Five things I miss about Havendale

Hi all. It’s me, David from IN THE SHADOW OF THE DRAGON KING. Charlotte and I took the day off yesterday. Things got kind of bad, and we had to run, but we’re safe for now (thank you, oh scribbler of our tale).

I have no idea what to talk about except what’s on my mind and right now, that would be my home, Havendale.

I miss my home so much.  I remember when I read Lord of the Rings how I used to wish I could go on grand Hobbit adventures. I used to think that would be so cool, but now that I’m on one, all I can think about is going back to my shire. My little hole in the forest of Tennessee. You know what I miss the most?

Sleep.  I miss being able to sleep all night and not have to worry about whether a dragon is going to eat me or if a sorcerer is going to kill me.

I miss showers, baths, bodies of water that I can bathe in. We’re always on the go and running and hiding. Deodorant and toothpaste are non-existent here, and the soap will burn a hole in your skin. And it’s not just me that stinks. When we’re in the wild like we are most of the time, Charlotte, Trog, me … God, we smell like wet dogs wrapped in sweaty gym socks.  And razors? Ha! It’s a good thing the hair on my face grows relatively slow, but I am growing a bit of a beard, which I hate. I’m sixteen. That’s just not right. And Charlotte? Let’s not go there with what the lack of a razor can do to a girl my age.  It’s not pretty.

I miss real food, like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, orange juice, chocolate chip ice cream. Coffee. Oh my God, how I miss my coffee. Trog says it sounds like something one might find in The Spice Isles. I don’t even have a clue where that is. Too far from Fallhollow, that’s for sure.

I miss my house. I live in this old 1800 civil war antebellum home with the big columns you see in old movies, except I don’t live on a plantation. The rooms are huge, but they’re not stuffy like you’d think they’d be. They’re really kind of modern. My favorite room in the house is the library. Two stories of nothing but books and artifacts. I could spend hours in that room and never get tired of it.

Last, I miss my car. You remember Eleanor from Gone in 60 Seconds? Yeah, well that’s mine, except in black and man, does she purr. She’s a ’67 Shelby GT 500. It’s got a 428 under the hood, and can go 0 – to 100 in 13 seconds. That baby is fast (not like I’ve ever taken it 100 mph, just saying). The car used to belong to my dad. Now it’s mine, and she’s in mint condition.  I don’t know how she’s stayed that way for so long, but I’m not going to complain. I think when I get home, I’ll take her for a spin, let her know I haven’t forgotten her … that is if I can find what Lily did with her.

Now that I’ve told you what I miss about my home, what do you miss about your home when you go away for a while?

ASHES IN THE SKY – Cover Reveal – Sqeeeee!!

Welcome to this week’s M9B Friday Reveal!

This week, we are revealing the cover of

Ashes In The Sky (Fire in The Woods #2) by Jennifer M. Eaton

presented by Month9Books!

Be sure to enter the giveaway found at the end of the post!

***

Oh. My. Gosh. I’ve waited so long to see this!!

The author, Jennifer M. Eaton, is a good friend of mine, an amazing beta partner and a fantastic author. I knew when I saw the cover for FIRE IN THE WOODS, that the other covers were going to be just as fantastic. I was right!  My heart be still!  Who else loves this cover?  And…as a beta reader…I can tell you the story is just as fast-paced and fantastic as FIRE IN THE WOODS.

I am so excited for Jennifer and her new baby.  Look at that alien greenness!!  🙂

After inadvertently saving the world, eighteen-year-old Jessica Martinez is ready to put adventure behind her and settle back into the familiar routine of high school.

Though when she’s offered an opportunity to photograph the inside of an alien space ship, Jess jumps at the chance. After all, she’d be crazy to turn something like that down, right?

Spending time with David on the ship has definite advantages and the two seem to pick up right where they left off. But when Jess discovers a plot to sabotage David’s efforts to establish a new home for his people on another planet, neither David’s advanced tech nor Jess’s smarts will be able to save them.

