FFBC: Welcome to the club, Cold Burn of Magic (Black Blade #1) by Jennifer Estep

Cold Burn of Magic (Black Blade #1)
by Jennifer Estep
Publisher: K-Teen
Release Date: April 28th 2015

Genre: Young Adult, Urban Fantasy, Paranormal

Synopsis:

There Be Monsters Here. . .

It's not as great as you'd think, living in a tourist town that's known as "the most magical place in America." Same boring high school, just twice as many monsters under the bridges and rival Families killing each other for power. 

I try to keep out of it. I've got my mom's bloodiron sword and my slightly illegal home in the basement of the municipal library. And a couple of Talents I try to keep quiet, including very light fingers and a way with a lock pick. 

But then some nasty characters bring their Family feud into my friend's pawn shop, and I have to make a call--get involved, or watch a cute guy die because I didn't. I guess I made the wrong choice, because now I'm stuck putting everything on the line for Devon Sinclair. My mom was murdered because of the Families, and it looks like I'm going to end up just like her. . .

One of my favorite books is Beauty by Robin McKinley. It’s a lovely retelling of the Beauty and the Beast fairy tale, which is also one of my favorite stories.

I like Arrow, The Flash, Once Upon a Time, 12 Monkeys, and Person of Interest, among others.

I like the Marvel superhero movies, especially Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

I like The Killers, and one of my favorite songs by them is “All These Things That I’ve Done.”

I love a lot of different foods, especially cheese fries, dark chocolate, and strawberry cheesecake ice cream.

I like the quote “Never give up, never surrender” from the movie Galaxy Quest. It’s such a great motto, especially when you’re having a bad day.

I’m a total fangirl when it comes to superheroes. I could talk about the characters, the comics, TV shows like Arrow and The Flash, and all the Marvel movies for hours on end. LOL.

Tough question! There are so many authors that I would like to meet, but I’ll say Robin McKinley.

Thanks for taking the time to feature my books. Happy reading, everyone!

Hello Jennifer! We are super excited to have you in our FFBC tours.

Thanks for hosting me. I appreciate it!

COLD BURN OF MAGIC is the first book in my Black Blade young adult urban fantasy series. The book focuses on Lila Merriweather, a 17-year-old thief who lives in Cloudburst Falls, West Virginia, a town dubbed “the most magical place in America.” Tourists come from around the world to tour all the magic-themed shops and attractions, as well as see monsters like tree trolls, copper crushers, and more in their natural habitats.

Lila does her best to stay off the grid and avoid the Families — mobs — who control the town. But when she saves a member of the Sinclair Family during an attack, Lila finds herself caught in the middle of a brewing war between the Sinclairs and the Draconis, the two most powerful Families in town.

So basically, the book is about magic, monsters, and mobsters. I hope that readers enjoy getting to know Lila and following her adventures in Cloudburst Falls.

Part of the inspiration for COLD BURN OF MAGIC came from some vacations that I’ve taken over the last couple of years. I always enjoy going on vacation, traveling to new places, and seeing new things. 

Somewhere along the way, I thought that it would be cool if there was a tourist town where folks went to see real magic and monsters, a place that was run by these mob Families who were fighting for control of the town. So that was sort of the beginning of my fictional town of Cloudburst Falls and COLD BURN OF MAGIC. 

I always enjoy writing action and fight scenes, and there are several of those in this book. Without spoiling anything, I really liked writing the big fight scene at the end with Lila and the bad guy.

One song that I really like is “Human” by The Pretenders. It’s about seeming tough and strong on the outside but still hurting on the inside, which I think relates to a lot of my heroines. I think it’s just a great song.

Well, bacon is Lila’s favorite food, so you might want to fix some BLTs, bacon-wrapped dates, or other bacon food for dinner before you start reading the book. LOL.

DARK HEART OF MAGIC, the second book in my Black Blade series, will be out on Oct. 27. The third book in the series is tentatively set to be published in 2016.

SPIDER’S TRAP, the 13th book in my Elemental Assassin series, will be out on July 28, with book #14 tentatively set to be released on Dec. 29.

I’ll also be releasing FANDEMIC, the fifth book in my Bigtime superhero series, on June 2.

Folks can find more information about all my books on my website at www.jenniferestep.com.

Thank you so much for everything, Jennifer!

Thanks again. Happy reading, everyone! J

Follow the Cold Burn of Magic by Jennifer Estep Blog Tour and don't miss anything! Click on the banner to see the tour schedule.

Jennifer Estep is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of urban fantasy and paranormal romance.

Her Elemental Assassin series follows the life and times of Gin “the Spider” Blanco, a barbecue restaurant owner who also happens to be an assassin with magical control over the elements of Ice and Stone.

The Mythos Academy series focuses on Gwen Frost, a 17-year-old Gypsy girl who has the ability to know an object’s history just by touching it. She studies at Mythos Academy, a school for the descendants of ancient warriors.

Her Bigtime paranormal romance books feature sexy superheroes, evil ubervillains, and smart, sassy gals looking for love.

Estep’s new Black Blade series is about 17-year-old thief Lila Merriweather, who has a Talent for sight, along with the ability to take magic others used against her to boost her own powers. She tries not to get involved with the Families who control much of the town, but ends up in the middle of a potential turf war.

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Release Day Blitz: A Cold Legacy (The Madman's Daughter #3) by Megan Shepherd

I am so excited that A COLD LEGACY by Megan Shepherd releases today and that I get to share the news, along with an excerpt from the book!

If you haven’t yet heard about this wonderful book by Author Megan Shepherd, be sure to check out all the details below. 

