Allegiance Sworn Countdown...

Arek is faced with a decision...

How could he trust Imhara when he’d doubted her every action and then his own?
Mother of Light, it’d taken him nearly six months to adjust to living with the Na’Chi in their village near Sacred Lake. Now he had less than a week to reconcile with the past. What he wouldn’t give to be able to talk to Kalan or Kymora about this, seek his friends’ advice, their guidance.
He didn’t like the idea of uncertainty paralysing him.
Nor was hoping for the best an option.
Yet indecision knotted in his gut like a nest of tunnel vipers.

ALLEGIANCE SWORN (Ch.15)

RWA RITA© & Golden Heart © Awards 2013

Can you hear the Aussie, Aussie, Aussie shout out reverberating around the country?

Announcements for the finalists in the Romance Writers of America RITA Awards (published authors) and Golden Heart Awards (for unpublished authors) have been happening overnight and the lists are now complete. For those who don't know, these awards are the Oscars of the romance publishing world!

The following friends and RWAustralia members have received that magical phone call:

GOLDEN HEART Finalists

"The Predator" - Christine Taylor (Romantic Suspense category)

  







RITA Finalists

Zoe’s Muster - Barbara Hannay (Contemporary Single Title)

Bride by Mistake - Anne Gracie (Historical)

Dead Heat - Bronwyn Parry (Romantic Suspense)

A Marriage Worth Fighting For - Lilian Darcy (Short Contemporary Series)



Fantastic news, ladies!!!

You can read a full accounting of the results for the RITA's and Golden Heart here.

Allegiance Sworn Countdown...

Here in this snippet you get to meet Imhara Kaal, the Na'Reish leader of the Kaal Clan...

Imhara squeezed the iron railing, knuckles turning white. His refusal sat like a rock in her gut. Heavy. Unmovable. To lose this warrior would end her ancestors’ legacy and condemn her Clan to death.
She couldn’t let either happen.
Her heart beat harder. There was one way to stop him escaping. A temporary measure until he understood. But the deceit involved sickened her. He would hate her more.
Yet what choice did she have? 

ALLEGIANCE SWORN (Ch.6)

WORLD-BUILDING: The Characters of the Light Blade world

A cast of thousands - well, yes, that happens when you write a series. LOL

Characters keep popping up and demand an appearance in a story, sometimes they come out of nowhere. There's been at least one in every book in the Light Blade series.

Today, I'd like to go back and revisit the main characters and influential secondary characters who've impacted the series so far. And, you're lucky, I'm going to introduce you to a couple of new ones who appear in ALLEGIANCE SWORN (#3)!

Let's start with...

Annika (from Vengeance Born)

• Annika Gannec - the much maligned, half-blood Na'Chi who has the Gift of healing. Her demon father raped her mother to hatch his plan of vengeance against Davyn, a Light Blade warrior who killed his son nearly 30 years ago. She's Davyn's granddaughter and Arek's half-sister.

Kalan (from Vengeance Born)

• Kalan Tayn - the Light Blade warrior & leader of the human Blade Council. He was rescued by Annika from her father's dungeon. This action set in motion a series of startling events and revelations that shook the demon and human worlds. Kalan and Arek have been best friends since childhood and they went through Light Blade training together. Kalan overcame his prejudice and joined with Annika, who is now his wife.

Varian (from Alliance Forged)

•  Varian - is the leader of a small group of half-blood Na'Chi who were raised by a human slave called Hesia in Gannec Fortress, the same place Annika grew up in, although their presence was kept a secret from her all her life. Varian led his people into human territory, following Annika and Kalan after they escaped from her father's fortress. He asked Kymora for sanctuary at Sacred Lake then, with her help, established an alliance with the Blade Council. He and Arek became friends and helped the Light Blade warrior start his journey to accepting the Na'Chi and their shared demon-human history.

Kymora (from Alliance Forged)

• Kymora Tayn - Kalan's sister who served as the Temple Elect, the leader of the humans religious order. Blinded by an illness at a young age, she learned to compensate using her Gift of reading the auras of those around her. Devoted to serving their deity she was the catalyst for integrating the half-blood Na'Chi into the human world and instrumental in helping them form an alliance with the Blade Council. She gave up her position as Temple Elect to continue helping the Na'Chi. She and Varian found love by the end of Book #2.

• Arek Barial - Kalan's Second and chilhood best friend to both Kalan and Kymora. Arek never knew his parents and was raised by Davyn, his embittered grandfather. When he was three years old, his mother was kidnapped and raped by the demon king Savyr (although he never found this out until much later in life) and this led to his father taking his own life. Hating all thing demon, and encouraged by Davyn, Arek excelled in his career as a Light Blade warrior. During a patrol, he ended up wounded and captured by Na'Reish slavers. His journey to meet Imhara Kaal begins in Allegiance Sworn (Bk#3).

Arek & Imhara (from Allegiance Sworn)

• Imhara Kaal - full-blooded demon and leader of the Kaal Clan. She assumed leadership of her Clan shortly after her family were murdered, spoiling Savyr's plans to claim her territory and people. Tired of living a doule-life of a demon leader and an advocate of the Old Ways - accepting half-bloods and not enslaving humans - she hatches a plan to approach the human Blade Council and petition a truce in return for helping them defend their border against Savyr and the other Clans. She rescues Arek from the slavers who captured him and begins the task of convincing him her cause needs his help.

