Spotlight & Excerpt: The Prism Effect, by J. Wint

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To celebrate the release of the second instalment in The Skylight Series by author J. Wint, we’re going back to where the adventure began with The Prism Effect! Read on for more details!

The Prism Effect MIDJOURNEY EBOOK

The Prism Affect
(The Skylight Series #1)
by J. Wint
Publication Date: September 2021
Genre: YA Fantasy/ Sci-Fi

LIFE has never been easy for young Jet Stroud.

He is affected by a rare condition known as ephebus mortem, also called the youthful death, and legend says it will kill him before his twenty-fourth birthday. To make matters worse, the legend also claims that its victims become delusional as they grow older.

However, things take a turn for the better when he is unexpectedly accepted into the renowned Skylight University–an orbiting system in the Earth’s atmosphere. At first, he doubts the legend and begins the semester hoping to learn more about his strange disease. As the school year unfolds, he meets a group of students like him and they band together. Soon, strange things start to happen–mysterious shadows follow them, bizarre holographic prophecies appear that only they can see, and haunting voices cloud Jet’s thoughts. He begins to struggle on the blaze pitch and with his studies. The small group of students threaten to splinter apart as the semester races to a close and Jet wonders if he will survive. In the end, he uncovers something about himself so profound that it will change his life forever.


Excerpt

“Jet?” she asked. “Everything okay?”

He didn’t respond, still gazing in the direction of the fountain. She snapped her fingers in front of his face to gain his attention.

He blinked and looked at her. “Sylvant, over there next to the fountain… do you see it?”

It was the heat mirage again. It shifted around the base of the fountain, blurry and transparent. But it was too cool for a heat mirage, though it looked exactly like the ones he’d seen on hot and humid days.

She glanced in the fountain’s direction while pulling him out of the street. She shook her head. “No, I don’t see anything. Are you sure you’re okay?”

Jet looked at her defensively. “I’m fine, thanks.” He walked towards the fountain with the mirage in his sight. Sylvant followed, the heels of her shoes clicking across the vacant intersection. Jet stepped up to the fountain’s basin for a look around, but the mirage was gone.

“I swear… it was here,” he said.

“What was here? What are you talking about?” she asked.

“There was a… a shape, or something like a mirage here, just now.”

Sylvant cleared her throat. “Why don’t we go inside. We need to talk about this.” She flashed her sister’s journal in front of his face.

Jet hesitated. He wanted to understand what he’d just seen as much as he wanted to hear about the journal.

The shape suddenly reemerged near one of the alleyways, steam momentarily cloaking it. Then, the sunlight dimmed and turned everything a shade of rust.

“There. It’s there!” he hissed at her. “You can’t see that?”

She peered toward the alleyway. “Jet. You’re starting to worry me.”

“You don’t believe me, do you?”

“Jet, I’m trying to understand, but I don’t know what to say.”

“I’m going after it,” Jet said. “I want to prove to you—”

“Whatever it is, let it go!” Sylvant looked down the dark alley and back at him. “We can talk about it inside the café, alright? My first concern is your safety.”

Jet could see the uneasiness in her expression. “Sylvant, I’m asking for your help, not your protection.”

It was growing darker, and an unsettling stillness seemed to descend around them. Sylvant recovered her composure. “As a professor to a student, it’s my responsibility to look after you. You need to come with me.”

Jet watched the mirage move down the alleyway and vanish into the steam. “I can take care of myself. I’ll call you later, Sylvant. I promise.” He sprinted down the alleyway, leaving her behind.

Plumes of steam gushed from the buildings lining the alley and hid the fleeing mirage. The sunlight was nearly gone, making it difficult to see. Jet had to stop a few times to see where he was.

The chase came to an abrupt halt when the alley ended at a brick wall. The mirage was gone. Jet backtracked, looking for signs of it. He noticed a ladder on one building and climbed up three stories and onto the rooftop. He skirted the parapet and stopped to regain his bearings.

