Elizabeth Hunter's Blog, page 44

The Force of Wind: Another teaser and a peek at the playlist for Book Three

A detail from the Shaolin Temple

Here's another teaser for your Tuesday, where I tell you a little more (just a little) about a character I hinted at in This Same Earth.

He's a water vampire with a mysterious background. He's Don Ernesto's favored son. And he's a character that takes a much bigger role in The Force of Wind. I can't wait for you to get to know Baojia.

~~~

"Stop after this and watch."

[Beatrice] finished the last turn and moved to the benches to watch him.  Baojia was not an ordinarily eye-catching figure.  His even features were handsome, but not striking.  He spoke even less than Giovanni did, but she had discovered when he did, he had a dry and amusing humor that put her at ease.

It wasn't until he moved that her eyes were drawn to him like a magnet.  If she hadn't been studying martial arts for years, he might have made it look easy.  But Beatrice could detect the iron control, keen reflexes, and barely restrained ferocity of the vampire.  No matter what move he made, he looked smooth, effortless, as if the complicated sequences he performed came as natural to him as breathing did to her.

Shaolin monks in demonstration

I also wanted to give you another look at the playlist for the book. The song today is an older one by Shakira called, Ojos Así (Eyes Like Those) and here is a translation of part of the lyrics:

Le pido al cielo sólo un deseo

Que en tus ojos yo pueda vivir

He recorrido ya el mundo entero

y una cosa te vengo a decir

Viajé de Bahrein hasta Beirut

Fuí desde el norte hasta el polo sur

y no encontré ojos así

Como los que tienes tú

(English)

I ask the sky only one thing

That in your eyes I can live

I have wandered around the entire world

and I have come to tell you just one thing

I travelled from Bahrein to Beirut

I went from the north to the south pole

and I never found eyes like those

Like those that you have

The video quality is not that great, but the song is amazing and worth a listen when you get a chance. I perfect collision of East and West. It's fantastic!

The post for Beatrice nominations will be up on Thursday, so start looking for who you see when you read our favorite librarian.

Thanks for reading,

Elizabeth

"Dream cast" Dr. Giovanni Vecchio from A Hidden Fire

Okay, readers, it's time. This is the post to nominate who you think looks the closest to Dr. Giovanni Vecchio. I hope you were able to struggle through your assignment of looking up pictures of handsome men online. I know it was a sacrifice, and I want you to know that I appreciate it. (Claps for hard-working readers.) I also wish you luck in the drawing for the ARC of book three. Good luck!

A few passages from A Hidden Fire:

She heard his soft accent as he approached and saved the file she was working on before she looked up with a smile.  He was wearing a pair of dark-rimmed glasses and a grey jacket that evening.  His face was angular, handsome in a way that reminded her of one of the photographs in her art history textbook.  His dark, curly hair and green eyes were set off by a pale complexion that seemed out of place on someone with a Mediterranean background.

…As always, she noticed the seemingly incongruent features which only added to the mystery he presented.

His fingers were long and graceful, reminding her more of an artist than a scholar, but the body beneath his casually professional wardrobe looked like that of a trained athlete.  He appeared fastidious in his appearance, but his hair always seemed just a bit too long.  No matter how he was dressed, [Beatrice] always smiled when she saw his expression; his concentrated frown and preoccupied gaze were one hundred percent academic.

Remember though, these are your nominations! I want to hear who you see (or close to it) when you read the books, so it does not have to match the book's description exactly. I just wanted to put a little reminder up for those who haven't read Fire in a while.

