Here are some quick updates for all you lovely readers!
For the next seven days, The Vanishing Girl will be on sale for $0.99, so if you like teleportation, romance, and action, then click here to snag your copy!
Secondly, if you enjoyed The Unearthy, The Coveted, and/or The Cursed, please be sure to vote on it here for UtopYA’s 2015 Award Eligible Books on Goodreads! To all of those readers who’ve already voted on it—a super huge, heartfelt thank you! Oliver is popping his hip and telling me that it’s about damn time he was recognized for being awesome. (He doesn’t know this isn’t about him.)
You’ll be hearing from me again tomorrow, so make sure to check in again!
Hugs and much love!
Laura
Thursday, July 31, 2014
Sunday, July 27, 2014
The Man in the Suit
Ah! I have a fun post today! So, all of you have particular ideas of what different characters look like in the stories you read. Well, for all my books, I have my own idea for what each character looks like. Most don’t have a corresponding celebrity that looks like them, but I just found one that looks dead on like the man in the suit.
I recently saw The Picture of Dorian Gray (2009), and Ben Barnes, the actor who plays Dorian Gray, was the closest rendering I’ve seen so far to the man in the suit.
Here’s the movie trailer, so you can get an idea yourself:
Hugs and happy reading,
Laura
I recently saw The Picture of Dorian Gray (2009), and Ben Barnes, the actor who plays Dorian Gray, was the closest rendering I’ve seen so far to the man in the suit.
Here’s the movie trailer, so you can get an idea yourself:
Hugs and happy reading,
Laura
Tuesday, July 15, 2014
The Queen of All that Dies Teaser #3 and Updates
So, some exciting things are happening in my world right now that will affect my release schedule. I am currently in talks with a publisher about The Vanishing Girl series. Because of this, I’ve had to prioritize working on The Decaying Empire (and this name could potentially change).
What does this mean? Well, unfortunately, it means that it could push back the release date of The Queen of All that Dies. However, what it does mean is that The Vanishing Girl series could be more widely distributed—more ebook formats (yippee to those of you who have non-Kindle e-readers), audiobooks, perhaps foreign language editions, and print books that will be available in certain bookstores across the country.
This is all still up in the air, so I’ll keep all of you wonderful readers posted on what happens. To all those readers who have contacted me to read an advanced review copy of The Queen of All that Dies—this will mean that your copies will arrive later than I initially expected. However, I still have you all listed, and I’ll keep you posted on future updates.
If you have not signed up to read an advanced copy of The Queen of all that Dies, and you’re interested in getting to read and review an early copy, please email me at laurathalassa.author@gmail.com. Absolutely anyone can do this, and you get a free pre-released copy of The Queen of All that Dies. All you have to do is read the book and post a review when the book hits shelves. So again, if you’re interested, please email me at laurathalassa.author@gmail.com.
For those of you bummed by this news, I thought I’d pair it with another teaser from The Queen of all that Dies to sate your appetite.
The Queen of All that Dies Teaser #3
If you enjoyed that teaser, click here to add The Queen of All that Dies to your “To Read” list on Goodreads, or join my mailing list in the top right corner to get notified when the book comes out!
Hugs and happy reading,
Laura
What does this mean? Well, unfortunately, it means that it could push back the release date of The Queen of All that Dies. However, what it does mean is that The Vanishing Girl series could be more widely distributed—more ebook formats (yippee to those of you who have non-Kindle e-readers), audiobooks, perhaps foreign language editions, and print books that will be available in certain bookstores across the country.
This is all still up in the air, so I’ll keep all of you wonderful readers posted on what happens. To all those readers who have contacted me to read an advanced review copy of The Queen of All that Dies—this will mean that your copies will arrive later than I initially expected. However, I still have you all listed, and I’ll keep you posted on future updates.
If you have not signed up to read an advanced copy of The Queen of all that Dies, and you’re interested in getting to read and review an early copy, please email me at laurathalassa.author@gmail.com. Absolutely anyone can do this, and you get a free pre-released copy of The Queen of All that Dies. All you have to do is read the book and post a review when the book hits shelves. So again, if you’re interested, please email me at laurathalassa.author@gmail.com.
