Category: Uncategorized (Page 3 of 6)

The Prophecy by Erin Albert Cover Reveal

October 25, 2013 / Katie L. Carroll

I’m super excited to be a part of the cover reveal for Erin Albert’s YA fantasy The Prophecy. Erin is a fantastic author and I hope you all give her a warm welcome!

The Prophecy excerpt:

“Everything must be taken down.” A rotund man, with beady black eyes, surveyed the town, disdain in his expression. While he did not appear distinguishable from the other black and purple clad men, he spoke with authority. “The First Ones and their great Prophecy must be honored properly.” He sniffed, his actions indicating the very existence of Medlin and its occupants offended him.

Layla wondered what this man considered a “proper honoring” of the First Ones. The First Ones…they’d been dead for centuries, and, as far as Layla could tell, hadn’t done much in life except start a never-ending war. She knew nothing more about them except that she was to thank them for good things, curse them for bad, and celebrate them on this day.

“That’s Elder Werrick, head of the Ecclesiastics,” whispered Samson, glancing back at Grant. Layla noticed the look that passed between them.

Grant nodded his assent. “Get her out of here, brother.”

Samson tried to steer Layla away, but she held her position to get a closer look at the man whom her family so feared. She knew they had good reason to worry—her black hair and purple eyes marked her as a Fulfillment candidate, one with the potential to bring about the long awaited peace. But she couldn’t quite bring herself to believe Elder Werrick would notice her on the crowded streets, especially with her eye drops and hood. Could he really be responsible for dragging candidates from their homes, forcing them to undergo strenuous, sometimes gruesome, testing for the sake of the Prophecy? To Layla, he looked like nothing more than a short, fat, unhappy man. The very notion that he could strike such fear into the hearts of her people seemed almost laughable…almost. As his gaze swept over the crowd, she glimpsed a sinister undertone that made her shiver.

Waving his pudgy arms at the awaiting townspeople, Werrick commanded, “Take it down.”

Suddenly, his body stilled and his tiny eyes grew wide. They briefly connected with Layla’s, narrowing with calculation. The Elder turned to his nearest black clad companion.

“Do you feel that?” Layla heard Werrick ask.

The other man looked skeptical. “Feel what, Elder?”

Werrick leaned in as the two whispered, stealing furtive glances in her direction. When the Elder’s companion pointed at Layla, Samson grabbed her arm. She heard his breathing change from rhythmic to jagged as he pulled her away from the men.

“We have to go now.” His urgency spurred her into action.

Grant moved to block them from the Elder’s view. “Get her away from here, Samson.”

The Elder looked up to see everyone staring at him as if frozen. He repeated his demand, “I said take everything down.”

The townspeople, joined by the Elder’s minion, scampered to remove their decorations, anxious to “properly” celebrate the First Ones. Their flurry of activity concealed Layla as Samson and Grant escorted her away. Layla scanned the streets, horrified, as the people of Medlin stripped the town’s center barren. In no time, everything appeared as it always had, devoid of any celebratory adornments. She looked up at the sky with its gray clouds lingering overhead. A bad omen…

On the hill, a safe distance away, Layla watched a group of Ecclesiastics erect a monstrous stage where the donkey races should have occurred. She heard the braying of the angry animals, harnessed and corralled on the orders of the Elder to avoid interfering with the “true” Day of Dawning celebration. Her ire rose. Who did they think they were coming in and changing everything?

An icy, phantom finger traced a frigid line down her spine. After hearing warning after warning from the Mantars her whole life, Layla knew exactly what the Ecclesiastics could do, what they had done to others in the past. Maybe Samson and Grant had been right. Maybe she should never have come, especially today. Layla turned her back on the town, resolved to go home, to safety.

“Layla!” Samson’s alarmed tone sliced into her, and she swung around toward him.

To her horror, two Vanguard soldiers forced Samson to the ground. She knew just how much strength he possessed, yet he couldn’t free himself. Her hands balled up into fists, shaking with their desire to unleash the full force of their fury.

“Run!” Samson screamed before a soldier’s fist smashed into his face.

His body stilled. Panic, coupled with indecision, crippled her. She should run like Samson commanded, but she couldn’t leave him lying there. To her relief, Grant ambled toward them, his eyes full of rage.

“Run!” Grant echoed Samson’s warning.

With a final glance at the two boys who’d been as close to her as brothers, Layla fled. She flew down the hill, swinging her head from side to side in alarm. Ecclesiastics swarmed throughout the city, making a clear escape route difficult to discern.