The sunlight flickered and dimmed, like someone sliding a gossamer drape in front of it. Jet looked at his watch, surprised to see there should still be half an hour of daylight left. What happened next made the hair on his arms stand up. One of the system’s outer belts crossed slowly in front of the sun, casting a long shadow over the cityscape beyond. The eclipse’s shadow inched eerily across each building, engulfing the city in darkness. Jet had read an article about the event, something called a skylight eclipse.

His skin grew cold as the eclipse overtook him. From the rooftop, he watched the leading edge of it creep doggedly across the pitted field and towards the dimly lit factory in the distance. Fleeing just ahead of the eclipse was the shimmering mirage.

Jet leapt over the building’s parapet and onto an adjacent rooftop. He scrambled across a metal bridge spanning the alleyway and sprinted across the field.

He entered the abandoned factory minutes later and slowed to a halt, kneeling against a storage tank to catch his breath. He could hear equipment running in the distance, which seemed odd since the factory appeared to be vacant. A rust-colored smog from old chemicals still lingered in the air. Rogue weeds grew up through cracked concrete, and above him, a maze of catwalks and pipes cast a kaleidoscope of patterns onto the pavement.

He crept further into the factory, searching for the mirage. The ground below his feet quivered, and the sound of equipment grew louder. Tremors accompanied a dull scraping noise that sounded like metal grinding on metal. Something big moved below the surface. He placed his hand on a storage tank and felt it vibrating rapidly.

Jet followed the thrumming for several minutes before stumbling upon a vast clearing. Rusted sheet metal walls rose up to create a circular pit. Sand and dirt covered the ground, and tumbleweeds piled along one end like skeletal remains. In the center stood an oddly shaped contraption that resembled the smokestack of a ship. Its bow pointed skyward like a steel chimney with steam spewing from it.

An uneasy feeling settled over him as he hid in the shadows. He was in the middle of nowhere and chasing a mirage. It was getting late, and the eclipse had him on edge.

Available on Amazon


About the Author

wint - 1

Wint graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 1998 with a bachelor’s degree in architecture. He is a licensed architect and LEED accredited professional who believes in a strong, sustainable community. As a student of architecture, he developed a love for design and continues to push for creative solutions.

As a child of the 70’s, he developed a love for cheesy science fiction movies, and later became an avid fantasy reader. His youthful influences—combined with his college experiences and background as an architect—have propelled his work as a writer to create the Skylight Series.

J Wint | Twitter | Facebook


Book Tour Schedule

September 19th

R&R Book Tours (Kick-Off)

@genoviareadingco (Review)

@takealookatmybookshelf (Review)

Nesie’s Place (Spotlight)

@fle_d (Spotlight)

 September 20th

Bunny’s Reviews (Review)

Reads & Reels (Spotlight)

September 21st

@gryffindorbookishnerd (Review)

Liliyana Shadowlyn (Spotlight)

Sadie’s Spotlight (Spotlight)

September 22nd

@margiebythebookcase (Review)

Book Reviews by Taylor (Review)

Rambling Mads (Spotlight)

September 23rd

@wolfesbooks (Review)

@booklymatters (Review)

Stine Writing (Spotlight)


Book Tour Organized By:

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Spotlight, Author Interview, & Excerpt: Silver to the Heart + Giveaway

TourBanner_Silver To the Heart

BookCover_SilverToTheHeart

Silver to the Heart
by Brien Feathers
Genre: Dark fantasy, urban fantasy (adult, not YA)

— So begins the apocalypse, with death and a story of love —

An old soul (several centuries old), the lover, fighter, and telekinetic Drake receives an order to safeguard Ana, a mortal with Elder Talent.

Ana, an artist beset by haunting visions, falls for the perfect stranger while venturing home to mediate emergent family chaos.

Past-warlord and present commander Sasuke wields his telepathic might to outwit Council traitors in an effort to save the human realm and its Guardian from a new Dark War.

Criminal and light bender Lou, now sought by the Council to answer for his sins, seeks shelter with the Reverend—an Elder fit to bypass rules of magic meant to be unbreakable.

