A New Sexy Urban Fantasy/Paranormal Romance

At last, the countdown starts. The release of GUARDED, book 1 in THE SILVERTON CHRONICLES series is scheduled for July 31, 2015, and I have even found a Guardian Angel (geddit?) to help me to the finishing line: thank you, Michelle Slagan. 🙂

Now, the time has come to reveal my cover.

Do you love it? Hate it? If you have an opinion, I’d love to hear from you.

For GUARDED, I wanted sexy, mysterious, with the full focus on a strong woman. After a quick image mock-up, some of you gave me a hand refining the concept, and my wonderful designer, Ana Grigoriu, then turned it into the stunning result you see before you.

To find a book summary, view trailers or read early readers’ comments, please click here.

A Little Extra

As luck would have it, I was rummaging through a chest of leather-bound books and oddly contoured metal plates yesterday, and came across a document, all yellowed and musty. Its contents seem to have some bearing on the world in which GUARDED is set, so I figured I should share it with you. I know what you’re thinking, how can I be sure it’s not a modern forgery? Well, you can tell it’s genuinely old by the stilted language. I’m certainly convinced. But why not judge for yourself?

Denario’s Account, Year As167 of the Brather Calendar

“Hernando!” The old demon’s voice echoed across the valley and into the next, where it startled two young sparrows in their nest. “Get that circle closed, you fool. Now!”

 

One of the younger demons jumped up and scurried toward a group of men who strained against a guard, a craggy boulder carved with lines, grooves and symbols. Its wild patterns shimmered and flickered under the thunderous sky. Precision was vital, since these guards would henceforth keep the two worlds asunder, with only the demons, now appointed Guardians, to watch over them.

 

A few among the laborers used their staffs for leverage against the final rock; the others relied on their innate strength and pushed with their shoulders and legs. None of them used magic, for the energy was precious today and to be used by Gerrak alone.

 

The heavy guard edged closer to its destination, a spot on the ground that the demons had smeared with ash in the days before and now was muddied, partly washed away by the rain.

 

Gerrak, leader of the Guardians, towered over them from his vantage point on a hill overlooking the circle of powerful guards. The boulders stood spaced at equal intervals from one another and surrounded the area that would give birth to the new realm.

 

Gerrak’s gray hair fluttered in the wind, untouched by the heavy drops of rain rushing to join the puddles by his feet. He held his staff thrust forward from his chest, parallel to the ground, to temper the Earth’s forces, that they might not overcome the Guardians’ combined might.

 

But Mother Earth was not to be placated by such easy gestures, and repelled his will. Gerrak was loathe to use his full measure of magic against her, for he could feel her pain, but the choice had been taken from him.Three full moons ago, the two councils had announced their verdict, and he, Gerrak, was duty-bound to abide by their decision. That young race that called itself mankind had grown so numerous that, like a plague of locusts against the sky, it had begun to block the shining brightness of magic itself. But in their new home, those born with powers would once again be allowed to wield their art without fear of persecution.

 

Gerrak peered up into the billowing clouds. Time was drawing short. “Hurry!” he shouted at the group of men who were pushing the last guard into place.

 

The circle was complete. A terrible darkness flooded Gerrak’s flesh, dizzying his mind, and he grit his teeth while the Mother’s fury filled him to his core.

 

What he was about to do was a betrayal of all that he had once believed. For he now was to turn the Mother’s powers against her, use her energy to carve out a piece of her own flesh. This lump of clay and sky, and the air in between, was to be separated off, to emerge as a place without access to the sun or the moon, and worse, without the guiding influence of the stars.

 

The ring of guards sparked, and Gerrak called out the incantation. The Earth shuddered and roared. Sweat rolled as beads down his face, but he kept his focus on the mission. With a tremor in his voice, he instructed the world to come apart.

 

Lightning bolts lit up the landscape in terrifying beauty, striking the ground with a shattering boom. The demons who’d moved the boulder shrieked and scrambled away. Eyes wide, they threw their arms over their heads to fend off the unholy forces raging around them.

 

Though exhaustion rattled Gerrak’s body, he forced his staff into the air, and let out a scream. With a final deafening roar, the Earth yielded to his command. Like a bubble in a swelling storm, their future home split apart and floated up above the guards and into the atmosphere, still tethered to the mourning Mother, yet too far to find comfort in her embrace. One more swipe of Gerrak’s staff, and a reddish darkness shrouded this new realm, so as to conceal its existence from anyone but the Guardians.

 

Gerrak, ruined by his own actions, groaned and rolled his eyes. His feat accomplished, the mighty demon’s body crumpled into a heap of bones and pulp, from where his life-force seeped into the soil. It would forever add his strength to that of the guards.

 

And thus came about Alethia.