Spotlight, Author Interview, & Excerpt: Infinite Azure + Giveaway

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Infinite Azure
The Blushing Death Series, #9
by Suzanne M. Sabol
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Soul Mate Publishing
Date of Publication: May 4, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-64716-282-5
ASIN: B09V85WYYR
Number of pages: 379
Word Count: 114K
Cover Artist: Rae Monet

Fighting enemies on all fronts, The Blushing Death must convince humanity that vampires and werewolves aren’t the monsters they’ve always feared. But destroying her enemies and protecting her people may be harder than she realizes with all of humanity watching and their secret out in the open.

The supernatural world has come out to humanity with a bang!  

All the precious planning Patrick and Dean have worked toward and all the connections they have developed are worthless. When the Master Vampire of North America decides to remind humanity of their place on the food chain, the city and its people will pay the price. The battle for the North American vampire colonies has begun in earnest and only a single vampire can be at the top.  

Dahlia is waging a battle on a different front. Baba Yaga is making moves in Faerie to regain her power in both the human world and Faerie, creating chaos and leaving carnage in her wake. Faced with new crises and old enemies, Dahlia will need to balance her responsibilities to her people and her city with the creatures in the Outer Realm. 

But Baba Yaga has used the darkest magic to tie The Blushing Death to her and the ramifications could be deadly. Can Dahlia build an army to defeat Baba Yaga? Can she overcome her own fears to become the power she needs to be? 

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Excerpt:

“It’s fucking cold out here,” I hissed through chattering teeth. No matter how much I willed my jaw to remain motionless, it didn’t listen and the rattling inside my head was driving me insane.

The fire flickered in the pitch-darkness of the Outer Realm, casting an eerie glow across the snow. Beyond the miniscule light of the fire, as large as we dared make it here so we didn’t attract other and more dangerous beings, inky blackness stretched on forever. The oppressive nature of the dark night and the fact that I knew it could literally stretch out for eternity, was some cruel realization that I was infinitesimal in an expansive place with creatures that would eat me for the hell of it.

Shaking off my descent into bat-shit-crazy, I considered the first time I’d been here and each subsequent journey back. Each time I crossed the veil into the Outer Realm, it got just a bit colder, the air bitter and chilled. This time there was a light dusting of snow on the ground with flurries brushing against my exposed skin. I’d dressed for cold, knowing full well how the wind had burned through my clothes the last time. But this was worse. The wind was piercing and sharp as it howled through the trees and my layers.

Beyond the minimal warmth and light of the fire lurked beasties and creatures of every shape and size, and the focus of their eyes on me was a weight I felt in my gut, a tight clench of fear that made me queasy, alert, and on edge. I fought the urge to run, knowing that I couldn’t outrun any of them. I could fight but I would lose. The Outer Ream was a place where strength was valued, and weakness was devoured. Maybe they were just curious. Maybe they were hungry. I had no choice but to wait and hope they remained in the dark beyond the light of our fire.

“Make the fire warmer,” Adrik snorted, landing on my shoulder and rubbing his hands together, holding them out before the inadequate flames. The four-inch-high pixie stood close to my neck, soaking up my body heat. He knew I could use my magic to increase the heat of the fire, and I’d considered it, but I didn’t want to give too much away too soon. Bargaining with the fae was a delicate balance of knowledge and cunning. Negotiating from a position of strength was better but I wouldn’t lay all my cards on the table just yet.

“I don’t want to burn my eyebrows off,” I said, smirking at the pixie. He rolled his small silver eyes at my obvious lie. “When are they going to get here?” I asked, wanting desperately to be home and warm in my bed. The longer I stayed in the Outer Realm, the bigger the likelihood that someone would notice either on this side or my side of the veil that I was not where I was supposed to be.

Adrik and I had been making small trips to the Outer Realm for weeks without letting anyone know. I was pushing my luck before either Patrick or Dean noticed and gave me hell, at the very least a lecture. After the mountain where I’d killed Rokap but lost Milagra and Konstantin, Dean and Patrick had been different.
More protective. More confining. More everything. Dean especially. If they knew what I was doing, Dean would lose his shit. Right now, this was better. He didn’t worry and I didn’t have to deal with his anger. I was being a coward but right now, I was willing to be a coward to keep them safe just a bit longer.

