Books for kids, teens, & those who are young at heart

Tag: Finding Thor

Interview with Kai Strand Author of FINDING THOR

Have you found your Thor? Kai Strand wants to help with that. She’s here to talk about her young adult romantic suspense, FINDING THOR. Be sure to check out the giveaway below.

FindingThor_1-FINALInternational intrigue hits small-town America.

Tragedy has left Cara Cassidy broken and the only thing keeping her from giving in completely is her guilt. Until Nik Rock.

Nik stirs up feelings in degrees she has never experienced, and causes her to do things that most assuredly give him the wrong impression – like kiss him before their first date. Somehow, he breaks down the walls around her emotions until she has no choice but to forgive herself and feel again.

But a mysterious, troubled past follows Nik, and Cara may prove to be his weakest link.

When a royal princess shows up looking for Nik, and an international gang arrives looking for missing jewels, Cara lands in mortal danger. Will she be able to save herself? What will happen to her newly repaired psyche if she loses Nik?

Romance, mystery, and high stakes – just another day in high school.

Hi, Kai! Why should we read your book?

How long can you hold your breath? Finding Thor is non-stop, action, emotion, mystery, and intrigue.

If you could live inside a book, which book would you chose?

I feel like I’m cheating on this because Finding Thor is set in my current hometown, so I’d just stay right where I am now.

Is there a lesson to be learned in Finding Thor?

I don’t set out to teach a lesson when I’m writing a story, but one thing I hope resonates with readers is Cara’s personal struggle. She’s grieving. She has ups and downs. Even when she starts to make progress toward healing, she has setbacks. This is normal. People don’t have these perfect paths to follow. Life is messy. However, when the chips are down, she identifies what’s important to her and she digs deep inside her for the strength to fight for it.

Excerpt:

The veil dropped over Nik’s expression so fast, it told her exactly what she didn’t want to know. Nik had indeed seen her mom. Cara turned away from him again intending to trudge back into the classroom.

“By the crown, will you stop already?” Nik begged.

The exasperation in his tone and the odd choice of words piqued her curiosity. Cocking her head, she asked, “By the crown?”

The frustration melted away and Nik pursed his lips, which almost distracted Cara enough to forget the thread of conversation, but she tore her eyes away and asked, “Is that what they say in Seattle?”

Nik’s eyes lit with appreciation. “Aren’t you clever?”

“Am I?”

He nodded. His appreciative appraisal and half smile wreaked havoc with her supposed cleverness.

“Nik?” she breathed.

“Yes?” He tilted toward her giving her the impression he hung on her every word. His eyes were glued to her lips, which she realized were parted and ever so slightly panting.

She gulped. “Can we perhaps do this after school?”

When he raised his gaze to meet hers she almost liquefied under the heat of it. “Can I trust you?”

“Trust me to do what?” Cara asked. She was losing the ability to think.

“Show up.” He slid closer and she held her breath hoping he would take her in his arms.

“Show up where?” she asked.

A full-blown grin curved across his face and she thrilled with the knowledge she’d put it there. Then she realized she couldn’t remember how.

“Actually, I was going to ask you that,” Nik said. His eyes roved her face.

“Wait. What?” Cara’s voice was so breathy she wasn’t sure if she spoke or gasped.

“Where should we meet? After school.”

She itched to rise up on tiptoe and kiss that stellar grin off his mouth.

A low chuckle rumbled through him. “Why don’t you tell me in gym class?”

She nodded slowly. Was he a drug? Or maybe the male version of a siren. Did they have those?

He tipped further forward and she caught her breath. Then he sighed.

“See you next period.”

Her mouth fell open as he walked away. He hadn’t even touched her and she was burning with need.

At the end of the hall, he glanced over his shoulder and grinned when he saw her still gaping after him. When he walked out of view she let out the breath she’d been holding. It stuttered and shook, but was relieved to escape her burning lungs. How long had she been holding her breath?

By the crown, Nik Rock was dangerous!

Finding Thor is available in print or electronic format from the following:

AmazonBarnes & NobleWhiskey Creek PressAll RomanceBookStrand|

Add Finding Thor to your to-read shelf on Goodreads

Kai StrandAbout the author:

When her children were young and the electricity winked out, Kai Strand gathered her family around the fireplace and they told stories, one sentence at a time. Her boys were rather fond of the ending, “And then everybody died. The end.” Now an award winning children’s author, Kai crafts fiction for kids and teens to provide an escape hatch from their reality. With a selection of novels for young adult and middle grade readers Kai entertains children of all ages, and their adults. Learn more about Kai and her books on her website, www.kaistrand.com.