For those of you bummed by this news, I thought I’d pair it with another teaser from The Queen of all that Dies to sate your appetite.
The Queen of All that Dies Teaser #3
Marco twists the handle and ushers
me inside. The king’s back is to me and he’s staring at the walls of the room.
I suck in a breath of air. The
walls are covered with maps of every nation on earth. Strings crisscross the
images, connecting one section of land to another. I can see creases on the
surface of these maps, suggesting that they were unfolded recently. My best
guess is that the king takes these maps wherever he goes.
Pins hold the strings down, and
beneath a few of these pins are images. Most are of people whose faces have
been crossed out; only a precious few have not been. My earlier nausea rises.
“Feeling better, Serenity?”
“Fuck off.”
The king turns to face me, his
expression unreadable. “You’re not wearing my gift.”
“You can’t bribe me into liking
you.”
The king’s eyes flick to Marco. “You can go.”
Behind me Marco’s footfalls fade,
and a moment later the door clicks shut. There’s no one else in this room but
the two of us. No guards, no servants. Like the pool last night, it’s just the
two of us.
“I can’t have you clouding my
judgment during negotiations,” he says.
My hands fist. “Right. Because how
awful would it be to compromise for once in your life?”
“I haven’t spent the last fifteen
years waging war to finally compromise.”
“No,” I agree, “you haven’t.”
The king glances away from me at
the maps that line the walls. “I’m not an idiot,” he says, not looking at me.
“Could’ve fooled me.”
“I know the WUN sent you here to
seduce me.”
My body goes rigid. I have no idea
why his confession shocks me; it doesn’t take a scientist to put two and two
together.
He laughs, the sound hollow. “The
problem is, it worked.” His eyes move over me, and something in them softens
for a moment before he shutters the expression.
“Uh huh.”
“You find that hard to believe?” he
asks. His lips quirk into a smirk. I’d say that he was mocking me, except his
eyes are too serious.
I fold my arms over my chest. Of
course I do. “Why are you telling me this?” I ask.
“To warn you.”
“Warn me about what?”
“I get what I want. Always.”
“You keep telling me that, yet I
haven’t seen any proof.”
“You want proof?” he says. His eyes
are calculating, and the smile dancing on his lips is sly. He’s no longer the
man I talked to yesterday; he’s the man who’s been taking over the world for
the last two decades.
I take a step back. I shouldn’t
have spoken just now; my words were careless, and around the king, careless
words could mean the difference between life and death.
I shake my head and close my eyes.
“No, I don’t want proof. I just want this to end.” I open my eyes. “I don’t
want to see any more crossed out faces on those maps of yours.” I jut my chin
to the wall behind him. “I don’t want to be hungry all the time. I don’t want
to see the hollow-eyed looks of the people I live alongside.”
“I can give you that,” he says,
tucking a piece of hair behind my ear. I flinch at his touch.
“Of course you can—but you won’t.”
“That’s because no one’s offered me
the correct price yet.” He says it like this is a simple matter of haggling.
I throw my arms up. “You can’t
expect the WUN to willingly cripple our future economy for you.”
The king steps in extra close.
“That’s not the price I was referring to.” His eyes move over me.
And now I get it. I take a step
back, then another. I furrow my eyebrows; I think I’m going to be sick. “No.”
“Why not?”
“Even if I believed you felt that
was a legitimate trade—which we both know it isn’t—no.”
“You could end this all now, and
you refuse to agree to it?”
“You’re asking me to make a deal
with the devil.”
“You and I both know you already
signed your soul away a long time ago, Serenity.”
“Because of you and your stupid war.
I already told you last night, you don’t get to have me.”
The king gazes intensely at me. “I’m not just
talking about sex,” he says.
But sex would be included in the
arrangement. “I’d rather die than do anything with you.”
“If it’s death you wish, we can
arrange that.”
