Welcome back to the Come Marching Home blog tour! Today, we have an interview with two sets of siblings from the book; Ernst and Alfonse, and Franz and Ada! Don't forget to check out the official lineup and schedule! While you're doing that, be sure to take a look at the pre-order goodies!
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1. What’s the most embarrassing thing you ever did together?
Alfonse: *runs hand over face* You should probably take this.
Ernst: Well…there was that time when you were climbing a tree to impress a girl. I was supposed to stop her on the road and keep her occupied until you got ‘into position’ but instead you fell out of the tree and broke your arm.
Alfonse: Mom was mad.
Ernst: Secretly, she thought it was funny though.
2. If you had more funds/means than you do now, what would be the most extravagant thing you would buy/do?
Alfonse: I want my own car. But like, one of the speedsters. Sleek and maybe red.
Ernst: I’d like to travel. Kind of hard when a war is going on, but maybe someday I will. I’d love to take Ada to see some different places.
Alfonse: Of course you would.
3. What are some of your favorite holiday memories?
Ernst: The Midwinter Festival is always the best time of year. I remember how much fun we used to have as kids. The food, the parties, and the gifts.
Alfonse: I remember one year where we ate so much we fell asleep at the festival and had to be carried home. That was the year we got wooden swords.
Ernst: Which also injured you.
Alfonse: I’m just lucky to have a brother who is a healer, that’s all.
4. Thank you, Ernst and Alfonse. On to Franz and Ada! What is one bad habit you have that you think the other doesn't know about?
Franz: Ada chews her nails.
Ada: I do not!
Franz: You only say that because you thought I didn’t know about it!
Ada: Well, you never clean your room. It’s a disaster! And you always leave your socks in the bathroom.
Franz: I can’t take a bath with them on.
Ada: They smell terrible! 5. What is your favorite holiday food?
Ada: Apple torte. Really anything with apples. Our village has some of the best apples that the Seidels grow in their orchard.
Franz: Agreed. Though nothing really beats apple cider and caramel popcorn. We only ever really get that on the Midwinter Festival so it’s really special.
6. How would you describe your appearance? How about the appearance of your sibling?
Franz: *sighs* Ada is too pretty, I am always having to beat the village boys away to save my precious sister.
Ada: That is a lie, I would say I’m moderate. And I am only interested in Ernst anyway. The other boys know that. *Blushes*
Franz: Well, how would you describe me, then? Ruggedly handsome? A real catch?
Welcome to the Come Marching Home blog tour! Be sure to check out the giveaway goodies, the live release stream, and all the other blog tour stops! Find the full official post here.
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Cover
Review
Slight spoilers ahead
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As always, Hazel has given us epic, gut-wrenchingly difficult brotherly bonds, and an intriguing pseudo-historical fantasy world. This very much has WWII vibes, and does a great job of capturing the disjointedness of returning to the home front after being at the front lines.
One thing that contributed to my enjoyment was the cinematic pacing. All of the beats were in the right place, I had music going on in the back of my head the entire time, and the ending tied everything together. Books that follow this pacing normally annoy me, since I can see where everything is going. In this, however, I spent a majority of my time hurriedly swiping right and biting my nails (I'm surprised I have any left). There were a couple scenes that were reminiscent of the a Hallmark film, but they were well-done rather than...overabundant and...saccharine.
The triggering content, in my opinion, was balanced; enough detail to get a sense of the horrors of war, but not enough to be considered gory or over-descriptive for the average reader. It is likely stressful/detailed enough to turn off sensitive readers, however. So a forewarning there. There are flashbacks to battles, mentions of blood and dead bodies, and broken bones/other wounds are mentioned.
Hazel has a knack for writing stubborn characters. Very very stubborn characters. It made for a delightful clash of interests throughout. Also: no angst in regards to the love life of one of the main characters. Just. I was so happy. Sure there were problems, but they tackled them together and they didn't waste what time they had. Also, only one of the main characters had a love life to deal with, and it was a nice side-arc that didn't overshadow the entire story.
