Hello lovelies! It gives me great pleasure today to host Andrew Anzur Clement and his new book series, “Keepers of the Stone”! For other stops on his 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 $10 Amazon or Barnes
and Noble Gift Card!! Also, come back
daily to interact with Andrew and to increase your chances of winning!
Thanks
for stopping by! Wishing you lots of
luck in this fabulous giveaway!
Keepers of the Stone
by Andrew Anzur Clement
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GENRE: Historical
Young Adult Fantasy
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BLURBS:
Keepers of the
Stone. Book One: The Outcasts
In a
far corner of the British Empire, a mysterious girl gallops away on a horse,
fleeing for her life. Malka has
sacrificed everything to protect an all-powerful stone from falling into the
hands of the malevolent Urumi. The last in a Sect of thieves, the girl is a
trained killer. But will her lethal skills be enough to defeat the Shadow
Warriors and their superhuman abilities?
The
fate of the stone may depend on Stas, a courageous youth born into exile from a
country that is not on any map. Nell, his friend since childhood, has been
caught up in the Dark Order's evil designs. The young outcasts must confront
demons, real and imagined, with the help of mystical new allies. Their journey
will take them to distant lands and change their lives forever.
Keepers of the
Stone. Book Two: Exile
Stranded
on the American frontier, Malka must stop at nothing to safeguard the
all-powerful stone. She has come under the protection of a snarky felinoid – a
shape-shifting girl who traces her lineage back to the court of Vlad Dracula.
They must rescue with Henry, the American orphan whose thirst for knowledge
could help decipher the clues to the next
leg
of their journey – if the Urumi don’t kill them first.
Alone
in yet another strange land, Stas mourns the unthinkable loss of his friend,
Nell. Cryptic messages offer new hope.
But the Dark Order has devised another strategy to outwit the band of misfits.
Plans are betrayed and alliances are formed as history points to the final
objective of their quest.
Keepers of the Stone
Book Three: Homecoming
Stas
and his companions have made their way to the partitioned homeland he has never
visited. He dares to hope that Nell may be alive. The doomed princess Bozhena
vows revenge on the Shadow Warriors, who have enlisted Malka’s most bitter
enemy in their latest plot to control the powerful stone.
With
the help of a streetwise gypsy girl, the unlikely travelers must outwit the
Urumi and deliver the stone to its final destination. All they have to do is
put aside the differences that threaten to tear them apart. The secrets of the
past hold the key to the history of the future.
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EXCERPT ONE:
FROM BOOK ONE: THE
OUTCASTS
"The
firearms,” Malka whispered. “We still have them from the bank.”
“Do
you even know how to fire a gun?”
The
Thag shook her head.
The
felinoid harrumphed. “Figures.” Then she began thinking out loud.
“So,
we’re low on ammunition. Only six shots per gun, assuming they’re completely
loaded. Okay. They’re in the open. We can use the wagon as cover. Target what
shots we have. I’m not very good at aiming, but maybe if Mister Bunny Burglar
over there takes….”
She
stopped. Looking behind her, to the empty space off to the right side of the
wagon’s seating area.
“Where
is Henry?”
Malka
and Liza looked around. Both of them spotted their erstwhile captive at the
same moment.
“Ugh!
He’s in front of the wagon running away with one of the cages,” Liza said, as
if the situation needed any clarification. “I told you we should have killed
that little….”
The
gunfire ceased abruptly, replaced in short order with the quick screams of men
and horses. Then silence. The escaping youth was forgotten for the moment. Liza
quickly poked her head just over the stack of cages.
“Oh,
no! Oh, please, no!” For the first time since Malka had known the felinoid, she
seemed more genuinely worried than annoyed at their situation; she knew what
Liza had seen.
“The
Urumi,” she confirmed in a quiet voice.
“All three of them. And they’re moving towards
us.”
Malka
untied the sash from around her waist and inserted the brass knob into one of
its ends. She listened for one of the dark forms, as it approached her side of
the wagon.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GUEST POST:
Five Reasons You
Should Read My Book
1. Strong
female characters:
My main character is a mixed-race orphan raised by the Thags -- a Sect of
fanatical thieves, based on a real terrorist cult that existed in British
India. The contested favorite to take over the Sect's leadership, Malka has
been trained from a young age by her Sect's Master to take down her 'targets' by
strangling them with nothing but a sash and the poise of a warrior philosopher.
