Author: S.A. Klopfenstein
Pub. Date: May 15, 2018
Publisher: Guardian Grey
Publishing
Formats: Paperback, eBook
Pages: 420
Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes and Noble
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-->Synopsis:
For centuries, the
Oshan Empire has ruled the New World with terror and blood. The Watchers have
been eradicated, and their sorcery is but a whispered myth. But the heart of
magic beats on, and as it surges back to life, three young people will
determine the fate of the world…
Tori Burodai, a
strong-willed slave girl. Her magic could ignite a revolution, but only if she
resists the ruler who wants to use her powers to restore the empire to its
former glory.
Darien Redvar, the
idealistic soldier she loves. His rage leads him down a dark path to power that
could turn him against the one person he cares for.
Kale Andovier, a
lordling rebel with a torturous past. His quest for a weapon of dark sorcery
will thrust him into a twisted game of power that could change the world
forever.
Excerpt from The Shadow Watch:
Prologue:
The mother could feel the creatures
in her mind, searching, probing, scouring, desperate to unveil what remained
hidden to them in the city of tents. She gripped her daughter’s hand tight, so
tight she could feel the throbbing of her daughter’s heartbeat in her palm.
Little Astoria did not know why her mother had snuck her out of their tent in
the middle of the night. She did not know what creatures might lurk behind the
skin of any one of their tribesmen, waiting to crawl out and devour her.
Together, mother and daughter crept
through the city, weaving from shadow to shadow. The mother prayed the
creatures would not find her until her daughter was safe, but the sun goddess
of the Yan Avii had turned her face from the world.
Astoria yawned, then covered her mouth
with her tiny hand.
She’s
seen only seven summers,
thought the mother. It pained her to think of what she had to do, but she could
not keep her daughter a secret any longer. It was not safe.
Astoria did not know what hunted her
because she did not yet understand the New World. She did not know of the
ancient vows that had been sworn by ancient rulers, nor of the vile creatures
that had been molded by them, molded for only one purpose—to eradicate
Astoria’s kind from the world.
Fear wrapped its fingers around the
mother’s throat, and she held still. She could sense the creatures again. They
were searching all across the makeshift City Upon the Steppe. They had sensed
magic, and they would not leave until their hunger was sated.
It did not matter that the Yan Avii
were no longer part of the empire. The creatures did not abide by treaties or
boundary lines. They knew only the purpose for which they had been bred.
Astoria had used magic, and they had come for her.
A tenuous cloud slithered across the
sky, shrouding the twin moons of the New World. A blessing from the gods. The
mother imagined the Sisters were whispering to her as they cast the world in
shadow. She could almost hear their voices on the wind. Be brave, good mother, be swift.
The mother seized the moment and
hurried down the dark lanes through the labyrinth of tents, tugging her
daughter along behind her.
Astoria shivered. Her tiny hand
trembled in her mother’s palm. Astoria wore only a cotton shift, which barely
reached her knees and left too much of her bony shoulders bare. The mother
wished she had thought to grab her daughter’s cloak, but there had been no
time.
Such a lovely thing, her daughter’s
magic, an innocent thing. Astoria had used her gift for good. She had saved the
boy. But the creatures came for her, all the same.
The cloud passed, and the Sisters
rejoined their thousand daughters in their nightlong dance across the sky,
bathing the tent city in iridescent light. But the momentary darkness had been
enough.
At the edge of the Yan Avii tent
city, the mother reached the tent she sought. The flap fell behind them,
shielding them from watching eyes, though the creatures relied upon another
sense. The mother felt their minds again, but she would not have to ward them
off much longer. Her daughter was nearly safe.
The merchant was so burly he seemed
to fill the tent. His smile was crooked like his heart, the mother had no
doubt. Her own heart shuddered at what she had to do.
Sweat beaded from the merchant’s
bald, fat head. Piercings lined the left side of his face from jaw to earlobe,
threaded by a golden chain. His robes were blue like the glaciers of the
mother’s homeland, woven of fine silk, and she knew he had not attained that
wealth from dealing in spices.
“Who’s he?” Astoria muttered
sleepily.
The merchant grinned, but he let the
mother explain.
“He’s… an old friend, my dear. He is
going to look after you. You must go with him.”
Realization dawned on Astoria’s
face. Her eyes widened. Her lips trembled. “Go with him where?”
“Somewhere safe.”
“Y-you’re coming too?”
The mother shook her head. The
merchant’s chest heaved with silent laughter. How many times has he witnessed such treachery, to find the betrayal of
a mother so amusing?
“W-where are you going?” said
Astoria.
The mother choked back a sob. She
knelt and pulled her daughter close, and Astoria’s tears soaked through her
tunic. “Far away, my love,” said the mother.
