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Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Courtlight Series by Terah Edun Tour: Review, Interview, Guest Post, & Giveaway

Sworn to Raise
Courtlight Series #1
Terah Edun
Genre- Young Adult, Fantasy, Coming of Age


Blurb-
Seventeen-year-old Ciardis has grown up in poverty, a cleaner in a small vale on the outskirts of the empire. But beneath her empire’s seemingly idyllic surface lies a hidden secret. Whispers of an inept crown Prince are growing ever louder—intensified by the five year anniversary of the soulbond initiations.


Amidst scandalous whispers, Ciardis finds herself chosen to train for the Companion’s Guild. She leaves her home and sets off on a personal journey to become a Court Companion. A position she’d never thought possible for a lowly servant to obtain, she must prove that she has the skills to attract a Patron.


But she must master those skills quickly. If the legends are true, only Ciardis can harness the power to raise a Prince in an Imperial Court sworn to bring him down.


This sensational series debut melds intricate storylines with remarkable characters and unforgettable magic. Sworn To Raise is ideal for fans of Kristin Cashore, Michelle Sagara, and Maria Snyder.


Links-


Click HERE for my review.



Sworn to Transfer
Courtlight Series # 2
Terah Edun

Genre- Young Adult, Fantasy, Coming of Age


Blurb-
Eighteen-year-old companion trainee Ciardis Weathervane has won the friendship of the royal heir and saved his claim to the throne. Yet her interference in the inheritance rights leaves more harm done than good. The Ameles Forest lies unprotected and its inhabitants are dying.


As humans begin to die in gruesome deaths, the Emperor dispatches the royal heir to the forests with the solution to the kith concerns.


With enemies closing ranks in Sandrin, Ciardis can little afford to leave the city’s nest of vipers to take on a new task. But she’s given no choice when her loyalty to the crown and courts are called into question.


To keep the Companions’ Guild happy and the favor of the Imperial Court, Ciardis will be tested in frightening new ways, especially when she’s faced with an obstacle that could risk the lives of her friends and the family she never thought she had.


This second novel continues the story of Ciardis Weathervane from Sworn To Raise.


Links-
B & N- www.barnesandnoble.com/s/2940148397472

Click HERE for my review.



Sworn to Conflict
Courtlight Series # 3
Terah Edun
Genre- Young Adult, Fantasy, Coming of Age
Publication Date- December 6, 2013


Blurb-
Ciardis Weathervane fought for the living dead and won. But worse than taking on a mass murderer, was her discovery that she had been deceived by her friends. Now she needs to not only fight a war in the North and survive, but also decide where she stands in the midst of competing sides.


A threat to all she holds dear lies in the North and her heart is not the only thing she might lose. A massive army awaits in the mountain pass, surging closer to the gates of the southern lands. Nothing the Algardis army has done so far has dissuaded their march forward and Ciardis finds out that her powers to enhance are needed now more than ever.


As she faces her greatest fears on the battlefields and her heart is torn between her love of Sebastian and loyalty to her family, Ciardis must choose her fate carefully. For in her path, lies the destiny of the empire.


This third novel continues the story of Ciardis Weathervane from Sworn To Transfer.


