Hi, lovelies!! It gives me great pleasure today to host Lou Kemp and her new book, “The Raven and the Pig,” 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 $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble Gift Card; OR a Special Prize Pack that includes a Coffee Mug AND a Pen – BOTH items feature the book cover of today’s featured book; OR an eBook Copy of the featured book, “The Raven and the Pig,” Book Two in Lou’s latest book series!! That’s right – there will be THREE lucky winners!!! Also, come back daily to interact with Lou and to increase your chances of winning!!
Thanks for stopping by!! Wishing you all lots of good luck in this fabulous giveaway!!
The Raven and the Pig
Book Two
by Lou Kemp
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GENRE: Magical Realism
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BLURB:
Synopsis of The Raven and the Pig Book 2
As the music dies, the magician Celwyn is mortally wounded. His darker, immortal brother Pelaez brings him back, barely, with his magic. The party of protagonists travel on the Nautilus to the Cape Verde Islands and the healer of immortals. During the journey, Professor Kang and Bartholomew can not tell if Pelaez will keep his brother alive. Captain Nemo is ready to evict Pelaez forcibly, and keeping Celwyn alive is the only thing that restrains him.
After Celwyn is saved, the healer requests payment for his services. This sends the adventurers to the catacombs in Capuchin where their experience is one they will not forget. Before it is over, several of the protagonists question why it seems everyone from warlocks and vampires to witches, seem to be congregating in their world. Before it is over, some of them become surprising allies, and a few of their allies turn against them.
In part II, work on the new flying machine begins in earnest bringing attention from the Mafioso and a cherub-like warlock called Duncan. After a final battle with Duncan, the flying machine is destroyed and everyone at their compound is murdered by one of their own.
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BOOK TRAILER:
Check out Lou Kemp’s Book Trailer for her new book, “The Raven and the Pig,” below:
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EXCERPT ONE:
Prelude
The rolling hills near Odessa, north of Constantinople 1867
With each step he took, Professor Xiau Kang sensed the intensity, and importance of what he would find. Above all, he felt the weight of his sadness. He had done his best to ignore that there was no guarantee Captain Nemo had located Thales, if Nemo failed to find him, Jonas Celwyn would be dead within a matter of days, perhaps hours.
A long time ago, on the Zelda, the magician had doubted a mechanical man could feel. Kang paused, swaying on his feet as he fought to regain his control; at this moment, the automat knew real despair, a wrenching grief that they would lose Jonas. He swallowed hard and walked faster, climbing to the top of the berm.
There she was! The long black submarine lay still in the water. A single sailor stood on patrol, and another perched in the cage on top with a spyglass.
Kang called, “I’ll get Mr. Celwyn. Please let the Captain know we’re here.”
Conductor Smith joined him as they ran back to the coach. The others had seen them and began unloading the magician onto the stretcher that Kang had fashioned for this moment. He skidded to a stop and grabbed Celwyn’s hand.
“The Nautilus is here. It isn’t far.”
In the distance, a low hum reached them; the sound sputtered and grew stronger.
The magician’s eyes opened slowly, like a thread from his memory raised his lids, impelling him to look. Everyone, including Jonas, gazed upward, as if they had already known what was to come.
The noise grew louder, and then a bright yellow flying machine crested the low hills and headed toward the estuary.
“Yes!” Kang shouted, raising his fist in triumph.
The plane swerved to the north, banked, and then flew toward them again in a wide arc.
“Oh, my God, it’s Bartholomew,” Elizabeth exclaimed.
Bartholomew wore a broad smile and his scarf fluttered in the breeze as he sailed over them. He waved. As he banked again, the engine revved and he turned, descending for another pass. Celwyn raised himself onto an elbow to wave back.
“Hurry,” Kang said. “Bartholomew is going to land. We have to get Jonas onto the ship.”
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GUEST POST #1:
Some of My Favorite Items in My Office
Steampunk and celebrating craziness. Pic included of my metallic fish and The Scream blow up desk doll.
A pic of my research books with a dead Elvis and Mardi gras beads too.
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GUEST POST #2:
Fierce Female Lead Characters: How to Create Strong Role Models in Books
Female lead characters should be more than the token romantic interest for a lead protagonist. It is a struggle to keep the female leads true to themselves and the story while balancing the developing relationship between the protagonists. But the situation is gold for readers and is worth it. Celwyn’s lady love enters the story in book 2. She is a vampire and witch who is also a spy for Queen Elizabeth. Celwyn describes her this way, “She participates.”
The series characters initially consist of the three main ones: Celwyn, Bartholomew, and Kang. Secondary is Tara McFein, Nemo, Jules Verne, Mrs. Kang, Valentine Soriano (Tara’s uncle and head of a large vampire family), Annabelle, Patrick, and the orphans they rescued. There are lots of characters to keep track of along with the adventurers as the story unfolds. As Tara’s character becomes stronger and more integral to the plot, she has an opportunity to save Celwyn. Later, she becomes the central thread in the story when it moves back to London.
