EskieMama & Dragon Lady Reads New Release Spotlight w/Giveaway: Daughters Destiny by Devorah Fox & other authors

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New Release Spotlight!

Today we are spotligting Devorah Fox's

The Redoubt part of Daughters Destiny

box set!

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Handcrafted Tea + Mugs from the authors of Daughters Destiny

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Devorah Fox's 

New Release 

The Redoubt

Part of the Daughters Destiny

box set

Voted one of 50 Self-Published Books Worth Reading 2016. Having bested beast, man, and even his own failings, King Bewilliam has regained his throne, reunited with his sons, and restored his embattled kingdom, yet something is lacking. When a crippling famine threatens the Chalklands’ very survival, his vassals propose a risky plan to seek aid from a distant ruler. King Bewilliam strikes off on a perilous journey to the island empire of Sea Gate accompanied by a cadre of loyal knights and nobles who are unaware that the plan will reunite the king with a spurned lover.

Ten full-length novels, ten heroines at the right hand of destiny…

Whether you're slaying vampires or holding your own alongside superheroes, one of the best things about heroines is that they show us how strong, cunning, and magical they can be.

This box set contains TEN complete novels, all gripping and intriguing stories with women rocking rebellions, handing out justice, battling shadow gods, and bending the wills of kings.

Contributing authors include: Seattle Times bestselling author Raven Oak, Amazon bestselling authors Alesha Escobar, Devorah Fox, Christa Yelich-Koth, NIEA finalist HM Jones, the fantastic sci-fi/fantasy mavens HM Clarke, Sara C. Roethle, HB Lyne, JC Cassels, and Kylie Qullinan.

These science fiction and fantasy tales will take you on a thrilling journey!

Grab YOUR copy TODAY!

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Q & A with Devorah Fox about Redoubt!

Tell us about The Redoubt.

“The Redoubt” was voted one of 50 Self-Published Books Worth Reading 2016. 

Having bested beast, man, and even his own failings, King Bewilliam has regained his throne, reunited with his sons, and restored his embattled kingdom, yet something is lacking. When a crippling famine threatens the Chalklands’ very survival, his vassals propose a risky plan to seek aid from a distant ruler. King Bewilliam strikes off on a perilous journey to the island empire of Sea Gate accompanied by a cadre of loyal knights and nobles who are unaware that the plan will reunite the king with a spurned lover..

What initially inspired you to write The Redoubt?

Usually I find the title the hardest part of the book to write. However, this time I started with the title. I had stumbled on the word “redoubt” and wanted to use it in a story. 

Also, King Bewilliam’s (aka Robin) fans kept asking about Empress Alexandra from Book One, “The Lost King,” so I wanted to see if there was a way to reunite the two. 

Tell us little about the characters in The Redoubt.

King Bewilliam, a husband, father, respected ruler, and accomplished dragon-slayer, begins the series estranged from his family and his kingdom. In the course of reclaiming his throne, he discovers strengths that he didn’t know he had.

What was the hardest part of writing this book?

I put an extraordinary amount of research into medieval time period in which The Bewildering Adventures of King Bewilliam are set. It’s part of the world-building that Fantasy and Science Fiction writers do. Although the King Bewilliam series is a fantasy, I want the characters’ lives to be vivid and to ring true.

What was your favorite chapter (or part) to write and why? 

By Book Four, many of the secondary characters had developed strong personalities and were lobbying to speak for themselves. However, the entire series is told from a single character viewpoint, that of King Bewilliam. I didn’t want to switch viewpoints in the middle of a series. In concocting the storytelling contest in which each participant tells a tale, I gave the characters a chance to use their voices. Writing eight short stories and a poem in the middle of a novel allowed me to exercise a range of writing muscles.

What are your future project(s)?

Sir Maxwell, who made a surprise appearance in “The King’s Ransom,” Book Two of the King Bewilliam series, has been nagging me for his own book. He’ll probably get it. I’m also intrigued by Dame Deidre and would like to do more with her.

I have two more stories planned for Will Mansion, the main character of my recent mystery, “The Zen Detective. Fans of the thriller “Detour” want another adventure with that story’s main character, Archie Harlanson. However, currently I’m working on a police procedural that, like “The Zen Detective,” combines crime investigation and mysticism. In “Blood Guilt,” police detective Paul Toberman pursues a serial killer and while working the case he is introduced to the spiritual practice of Kabbalah. 

Is there anything else you would like to tell the readers about this book/series?

I am delighted with the loyal following that King Bewilliam has acquired. Many people remark that they think the King Bewilliam stories have Young Adult appeal. I find that surprising because I wrote the books for adults and I think that the stories deal with mature topics. But the readers could be right. I remember myself as a young person reading far above my grade level and not finding much of a selection.

Now an exciting excerpt from Redoubt!

The coil of Robin’s anxiety wound tighter with every passing moment. Here he stood, without a crown, without a sword, without his horse. He had been in this position before. Sir Howell’s suspicions came back to him. What if James was not the friend he appeared to be but a spy, a traitor?

