Ties of Smoke
by Claudia Herring
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GENRE: Fantasy
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:
Lady Lavinia Bramley is
master of a Djinni.
Lavinia runs away from
her husband to make a life with the djinni Yasir, but it’s not what she
thought, not pearls and flying carpets and wishes come true . . .
Her desperate efforts
to find happiness with Yasir are foiled by her husband’s reappearance, murder
attempts by the jealous magician who cursed Yasir to the urn, and Yasir’s
desire for revenge.
Lavinia finds love, and
loyalty, are as ephemeral as ties of smoke.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EXCERPTS
Chapter 32, pages 4-5
Lavinia dropped the knife as she lunged. She grabbed Alice
by the shoulders. “Don’t you dare lie to me!” she screamed. “You know what happened
to him. Tell me!”
One of the horses whinnied and stamped his feet. Alice’s
solid body faded to emptiness in Lavinia’s hands. Lavinia kneaded the air with
her fingers, grasping for the warm flesh that was there a moment ago. “Alice?”
She twisted around, searching for her aunt. How could Alice do this to her?
Tricks and obfuscation.
Her aunt appeared by the horse and stroked his head,
murmuring, “Dast dim humari.”
Lavinia started towards them, but Alice suddenly
materialized in front of her, blocking the way. Lavinia let out a screech,
stepped backwards and tripped on the wine bottle, tipping it over. She regained
her foothold, swayed for a moment, then steadied herself, keeping a wary eye on
her aunt.
A subtle golden glow wavered around Alice. “Yes, Nia, I know
Yasir from long ago. I know many things. I am here to help you, but you
resist.” She vanished and her voice came from behind Lavinia. “Let me help you.
Show me what you have seen.”
Lavinia whirled around, only to find Alice gone.
“How do I know you are for Yasir?” Lavinia called out to the
air. She turned to see Alice standing calmly in front of her and braced
herself, legs wider apart. “Yasir didn’t like you.” Lavinia moved backwards,
away from her aunt. “He objected to things you wanted him to do.”
Alice rose into the air and floated to where she was
suspended inches above the tablecloth. Lavinia dared not blink. She stared into
her aunt’s eyes.
“Paltry disagreements, Nia.” Alice glided nearer. To
Lavinia’s horror she felt their noses touch. “Yasir and I are close. We grew up
together.” Alice’s breath was warm, yet chills prickled Lavinia’s neck.
Lavinia sidled towards the horses. Alice kept pace. “You
cannot escape me, Nia. But you must understand I am here to help you.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
She turned to see Alice standing calmly in front of her and
braced herself, legs wider apart. “Yasir didn’t like you.” Lavinia moved
backwards, away from her aunt. “He objected to things you wanted him to do.”
Alice rose into the air and floated to where she was
suspended inches above the tablecloth. Lavinia dared not blink. She stared into
her aunt’s eyes.
“Paltry disagreements, Nia.” Alice glided nearer. To
Lavinia’s horror she felt their noses touch. “Yasir and I are close. We grew up
together.” Alice’s breath was warm, yet chills prickled Lavinia’s neck.
Lavinia sidled towards the horses. Alice kept pace. “You
cannot escape me, Nia. But you must understand I am here to help you.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Claudia Herring
aspired to be a baton twirler when she was five and an archaeologist at
thirteen. When she became a graphic designer and an author of fantasy, she
decided she'd hit upon the perfect compromise.
Along the way
she worked as a gift wrapper, a server in a Mexican restaurant at an amusement
park (where she rode the Black Dragon at midnight—an actual ride, not a sexual
allusion) and an illustrator in medical graphics (where they featured videos on
wound healing during lunch) at the Texas Medical Center.
Her novel, His
Master's Bride, a historical fantasy with romantic elements set in Regency
England, won first prize in the Houston Writer's Guild Novel Competition. Ties
of Smoke is the second in the series The Djinn Chronicles.
When she's not
delving into the world of the Djinn, Claudia is practicing yoga to go to that
hushed space where she imagines and plots her next fantasy novel.
If you like
Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series or Carol Berg’s Soul Mirror series you'll
love His Master’s Bride and Ties of Smoke.
Links:
Website:
http://www.claudiaherring.com
Twitter:
@claudiakherring
Amazon author:
http://www.amazon.com/author/claudiaherring
TIES OF SMOKE
on
amazon:https://www.amazon.com/Ties-Smoke-Novel-Djinn-Chronicles-ebook/dp/B01M2BXKD9/ref=sr_1_1
HIS MASTER’S
BRIDE on amazon: http://tinyurl.com/mg83vjj
congrats on the tour and thanks for the chance to win :)
ReplyDeleteThank you for hosting
ReplyDeleteGreat post- sounds like an awesome book. Thanks for sharing :)
ReplyDeleteCongrats on your tour! Thanks for the giveaway and the book sounds like a great read.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the new book and good luck on the book tour!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading the excerpt and look forward to checking out this book!
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