I feel like I have so much more to say...but this review is late in being posted and I WILL keep major spoilers out of my reviews! Though I may stop doing that soon, because everyone views different aspects of the story as spoilers and it is exhausting trying to write about a book without mentioning character-specific things...
Author Bio
Hazel B. West is the author of several novels including historical titles like On a Foreign Field, By Blood or By Bond; Wolfsblood,
a book about werewolves in Roman Britain and the Modern Tales of Na
Fianna series, which feature modern Irish warriors with swords and fast
sports cars and lots of faeries. Hailing from Purgatory (aka,
Florida) Hazel is an indie author, book wyrm, and coffee connoisseur.
She typically enjoys writing books with an unconventional flair,
probably with a bit of folklore and mythology, most definitely with a
lot of siblings or brothers-in-arms. When she’s not writing, she manages
an Etsy shop, drinks a lot of coffee, listens to music, haunts
conventions, or just holes up like an eldritch horror and binges her
favorite shows—for inspiration. If you meet this rare creature on the
street, she has been known to respond to the offer of coffee and old
bookstores. But it’s probably best you try to contact her online first.
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Come back on Thursday for a character interview! Also, don't forget to check out the pre-order swag pack!
Ah, a content warning: Errance is tortured for around...70 years, and so he's pretty messed up. In later chapters, there is a paragraph per chapter that sums up where he's at mentally/spiritually (man did those paragraphs add to the atmosphere of the chapter.) Nothing is ever shown in too much detail since the POV charrie can't stand looking at them for too long, but there are points where some wounds and/or the smell of blood are mentioned, psychological tension is very much present, and he lashes out violently a few times.
Also, I am composing a majority of this post last-minute, and am on a device that doesn’t allow for linking. The links/images shall be updated/added/gifs properly formatted at most a few hours from this being posted (hopefully).
Summary
"It is said that Darkness is empty and whatever vanishes into its depths is lost forever. I know this better than anyone. For I have suffered here in the shadows, and there are none who might find me."
Seventy years. Seventy years the elven prince has been lost to the darkness, assumed dead by his people and endlessly broken for a book that connects to the hidden realm of his ancestors, a land untouched by evil.
And now a light in the shadows. A chance for freedom. But those willing to help him come from the unlikeliest of worlds.
The orphan girl, yearning for a loving family, and the boy who won't leave her side. A healer maiden given an unexpected chance for a life beyond narrowed expectations. A grieving creature flown far from home.
They all search for something and now their fates are tied to his. If their quest for life can pull him from the dark mire in which his soul drowns, then perhaps he can be saved.
Or else he will drag them all down to a fate worse than death.
The beginning of an epic saga, MOONSCRIPT is a journey of innocence, despair, and redemption.
Seven illustrations by the author exclusively included in the paperback edition!
Let’s stick with the characters for this particular review, shall we? I hate to skim over the wonderful description, tidbits that added to the atmosphere, the inclusion of very relatable emotions/feelings that are often neglected in fantasy adventures, and how organically we’re introduced to the world of Orim (THERE WEREN’T A TON OF NAME DROPS RIGHT OFF THE BAT AND I WAS NEVER CONFUSED ABOUT WHAT WHY WHEN OR WHERE.), but I’m writing this on around 5 hours of sleep, a full day, and a very short while until my assigned day of the blog tour (technically just a few hours away), SO let’s get to it.
(Idk if this actually contains spoilers or not, since I didn’t have time to share all the snippets that made me cry/lol. I’ll have to look it over when I’m rested and see what on earth I wrote. :P)
Characters
Rendar, the wonderfully quiet, regal, mysterious, and Earth-shattering character. I loved him right off the bat, such a graceful paradigm of power and meekness...with a glimmer of bad-*$$ attitude (oh my gosh I can feel him half-smiling at me, wondering what he ever did to deserve such an odd description well here you are sir you can’t tell me that you’re not deserving of it because speaking the truth in the darkness is definitely bad-*$$).
“... There are no coincidences in the craft of this world.”
Calmly ignoring the fact that he’d shocked his entire retinue [several times, might I add], the king held out the necklace.
Tellie stared. She couldn’t speak. Finally, she squeaked, “You can’t be serious!”
