Spotlight & Giveaway: Roots of Ruin by Amber Mitchell

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Amber Mitchell to HJ!

Hi Amber and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, Roots of Ruin!

 
Thank you so much for having me and thanks to everyone who is reading! This should be fun!
 

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

Rose has her army now and her emperor by her side. But will the force of his love and her fury be enough to take back her crown and elude their many enemies or will everything end in ruin?
 

Please share the opening lines of this book:

No matter how many times I run as far and as fast as I can, until my blood burns through my veins and my lungs constrict in pain, I will never grow tired of being free.

Ironically, though, today my goal is to trap another being. While I was once the prey, now I am the hunter.

The thick forest treetops rush by in a blur as I follow the pounding echo of soldiers’ boots from high above them. Raindrops leak through the leaves, soaking my robes down to my skin and hindering my view of the chaos on the ground. I chart every soldier as they hurry along, each trying to guide the pack of boars we pursue.

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

• The ending of this series has never changed for me. A lot of other things have changed, whole characters have changed, but how this series ended has always been the same.
• I wrote this book to a few songs but the one that was constantly on repeat while I was writing was Capsize by Frenship and Emily Warren (which I still don’t know most of the lyrics to since I only ever tuned in on the chorus).
• Magic systems are fun to make up but something even better is swear words.
• In this book, it seems the heroes wield magic but they are actually using (made up) science.
• The hero likes to bake and his favorite recipe, honey crisps, are real. I found a very old recipe that involves animal lard to make these sweet treats!

What first attracts your Hero to the Heroine and vice versa?

Rayce talks a lot about the things that drew him to Rose. He loves her determination, her feisty spirit and her kind, caring heart. He sees a lot of himself in her and can sense her hurting. He has a habit of wanting to fix people and she needs someone who will be patient with people.

Initially, Rose isn’t attracted to him because he is in power and she doesn’t trust men in power. However, she ends up falling for his sense of responsibility to his people, his ability to keep promises, his gentle hands and his endless kindness.
 

Using just 5 words, how would you describe Hero and Heroine’s love affair?

Gentle and exciting slow burn.
 

The First Kiss…

This is a difficult question to answer since this is the final book in the series. So let me give you something else tempting about them and that is that they can’t touch. A mishap with some of their science means that Rose’s touch turns him feral.

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

I really enjoy writing scenes that allow the love interests to get closer to each other. Banter is absolutely wonderful to write and I always look forward to it. Rayce and Rose like to bake together. It’s a pastime he has always had and she adopted. In this book, since they can’t touch, it was strange and very fun to write it a lot differently than usual and is one of my favorite (non-spoiler scenes).

I plunge my hands into a bowl of cool water at the end of the table, wiping them on my apron to dry them and then coating them with a light dusting of flour. Normally Rayce would stand right behind me, guiding my hands where they need to go. Not that I need him to teach me anymore, but I never appreciated our casual closeness until I couldn’t have it.
The phantom heat of his chest pressed against my back is enough to drive me wild. My cheeks grow hot just thinking about it.
“Distracted, Arianna?” he asks, a wicked smile playing on his lips as if he can read my thoughts. My head feels light hearing my real name come from his lips. Even though I’ve mostly shied away from using my true name, preferring to wear the one I was given in the Garden as a badge of honor, him saying it stirs something inside me.
“Just at how lumpy this batch of dough is,” I say quickly, plopping it down on the table in front of me.
“You can’t say such insulting things to the new emperor,” he says, feigning offense. “Whatever am I going to do with you?”
Normally I’d suggest he kiss me so I couldn’t talk, but that’s beyond our reach, so instead I keep my eyes down at my own station and get to work.

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

Since this is the last book in the series, there are a lot of scenes that would be huge spoilers, especially the two I can think of right off the top of my head that reveal huge twists. So instead of naming them, I’ll go ahead and give one of the most important moments that the last two books have been leading up to. The characters have been striving to take control of Rayce’s land, Delmar, and to have him become emperor. This is the scene where that dream is finally achieved and absolutely pivotal to the book.

The splendor of Rayce’s coronation takes my mind off the next morning for a few seconds at a time. Watching Rayce walk through the gigantic double doors at the end of a parade that wove through the city fills me with pride. His victory is a victory for us all. When he kneels down and accepts the tall, thin hat and decorative pin of the Delmarion emperor, taking a pledge to protect every person within in his land, my heart flutters. When he stands, my knees go weak.

