Silver to the Heart

 

 

Silver to the Heart

by Brien Feathers

GENRE: Dark fantasy, urban fantasy (adult, not YA)

— So begins the apocalypse, with death and a story of love —

An old soul (several centuries old), the lover, fighter, and telekinetic Drake receives an order to safeguard Ana, a mortal with Elder Talent.

Ana, an artist beset by haunting visions, falls for the perfect stranger while venturing home to mediate emergent family chaos.

Past-warlord and present commander Sasuke wields his telepathic might to outwit Council traitors in an effort to save the human realm and its Guardian from a new Dark War.

Criminal and light bender Lou, now sought by the Council to answer for his sins, seeks shelter with the Reverend—an Elder fit to bypass rules of magic meant to be unbreakable.

As time’s last grains of sand deplete, an ancient battle may renew, with pieces of the fractured realm imperiling man’s modern world. Though few on Earth are cognizant, dark days now lie ahead. . .

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One fate, two paths, six singular perspectives, and plethoric danger.  

Contemporary fantasy at its polychromic finest—pure delight.

NOTE: This book is free.

Get your copy here:  https://books2read.com/u/bwakY0 

Excerpt:

Arrogant men stood different, carried themselves different, and smirked when they should smile. The redhead clearly enjoyed his own company and Ana dug people who loved themselves—narcissists. Her therapist would say that was a problem, but she wasn’t here, so who cared? 

Tilting his head in a question and looking directly at her, the redhead arched an eyebrow; she’d been staring at him. A normal person would have smiled, maybe even waved, but Ana rolled her eyes and turned back to the bar. Because I have no game.

“Here, girl,” said the bartender, and her drink appeared. When Ana exchanged her card for the bourbon, he asked, “Open tab?”

“Nah, I’m about to be out of here.”

“Aight girl.”

“Hey, how old is the kid over there? The redhead on the terrace, six o’clock,” asked Ana. She lived alone and had no dignity, so why not? 

The bartender stared behind Ana, squinting. “I carded him already.” Yeah, because Ana looked like she was from the liquor license revoking… agency? 

“I’ve seen him in here before. He’s all right,” said the bartender answering the question Ana hadn’t asked. “The blonde is hot, though,” he continued. 

“Is he looking at me?” Ana asked. 

“Nope, he’s looking at the blonde.” With that, he took her card and turned.

Ana threw a glance over her shoulder—carefully. He was talking to a blonde wearing an off-the-shoulder black dress. The woman’s face was turned away from Ana but the snooty attire said ‘not a college kid’.  Perhaps he liked older women, which was good, because Ana wasn’t eighteen or nineteen… or however old he was. At twenty-seven, she was already trying to rob cradles—she would need more than one therapist soon.

About the Author:

Brien Feathers is a fantasy author living in the land of permanent frost, horses, and Mongols. She likes reading, writing (of course), riding (horses and husbands), drinking dark beer, and checking things off a to-do list. 

Although she claims to love everyone equally, she really loves her youngest son the most. He has autism superpowers that allow him to speak all types of rare languages including drumbeats, elevator dings, and police sirens. 

Miss Feathers loves grey days, orange cats, and all creatures human or otherwise. And she hopes you will love her world (fantasy) and people (characters) as well.  

Q&A With the Author

Who is your favorite author and why?

My favorite fiction author varies with whatever I happen to be reading, but generally speaking, I love Naomi Novik and Conn Iggulden’s writings. Joe Abercrombie is a hit and miss for me, and so is Anne Rice. But if I had to pick a favorite author of all time and a favorite book of all time, neither is going to be fantasy. 

My favorite author of all time is Yusef Komunyakaa, a Pulitzer-winning American poet. His collection of poems about the Vietnam War, ‘Dien Cai Dau,’ is the most hauntingly beautiful thing I’ve ever read, and it has stayed with me long past my poetry days. 

My favorite book of all time is ‘Memoirs of a Geisha’ by Arthur Golden. I haven’t read any other book by the author, so I can’t say he’s my favorite author, but that book is phenomenal. 

  
What is your favorite quote and why?

My favorite quote comes from J.D. Salinger, and I believe it’s self-explanatory: “You think of the book you’d most like to be reading, and then you sit down and shamelessly write it.” 

What, in your opinion, are the most important elements of good writing?

I think we as humans have natural tendencies to want to tell a story. Every time you speak to a friend on the phone to recount the day, you’re telling a story. We’re always telling stories. In that regard, I don’t think writers are special. However, writing is a craft, and like any other true craft, it’s never truly mastered, but we should strive for it none the less. 

In my opinion, the most important element of writing is the author respecting the readers and the craft and expending the necessary amount of time and effort to learn it as a skill, as you would any other. I wouldn’t show up to NASA one day and expect to know how to build a rocket because I used to be good at math in ninth grade and have seen rockets in the movies. I don’t believe writing is any different. 

By no means anywhere near the names I’ve listed above, I’m very much learning the craft myself. But I think it’s the understanding that you do need to learn, that is the most important element of good writing.  

 
What is your favorite part of this story?

My story? All right, ‘Silver to the Heart’ is Book 1 of the Light of Adua dark fantasy series set in the contemporary world. Although Book 1 begins in New Orleans, my favorite part is a chapter called ‘Farewell, Father’ and it takes place in an imaginary small town in Texas, where ‘evil’ vampires have taken hold. 

I put ‘evil’ in quotation because although Book 1 has clear protagonists and antagonists, no one being mustache-twirling evil for the sake of it is a reoccurring theme in the book. Everyone, even the bad guys, in their minds have good reasons for doing what they do. 

In ‘Farewell, Father’, one of my main characters finds himself in a quandary and thinks he’s going to die. That chapter had the most emotional significance to me and sets the ground for the books that follow; much of the plot is compelled by relationships between the characters.  

Which Character was the most fun to write about? Why?

Drake is a 318-year-old telekinetic Elder, or a vampire with magic, and I had the easiest time writing him because I find him funny and he’s very chatty. Some of the other characters are rather somber and barely speak to me. I have to do character interviews, and they still refuse. 

I also love Ana, who is my other main lead for Book 1. A twenty-seven-year-old from Maine, the girl has issues but is very lighthearted about it. 

Which Character was the hardest to write about? Why?

In Book 1, I had the hardest time with Sasuke. He’s a five-hundred-year-old telepath who used to be a Japanese warlord during his human life, and he just wouldn’t speak to me. Not in ‘Silver to the Heart’, but as I answer this, I’ve finished Book 5, ‘Loss for the Prince’, and Sasuke has become my absolute favorite character. The choices he makes fascinate me, and Sasuke and Drake’s relationship is what compels most of the plot— even amidst a world-ending supernatural war. 

Thank you for having me here, and I do hope you give the Adua world a try. ‘Silver to the Heart’, Book 1 is perma-free across all retailers. But listed as dark fantasy, alongside action-adventure, beware that the series has a mature content warning for violence and language. With most of the main characters being Elders with healing abilities, when they war, things can get a bit nasty. 

However, ‘Silver to the Heart’ is the lightest of the bunch, please give it a shot with only a minor warning. 

Contact the Author

https://brienfeathers.com/

https://www.facebook.com/Brienfantasy/

https://www.instagram.com/brien_feathers/

https://www.tiktok.com/@brienfeathers

GIVEAWAY

Brien Feathers will be awarding $30 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

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