Virtual Book Tour: Silver to the Heart (Light of Adua, Book 1) by Brien Feathers

 Good morning everyone! Please welcome author Brien Feathers to Full Moon Dreaming! She is here to tell us about her book, Silver to the Heart, which is the first book in the Light of Adua series. She will be awarding a $30 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn commenter via Rafflecopter during the tour. The more you comment, the better your chances of winning. To find the other stops on her tour, go here. Don't forget to look for the Rafflecopter at the end of this post!

 

Silver to the Heart

by Brien Feathers

 

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GENRE: Dark fantasy, urban fantasy (adult, not YA)

 

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BLURB:

 

— So begins the apocalypse, with death and a story of love —

 

An old soul (several centuries old), the lover, fighter, and telekinetic Drake receives an order to safeguard Ana, a mortal with Elder Talent.

Ana, an artist beset by haunting visions, falls for the perfect stranger while venturing home to mediate emergent family chaos.

Past-warlord and present commander Sasuke wields his telepathic might to outwit Council traitors in an effort to save the human realm and its Guardian from a new Dark War.

Criminal and light bender Lou, now sought by the Council to answer for his sins, seeks shelter with the Reverend—an Elder fit to bypass rules of magic meant to be unbreakable.

As time’s last grains of sand deplete, an ancient battle may renew, with pieces of the fractured realm imperiling man’s modern world. Though few on Earth are cognizant, dark days now lie ahead. . .

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One fate, two paths, six singular perspectives, and plethoric danger. 

Contemporary fantasy at its polychromic finest—pure delight.

 

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NOTE: This book is free.

 

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EXCERPT:

 

Drake held her around her waist with one arm. He needed at least one hand free. Seeing the harbor maybe 100 yards away, he landed them on the roof of a nearby building. With his Push, he broke their fall with a moment of levitation—Ana shrieked.

 

“Ana, you have to stay quiet, I have to be able to hear the arrows.” Preferably when he first releases one, so I can find him.

 

“What the hell is happening!” Not quiet, but loud. “Drake!” Still loud.

 

Drake couldn’t hear the Aerian or the arrows—they needed to take cover. As he leaped again with Ana, something grabbed his leg and swiped them into the side of a building. Midair, he turned to put himself in between the building and Ana and felt the impact as they slammed into it.

 

Pushing against the wall, he leaped with Ana as more arrows whizzed toward them. One, two, three arrows, one after another, struck the cement wall instead of them and fell to the ground harmlessly. They couldn’t kill Drake this way, but he didn’t want Ana hurt. He needed to take down that Aerian, but couldn’t leave Ana behind. In his decision to break direct order not to engage, he hadn’t accounted for Ana. Drake still wanted to capture one of the soldiers—alive, to inquire about the Reverend, but carrying Ana around like screaming luggage, this fight wasn’t going the way he wanted. 

 

 

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 

Brien Feathers is a fantasy author living in the land of permanent frost, horses, and Mongols. She likes reading, writing (of course), riding (horses and husbands), drinking dark beer, and checking things off a to-do list.

 

Although she claims to love everyone equally, she really loves her youngest son the most. He has autism superpowers that allow him to speak all types of rare languages including drumbeats, elevator dings, and police sirens.

 

Miss Feathers loves grey days, orange cats, and all creatures human or otherwise. And she hopes you will love her world (fantasy) and people (characters) as well. 

 

Links

https://brienfeathers.com/

https://www.facebook.com/Brienfantasy/

https://www.instagram.com/brien_feathers/

https://www.tiktok.com/@brienfeathers

 

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The Interview 

1) You’re marooned on a small island with one person and one item of your choice—who is that person and what item do you have?

I’ve brought a satellite phone and someone highly important or filthy rich— someone likely to get rescued. Because I’m not staying on an island where there is no internet or cats. If I could bring a fictional character, I’d bring Giselle from my book. She teleports and can carry others with her.

2) Which musical would you say best exemplifies your life – and which character in that musical are you?

