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Sunday, July 08, 2012

Guest Blog by Erin Kellison - It’s the end of the world as we know it

Please welcome the fabulous Erin Kellison to The Qwillery. Erin is the author of the Shadow Touch series and the new Shadow Kissed series, which kicks off with Fire Kissed!



It’s the end of the world as we know it


First, a huge thank you to the awesome and generous Sally for having me back on the Qwillery. I’ve stopped by for all of my releases and hope to come back every time in the future. As a thank you to readers today, I’m giving away a copy of Fire Kissed, book one in my new Shadow Kissed series. All you have to do is answer this question: Do you believe in magic? And why?



In Fire Kissed (Shadow Kissed series #1), the world is growing dark with Shadow, which means magic is coming back into the world from Twilight, the realm of the fae. The streets are filled with fear (and the occasional monster), and a general sense of unease is growing among humankind. And in the midst of the uncertainty, mage families (with magic in their bloodlines) are surging into power. The main storyline involves Kaye Brand, a fire mage, who is hired by Jack Bastian, an angel, to infiltrate her kind to discover the mages’ plans. Things get a little hot along the way.  :-)

I wrote Fire Kissed and turned in the manuscript to my editor. As with every book, she reads and gives me revisions. This time around she suggested that I include a few short scenes that illustrate how the increasing darkness affects everyday people, not just the main characters. I had kept the story tightly braided between Kaye, Jack, and baddy Ferro. But to me this was a delicious request. In fact, I’d have been giddy to have been able to add a whole lot more. It’s my secret fantasy to write a much bigger book. 

I went with vignettes, small snapshots of what people witnessed and the paranoia that simmered under the surface of daily life. I tried to capture that moment when people really don’t believe the clips they catch on YouTube—it’s a hoax, a clever lie that’s multiplied and gone viral—and yet, they feel a change and have no idea what to do.


Here’s an excerpt:


    A woman’s scream—Jodi?—brought Tom Peterman from his sofa to his feet, the newspaper sliding from his lap to the floor. He’d heard his daughter scream in fear as a child, but never as a grown woman.

    Heart in his throat, he strode to his townhouse door. While he unlocked the deadbolt, another woman’s scream ripped through him—Marianne, his wife. After thirty-two years of marriage, he was absolutely certain to whom that voice belonged.

    He flung open the door.  Descended the short flight of stairs that led to the street. Searched left and right for any sign of them. “Marianne!” he called. “Jodi?”

    They’d gone shopping. A girl’s night out while Jodi was on a rare break from her residency. Said they were going to spend his money on something extravagant. And he’d asked, Why his money? His wife made more. Which was a point of family pride—Marianne’s recent promotion to partner. Everything they’d worked for was finally coming through.

    He saw two slight figures and started running toward them. Oh, God, his girls. He moved to collect them in his arms. “What’s goi—”

    Another figure, a man, appeared behind them, moving fast. He was a half a block away, but Tom could see his elongating teeth. The man opened his mouth nightmare-wide and let out a monster shriek.

    Jesus.

    “Inside,” Tom said, dragging Marianne and Jodi.

    He’d seen news reports and screen captures of creatures like this, but not here. Not in his neighborhood. Not after his family.

    What was happening to the world? The explanations on the news were all bad, all unbelievable, all terrifying. But were they true?

    The three of them tripped up the steps to the house. Slammed themselves inside. Marianne and Jodi babbled through tears and broken breaths. “…came out of nowhere…almost got mom…mace did nothing…”

    Tom was shaking too. Monsters in the night, coming after his girls.

    Not his girls.

    He went for his shotgun.
#



About Fire Kissed

Fire Kissed
Shadow Kissed 1
Zebra, July 3, 2012
Mass Market Paperback and eBook, 352 pages

Fae Fire

It is Kaye Brand's power to wield. But outcast from her kind, she's been selling herself to the highest bidder - money for her survival in exchange for a magic glimpse into the flames of the future.

Angel Ice

One of the angelic Order, Jack Bastian has no use for a female like Kaye, as provocative and unexpected as her blazing beauty. Yet he has no choice but to hire her to uncover the secrets of his sworn enemy and her former fiance, Ferrol Grey.

Magekind

War is inevitable between the defenders of the Order and the mage Houses who threaten to engulf the world in Shadow. For Jack, mage-born Kaye is off limits, no matter how hot the impossible attraction between them. But in the coming darkness, beset by danger and desire, everything is about to change...


Also by Erin Kellison

The Shadow Touch Series



About Erin

Erin Kellison is the author of the Shadow Series, which includes Shadow Bound and Shadow Fall, as well as Shadowman (Sept 2011), and the e-novella Shadow Touch (June 2011). Stories have always been a central part of Erin's life. She attempted her first book in sixth grade, a dark fantasy adventure, and she still has those early hand-written chapters. She graduated summa cum laude with a degree in English Language and Literature and went on for a masters in Cultural Anthropology, focusing on oral storytelling. When she had children, nothing scared her anymore, so her focus shifted to writing fiction.


For excerpts and more information, please come find me at:

Erin’s website: www.ErinKellison.com.