“The representative should be here momentarily,” Adrik responded.

“You’d think I’d figure out how to dress properly to be here, but it always seems colder than the last time,” I said, unable to keep my teeth from chattering. The fleece lining wasn’t enough.

“It is not your imagination,” Adrik answered, his voice rough through the already guttural accent. His English was much better, but I could still hear the centuries of Russian in the shape of his words.


Author Interview:

1. Tell us a little about how this story first came to be.
Infinite Azure is the 9th book in The Blushing Death series, following Dahlia Sabin and her search for acceptance, love, and companionship among the paranormal. The first book started with the idea of a character and what her life would be like if she didn’t know who and what she was but was thrown into this world and forced to defend herself. Pool of Crimson is the first book in this series, and it introduces Dahlia Sabin and the world she is thrust into.

2. What, if anything, did you learn when writing the book?
I always learn a little about the folklore I’m researching for each book. Diving into cultures and beliefs can be both frustrating, frightening, and fun.

 

3. What surprised you the most in writing it?
I always strive for between 90K to 105K words. This one surprised me by ending around 115K words.

 

4. If it’s not a spoiler, what does the title mean?
All the titles in The Blushing Death series include a color in their title that holds something pivotal or something important to the overall plot/arc. Azure is in reference to the magic and the source of the magic in this book.

 

5. Were any of the characters inspired by real people? If so, do they know?
The lead vampire is based loosely on my husband, at least in appearance that is. I tend to pick and choose traits, mannerisms, or features from people I know, friends, or relatives.

 

6. Do you consider the book to have a lesson or moral?
Not so much a lesson, but themes. I like to make a point of driving home the idea of self-acceptance. I also like to gray-up the division between good and evil to make sure that characters have both hero and villain in them.

 

7. What is your favorite part of the book?
I think one of the hardest but also the most fun for me was to take my over-arching villain over the majority of the books in this series and create that gray area where someone could look at the events and question if they would do the same.

 

8. Which character was most challenging to create? Why?
The most challenging was the flip side of that, to take characters that you thought were good and shift the perspective to muddy those waters.

 

9. What are your immediate future plans?
I’m working on a new fantasy series and the final installment of the Blood and Bone Legacy, in addition to having a full-time job and being a full-time parent to my seven-year-old daughter.

About the Author:

Suzanne M Sabol is the author of Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance. She is a graduate of The Ohio State University and has two Bachelor of Arts degrees with majors in Criminology, International Studies, Russian, and Political Science. She has a Master’s degree from The Ohio State University’s John Glenn School of Public Affairs. She is married with one child and lives in Columbus Ohio.
The Blushing Death Series and the Blood and Bone Legacy are published through Soul Mate Publishing. Editor, Debby Gilbert, can be contacted through their website at www.soulmatepublishing.com.

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Spotlight & Author Interview: Arrow’s Flight + Excerpt

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Arrow’s Flight
Knights of the Pearl Order, #1
by M. B. Sträng
Genre: Fantasy
Date of Publication: 02/17/2022 
ISBN-13: 979-8418478887 
ISBN-13: 9781005631352 
ASIN:B09SP9R1YX 
Number of pages: 277
Word Count: 99,600 
Cover Artist: M.B. Strang
 
An unknown menace moves through the polite society of Pearl’s Holding. If not caught in time, it will bring down not just the hallowed Knights of the Pearl Order, but also everyone who lives and works with them. The answer lies with a young woman of mysterious origins whose life has been touched by tragedy. To fulfill her potential, she must confront her past and discover a future more amazing than she’d ever imagined and find the inner strength to fly.
 
She’s not alone. A handful of Knights, a hearthmage, and their magickal companions all test their physical and magickal limits to make things right before it’s too late. Otherwise, dark forces will overtake the Knights for good.
 
