Review: Drowning In The Dark

When I read the massive Gods and Mortals collection a month or so ago, I came across the first novel in Pippa DaCosta's The Veil series. I liked the story a lot and wanted to see what it was all about. The answer? It's one of the most exciting, fun, kick-ass urban fantasy series' I've read. And I read a lot of urban fantasy. This is the kind of series you kick yourself for skipping out on. I've been speeding through all of the books (just started the fifth and final instalment today), and Drowning In The Dark is by far the darkest in the series, which is saying something. If you're looking for a new urban fantasy series that takes demons and puts them in the new light, trust me, this is what you're looking for. The world-building is unique, the characters are strong and complex, the action is wickedly intense, and the stories are freaking fantastic. Don't miss out on this one.

All these covers are absolutely gorgeous, and there's a bonus one inside the ebooks!

“I wasn’t demon enough to defeat my brother before. Things have changed.”

As the veil begins to fall, and the demons bleed through onto the streets of Boston, Muse knows the battle is lost before it’s even begun. 

To make matters worse, Adam and the Institute have captured Akil at a time when the city has never needed him more. Muse believes Akil’s incarceration is a ruse, because if he truly is at the mercy of the Institute, she must choose which side she’ll fight for. Human or demon? 

The princes are coming. Valenti, Muse’s immortal half-brother, leads the charge. The Institute is not ready, the people of Boston are not prepared, but one man is. Stefan knows what it will take to beat back the netherworld. Will his demon allow him the freedom to right his wrongs?

Muse’s loyalty will be tested. To save those she loves, she must give up that which she cherishes most. Her humanity.

The Mother of Destruction is about to go nuclear.

***
Our main character, Muse, just can't catch a break, and Drowning In The Dark is no exception to her ongoing struggles. The story kicks off at the speed of sound (as they usually do, a style that I love), and doesn't slow down even when the characters aren't fighting for their lives– and their humanity.

There's so much to talk about, but let's start with the world. I love stories that take their own twist on demon hierarchy, and the version DaCosta takes is one I haven't seen before. It's brutal, violent, and damages those who get to close to it.

Speaking of damaged, Muse is one of the strongest female characters in the genre. Having started from the very, very beginning, it was clear she'd been through hell– literally– and back. Watching her grow as a character into the powerful force she is now is nothing short of breathtaking, and she has never been stronger than she is in Drowning In The Dark. She's packed full of emotions and turmoil, doing what she can to protect those she loves, facing her fears, losing herself to darkness and drawing herself out when to be even stronger than before. I love strong female characters, but they are even more incredible when they're not Mary Sue's. Muse is an epic character, and I'm genuinely going to miss her when the series is over.

I'm also going to miss the side characters– Stefan, Akil, and Ryder. Ryder had a lot more character development, which is great because I love him. A stubborn, tough human you don't want to mess with, I genuinely wanted to know more about him. He better make it to the end! I like Akil a lot, though I don't agree with him as a romantic interest. Yes, he's helped Muse time and time again, and his development was thorough, but in my view, he's betrayed Muse's trust too many times. And Stefan? Stefan I love. I loved him the moment he entered the series, and will likely love him when it's over. He's battled his own demons– literally and figuratively– and has come so far. I find his relationship with Muse, while complicate to say the least, is more genuine and deserves to have its day.

The action is wicked. Muse has formidable enemies, and DaCosta knows her way around a magical action scene. Every battle is visceral and nail-biting, the kind of thing that keeps my eyes glued to the page and begging for more. I can only imagine what the final battle will be like, and I doubt I'll have any nails left when it's done.

There's so much to these books, genuine works of heart that are clearly loved by the author. I fell into them immediately, and will be buying the paperbacks as part of my newly restarted book collection. I could honestly go on on and on about all the things I loved about them, but we'd be heading to major spoiler territory and I don't want to do that. I want urban fantasy lovers to seek this series out, start from the prequel novella, and enjoy the same wild ride that I have. All of DaCosta's other books are now on my To-Be-Read List, and I can't wait to see how she rounds out Muse's adventures.

