Virtual Book Tour w/Giveaway: Harbingers by Ellis Morning

Harbingers

by Ellis Morning

GENRE: Science Fiction/Fantasy

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Ellis Morning will be awarding a $20 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Please visit GoddessFish.com to follow the tour, remember the more you comment better your chances on winning.

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BLURB:

 The Quest Continues To Stop A Killer "Curse!" Dame Jessamine is a knight errant with a spaceship for a steed, a woman of science in a galaxy rife with superstition. Follow along as she continues her mission for truth within the barony of Nidaros!

A mysterious crop-withering blight spreads through the barony's soil. The court magicians have blamed two siblings of spawning the crisis through witchcraft. Convinced of their innocence, Jessamine has rescued and now secretly harbors Verahl Naustvik aboard her spaceship. Meanwhile, his sister Thordia flees to the Harbinger, a crashed space station from the distant and more enlightened past. Approaching the Harbinger is an act punishable by death, but Jessamine won't let that stand in the way of a second rescue. Thordia, and the Harbinger's surviving technological secrets, may be Nidaros' only hope against the blight. Jessamine prepares to embark—only to be betrayed and set upon by vengeful court magicians. Now, one wrong word or gesture will lead to deadly charges of witchcraft. Jessamine must protect the Naustviks and brave the Harbinger, all while striking a balance between ritual and reason. If she can't maintain the peace long enough to discover a cure for the blight, the entire barony will starve—unless its far-off masters decide to "restore order" with military action first! Harbingers is Book Two of the Sword and Starship series of science fiction/fantasy adventure.

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Excerpt:

Dag held silent. He was surely scowling at me, but I couldn’t see it and didn’t care. With my right arm, I lowered Ormyr to a seat against the rock again. His limbs obeyed, but he seemed absent mentally, eyes glazed over. I learned the hard way that he was still paying attention when his hand darted to the bolt in his thigh. He tore it out with one swift movement.

“Damn it!” I cried. It just figured he wouldn’t listen. This bit of stubbornness might’ve cost him his life. Heart pounding and hands shaking, I dug into my first aid kit for bandages.

“I’m uninjured.” Ormyr rested his head against the rock.

“I don’t need your denial on top of everything else,” I snapped, struggling to rein in my irritation. That, plus the fog and the dizziness? Not good signs, but I couldn’t worry about myself just then. “Dag, turn on that light again. I can’t see too well.”

“Gamla skíta,” Dag spat. “I’m not helping him!”

“No, you’re not. You’re showing him the power the Naustviks gave you.” There. Something to appeal to the kid’s bravado and sate Ormyr’s curiosity about how Dag had come to wield the Shipbuilder relic. But if Ormyr cared about such a thing at the moment, he gave no sign, his gaze remaining detached.

Dag edged over to my makeshift surgical arena. The bright light cut on again, which the boy aimed directly at Ormyr’s eyes at first. The master adept’s only response was to squint.

“Lower, Dag,” I said.

He complied. Eventually.

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Q & A with Ellis Morning

What did you enjoy most about writing this book?

The daily work of drafting and re-drafting is a joy in itself. Plus, I’ve learned so much in the process. I’ve climbed a big hill, and even though there are only bigger hills ahead, I’ve got the skill, confidence, and support to tackle them.

Who are some of your favorite authors that you feel were influential in your work?

I’ve mentioned most of these folks throughout my blog tour, but I’ll try to be as thorough here as possible and throw in some names I haven’t already discussed: Madeline L’Engle, Robert Heinlein, Mark Twain, Kurt Vonnegut, Yevgeny Zamyatin, Thomas Paine, Carl Sagan.

What do your plans for future projects include?

I want to finish the Sword and Starship series, however long that takes. After that, something ancient Egypt themed might be great; I’m a big Egypt nut. I also have ideas on the back-burner about art thieves, superheroes … we’ll see what happens!

Do you ever get writer’s Block? Any tips on how to get through the dreaded writer’s block?

My two favorite tricks are (1) talk it out and (2) take a break. If I don’t know what should happen next or feel like something isn’t working, I’ll bounce thoughts off of my husband and see what he thinks. Sometimes, we’ll hit upon something that works. Otherwise, I do my best to get my mind off it and return to it later with a fresh perspective. I’ve written more about writer’s block here if you’re interested: http://ellismorning.com/blog/2014/06/getting-your-brain-unstuck/

Have you ever had one character you wanted to go one way with but after the book was done the character was totally different?

There’s been a lot of evolution as I’ve gone through drafts and rewrites. Originally, Dame Jessamine was a sarcastic, jaded noir detective type. I then changed her to be compassionate and eager to right wrongs, and I like her a lot more that way. Ingvar was originally another rival at court until I decided Jess needed a (mostly) like-minded ally. Ormyr was always going to be an obstacle, but I mellowed him out from “pure jerk” to “jerk with good intentions at heart.” Sigrid appeared and disappeared from subsequent drafts as I decided I had no need for her, then re-decided that I could use her another way. Verahl was originally going to become Jess’ squire (!) until I nixed that idea entirely and gave him and his sister Thordia more selfish motivations. Dag was a late addition. My husband suggested that another family member should be at Verahl and Thordia’s house when Jess and Ingvar explore it in Blood’s Force, Book 1 of this series. I took away the “family” element and made Dag just a friend. Pontus was the very latest addition of all; my editor recommended that Ingvar should have a second.

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Ellis has always loved staging adventures in her head before going to sleep each night. When she was twelve, she started putting these adventures on paper.

For the next twenty years, she wrote with varying degrees of seriousness, but always as a hobby. In that time, she fell in love with Mark Twain and Kurt Vonnegut, the original Star Trek series, and Mystery Science Theater 3000. Science fiction became her favorite domain to work in, but she also enjoyed reading fantasy, horror, Western, and detective stories, and incorporating their elements into her work. One of her favorite things to do was make people laugh.

Ellis denied being a writer for decades. But then she sold articles to The Daily WTF, and a short story to Analog Science Fiction and Fact. After quitting her full-time job to finish her first novel, it was time to own up to writing as her calling. She's currently an editor at The Daily WTF, and having the time of her life penning novels and short stories.

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