Now, some of you listed your ideas in the post on Tuesday and, while I love your enthusiasm, I think you have a very generous impression of how organized my brain is. So, if you have a nomination (just for Gio in this post) go ahead and put it in the comments section, along with a link to a picture if you like. (Please try to keep it safe for work, small children, and sensitive dogs.) If I keep them all in one place, I won't forget to enter anyone into the drawing for The Force of Wind ARC.

You may offer as many ideas as you like, but you'll be entered once for each character you have a nomination for. Otherwise, it might get a little crazy. Or, I might be over-estimating how much interest this is going to generate, hmm… Even if you don't want the ARC (Sarah, I'm looking at you, crazy chick) put your nominations up for everyone to see! I can't wait to get your ideas.

So, nominate away! I'll also be posting over on Facebook if you want to throw some pictures up over there, go for it.

Thanks for reading and nominating!

Elizabeth

Teaser Tuesday and HEEEEELP!

Inner Mongolia by Zoharby

First things first, Happy New Year! I have a teaser for you all today. I'm also asking for your heeeeeelp!

See, I have this really cool thing happening in March to coincide with the release of Book Three, The Force of Wind. From March 5th through 10th I'm doing a whirlwind blog tour with the reviewers over at A Tale of Many Reviews! (Cue confetti! Also, signups are still open if you have a book blog and want to take part.)

I'm very excited, but I need your help! One of the things that I've been asked to do for the blog tour is a "dream cast" for the Elemental Mysteries Books. And here's where you, my lovely readers, come in. (There's also a pretty sweet prize, so keep reading!)

I've always been hesitant to do a dream cast for my books for a couple reasons. One, though I picture the characters in my head, it's rare that one of them is perfectly portrayed by an actor/model/reader's hot cousin. Two, I really love hearing what readers picture in their mind when they read. BUT, I know I have fun reading dream casts from other authors and I know readers like seeing what an author thinks, too. So, what I decided to do is…beg for your help. 

I'll be posting once a week here at the blog and over at Facebook to cast the books. I'll list a character and readers will be able to offer their nominations. At the end, readers will get to vote on the three pictures that I think come closest to what I see for the characters! This way, I get to see what you readers picture (which I love!), you'll get a peek at what I think comes closest, but readers will ultimately decide. Bonus for me? I'll have something to offer any reviewers or bloggers that want a dream cast for the books!

Now, as an incentive for participating, any time you offer a nomination for a character either on the blog or over on Facebook, your name will get put into my very scientific coffee can drawing system. That means, if you offer a nomination for each of the characters (I'm only going to be doing six characters from A Hidden Fire, otherwise it gets too crazy!) you'll be entered six times!

The prize?

An ARC of Book Three, The Force of Wind, of your very own, weeks before the book is released!

I'll be doing this every Thursday and the first character we'll be casting is our main man, Dr. Giovanni Vecchio, himself. (Check out this polyvore set I put together for the man.) So, put your thinking caps on. For the next six weeks, I want to know who you picture when you read about our favorite Italian. We'll also be casting:

Beatrice

Carwyn (hold the squeals, please)

Tenzin

Caspar

and…

Lorenzo! (duh duh duhhhhh)

Now click below the fold to read this week's teaser from The Force of Wind!

Tenzin nodded toward her. "Did I bruise you too much?"

"I'm fine," Beatrice said with a wave.

Tenzin cocked an eyebrow at [Giovanni], as if challenging his cool demeanor, but he didn't rise to the bait.  "She's very good, you know.  When she changes, she'll be formidable.  We should have Baojia give her sword training while she is here.  I have a full practice room with many options."

"Oh," Beatrice perked up.  "Sword training?"