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IMG_3218Swag alert! Looking for your Thor? Look no further, Kai’s got you covered. Enter to win a custom tote bag for all of those books you like to carry with you, and a Thor baseball cap. Easy entry for those in a hurry, or many other ways to earn more entries for contest junkies. FT swag pack can only be shipped in the United States. If first winner is International, an Amazon gift card will be substituted and another winner will be chosen.

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Top Five Couples Facing Strife from Kai Strand Author of FINDING THOR

Returning guest poster, who also happens to be one of my favorite writing buddies who I haven’t yet met in person, Kai Strand is here today with a really fun post and a look at her YA romantic suspense FINDING THOR. Welcome, Kai!

FindingThor_1-FINALKai Strand’s Top Five Couples Facing Strife

When it comes to book couples, if your romance reading experiences are anything like mine, you will often like one of the characters more than the other. I find I’m pretty hard on the heroines and almost always drawn to the bad boy. (Thank goodness not in real life…oh wait, maybe he sort of was then. Dang it!)

Anyway, today I want to share with you five of my favorite books where I actually liked BOTH the hero and the heroine. Plus I wanted to add the little caveat that in their stories they are facing a lot of strife. Whether it be an epic journey, a seemingly insurmountable task, or unbeatable bad guy, whatever the strife, it is a real enough part of their relationship to be able to muck it up.

Here we go:

Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson– I can’t even tell you how much I loved this series. The culture Carson made up is fabulous. The journey, the strife, it’s all biblical proportions. But, I truly enjoyed Elisa and Hector’s relationship (though it doesn’t really develop until the 2nd book), as well as liked them individually. Oh Hector!

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor– While Karou and Akiva can both be frustrating it made them more real and believable in such an extraordinary setting. Plus the writing and the story line are delicious.

Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles– The only contemporary on my list (interesting!) and their strife is a very real and relatable one. Prejudice. Brittany and Alex really force each other to grow and they really sizzle.

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare– Tessa is a kick butt character and Will is her equal, plus he’s swoony. For the record, imho, they make a way better couple than Clary and Jace, though I love The Mortal Instruments too.

Angelfall by Susan Ee– Penryn is another kick butt character. From the get go. And Raffe jumps right out of the pages and makes you want to help him – even though he’s so capable.

For more book recommendations, friend me on Goodreads. I’d recommend any of the books I’ve rated four and five stars!

Bonus Rec: I’d also recommend my very own YA romantic suspense, Finding Thor. Neither Cara nor Nik are looking for, or even want, a relationship. But when Cara asks, “Why me?” Nik replies:

I don’t understand why you either.” His palm brushed gently against her cheek, his fingers twined under her hair. In a low, growling voice he whispered, “But I can’t help myself.”

*Swoon*

Here’s more about the book:

Tragedy has left Cara Cassidy broken and the only thing keeping her from giving in completely is her guilt. Until Nik Rock.

Nik stirs up feelings in degrees she has never experienced, and causes her to do things that most assuredly give him the wrong impression – like kiss him before their first date. Somehow, he breaks down the walls around her emotions until she has no choice but to forgive herself and feel again.

But a mysterious, troubled past follows Nik, and Cara may prove to be his weakest link.

When a royal princess shows up looking for Nik, and an international gang arrives looking for missing jewels, Cara lands in mortal danger. Will she be able to save herself? What will happen to her newly repaired psyche if she loses Nik?

Romance, mystery, and high stakes – just another day in high school.

Amazon| Barnes & Noble| Whiskey Creek Press| All Romance| BookStrand| Goodreads

Kai StrandAbout the Author:

When her children were young and the electricity winked out, Kai Strand gathered her family around the fireplace and they told stories, one sentence at a time. Her boys were rather fond of the ending, “And then everybody died. The end.” Now an award winning children’s author, Kai crafts fiction for kids and teens to provide an escape hatch from their reality. With a selection of novels for young adult and middle grade readers and a short story blog, Lightning Quick Reads, Kai entertains children of all ages, and their adults. Learn more about Kai and her books on her website, www.kaistrand.com.

Mailing ListFacebookTwitterInstagram|

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