Terror rose within Layla. Why hadn’t she listened to her family? She’d been foolish to believe she could sneak around under the ever-watchful eyes of the Ecclesiastics, and that hubris put Samson and Grant in danger as well. She choked back a sob.

“Run,” she whispered.

Willing her feet to move forward, Layla darted toward the back of the baker’s shop, hoping to take a shortcut through the back alleyway. She swerved to miss a wooden box and stumbled, arms flailing to right herself. Unfamiliar hands reached out to break her fall. Once stable, Layla looked up to find Elder Werrick staring down at her. She screamed but no sound came out of her open mouth.

“I’ve been looking for you,” he said, a wicked smile on his face.

About the Author:

Erin Albert is an author, editor, and fitness trainer. Since she picked up Morris the Moose Goes to School at age four, she has been infatuated with the written word. She went on to work as a grammar and writing tutor in college and is still teased by her family and friends for being a member of the “Grammar Police.” In her free time, Erin enjoys acting, running, kickboxing, and, of course, reading and writing.

Preorder Link: https://museituppublishing.com/bookstore/index.php/our-authors/50-our-authors/authors-a/381-erin-albert

Twitter: @ErinAlbertBooks

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Erin-Albert-Books/182769448541270

Website: www.erinalbertbooks.com

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18160774-the-prophecy

Giveaway Winners

October 2, 2013 / Katie L. Carroll

A huge thanks to everyone who took part in the (very long!) Elixir Bound in paperback blog tour! I had a blast posting on all your blogs and responding to your comments and just sharing fun stuff with all of you. Elixir Bound is up for pre-order on the MuseItUp bookstore and should be shipping later this month and up on other vendors then as well.

In case you missed any of the fun, the full list of posts can be found here! I originally planned on ending the tour with the exclusive reveal of the trailer, but I’ve decided to save that goody for the day when the book is fully launched (should be later this month). So you’ll just have to come back to check that out!

We had an awesome turnout for the giveaway, which means in a addition to one person winning the big prize of the Elixir Bound signed paperback and swag pack, a second winner will receive a signed copy of Elixir Bound. And here’s Rafflecopter to announce the winners:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Congrats to Bobbye H., who won the grand prize with the signed book and swag pack, and to Beverly S., who won the bonus prize of the signed book. I’ll be contacting both of you later this week via the emails you provided through the Rafflecopter.

And for all of you sobbing quietly to your computer screens for not winning, just purchase the book when it’s released. I’d be happy to send you a signed bookplate and a bookmark. Use the contact me form on my webpage to send me your mailing address.

Meet Susan Royal Author of Not Long Ago

September 18, 2013 / Katie L. Carroll

Today Susan Royal, author of the time travel romance Not Long Ago, and I swap blogs. Hop on over to her blog to find out what movie I always watch when it’s on. Now let’s find out more about Susan.

What inspired you to write Not Long Ago?

History has always been one of my favorite subjects. I always wondered what happened during those times. How did people live in medieval society? What was it like during the Civil War? What was William Wallace really like? I cannot think of a better way to get up close and personal with something happening hundreds of years ago than to be a time traveler.

I had the first page of Not Long Ago written for at least a year. It could have gone a hundred different ways from there. A young woman passing by a coffee shop window happens to make eye contact with one of the customers. Someone she feels a strong connection with the man even he’s a stranger. Of course, the romantic in me wanted their chance meeting to develop further. Mixing in elements of time travel made it even more intriguing to me.

What book(s) had the most influence on you while growing up?

Ray Bradbury’s Something Wicked this Way Comes and Dandelion Wine were favorites of mine. I loved the way he could paint a scene with words. Poul Anderson’s Three Hearts and Three Lions and The Glory Road by Robert Heinlein were my first time travel books. A Wrinkle In Time, Catseye, The Diary of Anne Frank—I read a lot.

If you were stranded on a desert island and could only bring two books and one movie, what would you bring?

Oh my, this is a hard question.

Movie—Australia, Out of Africa, The Postman, something like that

Books—any of Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander Series.

What is your favorite part of the writing process? What is your least favorite part?

My favorite part is when everything comes together and the words flow. I love to get a scene in my head that begs to be written. No matter where I am in the writing process, I open up a new document, write until the scene is done and worry about fitting it in with the rest of the story later.

My least favorite part is the part where I look for typos, echo words, overused words, grammar mistakes.

What is the single best piece of advice you have for aspiring authors?

Keep writing, join a critique group, edit-edit-edit, never stop learning and never ever give up

If you could have one superpower, what would it be?

I’d be a time traveler.