Facebook: www.facebook.com/ErinKellisonAuthor

Twitter: www.twitter.com/EKellison



The Giveaway

THE RULES

What:  One commenter will win a copy of Fire Kissed (Shadow Kissed 1) from Erin!

How:  Leave a comment answering Erin's question:

Do you believe in magic? And why?

Please remember - if you don't answer the question your entry will not be counted. You MUST leave a way to contact you.

Who and When:  The contest is open to all humans on the planet earth with a mailing address. Contest ends at 11:59pm US Eastern Time on Sunday, July 15, 2012. Void where prohibited by law. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 years old or older to enter.

*Giveaway rules are subject to change.*

21 comments:

  1. Hmm... I'm not sure I do believe in magic, although I definitely want to. I think I'm just too practical to believe in magic, lol!

    I love the Shadow Series, so I can't wait to read this new book!

    rwschwarz11ATgmailDOTcom

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  2. I think I do believe in magic. I have the ability to communicate with my husband telepathically (only I can send messages, I don't receive) even 1/2 way around the world so I can't rule out magic. And there is still so much about this existence that we really know nothing about. Thank you so much.

    vsloboda(at)gmail(dot)com

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  3. I believe in magic from an anthropological stand point and religious stand point. If is a form of gaining information and communicating and obviously there are those that really believe in magic to a religious point of view. There's this saying that I like that can sum it up: "I don't believe in God but I believe in religion."

    katerahm@gmail.com

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  4. I believe in magic. There is so much going around us that has no way to explain itself, there must be magic. For those that say there is no magic, it is God who makes things happen, fine, but isn't that in itself, magic?

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  5. Ah, Ms. Kellison. This sounds as delicious as your other magical stories. I downloaded my copy a few days ago and can't wait to escape into your world again.

    I absolutely believe in magic. Without it the world would be a most unhappy place. We see magic everytime someone smiles. Everytime someone laughs or cries. And we see dark magic at work within many people.

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  6. Yes, I believe in magic. There are so many times that I have been amazed with the way events in my life have worked out. I have been to psychics and listened to their forecasts and then seen them unfold. There are many things that I don't understand that would appear to me magic or God's hand in my life.
    bettysunflower@hotmail.com

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  7. Yes, I absolutely believe in magic! There are just some things in this world that can not be explained away by accidents, divine intervention or chance.

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  8. I don't believe in "magic", but I do believe that there is a spirit world that moves among us. Angels and demons. And yes- they have power. I believe we all hold power too- even our words release power.
    This new book looks very interesting. I'd love to try out a new series!

    debbie at burdeen dot com

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  9. I don't know. I do believea little, but for the most part I don't. I think it would be cool if it did. I would love to be able to make something appear or make something cool happen.
    Erin is a new author for for me. Would love to win and read her books. Thanks for the great giveaway.
    Christinebails@yahoo.com

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  10. I kind of believe in magic because some things happen for no reason.

    bn100candg(at)hotmail(dot)com

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  11. I think it would be really cool if there were magic in the world, but I'm not sure I believe there is. Although there are lots of things I think are magical, I don't think they're made that way by a person's will.

    Barbed1951 at aol dot com
    GFC: Barbara E.

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  12. Yes I believe in magic. I believe magic exists all over the world in one form or the other. I believe miracles come from the miracle of God's magic. Please enter me in contest. I am a follower and email subscriber. Tore923@aol.com

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  13. I have to say that I honestly don't believe in magic. I'm one of those people that has to have tangible evidence in order to believe in the extraordinary.
    molly(dot)frenzel(at)gmail(dot)com

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  14. Nope, I do not believe in magic. I´m a very science orientated pig. But the idea of magic is nice so that´s why I like to read about it.

    sullivanmcpig(at)gmail(dot)com

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  15. I guess I do a little bit - perhaps it's wishful thinking cos wouldn't the world be just wonderful if magic were real? It's always hard to believe in something that can't be proven or seen or logically explained but still….
    thumbelinda03@yahoo.com

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  16. Its depend what kind of magic. If its connected to pagan belief, I admit I don't believe, but when it comes to my own religion, I believe magic can happen

    sawamura_foxman AT yahoo DOT com

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  17. I would love to believe in magic. I believe in the kind you make for yourself, as for the other I wish!!!

    marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com

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  18. Hi

    No I do not believe in the true sense of magic - that someone can perform magic or make magic happen in front of me. I do believe in miracles, karma and coincidences though so I think sometimes things may happen and we think it is magical.

    Thanks for the chance.
    Pam
    tpibrew@msn.com

    ReplyDelete
  19. Maybe i believe a little. It depend what kind of some things in this world that can not be explained.

    filiafantasy at gmail dot com

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  20. Oh I loved the excerpt! Yes I absolutely believe in magic. There has to be more out there than my puny mind can hold. There is just too much not to believe. Thank you for sharing with us. I love your writing style and am looking forward to the new twist of vignettes. I think it is going to make Kaye's world even richer for my imagination.
    dz59001[at]gmail[dot]com

    ReplyDelete