Please welcome the fabulous Erin Kellison to The Qwillery as part of the Soul Kissed Blog Tour. Erin is the author of the Shadow and Shadow Kissed series. Erin's most recent novel is Soul Kissed (Shadow Kissed 2 / Shadow 5), which was published on September 3, 2013.
Soul Kissed: In the Shadow of the Moon…
Thank you, Sally, for having me here today to celebrate the release of Soul Kissed (book two in my Shadow Kissed series.) I’ve posted at The Qwillery for every release and hope to do so forever.
Since The Qwillery’s logo is a moon, I thought it would be fun to talk about Umbra. In my Shadow books, shadow is synonymous with magic. It’s the stuff of potential, inspiration, dreams and nightmares, intuition. Within Shadow, all the stories, legends, myths, and fairy tales are true. After thousands of years, it’s slowly seeping back into the world. Mayhem ensues.
The people who have Shadow in their blood (aka mages) don’t have souls. They have an Umbra, the essence of their magic, which is tied to their bloodline going back to a progenitor fae.
Umbra (meaning shadow) also happens to be the term given to the darkest part of shadow. Check out this nifty image borrowed from Wikipedia*:
Mage Cari Dolan, the heroine of Soul Kissed, can perceive the antumbra of other mages, which means she can see the unique trail of magic any mage leaves behind. She can recognize the mage and name them, which is why she is tasked to find a murderer. She’s additionally motivated by the simple fact that the murderer took her father’s life too.
Here’s an excerpt:
She called upon her umbra, and Shadow sprang readily from the concrete and saturated Cari’s senses with a rough wave of awareness that rushed her blood, mind, and vision. …
No mages had walked these paths since her father’s death, so the very first silhouette to form out of magic was his own. And next to him, what had to be hers. Yes, that was her, though she never really recognized herself. She seemed like a stranger.
And there were the guards as well, who’d been following them everywhere since the May Fair Massacre. The four imprints they made were full-bodied Shadow, filled with constellations of darklight.
She remembered a few humans, the executives, that had joined them as they crossed the courtyard to enter the big ship, but no sign of their ephemeral passage remained.
Cari could see no one else, no killer, in their group, no mage lurking nearby, but had to witness once again the moment her father staggered. She sobbed openly as it all played out again.
Cari-from-before lunged forward to help him up.
Her father swiped a command at the guards to get her away. She’d missed the gesture before—that her father’s last act was to protect her.
The guards pulled her away as she fought them. Her arms had clawed the air for purchase. Back into a car, where she’d started to shiver herself. One guard sped her away, while the other returned to kneel by her father.
The Cari of today filled with desperation. Who had killed him? Where was the assassin?
….
Rest assured, Cari finds the assassin, or rather, the assassin finds her.
I’m giving away a copy of Soul Kissed (print or e, winner’s choice) to a reader who tells me what they would want their magical ability to be. Me? I want to fly.
No mages had walked these paths since her father’s death, so the very first silhouette to form out of magic was his own. And next to him, what had to be hers. Yes, that was her, though she never really recognized herself. She seemed like a stranger.
And there were the guards as well, who’d been following them everywhere since the May Fair Massacre. The four imprints they made were full-bodied Shadow, filled with constellations of darklight.
She remembered a few humans, the executives, that had joined them as they crossed the courtyard to enter the big ship, but no sign of their ephemeral passage remained.
Cari could see no one else, no killer, in their group, no mage lurking nearby, but had to witness once again the moment her father staggered. She sobbed openly as it all played out again.
Cari-from-before lunged forward to help him up.
Her father swiped a command at the guards to get her away. She’d missed the gesture before—that her father’s last act was to protect her.
The guards pulled her away as she fought them. Her arms had clawed the air for purchase. Back into a car, where she’d started to shiver herself. One guard sped her away, while the other returned to kneel by her father.
The Cari of today filled with desperation. Who had killed him? Where was the assassin?
….
Rest assured, Cari finds the assassin, or rather, the assassin finds her.
I’m giving away a copy of Soul Kissed (print or e, winner’s choice) to a reader who tells me what they would want their magical ability to be. Me? I want to fly.
Also, Shadow Bound (Book 1 in my original Shadow series) is FREE on Amazon and iTunes ($0.99 on Nook). And Shadow Fall (Book 2) is $0.99 everywhere through the end of my blog tour.