What is something funny/weird/exceptional about yourself that you don’t normally share with others in an interview?

I’ll pretty much share anything. I don’t mind laughing at myself, because I do a lot of laughable things. I guess the latest is my daughter taking new Bio pictures of me this weekend in 100+ degree Texas weather. I was wearing winter clothes, because they look the best and trying NOT to sweat or pass out from the heat. We got tickled and one thing led to another. I’m sure the people driving by thought we were crazy. (Probably not. Everyone knows how I am, or they should by now.)

Not Long Ago blurb:

Erin has met the man of her dreams, but as usual there are complications. It’s one of those long distance relationships, and Griffin is a little behind the times– somewhere around 600 years.

Erin and her employer, March, are transported to a time where chivalry and religion exist alongside brutality and superstition. Something is not quite right at the castle, and Erin and March feel sure mysterious Lady Isobeil is involved. But Erin must cope with crop circles, ghosts, a kidnapping and death before the truth of her journey is revealed.

Forced to pose as March’s nephew, Erin finds employment as handsome Sir Griffin’s squire. She’s immediately attracted to him and grows to admire his courage, quiet nobility and devotion to duty. Yet, she must deny her feelings. Her world is centuries away, and she wants to go home. But Erin can’t stop thinking about her knight in shining armor.

About the Author:

Born in west Texas and raised in south Texas, Susan makes her home in a 100-year-old farmhouse in a small east Texas town that comes complete with a female ghost who has been known to harmonize with her son when he plays guitar.

Susan is married, with three children and four grandchildren. Her family is rich with characters, both past and present. She spent her childhood listening to her grandmother’s stories of living on a farm in OklahomaTerritory with three sisters and three brothers and working as a telephone operator in the early 20^th century. Her father shared stories of growing up in San Antonio in the depression, and through her mother’s eyes she experienced how it felt to be a teenager during WWII

Her newest book, In My Own Shadow, is a Fantasy adventure/romance. Other published works are, Not Long Ago, a time travel adventure/romance. Both ebooks are available through MuseItUp/Amazon/B&N. Odin’s Spear, one of her short stories is featured in a Quests, Curses, and Vengeance anthology, Martinus Publishing. She has finished the sequel to Not Long Ago, because her daughter insists there is still more of Erin and Griffin’s story to tell, and she was right.

In My Own Shadow (fantasy, adventure, romance)
http://tinyurl.com/bqbxm41

Book Trailer: http://youtu.be/Wbg8Z-12ojY
Not Long Ago (time travel, adventure, romance)
http://tinyurl.com/85vgye3

Book Trailer: http://youtu.be/vOIQVdWUigU/

Both books available at MuseItUp, Amazon, B&N, Goodreads
http://susanroyal.moonfruit.com
http://susanaroyal.wordpress.com

Exploring the World of Elixir Bound

September 3, 2013 / Katie L. Carroll

In case you missed it yesterday, I was featured on the Where Writers and Author Meet blog. Here’s your opportunity to ask me ANYTHING! Post your question in the comments and my answers will be posted next Monday.

The fun continues with the Elixir Bound in paperback blog tour (full schedule here)! Today I have a very special reveal *drum roll* … the official map of the world of Elixir Bound! This map includes not only Faway Forest, with the Three River Split and The Sleeping Giant mountain range, but also a look at the entire Great Peninsula.

Places like the cities of Skimere and Lughorn, Blanchardwood, and Drim will play very important roles in the next Elixir book, Elixir Saved. Check back in all month long for more cool reveals, including a sneak peek of Elixir Saved at the end of the month.

Enough blathering! Let’s get to the map! 🙂

A Report from the World of Unveiling the Wizards’ Shroud

August 29, 2013 / Katie L. Carroll

A special report today from the world of Unveiling the Wizards’ Shroud, an upcoming YA fantasy by Eric Price. I’ll be posting my 5-star Goodreads review of this a little closer to the November release date, but enjoy this sneak peek in the meantime.

The Innes Times

KING KENDRICK STRICKEN, POSSIBLY BY MAGIC; OWEN MISSING

by Raphael Goren

Anti-magic protestors line the streets of Innes Village, and their numbers continue to grow. The first protestors organized late last night, shortly after the banquet at Innes Castle came to an abrupt halt.

Mary Steigel, 46, the first witness to return to Innes Village from the banquet, informed the evening strollers of what took place.

“It’s King Kendrick,” Stiegel said. “Something’s happened to him. He’s sick or something. I thought for sure he was dead.”