Amy

Book Review: Abomination

Abomination is the first novel I've read in a long time that felt like legitimate horror to me. I've read books with monsters before, and long time readers of my blog know it's something I actively seek out, but of all the novels I've read so far this year, this is the one that had the horror fan in me jumping with joy. It didn't "scare" me, but that in no way hindered my enjoyment of the novel. Gary Whitta's novel is creepy, intense, dramatic, filled with rich characters, and some surprising turns. An absolute must for all horror/fantasy fans. A wild, brutal ride, and one of my top reads for this year.

He is England's greatest knight, the man who saved the life of Alfred the Great and an entire kingdom from a Viking invasion. But when he is called back into service to combat a plague of monstrous beasts known as abominations, he meets a fate worse than death and is condemned to a life of anguish, solitude, and remorse.

She is a fierce young warrior, raised among an elite order of knights. Driven by a dark secret from her past, she defies her controlling father and sets out on a dangerous quest to do what none before her ever have—hunt down and kill an abomination, alone.


When a chance encounter sets these two against one another, an incredible twist of fate will lead them toward a salvation they never thought possible—and prove that the power of love, mercy, and forgiveness can shine a hopeful light even in history’s darkest age. 

***
I should say right off the bat that this isn't a novel for the faint of heart. The descriptions Whitta uses are brutal. Even I cringed at some of the images the story put in my mind. But that right there is the brilliance. I could visualize and sense everything. I felt like I was right there with the characters, experiencing the same astonishing horrors and brutality they were.

The characters are awesome. It's impossible not to love Wulfric, who is the definition of a tragic hero. He's almost too good to be honest, but I adore the guy and loved all the arcs he went through. The second main character, Indra... Talk about a handful. A feisty, strong woman who never needs to be rescued, I thought she was a bit too intense at some points. Though having said that, I loved being witness to her adventures and battles. Both characters were very strong and ideal leads for a horror/fantasy novel.

For me, the highlight was the monsters. Each one was more horrifying than the last and they carried unique weapons or fighting skills. I never knew what to expect from them, and the twist that carried them through the story was really engaging.

I'm itching to give this novel five stars, I really am, but there were a couple things that irked me. First, I found the pacing at the beginning a bit strange. Everything was moving really quickly, and I didn't know why until the end of that part when the twist began.

There were also a couple major events that I predicted early on. The biggest one was pretty obvious, and while it didn't alter my enjoyment of the story in any way, I wasn't exactly stunned when it came to light.

Finally, the villains. The first one was crazy and I wanted to see more of him. The second seemed to come out of nowhere, and until I knew he was the villain, I actually felt sorry for him. He just didn't seem like a good choice for an enemy, and was very anti-climactic.

But as a whole? Abomination rocked my world. Great characters, intense action, terrifying monsters, and incredible suspense. Maybe not recommended for readers who don't like gore, but if you like horror and light fantasy mixed with a little history? This is definitely the book for you.

Amy

Sunday Snippet: "Don’t do that again.”

Welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors, the weekly blog hop where indie authors get to share 8-10 sentences from their current/upcoming release or work in progress. I'm still posting from my newest release, Damnation's Door, the last book in the Cursed trilogy, which has been going crazy with the blog tours I have set up with the generous help of XPresso Book Tours and En Pointe Author Services. Last week was full of action, so this week I thought I would tone it down a notch and add some romance. In this scene, main character Constance is sulking from the aftermath of her fight and the exasperation it drew from her friends. She expects her lover Warrick to do the same, but...

Instead of berating me, Warrick slipped onto the staircase with me and opened his arms. I stayed in place, but let him curl his arms around my back and pull me against his chest. The moment I felt the warmth of his body and inhaled his musky pine scent, I began to relax. I started to feel safe, comfortable, loved.

In the three weeks we had been together, Warrick had shown me more kindness and compassion than Mateo had done in two years. Clearly my choice in men had improved.

“Don’t do that again,” he whispered into my hair. “You scared the shit out of me.”

Demons are free. Angels are fallen. Hope is dying...

Constance Ramirez and her adopted sister, Andromeda, have stopped Lucifer’s plan– They have closed the Heaven Gate and kept the demons out. But their choice came with brutal consequences, and now every angel on earth is trapped in their mortal body.

