Spotlight & Giveaway: The Rogue King by Abigail Owen

Posted August 2nd, 2019 by in Blog, Spotlight / 63 comments

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Abigail Owen to HJ!
Spotlight&Giveaway

Hi Abigail and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, The Rogue King (Inferno Rising #1)!

 
Dear Awesome Reader! If you’re like me, paranormal romance is your escape. I hope you escape into my latest and find a world you want to return to often!
 

Please summarize the book for the readers here:

The Rogue King is a crossover from my Fire’s Edge dragon shifters . While Fire’s Edge features the Enforcers in the American colonies, the Inferno Rising series features the Kings and Clans, and something special they’ve been waiting centuries to find. Which is why King Ladon sends his personal mercenary, Brand Astarot, to find her–a prize all dragon shifters seek. Kasia, however, has other plans. Plans which involve staying as far away from dragon shifters as possible.
 

Please share your favorite line(s) or quote from this book:

“You want another go, you oversized flying iguana?” she shouted, and bore down on him.

“Don’t give your trust too easily in this world. More often than not, people like me are out to harm you or use you.”
“Aren’t you trying to stop me from running away?” she pointed out. “You might want to work on your sales pitch.”

“Is there a specific something you’re concerned about finding us?” she prodded when he went to the window and cracked the curtain to stare out into the night for the sixth time.
He kept his focus outward. “Not specific, no.”
“Just any garden variety monster?”
That caught his attention, and he glanced at where she sat. “We’re not monsters, Kasia.”
She snorted inelegantly. “Wrong. I grew up on terrifying stories of what hunted me.”

Finally satisfied that they were alone, Brand turned to find an off-color and shaking Kasia staring into the woods after the wolves, gun lowered, but gripped in white hands. He tamped down on the rumble of concern trying to escape up his throat.
Ignoring the shafts of pain in his leg, he approached her slowly, like he would a wild animal, not wanting to spook her. “All right?”
Thankfully, she gave him a wan smile. “Now is probably a good time to tell you I’m a piss-poor shot.”
“He was fifteen feet away. I think you could’ve hit him.”

 

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

  • This book was originally meant to be a novella in a different series, but as I got into it, I know this world needed many more pages and it’s own series to have time to fully explore it.
  • While this is a crossover series, I wrote this book first, and started the spin off series once it was finished. Which means I’m writing the two series in a sort of odd backwards order. But what that let’s me do is make sure all the threads tie together beautifully, because I know exactly what’s coming next!

 

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

Kasia is a take no guff kind of girl, able to stand up for herself. Brand learns this when, not long after meeting him, she manages to run away without him realizing, and steals his car in the process, though she doesn’t know it’s his. As a man who has had to survive on his own almost all his life on skill and guts, he appreciates that about her. But what really draws him is that she trusts him, even when she shouldn’t. No one has ever done that for him.

 

Did any scene have you blushing, crying or laughing while writing it? And Why?

Oh, gosh so many with this book for all three of those… Most of Kasia and Brand’s interactions were fun to write because they’re both sarcastic and don’t hold back. Though Brand is prone to grunting his answers more than using words. But I think I’ll go with blushing. Kasia’s power manifests with migraines and explosions of flame and she can’t control it, until they both realize Brand’s touch helps. Given that he’s bringing her to his king as a prize, what this intimacy leads to between them…. Oh my.

