family or friends and here at the end of his life he finds both and doesn’t want to leave them. Simply beautiful. Have some tissues handy.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.
ramblingmads 
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