All that remains is closing the Hell Gate and establishing a balance once and for all. That means returning to the city of Constance’s nightmares, which has become a haven for murderers and monsters. But even more dangerous than their hunt is that Andromeda’s powers and instincts are turning darker, and this time Constance doesn’t know how to protect her.

Constance is ready to fight for her life, but her enemies have plans she can’t begin to imagine, and they’re prepared to make her suffer...

Trust is lost and hearts are broken in the epic conclusion in Amy Braun’s Cursed trilogy...

Media Kit

Chapter One

Buy it here:

Amazon Kindle | Paperback | Kobo | Barnes & Noble | Nook | iBookstore |  Goodreads | Smashwords 

I'm going to take some time next week to do more promoting for the Cursed trilogy as a whole, but I also need to take some time and prepare my next release, which I know some people are anxious for: Midnight Sky, the second Dark Sky novel coming August 2, 2016. But rejoice! The buy links and a new teaser image are below!

There are secrets, there are betrayals, and there are sacrifices… 

The Behemoth has been destroyed, and the bloodthirsty Hellions seem to have left Westraven. But Claire Abernathy’s mind is not at ease. A terrible disease plagues her sister, appearing to have been brought on the Vesper, the leader of the Hellions beyond the tear between worlds– the Breach.

To save Abby and stop the Hellions for good, Claire must find the machine her parents built before the attacks, and fix it before the monsters return. To do so, she needs the help of her crew, and must ignore the secrets and rivalries between her captain and the man she saved.

Because the Hellions are not the only dangers following Claire. Twisted humans and old enemies surface to stop her and destroy all she loves. While she is determined to endure the trials, a single betrayal could shatter the hope of a better world, and force Claire to make a choice that will cost her dearly…

Media Kit

Chapter One

Buy it here:

Kindle | Kobo | Barnes & Noble | Smashwords | iTunes | Goodreads

And if all that wasn't enough, there are open giveaways and sign ups for both Damnation's Door and Midnight Sky:

The Bookish Crypt Damnation's Door and Cursed series giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Sign Ups:

Book Blitz for Damnation's Door
Release Blitz and Blog Tour for Damnation's Door

Review Opportunity for Crimson Sky and Midnight Sky

In writing news... I have a lot going on. The Beta edits for Storm of the Gods are back, and I'm sending them to an editor to look over. I'm eager to get back into those books and tinker around before I take the big leap at the end of the month and send them to publishers. Writing the first draft of The Iron Gargoyle is also going really well. As in "holy crap I love this story and these characters why do I need a Real Job I want to do this all day for forever!" *breathes* Finally, I'm going to tackle Scrivener for print. I was lucky earlier this week when a guest who frequents my Real Job gave me the best tip I've ever gotten. Long story short: Last week, we talked for easily twenty minutes about our love of books and my writing career and Writers Tears Irish Whiskey. A couple days ago, I saw him again and not only did he give me a file to read on Scrivener and a writing app that will connect to it, he gave me a mini bottle of the very whiskey I wanted to try!  

Has anyone from WeWriWa ever tried this? I'm not much of a whiskey drinker. Gin and tonic is my drink of choice. Speaking of WeWriWa, be sure to check out the other Weekend Writing Warrior websites and leave them some love in the comments. I guarantee you'll find a new genre and author to spark your interest. 
Cheers! For once, I can take that literally!

Amy

Review: A Monster Calls

I remember the first time I saw A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness. I was in a bookstore and it caught my eye. There seemed to be a lot of hype about it. I read the back matter and it peaked my interest, though I wondered how much hype could have come from such a short book. Now I know. A Monster Calls is one of my most haunting, beautiful stories I've ever read. It had me in tears. I can count on one hand the number of times that's happened, and in the past, it's been when I'm invested in a long running series and I know the characters. Never from a short, standalone novel. But this book had me crying like a baby at the end. I never expected it, and it was glorious. A Monster Calls is one of the best novels I've ever read, and needs to be read by everyone. It's heartbreaking, but it's honest and meaningful and important. This is not a book that should be missed.

Beautiful simple cover with the very important yew tree!

The monster showed up after midnight. As they do.

But it isn’t the monster Conor’s been expecting. He’s been expecting the one from his nightmare, the one he’s had nearly every night since his mother started her treatments, the one with the darkness and the wind and the screaming…

This monster is something different, though. Something ancient, something wild. And it wants the most dangerous thing of all from Conor.