In her frantic attempt to inform the villagers of the tragedy, Miss Stiegel revealed Owen had fled the castle with the magician, Cedric; and Queen Andrea, visiting from the Northern Domain, had assumed control of Innes Castle.

Confusion settled on the crowd until a second witness returned to Innes Village shortly thereafter. He informed the gathering multitude of King Kendrick’s announcement of his engagement to Queen Andrea just before he fell ill. This news seemed to settle the mass’ nerves about Queen Andrea taking control, but the well known anti-magic advocate, Charles Zelter, began inciting the crowd to blame magic for the king’s illness.

“Only magic could have felled King Kendrick,” Zelter said. “And I bet that Wizard always lurking at the castle, what’s his name, Cedric, led the attack. I don’t know why the king permitted him around anyway. If I were King Kendrick, I would have made the practice of magic illegal in the Central Domain three years ago, when the Wizard Rebellion attacked.”

His motley crowd of supporters cheered and patted him on the back before he continued. “And I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if Cedric hadn’t chased Owen out of the castle. I bet the poor boy’s on the run, scared for his life from a vial Wizard.”

More cheers and shouts accompanied this exertion before they continued their march down the street carrying signs saying, “ALL WIZARDS MUST GO” and “WIZARDS = DEATH”.

A young girl who identified herself as Yara, the seventeen year old daughter of the town blacksmith, listened to his rant before walking away.

When asked for her opinion of the situation, she shook her head in disgust. “Mr. Zelter’s as crazy as they come. He’s been trying to get father to join his anti-magic cause ever since my brother, Brahma, lost his life in the attack by the Wizard Rebellion.”

She adjusted the bow slung over her shoulder and pulled her braided ponytail free of the collar of her tunic. “He’s full of dragon excrement if he thinks Cedric chased Owen out of Innes Castle. I’ve been friends with Owen my whole life, and he would never back down from a battle, especially with his father’s life in danger.” Her grimace could have petrified a ghost. “I don’t know where they went, or what they’re doing, but I intend to find them.” She stalked away without answering another question.

Keep your eyes on The Innes Times in the coming days as more of this story unfolds.

Unveiling the Wizards’ Shroud blurb:

As the only son to King Kendrick, Owen despises the idea of being king one day. Magician may be the only career he’d like less. He has dreaded the days leading up to his fifteenth birthday, when his father will certainly declare Owen heir to the throne. But at the birthday celebration, his father falls ill. The only person in the kingdom that may be able to save him is a magician–the very same magician Owen holds responsible for the death of his mother.

Owen and his companions will have to travel the continent of Wittatun in search of the cure for King Kendrick. On the journey, they will battle strange beasts and harsh climates, befriend extraordinary magicians, and meet a dragon before returning to Innes Castle–where much has happened in the days since he departed.

Excerpt:

The cool night air blew in Cedric’s face. His new beard, now reaching the neck of his cloak, ruffled in the breeze. He hoped the sound of rustling leaves and tree branches would help mask his own sounds as he sneaked behind Argnam’s cabin.

Cedric took his staff and drew the outline of a door on the back wall. He stepped away and the line started glowing faint chartreuse. Within the outline, the wall almost vaporized to dust. It piled on the ground as quiet as a phantom; the chirping crickets didn’t even break from their merry song.

Creeping through the makeshift doorway, Cedric saw the figures of a man and a woman lying in bed. The moonlight cast enough of a glow for him to recognize the man as Argnam. He couldn’t identify the woman; her long blond hair obscured her face.

As he approached the side of the bed, he raised the dagger he brought for the assassination. He took a deep breath before plunging it into Argnam’s chest.

The woman’s leg flashed out of the covers, striking him in the chest and knocking the wind out of him. She sprang from the bed. Her feet met his face in a rapid succession of kicks, topping the skill of a master fighter.

Gasping for breath and unable to stand, Cedric fell to his hands and knees and looked up at the approaching woman. The moon silhouetted her female form. Light reflected on her face, and Cedric recognized Necrose before she raised her leg over her head, and slammed the heel of her foot into his face. Total darkness enveloped him.

About the Author:

Eric grew up in central Illinois. He now lives in northwest Iowa with his wife and two sons. He began publishing in 2008 when he started writing a quarterly column for a local newspaper. His first short story, “Ghost Bed and Ghoul Breakfast,” a spooky children’s tale about a haunted bed and breakfast, came out later the same year. He has published more than 30 nonfiction articles/columns, four short stories, and a poem. Three of his short stories have won honorable mention in the CrossTIME Annual Science Fiction contest. This is his first novel. For more about Eric check his his website, Facebook page, or Twitter account (@AuthorEricPrice).