Hey all! Today is a special guest post by fellow author, Angela Hartley. Please join me in congratulating her on the release of her debut novel! 

“Love” is a powerful, and confusing word. Novels romanticize it, songs over-dramatize it, the scorned ostracize it, swindlers exorcise it, and very few prioritize it. Different views on being loved, or loving varies just as much as the personalities of the people who are experiencing the emotion. As a writer, I’ve been a constant observer of the human condition. Throughout my years, I’ve noticed two trends are fairly universal when one develops strong feelings.

For some, love comes easily, like a brilliant lightning bolt, fast and furious, but it can be just as fleeting. Others are more like candles dipped in water. The flame is slow to ignite, but it burns steady and true forever.

My opinion is lightning bolts fall in love with the idea of being in love. They’re hopeless romantics who fall in love at first sight. It truly is a beautiful thought. The stuff great poets composed sonnets about, but the bards of the past failed to share how temporary this condition can be. Without a strong basis of compatibility, the fantasy evaporates just as quickly as a thin fog.

Candles are realists. They approach love cautiously, like a cliff crumbling beneath their feet. In their minds, there is no such thing as a perfect relationship, and tend to be afraid of falling.

When these two elements come together, that is when real magic can happen. Living with someone day in and day out takes a lot of work and dedication. If you love someone enough to fall, and continue to fall, this is the true essence of real love. This concept means you never give up on the other person, even when it would be easier to quit.

In my novel, Copper Descent, I set out to forge a relationship between my two main characters, Nate and Nina, which could withstand even the devil himself. One of my favorite passages is when Nina realizes how strong unconditional love can really be:

“Is he really worth staying for, worth dying for?” Sinclair asked, perplexed over Nina’s attachment to someone he considered so insignificant. With the question, her view regarding death shifted. After her parents passed, she had thought of little else, had yearned for the sweet oblivion only leaving this plane of existence would bring. But now she understood. Ending her life was the coward’s way out. Nina wanted to do more than die for Nate, she wanted to live.

Suddenly, the girl plagued with insecurity and held captive by her eccentricity was gone. Standing taller, she accepted her legacy.

“Dying is easy. I would die for almost anyone. This isn’t what you really want to know. You of all angels should be posing the right question, Lucifer,” Nina said, accusation enunciating every word. Sinclair flinched at the mention of his true name. “What you need to ask is: ‘Would I give up my soul for him?’ and the answer is yes. Nate is my first and only love, and above all else, decent, loyal and easy to respect. My very best pieces are reflected through his eyes, and I would offer this man any part of me.”

Imagine how different our world would be if everyone loved so completely.

Angela Hartley spent much of her childhood being shuffled from house to house with only a book for companionship. The magic she found in the written word saved her in many ways, transporting her into worlds far more enjoyable than the one she resided in. Literature became a passion and the idea of writing carried her through years of uncertainty.

After high school, she met and married her own Prince Charming. They rode off into the sunset in his blue Toyota and a whole new world full of hope and happiness opened up. He claimed they could move mountains together, and they did.

While facing the painful realization that sometimes there are no tomorrows following her father’s tragic death in 2005, she decided it was time to follow her dreams. With the love and support of her family, she dove into another world, full of procreating angels and demon rock stars.

Her debut new adult horror novel, Copper Descent will be released on Amazon May 2014. Angela currently resides in Midway, Utah with her three children and husband.

www.angelahartley.blogspot.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Angela-Hartley/267442633281341

Publisher: www.foxhollowpublications.com

RJ Craddock just released book 2 in her Children of the Cain series. Get to know this author with her fun answers below!

1: Would you rather listen to the Beatles or Green Day?

Green Day! I love their drummer; he has an energy in his rhythms that over powers me.

2: How long did it take you to write your book?

The Forsaken and the Offspring were once upon a time one ridiculously big novel. At one point I released that most first novels are around 90 to 100 thousand words so I made the decision to split it into. So most of The offspring was written two years ago and I’ve taken the last year to finish the ending and polish it up for publication. So about three years.

3: Who is your favorite character in your book and why?

Morna of The Morning Dew. She is a fairy with a spunky personality and a fierce since of loyalty. I’ve always been fascinated by fairies above all the mythical creatures.

4: Do you prefer salty or sweet snacks?

Sweets. I am a chocoholic and proud of it!

5: What authors do you look up to and why?

I admire Anne Bishop for her ability to blend a dark world with enduring characters. Cassandra Clare for her ability to take real mythology and make it her own, and her talent with adding humor and interesting characters to a dark mysterious world. My other favorite authors are Robert Jordan, Charles Dickens, Charlotte Bronte, and F. Scotts Fitzgerald.

6: Which author do you think you write like the most?

I think I’m a mix between Charles Dickens and Robert Jordan. I have the Dickens themes and style with the world building and attention to details similar to Jordan.

7: What’s your favorite food?

