Legacy of the Fallen The Fallen Mages Book 1 by Jane Shand Book Tour! @SilverDaggerBookTours #LegacyOfTheFallen ##TheFallenMages @janeshandauthor

A dangerous quest risks the return of an ancient evil. Legacy of The Fallen is a thrilling fantasy adventure for fans of Empire of Sand, The City of Brass, and This Woven Kingdom. 

Legacy of the Fallen

The Fallen Mages Book 1

by Jane Shand

Genre

 YA Epic Fantasy Adventure

A dangerous quest risks the return of an ancient evil.

Afshaneh spends her life looking over her shoulder, waiting for her grandparents to send someone to take them back. She might have grown up in luxury, but it was a prison. Now she and her mother live a simple life in the eastern slums of Mahariz. She hides her identity and her forbidden magic. But when she takes on a dangerous quest, will her secrets be revealed?

Her close band of friends know she can be reckless and impulsive, so they are not surprised when she agrees to reclaim a lost artefact for a stranger. She could not refuse; he offered enough money to keep her and her mother safe forever.

However, she soon learns that this artefact and the one who seeks it could be the most dangerous things in the land. Her quest will take her to the ominous ruins of a castle once occupied by evil mages: The Fallen. She will begin to understand their legacy and will be faced with a choice.

Should she destroy the artefact – become the heroine everyone believes she can be – and so attract the wrath of an evil mage, or should she claim the reward and risk the return of The Fallen?

Legacy of The Fallen is a thrilling fantasy adventure for fans of Empire of Sand, The City of Brass, and This Woven Kingdom. If you enjoy vivid worlds, complex characters, and tales of reluctant heroines/chosen ones then join Afshaneh on her quest and discover which choice she makes.  

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**Coming Soon in August!**

Curse of the Fallen

The Fallen Mages Book 2

PreOrder HERE!

Excerpt

However impetuous her behaviour in the past, this trip to the mage ruins was the first time she had openly defied her mother. Afshaneh’s face flushed in shame at the way she had spoken to her mother. Ignoring her warnings, her threats, and her pleas, she had grabbed food, spare clothes, and a knife, and simply set off. She had even slammed the door behind her.

Afshaneh could still recall the defiant sense of freedom that had washed through her as she marched towards the city gates. She had possessed enough common sense to purchase more supplies on the way – she had not grabbed enough from home to last her the eight day round-trip – with coin she had saved over the last few weeks. However, once she stepped through the city exit she quailed. The land was wide and she was alone. It was almost four days of travel to reach the plateau. Afshaneh’s breath hitched and her heart beat loud in her ears. What did she think she was doing? She was no explorer!

She turned back to the gate. She would return home and apologise to her mother and forget this madness.

A tug at her core had her facing north once more. She frowned as she stared into the distance. She could not see the plateau upon which the ruins sat; yet it was as if they called to her…

Without conscious effort, she found her feet moving, leading her away from Mahariz and to whatever awaited her at Yehtkala, the ‘Castle of Sorcery’.

The trip had been gruelling and if it were not for that insistent tugging at her soul, she would have turned back. At night she huddled in her blankets, eyes flying open at every tiny sound. Luckily, nothing approached her. 

Afshaneh did not let her mind linger on the hours she spent crying in the rocky maze that blocked her path after enduring more than two days of hiking. She had been certain she would die in there, lost forever. Would anyone ever find her bones? 

But at last she had reached the cliff and refilled her sadly depleted water skin. Afshaneh stared upwards. She scrubbed her face and scowled. Why did everything on this journey have to be so difficult? The path switch backed up the steep cliffside and was overgrown and covered in loose soil and pebbles. Perhaps there was another way up.

Afshaneh searched for two hours before she gave up and returned to the base of the cliff, defeated. If there was another way, she could spend days looking for it. 

Resolutely she pivoted so that her back was to the climb. She ate a meagre meal and sat with her arms tight around her knees. She could not do this. It was too much. She peered over her shoulder and let out a sighing breath. She had already come this far, she could not return to her mother now. She had caused her mother grief and she needed to have something to show for it. She firmed her lips, settled her pack more comfortably and started climbing.

