Welcome to my tour stop for A Tangle of Fates by Leslie Ann Moore. This tour runs Feb. 2-13 with reviews, interviews, guest post & excerpts. Check out the tour page for more information.
A Tangle of Fates
by Leslie Ann Moore
Book Description:
The fates of three women. The fates of two peoples. The fate of one planet.
On Nuetierra, four hundred years have passed since the Great War. A new society has arisen on the ashes of the old.
Deanna Hernaan, daughter of Eduard, the former Alcalde of Nue Bayona, spends her days attending university and caring for her mentally damaged sister, Ceilia. Six years ago, her stepmother Lourdessa deposed her father, and now, as Alcalde, rules the city through patronage and oppression. Deanna remains apolitical, fearing Lourdessa’s power. Threatened by Deanna’s popularity with the common people, the Alcalde arranges for her assassination. Deanna survives, but is cast adrift in a hostile wilderness. She is rescued by a band of diminutive hunters—the Tiqui—members of a slave race she has only read about in history books. The hunters bring Deanna to their village, where she meets the Tiqui chieftess Yellow Bird. A remarkable woman, the ithani possesses the shamanic gift of foresight. Her visions have revealed to her that a young woman of the tall folk would come, one whose fate is inextricably entwined with that of the Tiqui—one who would bring disaster or salvation for all of Nuetierra.
“I was hoping you’d be here,” Alehan said, a faint rasp burring his voice. His black evening coat accentuated the pallor of cheeks dusted with a day’s growth of stubble. Dilated pupils and the faint aroma of sueño leaf on his breath confirmed Deanna’s suspicion.
“You’re high...again,” she replied.
He laughed. “Would you like a taste? It’s premium product.” Though Alehan counted many of Nue Bayona’s young blue bloods as clients, he had trouble meeting demand. His taste for his own stock often left him short.
“You know my answer,” Deanna said. “When will you get it through your thick head that I’m not like your friends?”
Sneering laughter from Alehan’s companions drew his lacerating stare. Like cowed puppies, they ducked their heads, shoulders slumped in submission. Turning his gaze back to Deanna, Alehan edged a step closer until a mere handspan separated them. Wise to the tactic, Deanna stood her ground, refusing to succumb to the spell woven from awe and intimidation he so skillfully used against every person he encountered. The insidious effects of the drug in his bloodstream lent his eyes the illusion of sincerity. “ It’s because you aren’t like them that thrills me, Deanna. You make me feel like no one else does. I don’t, I can’t …”
The words left unspoken hung like hungry ghosts between them. Alehan raised a hand and traced the line of her jaw with a forefinger.
“Alehan, stop,” Deanna whispered. “Don’t say anything you know will only make things worse.”
He flinched as if slapped and his eyes narrowed to gold and black slits. A stain of color crept across his high cheekbones. “Do you want me to beg? Is that it?”
The noise of the crowd fell away until it seemed as if a bubble of silence sealed them in their own private space.
A surge of anger coursed through Deanna’s body. Never before had Alehan played his cruel game with such intensity. If his plan was to entrap her before all of Nue Bayonan society, she vowed he would not succeed.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” she snapped, then in stunned disbelief, gasped, “Yesu! What are you doing?”
Alehan had fallen to his knees upon the fired terra cotta tiles of the terrace. Too late, Deanna realized her mistake. Her stepbrother’s intentions were deadly serious.
“Deanna, this is what you’ve brought me to.” The naked pain in Alehan’s voice raked Deanna’s heart with merciless claws.
“Stop, Alehan,” she said. “Stop now!”
He raised slim hands clasped in supplication like a man before his deity. “I’m begging...on my knees... Me! The son of the Dama Alcalde!” He dropped his hands to swipe at his face, then groaned, “Ah diosa mia...I love you. I’ve loved you for so long now, I’ve forgotten what it feels like to not love you.”
“You don’t mean any of this.” Even as Deanna denied his words, she knew with sick certainty, at this moment, Alehan believed he meant every one. She also knew he possessed a drug addict’s boundless capacity for self-delusion.