For more information about my books, links to blog tours, excerpts, and fun stuff, check out my site: www.ErinKellison.com.
Shadow Kissed
Soul Kissed
Shadow Kissed 2 / Shadow 5
Zebra, September 3, 2013
Mass Market Paperback and eBook,352 pages
While the world slumbers in Shadow, a fatal plague has swept through magekind. No one is immune to its ravages, and now that her father is dead, Cari Dolan must wield the fearful magic of her House to save innocent lives.
At the mage Council's bidding, dangerous outsider Mason Stray joins forces with Cari to hunt down the fiend responsible. But can he trust the daughter of wealth and privilege, especially when his own son is at risk?
The princess will always welcome to her bed the warrior, even if one must pay the ultimate price...
Fire Kissed
Shadow Kissed 1 / Shadow 4Zebra, July 3, 2012
Mass Market Paperback and eBook, 352 pages
Fae Fire
It is Kaye Brand's power to wield. But outcast from her kind, she's been selling herself to the highest bidder - money for her survival in exchange for a magic glimpse into the flames of the future.
Angel Ice
One of the angelic Order, Jack Bastian has no use for a female like Kaye, as provocative and unexpected as her blazing beauty. Yet he has no choice but to hire her to uncover the secrets of his sworn enemy and her former fiance, Ferrol Grey.
Magekind
War is inevitable between the defenders of the Order and the mage Houses who threaten to engulf the world in Shadow. For Jack, mage-born Kaye is off limits, no matter how hot the impossible attraction between them. But in the coming darkness, beset by danger and desire, everything is about to change...
And Shadow Bound (Shadow 1)
Some people will do anything to avoid it. Even trade their immortal souls for endless existence. Wraiths Secretly, inexorably, they are infiltrating our world, sucking the essence out of unsuspecting victims with their hideous parody of a kiss.
Segue
Adam Thorne founded the Institute to study and destroy his monster of a brother, but the key to its success is held in the pale, slender hand of a woman on the run. There is something hauntingly different about Talia O’Brien, her unknowing sensuality, her uncanny way of slipping into Shadow.
Twilight
This is the place between life and what comes after—a dark forest of fantasy, filled with beauty, peril, mystery. And Talia is about to open the door.
About Erin
You can connect with Erin online at her Website, on Facebook, on Twitter, and on Goodreads as well.
The Giveaway
What: One commenter will win a copy of Soul Kissed (print or e, winner’s choice) from Erin.
How: Log into and follow the directions in the Rafflecopter below.
Who and When: The contest is open to all humans on the planet earth with a mailing address. Contest ends at 11:59 PM US Eastern Time on September 14 , 2013. Void where prohibited by law. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 years old or older to enter.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
*Note: The image used above in the post is from the Wikimedia Commons. Commons is a freely licensed media file repository.
Me I kinda want to go invisible . its easier to sneak around then and be that fly on the wall everyone is talking about .lol
ReplyDeleteThis is a tough question as there are so very many talents I would love. I think I want the blink - yup I want to blink and transport elsewhere, blink and the house is clean, blink and well you get the idea. Oh yes I think the blink would be just dandy ;)
ReplyDeleteI would want to be able to read minds!
ReplyDeleteI would want to know who is telling the truth and who is lying. I do like the blink that Denise mentioned, though!
ReplyDeleteSanda
I'd like to wiggle my nose like Samantha from Bewitched and have my house spotless :).
ReplyDeleteI'd love the ability to heal myself and others. I could then do all the dangerous things I've always wanted to try and heal the sick.
ReplyDeleteI would want to be able to read minds!
ReplyDeleteI would also like to read minds.
ReplyDeleteto teleport
ReplyDeleteI would want to be able to teleport.
ReplyDeleteTeleportation would be fabulous.
ReplyDeleteHmm I think I would want to be able an invisible mind reading healer, yeah that sounds about right.
ReplyDeleteTruth-seer/empath. I want to know want is going on. Not read minds as I might get more that I bargain for but if the are being honest and how they feel about things would be awesome.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to be able to manipulate time. There are just not enough hours in the day.
ReplyDeleteI would like to make the world a better place.
ReplyDeleteI wanna have healing magic, so i can heal anyone who's sick, and me too. LOL!
ReplyDelete