Spotlight & Giveaway: Curse of Shadows by A K Wilder

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome romance author A K Wilder to HJ!

Hi A K Wilder and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, Curse of Shadows!

 
I’m thrilled to be invited back to talk about my next release! You guys rock!
 

Please summarize the book a la Twitter style for the readers here:

Do you trust me? For fans of epic fantasy with adventure and romance, Curse of Shadows reveals a world of unique magic, breathtaking action and unforgettable love. Take my hand, and let’s go!
 

Please share the opening lines of this book:

Blood pounds in my temples. I should be used to betrayal by now, but something about having a mentor do it is particularly enraging. I almost give in to the urge and raise my phantom in a rush of seething bulk, letting him explode through the floorboards and bring down a rain of splinters and bricks. I turn to Master Brogal, the High Savant of Baiseen, not waiting for permission to speak. “My brother’s taken over the realm, our enemies could be anywhere, and you expect me…

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

• Though the Mar in this story were sparked by a John Waterhouse painting called The Siren, marine biologists now suggest a possible aquatic phase in human evolution, noting our similarities to other marine mammals.
• The fantasy land of Amassia is based on the earth’s surface 250 million years in the future when all the continents come back together as one.
• Salila’s character was never intended to fall for Marcus. She did that all on her own though I tried to stop her! I had to rewrite whole chapters while she nagged me day and night.
• The phantoms in this series are in part inspired by Oscar Wilde’s s tale “The Fisherman and his Soul.
• The idea of the second sun, herald of the next Great Dying, came from the Nemesis Hypothesis – a dwarf star thought to be a companion to our sun and tied to cycles of mass extinctions in Earth’s history.

What first attracts your main characters to each other?

Salila and Marcus are enemies to lovers – she first wants to make a meal of him; he hopes her disappearance means she’s gone for good. But of course, she isn’t…

Kaylin and Ash appear to be insta-love but beneath the surface a very different twist of fate fuels their attraction…
 

Using just 5 words, how would you describe your main characters”love affair?

Forbidden, unexpected, slow-hot-burn, and undeniable…
 

The First Kiss…

I close my eyes and softly brush her lips again. We melt into each other and time stops, a rush of energy consuming me. I give in to it, to her, letting down every guard and caution.
Our kiss is a starburst showering me in droplets of golden light. The ordinary world is gone, replaced by our own universe…

Without revealing too much, what is your favorite scene in the book?

She rushes me outside, around a corner and into a breezeway. It’s secluded, untouched by the light spilling from the hall. Before I can speak, I’m pressed up against the wall. Her body is so close I can feel the rise and fall of her chest as her mouth hovers inches from mine.
“Now, my lovely lander, son of Baiseen, raiser of the warrior De’ral.” Her hands pin my arms at my sides as her lips close over mine. “Let me show you what I’ve wanted to do since—”
She straightens abruptly and lets me go. “Oh, fish flipping sticks!”
“Pardon?” I gasp for breath.
“Drat you, Rosie Red. Can’t you follow the simplest instructions?”
“Who’s Rosie Red?” Salila speaks to no one I can see.
Then she rests her hand on my cheek so gently it hurts. “I am sorry, Marcus. Duty calls.”
“Duty?” I start to say more, but she’s gone, vanished, like a dream. “Salila?”

If your book was optioned for a movie, what scene would be absolutely crucial to include?

There is only one POV from this phantom’s perspective, but the entire story pivots on what has happened to her:

Hard walls of iron press in. Twisting. Suffocating. They pin me, crushing scales and stabbing soft underbelly skin. The red-robe’s curse took hold when I wasn’t looking. Always be looking! From now on, always be looking. If I ever escape.
His binding came at me, a thousand strands of liquid iron, splintered from a single strand of his soul. Wrapping and twisting until I couldn’t move. Unthinkable, but the High Savant thought it anyway, his fear was so great. Fear of me, Natsari.
I was ready to forgive him for the first atrocity. He will not be forgiven for the second. If I survive.
The torment consumes me and takes away my voice. Still, I try. She must hear me.
Ash, listen. I am here.
But as I speak to her, I forget myself and who I am. Only when slammed back into the torment do I realize, I am Natsari.
I draw in a breath, believing it is my last. Hoping it will be my last and end the pain, but no. That is not my path. I must breathe again, and again, bound for eternity in a shadow-cursed prison made by a foolish, misguided savant.

Readers should read this book …

…if they want to be swept up in an epic tale that will change their lives, staying with them until the next Great Dying…

What are you currently working on? What other releases do you have planned?

I’m working on another book in the Amassia series as we speak, and also a YA paranormal with a non-binary hero who exists in split dimensions. The w/t is ‘Diary of a Teenage Deathwalker.’
 
 

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: I’m giving away a copy of both books in the Amassia series, Crown of Bones and Curse of Shadows, along with a signed bookplate for each.

