Hi, lovelies!! It gives me great pleasure today to host Jeanne Roland and her new book, “Journeys: The Archers of Saint Sebastian I,” here on FAB!! 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 $40 Amazon or Barnes and Noble Gift Card!! Also, come back daily to interact with Jeanne and to increase your chances of winning!!
Thanks for stopping by!! Wishing you all lots of good luck in this fabulous giveaway!!
Journeys:
The Archers of Saint Sebastian I
by Jeanne Roland
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GENRE: Young Adult Crossover Historical Romance and Adventure
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BLURB:
A barracks full of beautiful boys. A girl in disguise, living among them.
It’s the 14th century, and the longbow is king. But in the northern European principality of Ardennes, archery isn’t just the nation’s defense. It’s the national obsession.
MEET THE JOURNEYS
12
young Journeyman archers, the best in the country
2
years of public competitions, in which looks count almost as much as ability
6
will win a coveted membership in the Archers’ Guild of St. Sebastian
1 will become the prince’s new Guardsman
MEET MARIEKE
15-year-old Marieke is as obsessed with St. Sebastian’s as everyone else in Ardennes. Only it’s the middle ages, and girls just don’t become elite archers. Except Marieke's prospects as a girl aren't promising either, after a well-timed kick from a mule has left her with a face that’s badly scarred and ruined for marriage. But when circumstances force her to leave her old life behind and flee to the guild for refuge, there are only two things Marieke really knows about the place. One is that a mysterious accident ended her own father’s time as a Journey. The other?
There are no women allowed inside St. Sebastian’s.
Marieke knows disguising herself as a boy and infiltrating the guild means embarking on a dangerous deception. But it may be her only chance to find out the truth about her father’s past and to stop a murderous plot from coming to fruition. When the dashing young Journeyman Tristan takes her under his wing as his squire, she’s got to stay – at least long enough to help him beat out his brutal arch-rival to win the competitions.
Keeping her identity a secret will be hard. Living in close quarters with a pack of gorgeous boys? That will be harder still. But the hardest thing of all will be keeping the vow she makes for herself: to see Tristan become the next Guardsman, without ever letting him find out she’s a girl - a girl, who loves him.
Part Robin Hood and part Princess Bride, with a pinch of Mulan and a dash of Cyrano de Bergerac in the mix, The Archers of St. Sebastian I: Journeys is a humorous action and adventure saga inspired by late medieval/early Renaissance Belgium and packed with romance, wit, and longbow archery. Perfect for young adults looking for an immersive read and for adults who love young adult themes, Journeys is an escape into the past that reads more like romantic historical fantasy than pure historical fiction.
Unrequited love? Ugly heroines who stay ugly? Friendship, coming of age, romance, adventure, and plenty of archery competitions? A unique setting inspired by the glorious city of Bruges, with a richly imagined world set within the walls of a male-only archers' guild? Journeys: The Archers of Saint Sebastian has it all, so if you're looking for a great escape, don your disguise and join Marieke as she enters the forbidden world of Saint Sebastian's, and prepare to fall in love with the Journeys - that is, the twelve best and most beautiful archers in all of Ardennes, the Journeyman archers of St. Sebastian's.
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EXCERPT THREE:
(Context: 15-year-old Marieke is disguised as Marek, and she’s serving as a squire to the Journeyman archer Tristan at the archers’ guild of Saint Sebastian. She’s in love with him, but she’s sworn an oath never to let him find out she’s a girl. In this scene, after Tristan and Marieke find an abandoned windmill, and spend an idyllic afternoon daydreaming in its shadow).
“Do you know what I love about you, Marek?” he says. At the word ‘love,’ the band around my chest constricts painfully, though he’s used it lightly enough. “You’re completely without pretense!”
If he only knew. I blush, not only at the compliment, but out of shame, too. But Tristan doesn’t notice. He rolls back onto his back.