He sat down and waited for Tenzin to stop teasing him.  It wasn't a bad idea.  Because he had such a ready weapon in his fire and rarely needed to behead an enemy, Giovanni wasn't as well-trained in swordsmanship as most vampires were.  He was proficient in fencing and the older Greek and Roman forms, but he knew Beatrice would take to the Asian styles better, considering her background in martial arts.  Baojia, despite Giovanni's personal feelings, would be an excellent teacher.

"I'm sure she'll consider it," he said.  "In the meantime, try not to bruise any internal organs on my woman, Tenzin."

Hope you enjoyed your teaser and start thinking about who YOU would cast as the delicious Dr. Vecchio. All actors/models/super hot cousins are welcome!

Also, here's your playlist peek of the week. Desert Rose by Sting and Cheb Mami:

I dream of rain

I dream of gardens in the desert sand

I wake in vain

I dream of love as time runs through my hand

I dream of fire

Those dreams are tied to a horse that will never tire

And in the flames

Her shadows play in the shape of a man's desire

Thanks for reading,

Elizabeth

Looking ahead to 2012 in the Elemental Mysteries World

Colosseum at Christmas by Borrecuaeddie

Hello again, dear readers! I hope you all had wonderful holiday celebrations and are ready for the New Year. At my house, we tend to spread the holidays out, so we've still got delayed family celebrations with one set of grandparents and are waiting for other family to arrive from outside the States!

It seems like everyone is posting best of lists and top tens. I published Ten Things I Learned About Independent Publishing in 2011 over at my writing site, Spare Some Prose, but I wanted to take a few minutes to give you a look ahead at where I see the Elemental Mysteries series in the next year.

While I've always planned on Giovanni and Beatrice's story arc to be finished in four books (which are already planned out) I've also had some ideas for other books in the Elemental Mysteries "world." Some of these will depend on what I'm inspired to write, and some will depend on reader interest. As I've mentioned in interviews, a companion book for Carwyn is already in the works. I'm planning and time-lining that book as I finish the first draft of Book 4. (Take a look at the picture above for a spoiler for Book 4.) I also have another series featuring two familiar characters that I'm pretty sure is going to happen after Carwyn's book is done.

After that? Who knows! I'm always getting ideas. I may do some novella length work with some of these characters. No doubt, I'll eventually move on to other stories and different worlds, but I have a few more tales to tell in this one yet.

I thank you for reading my books and being interested in these characters. Sharing them with you, getting your feedback, hearing what you've enjoyed (and even what you haven't) has been one of my favorite parts of 2011. I hope you keep reading. If you've enjoyed one of my books, or if you haven't, I hope you might consider posting a review on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or wherever you bought it. I love to read reviews and a thoughtful review is very helpful for other readers when they're looking for books.

by Lalupa

I'll be announcing a new contest next week on the website, along with some other exciting news, so I hope you check it out! The grand prize for the contest is…an Advanced Reading Copy of The Force of Wind! That's right, one reader will have the chance to read an ARC of Book 3 before it is released. Next week, I'll let you know how to enter, so stop by!

Thanks for reading, and have a wonderful New Year!

Elizabeth Hunter

Merry Christmas! A new synopsis, just for you…

Penglai Island

Merry Christmas! I didn't quite make it for all you Solstice celebrators, but I'm only a day late. In our house, we celebrate Christmas, which means that much baking will be done, lots of eating and drinking with family and friends, and a very hyper six year old will run rampant with excitement.

What did you get for me this year? Well, you bought my book (most of you) and that's about the best present an author can ask for, so thank you! What did I get you? Hopefully a few hours of excitement and fun for your brainspace. But…I still feel in your debt, dear readers, so I'm also giving you the synopsis for Book Three of the Elemental Mysteries, The Force of Wind.

