Enchanter’s Echo by Anise Rae: Interview & Giveaway

Enchanter’s Echo          

Mayflower Mages, Book Two

Anise Rae

Genre: Paranormal romance

Publisher: Kensington/Lyrical

Date of Publication: February 17, 2015        

ISBN: 9781616505394

ASIN: B00PP2ZX8M

Number of pages: 270

Word Count: 99,685

Book Description:

Aurora Firenze lives a quiet life hiding in a junkyard. Her repair shop is the last hope for gadgets and gizmos before they get tossed onto the trash towers. Fortunately, Aurora can fix almost anything, including mages, though repairing people with metal enchantments is highly illegal.

Edmund Rallis, heir to the Rallis senate seat, has spent months hunting down his errant enchantress. He’ll play every game he knows to win her back and entice her to share the secrets she hides. But he’s inadvertently put her on the frontlines of a new game, one with an opponent who’s determined to destroy Rallis Territory and drive the Republic toward war. If the new enemy isn’t stopped in time, Edmund will lose his enchantress again—and this time there won’t be another chance.

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Excerpt

The keep-out spell awoke at her approach. The enchanted mesh of vines and branches that blocked the entrance to Rallis Territory’s forbidden forest vibrated in welcome as its creator returned. Aurora Firenze cast her vibes along the perimeter of her spell, testing and prodding. Its strength resonated back. It was as strong as it had been six months ago when she’d created it and hid her secrets within the forest’s depths. She let go of a relieved breath, but it didn’t cure her tension.

Her nerves were strung tight, as if she’d spent hours placating customers in her repair shop. But the day had been quiet. She’d even made decent progress—fixing a curling iron with a too-hot heating spell and a stapler that had a bad habit of chasing the boss around the conference table. Yet a restlessness itched at her skin with an unpleasant persistence. She’d closed up early and headed out for the short walk to the forest. Within its heart, she’d find the peace to wash away this unease.

She sent another stream of vibes into the keep-out spell. A discreet doorway formed. With a quick glance around the barren field and the junkyard behind her, she stepped beneath her illegal spell.

As she brushed against the branches, a faint thump sounded at her feet—the soft crash of a pinecone or a weak branch falling to the ground. A normal forest noise. She flinched anyway. Her glitter puffed around her in an anxious cloud as her mage energy escaped her control. It was the fifth time today. Enchantresses did not make good criminals. She should probably let the other three in existence know, in case they were considering lives of crime. Those blasted sparkly clouds would blow their covers wide open.

She lifted her foot to continue into the small forest that was tucked inside the territory’s capital city, but stopped. A proper lawbreaker should investigate mysterious noises outside her lair. She turned and scanned the ground for the culprit. A gold coin glinted in the crisp weeds. That wasn’t normal. She reached to pick it up, scanning the field and the junkyard beyond with a twitchy gaze. Empty. She was alone.

Behind her, the forest shuttered closed, nearly catching her in its fortress wall. She jumped forward with a surprised lurch at the swat of vines and twigs. A basic rule of illegal enchantments: get out of the way or risk being incorporated into the spell.

Ignoring the sting of the swat, she stared at the coin. It was tarnished at the edges, a used-up charm. See-me-not was embossed on its golden surface. She jerked her head up. A man stood ten paces away. He was tall, broad...beyond familiar.

“Edmund,” she whispered. A shiver tiptoed across her shoulders like kisses, soft lips that hid a sharp bite. Her nerves stretched thinner yet, trapped in a battle between memories of lovers’ frolics and the promise of a dark fate that had just materialized from thin air.

Behind her, the forest’s trees rustled with the wind, a warning to retreat, one she dare not heed. Not until she knew why he’d finally come searching for her. She hadn’t thought he’d ever come back.

He prowled forward. “Hello, princess.” Though his words might have held some affection, nothing of the lover she’d once known appeared in his countenance. He lifted his left hand to reveal a glowing ball of mage vibes in his palm. His blue eyes reflected the tiny flashes of energy, and his power snapped in the air like a miniature electrical storm. The heir to the most powerful territory in the Republic had quite a steam of anger built up.

Dark hair waved across his forehead, and little curls peeked out at the edges of his neck. Though the wind buffeted and pushed at Aurora, winter’s boldness didn’t dare touch Edmund, not his hair, nor his dark gray suit or scarlet tie.

The hard slope of his nose matched the sharp lines of his jaw and cheekbones. When he smiled, he was deadly handsome. At the moment, he was simply deadly.

“Aurora.” He cast her name through the air and a piece of her soul tumbled away, as if it might dash toward him and cling like a forlorn, discarded lover. But he hadn’t discarded her....

“You stand accused of melding earthen metals to human flesh with an enchantment.”

Her heart thumped once, hard and loud, and then took off with a sprint, drenching her veins from head to toe with lightning sharp fright.

Goddess, he’d found out. How?

Even as she thought it, he revealed the answer. The glow faded from his ball of energy to reveal a small metal sphere. Her racing heart shriveled at the sight, pulling the rest of her organs with it, as if they thought to hide, seeking a chance to slip past this disaster unnoticed and, perhaps, survive. She shifted her feet on the ground, unable to resist the fear pumping through her core. Run, her gut whispered. She couldn’t afford to listen... not with the evidence sitting in his hand.

The sphere was heavier than it looked. She knew that. After all, she’d made it...and thought it long gone. He closed his fingers around it, capturing her fate within his fist.