As time’s last grains of sand deplete, an ancient battle may renew, with pieces of the fractured realm imperiling man’s modern world. Though few on Earth are cognizant, dark days now lie ahead. . .

One fate, two paths, six singular perspectives, and plethoric danger.
Contemporary fantasy at its polychromic finest—pure delight.

NOTE: This book is free.


Excerpt:

Drake held her around her waist with one arm. He needed at least one hand free. Seeing the harbor maybe 100 yards away, he landed them on the roof of a nearby building. With his Push, he broke their fall with a moment of levitation—Ana shrieked.

“Ana, you have to stay quiet, I have to be able to hear the arrows.” Preferably when he first releases one, so I can find him.

“What the hell is happening!” Not quiet, but loud. “Drake!” Still loud.

Drake couldn’t hear the Aerian or the arrows—they needed to take cover. As he leaped again with Ana, something grabbed his leg and swiped them into the side of a building. Midair, he turned to put himself in between the building and Ana and felt the impact as they slammed into it.

Pushing against the wall, he leaped with Ana as more arrows whizzed toward them. One, two, three arrows, one after another, struck the cement wall instead of them and fell to the ground harmlessly. They couldn’t kill Drake this way, but he didn’t want Ana hurt. He needed to take down that Aerian, but couldn’t leave Ana behind. In his decision to break direct order not to engage, he hadn’t accounted for Ana. Drake still wanted to capture one of the soldiers—alive, to inquire about the Reverend, but carrying Ana around like screaming luggage, this fight wasn’t going the way he wanted.


Author Interview:

1. Tell us a little about how this story first came to be. Did it start with an image, a voice, a concept, a dilemma or something else?
The story that became ‘Silver to the Heart’, Book 1 of the Light of Adua dark fantasy series set in modern-day New Orleans, came to be from a single image— as most of my ideas do. I first see the scene that would become the central theme of the book or the film (I’m a screenwriter as well) as it unfolds. The rest of the time is spent discovering who they are and what’s happening: the characters, and the plot in essence.

For Book 1, the first scene I’ve seen was of Drake and Ana. He was a vampire and Ana was human. He was hurt, and I knew they’d lost a fight to something much bigger and nastier than himself. Although the initial scene I saw was in a hallway of Ana’s apartment, in the book it ended up being very different.

In the book, Drake gets kidnapped and imprisoned in a church basement in Texas, and Ana goes to rescue him. He frightens her using Talent (magic) and this is where she accepts what he is: a vampire or an Elder.

2. What, if anything, did you learn when writing the book?
Uuf, what an arduous but wondrous journey it has been. As a screenwriter, the beats, arcs, character motivations, settings, and theme— the moving parts that make the engine of the story become ingrained in the way you construct your writing; however, as an author, the craft of writing is very different. The heart of the story remains the same, of course, but I found that an author is not only the writer but also the director, the actors, the composer, and the whole nine yards. I learned this the hard way.


3. What surprised you the most in writing it?
Some of the characters for the series have lived rent-free in my head for years, which was one of the reasons I wanted to write the book, to tell their stories so they may live in another’s head as well. But most of the characters were conceived new for ‘Silver to the Heart,’ and it surprised me how quickly I’ve gotten attached to them.

I don’t start the story if I don’t see the ending. In that regard my characters had set arcs, an inevitable trajectory they’re on from the very beginning, of which some are tragic. As I was writing book 5, I had an incredible difficulty seeing through it. I didn’t want to cheat the character by robbing them of their arc, but… it was hard to let them go. I can’t say more without spoiling the series.

4. What does the title mean?
Silver, the size of a spearhead thrust through the heart, clean separation of the head from the body, or destruction of body and head altogether: those are the only three ways to kill an Elder or a vampire. Thus, the title, ‘Silver to the Heart.’


5. Were any of the characters inspired by real people? If so, do they know?
They’re all inspired by real people in a manner that we draw from our human experience when we write, but no one character is modeled after one particular person.


