The Rite To Reign box set is finally out! It's live! Happy Day!
With 25 stories of urban fantasy and paranormal romance goodness, you're
sure to find many hours of delightful reading. I can't wait to start
reading myself, so many interesting characters to meet and worlds to be
whisked away to.
My story in the set, Portal Wielder, is a paranormal, science fiction & fantasy romance adventure mashup.
One of the really fun things about writing a story like this is how
serendipitous the inspiration can be. The theme of the box set is
witches and royalty. When I first thought about having a familiar for my
space witch, I didn't want it to be the typical cat.
Then I remembered the squirrels in the evergreen grove at Delta Lake State Park--
I first encountered these little guys after the first all-night snowfall
while living in Upstate New York, last December. The snow was
beautiful, and I wanted to see what it looked like at the state park up
the road from where we lived.
It was so quiet out there after a snowfall, the only sound my boots
sinking in the snow. Then I heard chattering followed by tiny barking
once I got to the evergreens. The sound was getting closer, following me
through that trees as I walked under them.
Finally, I spotted the source, two tiny squirrels that could easily fit
in my pocket. And they were yelling at me, chasing me, trying to
intimidate me into going away. Of course, it didn't work.
I stopped to watch the cute little critters and they ran to the tree
closest to me, one the source of all the noise, the other apparently
just along for fun. The quiet one ran to the base of the tree where
several pine cones lay and proceeded to chew away at it like corn on the
cob. The whole while, the other one squeaked and barked, looking me
straight in the eyes.
What a fierce little guy he was!
I saw them several more times throughout the winter and they always put a
smile on my face. So, the familiar in my story became a squirrel.
I was able to get a picture of them, the Intimidator and the Snacker.
Who knew I'd find so much inspiration in Upstate New York? What a fun winter. :)
The Rite To Reign box set is now available on Amazon here.
Happy Reading!
Kyn
Rite to Reign pre-order is live! I'm so excited about this box set. It is the first box set I've been a part of and it has been a wonderful experience so far. The story I wrote for this is a Paranormal, Science Fiction and Fantasy Romance mashup. I can't wait to share more!
The box set releases on December 11, 2018, but pre-orders for Nook, iBooks, and Kobo are available now. Amazon is on the way and I will announce when it is available when it becomes, well, available.
Rite to Reign Blurb:
Something wicked this way comes…
Willful witches,
supernatural sorcerers, cruel queens, and powerful priestesses fall out
of favor and rise to rule in this highly sought-after collection of
spellbinding stories!
More than 20
award-winning and bestselling authors have come together to curate this
bewitching boxed set collection of the best PARANORMAL ROMANCE and
URBAN FANTASY books in the genre, each brimming with stories of royal
magic.
Journey through worlds of danger and mayhem, where witches
and warlocks battle for influence and wizards fight for unrestricted
power.
But reader beware: the highly addictive stories in RITE TO
REIGN will put you under their spell. One click to secure your limited
edition copy today!
Pre-Order Links:
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/rite-to-reign-a-limited-edition-urban-fantasy-collection
iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/rite-to-reign-a-limited-edition-urban-fantasy-collection/id1399750623?mt=11
Nook: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/rite-to-reign-heather-marie-adkins/1128915797
Happy Reading!
BLURB:
London 1869
A dark wizard has arrived in London, at exactly the time unrest among the non-magical community is coming to a head. London is under the protection of wizard and alchemist Icarus Kane and his loyal friends Cora Mae Jenkins and Archimedes Merriweather, and together they must chase down the threat while dodging the riots and the angry poor along the way. Icarus has no use for science, but there will be no escaping it as the aether, the very heart of magic, is threatened. All of London may perish if the dark wizard gets his way, and Icarus could lose his best friend and his lover in the battle. All the world could be destroyed under the tide of the oncoming storm unless Icarus can face his own power and embrace his inner darkness.
REVIEW:
The story captured my attention right at the beginning with Gettysburg. I love when history is mixed in with science fiction, which is much of the point of steampunk I suppose. Plus I worked as an archaeologist on the Antietam battlefield, so I feel a little bit of a connection to Gettysburg as well. Then I ran right into demons and magic and my interest went down (I did not have the book description before reading, as I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review, and I hadn't seen the cover either, which is gorgeous, btw). I'm not sure why I can like mummies and magic, like in The Mummy, but as soon as demons, witches and wizards are introduced, I'm done. However, I can be objective towards them, as many people do like stories with them, so I continued to read for the sake of reviewing.
As I got more into the story, the gratuitous use of magic became more clear. Science exists within the storyline with the idea that there were people of science and magic users in competition with each other. Science vs Magic. It was an interesting plot point where a war between science and magic needed to be prevented, that there had to be a way science and magic could coexist, that there was room for both. I liked that idea.
This is a story of good vs evil, family betrayal, redemption, and love. The characters are delightful. I especially loved Archimedes. In the beginning, I was wondering why he didn't have Cora's heart either and felt he definitely needed a love interest. By the end, I wasn't disappointed.
There was a lot of fun humor mixed in too. This passage made me laugh out loud:
"My father is not just any wizard. He was the Grand High Master for many years. We will be lucky to live through the night."
"See?" I tweaked a curl with my fingers. "You're coming around already. A moment ago we were already dead."
I was having a little trouble with the way Icarus spoke to Cora, thinking it was a flaw with the writing. Then Archimedes said at some point, "You aren't talking to her, you're talking at her," and it clicked. That was the problem and I was relieved to see that it was done deliberately. Archimedes was such a helpful character. Did I mention he has mechanical parts that tick and click around? He does! And I love that aspect of him too.
Of course, the romance. The conflict between Icarus and Cora, both inside and outside, was great. I'm a sucker for tortured souls and Icarus was fighting a very dark past with a perception that he wouldn't be accepted as a lover, nor did he feel he deserved to be loved. I liked seeing how that played out and the revelations of what really happened in his past were excellent! Though, it was a little disturbing that their first kiss was while people were screaming, being burned alive, during a vision from his past.
This passage was wonderfully romantic:
"I never want you to wonder how I feel about you, Cora Jenkins," Icarus said.
"Then never stop telling me."
Has to be my favorite line of the book.
The sleeping beauty ending was pretty cheesy, but the after the end was a nice touch.
The way the story was structured was pretty unique. Cora's point of view was told in first person and Icarus's was in third. I found that I liked that. It changed the pacing without interrupting the flow, if that makes sense. It's hard to explain, but I liked it.
All in all, I liked the story and would give it 3.5 stars. Since you can't give halves, I'll round up to 4.
(The Alchemist's Kiss is available on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Alchemists-Kiss-AR-DeClerck-ebook/dp/B010MOJXRE)