 

Excerpt:

Beads of sweat rolled into my eyes, and I used the back of my wrist to wipe my forehead as I continued to cut flesh from the lamb’s carcass. The task became difficult as my knife had dulled over the years, and there was no way to sharpen the blade. Scraping it over a rock seemed to make it worse, not better. Taking the animals thumped guilt into my heart, but I didn’t think that the people in the valley would miss them much and I was tired of eating fish. Only once had one of them ventured anywhere near my cave, but he never came close enough to find the bough-covered entrance. I hid, just like my mother said to do. The man soon left, but I’d stayed hidden for hours.

Rumbling filled my belly, and I sliced at the flesh with greater determination. Figuring out how to make fire had come naturally. As for the rest of it—what my parents could do, but I had not yet learned—well, Mama and Papa were not here to teach me. And besides, Mama said to keep it hidden. Some, especially the Brethren, would kill us for what we were.

“Mama said to hide.” I spoke out loud to myself. It had been a long time since I’d heard another voice, but at least I could hear my own. My cave was too far from the valley to hear the people there. The few times I ventured close to the hamlet, I heard their language was not my own native tongue. Suspecting I had lost some words, I spoke more often now, and practised all the languages I knew in order to not forget more, and so my throat wouldn’t lose the ability to speak. I talked to Mama and Papa, wishing they were here. I visited Mama out there in the woods.
Just bones now. I had taken the arrow out of her ribs, broke off the shaft, and wore the arrowhead on a cord woven with her hair. It was my way of taking my mother with me, keeping her close.

Heat flushed my forehead. That had been happening more often lately. Despite the warmth in my brow, I shivered. Waves of dizziness washed over me. I finished with the lamb and cleaned the knife on a bit of parchment, one of several scraps I found floating down from the sky one day. A piece had drifted across my face, and I glanced up to see what appeared to be a book flying by. The dropped parchment was no less strange: ornate script scribbled all over in green ink. I had grown tired of trying to decipher the bizarre symbols, many of which different than any of the languages I had learned to read, and found other uses for the parchment pieces.

And now I used another sheet as a mop for my sweating head.

Sitting back on my heels, I clutched the arrowhead in my fist. Once more the events of that long-ago day forced themselves into my mind. That terrible day when a man appeared on the ridge. The sun behind cast him in silhouette, and we could not see his face. He wore the dull robes of the Brethren. They billowed, though there was no breeze.
His limbs writhed and twisted and cloth rent as wings thrust out, the man’s body distorting until it resolved into a white wyrm, like a dragon but certainly not a dragon. A foul stench emanated from the beast, and I started to gag.

I saw my father struggling. I knew what he was trying to do, but he could not do it. I knew why my mother could not do it right now but why couldn’t my father? Before they had a chance to ready weapons, the wyrm flapped its leathery wings and issued a bone-jarring shriek. Lightning spewing from its terrible maw, past its narrow, gleaming teeth. That creature took flight, swooped down, snatched up my father in its talons, and carried him away.

“Teban!” My mother screamed my father’s name over and over that the word may reach his ears and give him hope. She fell to her knees, wracked with cries of anguish. Clasping me tightly, she held me for what seemed like a long time, both of us sobbing violently. At last, she gained control of her breath and said, “Quosa, I must go after him. I will get your father back. You must hide.” She stood, and shaking her head, she said, “It must be because of the signatures. That’s why he couldn’t—” Her words broke off as we saw another one of the Brethren approach. She screamed, “Hide!” as the man loosed the arrow that lodged in the middle of her chest.


Author Interview:

1. What inspired you to write this book?

I’m a member of an organization called the Order of Paladins. Their precepts inspired me to write a series. Each precept provides the theme of each novel. I had the idea for the world and some characters since 2008, but the precepts of the Order gave me the inspiration for Arrow’s Flight.

2. What, if anything, did you learn when writing the book?

I learned so much that I don’t have the space to list it all here. The theme of Arrow’s Flight is Know Thyself, which sounds simple, but is more complex than it seems on the surface. I had to understand a lot about myself in order to write the book.

3. What surprised you the most in writing it?

Once I had the chance to sit down and write uninterrupted, it surprised me how the ideas flowed through my mind and onto the page. The flood gates of creativity opened, and ideas poured out. I takes me a while to get into that state of mind, but once I do, I can’t stop writing until I get the whole scene or chapter down.

