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Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Interviewing K.A. Young about her urban fantasy release Coven

Today, I'm happy to have K.A. Young here to tell us about her new paranormal/urban fantasy release, Coven. Be sure to check out her book as well as a great contest at the bottom of this post.
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Your heroine in Coven, Elise Michaels, has a motto: no guts, no glory. She is a thrill seeker, continually craving excitement and adventure. The idea of being tied down to a place or man never interested her, even though a betrothal spell was cast linking her and the Head of Council’s son when they were mere infants. Is she able to avoid this betrothal spell? If so, how? 

The betrothal spell isn't a spell that she or anyone else has the ability to either alter or break, frustrating Elise and making her even more determined to change the ritual and rid the Coven of practices such as these. 

Being a distant third in succession to assume the Head Mistress role, Elise felt confidant that her secret would remain in her past along with Coven life. What didn’t she like about Coven life? What life did she want instead? 

Coven life as you can imagine is limiting and quite confining and is comparable to a boarding school for human girls.  Elise was beyond thrilled when she found out that she'd been pared with the last female warrior of their race.

Unfortunately, Elise is forced to return to the Coven and the Sorcerer she so desperately sought to forget. Why must she return?

Her aunt the acting head mistress of the Coven is murdered and her cousin who would assume the role has gone missing leaving Elise to fill the family role of running the Coven.

What might happen if Elise cannot answer the call and embrace her new role in the Coven?

Not returning to the Coven isn't an option. Elise although wild at heart is nothing if she isn't loyal to the Nephilim people and although she may not be happy about it, she will server in whatever capacity she is called upon to serve.
 

Briefly describe the magical systems of your world. How do those who are empowered gain their abilities?

Sorcery among the Nephilim is passed down through bloodline. At one time there were as many Sorcerers as Sorceresses but an attack by the yetzer hara greatly reduced the male numbers, rendering the Nephilim slightly more vulnerable without the ability to produce as many offspring. 

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Coven
The Elise Michaels Series
Book 1
K.A. Young

Genre: Paranormal/urban fantasy
Publisher: K.A. Young
Date of Publication: October 4, 2013
ISBN: 978-1492914631
ASIN: B00FJ6E88K
Number of pages: 250
Word Count: 54000


Amazon    BN    Kobo

Book Description:

Elise Michaels' motto has always been: no guts, no glory. She is a thrill seeker, continually craving excitement and adventure. The idea of being tied down to a place or man never interested her, even though a betrothal spell was cast linking her and the Head of Council’s son when they were mere infants.

Being a distant third in succession to assume the Head Mistress role, she felt confidant that her secret would remain in her past along with Coven life.

Unfortunately, nothing in our fun loving heroine’s future is anything she or anyone from the supernatural realm is prepared for.

Now, she’s forced to return to the place and the Sorcerer she so desperately sought to forget.

Elise has no idea the power and gifts that await her. Can she let go of her own desires and embrace her new role? Or will she surrender to the faceless evil coming for them all?

Book one in the tantalizing Elise Michaels Series a spinoff of The Nephilim Warrior Series.

Excerpt:

Van and I rode in silence for the first hour or so of our journey to my childhood home. I think we were both dealing with our own demons. Coming along with me on this babysitting detail was in fact a demotion for him. Although I was happy to have him along with me, as he certainly would keep things lively as well as my spirits up, I still felt bad that Eli had put him in this position.
He’d been training a lot harder lately while he considered joining one of the covert teams in their pursuit of The Hunter. That ex-brother-in-law of Anna’s had been giving both the vamps and us a run for our money. He’d kinda slipped off the radar several months ago and we all had secretly hoped he’d been ‘offed’ by a rogue vamp. He was one of the strongest and fastest vampires around, despite the fact that he was essentially a baby vamp. He was turned by the use of black magic, so it sped up the process. It usually took years for most vamps to gain his type of strength and speed; born vampires who grew into their powers and abilities during the transition that took place around their early to mid-twenties.
I was ashamed to admit that Van wasn’t the only one I felt sorry for at the moment. I had never wanted to go back to the Coven, but going back I was. It wasn’t that I didn’t have fond memories of my childhood there. I did. It was that being part of, or leading the Coven, was the equivalent of imprisonment. Well, maybe that was a little on the extreme side, but it was how I felt; how I’d always felt. The responsibility that came with protecting the secrets and traditions of the Coven didn’t lend itself to much free time. I was, and always had been, a free spirit. Adventure was never something I shied away from even when it went hand in hand with danger.
I sighed again and tried to focus on the positives of returning. One, I would be close to the sea and I adored the salty air as well as the sandy beaches that were so close to the Coven that they had been deemed our backyard. Two, I would get to see some of my closest friends that remained behind and three¬¬… well, there were two positives.
Van brushed the back of his hand against my cheek, breaking into my mental pep talk. I turned, smiling at him. His handsome tan face beamed with encouragement. He was aware of how hard this was for me, for both of us.
“I’m okay. Surely, things won’t be too bad. I mean, I can handle a bunch of adolescents.” Could I handle seeing him again, though? Would the pull of the spell still be as powerful as it was when I had resided there? I was positive it would.
I remembered back to the day my mother had explained the bond to me. I’d been about thirteen and Garrett and I had been caught kissing in the woods back behind the Coven. “Elise, do you recall the history of the betrothal of Coven’s leaders?” I had. Back when the Coven wanted to ensure what bloodlines would remain in leadership of the Coven, parents of both the Mistresses and Council would cast a betrothal spell, binding two infants together. They would be compelled to complete the mating bond once they reached adulthood.
“Your father and I, along with Garrett’s parents, cast such a spell on the two of you. We thought at the time it was what was best for the both of you and the Coven, but now, I’m not so sure. You are special, Elise. I have seen in a vision that you are to be paired with a warrior that all of us even wondered if she would live to see adulthood.”
I knew then what she was referring to; we’d all heard tales of the last female warrior. The one that would one day assume the throne as queen of the Nephilim. I had been beyond excited that I’d been chosen. I couldn’t wait to tell all my friends, but my mother had sworn me to secrecy. When she realized it was too much to ask of someone so young, she spelled me silent—a brilliant move on her part. It was then she warned me to control my impulses toward Garrett and I had from that moment on.
I came back to the present and my task at hand. “Anything those kiddos come up with, I’m positive I’ve already thought of or attempted it myself.”
He laughed. “Of that I have no doubt.”
“Van, I’m sorry you got roped into coming along with me.” I glanced down at my hands that I now clasped together. “I know this isn’t what you had in mind when you thought about your future.”
He reached over and took one of my hands in his. “I don’t want you thinking that way. This isn’t the future either one of us envisioned, but it is the one fate has chosen for us and I for one am not going to allow myself to question it. I’m just going to do my damndest to make the best of it and focus on the job at hand; which is keeping you alive and out of harm’s way.”
God, he was the best. “Point taken and attitude adjusted, Warrior.” I saluted him with my free hand. “Van, you know—next to Anna—you are my favorite person. Ever.” He didn’t respond, only smiled. He raised my hand that he still held tightly in his to his lip and kissed it. “Van…” I looked out the window, steeling my nerves. Seeing as how he was my closest friend next to Anna, I needed to be honest with him about everything.

About the Author: 

K.A. Young is a paranormal/fantasy romance author that lives with her family in the South. She began writing because her mind was swimming with incredible stories that were begging to be told. Her love for reading began as a small child when she realized that a good book was an instant escape to a mystical land that could be reached anytime and from anyplace.

Twitter - @KAYoungBooks

Giveaway Contest:

5 ecopies of Coven in the form of the smashword code 
2 -$5.00 amazon gift cards
 
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Marsha A. Moore is a writer of fantasy romance. The magic of art and nature spark life into her writing. Read her ENCHANTED BOOKSTORE LEGENDS for adventurous epic fantasy romance: Book One, SEEKING A SCRIBE, Book Two, HERITAGE AVENGED, Book Three, LOST VOLUMES, and Book Four, STAUROLITE. For a FREE ebook download, read her historic fantasy, LE CIRQUE DE MAGIE, available at Amazon and Smashwords.

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