Chicago, the 2002 film; I’ve never the seen the play. In the musical, I’d like to think of myself as Velma Kelly (Catherine Zeta-Jones’s character) but in reality, I’m probably Amos Hart, Roxie’s husband, the one who has the sad Mister Cellophane song.

3) What is your idea of how to spend romantic time with your significant other?

My husband is a director (in Mongolia, I’m Mongolian) and when we get the chance for a breather, we like to watch films together. I’ll watch anything except for Rom-Coms, but my husband particularly likes Korean gangster films and old Russian World War II movies— so we watch that, and drink beer. That’s our romance.

4) If they were to make the story of your life into a movie, who should play you?

That should never be a film, not whilst my parents are alive. But should there be one, I want it to be an anime, and I want myself drawn with orange hair. I love redheads, but the copper color doesn’t suit my complexion. I’ll also be drawn with longer legs, superpowers, and a vampire boyfriend… I’m sorry, what was the question again?

5) Who’s your favorite horror villain and why?

The queen alien from Aliens (1986). Because Ripley is one of my absolute favorite protagonists of all time, her villain is equally phenomenal as well. Strong protagonists need greater villains. Freddy Krueger also gets an honorable mention because he’s funny— I think he’s hilarious. I realize those are both films, but I don’t read horror books, so I don’t know any literary villains (that aren’t made into movies). Stephen King’s ‘Dark Tower’ series was as close to horror as I’ve ever gotten, but that’s dark fantasy, not truly horror.

Although my own series, Light of Adua, is listed as ‘dark fantasy/horror’, there is no horror— just dark fantasy set in modern-day New Orleans. If you’d like to give it a chance, ‘Silver to the Heart’, Book 1 is perma-free across all retailers. But even without the horror, there is a reader warning for mature content.

Anywho, thank you so much for having me here and letting me answer fun questions.

   

My Review of Silverr to the Heart

Let me start out by saying that I absolutely loved this book to pieces!

In Silver to the Heart, Brien Feathers has taken what we know about the supernatural and recreated it in a most fascinating way. Her characters are not stereotypical by any means. The villains aren’t always stupid, and the heroes have their own bad moments. There is an origin story that will blow your mind, and a very sexy vampire named Drake who is to die for. Luckily, this is just the first book and I want to know more about this world she has drawn. Five stars, without a doubt.

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Virtual Book Tour: Night to Dawn 39 by Barbara Custer

 Good morning! Please welcome author Barbara Custer to Full Moon Dreaming! She is here to tell us about her new release, Night to Dawn 39. Barbara will be awarding a $10 Amazon/BN GC to one randomly drawn commenter via Rafflecopter during the tour. The more you comment, the better your chances of winning. To find the other stops on her tour, go here. Don't forget to look for the Rafflecopter at the end of this post!

 

Night to Dawn 39

by Barbara Custer

 

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GENRE: Dark Fantasy

 

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BLURB:

 

The apocalypse of the movie screen and the printed page has become a reality. A microbe threatens humanity, making Corona seem like the common cold. Innocents die to appease young and hungry gods. A doctor feeds the souls of his patients to a demon. Featuring Marge Simon, Lee Clark Zumpe, Margaret L. Carter, Rod Marsden, Matthew Wilson, and other authors.

 

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EXCERPT:

 

 

 Matthew Wilson’s “I am No Witch”

 

I wasn't blessed with my own kids, and given the hate this town shines on me, maybe that is best, for the humiliation is terrible. I wouldn't wish old age on anyone. My house is made of brick, not candy, and I cannot help the hideousness of my face.

 

My neighbors whisper stories of my dear, dead Harry to their children. They laugh and sing about how he went mad, tried to kill me, and burnt my face. I stopped trying to cover it with makeup long ago, but my scars only add fuel to this witch nonsense.

 

Only evil things burn.

 

I like to eat in but must order out as supposed normals do. The minimum traffic of food deliveries at my door raises the children’s certainty that my oven is filled with their cooked brothers and sisters.