~~~

How far would you go to protect the ones you love?

What would you sacrifice to kill the one you hate?

Join Giovanni Vecchio and Beatrice De Novo as they travel to a hidden island on the far edge of China and seek the help of an ancient immortal court. Will they weave their way through the tangled web of centuries-old alliances and ruthless feuds to find what they've been looking for? Friends will be revealed, enemies will find them, and a dangerous secret will come to light.

The third book in the Elemental Mysteries series will see Giovanni and Beatrice joined by a group of unlikely allies as they explore the history and myth of ancient China. Many have been stolen, but only one holds the key.

The Force of Wind is the third book in the four-part Elemental Mysteries series. It is a paranormal mystery/romance for adult readers.

~~~

I hope you liked the synopsis! I'll also be taking a week or so off of posting, so I'll leave you with another peek at the playlist. This week, the song is Fear by Sarah McLachlan, from her Fumbling Toward Ecstasy album. Check her out in concert here:

Wind in time

rapes the flower trembling on the vine

nothing yields to shelter it

from above

they say temptation will destroy our love

the never ending hunger

but I fear

I have nothing to give

I have so much to lose

here in this lonely place

tangled up in our embrace

there's nothing I'd like

better than to fall

Thanks for reading and Merry Christmas,

Elizabeth

Teaser Tuesday: Cosmic Love

After all the deep thoughts last week, I thought I'd just give you readers a very tasty Tuesday Teaser of our favorite couple, along with another hint at the playlist:

"Who are the lion and the dragon?"

He pulled back. "What?"

"Mistress He, the other fire vampire?"

"Yes?"

"She said, 'Who is this human who is protected by the lion and the dragon?' Was she talking about you and Baojia?"

Giovanni chuckled. "Yes, she's quite dramatic, isn't she?  She always has been."

"So, are you the dragon?" she teased, pulling at the back of his shirt as she walked backward toward the silk-covered bed beyond the arched doorway. "The dragon that breathes fire?"

He bent down and hitched up her legs around his waist, carrying her toward the bed and laying her on the red pillows. "We're in China, tesoro, the dragon is a water symbol here."

"Oh?" she asked as his warm hands teased along her waist. "So you're the lion? Why are you the lion?"

"I'm from the West, and the lion is a symbol of the sun," he said as he kissed along her neck. "The sun is the mother of fire."

"But…" She sighed when she felt the quick lick of his energy wherever his lips touched.  Her heart began to race.  "That seems kind of cruel.  You can't go out in the sun."

He only grinned, and she could see the length of his fangs gleaming in the low light of the candles that lit the room.

"Tesoro mio, the lion may be a symbol of the sun…" He bent down, lifted her body toward his, and gave one long, slow lick from her collar bone to her ear.  "But he hunts at night."

Hope you enjoyed reading that as much as I enjoyed writing it. Have I mentioned how much I love this book? I'm so excited for you all to read it. And your playlist peek this week? Cosmic Love from Florence + the Machine. I'm addicted to Florence right now, and this song is one of my favorites. Also, her videos are amazing. Check it out…

Thanks for reading!

Elizabeth

Mystery and Myth Along the Silk Road

When you're writing about East meets West as I am in The Force of Wind, you can't really avoid research into the fascinating history of The Silk Road. This network of land routes linking Europe, Africa, and Asia began as far back as Alexander the Great. By the time the Chinese silk trade rose to world prominence, the Silk Road (which was actually a myriad of connecting roads) covered over four thousand miles and stretched from Rome to China. (Appropriate for Gio and B, no?)

The bazaar in Samarkand

The Silk Road carried silk, of course, along with spices, textiles, rare jewels, and gold; but it was the human trade that I was most interested in. Not slaves (though slaves were traded along the route), but the trade of technology, philosophy, language, art, and culture that moved back and forth along this vast network.

And along these ancient paths, some fascinating and mysterious stories arise. Legends of blond-haired, blue eyed tribes that roamed central Asia. Lost people groups and dead languages. Mysterious mummies. The ancient world was a vast sea of myth. Rising in the far East, and closely tied with Taoist and Buddhist philosophy, are the stories of the Eight Immortals, who I'll introduce you to next week.

During its height, the Silk Road represented a kind of international culture that can hardly be matched, even in the modern world. Mediteranean, Persian, Magyar, Armenien, Bactrian, Indian, Chinese. All these peoples and cultures traveled the Silk Road, exchanging goods, stories, language, and culture. The Silk Road spread philosophy and art, war and disease. Success along the Silk Road brought wealth and influence, and its gradual descent into obscurity brought down kings and nations.

In modern times, the old routes are still being used, but this time they're crossed by Eurasian rail lines instead of camels and horses. Many museums have exhibits that feature the history of the Silk Road, and there is even a Silk Route Museum in Jiuquan, China with over 35,000 artifacts from all over the ancient trade routes.

~~~

And for your listening pleasure, here's another song from The Force of Wind soundtrack:

Loreena McKennitt-Caravanserai

What is this life that pulls me far away

What is that home where we cannot reside

What is that quest that pulls me onward

My heart is full when you are by my side

Thanks for reading,

Elizabeth

Teaser Tuesday: "Loulan Girl" and The Force of Wind

An ancient silk fragment from the Loulan Kingdom

For those of you who have read the first chapter of The Force of Wind at the end of book two, you know that in book three, Gio and Beatrice will heading to the far East. I had an amazing time researching and writing about the fascinating mythology and culture of China, and it also let me delve more into the history of one of my favorite Elementals characters, Tenzin.

My research also inspired one fantastic playlist for book three. As I've mentioned before, music is really important to me, and the wealth of Western and Eastern music I listened to while writing The Force of Wind was amazing. I'm going to wait to post the entire playlist (it's very spoiler-ish) but I wanted to share this song by the Twelve Girls Band called "Loulan Girl." The TGB is a group of traditional musicians from China that play a mix of modern and traditional music with some incredibly cool instruments like the one featured here, which is the duxianqin, or lone string zither. The instrument has only one string, and is played by manipulating a metal rod on the body that changes the harmonics. Watch the video, it's kind of amazing.

