Friday, February 26, 2021

BLOG TOUR: Knight's Ransom by Jeff Wheeler

 

 Welcome to the Official Blog Tour for Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author Jeff Wheeler's Knight's Ransom, the first title in an all new series, The First Argentines! Today, on our tour stop, we have an exclusive excerpt AND a cool tour-wide giveaway to share! So... Be sure to check it out and grab your copy now! Follow the tour, HERE.

Genre:
Adult
Fantasy
Series:
The First Argentines, #1
Publish Date:
January 26, 2021
Publisher:

Synopsis:
From Jeff Wheeler, the Wall Street Journal bestselling author of the Kingfountain novels, comes an epic new series of warring kingdoms, deadly family rivalries, and fearless loyalty.

Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown. A brutal war of succession has plunged the court of Kingfountain into a power struggle between a charitable king who took the crown unlawfully and his ambitious rival, Devon Argentine. The balance of power between the two men hinges on the fate of a young boy ensnared in this courtly intrigue. A boy befittingly nicknamed Ransom.

When the Argentine family finally rules, Ransom must make his own way in the world. Opportunities open and shut before him as he journeys along the path to knighthood, blind to a shadowy conspiracy of jealousy and revenge. Securing his place will not be easy, nor will winning the affection of Lady Claire de Murrow, a fiery young heiress from an unpredictably mad kingdom.

Ransom interrupts an abduction plot targeting the Queen of Ceredigion and earns a position in service to her son, the firstborn of the new Argentine dynasty. But conflict and treachery threaten the family, and Ransom must also come to understand and hone his burgeoning powers—abilities that involve more than his mastery with a blade and that make him as much a target as his lord.


     
  
*FREE on Kindle Unlimited*

*Excerpt*

It was the Gaultic girl’s fault that everyone had come to call him Ransom. She’d meant it as a

joke at first. She did like to tease, and for some reason, she liked teasing him the most. But the

name had stuck, mostly because everyone in the palace knew the story of how he’d nearly been

hung from a trebuchet in front of the walls of his father’s castle. His father had gambled with his life, shrewdly predicting that the king wouldn’t go through with his threat. And he hadn’t. For

which Ransom was deeply grateful and deeply hurt.

It was a breezy day, and so the words of the deconeus were difficult to hear as he rambled on in his liturgy, the prayer over the dead. Ransom crossed his hands in front of himself, standing still, even though he had the urge to crane his neck and try to get a better view. Everyone at the palace, servants and all, had gathered to witness the occasion. King Gervase’s stiff body lay in a canoe on the edge of the royal docks. His cheeks were gray and looked nothing like the man in the flesh. Yes, the body bore a strange resemblance to the man he’d known, but he didn’t look the same without his smile, which he’d always reserved for Ransom and Claire—of the dozen or so hostages of varying ranks—or the laugh lines around his eyes. Near the end, there wasn’t much the king could smile about. But he had always taken time for his son, Ransom, and Claire—a walk through the royal gardens, a pretend duel with wooden swords, or a sweet from the kitchen. He’d seemed lighter at those times, happier.

Ransom’s heart ached with loss. The king had been a true father to him. Tears stung Ransom’s eyes, but he willed them back and blinked quickly. He wouldn’t lose his composure, not in a crowd. Not when she might see him.

Ransom blinked quickly and shifted his gaze to where Claire stood side by side with her father. The man was a giant. He was huge, thick, and the sword belted over his chain tunic was nearly even with Ransom’s chin. She looked like a tiny thing in her father’s shadow, but she was a little taller than Ransom, and he was taller than most of the boys his age at the palace. He was taller than any of the new king’s sons, who all stood dutifully by Devon and his wife, Emiloh, although the youngest was fidgeting. They were younger than him.

His gaze went back to Claire’s hair, which looked deceptively brown in her father’s shadow. Her hair had always fascinated him. He’d heard that many in Legault had hair the color of pumpkins, but Claire’s wasn’t like that. Its color seemed to change throughout the day, the brighter light revealing shades of crimson. She turned her head, as if she’d heard his thought, and caught him looking at her. He quickly looked away, but not fast enough because he caught that teasing smile again.

Copyright © 2021 Jeff Wheeler



Praise for KNIGHT'S RANSOM

Jeff Wheeler has always been one of our more dependable storytellers. Knight’s Ransom adds to his reputation. A fine page-turner.” —Terry Brooks, New York Times bestselling author.

“With this superlative epic fantasy…Wheeler does an expert job of reintroducing his fantasy world through the eyes of sympathetic characters that fans and new readers alike will root for. This is sure to be a hit.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“[Wheeler] adds elements of Arthurian legend to the start of the First Argentines series…along with splendid palace intrigues and battles.” —Booklist (starred review)

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The First Argentines series:
  
(cover link to Goodreads)