It wants the truth.

***
This is going to be a fairly short review since the book itself is short, but I'll do what I can. The story follows a young boy named Conor as he copes with his mother's cancer, which is slowly robbing her of life. As the story progresses, he meets a strange monster made of a yew tree who comes to him and strikes a strange bargain with him– Three stories for a single truth. Everything that follows is unexpected, gorgeous, and heartfelt. If the ending doesn't get you choked up or strike you in the feels, you're probably made of stone.

Conor is a very good character. He's the scared little child we all are when something as large and formidable as death is lurking around the corner. He's the perfect voice for this story, and watching him process everything that's happening is nothing short of a journey.

Make no mistake– this isn't a happy story. This is a grim tale about grief and mourning, and the struggle we all go through when something like this comes knocking on our door. I don't know if I'd read it again soon (my heart needs a break... No pun intended), but I absolutely loved it. The imagery, the emotions, the turmoil, the single, breathtaking climax that's getting me choked up even now as I write this... Worth it. Ness writes masterfully in a way I can only dream to achieve. I cannot speak more highly of this book. Like The Martian, it has earned every ounce of praise coming its way, and I will recommend it to everyone I know.

That said, let me give you a single piece of advice. When you read this book, do so while you're at home. It's short– I finished it in a couple hours– and before you start, make sure you have a big box of tissue, a warm blanket, and whatever treat you give yourself when you bawl like a baby. Because trust me, you're going to need all three.

Amy

Sunday Snippet: "I didn’t think this whole plan through."

It's been a busy week! I'm posting early because I'm preparing for a long weekend vacation with my friends, a cover reveal in a couple hours (and likely live, depending on where you are in the world!), formatting, completing a first draft of a novel, and planning another series. I'm going a little out of my mind with all I need to do. But, first things first– Weekend Writing Warriors! My 8-10 sentence snippet for this weekly blog hop continues a little while after last week's cliffhanger post, since so many people asked for it to continue. So in this snippet from Damnation's Door, releasing on Tuesday (woo hoo!), main character Constance Ramirez gets into trouble, and has to fight her way out of it...

Admittedly, I didn’t think this whole plan through. Seeing the man who murdered my mentor, kidnapped my sister, tortured and tried to kill me sparked my already short temper. So it wasn’t long before they got their shots in.

The man on my left jabbed his fist into my ribs. I winced, giving the man on the right the chance to loop his arm around my throat. I was pinned to his back, my neck straining painfully as he wrenched it up. I used one hand to claw at the meaty arm on my throat, leaving my front completely exposed to the second man. He grinned, thinking he was going to get some revenge on me for the sake of his employers.

Stupid bastard forgot I was still armed.

Demons are free. Angels are fallen. Hope is dying...

Constance Ramirez and her adopted sister, Andromeda, have stopped Lucifer’s plan– They have closed the Heaven Gate and kept the demons out. But their choice came with brutal consequences, and now every angel on earth is trapped in their mortal body.

All that remains is closing the Hell Gate and establishing a balance once and for all. That means returning to the city of Constance’s nightmares, which has become a haven for murderers and monsters. But even more dangerous than their hunt is that Andromeda’s powers and instincts are turning darker, and this time Constance doesn’t know how to protect her.

Constance is ready to fight for her life, but her enemies have plans she can’t begin to imagine, and they’re prepared to make her suffer...

Trust is lost and hearts are broken in the epic conclusion in Amy Braun’s Cursed trilogy...

Media Kit

Chapter One

Pre-order it here:

Amazon Kindle | Paperback | Kobo | Barnes & Noble | Nook | iBookstore |  Goodreads | Smashwords |

There've been some great reviews of the final Cursed novel lately, including one from WeWriWa's very own Christina Ochs, who just released her own brand new novel that you all need to buy! Seriously, get it, it's freaking amazing! In addition to reviews, One Book Two currently has a giveaway for the whole Cursed series! You can find out more details here, and there's still a ton of signups that all book bloggers are welcome to:

Sign Ups:

Book Blitz for Damnation's Door
Release Blitz and Blog Tour for Damation's Door

Cover Reveal for Midnight Sky

Review Opportunity for Crimson Sky and Midnight Sky

Now, in writing news. While Midnight Sky, the second Dark Sky novel is just about to have its glorious cover revealed to the world, I'm still working on the final formatting for both the printed and ebooks. I'm still working on figuring out Scrivener (the compile feature is what I want to use most right now, hence why I can't get it to format without doing weird things), but I'm hoping to have it sorted out by next week so I can send out all the details for reviewers and bloggers and begin its promotion. 
I'm crushingly close to finishing the second Areios Brothers novel (only half a chapter!), and wanted to get it done today, but I don't know that I'll have time or wakefulness on my side. *cries* That said, I'm taking my laptop with me to my friends cabin (and before you protest about what a horrible friend I am, all six of them plan to play a round or two of Magic The Gathering, a game I know about as much of as I do astrophysics), so I'll get a little more work in during that time. 
Once that's over, it's on to plotting and working on The Iron Gargoyle. I'm expecting a little more edits to return my way and will focus on Damnation's Door and Midnight Sky more than anything (seriously, thank God for blog tour companies and ebook promotion services– I think I would actually have to quit my Real Job if I had to do literally all of this by myself), but I'm going to need something to write when I have a moment or two to spare. 
So yes, that's the big news! Check back in a couple hours for the official cover reveal of Midnight Sky, and be sure to leave some love for the other Weekend Writing Warriors! I'll be posting again on Thursday, so until then, cheers! 
Amy

Review: The Fury

Nine times out of ten, I love Alexander Gordon Smith's writing. And I do mean love. Escape From Furnace is one of the best horror novels I've ever read (and I'm including both YA and adult fiction here) and remains one of my favourite book series of all time. The Devil's Engine is an utterly unique concept that I adore and am dying to see how it continues. Needless to say, I was pumped and eager to start, The Fury, a novel where Smith essentially gets to go insane (no pun intended) with whatever he wants. And while The Fury is certainly exciting, thrilling, and not at all what I was expecting, I felt a little disappointed by it. For me, it was little things left out or strange directions that left me feeling confused. Again, this is not a bad novel at all, and it in no way changes my complete adoration and respect for Smith. Sadly, this story just wasn't the one for me. 

This cover never fails to creep me out.

Imagine if one day, without warning, the entire human race turns against you. Every single person you meet becomes a bloodthirsty, mindless savage, hell-bent on killing you - and only you. 

Friends, family, even your mum and dad, will turn on you. They will murder you. And when they have, they will go back to their lives as if nothing has happened. The world has the Fury. It will not rest until you are dead. 

Cal, Brick and Daisy are three ordinary teenagers whose lives suddenly take a terrifying turn for the worst. They begin to trigger a reaction in everybody they meet, that makes friends and strangers alike want to tear them to pieces. These victims of the Fury - the ones that survive - manage to locate each other. But just when they think they have found a place to hide from the world, some of them begin to change ...

They must fight to uncover the truth about the Fury before it's too late. But it is a truth that will destroy everything they know about life and death.

***

The concept is one that's been used before in both books and film, but it's one that I always enjoy reading. I love reading about characters struggle against literally everything they've ever known. Friends becoming bitter, violent enemies makes for a shocking story, and I couldn't wait for the action to start. And it certainly does. One thing I love about Smith's writing is his ability to keep the action intense and visceral throughout a story. His descriptions make you feel like you're witnessing every horror, hearing every scream, smelling all the blood surrounding the characters. If you think that's a little disturbing, wait until you read his action scenes. You ain't seen nothing yet. 

The Fury starts with the world turning on its head for three main characters– Cal, Daisy, and Brick– and doesn't relent until... well, until the very end, basically. Not that that's a bad thing. It keeps the suspense going and brings us deeper into each scenario the characters encounter. Though I did worry that the action moved a little too quickly this time around. 

The characters are pretty good, each one completely different from the next yet able to bond on common ground and form a rag-tag family. Cal was the hero you can't help but love as he grows mature and protective, Daisy was the young girl who turned out to be stronger than she could have ever dreamed, and Brick was the surly jerk who slowly softened up, and there was a character named Rilke who had her whole life flipped on its head and quickly went mad.