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: What do you prefer, dear reader? A standalone or series? I’d love to know which lights you up the most in your Fantasy reads.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 
 

Excerpt from Curse of Shadows:

It’s my pleasure to be here again! Thanks so much for having me, and I hope you enjoy this exclusive excerpt:

“He’ll be back, sooner or later.” Marcus breaks apart a steaming loaf of bread and hands half to me.
I take a delicate bite. “Whoever do you mean?”
Marcus holds out his hand, ignoring my question. “Care to dance?”
“Later, if that’s alright.”
“Then I’m going to find you a cider.” He disappears into the crowd, eager to be on a mission.
I cast my eyes downward, studying my hands. If I was hoping we’d all be discussing the mysteries that started to unfold on the Isle of Aku, bad luck. We’ve drifted a bit in opposite directions, it seems. I pick at the edge of my finger until every nerve in my body screams for me to look up. I do, and there he is.
“Kaylin!” I call to him, mind-to-mind, like I used to.
Prickles of warmth stream down my back. The entire hall swirls around me, everyone gliding to the music, all except Kaylin. He stands still, his eyes fixed on mine, lips parting as if about to speak, but I don’t hear his mental answer.
“Kaylin?” I stand.
He looks exactly as I remember him, dressed in his usual attire, drawstring pants and an open white shirt that reveals his tan chest. His curly dark hair flows around him, double-curved blades strapped to his back. He’s straight off the ship, I guess. His dark gray-green eyes are curious as he strides toward me. That incredibly confident walk.
At an arm’s length away, he dips his head. “Lass, you look stunning. I…”
His words trail off when Nun, Brogal’s ever-present assistant, steps between us. He glares at Kaylin. “What are you doing at the feast?” He sounds uncharacteristically urgent. “The High Savant is waiting for you.” Nun turns his back, expecting Kaylin to follow.
And he does, but not before his fingertips gently brush mine and he leans down to whisper “It’s here.”
Sparks zing through me at the touch.
“What’s here?” I wait for an answer, but still can’t hear his voice in my mind.
Nun turns and beckons. “You, too, Ash. Bring the others. Quickly.” With that, they both disappear out a side door.
This is not how I imagined our reunion, but I do as Nun asks.
“What’s the rush?” Belair says. He’s not happy leaving, um, I wrack my mind for the handsome fellow’s name, but I already forgot it.
“They’re over there.” I spot Kaylin’s silhouette on the lookout as we head for the Sanctuary. Nun is with him, and a few others. They are all gazing at the sky.
A weight sinks into the pit of my stomach. It’s here…
“He’s back, I see.” Marcus leans down as we approach. “We’ll have news of Tann’s whereabouts, finally.”
“I think it’s more than that.” I lead them up the steps.
“What more?” Samsen asks.
A black-robe Bone Thrower is with them as well. He gazes skyward, the glow of his phantom pulsing around him.
More gather to study the night sky. Suddenly children jump and squeal, pointing overhead. Others ooh and ahh. We make our way to Kaylin, lifting our faces to the thinning clouds. Dread washes over me as I search the stars overhead.
“There!” someone shouts.
It’s hard to see at first, what with gossamer clouds floating past, but when the large star burns through to reveal its glowing red light, I have no doubts. “Rirt’n stars and stuggs,” I whisper to myself, my body going numb.
It is here.
“A meteor!” someone calls from the crowd.
“Comet!” another counters.
Cheers go up and words like signs of fortune and good omen rise from the chatter.
My stomach sinks to my feet.
Elders shout praises and children are sent back to the feast to spread the news. Brogal’s face tightens but he doesn’t correct them. Soon the music falters and the entire hall pours out to gaze at this haunting red light in the sky, though by now clouds have covered it up again. Still, the lookout is packed tight, everyone shoulder to shoulder, trying to catch a glimpse.
I find myself pressed into Marcus’s broad back. I can smell the fine leather of his waistcoat and feel as much as hear his deep growl when everyone calls to make way for Petén and Rhiannon.
“All of you,” Master Brogal says, taking in our small group. “My chambers. Now.”
We squeeze past the crowd, who continue with their oohs and aahs. But my mentor’s face goes gray. Because he knows different. We all do.
The red star twinkling in the sky is not an omen of joy and prosperity. It’s the second sun, herald of the next Great Dying.
And according to prophecy, it marks the beginning of the end of the world.

Excerpts. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

For fans of epic fantasy with adventure and romance, Curse of Shadows reveals a world of unique magic, breathtaking action and unforgettable love.

Amassia teeters on the brink of the next Great Dying.

The second sun has returned as our Bone Throwers foresaw–casting the nine realms into war.
My name is Ash, and I fell in the battle for Baiseen. But I’m awake now, slowly putting the pieces back together.

My Heir has lost his throne

My sailor is gone.

And there is an emptiness inside me I can’t explain.

Amid the chaos, someone must collect the original twelve whistle bones from all corners of the world. Marcus is named to lead the cause, but with his volatile phantom, he’ll need diplomacy as much as his sword. And we are not the only ones to seek the bones.

Yet succeed we must.

Because if we don’t, it will be death to all…
Book Links: Amazon | B&N | iTunes | Goodreads |
 
 

Meet the Author:

A.K. Wilder, aka Kim Falconer, is a bestselling speculative fiction author. Originally from California, she lives on the far eastern coast of Australia with a house full of kids and two extraordinary spotted cats. Her favorite pastimes, besides writing, include meditation, yin yoga, organic gardening, and throwing the bones. Her novel writing is done in the early hours of the morning, before the dragons wake.
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