ASHES IN THE SKY is an action-packed, romantic Sci Fi adventure that will leave readers screaming for more.

Title: Ashes In The Sky (Fire in The Woods #2)
Publication date: September 1, 2015
Publisher: Month9Books
Author: Jennifer M. Eaton

Available for Pre-order:

Corporate Team Leader by day, and Ranting Writer by night. Jennifer M. Eaton calls the East Coast of the USA home, where she lives with her husband, three energetic boys, and a pepped up poodle.

Jennifer hosts an informational blog “A Reference of Writing Rants for Writers (or Learn from My Mistakes)” aimed at helping all writers be the best they can be.

Beyond writing and motivating others, she also enjoys teaching her dog to jump through hoops—literally.

Jennifer’s perfect day includes long hikes in the woods, bicycling, swimming, snorkeling, and snuggling up by the fire with a great book; but her greatest joy is using her over-active imagination constructively… creating new worlds for everyone to enjoy.

Connect with the Author: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Complete the Rafflecopter below for a chance to win!
Title will be sent upon its release.

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L, M, N…I’m so far behind

Ok, so I get sicker than a dog, traveled to NC and back, went to work and kind of forgot about posting all my A-Z goodies.   Soooo…..I’m lumping them all into one post.  I promise, I’ll make it short and sweet.

As they relate to my novel, The Eye of Kedge:

L ~ Mr. Earl Loudermilk

An older man and former history teacher at Havendale High School.  An avid collector of medieval weapons, old books, and historical memorabilia.  He is David Heiland’s next door neighbor, mentor and friend, that is until he turns wackadoodle. The reason for his odd transformation is dangerously absurd.

M ~ Mangus Grythorn

A handsome and lethal man. Part mage, part human, he is Supreme Master Jared’s closest ally, collaborator, and serves as General of the Felindil Legion Command.  Standing 6’4″, Mangus speaks seven languages, has a twisted sense of humor and a kind heart…when he’s not trying to rip out the heart of his enemy.  Inspiration for this character can be found here.

N ~ Northern Forest

The realm of Fallhollow is bordered to the north by the Northern Forest and to the South by the Southern Forest.  Seyekrad, one of two protectorates of the realm, lives in the Northern Forest.  The second protectorate, Slavandria, resides in Chalisdawn, in the the Southern Forest.  The Northern Forest is also home to the Sankara Mountains and Berg Castle.  Here, you will also find the Elastine Forest, an unusual, magical prison, and haven to shy and timid dryads.

K – Kedge

Hello peeps of the world!  Welcome to day 11 of the A-Z challenge.  Today’s letter is “K”, which in my world stands for Kedge, as in “The Eye of…”

What is Kedge?  It was once a central meeting place of the mages buried deep in the Sankara Mountains.   It served as their secret headquarters during the great Dragon War.  Fingers of tunnels spanned from the base, serving as safe passages to all of Fallhollow.  The eye of kedge is a magical stone that energizes the crystals that hide the tunnels from creatures of black magic.  It went missing at the end of the great war. With the possibility of war looming over Fallhollow once more, it is important to find the Eye of Kedge.  The mages are gathering.  Time is running out.

What does the eye of kedge look like?  Click here to see my inspiration.

 

J – Jared

Hello everyone.   Today, I’m coming to you from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, in Winston-Salem, NC!  My daughter’s thesis presentation is this weekend and I left Florida to be with her for moral support, not that she needs it.  She’s awesome!  This is’ make it’ or ‘break it’ weekend for her.  Will she or won’t she get her Master’s degree?  Signs point to yes.

While she’s up there in the presentation room, I’m going to tell you about Jared.  Nope, not the jewelry store (though I’m really smitten with this gorgeous canary yellow and chocolate diamond neckace and ring I saw there).  I’m talking about Jared, a very, very powerful mage in my YA novel, The Eye of Kedge.  He may not be as powerful as Pug, but he’s pretty darn close.  (Raymond Feist fans will know of whom I speak, but I digress).