• Na'Rei Savyr Gannec - the demon king and Annika's father. He believes compassion is for fools and that to get anywhere in life you have take what you want. He's determined to see all humans either dead or enslaved to the Na'Reish. In the first two books of the series he is preparing to go to war with the humans.

• Davyn Barial - once a Light Blade warrior and Blade Councillor. He is Arek and Annika's grandfather, although he won't acknowledge his relationship with Annika as he lost his only daughter to Na'Rei Savyr. He's a man of many secrets, some which were revealed in Vengeance Born. He almost succeeded in killing Annika and his fanatical followers kidnapped Kymora in an attempt to destroy the human and Na'Chi alliance. Had he succeeded in his plans, the unrest and division he caused would have thrown the human race into civil war and the alliance would never have eventuated.

• Rassan Kaal - is a three-quarter blood Na'Chi and Imhara Kaal's Second-in-Command. Unswervingly loyal, Rassan is Imhara's closest friend and moral compass. Instead of playing a less prominent role to avoid detection (remember full-blooded demons despised half-bloods and would kill them to keep the bloodline pure), he ignored the risk to his life to accompany Imhara to the annual Enclave in Gannec territory and participated in the Clan Games, and earned himself the title of Clan Champion.

Rissa appeared in VB & AF.

• Rissa - the young human child Annika befriended in Vengeance Born. She is Gifted with the remarkable skill of being able to sense and heal pain on an emotional as well as physical level.

Master Healer Candra

• Candra - Master Healer and councilor on the Blade Council. She overseas the Healers Guild and is a prominent supporter of Kalan. She calls a spade a spade, tending to be quite outspoken in Council meetings and isn't afraid to share her opinion publicly.

Zaune appears in all 3 books

• Zaune - one of the half-blood Na'Chi who fled demon territory to seek sanctuary at Sacred Lake. An exceptional scout, he uses his Gift as a blood-tracker to help Varian and Kalan find Kymora after she's kidnapped by Light Blade rebels. Like Varian though, he is struggling to control the darker impulses of his Na'Reish side.

 I hope you've enjoyed this recap and sneak peak at some new secondary characters.

Allegiance Sworn countdown...

Today we begin the week long countdown to April 2nd - the USA/Canadian release day for ALLEGIANCE SWORN.

A teaser for those keen to read a little about the story...

Icy disbelief raked down Arek’s spine. If the warrior had sensed his Gift, why wasn’t he tearing his throat out? What game was the Na’Reish playing at?
“I’m prepared to die for my people,” he panted. “Death by your hand or the boat-master’s makes no matter, demon!”
His hair was released.
“It’s not your death I seek, Light Blade.” Rope secured his wrists once again. “My Clan needs you to live.”

ALLEGIANCE SWORN (Ch.2)

Saturday Seven! (Archangel of Mercy)

It's Saturday Seven!

ARCHANGEL OF MERCY by Christina Ashcroft is a paranormal romance involving demons, angels and a mix of mythologies.

Gabriel and Aurora have just met. Gabriel is wondering why the all powerful Guardians have shown an interest Aurora and he's considering snatching her out from under their non-existent noses...

That alone could make them more tenacious in their desire for this particular human.
Curse the gods. This was his sanctuary, his bolthole, the head-quarters fr his black ops ventures. he'd never rough a mortal here. The thought had never crossed his mind. But because of one unguarded second Aurora Robinson was not only here - she could well be here for weeks.
It was a nightmarish prospect. There was a world of difference between sharing a few pleasurable hours with a desirable female and having that female intrude into his personal existence. Especially when she did nothing with her mouth but talk.
And he had no one but himself to blame.
But instead of thanking him, instead of showing due gratitude for the great sacrifice he was making to ensure her continued safety, all Aurora wanted to know was how soon she could leave.
It was obvious she had no intention of shutting up. He'd seduce her and exhaust her so thoroughly her brain would require all its power to maintain basic life functions. She'd have no energy left to think of questioning him again.
"Try and understand." The words were as much for his benefit as hers. Hammering home the full implication of his unthinking action. "You're not going back, Aurora. You're here until I deem it safe for you to return to your life."

ARCHANGEL OF MERCY

Between an angel and a desperate woman comes salvation-and a raw passion that challenges them at every turn…

When Aurora Robinson attempts to open a rift between dimensions to embrace her true heritage, an arrogant Archangel is the only one who can save her from the jaws of hell. And while she owes Gabriel her life, she’s determined not to fall at his feet-despite the desire she feels whenever they’re together.

After his wings were brutally destroyed millennia ago, Gabriel has no compassion for humans like those who ruined him and betrayed the ones he loved. But when he inexplicably finds himself defying ancient protocols to rescue a woman from a fate worse than death, he is shocked by the searing attraction he feels for a mortal.

As the ancient forces that seek to punish Aurora for her actions close in, Gabriel offers the tempting woman protection at his private sanctuary. But as they both succumb to their desires, they discover an even deeper connection-one that threatens to consume them.

GUEST BLOGGING over at Erin Moira O'Hara's blog!

I've popped over to Erin Moira O'Hara's blog to participate in a fun interview where we talked about learning new skills, mentors, great books and favourite meals, among other things! 

Would love it if you could drop in and say hi!