Links-


Excerpt 

Lillian Weathervane and Vana Cloudbreaker came to a silent understanding. Their eyes met and Lillian turned around while Vana fully sheathed her swords.
            Lillian cupped Ciardis’s face in her hands and looked down at her with pride. “My darling daughter, it’s time for you to return to camp. Time for you to take your place once again by the Prince Heir’s side.”
            “No,” said Ciardis, “I’m not leaving you.”
            Lillian shook her head. “And I will not leave you. We will only be apart a short while. But for now Sebastian is seeking you, and if he doesn’t find you he will send out search parties. People who cannot be allowed to find me.”
            “How do you know he’s looking for me?”
            Lillian smiled with wise eyes. “Because I know how long you’ve been gone and I see how he looks at you.”
            “Now go, and remember—tell no one,” Lillian said with a gentle push of her hands. Before Ciardis could object again the Lord Chamberlain clasped a firm hand on her left shoulder and transported her from the Aether Realm with the amulet he had retrieved from Vana.
            She turned around and saw that she was back in the snow-laden field with the horses. Frowning, she turned to the Lord Chamberlain to angrily demand that he return her to the Aether Realm. But before she could he was gone in a blink of an eye, back to Lillian Weathervane’s side, she assumed. Ciardis stamped her foot angrily but there was nothing she could do about it. She no longer had the bracelet that linked her to that realm. And the truthsayer’s body had vanished.
            “Ciardis, what are you doing?” said a confused voice to her left.
            She whirled around to see Kane leaning against the fence with a puzzled look on his face.
            “I was…well…talking to someone.”
            “To whom?” he asked, looking at the empty field. There was no one else around and no tracks in the snow that would indicate there had been.
            She almost told him about Lillian and Vana and the Lord Chamberlain but then she remembered Lillian’s admonition, her fight for survival, and the fact that this whole northern campaign might be a secret plot led by the Imperial courts. She closed her mouth with a click.
            “No one,” she said, looking at Kane wistfully. “Just myself.” Wishing she could tell him.
            “Well,” he said with amusement, “if you’re done, then Sebastian is in a fine fit looking for you, not to mention the fact that you have a meeting with the commander of this army.”
            She nodded and traipsed across the snow.
            “The general is supposedly on the outskirts of camp. We’ll have to ride there,” he explained.
            She was glad they hadn’t confronted General Barnaren right away, but they also hadn’t had time to plan what she and Sebastian were going to tell him about the sanctuary and the Daemoni tales. But she knew that now Sebastian wouldn’t wait. He was in a fury. On one hand she could understand it; Barnaren had been keeping secrets upon secrets from him since the beginning. If either course were true, it wouldn’t negate that fact. As the Prince Heir it was Sebastian who should have been planning the campaign, Sebastian who should have been leading the war. But the general went over his head time and again with messages to his father and secret meetings with his men.
            She and Kane joined an irritated-looking Sebastian in the northernmost corner of the camp. Once he spotted her, Sebastian said, “The general is in one of the side camps, but I’m not yet sure which one.”
She nodded while Sebastian tersely questioned a regiment commander about the whereabouts of the general from atop his black stallion. Once told, they raced straight there.  Sebastian didn’t stop at the request of the general’s guard to halt outside of the perimeter. He rode straight toward the four men and through them when they hastily jumped aside to avoid being trampled by his spirited stallion. Ciardis almost felt sorry for them—almost. They were too well trained not to question the presence of anyone who came into the general’s vicinity but no doubt knew they could be executed for putting a hand on the Prince Heir. It put them in a quandary.
            When the general heard the commotion outside of the tent he strode outside in full battle armor with a thunderous expression on his face. An anger that didn’t lessen when he saw who had interrupted his strategic session with the commanders of the army, who spilled out of the tent behind him.


Click HERE for my review.



Sworn to Secrecy

The Courtlight Series #4
Terah Edun

Expected Publication Date-February 28, 2014


Blurb-
In the heart of the Imperial Courts, Ciardis Weathervane knows that death is coming for the empire. With her friends by her side and the new triad of Weathervanes, she's in a race against time to convince the courts of the same.


She must do her best to unite kith, mages, nobles and merchants under one cause - the fight to prevent a war. Soon she is forced to keep a secret that could exonerate her mother of the Empress's death, and is always one move away from stepping into diplomatic chaos.


Throw in a Daemoni Prince who is showing interest in the youngest Weathervane, a jealous Prince Heir, and a irritated dragon with her own designs on Ciardis, and you have an Imperial Court in turmoil.


This fourth novel continues the story of Ciardis Weathervane from Sworn To Conflict.


