Piper's Song by Sara E. Tall - Book Tour - Book Sale - Guest Post - Giveaway - Enter Daily!

Hi, lovelies!  It gives me great pleasure today to host Sara E. Tall and her new book, “Piper's Song”!  For other stops on her Goddess Fish Promotions Book Tour, please click on the banner above or any of the images in this post.

Be sure to make it to the end of this post to enter to win a $15 Amazon or Barnes and Noble Gift Card!!  Also, come back daily to interact with Sara and to increase your chances of winning!

This eBook is on SALE during the book tour for ONLY $0.99!!!  See below for more details.

Thanks for stopping by!  Wishing you lots of luck in this fabulous giveaway!

Piper's Song

by Sara E. Tall

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GENRE: Young Adult Fantasy

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BLURB:

Billie thinks stopping her fellow students from committing murder and almost getting kicked out of the Realm is as bad as it gets, but she should know better.  Not only are seven of the most powerful students out for her blood, but Sedna —her former enemy turned ally— turns her enemy again when Billie refuses a part in her revenge scheme.  What’s more, Alpha Administration’s refusal to address the injustice in their school is sparking a full-on rebellion, and a lot of innocents are going to be caught in the crosshairs. It isn’t just the school either, the Realm itself is overrun with violence and hatred, which will have deadly consequences. Lucian, her self-imposed magical guru, insists Billie’s extraordinary magic is the key to stopping the flood of violence coming their way.  Billie knows her magic is extraordinary, but she also knows its destructive power. It might do more harm than good.

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EXCERPT ONE:

Nothing said, “I’m sorry,” like a scalding hot iron mallet to the face. Especially when you were a Faerie, and allergic to Iron. Saranya and her friends really knew how to make a girl feel special.

At least, we heard they were going to attack me with a mallet, it was hard to keep up with all of Saranya’s schemes to get revenge on me for preventing her from torturing another student. The nerve of me.

I tightened my grip on the empowered soap Iris, my roommate, had given me. It paid to be friends with an Elf, I’d learned, as they possessed the ability to infuse magical properties into a variety of house-hold objects. And all she ever wanted in return was my help getting books down from her top bookshelf.

“Uhh, Billie,” Thea, my other roommate, said. “Perhaps it would be in your best interests to not look so tense? We are supposed to be discussing a class project, after all.”

I loosened my grip on the soap and gave her a quick smile. Thea was terrified of Saranya and the others, but that hadn’t stopped her and Iris from telling me about their plan, or offering to help me thwart it.  She had a lot to lose, too. As a Wizard, she had a certain image to keep up, and helping a Misfit against other Wizards would do nothing good for that image.

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GUEST POST:

Fierce Female Lead Characters:

I grew up on stories like Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, etc… While I loved these stories, the lack of female leads left a void. I needed something where a girl was the chosen one, at least once. So much so that I started gender-bending certain characters to be female. It’s probably no surprise that a lot of my novels are overrun with female characters. Piper’s Song has the reverse situation of most stories. I have one guy surrounded by a bunch of girls in my main cast. Not only has this let me explore a lot of different roles for my lady characters, but is also lets me go deep into their relationships with each other, which is something else I was missing from my childhood reads.

That being said, I sometimes cringe when people say, “Strong Female Character.” I know that seems backwards, but my fear is that strong is sometimes ALL the female leads get to be. Human beings aren’t just strong or weak. They are complicated, nuanced, intricate. They are riddled with inner demons and weaknesses and are constantly self-sabotaging and failing. It makes sense that our characters should be the same way, especially our female leads. It’s what lets them resonate with audiences.

So, rule number one to make great female role models in our stories is making sure than none of their character development and depth is sacrificed in the name of making them strong or powerful. What really resonates for me is how a character overcomes their weaknesses. That no matter how many times they are beaten down and get back up. In a world that’s still plagued by sexism and misogynism, I think that kind of resilience and tenacity in our characters as they rise above whatever the world throws at them is really inspiring.