“How’d you get that?” Her fast words shot out, hustling forward before fear, creeping up her legs with tingles and pricks, stole her voice.

“You ought to be down on your knees thanking me for confiscating it.” His voice was sharp and cutting. He sounded like a stranger, his jokes and teasing wit long gone.

“What did you do? Sneak into the junkyard and pluck his eye from his skull? Has it been hiding under your pillow for six months?” Not at all where she’d thought it was. Betrayal jolted through her. “Hardly actions befitting the heir of the mighty Rallis realm.” Her voice wavered.

“You have no idea what I’ve done.”

Author Bio

Anise Rae has been reading romance novels since she first discovered her grandmother’s stash of books hidden away in a cabinet. Learning that she wasn’t the only one dreaming about love and magic was a turning point in her life. She started her own stash of books and wrote a few too.

A native of Ohio, Anise long ago moved south, armed with boxes of romance novels and degrees in chemistry and library science. Creating chemistry on the page between two lovers proved to be a lot more fun than working with test tubes in a lab or searching patent databases. She refocused on writing.

Her stories revolve around heroines who dare to stand up to society’s expectations and be true to themselves and heroes with plenty of savvy to fall in love with such brave women.

Anise lives in Atlanta with her two children and a fluffy dog that has an amazing ability to find dirty socks.

For information on future releases and giveaways, sign up for her newsletter at www.aniserae.com

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Author photo by www.surianiphoto.com

Interview 

Please welcome Enchanter’s Echo author Anise Rae to Diane’s Book Blog. 

What is your favorite part of Enchanter’s Echo?

In Enchanter’s Echo, there’s a spark of love that exists between the hero and heroine from the start of the book. My favorite moments are when that spark gets its chance to shine despite all the problems that keep the two apart. For instance, at one point in the story, their whole world is about to crumble to pieces, and they’re desperately trying to stop it. Aurora, the heroine, makes an offhanded comment about how they’re like these particular comic book superheroes saving their city. Edmund is floored…and thrilled…to learn that she loves comic books too. It’s a lighthearted moment in the middle of these terrible circumstances they’re in. To me, this is one of the defining tenants of love…a connection that offers moments of peace, support, and joy in each other even when your world is falling apart.

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

If you’ve read the first Mayflower Mages book, Syphon’s Song, then you might find my answer hard to believe. But if I were stranded on a desert island, I’d want to be with the High Councilor. She’s a craggy old crone who has a scary amount of mage power and the balls and the wisdom to go with it. As the leader of the Republic of Mage Territories, she needs all three. I’m certain she’d survive just fine on a desert island, and I think she’d keep me alive too…just so she can have someone to boss around.  

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

As a writer, this type of question always stumps me, but it’s not because I don’t love my characters. I do. In fact, Aurora, would be a wonderful best friend. But as the creator of her story, I already know how her life goes. She already has a complete circle of friends. There’s no room for me. So I have to look to minor characters, whose stories I don’t fully know, for questions like this.

I could totally be best friends with Izzy Crombie. She runs Bleak’s Diner and has a big heart for all of her regulars. She’s gutsy and brave and doesn’t let a past tragedy hold her down. Plus, she makes kick-booty coffee and the ends of her hair are the colors of the rainbow. And now that I’ve thought about it, Izzy probably needs a story of her own. In which case, I’m going to have to find another character to be best friends with.  

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

I have so many favorites that it’s impossible to choose just one. But Ilona Andrews is definitely on that list. The husband and wife team are fabulous world builders and experts at creating sexual tension between their hero and heroine. That tension can go on for book after book in their series. I am always chomping at the bit for their next release. I just read Burn for You, their new urban fantasy trilogy, and I can’t wait for book two!

What books have most influenced your life?

My personal list of Most Influential Books starts with Cinderella. Ah, the magic, the romance, the dress, the happily ever after. My copy is a little fragile and a bit worn-out, but I still have it, and I can still hear my mother’s voice as she read it to me. I can’t wait for the new Disney movie. 

As for number two on the list…would you think I’m shallow and completely crazy if I told you it was a vampire book? Narcissus in Chains by Laurell K. Hamilton. I discovered the Anita Blake series at a strange time in my life, and that’s the book I started with even though it’s the tenth book in the series. I had just had my first child, and if I’d called up the Guinness Book of World Records to witness my life, I’m pretty sure my daughter would be listed as the “Baby Who Slept for the Fewest Hours Ever.” She’d start getting sleepy around 3AM no matter what I tried. On top of that, her father and I lived in a loft. (Let me give you a little advice. Never try to raise a baby in a loft.) Every sound carried. Since he had to go to work in the morning, I had to keep that sweet little girl silent until 3 freaking AM when she’d finally drift off.

I rocked her. I paced. I rocked. I paced. Finally I figured out I could carry the baby in one hand and a paperback book in the other. (Oh, for an e-reader! But, you must understand, these were primitive times.) I would hold up the book so I could catch the light of the microwave as I rocked. And paced. Narcissus was the first book I attempted this with. I discovered it in the grocery store…the only errand I had the energy to run. Anita Black saved my sanity, but she was also the first vampire book I ever read. That was a profound moment for me. I’d been dreaming up stories with magic and romance since I was a kid and I’d finally found one in print! It gave me hope that I could write my own stories. 

Thanks so much, Diane, for having me on your blog! 

And, readers, I’d love to hear which books have most influenced your life. I’m wondering…does anyone else out there have a vampire book on their list?

Giveaway

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