 

I have received no Hansel and Gretel here. Only hate.

 

Now I hate Halloween. Despite their fear of me, I still phone the children’s parents from time to time, seeking unity and to be invited into their homes.

 

Without their rare good manners, I would starve. My talons would rust and my teeth would fall out.

 

Only at the end do the few realize what I actually am.

 

And it is certainly no witch.

 

The End

 

 

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 

Barbara lives near Phila., PA, retired from her job as a respiratory therapist. Nowadays, she chases Mylar balloons at the supermarket, enjoys a fright flick, or works on horror and science fiction tales. Many of her short stories have appeared in numerous small press magazines. She’s been editor of Night to Dawn Magazine since 2004.

Books by Barbara include When Blood Reigns, Twilight Healer, The Forgotten People, Steel Rose, City of Brotherly Death, Close Liaisons, and Life Raft: Earth. She enjoys bringing her medical background to the printed page and then blending it with supernatural horror. She maintains a presence on Facebook,  Twitter, and The Writers Coffeehouse forum. Look for the photos with the Mylar balloons, and you’ll find Barbara.

 

Website: www.bloodredshadow.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/barbara.custer

Twitter: https://twitter.com/NighttoDawn1

 

Amazon Buy Link: - https://www.amazon.com/Night-Dawn-39-Barbara-Custer/dp/1937769674/ref=sr_1_1

 

BN Buy Link: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/night-to-dawn-39-barbara-custer/1138692108

 

Doylestown Bookshop: https://www.doylestownbookshop.com/book/9781937769673

 

 

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Book Review: The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle

 

The Ballad of Black Tom     

Author: Victor LaValle

Publisher: Tordotcom

American release date: February 16, 2016

Format/Genre/Length: Paperback/dark fantasy/160 pages

Overall Personal Rating: ★★★★★

 

Tommy Tester is a dutiful son. He works hard to take care of his dying father, to provide them both with a place to live, food to eat… just the basics. But life is hard in Jazz Age New York, especially for a black man. There are places where he isn’t meant to go, things he can’t do. People who look down on him because of the color of his skin. But with survival the name of the game, sometimes you do things that are necessary. Even if they’re a little dark.

Take for instance the book that Tommy delivers to the white lady in Queens. He’s not stupid. He knows what kind of book that is, and what she is, and what someone like her will use it for. But that’s okay, he’s fixed it so she won’t be able to, and he’ll still get paid.

And then a strange white man calling himself Robert Suydam offers Tommy $500 to play at his home. Now Tommy plays the guitar, and  hesings, but he knows he isn’t all that, not like his dad, so what’s up with this offer? Still, that’s a whole lot of money, and he and his dad can live comfortably for a long time. His decision is a no-brainer. So he agrees to play, and receives $100 as a down payment.

Suddenly, he’s on someone’s radar—a cop and a private detective, who shake him down and want to know what his business is with Robert Suydam. He tells them what he knows, which isn’t much, and they take his money. Okay, now he’ll still get $400, and that is worth it. He spends a few days practicing his limited repertoire, and his dad teaches him a new song. And then the night comes and he goes to the mansion and plays…

This story is engaging from beginning to end, as you tear through it, trying to figure out what’s going to happen, and what’s going on. It’s told from two different perspectives, between Tommy Tester and Malone, the private detective. Nothing is what it seems, and I certainly didn’t see the ending coming. This is an old school horror story, harking back to writers such as HP Lovecraft.

Well-written and well-told, I truly enjoyed reading this book and would recommend it to those who like to read horror stories, especially if you like HP Lovecraft.

Virtual Book Tour: Calling the Reaper

Please welcome author Jason Pere, here to discuss his newest release, Calling the Reaper. Jason will be awarding 1 print copy of Calling the Reaper (international) or 2 eBooks (one of Calling the Reaper and the second winner's choice) to a randomly drawn commenter via Rafflecopter. The more you comment, the better your chances of winning. To find the other stops on the tour, go here. Don't forget to look for the Rafflecopter at the end of this post.