Pebbles rolled out from beneath her feet, threatening to fling her to her death. Bushes snagged at her trousers and she had to carefully unhook them. They could not afford material to repair any tears. 

By the time she struggled over the top she was crying with exhaustion and rested for a while, drinking in the sight of the once majestic fortress. Now it was rubble, partial walls, and the occasional dome or tower. Whatever catastrophe had befallen this place had been thorough.

The trip through the dark interior was not something Afshaneh wished to remember, either. The only thing that kept her moving, leading her onwards, was the sensation that something important awaited her here. The pull of it had only increased as she crept through a gap in the outer wall and stared at mosaics and friezes of fearsome mages. 

It drew her down corridors and over rubble and then up a staircase she found in a corner. It led her up one of the remaining towers. The stairs wound up and up and her thigh muscles protested after her long journey. 

At last she reached a tiny landing at the top with two doors. Both stood open, listing on their rusted hinges. But she had eyes for only one. She darted through the doorway and halted, scanning the room. Mouldy carpet, faded tapestries, remains of wooden furniture. A half-collapsed bed sagged against the far wall. Something was underneath it. Before she could think about what she was doing, she had thrown down her pack and was squeezing into the gap beneath the base. There! Something gleamed iridescent in the darkness and called to her. She reached out her hand and snatched it up. A sensation akin to satisfaction washed through her and she wriggled out again. 

Ignoring the dust and cobwebs adorning her clothes and face, Afshaneh slowly opened her fist to inspect what she had discovered. In the centre of her palm lay a gem. It flashed in every colour of the rainbow, was egg shaped, and fit neatly into her hand. Afshaneh grinned gleefully. It was all hers! A precious jewel that she could sell for a fortune and she and her mother might finally be safe.

Jane Shand has always been an avid reader of fantasy and mystery and is an author of YA Fantasy.

She got hooked on fantasy after reading ‘Lord of the Rings’ at a young age and was determined to write books full of magic and adventure.

Her books always have magic, adventure, and some mystery. They are full of friendship and co-operation as well as danger and enemies. There will be a happy/satisfactory ending and some clean romance. Her books are all set in the same ‘world’ though on different continents and there is a thread/item that ties all the books together.

She lives in Hampshire, England with her family and two cheeky cats who would love to help her write.

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✨PREORDER ALERT! ✨The Beginning of Forever by Heidi McLaughlin Ready To Pre Order! #BAPpr #HeidiMcLaughlin #preorder

✨PREORDER ALERT! ✨

The story you’ve been waiting for is coming soon!

The Beginning of Forever by Heidi McLaughlin is available for preorder! 

Coming in June 2024!

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Peyton Westbury is determined to make her dreams of motherhood come true, even as she faces the physical and emotional toll of the IVF process. With hormonal ups and downs and the strain it places on her relationship with her husband Noah, Peyton must find the strength to persevere.

 

Meanwhile, Noah Westbury, a talented quarterback facing trade rumors and uncertainty about his future, grapples with the pressure of his growing family. As the offers from other teams pour in and the waiting game continues with his current team, Noah finds himself questioning his career and the impact it has on his marriage.

 

Amidst the difficulties, Peyton and Noah find solace in their close-knit family, and their unwavering support, they discover the power of love and the importance of being there for one another.

Heidi McLaughlin is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today Bestselling author of The Beaumont Series, The Boys of Summer, and The Archers.

In 2012, Heidi turned her passion for reading into a full-fledged literary career, writing over twenty novels, including the acclaimed Forever My Girl.

Heidi’s first novel, Forever My Girl, has been adapted into a motion picture with LD Entertainment and Roadside Attractions, starring Alex Roe and Jessica Rothe, and opened in theaters on January 19, 2018.

For film and TV rights inquiries: heidi@heidimclaughlin.com

Visit @heidimclaughlinauthor

An Escape Goat: A Zen Goat Mystery by Janna Rollins Virtual Book Tour!