“Do not doubt, child.” ... “There is much you will not understand. But you’ve been called to this for a reason.” ... “Even when your path seems to lose all light, know that darkness cannot endure forever.”
Also, since I don’t have time to cover a couple wonderful side characters (in this specific case I’m thinking about Leoren, but there are many others I wish to mention—maybe I’ll update this later to include them), I shall instead share a quote of Rendar’s that I was echoing almost the entire time:
“Poor Leoren,” Rendar said, patting his arm. “Always troubled about so many things.”
Errance. *sobs*
I can’t call him a cinnamon roll; I feel like that would be too demeaning/familiar. (Am I the only one who sometimes feels like I’m intruding on a character’s life like a creeper?). I can, I think, call him a diamond.
The prince stared, the sight of death beginning to stain his heart just as the blood stained the elvish livery.
“Listen, human, I might be a plaything for demons, but I will not be toyed with by mere mortal scraps.”
For being so wounded, he was remarkably insolent.
And then he laughed.
The snippets don’t make much sense out of context, but...Idk, they make me happy seeing them in that order.
It’s also weird how much I related to him...I mean, I haven’t been tormented by demons for 70 years, but his brokenness...it’s something that, I think, we’ve all felt at one point or another, in differing amounts of severity.
I CRIED A LOT. There are many many blue highlights regarding his state of mind and the tension of his decisions.
Tellie, the wonderful heroine. Sweet, wounded, and determined to help heal the brokenness in the world around her—starting with Errance. She’s not ready to take on the world by any means, but she—well, she grows. She also doesn’t have to take on anything on her own. (I’m sorry I wanted to say more but I’m tired and my words are beginning to fail.)
I cried with her, I laughed with her, I laughed at her a couple of times (I’m horrid I know), and there were many times her thoughts echoed my own.
She never dreamed anything like this would happen to her—did such things really happen outside of stories?
She wouldn’t cry, she told herself. Crying never helped anything, it just gave headaches.
She’d always imagined having a dramatic speech in a storm, but it really wasn’t so wonderful after all. It was in fact, wet.
Kelm. Is. Adorable. Adventurous. And despite being flustered at a few things, he takes things very much in stride, is inventive, loves stories (I think I got most of the references the author slipped in there XD), and has a realistic/long-term view of things.
“Well, this is all splendid,” Kelm said. “But I have a question of my own now. Is this the privy bucket?”
“Is there a way to retract my wonderful idea?” Kelm asked in a squeak.
He also has a side-goal, which added to his adorableness determination and courage.
“Golly no!” ... “I don’t want Tellie to think of me as a brother!”
The Daisha (prepositions are important: “Make sure the ‘The’ is attached, I won’t respond otherwise.”). Majestic, furry, and fierce, and, uh, very, very hungry (“That’s a surprise,” Kelm muttered. ... “He means you’ve gotten fat,” Errance said.)
She’s Protective of Errance, to the point that she seems to be the embodiment of Errance’s fanbase. As a reader, who had already cried over the characters several times, I was exceedingly glad and for once didn’t feel like I wanted/had to crawl into the book in a futile effort to protect my darlings, because someone much more capable than myself was already there expressing all of my protectiveness.
She’s amazing.
“If any danger comes near my elf, why I’ll...curses! Curses! The most abysmal of curses on all who have hurt him! May their teeth fall out and may their wings wither! I shall tear them all to shreds!”
“Try to talk some sense into this obstinate creature! If he doesn’t get reasonable soon, I’m picking him up and carrying him back to camp—upside-down! See if I don’t!”
She doles out wisdom with as much force as her blunt advice/observations and blistering threats. This is the main bit of one such nugget of wisdom, because otherwise I’d be posting an entire scene that made me tear up:
“Freedom is terrifying.”
In conclusion:
Realistic characters, wonderful world, plot that has plenty of grip and foreshadowing (and oh my goodness I didn’t even get to the villainous characters, but I have quotes and thoughts on them as well)...
So prepare to have your heart stomped on (in a good way of course).