        
*Pre-order Warrior's Ransom (book 2) & Lady's Ransom (book 3)*

~~~~~

**About the Author**
Photo Content from Jeff Wheeler
Jeff Wheeler took an early retirement from his career at Intel in 2014 to write full-time. He is a husband, father of five, and a devout member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Jeff lives in the Rocky Mountains. His books have been on the Wall Street Journal Bestseller list 5 times (for The Thief’s Daughter, The King’s Traitor, The Hollow Crown, The Silent Shield, and Prism Cloud) and have sold more than 4 million copies. His novels have also been published or will be published in many languages: Italian, Chinese, Hungarian, Turkish, Polish, Spanish, Russian, and German.

He is also the founder of Deep Magic: the E-zine of Clean Fantasy and Science Fiction (www.deepmagic.co), a quarterly e-zine featuring amazing short stories, novellas, and sample chapters.

You can usually find Jeff at Emerald City Comic Con, New York Comic Con or at writers conferences.

He welcomes hearing from readers: jgwheels@gmail.com

If you are interested in purchasing signed copies of his books for friends, family, or your own collection, please e-mail: WOJWbooks@gmail.com

Stay connected with Jeff Wheeler
      

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***The Giveaway***


Giveaway Open Internationally | Must be 13+ to Enter
- ends March 15, 2021
Note: Not Responsible for Lost & Damaged Prizes in Your Mail Box


Blog Tour Organized by

Thursday, February 25, 2021

BLOG TOUR: Fandom Hearts Series by Cathy Yardley

 
Welcome to the Official Blog Tour for Award-winning Author Cathy Yardley's Level Up and One True Pairing, the first & second title in the Fandom Hearts series, respectively! Today, on our tour stop, we have an exclusive excerpt from Level Up to share. So... to check out this series now with the first two books and grab your copies now!

Genre:
New Adult
Contemporary Romance
Series:
Fandom Hearts, #1
Publish Date:
April 11, 2017
Publisher:
Swerve

Synopsis:
Geeky introvert Tessa Rodriguez will do whatever it takes to get promoted to video game engineer– including create a fandom-based video game in just three weeks. The only problem is, she can't do it alone. Now, she needs to strong-arm, cajole, and otherwise socialize with her video game coworkers, especially her roommate, Adam, who’s always been strictly business with her. The more they work together, though, the closer they get…

Adam London has always thought of his roomie Tessa as “one of the guys” until he agreed to help her with this crazy project. Now, he’s thinking of her all the time… and certainly as something more than just a roommate! But his last girlfriend broke up with him to follow her ambitions, and he knows that Tessa is obsessed with getting ahead in the video game world.

Going from friends to something more is one hell of a challenge. Can Tessa and Adam level up their relationship to love?


      
   

*Excerpt*

“You’re welcome to join us,” he said, although from the sounds of it, he clearly didn’t expect her to. “There will be gaming, some new stuff Abraham’s bringing over. Rumor has it there will be Quidditch pong. Whatever that is.”

Tess smiled. “Thanks. I’ll, um, think about it.”
“Just wanted to give you a heads up.” He waved to Ani, then closed the door again.

Tess spun on Ani. “Like our girl here?” she asked. “Really? Really?”

Ani grinned wickedly. “If that guy was in the house with me,” she said, “I’d ride him like a ten-speed.”

Tessa shook her head. “You suck, Ani.”

“I’m sure I would,” Ani purred.

“Perv,” Tess said, finally laughing. “Anyway, I’m not going after Adam.”

“Fine,” she relented. “But I’m serious, Tess. When you decide you want something, you go for it. I know how hard it was for you to pay for college, and get the degree, and get the job. I know you’ll get your goal of being an engineer, if you want it badly enough. You are relentless.”

“Thanks,” Tess said, warming at her friend’s support.

But it won’t be enough,” Ani continued. “You need more people, more connection, even as an introvert. If you won’t be that dedicated about getting into a relationship, at least broaden your circle. I worry about you.” She smiled sadly. “Maybe you should put some of that focus on people, not just programming. For your own sake.”

“I’ll be okay, but thanks.” Tess smiled. 

“Promise me you’ll go hang out at that party a bit.”

Tessa’s smile dropped. “Wait, what?”

"Seriously. Promise me you'll go down to that party. I will check up on you and hassle you mercilessly when I see you, and I’ll know if you didn’t. You suck at lying.”

Tessa rolled her eyes. "Fine," she said. Ani had called her relentless, but Tessa knew better. Ani could out-relentless Genghis Khan. 

"But don’t go wearing that," Ani added.

Tessa looked down at her T-shirt—something she'd gotten from The Bloggess, with the statement: Feeling Stabby. "Why? What's wrong with this?"

"If I have to explain it, you won't understand," Ani said. "Wear something that puts the goods on display, okay?"

"I'm an A cup. I don't have goods."

"Just wear something that looks like you meant to wear it!" Ani groused. "And would it kill you to wear makeup?"

"I am not wearing makeup to play Quidditch pong."

Ani paused. "Good point. All right. Go forth, get your flirt on. And report back."



~~~

Genre:
New Adult
Contemporary Romance
Series:
Fandom Hearts, #2
Publish Date:
July 25, 2017
Publisher:
Swerve

Synopsis:
They couldn't be more opposite, the Hollywood actor and the hometown girl, but all they need is a little convention magic to become the perfect ship in Cathy Yardley's One True Pairing.

Jake Reese needs a decoy girlfriend. Fast. The lead actor of the popular TV show, Mystics, is tired of losing his shirt to overeager fans. Literally. Which is why a chance meeting with gothabilly bookworm-slash-barista Hailey Frost seems almost too perfect to be true. Hailey is not impressed with his TV fame and is desperate to save her family's bookstore. It's a match made in Hollywood, but as the two pretend to date, fan fiction becomes reality. Can this OTP become canon?


      
   


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Fandom Hearts series:
       
(covers link to Goodreads)

       
  

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**About the Author**
Cathy Yardley is an award-winning author of romance, chick lit, and urban fantasy, who has sold over 1.2 million copies of books for publishers like St. Martin's, Avon, and Harlequin. She writes fun, geeky, and diverse characters who believe that underdogs can make good and sometimes being a little wrong is just right. She likes writing about quirky, crazy adventures, because she's had plenty of her own: she had her own army in the Society of Creative Anachronism; she's spent a New Year's on a 3-day solitary vision quest in the Mojave Desert; she had VIP access to the Viper Room in Los Angeles. Now, she spends her time writing in the wilds of East Seattle, trying to prevent her son from learning the truth of any of said adventures, and riding herd on her two dogs (and one husband.)

Stay connected with Cathy Yardley
      


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