Angels, Demons, & Gods Month at Fantasy Fun Reads, this week featuring Scott Borgman, author of
The Exiled (The Exiled Trilogy Book 1).
Blurb:
A veil
covers the world. It can’t be seen, but it’s there - hiding the
truth behind it. After waking from a nightmare, David’s ordinary
life takes a drastic turn when he discovers he’s the deciding
factor in a struggle that’s been raging for ages. David doesn’t
believe in angels or the devil, but when he becomes the target of one
and the other saves his life, the veil is lifted and David realizes
that his beliefs don’t matter.
And then
there’s Celeste, the exiled angel sworn to protect David. She’s
got a mouth, an attitude, and a sword. She knows her duty. She knows
what’s at stake. She knows the rules. But angels don’t always
wear halos - and she’s broken rules before...
Hunted by
one side. Sworn to be protected by the other. The game has begun.
The
Exiled is the first book in a
trilogy of Paranormal Romance novels. Due to some content, it may not
be suitable for readers 17 and under.
Excerpt:
David
backed away as Celeste pushed the door the rest of the way open.
Stepping inside the apartment, she closed it behind her and turned
the deadbolt, never taking her eyes off of David.
“Who
are you? What do you want?” David asked anxiously.
“My
name is Celeste,” she replied casually as she followed him into the
living room. She was around his age, dressed in black leather pants,
a black shirt, and wearing a black leather jacket as well. Jesus, she
looks like an assassin from a movie, David thought as he continued to
back up, his eyes darting around as he looked for something…
anything
to get his hands on. Stall
her, his mind screamed at
him.
“Your
eyes… they’re…”
“Don’t
try to stall, David,” Celeste interrupted and pointed to the couch.
“Just sit. That’s not a request.” David sat down heavily on the
couch. I’m going to die, he thought.
“No,
you’re not,” Celeste said, sitting down in the chair next to the
couch and taking a quick glance around the room. “Typical
bachelor’s pad, I see.” David swallowed hard.
“Uh,
yeah, I guess. How did you find me? What do you want?”
“I
gave your description to the building manager, he gave me your
apartment number,” Celeste replied easily. “As for what I want,
that’s a bit more complicated.”
“They’ve
found me,” David muttered to himself.
“What
did you say?”
“Nothing,
just a dream I had last night. Why were you following me?”
“What
dream? What did you see?” Celeste asked insistently, ignoring his
question. David looked at her with a confused expression.
“It
was just a nightmare I had. Look, it doesn’t matter. You force your
way in here and…”
“You
opened the door for me.”
“You
force your way in here,” David repeated insistently. “You scare
the hell out of me…”
He
stopped in mid-sentence as Celeste’s eyes suddenly snapped to the
window, as if something outside had caught her attention.
“Don’t
move,” Celeste ordered as she stood up. Walking over to the window,
she looked outside, though what she was looking at, David couldn’t
tell. He didn’t see anything out of the ordinary.
Suddenly,
a heavy fisted knock came at the door, making David jump. Celeste
spun around in alarm as David leapt up from the couch, ran to the
door, and unlocked the deadbolt.
“No!
David, don’t open it!” Celeste cried out as David threw open the
door. He looked back, his eyes widening as he saw her rushing toward
him as if in slow motion, one arm reaching back behind her neck and
sliding her hand underneath the black leather jacket she was wearing.
He
turned back to the front door, and the cry for help died on his lips
as he saw Frank standing in the hallway, dressed exactly as he had
been earlier that day - minus the sign that he always wore around him
telling everyone to repent.
“The
key…” Frank growled in a deep otherworldly voice as he reached
out for him. It looked like Frank, but his voice and the red eyes
were definitely not his.
“David,
get away from the door!” Celeste yelled out. Without thinking,
David flung himself sideways a split second before Celeste reached
the door, holding what looked like a short sword in her right hand.
A
surprised look appeared on Frank’s face as he realized David wasn’t
alone in the apartment. Without hesitating, Celeste thrust the short
sword into Frank’s chest, the blade glowing with a faint blue light
as it pierced his heart.
David
watched the scene before him in stunned silence. With an otherworldly
scream, Frank’s body combusted from the inside out from where the
sword pierced him, turning his entire body to ash in moments. From
somewhere outside the window on the streets below, an unearthly wail
split the air. A shocked look appeared briefly on Celeste’s face as
she glanced over her shoulder at the window.
