In writing this book, I was inspired by a number of things,
among them an old French imposter case, two children's songs, and a fairy tale.
I wanted to explore the themes of love, betrayal, knowledge, death, and duty.
To set up those themes I could think of no better way to open this book than to
recreate a Haljan version of the 16th century execution of Arnaud du Tilh, the
man who impersonated the French peasant Martin Guerre.
Fiery Edge of Steel
is the second book in the Noon Onyx series, which is genre-bending fantasy with
elements of mystery and romance. The setting is post-apocalyptic, but it's not
dystopian fiction. In fact, Armageddon is old news. The demons won and life has
continued, albeit in a world that's more dark and dangerous than before.
In Dark Light of Day,
the first book in the series, Nouiomo "Noon" Onyx, a 21 year old post
grad magic user, had to choose between death or training to become a demon peacekeeper
or Maegester. In Fiery Edge of Steel,
Noon faces a different question.
I wanted to try something new for Fiery Edge of Steel's release. So with the help of participating
bloggers, Roxanne Rhoads of Bewitching Book Tours, and my publisher (who provided
the ARCs), I decided to give everyone an exclusive sneak peek at part of Chapter
1. There are a total of six parts. I'm giving away six signed ARCs of Fiery Edge of Steel (US only; one during
each post) and a $25 eGift Certificate to the bookstore of the winner's choice
(international). The best way to follow the tour is to start at the beginning
so you can read the excerpts in order. Check Bewitching Book Tours website or
mine (www.jillarcher.com) for the full schedule and list of participants.
Thank you for letting me share Chapter 1 of Fiery Edge of Steel with you.
Starting today and going through May 11 each day a new excerpt is being revealed from Chapter One of Fiery Edge of Steal. Stop by each site to read a new sneak peak and enter the giveaway.
Chapter One Part One
In pre-Apocalyptic times humans stoned their criminals to
death by throwing rocks, sharp pieces of metal, and other debris at the
wrongdoer until they were so bloody and beaten, death was inevitable. It was
said that, until jaws were broken or skulls were smashed, all wrongdoers cried
for it to end.
Everyone got their wish.
Stoning demons is impossible, of course. Trying to kill a
demon by throwing rocks at it would be like trying to take down an alligator by
blowing soap bubbles at it. So, in modern times, public executions call for a Carne Vale—a “farewell to the flesh”
ceremony where waning magic is thrown instead of stones. The practice is even
more brutal than its ancient counterpart, but just as cowardly.
Ari Carmine and I stood elbow to elbow in Timothy’s Square,
waiting for the awful thing to begin. Beside me, Ari squeezed my hand. He
likely meant the gesture to be reassuring, but it made me feel trapped and I
pulled my hand free. I glanced up at him, quirking my mouth in a half smile
meant as an apology. He looked down at me, expressionless, but I could feel his
signature, that wispy magical aurora that allowed uncloaked waning magic users
to sense one another’s presence. Ari’s signature was warm, as always, but today
it was laced with blistery bits, as if the glowing embers of a dying fire had
been kicked at me. It made standing next to him uncomfortable.
Around us, the crowd of Hyrkes—humans with no
magic—continued to build as students from both St. Lucifer’s and the Joshua
School gathered. The heat from the unrelenting overhead sun was oppressive.
Since there were no trees in Timothy’s Square, there was no shade. There was no
cover. Nowhere to hide from what was to come.
Peering over my shoulder to check for possible unobserved
routes of escape, I made the mistake of catching Sasha de Rocca’s gaze. Sasha
was a distant cousin of mine, but that didn’t mean we were close.
He sneered openly at me.
“Dressed for a funeral, Noon? Do you really think mourning
is appropriate for a Carne Vale?”
Automatically, I glanced down at my indigo sheath. In
Halja, midnight blue—the color of the sky when Lucifer was struck with the
lance that killed him over two millennia ago—was the color of mourning.
“The thing deserves to die,” Sasha said, his low voice
burbling up out of his thick barrel chest. Suddenly his cold, crinkly eyes and
dirty blond beard seemed far too close. I stepped back.
It wasn’t that I was afraid of Sasha. My power was far
greater than his. But, unlike Sasha, I hated using mine, and he knew it. I hadn’t
thrown magic since last semester when my demon client had almost killed me. The
St. Lucifer’s faculty had given me leave to table my magic use over the
semester break, but now that classes were back on, my “recovery” was officially
over. I was expected to come out of my self-imposed dormancy today, and I was
expected to come out of it so that I could participate in the one thing I
abhorred.
Killing.
