Page Turner Book Tours: Karyn Pearson's Hunters' Assessment--Guest Post

Arcturian Bloodlines

In a world once preyed upon openly by the evil known as Vampires the common folk once stood against them. Historically and in fiction the vampire would prey upon the weak. Typically, in folklore and in fiction, this is portrayed as women, children and the sick among them. A woman would rarely be seen wielding the weapon that killed the vampire. Many of the vampire novels being created today continue to maintain this theme. Thankfully, not all authors do. Karyn Pearson is one author who has crafted world of hunters, humans, and vampires where the only prey are the humans who don’t believe such dangers exist.

Arcturian Bloodlines is not your typical tale of Vampires, Hunters, and their hybrid families. In this series, starting with the introductory short story, Hunters’ Assessment, those who combat the forces trying to step out of the understood laws, include women of great skill and unique gifts. As you can witness in the new short story, each team consists of highly trained specialists in the art of Vampire Hunting. This tradition is one that has been in place for centuries. You are briefly introduced to the head of the Hunter’s Society, a woman, and mother. From there you follow a team led by her son that includes a young woman more than capable of holding her own in a fight. It is this woman who has the gift of foresight that helps her team through their training. While they are not the only women to impact this full series, they are good examples of the women you will meet as this series continues.

Hunters’ Assessment gives you the slightest hint of the incredible skill this young author possesses. The depth of this world is touched upon through the life you see in each individual character, and the strengths they have. By the final words of this incredible short story you get a feel for the world these hunters are faced with. There is no time to consider gender, social status, or age in this or any other part of Arcturian Bloodlines. That is a fact you will better understand when the first novel is released in late 2014.

About the book
Title: Hunter’s Assessment 
Series: Arcturian Bloodlines 
Author: Karyn Pearson 
Genre: Paranormal YA 
Publisher: The Writing Network 
Formats Available: Digital 
Release Date: TBA

After years of training, they should have been ready for this. It was supposed to be a simple mission: eliminate the vampires and acquire the intel they’re guarding.

Shane Kantor figured that this hunter’s assessment would be like every other test the Hunter’s Society had thrown at him and his squad. But he was wrong. Now Shane might just lose everything: his life, his legacy, and worst of all, her.


Excerpt

“Hi,” she said, extending a hand. “You’re Shane?”

“Yeah,” he nodded woodenly, swallowing a lump in his throat as he shook her hand. “So you’re Sophie. My Predictor.”


“Yep, that’s me.”

“It’s an honor to have you on my squad.”

Sophie looked shyly away from him, laughing lightly. “No,” she murmured, shaking her head. “The honor’s all mine. I didn’t know you were the Grandmaster’s son. I feel lucky to have been chosen to be part of your squad.”

“Yeah, I figure the Grandmaster wouldn’t want to leave her own kid stuck with just anybody,” Troy, the Marksman, agreed. “If it was me, I’d want to have someone like you well-protected. Wouldn’t want the Grandmaster’s son accidentally getting killed from having incompetent squad mates, now would we?”

Shane frowned. “Let me just make one thing clear, alright?”

“By all means, go ahead, oh righteous leader,” Troy drawled.

“Forget that I’m the Grandmaster’s son. I don’t want preferential treatment. I don’t want you all to look at me and see Shane Kantor, son of Nadia Kantor, the Grandmaster and leader of the Hunter’s Society. I just want you to see me as your friend, your comrade. Nothing more, nothing less. We’re all equals here. Understood?”

“Yes, I understand,” Sophie replied.

Shane looked to Troy, waiting for his answer.

The Marksman sighed, nodding reluctantly. “Alright,” he muttered, throwing his hands up in a gesture of half-surrender, half-compliance. “No favorites?”

“No favorites.” Shane confirmed.

Troy grinned. “So, Mister Not-the-Grandmaster’s-son, how good are you in a fight?”

The Dancer’s eyes lit up with amusement as he regarded his new comrade. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

Smashwords
Amazon USA
Amazon UK

About the author
Karyn Pearson is the author of Spark (Hellfire Trilogy #1) and full-time pet parent of her two dogs Nikki and Jamie. She has a B.A. in Anthropology and has explored dozens of cultures in her studies, but has imagined countless more. Karyn enjoys reading, playing action RPGs, and plotting the next adventure for her characters when she has a spare moment free of the dreaded and undefeated “puppy dog eyes attack.”

Her current projects include Inferno (Hellfire Trilogy #2) and the first novel of the upcoming vampire series, Arcturian Bloodlines. When she’s not writing, Karyn can be found playing with her puppies or Googling various dangerous topics for novel research that make her constantly question why federal agents haven’t yet knocked down her front door.

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Happy Halloween! Royce Prouty's Stoker's Manuscript--Guest Post and Review

On this day of all Hallows' Eve, I would like to welcome Royce Prouty, author of the most excellent novel, Stoker's Manuscript.