 

An Escape Goat: A Zen Goat Mystery

Cozy Mystery

1st in Series

Setting - New Hampshire

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Level Best Books (March 12, 2024)

Print length ‏ : ‎ 265 pages

Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0CW1DMVTL

After finding long-lost family through a DNA test, Callie heads to Bobwhite Hollow, New Hampshire, to meet a great-uncle she never knew existed. Charmed by the village and more than half in love with her new family, she decides to stay and open a goat yoga studio and retreat space.

When retreat guest Angilene Claudson turns up dead with a wine glass shattered at her side and Callie’s favorite goat lapping up the spill, the death is written off as an accidental overdose. But when the goat gets sick, Callie’s gut tells her it wasn’t an accident at all. With her new business on the line and a possible murderer staying in the guesthouse, Callie sets to work to uncover the truth and keep her family safe.

About Janna Rollins

When Janna Rollins isn't writing, she likes to thumb through New England-based magazines and drool over the pictures. She has a love for red barns, goats, and genealogy. Janna can be found showing her socially awkward side on Facebook or sharing pictures of her tiny one-acre farm on Instagram.

She is a member of Sister In Crime, and also writes the Hometown Hardware Mystery series as Paula Charles. Janna lives in Southwestern Washington with her husband and a whole menagerie of furry and feathered critters.

Author Links

Website: https://www.paulacharles.com

FB:  Rainy Day Mysteries - https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61556817479811

IG: rainy_day_mysteries -  https://www.instagram.com/rainy_day_mysteries

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/209244230-an-escape-goat

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TOUR PARTICIPANTS

May 6 – Maureen's Musings – SPOTLIGHT

May 6 – Sarah Can't Stop Reading – REVIEW  

May 6 – Mystery, Thrillers, and Suspense – AUTHOR GUEST POST

May 7 – Ascroft, eh? – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

May 7 – Sneaky the Library Cat's Blog – CHARACTER INTERVIEW

May 7 – Literary Gold – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

May 8 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW

May 8 – Guatemala Paula Loves to Read – REVIEW

May 8 – Sapphyria's Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

May 9 – CelticLady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

May 9 – Hearts & Scribbles – SPOTLIGHT

May 9 – Mochas, Mysteries and Meows – CHARACTER GUEST POST

May 10 – Novels Alive – REVIEW

May 10 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT

May 10 – Reading Is My SuperPower – REVIEW

May 11 – Elizabeth McKenna - Author – SPOTLIGHT

May 11 – Carla Loves To Read – REVIEW

May 12 – Cozy Up With Kathy -REVIEW

May 12 – StoreyBook Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

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Ashes on the Wind by Brandy Purdy Book Spotlight! The Story Behind the Novel: An Interview with Brandy Purdy!

Please join me in reading an interview by author Brandy Purdy

About the Book

Nathan "Babe" Leopold was a socially awkward genius who used arrogance as a shield. He cultivated a philosophy of absolute selfishness cherry-picked from his reading of Nietzsche and indulged himself with vivid sexual fantasies about kings and slaves.

Richard "Dickie" Loeb was the brightest of the bright young things, a social butterfly as fragile as glass inside, hiding his insecurities behind a dazzling smile and a mouthful of lies. He found escape in thrilling tales and fantasies of crime.

They were two brilliant and privileged boys, each harboring secrets it would have been social suicide to reveal in their 1920s world.

When Babe met Dickie, it was like his favorite fantasy had stepped out of his dreams into real life.

When Dickie met Babe, he thought he had found the accomplice who would help make his criminal dreams come true.

Dickie was willing to give Babe what he wanted, if Babe would give him what he wanted. Quid pro quo. Until Dickie wanted something more, leaving Babe desperate and willing to do anything to hold onto his dream. Even if it led down a dark path to the Crime of the Century and infamy as the thrill killers Leopold and Loeb.

Brandy Purdy is the author of 10 novels that include The Rippers Wife, The Secrets of Lizzie Borden, and The Boleyn Wife

Now Brandy has a new book out which coincides with the anniversary of the Crime of the Century, 

 The Story Behind the Novel: An Interview With Brandy Purdy

Just in time for the 100th anniversary of the murder of Bobby Franks comes a new novel by author Brandy Purdy: Ashes on the Wind: The Love Story Behind The Crime of the Century.

