Sunday, June 19, 2016

On Father's Day...

I decided that I'd give you a little peek at the fathers in The Chronicles of the Diasodz as a way to commemorate Father's Day.  I am blessed to still have my father in my life.  The older I get, the more I appreciate the challenges that he has faced and overcome throughout his life.  I wish I could say that I created one of the fathers in this series after him, but each of them took on a life of his own from the very beginning.  That being said, I can see bits of my dad in each of them, though it wasn't done purposefully. :-)  So, may I present to you the fathers of my series:

Nolan

Nolan is first introduced in The One Discovered although you don't really get to know him until The One Enlightened.  I absolutely love Nolan.  He is my white version of The Rock.  He is built like a military barricade but has a heart of gold.  He is kind and affectionate and even playful at times, but mess with his family and he will not stop until he avenges them.  He isn't hot-headed, though.  He is patient and plans out his attack with strategy and smarts.  

Nolan is the father of Ar'ch (his son with Valerie) and Angel (his son with Liana - that story is shared in The One Enlightened) and the adoring husband of Valerie.  In his eyes, Valerie can do no wrong.  He is also one of the five members that make up the High Council, the governing board of the Diasodz.  He is highly respected and loved.  His weapons to call are blade tattoos on his wrists, and he has the ability to manipulate objects, making them appear or disappear.  He is also able to transport an embryo from one womb to another.  He is currently working on the ability of transporting a Diasodz from one place to another without the use of a portal.

Martin

***SPOILER ALERT***  If you haven't read The One Betrayed yet and do not like being told things ahead of time, you may want to skip this section.  You have been forewarned. :-P

We meet Martin in The One Betrayed.  He isn't one of the main characters, but he does play a significant role in influencing some of the choices that other characters make.  Martin is Mel's father and Harmony's husband, though she considers their marriage to be over.  Martin was once a strong and powerful Diasodz who had made a successful life for himself on Earth.  Unfortunately, he became greedy and wanted more. 

Martin allowed others to influence his mindset which slowly caused him to turn away from the Goddess. Eventually, he decided to become a Raizyn and was turned into a demon.  His dark, Hispanic skin turned a dirty gray.  His already strong build became thicker and more ripped than a body builder. His hazel eyes turned yellow.  In his transition, he lost his Goddess-given skill, but he didn't care because he felt like he was a part of an indestructible team with the Raizyns.

In joining the Raizyns, he destroyed his family unit.  Harmony refused to turn her back on the Goddess, so he abandoned her.  Later, Harmony begged Damiana to release Martin and take her instead.  Damiana agreed, knowing that Martin was there on his own free will.  Damiana threatened to turn Harmony into a deminion, but when Martin realized that Harmony was carrying his child, he begged Damiana to show mercy.  Damiana allowed Harmony the opportunity to raise her daughter so long as her daughter became best friends with Sofia.

It's easy to dislike Martin for the choices that he has made, but there is still good in him.  He truly loves Harmony; he just happens to love power more.  He absolutely loves Mel and does whatever he can to protect her, but for as much as he wants to be strong and powerful, he is weak and does not make good choices.

Drake

We first hear about Drake in The One Enlightened, but we really get to know him in The One Betrayed.  I gotta admit, I have a soft spot for Drake.  He had a traumatic start at life and never really got to learn about goodness and kindness.  He is truly a product of his environment.  He and Nolan had such different upbringings, and it shows how the way they were raised influences the choices that they make throughout their lives.

Drake is another male who is easy on the eyes.  He is 6'2" with golden tanned skin and deep, forest green eyes with red sparks within them.  He is also extremely muscular and has great strength to go along with all of those muscles.  He has shoulder-length brown hair that he pulls back into a low ponytail.  His weapon to call is a flail with three maces hanging from the tip.  He has the power to inflict pain upon others if he touches them.  He can also create heat through touch.  He is able to control lava and earthquakes.  He can create weightedness through touch and also bring darkness, sadness, grief, despair, and anger to others.  He is very powerful, which is why he is the king of the Raizyns.