6. Do you consider the book to have a lesson or moral?
Although it hadn’t been intentional in the beginning, a theme emerged as I wrote the series: what is kindness? Is it different than politeness? Can you be kind and vicious at once? There is no intentional message because I don’t fancy myself a preacher, but the story itself asks questions about duty, honor, and how far one can go in the name of it and still be justified.


7. What is your favorite part of the book?
In ‘Silver to the Heart’, there is a chapter called, ‘Farewell, Father,’ and it is my absolute favorite. The book being perma-free, perhaps you’d like to check it out (hopeful thoughts and pleading puppy face)?


8. Which character was most challenging to create? Why?
In book 1, the most challenging character for me was Sasuke. He is a five-hundred-year-old Elder, who in human life had been a warlord in Japan. In the beginning, he just wouldn’t speak to me, and I had a hard time understanding him. But as the series progressed, he became my favorite, and in book 3, he is a prominent point of view character.


9. What are your immediate future plans?
I’ve just finished Book 5 of the Adua series, so Books 6 and 7 are in my immediate future— that will complete the series. Then I have a trilogy in mind.
Thank you for having me here, and I hope you’d give the series a chance.

However, I do have reader warning for mature content mainly for language and violence: centuries-old characters with various wounds, all wielding magic are at war with each other, so violence does tend to come naturally to the story. Although not gratuitous, pain and endurance is a reoccurring theme as well.

So, if that is all right, please give it a shot, and here is a wave all the way from Mongolia. I’m Mongolian by the way, and I live there. Thanks again, for having me here.


About the Author:

Author Image (1)Brien Feathers is a fantasy author living in the land of permanent frost, horses, and Mongols. She likes reading, writing (of course), riding (horses and husbands), drinking dark beer, and checking things off a to-do list.

Although she claims to love everyone equally, she really loves her youngest son the most. He has autism superpowers that allow him to speak all types of rare languages including drumbeats, elevator dings, and police sirens.

Miss Feathers loves grey days, orange cats, and all creatures human or otherwise. And she hopes you will love her world (fantasy) and people (characters) as well.

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Giveaway:

Brien Feathers will be awarding $30 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

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Spotlight & Author Interview: A Reservoir Man + Giveaway

RESERVOIR MAN TOUR BANNER
Join Us For This Tour From:  Sep 6 to Sep 26 

 

 

Book Title:  A Reservoir Man
by L.J. Ambrosio
Category: Adult Fiction (18+), 340 pages
Genre: Fictionalized Memoir
Publisher: Self-Published, Amazon
Publication Date: May 25, 2022.
Content Rating: PG-13 +M: There is a few explicit sex scenes, some mentions of sexual abuse, some bad language


Book Description:

Everywhere Michael turns he sees a Reservoir Man. Michael’s endless trials of survival include sexual assault, The Vietnam War, an arrest in Spain, Hollywood scandal, the AIDS outbreak, 9/11 and beyond.

​If only Michael could find the one thing he values most, freedom. Michael’s coming-of-age is tarnished by many but the courage to live his truth may just keep Michael one step ahead…or will he succumb to the embraces of a Reservoir Man?

Buy the Book:
Amazon
BookBub 
add to goodreads

Praise:

“This book is a dream, a gamble, a utopia, even. Or perhaps it is essential, evident, as something that can only be so. This book is a game, a risk, an elixir with magical substance, and wisdom, where silence and prayer read the imperceptible growth of the plant until its flowering, and then, until the luxuriant time of its fruits, after the freezing winter.”  Kalyan Panja, Book Critic
“Fiction that reads like an intensive biographical account, A Reservoir Man is an action-packed tale filled with recognizable metaphors. Be sure not to blink because you just might miss a pivotal moment in Michael’s rousing, larger-than-life story.” — R.C. Gibson, Indiestoday.com
“Heartfelt, engaging, and thought-provoking, author L.J. Ambrosio’s A Reservoir Man is a must-read coming of age story of 2022. The themes that the author explores, from betrayal and family to secrets and identity, become the perfect backdrop to the protagonist’s story and make the twists and turns in the narrative even more impactful. If you haven’t yet, be sure to grab your copy today!” — Anthony Avina, Author, Book Critic
“I applaud the author for his innovative and imaginative storyline.” — Grant Leishman, Critic, Reader’s Favorite
“Sometimes, a good book can do funny things with time. I flew through this book and in many ways it felt like it was over in the blink of an eye, but I somehow lived a whole lifetime while doing it.” — Lizzie, Critic, Elementary My Dear Book Blog
“What I particularly found novel about this work was that it had a unique approach and perspective to it. This is a hard thing to find.” — Jeyran Main, Critic, Review Tales