Responsible for the death of the rest of her Sect, Malka is the last of her
kind and has demons to match. She must use her abilities to keep the Stone she
has been unwittingly entrusted with protecting from the Order of the Urumi --
indentured servants of the underworld with superhuman powers. She is aided by the mysterious Society; the
protector they assign to Malka is a sarcastically tough cookie who doesn't take
crap from anyone, including her charge. They are pursued by Bozhena -- an
unwilling Order member and grimly determined Slavic warrior princess, with her
own ideas of who should clearly be in charge.
2. Were-cats:
Well, OK. They are called felinoids in Keepers of the Stone. But, essentially,
that's the idea. It turns out that you share the planet with another
'intelligent' species that can change forms between human and feline. They're
stronger and faster than (almost) any human being, and used to live among us
until just after the middle ages. There are two different 'races' of them: one
that manifests as an ordinary-sized house cat and another that can change into
predatory wildcats, though the two 'breeds' don't like each other all that
much. After reading Keepers of the
Stone, you'll never look at a cat the same way again. But, remember, as one
felinoid puts it: "Sometimes a cat is just a cat. Most of the time,
actually."
3. A period
travelogue of the world: Even though Malka was raised in an
isolated camp, deep in the jungle of the Tamil Nadu, her quest to protect the
mystical stone, throws her onto a journey that will take her, her protector,
Liza, and Henry, the young man Malka rescues/kidnaps, across the world. During
the late 1880's, they encounter strikingly different cultures, legends and real
historical individuals, that yet are all surprisingly connected. From British
Colonial India, to the American West. From alpine Switzerland, to the streets
of Manhattan. Keepers has something for all fans of this genre.
4. Fallen
angels that make letters appear from the air: Arunesh and Zitar -- the heads of the Society
-- are two fallen angels who work against the designs of the Urumi's
Order. They have the ability to send
clues to the main characters in the form of notes that appear out of thin
air. To keep sensitive information from
the Urumi, they are often cryptic with their information. Most of the notes are
riddles referencing clues coded into the design of cities or monuments. Hints
that point the way to the next place Malka's troop must visit; the next person
they must meet or rescue, if they are to determine the stone's final
destination.
5. A
celestial power struggle that spans the eons: As Malka and her band of unlikely voyagers
proceed on their quest, it becomes apparent that their unplanned journey is
part of a much larger conflict between supernatural forces that have existed
since the dawn of time. The past hardships they've faced and the secrets they
have tried to deny for most of their lives, hold the ultimate key to
determining the fate of the stone. And the course the world's future will take:
the final outcome of a battle between good and evil itself rests in the hands
of those who find themselves exiled to the margins of both.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR BIO:
Andrew Anzur Clement departed
his native Los Angeles at the age of nineteen, with a curiosity for far-off
lands. He quickly discovered an insatiable wonderlust that has led him to live,
work and study in many fascinating places around the globe. Now in his
late-twenties the unabashed opera fan is based in Europe. He continues to
travel and read widely, finding new inspiration in the places he discovers. In
his ‘other’ life Andrew is an academic researcher, focusing on nationalism and
identity formation. He enjoys including insights from his research in his books
and the characters he inhabits.
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CONNECT WITH ANDREW:
Blog:
Facebook:
Twitter:
Goodreads Author
Page:
Goodreads Book Page –
The Outcasts – Book One:
Goodreads Book Page –
Exile – Book Two:
Goodreads Book Page –
Homecoming – Book Three:
Amazon Author Page:
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BOOK BUY LINKS – THE OUTCASTS – BOOK ONE:
Amazon Kindle:
Amazon Paperback:
Amazon UK:
Barnes and Noble:
Kobo:
Apple iTunes:
Google Play:
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BOOK BUY LINKS – EXILE – BOOK TWO:
Amazon Kindle:
Amazon Paperback:
Amazon UK:
Barnes and Noble:
Kobo:
Apple iTunes:
Google Play:
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BOOK BUY LINKS – HOMECOMING – BOOK THREE:
Amazon Kindle:
Amazon Paperback:
Amazon UK:
Barnes and Noble:
Kobo:
Apple iTunes:
Google Play:
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GIVEAWAY INFO:
Andrew will be awarding a $10 Amazon or Barnes
and Noble Gift Card to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the
tour.
**This post contains affiliate links and if clicked and a
purchase 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.