“We
need to go,” she ordered, grabbing David by the arm and pulling him
back into the living room.
# # #
$0.99 sale!!! April 15-21 (US) 17-23 (UK)
Buy Link:
Bio:
Scott
A. Borgman was born in Robinsdale, MN. in 1975. Currently he resides
in central Wisconsin with his wife, their three teenage children
(*GULP!*), a rescued cat, and their bed-hogging dog who is all kisses
and cuddles - and who steals his spot in bed on a nightly basis.
When he's
not busy writing, reading, or socializing on Facebook and Twitter,
he's spending time with his family, watching movies, finding all
kinds of things on YouTube which he finds humorous (which doesn't
take long - he has a sense of humor that borders on overactive),
playing with the larger of his four-legged family members when she's
not sprawled out in his spot looking too adorable and comfy for him
to want to move her, and still plays the occasional video game.
Scott
writes both Fantasy and Paranormal Romance.
"As
an author, I breathe life into each and every character within the
stories that I write. But it is the reader who gives them their
souls." --Scott A. Borgman
Interview:
Q1. I love the concept behind The Exiled Trilogy. What made you decide to write it?
A1. I didn't really decide to write it so much as I woke up one night and the story was just... there. Call it the writer's curse. A story gets in our heads and it refuses to go away, for good reason: it needs to be told. And I wasn't about to pass up a chance to breathe life into another kickass female! There's plenty of action, suspense, some horror and fantasy elements, and a bit of steamy romance (you can't have a Paranormal Romance without the romance, after all! It's steamy, but not explicit), but the heart of the trilogy always had a deeper meaning. It takes a hard look at humanity, showing the depths that we can sink to - and how high we're capable of soaring.
Q2. What books and authors have influenced you to write in the fantasy and paranormal genres?
A2. On the YA Fantasy side, R.A. Salvatore, Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, and Piers Anthony introduced me to the fantasy worlds when I was around 12. My fantasy series has been compared to Tolkien several times, which is very humbling. And ironic, considering I've never read Tolkien. Saw the movies, never read the books though. On the paranormal side, I would say Jen Winters and Veronica Del Rosa are the culprits for me now preferring to write PNR over YA Fantasy. I've got one more book in my fantasy series I'm working on, and once that's finished I'll be going back to PNR. I think I enjoy it more because it's a little less restrictive than the YA Fantasy... okay, a lot less restrictive :P
Q3. Did you try to find an agent or publisher first or did you always intend to self publish?
A3. I did. When I was little, I thought it was a simple process. Write a book, send it to a publisher, it gets printed. Wow, was that a wake-up call! I had to learn about query letters, find agents who took queries... I sent a query letter to about 20 agents. I received 2 replies back that said no thanks, which I expected (I expected them all to say no actually). But then a few months went by, and nothing from any of the others. Not even a form letter of rejection. I understand they get dozens (at least) per day, but to not even respond... I felt that was just very discourteous. So I looked up self-publishing on a whim and have never looked back.
Q4. What have you learned since you published your first book that you wish you knew when you first started?
A4. How much space do I get for this answer? *laugh* I've found the writing part of this job is actually the easy part. Promoting, social networking, editing, rewriting, editing, editing... working with my illustrator Mat Sadler (who has done all of my covers), plus a plethora of little tricks and tips that really make everything look clean and professional. But it's all worth it!
Q5. What has been your proudest moment as an author?
A5. So far, receiving a Reader's Favorite Five-star award for Province of a Thief.
Q6. I like smart mouthed, kickass female heroines. Tell us a little about Celeste.
A6. Celeste is one of the Exiled, a (rather large) group of angels who were kicked of Heaven centuries ago and exiled to exist on Earth - hence why they refer to themselves with that title. She's definitely got a mouth on her, an attitude, and she doesn't always follow the rules, so don't expect the halo and wings image of an angel. Her choice of clothing gives more of an impression she's an assassin, but even after centuries she continues to remain dedicated to protecting humanity. As for why she and the others like her were kicked out... well, you find out during the course of the story - and it may surprise you just how human the leather-wearing, sword-wielding, foul-mouthed angel appears to be.
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