4. If it’s not a spoiler, what does the title mean?

I would be a spoiler to say too much, but Arrow’s Flight has layers of meaning that should become apparent as the reader progresses in the story.

5. Were any of the characters inspired by real people? If so, do they know?

Risto was partly inspired by my husband, and he knows. Vinnelar was also inspired by Tim’s mischievous side, too.

6. Do you consider the book to have a lesson or moral?

There are lessons and morals to Arrow’s Flight, but I’ve tried not to be heavy-handed or preachy about it. I hope the book makes people think.

7. What is your favorite part of the book?

Well, of course all of it’s my favorite, but I admit to being partial to the bit with the mitten seller.

8. Which character was most challenging to create? Why?

Philiah was a challenge because I don’t like mean people, and let’s face it, she is the girl who picked on us all in middle school! Farrimond was also a challenge because he disgusts me and the inspiration for him came from every nasty person I’ve met.

9. What are your immediate future plans?

I’m going to write a short story to offer as a freebie when people sign up for my newsletter. And, oh, I should probably learn how to create a newsletter. I also plan to write novellas set in the same world as the Arrow’s Flight; the themes for those will com from the Code of Chivalry. Then, I’m going to get started on the next novel in the series.


About the Author:

 
M.B. Sträng has been happily married to Timothy for over 33 years and they are the proud parents of a Biologist who has earned a Master’s degree. M.B. recently worked at a domestic violence shelter, but now writes full time. She has black belts in two martial arts and occasionally teaches self-defence classes. She enjoys writing (of course), painting, drawing, sewing, and embroidery. At the age of 53, M. B. learned that she is autistic, and suddenly her whole life made sense. She fences with messers, longswords, sabres, and arming swords and bucklers fairly regularly at the Ann Arbor Sword Club, and is a Knight-Magister in the Order of Paladins. Arrow’s Flight is her first novel.
 
 
 
 
 
 

Spotlight: Bear’s Dream + Giveaway

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Bear’s Dream

Haven Forest Resort Book 1

by Christina Lynn Lambert

Genre: Paranormal Romance

 

She had every reason to hate him.

Aiden “AJ” Shepherd’s mistake during a Shifter Army Enforcement rescue mission cost Ellie Ortiz’s brother, Marco, his life. Ellie hates AJ with a burning passion until a chance encounter with him on New Year’s Eve reveals he’s not the cold, heartless man she once thought him to be. Her attraction to him takes her by surprise, and she vows to ignore her feelings. When a new job puts her in contact with him every day, the heat building between them threatens to flare out of control. Her resolve to keep the sweet, sexy man in the friend zone is weakening by the day.

He’s convinced she’s his mate, but a secret could ruin everything
Whether they’re fighting off fanatics who target shifters or working together to get his shifter resort, Haven Forest, ready for the grand opening, AJ can’t get enough of Ellie. Convincing her to give him a chance, more than the one-night-of-fun idea she’s proposed, might be impossible, but he’s fallen too hard for her not to try. During a disastrous assignment with Shifters United, AJ uncovers some information that changes everything. Keeping the secret from Ellie is killing him but he might lose her forever if he tells her the truth.

When Ellie ends up at the heart of a reporter’s plot to prove the existence of shifters, she and AJ must fight their way to freedom. The survival of shifters everywhere depends on it.

Goodreads * Amazon


Before I had the wild idea to write a book, I worked in a few different fields. I was in sales for a while, and after I finished college, I worked as a case manager. When my children were little, I was a personal trainer and running coach. During the evenings, when I was supposed to be studying for another fitness training certification, I started writing a story. Finally, I gave in and acknowledged that writing is what I’m meant to do. I love creating imperfect but determined characters who find the courage to love and the strength to survive in a world where there are no guarantees. My stories include a fair amount of sarcasm, suspense, steam, and violence. When I’m not writing, I enjoy spending time outside and finding ways to avoid cooking. I live in beautiful Virginia with my husband, two daughters, and a sweet, hairy monster of a dog.

Website * Facebook * Twitter * Instagram * Bookbub * Amazon * Goodreads


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