Also, I couldn’t help but imagine that the author might have hummed this to herself while her characters were being emotionally tried (because it sure felt like it :P):
Author Bio
From the beginning, H. S. J. Williams has loved stories and all the forms they take. Whether with word, art, or costume, she has always been fascinated with the magic of imagination. She lives in a real fantastical kingdom, the beautiful Pacific Northwest, with her very own array of animal friends and royally loving family. Williams taught Fantasy Illustration at MSOA. She may also be a part-time elf.
Today, we have a book spotlight: The New Emperor's Concerto!
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Summary
The year is 2228 and the world is on the cusp of World War Four. London
is rife with anarchists and secret plots. It looks like dark days are
coming for the British Empire. Darker than any that have been seen for
decades.
But luckily England has some help.
Sir Lysander is the King's Righteous Man-and all that entails. He's the
king's right hand, and a red one at that, the man who stands in the
shadows and does what needs to be done for the protection of his
country.
Eidolon is a phantom, the anarchist group Apophis's top retrieval
expert. They need something, he gets it, no matter the consequence. Even
though he'd secretly prefer to be in his flat with his cat and a good
book.
They've been butting heads for a while but in times like these,
loyalties are known to change and right now, any help is good help. They
just didn't count on being the only thing standing between England and
the start of the next world war.
Cover
Author Bio
I'm an Indie writer, book lover, coffee connoisseur and history buff and
folklorist. On a normal day you'll either find me reading, writing or
on Goodreads talking to other writers. Author of On a Foreign Field, The
Modern Tales of Na Fianna series and others.
Today, as part of the blog tour, we have an interview with Claire Banschbach!
----- Have you read anything that made you think differently about fiction?
I feel like it happens rarely that I’ll find a book that just completely captures me and hits that bittersweet spot where you’re just so immersed in the story and simultaneously wishing it was all real but knowing it’s not. Scorpio Races by Maggie Steifvater was that for me the first time I read it.
What is your favorite childhood book/fairy tale?
We had a St George and the Dragon book (by Margaret Hodges) with the story adapted from Edmund Spencer’s The Faerie Queene. It was my favorite book because A) dragons, B) knights on epic quests, and C) amazing illustrations. It’s still a favorite to this day!
What would you say is your most interesting writing quirk?
I feel like I’m a fairly boring writer! :D I will say that I’ve never cried while writing an emotional scene or character death. I usually like trying to wring emotion from words, so I’m always oddly eager to get those scenes to see if I can get them out on paper like they’re playing in my head. (I’m a monster, it’s fine.)
What was/is your favorite part, and your least favorite part, of the publishing journey?
My favorite part is usually the drafting process, where I’m discovering the story and the characters and being surprised by the twists and turns the story takes! Least favorite part is all the prep work to get everything set up and ready to go and then be brave enough to let your book baby out into the world. It’s one thing to just talk about it, but having people actually read it is something else! 😉
What do you hope your readers take away from this book?
That it’s okay to be scared, but to try your best anyway. Change is scary, but you come out better for it. That everyone has something amazing about them. You just need to find your own magic.
Claire M. Banschbach is a native Texan and
would make an excellent hobbit if she wasn’t so tall. She’s an overall dork,
pizza addict, and fangirl. When not writing fantasy stories packed full of
adventure and snark, she works as a pediatric Physical Therapist where she
happily embraces the fact that she never actually has to grow up.
She writes New Adult/Adult fantasy as C.M.
Banschbach.
A note: I've been having some problems with Blogger lately, in regards to font (mostly changing mid-post, and I can't find anything in the HTML that could be causing it) and images (being super big or super small), so if anything looks wonky, it's because I haven't figured out how to fix it yet. -_-
This month, donate any amount or subscribe to Hazel through her Ko-Fi account and get an exclusive sneak peek of the next book in the Concerto universe, Requiem in Red!
Also check out this Rafflecopter giveaway!
For now, here's an interview with Hazel!
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1. How did publishing your first book change your process
of writing?
I’m not really sure it did change my overall process. I think
I’ve always written stories for myself first which is what I would advise all
aspiring writers to do. Whether people want like what I write or not doesn’t
really worry me. If people enjoy my books, that makes me happy, but if they
don’t that’s okay too. I guess if anything, it has made me more conscious of
editing by writing, haha.