This was definitely what I had in mind as I created Billie and the saucy ladies at Alpha Academy. I also had three other elements I used to guide me that I’d love to share with you. They are:

1.)  Don’t be afraid of the feminine. While there is absolutely nothing wrong with “masculine” female characters, (and should be included so we can make we can make our female representation is diverse), we need to stop associating “masculine” with “strong.” Femininity can be just as powerful, fierce, and strong; and it’s important that our stories reflect that.

2.)  Strength comes in many shapes and sizes. One of my favorite movies is Black Panther. Three characters really stood out in that movie for me: Shuri, the scientist; Nakia, the spy, and Okoye, the warrior. Each of these women had a powerful impact on the story in completely different ways. Black Panther was empowering on so many different levels, but they different ways it showed “strong” influential female characters was one of them.

3.)  The third is to make sure your female characters have agency. This one’s my favorite. Historically, the female characters in male-dominated stories were objects, not agents, in the story. They were love interests, damsels in distress, and prizes. They had no influence over the story, or over their own lives. Characters who come into their own power and use that power to shape their world and their destiny are the most inspiring for me, hands down.

Personally, I think we’re still figuring how to create female characters who agents unto themselves. There are so many movies/books/tv shows were the creators made these awesome, powerful, strong female characters; and then they were forced to step aside in the last act of the story as to not overshadow the male lead. Wildstyle from the Lego movie, Peggy Carter from Captain America (at least the first one), and Valka from How to Train your Dragon all fell into this trap. More important than giving female characters amazing powers or a forceful personality or ninja skills is giving them a voice. Giving them freedom. Giving them the ability to make their own choices. Making them people, not plot devices. People who get to choose their future, for better or worse.

In Piper’s Song, Billie and the other girls absolutely stole the reigns from me and told their own story, and it was breathtaking to watch. I hope they inspire you the same way they inspired me.

Thanks for reading, and I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this subject!

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AUTHOR BIO:

Sara’s enjoyed creating fantastic stories since she was old enough to hold a play sword, around the time she learned how to walk. Gradually she learned to direct her creative energy into writing, and it’s been a downward spiral ever since then. When she’s not writing she’s probably either dancing or reading batman comics. She also loves running away to the mountains of Utah and Montana. Nothing gets more fantastic that those views.

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CONNECT WITH SARA:

Website:

https://saraetallbooks.wordpress.com

Blog:

https://saraetallbooks.wordpress.com/blogs

Email:

SaraETallAuthor@gmail.com

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/SaraETall

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/SaraEatough

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/saraetall

Goodreads Author Page:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18726933.Sara_E_Tall

Amazon Author Page:

https://amzn.to/36mcsmy

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BOOK BUY LINKS & BOOK SALE INFO:

**Piper’s Song eBook is on SALE during the book tour for ONLY $0.99!!!**

Amazon US Kindle eBook:

https://amzn.to/2M4E60P

Amazon US Paperback:

https://amzn.to/2ND3s68

Amazon CA Paperback:

https://www.amazon.ca/Pipers-Song-Alpha-Academy-Sara/dp/B08KFWL4G4

Amazon UK Paperback:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pipers-Song-2-Alpha-Academy/dp/B08KFWL4G4

Amazon AU Paperback:

https://www.amazon.com.au/Pipers-Song-Alpha-Academy-Sara/dp/B08KFWL4G4

The Book Depository Paperback:

https://www.bookdepository.com/Pipers-Song-Sara-E-Tall/9798680698396

BAM! Books-A-Million Paperback:

https://www.booksamillion.com/product/A16361867552

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GIVEAWAY INFO:

Sara will be awarding a $15 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

**This post contains affiliate links and if clicked and a purchase is made, I may receive a small commission to help support this blog.  This does not cost you anything, it just helps pay for all those awesome giveaways on here**

This contest is sponsored by a third party. Fabulous and Brunette is a registered host of Goddess Fish Promotions.  Prizes are given away by the sponsors and not Fabulous and Brunette. The featured author and Goddess Fish Promotions are solely responsible for the giveaway prize.