She took a breath to deliver another set of home truths and gasped.
With no warning, pain started at the back of her neck and rushed down her spine arrowing out to the rest of her. Dammit.
But I can still see. What the hell?
“You’re right,” Asher said.
That caught her attention. “I am?”
“Yes—”
Before he could go on, another slash of shuddering agony poured through her. Kasia bit down on her lip so hard, attempting to hold in a moan, that she drew blood. She put her hands on her knees, bent over and breathing in and out as the sensations lanced through her.
“Kas? You okay?” She registered Arden’s concern, but didn’t answer.
As the moment ebbed, she raised her head, seeking the one person who knew what was coming. Brand no longer stood among the men with his arms crossed. Tightening at the corner of his mouth was the only indication that he might have felt the pain, too. He watched her with the same intentness he’d shown when they’d made love.
As if in direct response to that hot gaze, a burst of pure need washed through her, swamping the pain, swirling with it inside her. At the same time, everything went dark, leaving her vulnerable in a room full of dragon shifters.
“Brand,” she whispered. Then with a groan she couldn’t keep contained, Kasia fell to her knees.
She was vaguely aware of Arden’s urgent voice calling her name before strong arms wrapped around her middle, pulling her against a hard chest.
“Breathe, princess. I’ve got you.” The words, murmured against her ear, had her shivering, and the painful edge eased.
Brand wrapped his wings around them, accompanied by that feeling of being folded into a world of their own making. Ostensibly, he’d done it to contain her explosion, but maybe also to hide the fact he had to touch the king’s future mate from the prying eyes of Ladon’s warriors.
Brand kissed her neck, and that simple touch set her off. She opened her mouth, but before a sound passed her lips, fire erupted from inside her and shattered outward. Kasia’s head slammed back against Brand’s shoulder, and a scream followed the flames out of her throat.

 

Readers should read this book….

Because it contains brooding dragon shifters, rogue mercenaries, a woman who keeps going up in flame, hellhound pets, a pack of wolf shifters, a rotting king, traitors, demons, a supernatural motorcycle bar, and a lot of power coming after one phoenix! But what if she’s not the only one?

 

What are you currently working on? What other releases do you have in the works?

I’m currently working on book #3 in the Inferno Rising series. I’m in the process of wrapping up edits on Inferno Rising book #2 as well as book #3 in the crossover Fire’s Edge series.

Coming up…
The Rogue King (Inferno Rising #1) | July 30
Claiming the Cowboy for Chrismtas (as Kadie Scott) | Oct 15
Christmas After Dark (A Multi-Author Anthology) | Nov 15-Jan 15
The Enforcer (Fire’s Edge #3) | Dec 9
Landing the Lawyer (as Kadie Scott) | Jan 2020
The Blood King (Inferno Rising #2) | 2020 Date Pending.
 

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

 

Giveaway: $15 Amazon gift card (international)
2 signed print copies of The Rogue King (US only)

 

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: What would it take for you to trust a total stranger?

 
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Excerpt from The Rogue King (Inferno Rising #1):