Author Interview:

Do you snack while writing? Favorite snack?

Yes I snack on Gummy Bears. My favorite snack, besides Gummy Bears is chex mix.

Where do you write?

In my office, it is a glass-enclosed space that overlooks my garden, a beagle is nearby.

Do you write every day?

No.

What is writing schedule?

My schedule is when I’m moved to tell my story.

Is there a specific ritualistic thing you do during your writing time?

Yeah, I get my Coffee!

In today’s tech savvy world, most writers use a computer or laptop. Have you ever written parts of your book on paper?

Yes I took continuity notes in my journal of character name changes, and a rough outline.

Do you have another profession besides writing?

Yes, representing talent and producing films.

How long have you been writing?

Not long, though in my early twenties I had a number of narrative poems published. I just discovered the pen now at my ripe old age.

Do you ever get writer’s block? What helps you overcome it?

No.

What is your next project?

A continuation of Michael’s story from “A Reservoir Man.” The title is tentatively “Reflections.”

What genre do you write and why?

Fictional memoir because I find them to be more emotional and truthful, I can share my insights with the reader.

What is the last great book you’ve read?

I don’t read anymore. I read most of the masters and learned from their insight. I had read so many books until I arrived at “Celine’s Journey To The End of The Night.” I arrived at the end of the search and a different one began. There are many good writers today but I learned their insights long ago, and other than a change of costumes, they reach the same reality, maybe in a different language.


PictureMeet the Author:

Louis J. Ambrosio ran one of the most nurturing bi-coastal talent agencies in Los Angeles and New York. He started his career as a theatrical producer, running two major regional theaters for eight seasons. Ambrosio also distinguished himself as an award-winning film producer and novelist over the course of his impressive career.

connect with the author: facebook ~ instagram ~ bookbubgoodreads



Tour Schedule:
Sep 6 – Literary Flits – book spotlight / guest post / giveaway
Sep 6 –
Reading is My Passion – book spotlight

Sep 7 – Splashes of Joy – book spotlight / giveaway
Sep 8 – Book Corner News and Reviews – book spotlight / giveaway
Sep 9 – 
Rockin’ Book Reviews – book spotlight / guest post / giveaway

Sep 9 – Books are a Blessing – book spotlight / giveaway
Sep 12 – Books for Books – book spotlight
Sep 13 – The Obsessed Reader – book spotlight / giveaway
Sep 13 – 
My Reading Getaway – book spotlight / author interview / giveaway

Sep 14 – Novels Alive – book spotlight / giveaway
Sep 15 – Jazzy Book Reviews – book spotlight / author interview / giveaway
Sep 16 – Amy’s Booket List – book spotlight / giveaway
Sep 19 – Celticlady’s Reviews – book spotlight / giveaway
Sep 20 – 
Gina Rae Mitchell – book spotlight / giveaway
Sep 20 – Deborah Zenha-Adams – book spotlight / guest post / giveaway

Sep 21 – fundinmental – book spotlight / guest post / giveaway
Sep 21 – 
Sadie’s Spotlight – book spotlight / author interview / giveaway

Sep 22 – Locks, Hooks and Books – book spotlight / guest post / giveaway
Sep 23 – The Phantom Paragrapher – book spotlight / giveaway
Sep 26 – Stephanie Jane – book spotlight / giveaway
Sep 26 – 
I’m All About Books – book spotlight / giveaway


 

 

Enter the Giveaway:

RESERVOIR MAN Book Tour Giveaway

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