Oh that’s a hard one. It’s a tie between chocolate and Italian food.

8: What’s your favorite movie?

Again a hard question to answer. One of my all-time favorites is Labyrinth with David Bowie and Jennifer Connelly. A fantasy classic in my book, with art direction and design by my favorite artist Brian Froud.

10: Describe your book in one sentence.

A dark coming of age story/apocalyptic tale set in an urban fantasy world with religious undertones.

11: What kind of interaction do you hope to see from your fans?

I welcome fan mail, questions, and debates on different points of the story. I can’t give away anything that might happen in future novels of coarse but I’m interested in hearing what my readers have to say.

12: Would you consider yourself an introvert or an extrovert?

I’m an Introvert all the way. Growing up I used to think of being a writer as the dream job. I thought I could live in a cabin in the woods write my masterpieces and hand them over to a publisher without ever having to interact with anyone. That’s not how it works in real life. But I’m becoming more and more comfort able sharing and discussing my work with others and am less afraid of public speaking then I was as a child.

13: If you could meet anyone in the world, alive or dead, who would it be and why?

Charlotte Bronte, and/or her sisters Elizabeth and Anne. Their work has really inspired me. They were before their time for sure, and dared to publish their work in a time when women weren’t taken seriously as authors. I’d love to pick their brains about their famous characters life Heathcliff. I’d love to show them how much the publishing world has changed for women. I’m actually working on a screenplay about their lives as sisters and fellow authors, called The Sisters Bronte.

Find out more about her works on RJ’s site.

Blood Oath: An Orc Love Story Novelette

Release date: April 3rd 2014

Blurb:
On a perilous journey to hide a sacred and powerful stone, the young orc Ripliancum comes across his betrothed, Zehra, wounded on the battlefield. After being mauled by a scavenger dragon, Zehra has only hours left to live—unless Ripliancum can get her to the sage enclave in time to counter the dragon’s venom.

Ripliancum hasn’t seen Zehra in three years. While he loves Zehra with all his heart, he knows that the war ravaging their world has changed them both. As Ripliancum races against time to save his beloved, he must wrestle with the demons of his own past and decide whether to be true to his heart or true to his oath to protect the amulet.

Author Bio:
Sarah E. Seeley is a speculative fiction writer who worked with dead sauropods and ancient odonates while acquiring her BS degree in geology from Brigham Young University. She hopes to study more dead things in the future and contribute to scientific discussions about what makes life on Earth so amazing. In the meantime, she explores the bright side of being human by writing dark fiction.

(Links) You can find Sarah on:
Blog
Facebook
Twitter
Goodreads
Amazon

Trifecta Books is proud to announce a fun YA urban fantasy by author Jaclyn Weist—The Princess and the Prom Queen.

 

Jenny’s had it with her life. Six siblings in an overstuffed house are enough to drive anyone crazy, and sometimes she dreams of escaping to some fantasy world. When she suddenly wakes up to find herself being kissed by a strange—but very handsome—prince, Jenny knows her life just got a lot more exciting. Now stuck in a medieval land of castles and royalty, when Jenny learns that the queen has agreed to marry her off to the prince, it’s time to take matters into her own hands. She goes on a quest to find out who dragged her to this time while trying to keep from falling in love with either of the boys vying for her attention.

 

Princess Genevieve has only known life under her mother’s rule. She wants to do more than go to battle or deal with suitors. She wakes to find herself in a new world filled with gadgets, electricity, and moving carriages. She finally has the freedom to be who she wants to be with a family who cares deeply for her and a boy worth any sacrifice. It’s more than everything she always wanted.

 

As Jenny and Genevieve settle into their new lives, they face an unknown evil which threatens everything they care about and makes them face tough questions—like who they are and what they really want their lives to become.

 

The Princess and the Prom Queen will be available on Kindle April 29th, 2014, with print to follow shortly. You are invited to attend the online launch party on Facebook by clicking here at 7:00 pm on that day.

Today we have the cover reveal for Trusted, by Krista Wayment! To celebrate, Krista is hosting a Rafflecopter giveaway, so be sure to click on the link below to try and win!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About the Book

 

Renick, the fifth son of a dragon breeder, crashes into an unexpected adventure that challenges everything he thought he knew about dragons, history, and himself.

Stranded in the massive Helath forest, Renick meets two other passengers: Thane, a noble training to be a dragon knight, and Lainey, the orphaned niece of a healer. Together they survive an attack by vicious wolves, rescue a baby dragon with a broken wing, and escape from a band of dragon hunters as they make a perilous climb into the mountains. What they discover there will change everything.

 

About the Author

Krista Wayment has been making up stories since she learned to talk. Writing naturally grew out of that. Krista is an avid Fantasy and Science Fiction fan, and a total nerd. She is also a software engineer and loves playing video games. Although, curling up with a good book is still one of her favorite past times.

 

 

 

 

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