So, what’s so hot about Jared?  Well:

• he’s the Supreme Master over all magic beings in the world of Estaria that possess white magic.
• he is the only mage allowed to commune directly with the heavens.  He receives his directions from the heavenly master.
• He is the king of Felindil.
• He owns a fleet of slipper ships.  His own vessel, the WindSong, is the largest of all of them, coming in at 800 feet long with 6 masts varying in height from 150 to 400 feet tall.
• He is intimidating, as David so aptly points out:

The man sauntered forward and slipped the hood away from his head.  Dark hair framed his rugged face.  Eyes, clear and blue, shone bright against his sun-bronzed skin.  A slight smile creased his lips as he shed the entire garment like it was a nuisance.  Over his well-defined muscles, he wore a black leather vest, and heavy black trousers tucked into knee-high boots.  Silver rings, some bearing jewels, adorned every finger.  A sword sat on his hip and mystic symbols stained his chest.

Sounds like a guy to have in your court, huh?

Thanks for stopping by, guys.  I’ll talk to you tomorrow when I’ll let you in on a little secret about Kedge.  Until then…

H – Havendale

Happy Tuesday, everyone, and welcome to day 8 of the A-Z challenge.  Thank you once again for visiting and reading my contribution to this fun blogging event.  After you’ve lingered, please jump on over to see what the other participants are blogging about.

Now on to the letter H.  From my YA novel, The Eye of Kedge, I bring you the town of Havendale, Tennessee.

Havendale is a fictional mountain town nestled in the heart of the Cherokee National Forest.  As the name implies, it is a quiet town, a refuge, a sanctuary from the rest of the world – that is until inexplicable events begin to happen, and David and Charlotte come face to face with a mysterious little man with ill intent.     

Protected: G – Gildore

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F – Fallhollow

Hi all, welcome to the A-Z challenge.  I thought I had this little ditty planned to go live yesterday, but when I checked my blog this morning, it was still sitting in  time out in my ‘edit’ box.  It’s all good, though.  This way I can post and do my Sunday Snippet Blog hop all at one time!

The A-Z challenge letter for yesterday was the letter “F”.  Since I’m focusing on my novel, The Eye of Kedge, let’s take a little trip to the magical and dangerous world of Fallhollow.  I think I’ll let Sir Trogsdill  Domnall tell you about it. (BTW, this scene is currently in edit mode.  Feedback and comments would be very helpful).

Trog leaned against a tree and peeled the skin from an apple.  “Einar seized the kingdom and made Berg Castle his lair.  That’s when he started growing his army of shadowmorths.”

“Why didn’t the mages do something to stop him?” David asked, popping a handful of berries in his mouth.

“They tried, but everything they did failed.  Jared got involved and sent his daughters and an apprentice magician by the name of Seyekrad to Fallhollow.  Together, they confined the beast below Lake Sturtle.”

David sputtered his food.

“That’s stupid.”  Charlotte tossed David the boda bag.  “Why not just kill him?”

“His scales ward off white magic.”  Trog cut a slice of apple and ate it.  “All they could do was imprison him.”

Charlotte stood and tacked up her hair.  “Well, they didn’t do a great job did they.”

“How long ago did all this happen?” David asked, his brain trying to envision a dragon beneath Lake Sturtle.

“Oh, about a hundred years ago, give or take a few years.”  Trog wiped the blade and sheathed it.  “Of course Einar, being the self-centered miscreant he is, decided to go after Hirth, but he was beaten  by a fifteen-year old lad and an arrow tipped in heem.”    

“Heem?” Charlotte threw her satchel over her shoulder.

“The saliva from an estreal, a rare bird found in the jungles of the floating isles of Ansilar.  Dragon hunters use it to kill their prey.  Sadly, it didn’t kill the beast but it did incapacitate him, until about eighteen years ago.”

“I take it he attacked Hirth again?” David said. 

“Tried,” Trog said.  He pulled on his boots and gathered his bag.  “This time the mages were able to spin a powerful sleeping spell around him, which held until two days ago.”  