Calling the Reaper

by Jason Pere

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GENRE: Dark Fantasy

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BLURB:

The time of the Unity has ended. Now, the realm of man is stranded between Paradise and Purgatory. The Valkyrie and Reaper battle over the fate of all who pass from the land of the living and into the afterlife.

Eight mortal spirits from vastly different worlds tread the same, inevitable path toward their last, crucial decision. Within them all exists the defining conflict every man must face—to look upon the end of their life with glory and honor, or to give credence to their baser longings, calling the Reaper to their own demise.

In this rich, harrowing tale of pride, deceit, honor, vengeance, and redemption, each individual must battle their inner turmoil, facing the sacrifices they have made before their unavoidable end in the land of the living.

But their last day in life is also their first day of death amidst the terrors of the underworld. Lord Master Death wants them all…and the real battle has only just begun.

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EXCERPT:

It was said he could not be defeated. It was said he had slain over ten thousand warriors. It was said he had lived for nine hundred years and would live for nine hundred more. It was said that his father was the strike of lightning and his mother the winter’s frost, that he traded his spirit to a demon for the strength of twenty men. It was said his blades were forged from the teeth of dragons and his armor fashioned from the bones of giants.

No one knew how much was myth and how much truth save for this: he was the Fist of the Shogunate, the finest of warriors and the most brutal of killers. His thirst for blood and glory was unquenchable. His name was Kenji Rei.

In the final days of autumn, the air was filled with the crisp bite of the coming winter. The Emperor’s court found itself covered in the shadow of falling leaves and petals as the morning wind stripped the trees bare. Two men stood before an audience of some of the most prestigious men in the empire, including the Emperor himself.

The first man was a formidable bladesman of impressive lineage. Hoshi Okami was regarded far and wide as the pride of the Kobiko Dojo, the oldest and most exclusive school in all the empire. It admitted no more than four new students a year. Those Kobiko students were all remarkably gifted and skilled warriors in their own right, and they required not only one but two letters of recommendation from the most venerable Senseis in the empire before they could even petition for admittance.

Above any living practitioner, and arguably any practitioner of the Kobiko art who had ever lived, Hoshi Okami stood a paragon of the way of the warrior. To date, he had never declined a challenge and had fought precisely two hundred and eleven duels, winning each and every one of them. He was about to fight his two hundred and twelfth. Hoshi Okami currently served as the bodyguard and principle advisor to General Aiko Mastay. Okami’s opponent, and the second man before the gathered audience, was Kenji Rei, personal champion of the Shogun and Fist of the Shogunate.

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Jason Pere is a born-and-raised New Englander. He always had a passion for the arts and creative storytelling. At the age of thirteen, Jason took up the craft of acting for film and theater. He pursued that interest for over a decade until refocusing his medium of expression into writing.

At first, Jason took a causal interest in writing, starting with poetry and journaling. Over time, he honed his direction and finally began writing larger works. In November of 2012, Jason self-published his first book, Modern Knighthood: Diary of a Warrior Poet.

Since then, Jason has continued writing on his own, mostly short stories and poetry. Calling the Reaper was his first experience committing to a full-length Fiction title.

In early 2015, Jason became affiliated with Collaborative Writing Challenge (CWC). Since then, he has joined many other writers on numerous collaborative projects. Jason is a regular contributor to CWC and is scheduled to have multiple pieces of his work appear in their publications throughout 2016.

You can find out more about Jason Pere’s involvement and publications in collaborative fiction at: www.collaborativewritingchallenge.com

To connect with Jason, check him out at: www.facebook.com/jason.pere.7

Jason also writes fanfiction for Team Covenant on their Blog of the Pheonixborn, dedicated to the new game by Plaid Hat Games, ‘Ashes’. Go to http://teamcovenant.com/ashesonline/ to read Jason’s flash fiction work.

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Calling-Reaper-First-Book-Purgatory/dp/0692632980/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1455543086&sr=8-1&keywords=calling+the+reaper

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