Fantasy Chat: Magna's Plea and W4WS

 

Today's the official release date of Magna's Plea, my YA Epic Fantasy prequel short story from The Fate Challenges series.

A princess will rise and challenge Fate.

While her father, brothers, and people fight against the Kingdom of Apentha, tenacious eighteen-year-old Princess Magna can only watch the destruction of Amora, her besieged city and kingdom. Her mother, Queen Vyvian, has refused to allow her heir to join the fray.

But Magna won't take no for an answer. She seeks out an end of the war from Prince Cyrun of Apentha, their prisoner. If she can't persuade him toward peace, then Amora may fall.

This short story prequel includes a sneak peek of Reborn, Book One of The Fate Challenges, forthcoming May 2014.

YA Epic Fantasy
The Fate Challenges #0.5
A 5500-word Short Story

To download for free: Amazon / Smashwords / iTunes / Nook / Kobo / Goodreads / Wattpad

An excerpt from Magna's Plea

Amora

12-13 Days of Luquiry

Year 1717 AUC

Tendrils of smoke swirled heavenward. The smoldering stench reached Princess Magna at the top of the palace’s northern tower. She wrinkled her nose at the unpleasant odor, yet it still smelled better than the filth plaguing the besieged seven-hilled city.

She’d vowed to protect Amora. Her heart shattered a little more each day at the devastation afflicting her kingdom.

The once grassy and flower-filled plain sprouted dust plumes from the trampling feet. As the sun neared the western horizon, a bloody hue washed over the battlefield. Tiny, metallic dins and men’s shouts rang out. Magical bursts flashed in the sky like Thean’s lightning, beautiful and deadly. A wooden catapult hurled a human-sized stone slab into the city’s wall. Magna jerked away from the opened window she stood before, as if the object had struck her instead. Rock crumbled from the impact, but the barrier held.

When the reddish orb sank lower, the fighting ceased. War’s chaos parted into two orderly sides, and soldiers crossed the field to gather their dead.

She brushed a shaky hand over her cheeks. Tears dampened her face, and she struggled to turn away from the battle before her. Almost two months had passed since the Apenthans had begun their attack Amora. How much longer could the Amorans—she—stay safe behind their impenetrable wall?

A special thanks to all who've signed up to help spread the word about Magna's Plea this week.

And join me tomorrow (October 22) on Untethered Realms as I talk about what's in store for the Kingdom of Amora.

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It's time for another Writers4Writers this week, and we have Alex J. Cavanaugh and Isis Rushdan as the featured authors. Be sure to send out tweets to help these fabulous people out!

Bloody Carnival Released!

I found out today that you can now purchase Bloody Carnival at Pill Hill Press. My story "Freak Show" is in it. As a reminder, "Freak Show" has the early beginnings of the monster from Once Upon a December Nightmare. For a limited time through Halloween, Bloody Carnival will be on sale, so be sure to pick up your copy soon. Also, in late September, you can purchase it in hardback. I'm still deciding if I want to go ahead and get the paperback or splurge for the hardback. Decisions, decisions!

Here is the purchase link: http://www.pillhillpress.com/books.html.

Release Day: ONCE UPON A DECEMBER NIGHTMARE

Today is the release day for my ebook Once Upon a December Nightmare! You can now purchase your copy for $2.99 here.

Blurb:

They were only going out to dinner and a movie.

But when their plans go astray, friends Cassie, Mary, Denise, and James decide to take a detour down a lonely mountain road. A felled tree blocks their passage and forces them to turn around in a clearing containing a disturbing arrangement of four deer carcasses.

Their truck breaks down, their cell phones don't work, and they must brave the cold December air, nightfall, and a long hike. Yet this is the least of their troubles. Tension runs high between the four young friends…and they are not alone. Each step brings them closer to safety, but will they make it to the main road alive?

Excerpt:

“I think we should stay together,” Cassie spoke up. “The lights went out. The cell phones don’t work. We’re stuck in the middle of freaking nowhere. This has all the makings of a horror movie, and I know something about horror movies. You never split up.”

“I don’t want to stay here,” Mary squeaked. She trembled, looking cold and scared.

“What if someone comes up here after we leave? Then we’ll miss out on a ride back,” Denise said and wrapped an arm around her sister. “Mary, we’ll be fine if we stay here. It’s safe in the truck.” She didn’t think she could walk three or four miles to the main road. Despite being twenty-years-old, she was more than forty pounds overweight and always a little out of breath from smoking.

“No one will be coming up here.” Cassie laughed, although the sound held no mirth. “James said that the forestry service checks this road once a week. It could be several days before they check the road again. The road behind us is blocked, and very few people will come out here during the winter season, as well,” she argued. “I’m going with James. I won’t stay here.” She began to put on her gloves. It was already getting cold in the truck.

“Cassie has a point,” James admitted. “We don’t know when they’ll check the road, but we all don’t have to go.”

“Well, I’m staying here,” Denise said, crossing her arms. Cassie may be a few months older than she was, but it didn’t mean she had to listen to her, and there was no way she was going to walk out there in the dark. Besides, Cassie was being childish with that horror movie nonsense. “There could be wild animals out there and who knows what else.”