This, Purdy’s 10th novel, focuses on the relationship between the killer duo of Leopold and Loeb, how it began, grew and changed over the years. Ashes can be ordered from Amazon in either paperback or ebook format here.

I was happy to talk with Purdy about her interest in the case, her research, and to dive into some details of the novel itself.

ER: Do you remember when you first heard about the case and what interested you about it?

BP: It was in A Pictorial History of American Crime by Allen Churchill. My mother used to take me to the library when I was a little girl and they kept all the coffee table size books in one area, and I found that book and I was just fascinated by it, I loved seeing all the vintage illustrations. Leopold and Loeb was one of the cases in that book that just stuck with me and that I would look for more information about throughout the years as I got older and understood better. 

It was the relationship between these two young men that always intrigued me the most as well as their psychological issues.

ER: Have you read or watched other fictional adaptations of the story before?

BP: Oh yes, I try to keep up with everything, I love seeing how different novelists and filmmakers and playwrights are inspired by the story. The movie Swoon was always my favorite, I used to want to rent it every time we went to the video store, and it was one of the first DVDs I bought. And I love listening to the soundtrack of Thrill Me.

ER: What gaps did you see in those other stories that you wanted to fill?

BP: Most books tend to focus on the crime and the trial. I wanted to focus on the relationship, how it began and developed through the years. 

And the prison years, their lives didn’t end when they went to prison just changed drastically. And it’s the one part of their story I wish we had more information about especially in regard to Richard Loeb.

ER: Can you tell me about your research process for this project?

BP: I love doing research.  Even though I write historical fiction and put my own interpretation and creative spin on things, I love having the opportunity to research and explore stories that fascinate me.  I read most of the nonfiction books that were available at the time I started writing, and I did some newspaper research, though admittedly not as much as I would have liked to, and a little archival research that I was able to do by mail or online since I can’t travel. My interviewer here, Erik Rebain was also immensely helpful to me in so many ways.

ER: Your book is a work of fiction, can you discuss the line you walked between historical accuracy and creative license?

BP: I always start with a factual framework and embroider upon that as I’m inspired to as I go along. And sometimes the decision to use creative license is a more practical one, for example I try to avoid multiple characters having the same first name, like in this novel Leopold and Loeb’s friend Dick Rubel is called Richie, and sometimes I reassign actions or dialogue if I didn’t develop the actual speaker / performer as a character, or as in the case of the trial in my novel to streamline the psychiatric testimony.

ER: Did the book surprise you at all once you started working on it?

BP: Oh yes, it definitely surprised me! I’m trying to avoid giving any spoilers here, but one character who I wasn’t even sure would be more than a brief mention, evolved in a very unique way and changed the course of the rest of the story. It completely surprised me, I didn’t see it coming till it happened. It made more work for me, but I wasn’t sorry a bit.

My characterization of Richard Loeb also surprised me a great deal throughout the novel.

ER: You include people who haven’t been represented in fiction about this case before, can you talk about widening the narrative around this story?

BP: Yes, when I write a novel, I don’t like to be cookie cutter, I like to try to give readers something different they may not have experienced before. I wanted to go wider and deeper than just the criminal activity and the trial. And it’s always important to me when

 I write a novel about a murder that the victim or victims be more than just names on the page, like when I wrote The Ripper’s Wife, it was important to me to develop each of the Jack the Ripper victims as an individual person.

 So while the relationships as depicted in my novel might be deeper or different than they were in real life, I hope I was able to give back life and personality at least in the pages of a novel so readers see a person not a corpse.

ER: Nathan Leopold is the narrator for your book. Can you describe what it was like to write from his perspective?

BP: A little intimidating at first, because of his genius, I had to make myself focus more on his emotions than on his accomplishments. If I let myself think too much about philosophy and languages I would get bogged down, a little scared and overwhelmed.