Links-

Excerpt 

As they flew over the city, Ciardis was surprised to see the sky darkening with ominous clouds. Not the kind that predict heavy rains, but the ones that flashed and flared with clouds of purple and midnight blue full of thunder and lightning. The winds picked up and slammed into them above the city. In Thanar’s arms she felt the buffet of harsh winds tangling her hair, ice scraping her skin, and the feel of Thanar’s muscles bunching as he clutched at her desperately, trying to keep ahold of her and stay flying high.
“What’s going on?” she yelled into his ear. She tried turning to face forward and see what was in front of them but the wind and ice was too strong. They stung her eyes and forced them closed. She couldn’t imagine how Thanar was handling it. Determined not to bury her face in his shoulder and wish away her fears, she faced backwards, looking past his broad black wings to what lay behind them.
She almost wished she hadn’t. Because what she saw almost made her swallow her tongue down her throat in fear.
She screamed in his ear. “Thanar! Trouble!”
“What kind?” he snapped back.
“The fire-breathing dragon kind!”
He turned his head slightly in the air, too laden down by her weight while he fought the fierce winds to turn his full body. What he saw made him start cursing enough to set the air on fire in three languages.
“Hang on,” he snapped at her.
“To what?” she screamed as he suddenly dropped through the air.
Desperately she clung to his neck and prayed to the seven gods to deliver them from this evil. Because the dragon wasn’t just passing by. When Thanar dropped, so did he. The great horned beast, black of scale and fiery of eyes, smiled with rows of razor-sharp teeth as he gained airspeed on them with a leisurely pursuit. The dragon didn’t even look like he was breaking a sweat. If dragons could sweat at all.
Not that Ciardis was such a connoisseur of dragon physique. It could have been female for all she knew. The only thing she could say with definite certainty was that it didn’t look friendly and it certainly wasn’t Raisa.
“This isn’t working,” Ciardis screamed to Thanar. “He’s gaining on us.”
Thanar kept falling in the air. “I’ve got an idea.”

“Does it involve us bashing into a building at top speed? Because it looks like that’s what going to happen more or less,” she said. By this time Ciardis had her nails digging into Thanar’s topless shoulders, and she was fairly certain it would leave a mark if they survived.

Click HERE for my review.


About the Author


Terah Edun is a young adult  fantasy writer born and raised in the Atlanta metropolitan area, who transplanted to the Northeast region for college, and has spent years living abroad in South Sudan and Morocco. She writes the stories that she always loved to read as a young girl.


Links-



I would like to thank Terah Edun for stopping by for an author interview/guest post and telling us about herself and the Courtlight Series. 

Interview:


What inspired you to write your first book?

I wrote my very first book, an epic 57,000 word manuscript (at the time I so thought that was epic), for my best friend of 15 years. She and I grew up reading fantasy books. Like ravenous wolves we devoured everything we could get our hands on and check out of the library. So one day, two years ago, I decided to see if I could surprise her with my own tale of magic, adventure and heroines galore.

What is your favorite book that you wrote and why?   

My favorite book is always the one I’m working on at the moment. Once they’re out of my hands and out in the world of readers, my focus on is on the next creation. The next line that I need to write, the next paragraph that I need to create and the next book I need to develop. When I’m with each book and the characters that make up that world, they have my sole attention.

If you were stranded on a desert island which of your characters do you want by your side?

A desert island, you say? Ambassador Sephera then. Sephera was introduced in Sworn To Transfer, as the female Ambassador from Sahalia (the dragon lands) to the Empire of Algardis. She has proven time and again that she’s resourceful, powerful and better than anything else - capable of transoceanic flight. Yep, that’s right. The flying dragon would bear me to safety. ;)

If you could be best friends with one of your characters, who would it be?

I rather like Sebastian - he’s level-headed, smart and occasionally a bad-ass. Yes, we could be friends.

Who or what inspired you to be a writer?

Every writer I read growing who always gave me fantastic stories of strong women, impossible situations and the spark of magic to get through it all - Mercedes Lackey, Katherine Kerr, Tamora Pierce, Robin Hobb and a host of others.

