• · ·

    Bright Blaze of Magic, Black Blade #3, up for pre-order …

    Book #3We’re only a couple of weeks away from the release of Bright Blaze of Magic, the third book in my Black Blade young adult urban fantasy series that will be out on April 26. Woot!

    This will be the third and final book in the series, and it will close out Lila’s story. As of right now, I do not have any plans to write any more books in this series.

    Bright Blaze of Magic will be available in print, e-book, and audiobook formats from all the usual retailers. The book is available for pre-order at the following sites:

    Amazon Kindle / Amazon print / Barnes & Noble / Books-A-Million / Google Play / iBooks / IndieBound / Kobo

    The audiobook will be available through Audible and Amazon, and Brittany Pressley will once again be the narrator.

    And here is the book description. This doesn’t contain any real spoilers for the book/series, but if you absolutely do not want to be spoiled, you might want to skip reading the book description:

    BAD THINGS ALWAYS COME IN THREES…

    As a thief, I’m good at three things: hiding in the shadows, getting in and out unseen, and uncovering secrets. I put these skills to work for the Sinclair Family, one of the magical mobs that run the tourist town of Cloudburst Falls.

    Everyone knows Victor Draconi wants to take over all the other Families—and kill every last Sinclair. What they don’t know is that I’m on to him, and no way will I let the man who murdered my mom get away with hurting all the other people I care about. Especially when I’ve got places to break into, stuff to steal, and Devon Sinclair fighting right by my side…

    The heroine of Bright Blaze of Magic is 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 — or mobs — who control much of the town. But Lila finds herself caught in the middle of a brewing war between the Sinclairs and the Draconis, the two most powerful Families in town.

    I hope that everyone enjoys the conclusion to Lila’s story when the book is released. Happy reading!

  • · ·

    Dark Heart of Magic, Black Blade #2, to be published in German …

    Estep Black Blade 2Attention German readers: I wanted to let you know that Dark Heart of Magic, the second book in my Black Blade young adult urban fantasy series, will be released in German on May 2.

    And here is the cover for Dark Heart of Magic. I always think it’s so interesting to see how the covers vary from country to country. I really like the white covers that my German publisher, Piper Verlag, has been doing for this series, along with my Mythos Academy series. (Although my favorite German covers are the ones with the flowers on the front and on the spines for my Mythos Academy series.)

    I’m not sure when Bright Blaze of Magic, the third and final book in the series, will be released in German. If I had to guess, I would say probably sometime in the fall 2016, but I don’t know for sure. If I get some more information about the release date later on, I’ll try to remember to share that here on my blog and social media sites.

    And of course Cold Burn of Magic, the first book in the series, is also available in German.

    I hope that all the German readers enjoy Dark Heart of Magic when it is released. Happy reading!

  • · ·

    Unraveled, Elemental Assassin #15, cover revealed …

    8 Comments

    UnraveldToday, I thought I would share the cover art for Unraveled, Elemental Assassin #15, Aug. 30.

    The cover was once again done by Tony Mauro, and the model for Gin is Alexa Martino. I really like the red tone to this one, and I love the spider rune branded on the saloon doors.

    Unraveled is up for pre-order at the following sites:

    Amazon Kindle / Amazon print / Barnes & Noble / Books-A-Million / Google Play / iBooks / Kobo / IndieBound

    It will be a while before the pre-order link for the audiobook goes online. That is usually posted about six weeks before the release date. The audiobook will be available through Amazon and Audible, and the awesome Lauren Fortgang will once again be the narrator.

    Here’s the description. Beware of spoilers for previous books in the series, especially Bitter Bite, book #14:

    What could go wrong when you’re trying to unravel a decades-old conspiracy? 

    As the current queen of the Ashland underworld, you would think that I, Gin Blanco, would know all about some secret society controlling things from behind the scenes. I might be the Spider, the city’s most fearsome assassin, but all my Ice and Stone elemental magic hasn’t done me a lick of good in learning more about “the Circle”. Despite my continued investigations, the trail’s gone as cold as the coming winter.

    So when Finnegan Lane, my foster brother, gets word of a surprising inheritance, we figure why not skip town for someplace less dangerous for a few days? That place: Bullet Pointe, a fancy hotel resort complex plus Old West theme park that Finn now owns lock, stock, and barrel. At first, all the struttin’ cowboys and sassy saloon girls are just hokey fun. But add in some shady coincidences and Circle assassins lurking all around, and vacationing becomes wilder—and deadlier—than any of us expected.

    Good thing this assassin brought plenty of knives to the gunfight …

    I love westerns, and I always thought about writing a western-type story. So this is sort of my version of that — Spider-style. 🙂

    You can read the first chapter of the book here. Scroll down and click on the Read Excerpt tab. Again, it does contain spoilers for previous books in the series.

    I hope that everyone enjoys the cover art.

  • · ·

    Making time to read comics …

    4 Comments

    Note: This post will also appear tomorrow at Magical Musings.

    I love to read. I always have, ever since my mom started taking me to the library when I was a kid.

    But sometimes, the very last thing I want to do is read.