They shared a long look, one filled with unspoken things, things he wasn’t even sure she was communicating to him, or he to her. Things that tightened his body and made him ache in an unfulfilled kind of way.
Time to put some distance between them. Metaphorically speaking. He got up and offered her a hand. “We should get back to the car.”
The second they walked out the door, Brand froze. “Kasia,” he said slowly. “Can you light on fire without the pain?”
She turned her face up to him, frowning, but he ignored her, his senses tuned to the area around them.
“Can you?” he prodded when she didn’t answer.
“Yes.”
He nodded. “When I tell you to run, head straight down the beach.”
“Shit,” she muttered. But that was it. That fast, she was ready to go.
“And if something gets to you before I do,” he said. “Light the bastard up.”
“Run.”
The word punched from him. Even through his tension, a spurt of pride filled Brand at how she didn’t hesitate. Just took off down the stairs and over the path to the beach.
As she ran, Brand worked into his shift. He couldn’t take on vampires in his human form—they were stronger, faster…and headed his and Kasia’s way. He needed the dragon. Luckily, the closest vamp to him was far enough away to give him time.
Damn that fucking doctor in the States. She’d screwed Kasia with her big, fat mouth. He’d go back and snap her neck when this was over.
As his form realigned, even as his perspective blurred and changed, he kept his gaze trained on Kasia’s form as she got smaller and smaller.
Damn, she was fast.
At first, nothing followed her, but they were out there. The coppery scent of blood in the air had been a dead giveaway. It followed those creatures wherever they went.
Sure enough, a dark figure wearing a duster, of all things, and running faster than human speeds, sprinted out of the dunes. Where was the other one, though? There were definitely two.
Adrenaline pumping as the vampire closed in on his phoenix, Brand urged his shift to move faster. The second his wings formed, Brand took to the skies.
Except another figure jumped from the roof and managed to catch him by the leg, dragging him back down. Brand’s heavy bulk hit the ground, spraying up sand. He turned and snapped at the vamp, but missed, because the fuckers were fast.
Kasia’s scream pierced the air. The other vampire must’ve reached her.
Brand lost it.
With a roar, he stoked the fire and aimed it at the creature keeping him occupied. While they weren’t affected by sun—unless you counted how shitty their pale skin looked in the daylight—fire was one of the few things that could kill them.
Every blast of flame missed. The cottage, all weathered wood, caught a direct hit, though, and went up in a fireball.
Fuck. That’d bring humans down on his ass in a hurry.
He wasn’t going to catch the vamp this way. Instead, he took off again, but this time turning his body in a circle while blowing a torrent of fire, so his opponent couldn’t yank him back down. As soon as he gained enough altitude that he couldn’t be reached, he took off after the vampire that had Kasia pinned to the ground.
The asshole had its fangs in her wrist, not budging as she thrashed and beat against it.
No. Brand blasted a roar of challenge, but it didn’t let up. A flash of movement directly below him caught his attention. As he expected, the second vampire was racing down the beach to help his compatriot.
A piercing wail rent the air. The vampire that had Kasia went up in flames, his long coat catching. Good girl. The thing flew back from her, writhing on the ground in agony as it perished.
The second vampire also let out a scream, increasing his speed to get to his partner. Brand took advantage of his distraction and dove.
The vamp looked up just as Brand’s shadow alerted him, but it was too late. Brand caught him up in his talons and pushed back into the air. Using the razor-sharp edges designed to pierce through diamond-hard dragon scales, he ripped the fucker in two. That copper scent filled his nostrils, but he dropped the halves, flinging fire after them. No need to leave evidence for the humans to find.
Immediate danger handled, Brand deliberately landed a half mile away from where Kasia stood on the beach. He need to get control first. As soon as he hit sand, he tried to shift, but the dragon side didn’t want to let go. Not yet.
The stench of death and the need to protect the woman still on the beach were too much. Brand had to force himself into human. He needed to be able to check on Kasia, and as a dragon that wouldn’t work.
Finally, he managed to calm enough to regain control, then he sprinted over the dunes to find Kasia waiting, watching in the direction he came from, cradling her wrist.
Only instead of gratitude, as he ran up to her, she shoved him in the chest with shaking hands. “You used me as bait, asshole.”

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 

Book Info:

Kasia Amon is a master at hiding. Who—and what—she is makes her a mark for the entire supernatural world. Especially dragon shifters. To them, she’s treasure to be taken and claimed. A golden ticket to their highest throne. But she can’t stop bursting into flames, and there’s a sexy dragon shifter in town hunting for her…

As a rogue dragon, Brand Astarot has spent his life in the dark, shunned by his own kind, concealing his true identity. Only his dangerous reputation ensures his survival. Delivering a phoenix to the feared Blood King will bring him one step closer to the revenge he’s waited centuries to take. No way is he letting the feisty beauty get away.

But when Kasia sparks a white-hot need in him that’s impossible to ignore, Brand begins to form a new plan: claim her for himself…and take back his birthright.
Book Links:  Amazon | B&N | iTunes | kobo | Google |
 
 

Meet the Author:

Multi-award-winning paranormal romance author, Abigail Owen, loves plots that move hot and fast, feisty heroines with sass, alpha heroes with heart, a dash of snark, and oodles of sexy shifters! Other titles include wife, mother, Star Wars geek, ex-competitive skydiver, spreadsheet lover, Dr. Seuss quoter, eMBA, organizational guru, Texan, Aggie, and chocoholic.

