TODAY IS THE DAY!!!!
The
Jealousy Glass is out :)
The Jealosy Glass (Artifacts of Empire #2) is book two in the series written by Gwen Perkins.
Here is all the info you need. Make sure to check it out :)
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ABOUT THE BOOK
BOOK BLURB:
"We came to
stop a war before it came to Cercia. And
it seems the war has come to us."
Responsibility
and patriotism spur Cercia's new leader, Quentin, to protect his beloved
country at all costs and he assigns Asahel and Felix to serve as ambassadors
and secret agents to Anjdur. Their journey quickly turns awry and Asahel and
Felix barely escape a devastating shipwreck, walk a tightrope of political tension,
and rescue an empress before they learn they must face an enemy closer to them
than they thought.
Will
they be able to uncover an assassin's plot before it's too late? Will Asahel be
able to unearth a secret that is vital to their mission? Will Cercia survive
its own revolution? In The Jealousy Glass,
Perkins boldly continues a series of unforgettable characters and events that
will leave you begging for more.
FIND THE BOOK HERE:
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GIVEAWAY:
Gwen is hosting a giveaway for the first book at Goodreads. Make sure to enter. It's an autographed, first
edition paperback of The Universal Mirror.
AND... it is open for ALL countries.
The
giveaway officially ends on December 21, 2012.
*****
ABOUT THE
AUTHOR:
Gwen
Perkins is a museum curator with a MA in Military History from Norwich
University. She has written for a number of magazines, exhibitions and
nonfiction publications.
Her interest in history fueled the creation of the
world of The Universal Mirror, inspired
in part by people and events of the medieval and Renaissance periods.
FIND OUT MORE ABOUT HER AND THE SERIES:
*****
AND....
A LITTLE EXCERPT
From
Chapter 1
The white
monster swooped down.
All that Asahel
could see was a cloud of pale feathers as the Rukh lashed out at the cannon
that had fired. Screams throbbed around
him as the Rukh lifted, golden talons now rusted with blood. Broken bodies lay on the wood, ribs smashed
by the weight of unearthly claws. The
men were too distant for Asahel to put faces to as he fell to the deck, heart
pounding at the sound of the wings beating once more.
The Rukh dove
again, its beak rending the ship's prow.
The heavy timbers cracked like bones against the pressure. A slow tearing sound cut through the haze of
chaos settling over the ship as panic took hold. Spice spilled out of the hold the beast had
torn open. Pungent scents of oil and
cedar clouded the air as chests smashed against the bow, breaking apart into
the water below.
Asahel crawled
on his knees toward the heart of the battle, his eyes stinging red from the
spices in the air. The Rukh thrashed as
another cannon fired its shot, black powder belching into the fading
light. Angry cries from the monster
above filled his ears as it lurched down, plucking a sailor off the deck and
squeezing its talons tightly around the man's midsection. Another series of screams began as the ship's
port side blazed into flames, but he kept moving toward starboard, trying to
reach the first cannon that had been fired.
Zuane!" He called, hoping that the captain was
near. When that failed, Asahel shouted
out for others. "Felix! Nicolas!" His knee edged forward as he crawled, the
coarse wool of his trousers suddenly damp.
He looked down to see the blood of the fallen pooling in the cracks of
the boards.
He was near the
side of the Serenissma. Asahel
stood, crouching each time the Rukh let out another shriek. Black smoke surrounded him, choking his lungs
as he turned. The white beast had grown
dim as the wall of fire leapt up, flames feeding on the ship's planking.
"Soames—"
Asahel turned
but did not see who could have called him.
"Where are
you?" He whispered, afraid to raise
his voice. He saw a pair of hands
gripping the railing. He reached out,
his own strong fingers clutching them and pulling the man toward the deck. He could feel Felix shudder as he came up
over the rail, his thin body battered.
The older man began to cough almost immediately as Asahel helped him
back to the deck. They stared through
the flames at the carnage.
The Serenissma
wrenched sharply to the right. The Rukh
cawed as it rose, white wings blotting out what was left of the sun. Water splashed across the wood, shooting up
from the hold as the lower decks flooded.
"We've got
to get out of here," Asahel said.
"There's no
rafts." Felix coughed and leaned back against the rail. His eyes were bright with a fear the other
man had never seen.
"Aye." The fire was close enough to warm them
both. Which will it be? Asahel thought. Burning or drowning?
"I can't
swim."
"Sure, and
now you tell me." Asahel steadied
his expression for Felix's sake, more nervous than he let on. The Soames family had been merchants and
traders for generations. Unlike Felix,
Asahel had been raised at water's edge.
"I never
expected it to come up." Felix
grimaced. "I know. We're on a boat. Clearly, I was being an optimist."
"Ship,"
Asahel corrected gently, looking over his shoulder at the waves.
"Grave—if
we don't do something shortly."
Felix inhaled, his body clenched as he turned his back on the
flames. The Serenissma was moving
downwards rapidly. The remaining sailors
leapt from the deck, disappearing into the churning tides as they plummeted
through the darkness. He looked at
Asahel, his mouth twisting into a crooked grin.
"No time like the present."
Felix climbed
back up on the railing, sweat trickling down his forehead, his skin mottled
with bruise and shadow. Asahel followed,
his own ungainly body slower to take action.
The two men looked at one another a last time, then back at the burning
ship.
With one breath,
they jumped.
* * *
The day has come for Anya to reclaim her life. Protected by an Amazon, she must go to legendary Palance, the city of her dreams. 