What books have most influenced your life?

My writing life is different from my personal life. I will say that Queen Noor’s LEAP OF FAITH influenced my decision to study the Middle East and North Africa and pushed me towards a career in international politics. While Mildred D. Taylor’s ROLL OF THUNDER, HEAR MY CRY taught me how blessed I am to grow up in the time period I did.


Who is your favorite author and what is it that really strikes you about their work?

Tamora Pierce is my favorite author and has been since childhood. Her works are multi-faceted and dynamic gems that teach young adults about the power to overcome adversity, hold fast to unique friendships and truly shows how young girls and women are powerful in their own right.

What is your typical day like?               

There is no typical day. I work based on the needs of my publishing schedule. Monday I might be drafting three chapters in my latest book and handling reader inquires while Tuesday I might be buried in revisions for the new release and talking to other authors about a character plot that needs a major re-work. But every single day I check in with Twitter, Facebook and my website to make sure everything is up to-date and the world isn’t ending.

How do you overcome writer’s block?

What’s writer’s block? *knock on wood* I haven’t had it yet but I’m still really new.

Can you share a little of your current work with us?

Why yes, I surely can! Do you like dragons? Then you’ll love this:

“With a final crunch, her maw buried deep in his neck, she snapped clean through the vertebrate of the smaller under-dragon’s neck. And that was the end of the battle between the Empress’s representative and her bestial brethren.” - Chapter 7, Sworn To Secrecy, Courtlight Book #4

What book are you reading now?

Poison Princess by Kresley Cole and getting ready to read Anne Bishop’s Murder of Crows.

What do you prefer paperback, hardcover, or ebooks?

eBooks for the convenience! I’m always in the air traveling somewhere. In the last year I’ve been to Egypt, Kenya, Oman, the Cayman Islands and Jamaica. It would be a real pain to take heavy hardbacks or even paperbacks with me.

Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?

I love you all! You make my dreams possible and I have so many surprises in store for you. If you join my author newsletter, you’ll see what I have coming in March 2014 and a sneak peek into April’s publishing schedule. ;) Here’s my link: http://bit.ly/SubscribetoTerahsNewsletter


Guest Post:

10 Things I Wish I Knew About Being an Author I Didn’t Know Before

Oh, this is going to be fun! In the year and a half I’ve been publishing, here are the ten things I wished I knew about being a (self-published) author before I started:

#10 - Marketing is king and but you don’t HAVE to do it all yourself. Setting up blog tours, updating social media accounts, managing the website, and even announcing new releases - there’s a lot of help out there. It’s also possible to learn to do it yourself.

#9 - You’re not going in alone even if you think you are. There are so many authors out there willing to share their experiences, their ideas and their successes. Together, you move forward.

#8 - Carve out time for writing. Sometimes you get caught up in promotion and marketing and forget that what you should be doing is writing, writing and more writing.

#7 - You need a team behind you. Find the best editor for you. Notice I didn’t say the most expensive editor, but the one who can work with your manuscript(s) and your schedule.

#6 - Reviews can lift you up and bring you down. It’s your choice. I tend to see the good in all of them.

#5 - Self-publishing is expensive. You need quality cover art, editors, marketing and formatting at the very least. As you go along you’ll find the system and the team that works for you. Just don’t go broke doing it.

#4 - Authors are authors. Whether you’re self-published, traditionally published, hybrid or whatever. Be nice to everyone.

#3 - You’ll need a routine. At least past me did. When to start writing, what to start writing, even what food you’re going to eat when you’ve been writing all day and forgot to cook dinner.

#2 - Have fun. No matter how tired you get, this is the best job in the world and you should savor it.

#1 - Publishing is what you make of it. Work hard and you can succeed. Work smarter and you excel.



Giveaway


1 comment:

  1. Thanks so much for posting the excerpt and interviews Diane! They were a lot of fun.

    ReplyDelete

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