Abigail grew up consuming books and exploring the world through her writing. She attempted to find a practical career related to her favorite pastime by earning a degree in English Rhetoric (Technical Writing). However, she swiftly discovered that writing without imagination is not nearly as fun as writing with it. She currently resides in Austin, Texas, with her own personal hero, her husband, and their two children, who are growing up way too fast.

Abigail also writes award-winning contemporary romance under the name Kadie Scott.
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | GoodReads |
 
 
 

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63 Responses to “Spotlight & Giveaway: The Rogue King by Abigail Owen”

  1. Lilah Chavez

    Ok for me it’s like in the Terminator… When what’s his face tells Sarah Connor certain specific things that no can really know .. Does that make sense?

  3. Amyc

    That’s a hard question! I trust easily. I guess I would have to say I would have to trust my own intuition.

  4. belindaegreen

    Trust is earned over time. It’s not something I give easily.

  6. Natalija

    I’d probably have to get to know him before I could trust 🙂

    *International entry

  7. John Smith

    “What would it take for you to trust a total stranger?” A loss of all reason.

  8. Jennifer Shiflett

    I don’t trust most of the people that I know, so that’s hard to answer. It would take a lot.

  11. Onyinye Elochukwu

    I’ll have to know them more before I can trust them. I can never trust a total stranger.

  12. Karina Angeles

    An act of kindness and if they give off “good” vibes. Sometimes people act and look “shady”-you don’t trust them.

    • Abigail Owen

      It’s so tricky right? I have a good friend who looks scary but is a big teddy bear. You have get to know him to find that out though.

  14. Latifa Morrisette

    It would have to be a combination of my gut instincts and the vibes coming off from that person.

  15. Tammy V

    Nothing really. I not a very trusting person. Maybe a little trust if they knew someone I did that I was close to.

  16. Rita Wray

    I would not trust a total stranger. There are too many weirdos around nowadays.

  17. Kim

    Oh. That is a tough question. I think it would depend on how we met. I’m not naturally a trusting person.

  18. Courtney Kinder

    I’m a pretty trusting person. So probably not to much. Just go with my gut.

  19. Jennifer Rote

    It would take a life or death situation for me to trust a stranger. As in, I would probably die if I didn’t.

  21. Marcy Meyer

    I don’t think I could trust a total stranger, in any circumstance. My gut instinct may help me decide, but it would be hard.

  22. Nicole (Nicky) Ortiz

    I have a hard time trusting people, I don’t know what it will take.
    Thanks for the chance!

  28. Glenda M

    I honestly don’t know. It would not be easy! It would depend entirely on the situation.

  31. Jana Leah

    I don’t know that there is anything. Maybe if they saved my life?

  32. Patricia B.

    I do not trust easily. He or she would have to do something to really show who they are at their core. Even then, it would be a guarded trust.

  33. Anita H.

    It would be hard to trust a total stranger but hopefully they prove themselves to be trustworthy and I trust my “spidey senses” to help me make that choice

  34. erinf1

    a lot. I don’t trust easily, so a perfect stranger would be very hard. Thanks for sharing!

  35. Audrey Stewart

    I would not trust a total stranger. I tried it and I got burned.

  36. laurieg72

    Intuition and observing them and how they interact with people and animals.

  42. Janie McGaugh

    There are different degrees of trust, and total trust takes time to build.

  43. isisthe12th

    Good question! Maybe If mine or someone else’s life was in danger. Thank you

  44. Karen M

    I’m not a trusting person. It would take a good deal to convince me.

  47. Tracie Cooper

    I would observe their body language and actions for several months!

  48. flchen1

    Either desperate circumstances or a recommendation/someone to vouch for him/her!