“I w-want to go with you.”
“You can’t. My friend will keep you
safe. You must be strong, my love. You must trust me.”
“I trust you,” Astoria told her
mother, straightening up bravely.
She’s
strong,
thought the mother. Too strong. This is
the only way.
Astoria did not realize that her
mother did not even know the merchant’s name. She did not understand when the
man gave her mother a handful of coins in the exchange. The merchant took hold
of Astoria’s hand, and the mother let go, biting her lip until it bled to keep
from crying.
“We move out at first light,” the
merchant said.
The mother handed him back the
coins. “Leave tonight. Leave now.”
The merchant raised a dark brow, but
he did not question her. His golden tooth shone when he smiled. His fingers
closed around the coins. “As you say. Come, little girl. We’ll wake my friends,
and then, we will go.”
“Her name is Tori,” said the mother.
It was what the village children called her when they played. It sounded
unassuming and common. Her true name betrayed its Old World origins. The mother
feared anything, even a name, might draw attention to her daughter.
“Come then, Tori.”
Astoria held on to the merchant’s
thick hand, and they left to wake his friends. The chain on the side of his
face jingled lightly. His friends would be wearing chains too, the mother knew,
though not on their faces. Soon, her daughter would wear chains as well.
Astoria looked back one last time, her tawny face streaked with tears.
The mother managed a feeble smile.
“Be brave, my love.”
The tent flap fell, separating them
forever. Mother and daughter, blood of the same magical blood, no more.
“I’m sorry,” the mother murmured to
the vacant tent. Her heart collapsed inside the hollow cave of her chest.
Her daughter was gone. But there was
no time to mourn. Her daughter was not safe yet.
The creatures had sensed magic. They
hungered for blood, and the mother would give them what they had come for. Her
magic was of the realm of minds, and it was important Astoria forget the things
she could do. As she hurried from the merchant’s tent, the mother reached out
with her sense, found her daughter’s mind, and reached inside. One by one, she
removed the memories that made Astoria who she was, what she was. Each one
brought tears. She was robbing her own daughter, but it was the only way.
She hurried to finish, hoping it was
enough. Already, the mother felt the creatures coming. They had sensed her
magic, as they had sensed her daughter’s before.
But this time, the mother opened
herself to their sense, and their minds washed over her, pulsing with hunger
and anticipation. They had crossed the world for this. The creatures changed
their skins and flew to find her, soaring on black wings. The mother rose from
the ground and flew to meet them, soaring with no wings at all. Only magic.
Tears ran down her cheeks in cold, meteoric streaks as she flew across the
city, as she flew to die.
Her blood rained down upon the city
of tents. Her body fell like a star. The creatures fell like crows, and they
sated their hunger.
But the mother greeted the gods with
grateful tears.
Her daughter was safe. That was all
she had asked of them.
Astoria was safe.
The thrilling second installment in the Shadow
Watch series!
Author: S.A. Klopfenstein
Series: The Shadow Watch series #2
Pub. Date: March 26, 2019
Publisher: Guardian Grey
Publishing
Formats: Paperback, eBook
Pages: 507
Synopsis:
The Shadow Watch has
been undone. Their captain lies in the dungeons of the White Citadel, and the
Gallows Girl has disappeared. Most of the surviving Watchers have joined the
chancellor's new magical army, the Sky Guard, led by Darien Redvar, but the Gallows
Boy is shaken from the return of the monsters of the Old World, and he must
soon choose, once and for all, where his loyalties lie.
Tori and Mischa trek
to the Great White North with an Alyut shaman, who believes Tori is the one who
will bring Restoration to his people. A resistance is growing in the North, but
Tori may not be the god the people are looking for, and the price of revolution
may cost Tori her heart as well as her life.
Meanwhile, another
threat grows in strength. Old World monsters are rising up across the New
World, and no one knows how they've returned. As nations ready themselves for a
magical war, their return threatens to change everything.
New alliances are set
in place, new friendships are forged, new loves kindled. But no one is safe,
for there can be no war without betrayal.
Don't miss this the latest installment in the
epic fantasy series readers are comparing to Mistborn and Throne of Glass!
About the Author:
He lives in the
American West with his wife and their dog, Iorek Byrnison. He can be found
exploring the peaks of the Rocky Mountains, or daring the halls of the middle
school where he teaches Language Arts.
Giveaway:
- 1 lucky winner will win a finished copy of THE SHADOW WATCH & THE RAGE OF SAINTS, US Only.
--> a Rafflecopter giveaway
Tour Schedule:
Week One:
Week Two:
3/25/2019- BookHounds YA- Guest
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3/29/2019- Abooktropolis- Review