He seized her fingers in a grip made unbreakable by passion. “Deanna, right here and now, I’m asking you to be my wife.”
Buy Links:
Muse Harbor | Kindle ¦ Paperback | B&N | iBooks
Excerpt
“I was hoping you’d be here,” Alehan said, a faint rasp burring his voice. His black evening coat accentuated the pallor of cheeks dusted with a day’s growth of stubble. Dilated pupils and the faint aroma of sueño leaf on his breath confirmed Deanna’s suspicion.
“You’re high...again,” she replied.
He laughed. “Would you like a taste? It’s premium product.” Though Alehan counted many of Nue Bayona’s young blue bloods as clients, he had trouble meeting demand. His taste for his own stock often left him short.
“You know my answer,” Deanna said. “When will you get it through your thick head that I’m not like your friends?”
Sneering laughter from Alehan’s companions drew his lacerating stare. Like cowed puppies, they ducked their heads, shoulders slumped in submission. Turning his gaze back to Deanna, Alehan edged a step closer until a mere handspan separated them. Wise to the tactic, Deanna stood her ground, refusing to succumb to the spell woven from awe and intimidation he so skillfully used against every person he encountered. The insidious effects of the drug in his bloodstream lent his eyes the illusion of sincerity. “ It’s because you aren’t like them that thrills me, Deanna. You make me feel like no one else does. I don’t, I can’t …”
The words left unspoken hung like hungry ghosts between them. Alehan raised a hand and traced the line of her jaw with a forefinger.
“Alehan, stop,” Deanna whispered. “Don’t say anything you know will only make things worse.”
He flinched as if slapped and his eyes narrowed to gold and black slits. A stain of color crept across his high cheekbones. “Do you want me to beg? Is that it?”
The noise of the crowd fell away until it seemed as if a bubble of silence sealed them in their own private space.
A surge of anger coursed through Deanna’s body. Never before had Alehan played his cruel game with such intensity. If his plan was to entrap her before all of Nue Bayonan society, she vowed he would not succeed.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” she snapped, then in stunned disbelief, gasped, “Yesu! What are you doing?”
Alehan had fallen to his knees upon the fired terra cotta tiles of the terrace. Too late, Deanna realized her mistake. Her stepbrother’s intentions were deadly serious.
“Deanna, this is what you’ve brought me to.” The naked pain in Alehan’s voice raked Deanna’s heart with merciless claws.
“Stop, Alehan,” she said. “Stop now!”
He raised slim hands clasped in supplication like a man before his deity. “I’m begging...on my knees... Me! The son of the Dama Alcalde!” He dropped his hands to swipe at his face, then groaned, “Ah diosa mia...I love you. I’ve loved you for so long now, I’ve forgotten what it feels like to not love you.”
“You don’t mean any of this.” Even as Deanna denied his words, she knew with sick certainty, at this moment, Alehan believed he meant every one. She also knew he possessed a drug addict’s boundless capacity for self-delusion.
He seized her fingers in a grip made unbreakable by passion. “Deanna, right here and now, I’m asking you to be my wife.”
About the Author:
Leslie Ann Moore was born in Los Angeles, California at the tail-end of the baby boom and fell in love with the works of Ray Bradbury, Arthur C. Clarke, Andre Norton, and J.R.R. Tolkien at an early age.
A practicing veterinarian since 1988, Leslie put her dreams of writing fiction aside until she attended the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books in 2000. There, bestselling fantasy author Terry Brooks told her, “Don’t ever give up. Keep writing, no matter what.” Those words changed her life.
She published the first volume of her Griffin’s Daughter trilogy in 2012. A Tangle of Fates is the first volume of The Vox Machina trilogy, and will be published by Muse Harbor in August of 2014.
Author Links:
***GIVEAWAY***
$25 Gift Card (INT).
Ends 2/18/15
Event Organised by CBB Book Promotions
thanks for the giveaway.congrats on the book
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for hosting a tour stop!
ReplyDeleteLoved the excerpt. It is on my list of must reads :) Thank you
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