As is tradition in our household, each October I read a story aloud to my wife, ending just before Halloween. A couple of years ago we chose the original Dracula, by Bram Stoker. (It was actually the first vampire novel I'd ever read.) After several days of reading we reached the ending, and both of us felt disappointed with the final outcome. Here it was, this gloriously written and constructed novel, and it ends with an inglorious ambush, followed by the Count turning to dust. It didn't even allow for a meaningful sequel.

We have a special Century edition of the book, appendixed with notes and reviews, and discovered that the ending had been changed, from one where the novel originally climaxed with a great battle at Dracula's Castle, down to a brief ambush. Originally, a great storm rages on outside while the Count battles to the death. Lightning strikes the castle and crumbles it. The Count is killed, and then is carted off by shadowy characters to be buried beside his wife.

"So why the change?" I mused.
My wife responded, "Maybe the family does not want anyone to know where they are buried."

The following morning the story hit me. Like all my stories, it arrived in entirety in a single moment-- the storyline, setting, characters, voices, final conflict scene-- everything. It is as if they are sent to me. From there it's a matter of getting it out and on paper. Quickly I wrote character sketches and a story synopsis and sent them off to my professional editor, Ed Stackler, up in the Bay Area. He gave it the thumbs up along with the following advice: "Go ahead and write the first draft. The put it down and read a couple of modern vampire stories, Kostova's Historian and Dacre Stoker's The Undead, to make sure you're not covering any trodden ground. Then to back and do your research before writing the second draft."

So that's what I did.

Funny thing-- when an author does research, it is typical to find things that causes one to alter/modify the manuscript. However, with every bit of research I did, both big and small, the historical events only strengthened my story, never necessitating a change. For example, I wrote of a fire at the Lyceum Theatre, where Bram Stoker worked, that forced the ending to change from his first editions to subsequent ones. Historically, there was a fire in the theatre during that time.

One of the areas I researched was the vampire creature itself. I never envisioned vampires as warm & fuzzy romantic creatures, but rather as sinister creatures of the night, encounters with which tended to end badly for the humans. In that vein I fashioned my villains. No romance in Stoker's Manuscript.

For help I enlisted my sister, Christine, for advice. She is an expert on things vampiric, and assisted on the list of vampire traits, conventions and expectations. From Stoker's writing in the 1890s to present, several permutations of the creatures have presented, and I felt it necessary to bring the medical and scientific understanding to modern. Bram Stoker did a great job of building the bridge over to Vampireland, but I felt the bridge needed to be brought up to modern building code, if you will. To explain what the creatures are, and equally, what they are not, seemed an important step. For example, there are several things in Stoker's novel that would not make it past an editor in today's publishing houses, such as having Count Dracula walking around London mid-day.

When completed, I sent my manuscript off to an agent, Scott Miller, at Trident in New York, who accepted it and successfully presented to Putnam & Sons.

Such are the origins of tales.

My thoughts on Stoker's Manuscript
I have been on somewhat of a Dracula kick lately. I'm listening to Bram Stoker's classic novel on audio and I'm slowly working my way through a reread of The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova. So I was thrilled when Royce contacted me and offered me a copy of his book. My friend, J. Kaye, had raved about it and it turns out she was not wrong.

What I liked most about the book was the creepy elements that crept up on me throughout the book. I felt chilling fingers move up my spine more than once. This made for excellent reading for the Halloween season. Add to that, the writing of a story that kept me guessing and characters and settings that made me feel part of the story, and this is definitely a book worth reading.

Anyone who is a fan of Bram Stoker's Dracula or even Kostova's The Historian will love this book. It's obvious that Prouty has a voice. I look forward to his next novel.

I leave you with this wonderful poem by Romanian poet, Lucian Blaga, which Prouty included at the beginning of the book. It really struck me...

Lost in the night, somewhere, there is
all that once was and no more is,
what got lost, what was uprooted, 
from living time to time that's muted.
In Hades is--all that is passed.
From Acheron, the river vast, 
all memories to us return. 
In Hades is--all that is passed
the Aprils and loves we yearn.

UK edition

About the book
When rare-manuscript expert Joseph Barkeley is hired to authenticate and purchase the original draft and notes for Bram Stoker's Dracula, little does he know that the reclusive buyer is a member of the oldest family in Transylvania.

After delivering the manuscript to the legendary Bran Castle in Romania, Barkeley—a Romanian orphan himself—realizes to his horror that he's become a prisoner to the son of Vlad Dracul. To earn his freedom, Barkeley must decipher cryptic messages hidden in the text of the original Dracula that reveal the burial sites of certain Dracul family members. Barkeley's only hope is to ensure that he does not exhaust his usefulness to his captor until he’s able to escape. Soon he discovers secrets about his own lineage that suggest his selection for the task was more than coincidence. In this knowledge may lie Barkeley's salvation—or his doom. For now he must choose between a coward's flight and a mortal conflict against an ancient foe.