    Why? Because most of my reading is done as work on my own books, instead of reading whatever I want to for fun. After spending hours writing, editing, revising, and proofreading my own books day in and day out, sometimes I just don’t want to read. Instead, I’ll veg out in front of the TV or listen to music or do anything else but read. And with my writing deadlines, I often just don’t have time to sit down and read a 350-page book, not even if I break it up over several nights.

    Black Widow Last DaysBut I’ve found something that works for me, a way to keep reading in the limited time that I have these days. The answer? By reading comics collections.

    I’ve always enjoyed superhero stories as books, movies, and TV shows, but in the past several years, I’ve gotten more and more into reading comics. One series that I’m enjoying right now is about the Marvel superhero Black Widow, including Black Widow Vol. 3: Last Days by Nathan Edmondson and Phil Noto.

    Why do I like reading comics? For starters, they are a great mix of stories, dialogue, action, and art. Plus, there are many, many different takes on just about every superhero character out there, so you’re bound to find a story or interpretation that you like. And depending on the size of the comics collection, I can usually read it in one night, which works great with my busy schedule these days.

    Don’t get me wrong. I still enjoy reading full-length print books, and I squeeze those into my schedule as often as I can. But when I want a quick escape to another world, I often grab some comics from my TBR pile. If you’ve never read comics before, give them a shot. You might just get hooked on them like I have. 🙂

    What about you guys? Is your reading time limited? How do you make time to read? Do you read comics collections?

  • Books in my TBR pile …

    5 Comments

    I can’t believe that it’s March already. Spring will be here before you know it.

    So today, I thought I would share some books in my TBR pile that I’m looking forward to reading this spring. Note that the descriptions are from Amazon:

    Red QueenRed Queen by Victoria Aveyard

    The #1 New York Times Bestseller

    Graceling meets The Selection in debut novelist Victoria Aveyard’s sweeping tale of seventeen-year-old Mare, a common girl whose once-latent magical power draws her into the dangerous intrigue of the king’s palace. Will her power save her or condemn her?

    Mare Barrow’s world is divided by blood–those with common, Red blood serve the Silver- blooded elite, who are gifted with superhuman abilities. Mare is a Red, scraping by as a thief in a poor, rural village, until a twist of fate throws her in front of the Silver court. Before the king, princes, and all the nobles, she discovers she has an ability of her own.

    To cover up this impossibility, the king forces her to play the role of a lost Silver princess and betroths her to one of his own sons. As Mare is drawn further into the Silver world, she risks everything and uses her new position to help the Scarlet Guard–a growing Red rebellion–even as her heart tugs her in an impossible direction. One wrong move can lead to her death, but in the dangerous game she plays, the only certainty is betrayal.

    The Shadow QueenThe Shadow Queen by C. J. Redwine

    A dark epic fantasy inspired by the tale of Snow White, from C. J. Redwine, the author of the Defiance series. Perfect for fans of A Court of Thorns and Roses and Cinder.

    Lorelai Diederich, crown princess and fugitive at large, has one mission: kill the wicked queen who took both the Ravenspire throne and the life of her father. To do that, Lorelai needs to use the one weapon she and Queen Irina have in common—magic. She’ll have to be stronger, faster, and more powerful than Irina, the most dangerous sorceress Ravenspire has ever seen.

    In the neighboring kingdom of Eldr, when Prince Kol’s father and older brother are killed by an invading army of magic-wielding ogres, the second-born prince is suddenly given the responsibility of saving his kingdom. To do that, Kol needs magic of his own—and the only way to get it is to make a deal with the queen of Ravenspire, promise to become her personal huntsman—and bring her Lorelai’s heart.

    But Lorelai is nothing like Kol expected—beautiful, fierce, and unstoppable—and despite dark magic, Lorelai is drawn in by the passionate and troubled king. Fighting to stay one step ahead of the dragon huntsman—who she likes far more than she should—Lorelai does everything in her power to ruin the wicked queen. But Irina isn’t going down without a fight, and her final move may cost the princess the one thing she still has left to lose.

    TruthwitchTruthwitch by Susan Dennard

    In the Witchlands, there are almost as many types of magic as there are ways to get in trouble–as two desperate young women know all too well.

    Safiya is a Truthwitch, able to discern truth from lie. It’s a powerful magic that many would kill to have on their side, especially amongst the nobility to which Safi was born. So Safi must keep her gift hidden, lest she be used as a pawn in the struggle between empires.Iseult, a Threadwitch, can see the invisible ties that bind and entangle the lives around her–but she cannot see the bonds that touch her own heart. Her unlikely friendship with Safi has taken her from life as an outcast into one of of reckless adventure, where she is a cool, wary balance to Safi’s hotheaded impulsiveness.Safi and Iseult just want to be free to live their own lives, but war is coming to the Witchlands. With the help of the cunning Prince Merik (a Windwitch and ship’s captain) and the hindrance of a Bloodwitch bent on revenge, the friends must fight emperors, princes, and mercenaries alike, who will stop at nothing to get their hands on a Truthwitch.

    What about you guys? What books are in your TBR pile? What books are you looking forward to reading this spring?