Rayce knelt a Shogun, a rebel that defied his uncle and paved the way for a free Delmar, but he rose an emperor.

Readers should read this book …

If you enjoy high fantasy with a love story that threads through the entire series. Also, if you like soft boys and feisty girls, great and supportive friendships, and a healthy dose of revenge.

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

I’m currently working on two different projects at the moment.

One is a YA historical horror retelling of Peter Pan, which reimagines Wendy working as a nurse in her family’s clinic and Captain Hook as a notorious serial killer loose in London.

The other is an adult Christmas romance with a plus size heroine who has to face a painful experience of her past in order to save her father’s memory all with the help of the man that betrayed her.

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

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Excerpt from Roots of Ruin:

This is one of my favorite scenes to share because it’s action packed and desperate. Rayce and Rose are being pursued by soldiers on a mission into the Varshan palace and need a way to escape.

We slow down as we reach the dead end, exhaustion threatening to tug my entire body to the ground. I look around the corner and catch sight of twelve more soldiers thundering toward us. We’re trapped here with no help from the rebellion coming.
“What are we going to do?” I shout.
“You’re going to hold on,” he says, pulling my back against his chest.
He wraps his arms around me tightly while my mind scrambles to figure out how we can defeat all of these soldiers while I’m weaponless. Then I look down beyond the delicate stone railing to the oasis several stories below. Even in the dark, the tops of the leafy palm trees shine a deep emerald and patches of desert rose gleam along the tan stone walkways all around. We’re right in front of the long stretch of navy water that reflects the stars back into the sky. Beyond it, the whole of Varsha spreads out before us, glowing blue in the night in a nonsensical pattern.
Rayce moves us closer to the edge. A chill comes over me when I realize why.
There’s no way to go but down into the garden fountain.
“You can’t possibly be considering—”
Rayce grunts in acknowledgement, tipping forward as a bolas wraps around both of our legs. Pain shoots through my ankles as the heavy metal ball collides with my bone, but I’m too preoccupied with Rayce spinning us around so that I’m facing the pursuing soldiers. The closest one is only twenty feet off, his pointed sword gleaming as he runs for me.
“I can’t swim!” I yell.
“I know,” he whispers, his lips brushing against my earlobe. “I won’t let you go.”
The cool wind from up this high sings against my skin but his chest feels solid pressed against my back.
I shake my head, feeling my heart about to burst from my chest. “But what if you can’t help and—”
“Arianna,” he says, tipping my chin up to look in my eyes. “I won’t let you go. Trust me?”
The sharp point of the blade is fifteen feet away. Then ten.
I turn to glance up at him, into his dark eyes that have never stopped captivating me. “Always.”
Rayce dips backward before my brain can catch up, and then we’re both falling through the air. He grasps me tight as if I’m the most precious thing in the world, and he’s positioned himself so he’ll take the brunt of the fall. Normally, my stomach would flutter with the familiar greeting of the wind, but I can’t find any comfort now, knowing water waits to break our fall.
For the first time in a long time, I feel a very real fear of heights even tucked within the safety of Rayce’s arms.
I manage a huge gulp of cold air, then the water embraces me and my world goes silent.

Excerpts. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

They did the impossible, but their problems are far from over…

After freeing the Delmarion empire, Rose and Rayce must go to Varsha, the desert home Rose fled when she was a child—the country she’s meant to rule.

Rayce is the new emperor of Delmar, Varsha’s longtime enemy, but that won’t stop him from assisting the girl he loves. Armed with the brute force of Rayce’s military, Rose sets out to free her people from the oppressive rule of the usurper king who killed her father.

But even if they win, how can she be queen to her homeland and in love with the man ruling its bitter enemy? With her loyalties split between heart and crown, Rose must find a way to do the impossible again…unite two kingdoms at war, or sacrifice half of herself to save the other.
Book Links: Amazon | B&N | iTunes | Goodreads |
 
 

Meet the Author:

Amber Mitchell graduated from the University of South Florida with a BA in Creative Writing. She likes traveling to new places, reading, D&D, history, good puns and great food.

When she isn’t putting words on paper, she is obsessing over the newest fandom in her life or exploring new places with her husband Brian. They live a small town in Florida with their young son and three cats, where they are plotting their next great adventure.
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