And here's a little teaser from the beginning of The Force of Wind:

 [Tenzin] let loose a string of incomprehensible words that Beatrice couldn't even begin to translate.  It didn't sound like any language she'd ever heard before, and it was definitely not Mandarin.

Zhang replied in the same strange, guttural tongue.  [Beatrice] looked up at Giovanni.

"What, um, what language is that?" she whispered, trying to distract him, as Tenzin and Zhang had a very vocal argument while the whole company looked on.

"What?"

"What language are they speaking?"  She looked around.  "No one looks like they understand what they're saying."

"They don't." Beatrice saw him take a deep breath and the calm mask fell over his face.  "It's their own language.  I suspect anyone who speaks it died long ago…or Tenzin and her father killed them so they could converse without eavesdroppers."

Somehow, that didn't seem implausible.

Have a great Tuesday, and thanks for reading,

Elizabeth

Elemental Mysteries Paperbacks Now Available

Thanks to everyone who made the second book launch a success. I'm really pleased with the coverage, interviews, reviews, and of course, sales! Hope everyone is enjoying the book, and I'll get back to more interesting, less sales-related, posting next week.

Just a quick post to let you know that paperback versions of both books are now available through the CreateSpace store (see the links here on the Buy the Books page) and directly on Amazon.com. Hope this helps anyone looking for a good read or wanting to give the books to a friend who might not like e-readers.

The books are gorgeous. The cover art looks fantastic, and I'm very pleased with the end product. It's a 6X9 inch paperback (there it is on my laptop, it's bigger than I was expecting, forgive the phone photo) printed on good quality paper stock. At $11.99, I think it's a very good value. Both books are over 400 pages, so printing costs were fairly high. I tried to keep the books as affordable as possible.

I'm also considering doing a direct sales link from this website for signed books, but only if there is enough interest. I think I'd be able to make them pretty reasonable and offer readers the option to have the books personalized. Let me know what you think in the comments.

In other book news, revisions on The Force of Wind are coming along, and I'll be posting updates as we get closer to publication (which is looking to be late February or early March) and I'm having a fantastic and challenging time working on the first draft of Book 4. I hope that you'll check out the Journal Jabber interview I did on Tuesday, if you get the chance. The gals there asked some great questions about the future of the series and managed to wrangle some info from me about Book 3. Sneaky Amy.

Have a great weekend, and back to regular posting next week!

Elizabeth

Official Release—This Same Earth (Elemental Mysteries #2)

Book Two of The Elemental Mysteries is now available for purchase for only $2.99.

Rated 4.85 on GoodReads.

Amazon

Amazon.uk

Barnes & Noble

Smashwords

CreateSpace (paperback)

Synopsis:

Beatrice De Novo thought she had left the supernatural world behind…for the most part. But when the past becomes the present, will she leave her quiet life in Los Angeles to follow a mystery she thought had abandoned her? Where has Giovanni Vecchio been, and why has he returned? Giovanni has his own questions, and he's looking to her for answers. 

The sequel to A Hidden Fire will reunite Beatrice and Giovanni to continue their search through the past while both wrestle with the future. When the world as you know it has changed forever, is there any way you can turn back?

~~~

What reviewers are saying about This Same Earth and the Elemental Mysteries:

Elemental Mysteries turned into one of the best paranormal series I've read this year. It's sharp, elegant, clever, evenly paced without dragging its feet and at the same time emotionally intense.

—Nocturnal Book Reviews

Even with the serious undertones, there is still sarcasm, humor, snark, and general things that made me smile; things that I came to love in A Hidden Fire…[This Same Earth] is smartly written and takes you on another emotional rollercoaster from start to finish.

—Sapphyria's Book Reviews

This Same Earth is exactly what I have come to expect from the brilliant Elizabeth Hunter – fierce, sexy, and mysterious.

—Better Read Than Dead

~~~

Interviews with Elizabeth Hunter:

Twimom101 Book Blog

Bending the Spine

JournalJabber (blogtalk radio interview)

Interview with Giovanni Vecchio (don't lie, you know you're going to click on this first)

Better Read Than Dead

~~~

Trailer:

 

Reviews:

Sapphyria's Book Reviews

Nocturnal Book Reviews

Twimom101's Book Blog

Smutty Dirty B

Better Read Than Dead

Bending The Spine