This blast also includes a giveaway for a signed copy of the book and swag courtesy of Megan and Rockstar Book Tours. So if you’d like a chance to win, enter in the Rafflecopter at the bottom of this post.

A Cold Legacy (The Madman's Daughter #3)
by Megan Shepherd
Publisher: Balzer+Bray/HarperCollins
Release Date: January 27, 2015

Synopsis:

After killing the men who tried to steal her father’s research, Juliet—along with Montgomery, Lucy, Balthazar, and a deathly ill Edward—has escaped to a remote estate on the Scottish moors. Owned by the enigmatic Elizabeth von Stein, the mansion is full of mysteries and unexplained oddities: dead bodies in the basement, secret passages, and fortune-tellers who seem to know Juliet’s secrets. Though it appears to be a safe haven, Juliet fears new dangers may be present within the manor’s own walls.

Then Juliet uncovers the truth about the manor’s long history of scientific experimentation—and her own intended role in it—forcing her to determine where the line falls between right and wrong, life and death, magic and science, and promises and secrets. And she must decide if she’ll follow her father’s dark footsteps or her mother’s tragic ones, or whether she’ll make her own.

With inspiration from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, this breathless conclusion to the Madman’s Daughter trilogy is about the things we’ll sacrifice to save those we love—even our own humanity.

A COLD LEGACY excerpt

p.21-24

Montgomery stopped the horses outside a tavern. He came to the carriage door, opening it just a crack to keep the rain from drenching us. “I’m going to ask directions. We can’t be far now.”

We watched him saunter over the muddy street as though he didn’t even feel the bite of freezing rain. A face appeared in the tavern window. The door opened and he spoke to a woman in a wool dress for a few moments, then stomped back through the mud. “This village is called Quick,” he told us. “The manor’s only five miles from here.”

“Did you hear that?” Lucy murmured to Edward, still stroking his hair. “We’re almost there. Just hold on. Everything will be all right once we arrive.”

Montgomery’s eyes shifted to me. Neither of us wanted to remind Lucy that the prospect of Edward’s fever breaking—and the Beast’s reappearance—was almost more frightening than the fever itself. Delirious, he was less of a threat.

“Let’s go then,” I whispered to Montgomery. “And quickly.”

He closed the door and in another moment we were moving again, passing through the rest of Quick. Then all too soon the village was nothing but fading lights. The storm grew and the road became rougher, and all the while Edward’s eyes rolled back and forth beneath shuttered lids.

Thunder struck close by, and Lucy shrieked. Montgomery whipped the horses harder, pulling us along the uneven road impossibly fast, trying to outrun the storm. I twisted in the seat to look out the back window at the pelting rain. A stone fence ran alongside us.

“We must be getting close,” I said.

“Not soon enough,” Lucy breathed. “We’re going to crash if he keeps driving like this!”

The road widened, straightening, letting us travel even faster. Lightning struck close by, blinding me. The horses bolted. Lucy screamed and covered her eyes, but I couldn’t tear mine away. The lightning had struck an enormous oak tree, twisted from centuries of wind. The oak took flame, blazing despite the rain. A smoking gash ran down the trunk—the lightning’s death mark. I watched until the rain put out most of the flames, but it still smoldered, billowing hot ash into the night.

The horses pawed the earth, and I grabbed the window to steady myself. At this wild speed, just hitting a single rock at the wrong angle would send the carriage shattering to the ground. It was madness to go so fast. Couldn’t Montgomery calm the horses?

Just when I feared the carriage would careen out of control, it stopped short, throwing me against the opposite wall. I tangled in Lucy’s limbs as the chains around Edward’s body clinked. Balthazar grunted, jerking awake at last. We scrambled in the bottom of the carriage until the door flew open.

Montgomery stood in the pelting rain. I feared he’d say we’d broken another strut or the horses had gone lame or we’d have to spend the night in the harsh storm.

But then I saw the lights behind him, and the night took shape into a turreted stone manor with bright lamps blazing and gargoyles on the roof vomiting rain into a stone courtyard.

Montgomery’s eyes met mine beneath the low brim of his hat.

“We’ve arrived,” he said.

Hello! 

I’ve been many things, like a professional exchange student, park ranger in Montana, and LOST enthusiast, but what I am now is a writer.

I think it’s fair to say I was born into it. I grew up in the mountains of North Carolina, raised behind the counter of my parents’ independent bookstore, Highland Books in Brevard. Ah, so many free books. But I never thought being a writer could be a real career. After college I thought I’d end up as a foreign service officer somewhere dashing and exotic, like Canada. I studied French, Spanish, German, and Russian and still speak a few of those. Then I joined the Peace Corps and spent two years in Senegal, where I learned a few more languages I’ll never speak again and lived in a mud hut with no electricity or running water. You can probably imagine how that experience went, but if you’re curious, here are the dirty details. 

It wasn't until a chance aquaintance read something I wrote and said, "have you ever considered being a writer?" that something clicked and I realized it was possible. My husband encouraged me, and I quickly fell head-over-heels in love with writing and children's literature in particular. I started out writing articles, which have appeared in Faces, Appleseeds, and Calliope magazines, and stories for younger children. I soon realized I wasn’t sweet enough to write fiction for that age and found myself writing young adult literature instead, which doesn’t require nearly as many tender moments and includes a lot more cursing.

When I'm not writing, I can usually be found horseback riding, day dreaming at coffee shops, or hiking in the beautiful mountains of Western North Carolina. I love to hear from readers, so please drop me a line!

I am represented by Josh Adams of Adams Literary.

Author Photo by Kristi Hedberg Photography

Giveaway Details:

1 winner will receive a signed copy of A COLD LEGACY and swag! (US Only)

Ends on February 6th at Midnight EST!

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