The Vanishing Girl Sale and Other News

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

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

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

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

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