May 6 Fang-tastic Books
May 7 Urban Girl Reader
May 8 Preternatura
May 9 Urban Fantasy Investigations
May 10 Rabid Reads
May 11 Romancing the Dark Side
Fiery Edge of Steel
Noon Onyx Book Two
Noon Onyx Book Two
Jill Archer
Genre: Fantasy with elements of mystery and romance
Publisher: Ace
Date of Publication: May 28, 2013
ISBN-10: 0425257169
ISBN-13: 978-0425257166
Number of pages: 336
Word Count: 105,000
Cover Artist: Jason Chan
Book Description:
Lucifer and his army triumphed at Armageddon, leaving humans and demons living in uncertain peace based on sacrifice and strict laws. It is up to those with mixed demon and human blood, the Host, to prevent society from falling into anarchy.
Noon Onyx is the first female Host in memory to wield the destructive waning magic that is used to maintain order among the demons. Her unique abilities, along with a lack of control and a reluctance to kill, have branded her as an outsider among her peers. Only her powerful lover, Ari Carmine, and a roguish and mysterious Angel, Rafe Sinclair, support her unconventional ways.
When Noon is shipped off to a remote outpost to investigate several unusual disappearances, a task that will most likely involve trying and killing the patron demon of that area, it seems Luck is not on her side. But when the outpost settlers claim that an ancient and evil foe has stepped out of legend to commit the crimes, Noon realizes that she could be facing something much worse than she ever imagined.…
Noon Onyx is the first female Host in memory to wield the destructive waning magic that is used to maintain order among the demons. Her unique abilities, along with a lack of control and a reluctance to kill, have branded her as an outsider among her peers. Only her powerful lover, Ari Carmine, and a roguish and mysterious Angel, Rafe Sinclair, support her unconventional ways.
When Noon is shipped off to a remote outpost to investigate several unusual disappearances, a task that will most likely involve trying and killing the patron demon of that area, it seems Luck is not on her side. But when the outpost settlers claim that an ancient and evil foe has stepped out of legend to commit the crimes, Noon realizes that she could be facing something much worse than she ever imagined.…
Dark Light of Day
Noon Onyx Book One
Noon Onyx Book One
By Jill Archer
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Ace
ISBN: 978-0-425-25715-9
Number of pages: 384
Word Count: 123,000
Book Description:
Armageddon is over. The demons won. And yet somehow…the world has continued. Survivors worship patron demons under a draconian system of tributes and rules. These laws keep the demons from warring among themselves, the world from slipping back into chaos.
Noon Onyx grew up on the banks of the river Lethe, daughter of a prominent politician, and a descendant of Lucifer’s warlords. Noon has a secret—she was born with waning magic, the dark, destructive, fiery power that is used to control demons and maintain the delicate peace among them. But a woman with waning magic is unheard of and some will consider her an abomination.
Noon is summoned to attend St. Lucifer’s, a school of demon law. She must decide whether to declare her powers there…or attempt to continue hiding them, knowing the price for doing so may be death. And once she meets the forbiddingly powerful Ari Carmine—who suspects Noon is harboring magic as deadly as his own—Noon realizes there may be more at stake than just her life.
About the Author:
Jill Archer is the author of Dark Light of Day, the first book in the Noon Onyx series. Raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Jill now lives in rural Maryland with her two children and her husband, who is a recreational pilot. She blogs about books, movies, interesting people, and various weekend adventures.
website/blog: www.jillarcher.com
twitter: @archer_jill
Posts
17 comments:
Thanks for the chance to win - sounds like a great read.
Awesome giveaway! And I really like the cover art for those books, too.
I've heard great things about the first book in this series. I need to check it out! Thanks for the giveaway!
Thanks for a great giveaway
I just wanted to stop by and say hi and thank everyone for participating in the tour. Happy to hear, bibliotropic, that you like the cover art (me too! :-)) and, Rebe, that you've heard good things about DLOD. That's terrific. Hope everyone is having a great Monday!
I've been hearing good things--thanks for sharing some peeks with us about Fiery Edge of Steel! Can't wait to read more!
Great beginning to the first chapter.
thanks for the giveaway!
These sound intriguing
Thanks so much for the giveaway. These sounds like amazing books.
debby236 at gmail dot com
This sounds great! Def. have to read it!
-Amber
goodblinknpark(AT)yahoo(DOT)com
I've had the first book on my wishlist for a while; maybe now that the next book is out (or coming out? I just spaced) I'll have to get proactive.
Looks great! Thanks for the giveaway.
Nice excerpt. I have not heard of this series before but will be putting them on my TBR list. I haven't read any stories where magic is thrown to execute demons like people used to be stoned. Thanks so much for the excerpt & giveaway.
Very interesting, will now follow the blogs for chapter one. Thanks
Dropping in to say thank you to all the commenters. I’m glad the excerpt piqued everyone’s interest. Nice to see some familiar names as well as many new ones!
Glad you liked the beginning, Stephen. Bethany C, Fiery Edge doesn’t come out until May 28th. Still time to read Dark Light of Day. ;-) June M, waning magic users also shape magic like weapons. It’s been interesting, challenging, and fun developing Noon’s magic use growth arc.
I really appreciate all the kind words. Have a great night, all!
This series sounds totally kickbutt!! Absolutely want to check it out...thanks for the chance to win, too! :)
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