***SPOILER ALERT***  If you haven't read The One Englightened yet and do not like being told things ahead of time, you may want to skip this section.  You have been forewarned. :-P

Drake is the father of Rafe and Sofia.  Rafe and Sofia have different mothers, and the stories of how they were conceived are debatable (Damiana and Valerie have different versions of the truth, and I'm not ready for the reader to know which version is correct - if either - so we will just leave it at that.) ;-) Drake went to jail for almost two years (about 18 human years) for a crime that he admitted to, so he missed out on watching his children grow up.  In fact, he doesn't even meet Rafe until The One Betrayed (he meets Sofia later).  He is also Damiana's partner, though he regrets that decision many times.

Drake is hellbent on getting revenge on Nolan (for reasons told in The One Betrayed), but his ultimate goal is to destroy the Diasodz so that Lucifer's Raizyns can have full power.  He believes he holds the secret weapon to accomplish his task, and is moving forward with his plan.  

So, there you have it.  Hopefully, this helps you to know the fathers of my series a little bit better. Thanks for visiting and reading about them. :-)

If you have yet to read the series and if I have sparked your interest, you can find my books at the links below.  If you are a member of Kindle Prime, you can read my books for free on Kindle Unlimited:



Sunday, June 12, 2016

Author Spotlight - A.M. Manay

Author Spotlight - A.M. Manay

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Today, I have the honor of being a part of A.M. Manay's 3-Day Weekend Book Boost.  I've downloaded her books, She Dies at the End and She Lights Up the Dark, and I cannot wait to read them. Her novels are the kind of books that I love to read, and I'm sure the readers of my novels will also love them.  So, enjoy an inside look to Manay's books as she tells you about them.

In my second novel, She Lights Up the Dark, we are introduced to a community called Eden, where humans, fairies, vampires, and werewolves live honestly and in peace.  The commune was created by Gul, an elderly former king among the fairies and widower to Queen Lilje.  Gul eventually marries Raina.  This letter sheds some light on the origins of this community as well as the close relationship between Raina and her mother, Ilyn's late wife Marisha.  It would date from the late 18th century, a few decades before Marisha's untimely death.  You can learn more about all of these characters by reading She Dies at the EndShe Lights Up the Dark, and She Sees in Her Sleep, all available this weekend for only $0.99 each!

Dearest Mother,

I hope this letter finds you content and well.  My journey has been largely uneventful, though more rugged than I knew to expect.  This is an untamed land.  The fairy servants I brought along have served me well, and we have taken care to keep our contact with other wagon trains brief and seldom.  I hope to send them back to you as soon as weather permits.  I suspect, however, that once out of my sight, greed may call them to seek their fortunes on the frontier.

It is a beautiful country, with much for me to paint and draw, though treacherous for the mortals.  We passed dead and dying migrants with some frequency along the trail.  Thankfully, there have been enough hale and hearty human travelers to keep us in prey.  The natives keep well clear of us.  It seems they are aware of the danger we pose.  There was no real trouble from the lycanthropes.  They, too, are cautious on the road, fearing to be exposed to the ordinary people.  We were and continue to be careful during the full moon.

Gul's band is small, but committed and growing.  It is a strange sight, to see werewolves and fairies, humans and vampires, working together to put up a barn by moonlight.  This evening, as I write, a fairy girl and a little cub are playing checkers by the fire, laughing together like brother and sister.  I cannot believe my eyes.   Mother, some of them even marry happily!  It is quite astonishing. 
You must never tell Father.  He would burn the entire place to ashes.
Give my best wishes to Savita and the others.

All my love,
Raina


A frightening vision stalks November, even in her grave . . . and things go severely sideways just as soon as she claws her way out of it. 

Continuing the story begun in the well-received paranormal romp She Dies at the End, She Lights Up the Dark finds November Snow struggling to adjust to her new life as a vampire with none of the support she'd expected. Her nemesis Luka has plotted to isolate November and scatter her allies as he executes his plan to bring human society under his control. Her loneliness leads her to become emotionally entangled with a charming but likely untrustworthy fellow vampire.
 