  In the distance a small yellow light at shoulder height winked from left to right. Drawing closer it grew larger. Robin made out that it was a lantern held aloft by a rider. A guard come to arrest him? The emperor come to challenge him?

  The rider proved to be a woman astride Hope. Empress Alexandra.

  The gate guards bowed and almost too late so did Robin.

  “No page, Your Majesty? No soldier as escort?” asked one of the guards.

  “We are not going far,” the empress replied. “This stable boy will accompany us.” To Robin she said, “Come with us, lad. You are to deliver this horse to a dweller in the city.”

  “Yes, Your Majesty,” Robin said, silently congratulating James on his quick thinking.

Empress Alexandra dismounted. As her cloak swirled about her, Robin thought he made out the tip of a broad leather scabbard. They traded horses and walked through the gate. It was all Robin could do to keep from breaking into a gallop.

  They did not blaze down the track quite like Thurston the Conqueror and Queen Chelie in Dame Deidre’s story but kept to a trot until they crossed the viaduct. Empress Alexandra swept aside her cloak. From a bulky leather belt encircling her hips hung a long scabbard. She unbuckled the belt and handed it to Robin. “James said you were not to leave Sea Gate without this.”

  Robin strapped on his sword. James, we apologize for ever doubting you.

  They cantered through the city of Sea Gate. Then, trying to outrun the rising sun behind them and flee under the cover of the thinning darkness, they took off at a gallop.

  Charger was worthy of his name but Hope needed rest. Robin looked about in the dawn light. “If I’m not mistaken there is a stream around here.”

  Empress Alexandra surveyed the landscape. “I believe you’re right.”

  They tramped through the underbrush until they found a creek. Robin pulled a flask from his rucksack, watered the remainder of the wine in it, and passed it to Alexandra. He tried not to stare at her face which was both flushed with exertion and mottled with bruises. He looked away. “Is this not just about where we met years ago?” he asked as she sipped. “You were out fighting a dragon. No, I stand corrected: a wyvern.”

  Alexandra chuckled and handed back the flask.

  “Are there still dragons around?” he asked.

  “Not here.”

  “Just back at the fortress,” Robin said, his ire mounting.

  Alexandra narrowed her eyes at him.

  Robin squared his shoulders. “All right. Tell me. How did that happen?”

  Alexandra sighed and paced in a small circle. She threw up her hands. “It seemed like a good idea at the time.”

  “You were lonely. No one could blame you. I’m sure your subjects wondered why it took so long for you to remarry.”

  “Yes, that was it. I felt ... I wasn’t getting any younger. The empire ... yes, it was growing. But with each passing year it was just getting harder and harder to manage on my own.” She stopped and faced him. “No, that’s not true. I had no problem being empress. I had vassals on whom I could depend. I had loyal friends. It wasn’t the same as when Emperor Merek was alive but what he and I had built was thriving. In preserving his legacy I felt a sense of accomplishment. Connected to him, still.

  “And then there was Gilbert of Blackstone.” She sighed and shook her head.

  “I’m sorry,” Robin said. “You don’t have to tell me.”

  “No, I want to. I want to understand it myself. He pursued me. Quite relentlessly. It was flattering.”

  “And you fell in love.”

  “I thought I did.” She shrugged. “Now I have come to see that I fell in love with ... being the object of his affection.” Alexandra kicked at a chunk of bark. “As it turned out it wasn’t me he wanted, it was Sea Gate. The mines at Blackstone had played out, you see.”

  So James had said. “Avaricious bastard coveted your wealth.”

  Alexandra shrugged. “Not for himself so much but for Tegen. And now instead of the object of the emperor’s affection I am simply an object.”

  “All right. That explains the marriage. What about this?” He took her chin in his hand and tilted her face up. “How did this happen? You are Alexandra, the Empress of Sea Gate.”

  Alexandra turned her face away. “At first I thought that it was my fault, that I had angered him somehow. By the time I realized that no, he was simply a brute, it was too late. Where would I go? How could I leave? I am, as you said, the Empress of Sea Gate.” She looked about and spoke so softly Robin could hardly hear her. “Now what am I going to do?”

  “We will find my men.” With the growing light they would be rising, preparing to break camp and continue home. By now they would be missing their king. Would they set out to search for him or stay put hoping that he would rejoin them? “We will regroup and then we will take action.”

  “So you have a plan?”

  Robin grinned and shook his head.

  “You sneaked into Sea Gate Fortress and carried off its empress and you don’t have a plan?”

  Robin shrugged. “That was my plan."

Author Bio:

"What if?" Those two words all too easily send Devorah Fox spinning into flights of fancy. Best-selling author of an award-winning literary historical fantasy series and several thrillers, she also penned Mystery Mini Short Reads and contributed short stories to popular fantasy anthologies. Born in Brooklyn, New York, she now lives on the Texas Gulf Coast with rescued tabby cats ... and a dragon named Inky. Visit the “Dee-Scoveries” blog at http://devorahfox.com.

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