But I did become more interested in birds because of this book, I have bird feeders now and I love the cardinals that hang out around the camellia tree by my front porch, I love watching them they’re like a little soap opera. 

My Leopold is an unreliable narrator, which is my favorite kind to write, so ultimately it’s up to the readers to decide if or when to believe him.

ER: Not to give away too much, but it seems like some of the characters in your book were able to grow and change, while others got stuck repeating patterns. Can you talk a bit about that?

BP: Yes, that was one of the things that surprised me while I was writing this novel. Someone grew and revealed a greater emotional depth than I originally expected them to, while someone else got stuck, very stuck.

Sometimes bad habits or behaviors learned through childhood experiences or relationships can leave people stuck in an emotional rut, doomed to make the same mistakes, even when there’s an awareness of this and even sadness or frustration. And sometimes obsession blinds a person to everything else except the object of that obsession.

ER: The relationship between Leopold and Loeb is central to the narrative of your story, can you describe how you see this relationship and how it evolved over time?

BP: I think at first, at least on the surface, it looked like a good thing, they had enough similarities, and being in college at such a young age they were basically in the same boat, but the cracks started appearing almost at once and widening. In my novel,  Leopold sees Loeb as a fantasy come to life. But that fantasy figure and the real Richard Loeb are two very different personalities. And that’s a very big problem, and an even bigger one when Leopold just can’t let go of the fantasy.

ER: Your characters are all very distinct, did you have a favorite character you enjoyed writing dialogue for in this book?

BP: Yes, Loeb when I first read about his manner of speaking and suddenly changing subjects it reminded me of those old screwball comedies from the 1930s. So I visualized him, at least in the early years of my novel, as a sort of male version of Carole Lombard in My Man Godfrey.

There was another character I also enjoyed very much, but I’m afraid of saying too much and giving spoilers, so let me just say this person represented hope and what might have been. I know from personal experience what it feels like to live without hope, or at least to have that feeling, and I found this character very comforting, inspiring and peaceful but in a bittersweet way.

ER: Do you remember what it was that made you interested in Melvin Wolf and sparked him becoming such a central character?

BP: Of all the ABCD crimes, he stood out to my mind as the most interesting. Originally he was not intended to be a character, but it was the combination of the mystery surrounding his death, the family clothing business, his interest in charity and theater that just set the creative wheels of my mind turning. 

I still wish I knew more about him and what actually happened to him, and I became very fond of him while I was creating this character.  I unexpectedly had the chance to talk to one of his descendants, and while very little is actually known about Melvin, she told me it was a belief passed down in the family that he was gay.

She also told me there had been other gay men in the family who had been open and accepted in eras where that was generally not the case. I liked the idea of creating this mature and confident young man who was comfortable in his own skin, in being himself, and loved and supported by his family, to contrast the childishness, insecurities, and dysfunction of Leopold and Loeb, and the embarrassment and shame they felt whenever there were rumors about their relationship.

ER: What were the best and the worst things about writing this book?

BP: The best thing was definitely getting to delve so deeply into the subject. I got to explore and learn so much, not just about Leopold and Loeb, but about the times they lived in, the pop culture of the period, psychology, sexuality, just so many things. 

The worst thing was formatting the book, that was an absolute nightmare. So traumatic I’m not sure I will ever write another! 

And, on a more personal level, watching my father change and disappear into rapid onset dementia. But the hallucinations and delusions he experienced did help me create the hallucinatory scenes that Nathan Leopold experiences in my novel. Not in terms of the subject matter, my father’s were completely different, but the vividness and confusion. Ultimately, it’s up to the reader to decide what exactly Leopold’s hallucinations are, whether they are dreams, supernatural, psychiatric, or a manifestation of the conscience he rejects and claims not to have.

Fun fact, I always try to include a ghost story in each of my novels because it was a book of ghost stories that first inspired my interest in history. So to anyone who reads any of my books, happy ghost hunting!

Thank you to Ms. Purdy for talking with me about her new book!

To learn more about the book go to:

This interview was originally posted at the below site.

https://loebandleopold.wordpress.com/

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