The king reaches out to touch my
arm, and I slap his hand away. “Don’t. Touch. Me.” I’m shaking; this was never
supposed to happen. I’m getting played by the king, and I don’t know how to get
myself out of this situation.
King Lazuli sticks his hands in his
pockets and leans in conspiratorially. “You know the thing about strategy? It
takes knowing when to act and when to be patient.”
I take a good long look at him.
King Lazuli’s been waging this war for over fifteen years, yet he looks to be
in his twenties. I’ve seen footage of him shot, blown-up, and stabbed, yet he
hasn’t died. He’s unnatural in more ways than one.
“If you try to force me into this
plan of yours, I will find out your secrets,” I say, “and once I do, I will
kill you.” I stare at him for a long moment so that he can see the vehemence
behind my words. And then I turn and walk away from the king and the sick
tapestry that hangs along the walls of the room.
I’m almost to the door when he
speaks. “I plan on making you love me before that happens.”
If you enjoyed that teaser, click here to add The Queen of All that Dies to your “To Read” list on Goodreads, or join my mailing list in the top right corner to get notified when the book comes out!
Hugs and happy reading,
Laura
Tuesday, July 8, 2014
Teaser Tuesday: The Queen of All That Dies
This week I wanted to share with you the second teaser I have for The Queen of All That Dies. Here it is:
The Queen of All That Dies Teaser #2
“You want to see compassion? Fine.”
I take the hand pressed against my shoulders and kiss the king's knuckles. “I’ve now kissed
the hand of my mother’s killer.”
Before he has time to react to my
chaste kiss, I bring my other hand up and slap him.
His head whips to the side. “I’m
also a vindictive bitch,” I say.
Slowly he moves his face back to
where it was. There’s a dull pink handprint across his cheek. His eyes glitter,
and I’m already learning that this is when he’s at his most dangerous. “And I
don’t play fair,” he admits.
The words are hardly out of his
mouth when he closes the distance between us and kisses me.
There’s nothing sweet or diplomatic
about this kiss. His lips move roughly against mine, and his hand runs down the
length of my side, as if even a kiss isn’t enough to satiate him.
I will my mind to go blank before I
kiss him back. I press my eyes tightly closed as I wind my arms around his neck
and lean into him.
As soon as he feels me respond, the
kiss deepens. His lips part my own and his tongue presses against mine.
I turn my head to the side to break
off the kiss. It’s too much. Oh God, I don’t think I can do this.
I swallow down my bile. “Enough,” I
say, my voice hoarse.
He steps away from me, and I pull
in a deep breath of air. The king’s staring at my lips, as though looking at
them long enough might cause them to resume their former activity.
I gaze at him, feeling like a
cornered creature. This is when I’m
my most dangerous. He must sense it as well because he steps aside. I brush
past him and he catches my wrist. “I want to see you tonight.” His meaning is
clear.
“No,” I say.
“Yes.”
“Not until you offer full medical
relief to the WUN with no strings attached.” It’s a ballsy move, manipulating
him like this. But this is why the WUN sent me.
“I could simply have you killed if
you don’t agree.”
“Then kill me,” I say, tugging on
my wrist. I am more than ready to leave the king and his empty threats.
He doesn’t let go of me. “I’ll
think about it,” he finally says, and I know he’s referring to the medical
relief and not having me killed.
“And all I’ll do is think about visiting you until you make
your decision,” I say.
The king tugs my wrist hard enough
for me I stumble into him. “Stop toying with me,” he growls against my ear, his
voice low and lethal.
I pull away from him. “Unlike you, I
don’t play games, Montes.”
His eyes trail down my face to my
lips. “And I get what I want. Always.”
I yank my wrist out of his grip and
back away from him. I can see the cold calculation in his eyes.
“There’s always time for firsts,” I say, and then
I walk away.
If you enjoyed this teaser, click here to add The Queen of All That Dies to your “To Read” list and make sure to join my mailing list (located in the top righthand corner) to get notified when this book comes out!
Hugs and happy reading,
Laura
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