Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Guest Blog and Giveaway with Crista McHugh



There’s nothing like the relationship between an elf and his fire wolf.

Sure, there’s the scared relationship between man and his four-legged, furry best friend (usually known as his dog). But in my series, The Soulbearer Trilogy, I decided to play with this notion and up the ante.

Enter Cinder, the fire wolf.
Yes, he has the magical ability to set himself on fire when needed, but basically, he’s an overgrown lap dog.

Cinder clawed his way into my books quite accidentally. I was writing the opening scene of A Soul For Trouble, and I realized I needed something to help tone down Dev’s harshness. I could’ve given him a dog (or maybe a ferret, if I was feeling a bit silly), but I wanted to incorporate something a little extraordinary, a little magical. Hence, a fire wolf.  

A wolf is a powerful animal that still has some of those dog-like loyal qualities when tamed, and that ability to set things on fire is handy when battling a hoard of zombies.

But as the series progressed, I found myself thinking of Cinder as more of another character than a pet. He’s brave in battle, but he’s also a comforting shoulder for Arden (my main character) to lean on in times a trouble. He whines, hogs the bed, growls at royalty, and has Dev saying more than once that Cinder likes Arden more than him. What started out as a prop became a sidekick as important as any two legged character.

What are some of your favorite animal sidekicks?


December 4 Guest blog/Tour Intro
Fang-tastic Books

December 5 Promo
ReaWrite 

December 6 Guest blog
Flutey Words

December 6 Feature Promo
Victoria Danann 

December 7 Promo
The Stuff of Success – 

December 9 Promo and review
3 Partners in Shopping, Nana, Mommy, & Sissy, Too!


December 10 Guest blog
Nomi’s Paranormal Palace

December 11 Review
Book on a Wire, 

December 12 Promo
Blooding Book Reviews

December 13 Interview
Tory Michaels’ World,

December 13 Interview
Book on a Wire, 

December 14 promo
Krystal's Enchanting Reads ... 

December 14 promo
Book Addict

December 16 character interview (author created Q's)
Butterfly-o-Meter Books

December 17 Guest blog
Monique Morgan

December 17 Interview
JeanzBookReadNReview       

December 18 Interview
Melissa @ Melissa's Eclectic Bookshelf

December 18 Promo
Carly Fall - Where Fantasy Meets Romance





A Soul For Chaos
The Soulbearer Trilogy, Book 2
Crista McHugh

Genre: Fantasy with strong romantic elements

ISBN: 978-1479236817
Ebook 978-0985446222

Number of pages: 338
Word Count: 89K

Cover Artist: Claudia McKinney

Book Description:

Life is dull without a little Chaos.

Trouble is more than just a nickname for Arden Soulbearer. It seems to follow her wherever she goes. And no one knows this better than her protector, Devarius Tel’Brien.

Dev thought that by moving Arden to Gravaria so she could learn how to control Loku, the chaos god whose soul inhabits her body, life would be simpler. Wrong. Not only is he continually torn between his duty and his growing feelings for the Soulbearer, but he also has to contend with the rival prince who wishes to claim her heart. Adding to his problems, a group of powerful mages have banded together to rid the world of the disembodied chaos god once and for all. Of course, that means they have to destroy Arden in the process.


About the Author:

Growing up in small town Alabama, Crista relied on story-telling as a natural way for her to pass the time and keep her two younger sisters entertained. Of course, that also means she’s inclined to suffer some of the same maladies that plague many southern writers like overuse of simile and metaphor, exaggeration, melodramatic writing style, and the ever-popular long-winded sentence.

She currently lives in the Audi-filled suburbs of Seattle with her husband and two children, maintaining her alter ego of mild-mannered physician by day while she continues to pursue writing on nights and weekends.

Just for laughs, here are some of the jobs she’s had in the past to pay the bills: barista, bartender, sommelier, stagehand, actress, morgue attendant, and autopsy assistant.

And she’s also a recovering LARPer. (She blames it on her crazy college days)
For the latest updates and answers to any burning questions you have, please check out her webpage.


Twitter: @crista_mchugh


Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3035791.Crista_McHugh

Crista is giving away a 
Copy of A SOUL FOR CHAOS 
(reader's choice print or ebook)
and $10 iTunes gift card
a Rafflecopter giveaway

6 comments:

K. A. Last said...

WOW! I love this cover. This looks like a great read.

bn100 said...

Nice cover.

Chrystina said...

One of my favorite animal sidekicks is Jim from the Ashling Grey series by Katie MacAlister :) Love the cover too!

Linda said...

Maximus the horse from Disney's Tangled. He stole the whole show!

Shawny said...

Years ago, I read a book called Minverva Wakes by Holly Lisle. There was a drunken dragon sidekick who was hilarious.

Debby said...

Great cover. I love smart cats as a sidekick.
debby236 at gmail dot com

 
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