And this is where The Fury started to lose me. When the big twist happens, I didn't see it coming at all. I want to say that it works, but it was so jarring that I had to take a moment to rationalize it all in my mind. From there, the scenes were a little easier to accept, but by the end battle, I felt it was a little too campy. And this is from someone who loves camp. I got why everything worked the way it did, but just couldn't get as involved as I wanted to be.

Now, these are nitpicks and personal opinions. All in all, The Fury is a solid horror story with visual descriptions that you won't soon forget. I recommend it to lovers of classic horror movies and novels, and to people who are willing to suspend their disbelief and let the story take them on a truly wild ride. 

Amy

Huge Weekly Recap With Reviews, Signups, and Pre-Orders!

Last week got busy fast, and this week is going to be even more intense. I have so much going on and even more planned, it's hard to keep up. While not everything is crossed off from last week's goals, most of it is close to being done:

• Finish editing Midnight Sky ASAP!
• Midnight Sky media kit and pre-order setups 
• Format Midnight Sky (working on today)

• World building, histories, series outline, and plots for the Iron Gargoyle series (create a map)

• Continue writing the sequel to Storm of the Gods 

And if you thought that was a lot of work, take a look at this:

• Send out Midnight Sky media kit and pre-order links for promotions
• Format Midnight Sky for print and ebook (test out Scrivener)

• Series outline, and plots for the Iron Gargoyle series (create a map)
• Start writing The Iron Gargoyle, the first Iron Gargoyle novel

• Finish the sequel to Storm of the Gods 
• Beta read edits for Storm of the Gods (if they come in)
• Open contests for Damnation's Door (released next week!)

Yeah. So far, today has been one of those days where I just don't know where to start. Well, that's not true. I'm aiming to get the final drafts and review copies for Midnight Sky up now that the Kindle, Kobo, and Smashwords pre-order links are live. More should be on the way and the Dark Sky series page will be updated next week after the cover reveal on June 5. 

 Sign Ups:

Blog Tour for Storm Born

Review Opportunity for the Cursed series

Pre-Order Release Blitz for Damnation's Door (Starting soon!)

Book Blitz for Damnation's Door
Release Blitz and Blog Tour for Damation's Door

Cover Reveal for Midnight Sky

Review Opportunity for Crimson Sky and Midnight Sky

***

Not that I have any expectations to get all of those goals accomplished, but to think that I might is really motivating. I mean, if I get even two or three of them done, I'll consider myself ahead of the game. Since formatting is perhaps my least favourite part of writing, I'm going to be working with Scrivener for the first time. I'm a little anxious and I hate tutorials (so boring!), but considering the issues I've had in the past, and the recommendations I've gotten, it makes sense to give it a shot and see how it works. If nothing else, at least I'll have a reliable formatting software. 

Damnation's Door is out next week. I'm still working on believing that. It seems like I just finished the final draft yesterday. It's nice to know that I'll have a full, completed series, but I'm going to miss the characters. That said, I'm getting ready for the blog tours and giveaways, and have already heard great reviews from One Book Two and fellow author Christina Ochs!

Speaking of Christina Ochs, she'll be part of a special guest post this week on my blog to promote her new novel, Hammer of the Gods. I've already read and reviewed the novel on Goodreads (a fuller review will be coming this Saturday), and I have to say it's freaking spectacular. If you like mild fantasy novels/historical battles, trust me when I say this is a book series you want to start. I couldn't stop reading! 

Last but not least, updates on my newest writing projects. The second Areios Brothers novel is almost finished (about 2.5 more chapters to go), and I'll be relieved when its over. There will be some changes, many of which might come later since I need to update the first novel, Storm of the Gods. I should be getting the Beta edits back any day now, and am hoping to start working on them in June so I can take a deep breath and send out query letters. Once I do that, the series will be out of my hands and there will likely not be updates on it for the rest of the year, unless the incredible happens and it's picked up by a publisher. 

Finally, Iron Gargoyle. You guys have no idea how much I'm aching to get really started on that bad boy. I've already created the world history, written the prologue and the first chapter of the first book, and have the basic plots for the series (which will include four full length novels and a series of three novellas revolving around another character), so now I need to set up the world and detail the plots. It's a lot of work, but I love doing it. 