“Admit it. Much as we may love dear old St. Seb’s, it’s good to be away. It’s good to be able to let your guard down.”
“And, to stop acting?” I venture boldly.
“Oh, I’d never do that. Not entirely!” he laughs.
“Tristan,” I ask, “Just between us. Who are you, really?”
“I firmly believe, Marek, a man has two choices,” he replies, crossing his arms behind his head and looking up at the sky. “He can stage his life as a comedy, or as a tragedy. Personally, I prefer comedy.”
“Very clever. But that’s not an answer. Besides, not even you can really laugh at everything.”
“No. But I can try.”
“Come on, Tristan,” I say, refusing to let him brush me off this time. “Give me a real answer.”
“A real answer? Ok, Marek, my friend,” he says. “The real answer is, I wish I knew.”
On impulse, I say, “Well, I know exactly who you are, Tristan.”
“Oh really? Who’s that?”
“You’re the next member of the Black Guards, if I have anything to say about it.” And I mean it. I resolve right then and there that I’m going to find a way to make it happen.
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AUTHOR BIO:
Roland hails from Davis, California, where she spent most of her youth lounging at the pool, soaking up the sun, and daydreaming. She had a key ring that read 'I’m running away to join the circus,' and her favorite moment of the day was when the local movie theater went dark, and the slogan 'escape to the movies' appeared on the screen. As an adult, her passions include all things melodramatic and beautiful — everything from classic movies, British romantic poetry, ancient tragedy and epic, to Italian opera. She is now a professor of Classics in a small midwestern town, where she lives with her Greek husband, her fraternal twins, and a Bernese mountain dog named Franco Corelli.
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CONNECT WITH JEANNE:
I’m not a big social media person; the best ways to reach me are via my website, or Facebook.
Website:
Blog:
I blog as the Allegorical Traveler about Greek mythology.
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/jeannerolandwrites
Twitter:
https://www.twitter.com/booksbyJeanneR
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/jeannerolandwrites
Goodreads Author Page:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6470555.Jeanne_Roland
Goodreads Book Page:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59568060-journeys
Amazon Author Page:
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AMAZON BOOK BUY LINKS:
Amazon US Kindle eBook:
Amazon US Paperback:
Amazon US Hardcover:
Amazon CA Kindle eBook:
https://www.amazon.ca/Journeys-Archers-Sebastian-Jeanne-Roland-ebook/dp/B09L6KZ8D7
Amazon CA Paperback:
https://www.amazon.ca/Journeys-Archers-Sebastian-Jeanne-Roland/dp/1737887002
Amazon CA Paperback:
https://www.amazon.ca/Journeys-Archers-Sebastian-Jeanne-Roland/dp/1737887029
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GIVEAWAY INFO:
Jeanne Roland will be awarding a $40 Amazon or Barnes and Noble Gift Card (Winner’s Choice!!!) to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour.**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 fabulous community outreach projects and 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.
Jeanne ~ Good morning!! Welcome to FAB!! It is so great to have you here!! Congrats on your new book and good luck on the book tour :)
ReplyDeleteThank you, Ally! Great to be here, and thanks so much for hosting. The post indeed looks FABULOUS!
DeleteThanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad, and thanks for reading it!
ReplyDeleteThanks for a peek inside sounds good.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome, and I hope you'll consider checking it out!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the excerpt and your book sounds like a great read, Jeanne! Thanks for sharing it with me and have a great week!
ReplyDeleteI love the cover and the excerpt.
ReplyDeleteThank you both! I love the cover, too, because I love the Xavier painting around which it is based - and there is a gorgeous painting of the young Saint Sebastian that plays a role in the book, so it seemed appropriate
ReplyDeleteThank you all for commenting, and thank you again Ally, for hosting!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great excerpt! The book sounds fascinating. The cover is beautiful.
ReplyDeletethank you for your kinds words about the cover! I would love to have you as a reader
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