David’s stomach fell into a hollow emptiness under the weight of Trog’s words.  He knew all too well what happened two days ago.  Now if he could only figure out how to fix it.  Thing was, he didn’t have a clue.

***

Don’t forget to hop around to the other bloggers who are participating in the A-Z challenge.  You can find the list here.

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• F is for Fandarr the Enchanter (valleyoftheoldones.blogspot.com)

D – David Heiland

Good day everyone, and welcome to day 4 of the A-Z Challenge.  Thanks for stopping by and reading my contribution to this fun blogging event.  Please feel free to stay as long as you like, then jump on over to see what the other participants are blogging about.

Now on to the letter D.  From my YA novel, The Eye of Kedge, it gives me great pleasure to introduce you to David Alwyn Heiland, one of three main protagonists.  Charlotte you met yesterday, David is today, and Eric follows tomorrow.   Anyone interested to see how I envision David?  Click on the little guy below to find out.

David was born March 31 and is almost 18 years old, extremely wealthy and lives with his godmother, Lily, in an 1860’s mansion in Havendale, Tennessee.  His father died 3 months before David was born.  His mother died from complications after David’s birth. His car:  a steel-blue 1967 Shelby Mustang GT500.

He is a champion archer, great at shooting paper targets, but his love for living creatures makes it impossible to shoot and kill.  He’s secretly in love with his best friend, Charlotte, and his OCD tends to get him in sticky spots.  He takes pride in his appearance, is always stylish.  He can be  short-tempered, stubborn, and quick to judge, but those traits are quickly squelched when thrust into the care of Sir Trogsdill Domnall, a highly respected and lethal knight of the kingdom of Hirth.  David may not be fond of Trog’s methods of teaching, but when he comes face to face with two enemies determined to kill him, David  realizes Trog may not be such a bad teacher after all.

***

David woke upon a straw mattress in a moon-lit room cluttered with strange items.  Braided vines hung from the rafters, piles of river rocks and unusual stones, talons, teeth and amulets perched on weather-beaten shelves.  Sloughed reptilian skins hung like party streamers from the ceiling while red and black ink blot paintings clung to the walls at a tilt. A high-backed rocking chair sat in the corner like a lone, forgotten figure, its seat in bad need of repair.  Soft moonlight reflected off the water in the basin, casting ripples of glimmering brilliance upon the planked walls.

A knock on the door broke his concentration.  He flung his long legs over the edge and sat up as the gangling, paper-thin stranger entered carrying a wooden bowl and mug, both with knots, branches and leaves protruding from their sides.  He set them on a nearby round table, along with a lit candle, its yellow wax dripping like lemon tears down its tapered form.

“I have brought you nourishment.”  His voice was soothing, lyrical, like the gurgle of a babbling brook on a Spring day.  “I figured you could do with some stickies on your insides.  I have drawn you a warm bath. It awaits you at the end of the hall.  Fresh clothes are on the chest at the foot of the bed.  Take your time.  When you are done, come downstairs.  We have much to discuss.”  The stranger turned to leave.

“Wait.”  David stood and swept aside fringes of dark hair clumped together by briars. “Who are you?  What are you?”

The stranger flashed a mouth of paper-flat teeth.  “My name is Finnegan.  Finnegan Aginagin and I am a sestra, an emissary of the mages.  You may call me Finn.”

Six Sentence Sunday

Here’s a snippet from the last chapter of my second book in the Chronicles of Fallhollow trilogy.  Funny, I wrote this entire chapter before I ever wrote a word on the first novel in the trilogy.  I hope you enjoy it.

David stood and bellowed, “Let him go!”

He drew his sword over his head, and lobbed it through the air with every ounce of energy he had left.  Einar roared as the weapon lodged deep into his hindquarters.  Ravenhawk tumbled from the dragon’s talons to the ground.  Sharpfeather and Windfox scrambled to his aid, their bows drawn. Others appeared through the fire and smoke with crossbows, axes and spears in hand.

****

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• Six Sentence Sunday