When danger flares, November discovers that her psychic gift has expanded in a powerful and perilous fashion. Coerced into close company with her enemy, she fights to master her power and to uncover the secrets that may help her to save both her friends and the human world from being crushed under Luka’s boot. November is determined to stop Luka as his plan builds toward an unknown and deadly climax, but she may find that lighting up the dark comes with a high price to pay. 


This books contains violence, some sexual content, and occasional profanity.


Raina turned from her canvas, a smear of blue paint on her cheek testifying to an earlier itch.  "Ilyn's made another child?  And lost the throne?"
"It seems so.  Luka's finally made his move."  Gul shook his head.  "Marisha's only mistake, that one."
"I wouldn't say 'only,'" came her dry reply.  "There's also me.  What about William?  What's he up to?"
"They know nothing of him, save that he's out there making trouble for his brother."
"Hmmph.  I don't really know William.  They found him after I left," Raina replied as she turned back to the painting.  It was a landscape of a garden in the morning sun.  It was quite beautiful, but there was something off about it, about the colors, as though she was painting a picture of something she had only heard about thirdhand.
"Apparently Luka's using a hider fairy to keep the girl from Ilyn," Gul said carefully.  "A fairy who may well be my descendent — the sole survivor of that werewolf massacre a few centuries back."
Raina closed her eyes and put down her brush.  "Well, s***."
"Indeed."
"She's going to wind up all screwed up like the others.  Emil's children never recovered after the wolves took them when they were young.  He had to put them down," Raina said, growing more upset.  "He's never been right since.  And that boy, Philip . . . when Ilyn kicked him out and Marisha died, I heard he went all strange."
"I remember the stories," Gul replied.
"How could Luka take such a risk with his own kin?" Raina fumed.  "Is nothing sacred anymore?"
"He really wants that girl, I suppose.  And he likely hates Ilyn more than he cares about her."  Gul's chest tightened painfully.  He struggled to continue.  "There's something else . . ."
"Oh, Christ on the cross," Raina sighed.  "Spit it out."
"This girl, November, she's a demon, like Savita and Philip . . ."  He looked down at his hands.  "This demon girl once was Lilje," he finally continued.  "I'm nearly certain of it.  The way Pine described her eyes, and there are things in Lilje's book that sound like what is happening now."
Raina at last looked him full in the face and swore softly in a dead language.  "You're going to go after her, aren't you?"
"I am honor bound two different ways, Raina.  How can I not?"
"Helena will have a fit," Raina replied, placing her hand worriedly over her mouth.
"That she will.  She won't be the only one."
"I guess I'd better pack light," she sighed.
"You're coming with me?" he asked, his face lighting up.  "You said you'd never leave this place again."
"I can't very well let my husband go off looking for his dead first wife without me, now can I?"


 In addition to her work as an indie author of paranormal fantasy, A.M. Manay is a former inner-city chemistry teacher, a singer, a yoga enthusiast, a Clerk of Session in the Presbyterian Church (USA), and a mother through domestic open adoption.  She has a passion for increasing diversity in popular culture and for strong heroines who stand up for themselves, make their own decisions, and don't depend on romance as their reason for being.

Be the first to know about the release of the upcoming sequel as well as bonus material about your favorite characters by: 
Checking out her website: www.ammanay.net
Signing up for the fan email list: November's News
Following the author on Facebook: facebook.com/ammanaywrites
Following the author on Twitter: @ammanay
Following the author on Instagram: instagram.com/a.m.manay
Following her Amazon author page: amazon.com/author/ammanay

Author Links for A.M. Manay

She Sees in Her Sleep: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B019EG1NWE
She Lights Up the Dark: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01BQGGBMW

Website: www.ammanay.net
Fan email list: November's News
Twitter: @ammanay
Amazon author page: amazon.com/author/ammanay

 ***The tour is sponsored by 4WillsPublishing.wordpress.com.***