Building on actual international events surrounding the publication of Bram Stoker's original novel, Royce Prouty has written a spellbinding debut novel that ranges from 1890s Chicago, London, and Transylvania to the perilous present.

About the author
Patrick Royce Prouty is a CPA, business consultant, and Harley-Davidson enthusiast. He and his wife live in Southern California. Stoker's Manuscript is his first novel.

A copy of this book was sent to me in exchange for an honest review. I was not monetarily compensated for providing it.

The Curse Giver by Dora Machado: Guest Post and Review

10 Things You Didn’t Know About Dora Machado

1. I have to travel because staying put doesn't make any sense to my restless mind.

2. I love thunderstorms. Over the sea, over the desert, over the mountains, nothing clears the mind and awakens the senses like thunder's epic voice.

3. I'd be skinny if cake hadn't been invented.

4. I think that tyrants are bullies that have beaten the hell out of their peers and taken over the playground.

5. I write at night because that's when my characters are awake.

6. I think sarcasm is the cleverest form of humor.

7. When you grow up on an island, the long road and the uninterrupted journey are quite the novelty.

8. I'm a very careful skier. In fact, people watching me from the lifts often like to encourage me in passing. "Downhill, lady," they shout. "You want to go downhill!"

9. I haven't taught my kids half the lessons they've taught me.

10. The spring fed river that runs through my backyard reminds me every day that change is constant and more is yet to come.

My thoughts on The Curse Giver
I have found myself a new fantasy author! For me, good fantasy has to have the following elements: phenomenal world building, engaging and multidimensional characters, and just plain great writing. This book has all of them. I have always been a fan of epic fantasy that makes me feel and care for the characters and also makes me feel like part of the story. I honestly felt like I was there with Bren and Lusielle, experiencing the danger and adventure right along with them.

I feel I must share a quote from the book. When I read this, I chuckled, and then I thought that the author must be a lover of books. This quote is just so fitting for us book lovers...

"Word was that that the Lady of Tolone had been selling some of the lesser known valuables from her library in order to raise cash to pay for her whims. Upon learning this, Hato had gone into a quiet panic. She could have sold the somber paintings or the extravagant windows. Instead, she chose to dismantle the library. The library!"

Scandalous! Don't mess with the library.

Dora Machado has written one hell of a fantasy novel in The Curse Giver. I can't believe I have not read her books before this, but I definitely will now...and I look forward with great anticipation to her next book.

About the book
Lusielle’s bleak but orderly life as a remedy mixer is shattered when her husband betrays her and she is sentenced to die for a crime she didn’t commit. She’s on the pyre, about to be burned, when a stranger breaks through the crowd and rescues her from the flames.

Brennus, Lord of Laonia is the last of his line. He is caught in the grip of a mysterious curse that has murdered his kin, doomed his people and embittered his life. To defeat the curse, he must hunt a birthmark and kill the woman who bears it in the foulest of ways. Lusielle bears such a mark.

Stalked by intrigue and confounded by the forbidden passion flaring between them, predator and prey must come together to defeat not only the vile curse, but also the curse giver who has already conjured their ends.

Purchase your copy at AMAZON or at Barnes and Noble. 

About the author
Dora Machado is the award winning author of the Stonewiser series and her newest novel, The Curse Giver, coming this summer from Twilight Times Books. She is one of the few Latinas exploring her heritage and her world through the epic fantasy genre today. She holds a master’s degree in business administration and graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Georgetown University. She was born in Michigan and grew up in the Dominican Republic, where she developed a bilingual fascination for writing, a love for history, and a taste for Merengue. After a lifetime of straddling such compelling but different worlds, fantasy is a natural fit to her stories. She enjoys long walks, traveling, and connecting with the amazing readers who share in her mind’s adventures. She lives in Florida with her indulging husband and three very opinionated cats.

Her latest book is The Curse Giver. Visit her website at www.doramachado.com.

Connect & Socialize with Dora!

TWITTER | FACEBOOK | GOODREADS

Visit other stops on The Curse Giver tour HERE. 

This book tour was organized by Pump Up Your Book.

A copy of this book was sent to me in exchange for an honest review. I was not monetarily compensated for providing it.

Halloween Hunt and Giveaway Hop...Enter if you dare!

 

Welcome to the Halloween Hunt & Giveaway Hop!

From now until Halloween we're celebrating all things spooky! So hop around and visit the blogs, enter giveaways and collect the Halloween Hunt "words"!

Hunt words will make up different Halloween quotes and earn extra entries in the grand prize giveaway so don't forget to enter those in the giveaway widget! The Grand Prize is a Kindle Paperwhite and an Amazon gift card...two winners! Happy hunting!

Entry-Form

Trick or Treat on over to the other blogs! Good luck!