So, this blog post turned out to be way longer than I expected. Imagine what my monthly blog post is going to look like! 

Anyway, it's time to get back to work. Thanks for spotting by! Cheers!

Amy

Sunday Snippet: "I didn’t hit my mark."

It's been a crazy week for me with the upcoming release of Damnation's Door, the final Cursed novel, and preparing for the promotion and release of Midnight Sky, the second in the Dark Sky trilogy. That said, I still have time to promote Weekend Writing Warriors, the weekly blog tour where authors get together and share 8-10 sentences of their current, upcoming, and newly released work. I'm still carrying on from chapter one of Damnation's Door, and decided that a little chaos is in order. After being faced with one of her most loathsome enemies and his cronies, Constance decides to take matters into her own hands...

I took a risk myself, and threw my silver knife at Drake.

I didn’t miss–I hardly ever miss–but I didn’t hit my mark.

The thin silver blade slammed into the neck of the Possessor standing beside Drake. The huge bounty hunter had stepped to the side so the blade wouldn’t get anywhere near him. He stepped so far I was a little embarrassed at how off my aim had been. Deep down, I knew better. Drake was fast for someone his size, but it looked like he’d gotten quite a bit from his deal with the Devil.

The man lurched, blood gushing from the wound in his neck. He opened his mouth as though to scream, but a spiral of thick black smoke shot out of his mouth. The Possessor’s true form screeched and twisted away in the back room. Then room exploded into action.

Demons are free. Angels are fallen. Hope is dying...

Constance Ramirez and her adopted sister, Andromeda, have stopped Lucifer’s plan– They have closed the Heaven Gate and kept the demons out. But their choice came with brutal consequences, and now every angel on earth is trapped in their mortal body.

All that remains is closing the Hell Gate and establishing a balance once and for all. That means returning to the city of Constance’s nightmares, which has become a haven for murderers and monsters. But even more dangerous than their hunt is that Andromeda’s powers and instincts are turning darker, and this time Constance doesn’t know how to protect her.

Constance is ready to fight for her life, but her enemies have plans she can’t begin to imagine, and they’re prepared to make her suffer...

Trust is lost and hearts are broken in the epic conclusion in Amy Braun’s Cursed trilogy...

Pre-order it here:

Amazon Kindle | Paperback | Kobo | Barnes & Noble | Nook | iBookstore |  Goodreads 

| Smashwords |

***
Now, onto the news. I'm happy too announce that the edits Midnight Sky for are done! I likely have some touch-ups to do that will happen when I begin formatting *cries* but I'm sure I'll catch all of them. I was also super excited to receive the artwork for the novel, which is freaking spectacular. Deranged Doctor Design nailed my idea completely, and I couldn't be happier. It's kind of killing me not to show the artwork, but the cover reveal is June 5, but there's still time to sign up for it, along with all the other blitzes and promos I have coming up!

 Sign Ups:

Blog Tour for Storm Born

Review Opportunity for the Cursed series

Pre-Order Release Blitz for Damnation's Door (Starting soon!)

Book Blitz for Damnation's Door
Release Blitz and Blog Tour for Damation's Door

Cover Reveal for Midnight Sky

Review Opportunity for Crimson Sky and Midnight Sky

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Now, writing news. While I'm going to be formatting and preparing Midnight Sky, I'm still plugging along with the end of the second Areios Brothers novel. I don't think I've ever had this much trouble writing an action packed ending, though I came up with some absolutely wicked ideas regarding the third book in the series. Not that it will be next on the docket. Nope– Iron Gargoyle is next on the list. I'm still working on the plot, which will likely take a full day, but I'm committed to planning it out so I can send it to Beta readers and publishers after that. It will take a few months to complete, but I'm going to be excited to see it through. 

So, that's my truckload of work. Looking at it now reminds me why I wish I didn't have to worry about my Real Job. Yeah, it pays the bills and pays for my writing, but I would really rather just be writing. Such is life, right? 

Anyway, thanks for stopping by! Be sure to check out the other Weekend Writing Warriors blogs and leave some love for the authors. Weekend Writing Warriors has just about every genre you can imagine, so you're guaranteed to find something you like! Cheers!

Amy