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GUEST POST #3:
Falling in Love with the Main Characters
Initially, Celwyn and Professor Kang, an automat, meet under difficult circumstances. The magician was hired to deliver Kang to a man called Talos. But as the time drew near to do so, Celwyn and Kang became fast friends and confidants and Talos was the one who died. Celwyn is lovable, unpredictable, and Kang loves to nag him. That was the beginning of their friendship. When Bartholomew arrives in the story, he dives into the dangers they faced. One of the first thing he sees is Celwyn tossing a nasty vampire called Mrs. Karras off an Orient Express-type train in the mountains near Iran. Who is the other voice of reason? Annabelle, the heiress who bribes them into taking her with them across Asia and into Europe. She doesn’t put up with Celwyn magical antics, and as the story progresses, she finds that is the least she should worry about. When the magician installs them in what appears to be a high-class bordello to hide from their enemies, Annabelle puts her foot down. Celwyn changes the rooms into something else right before her eyes. Her moment of accepting his magic occurred then, and she swallowed it along with a caustic comment it deserved. She becomes a good-natured voice of reason as they travel west, and the others take care not to unduly alarm her with things not easily explained.
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AUTHOR BIO:
Early work was horror and suspense, later work morphed into a combination of magical realism, mystery and adventure painted with a horrific element as needed.
I’m one of those writers who doesn’t plan ahead, no outlines, no clue, and I sometimes write myself into a corner. Atmospheric music in the background helps. Black by Pearl Jam especially.
More information is available at LouKemp.com. I'd love to hear from you and what you think of Celwyn, Bartholomew, and Professor Xiau Kang.
Milestones:
2009: The anthology story Sherlock’s Opera appeared in Seattle Noir, edited by Curt Colbert, Akashic Books. Available through Amazon or Barnes and Noble online. Booklist published a favorable review of my contribution to the anthology.
2010: My story, In Memory of the Sibylline, was accepted into the best-selling MWA anthology Crimes by Moonlight, edited by Charlaine Harris. The immortal magician Celwyn makes his first appearance in print.
2018: The story, The Violins Played before Junstan is published in the MWA anthology Odd Partners, edited by Anne Perry. The Celwyn series begins.
Present: The full length prequel, The Violins Played before Junstan, to the Celwyn book series is published on Kindle. The companion book, Farm Hall is also published where Pelaez, another immortal magician and Celwyn's brother, makes his first appearance. The remaining books in the series: Music Shall Untune the Sky, The Raven and the Pig, The Pirate Danced and the Automat Died, will be available beginning in August 2021.
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CONNECT WITH LOU:
Website:
Facebook Fan Page:
https://www.facebook.com/Lou-Kemp-Author-Page-110721901406273
Facebook Personal Page:
https://www.facebook.com/people/Lou-Kemp/100070730154592
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/LouKempBooks
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/LouKempAuthor
Goodreads Author Page:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3452047.Lou_Kemp
Goodreads Book Page:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59603776-the-raven-and-the-pig
Amazon Author Page:
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AMAZON BOOK BUY LINKS:
Amazon US Kindle eBook:
Amazon US Paperback:
Amazon CA Kindle eBook:
https://www.amazon.ca/Raven-Pig-Book-Celwyn-ebook/dp/B09KXFWBZC
Amazon CA Paperback:
https://www.amazon.ca/Raven-Pig-Book-2/dp/B09KN4JQC6
Amazon UK Kindle eBook:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Raven-Pig-Book-Celwyn-ebook/dp/B09KXFWBZC
Amazon UK Paperback:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Raven-Pig-Book-2/dp/B09KN4JQC6
Amazon AU Kindle eBook:
https://www.amazon.com.au/Raven-Pig-Book-Celwyn-ebook/dp/B09KXFWBZC
Amazon AU Paperback:
https://www.amazon.com.au/Raven-Pig-Book-2/dp/B09KN4JQC6
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GIVEAWAY INFO:
**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.
Lou ~ 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!! :)
ReplyDeleteP.S. ~ I appreciate you taking the time to write up and submit multiple guest posts for this tour. However, I apologize for not being able to post all of them on here. This book tour event is set-up to feature either one guest post topic or one set of short answer interview questions. Since this is a designated guest post stop I am only supposed to include one guest post. However, I respect your hard work and the time you spent creating responses for all eighteen topics, so I went ahead and shared three of your guest posts. I made sure to include the one you submitted pics for and two others. I hope you understand and approve of my selection. Thank you again!! :)
Sounds like a very good story.
ReplyDelete