I'm very excited to have the awesome YA author Ali Cross guest posting on my blog today as part of EuphorYA! EuphorYA is a speculative fiction scavenger hunt running rampant with giveaways for those of you who put together three phrases from words "hidden" throughout all of the participating author's posts. Ali is here to talk about her new novel Blood Crown, which I for one, am super excited to read.
Before I turn the time over to her completely, however, I wanted to let you all know that both Ali and I will be participating in the EuphorYA Facebook Event today, so come stop by and say hey!
Also, make sure you check out the schedule for all of the blog stops during the scavenger hunt and enter the grand prize giveaway and Ali's giveaway below!
And now, without further ado, here's Ali!
Yay for fun scavenger hunts, making friends and discovering new stories!
I'm so stoked to be here on Hannah's blog. What a fun and funky place! And guess what? SHE LIVES *RIGHT* NEAR ME AND I HAD NO IDEA! I swear, Utah breeds authors like it does sage brush.
I know Hannah's already told you all about the hunt, so I'll get right to my bit . . .
Recently I published the first in a new series (Blood Crown, The Eden Project #1) and it wasn't until the book was out and sitting in my hand that I realized I wrote a new character who is very much like a character in my previous series (Desolation). In the Desolation series, the main character, Desi, has a best friend/side kick named Miri.
In Blood Crown, Sera has a best friend/side kick named Minn.
Uhh . . . ??
Obviously I have a thing for best friends who have four-letter names that start with "M".
Miri and Minn are quite different, but in the ways that count they are almost exactly the same. They are dedicated, loyal, friends to the end. They are capable of putting the greater good before their own. They routinely sacrifice their own comfort or safety in order to make it possible for the main character to do her thing.
At first I was embarrassed that I'd done that--written two characters fulfilling virtually identical roles--but then I thought . . . No. I'm not sorry. In these two series, friendship has been my b-story. Sure, there's romance, there's a boy worth falling for . . . but it's the relationship between the main characters and their friend, that allow them their greatest growth.
I'm sure it comes from my own life. Friendship hasn't always come easily to me. At any given point in time, I've only had one or two close friends. And there've been periods when I didn't have a friend at all. Those times were the saddest, most loneliest of times.
Romance is important. Romance is why a lot of us read! But for me, love is not limited to romance. Human beings need romantic love and we need the love of a friend.
The friends in my life have strengthened me, been my breakwater in the storm. Miri and Minn do that for Desi and Sera. Without their friendships, they would never have been as strong, capable and, ultimately, victorious.
None of my real-life friends have four-letter names that begin with "M", but all of them are reflected in these good, kind women in my books. I dedicate Miri and Minn to my friends--to the ones who have loved me even when I was less than lovable, who have kept me standing when the winds blew, who restored hope in my heart.
If you've got a friend like Miri or Minn, go and give 'em a hug, or send them a love text or something. And you don't have to live in a fairy tale world ~ if you haven't found your own Minn yet . . . don't lose hope! You never know where she might pop up.
Thank you for having me, Hannah! I hope you guys enjoy ALL the stops on the tour!
Thank you for having me, Hannah! I hope you guys enjoy ALL the stops on the tour!
~ * ~
Blood Crown
YA sci fi romance with a Cinderella twist
In this science fiction romance, androids have claimed power over what remains of the human race. They rule without remorse. They are the Mind and humans exist only to serve them.
But it wasn't always so.
Before the android uprising, select droids, called Servants, were pivotal in engineering a new human race with nanotechnology enhanced DNA. The Blood Crown theorem was to be humanity's crowning glory and the key to their survival in deep space.
But Serantha, Daughter of the West, was the last female to receive Gifts from her Servant and when the Mind mutinied, she was hidden away, and presumed dead.
Without Serantha there is no hope of the Blood Crown being realized so Nicolai, Son of the East, abandons his crown to join the rebel forces. He might not provide the future for his people he had once dreamed of, but he will not go down without a fight.
When Nicolai discovers Sera among a small compliment of kitchen staff, everything changes--but Sera's Gifts were never completed and she is ill-equipped to face a legion of androids determined to wipe her, and every other human, out of existence.
Their only hope is the Blood Crown--but even if Serantha and Nicolai can realize their potential it may be too late to save mankind. Amazon | B&N | Kobo | iTunes | Goodreads
But it wasn't always so.
Before the android uprising, select droids, called Servants, were pivotal in engineering a new human race with nanotechnology enhanced DNA. The Blood Crown theorem was to be humanity's crowning glory and the key to their survival in deep space.
But Serantha, Daughter of the West, was the last female to receive Gifts from her Servant and when the Mind mutinied, she was hidden away, and presumed dead.
Without Serantha there is no hope of the Blood Crown being realized so Nicolai, Son of the East, abandons his crown to join the rebel forces. He might not provide the future for his people he had once dreamed of, but he will not go down without a fight.
When Nicolai discovers Sera among a small compliment of kitchen staff, everything changes--but Sera's Gifts were never completed and she is ill-equipped to face a legion of androids determined to wipe her, and every other human, out of existence.
Their only hope is the Blood Crown--but even if Serantha and Nicolai can realize their potential it may be too late to save mankind. Amazon | B&N | Kobo | iTunes | Goodreads
~ * ~
Ali Cross likes to say she holds a black belt in awesome since the only kind of kicking-butt she does is on paper. She lives in Utah with her kickin' husband, two sparring sons, one ninja cat, one samurai dog and four zen turtles.
She's the author of the Desolation series, and also writes middle grade sci-fi and fantasy
under the pen name, Alex Banks.
EuphorYA Scavenger Hunt Blog Stops
Here's the schedule for the EuphorYA Scavenger Hunt. Each blog stop features exclusive content from one of our authors as well as a giveaway. Collect the blue / red / pink colored words to make the daily secret phrases. Then enter for your chance to win the Grand Prize Giveaway--$75 Amazon / Nook gift card (first prize only), books and swag (first, second and third prizes).
Day One Stops, Friday ,June 20 - Blue Phrase
Day Two Stops, Saturday, June 21 - Red Phrase
Elisabeth Wheatley | T.L. Shreffler | RaShelle Workman | Kelly Walker | Hannah L. Clark | Christy Dorrity
Day Three Stops, Sunday, June 22 - Pink Phrase
Friendships are certainly important as well! I particularly like bromances.
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