2. What’s your favorite under-appreciated novel?
I actually tend to read a lot of under-appreciated books
because I kind of have an allergy to things that are super popular. Two that
come to mind are the Knight and Rogue series by Hilari Bell and The
Secret Journeys of Jack London by Christopher Golden and Tim Lebbon. Both
of which are very good, but people hardly know they exist.
3. What kind of research do you do, and how long do you
spend researching before beginning a book?
This can change depending on the book. Like, with Concerto,
the conception to finished first draft was about three and a half months. I
wrote this one really quickly. Typically, I will spend about a month
researching and outlining a book, which I still did for this one pretty much,
though this was one of those books that I wasn’t entirely sure what sort of
research I would need so ended up doing a lot of it during the writing process.
If I’m doing a historical novel, I will typically start gathering information
and spending a couple months immersing myself in the time period and stuff. I
feel like I always end up researching the most random things, especially for
books like this.
4. Since you write a lot of alter-earth/fantasy-history
(futuristic in this case), what would you say are the ethics of writing about
historical figures?
Well, I have written historical figures into several of my
books. I feel like as long as you keep them true to what we know about them,
then I don’t personally have a problem with changing up the storyline a little
bit. There’s been some really good alternate history stories. Like, I kind of
liked Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith because I
think he did a great job of keeping Lincoln in character. NOT a fan of
revisionist history. There’s a difference between good historical fiction and
revisionist history. Revisionist history is when you for some reason change a
figure’s ethnicity to prove some sort of point. Like a certain story about a
founding father with a musical inclination. Then you have historical fiction,
like Peaky Blinders, where the historical person gets killed off so the
original main character can rise to power. I don’t really have a problem with
this as it’s still fiction. (Sorry about the long answer! XD)
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Author Bio
I'm an Indie writer, book lover, coffee connoisseur and history buff and folklorist. On a normal day you'll either find me reading, writing or on Goodreads talking to other writers. Author of On a Foreign Field, The Modern Tales of Na Fianna series and others.
Claire Banschbach. That name--while very cool--is way easier to say in my head than aloud. XD
She's coming out with the third book in her series, The Faeries of Myrnius! I'm here today with a book spotlight. Read to the end for links to some giveaways, and be sure to check out the live Q&A with Claire and Hazel West.
Summary
A half-breed faery. A war-weary princess.
A quest to free three kingdoms from the deadly winter spell.
Constantly doubted by her ocean faery kindred, Tonya
Freyr-dottir only wants to untangle the dormant ice and water magic within her.
Then a strange attack makes her unleash a fierce winter on the land and sea.
And she has no idea how to stop it.
Princess Diane serves faithfully at her brother’s
side, trying to restore their kingdom of Myrnius after the devastating Dark
War. Now with brutal winter wreaking havoc, everything they have worked for
might be lost to famine and destruction.
Desperate to help, Tonya travels to the far north to
unlock her magic, aided by Diane, as well as two land faeries: Dorian, a
reckless healer and August, a mischievous warrior. But the north brings fresh dangers,
unearths old wounds, and offers more questions than answers.
With doom threatening human and faery alike, Tonya
must find a way to trust her new friends and release her magic before all fall
to the fury of winter’s spell.
Cover
Author Bio
Claire M. Banschbach is a native Texan and would make an excellent hobbit if she wasn’t so tall. She’s an overall dork, pizza addict, and fangirl. When not writing fantasy stories packed full of adventure and snark, she works as a pediatric Physical Therapist where she happily embraces the fact that she never actually has to grow up.
She writes New Adult/Adult fantasy as C.M. Banschbach.
As is evidenced by the title (I just can't seem to get creative with blog post titles), I'm here today with a book spotlight! If you'd like to see my review, check it out here.
This fairy tale retelling has plenty of twists, interesting characters, and dark backstory, so let's get right into it.
Summary
"Have you ever heard Red Riding Hood howl at the moon?"
When Cerise, Verre, Blanca, and Aura are forced to complete a near-impossible task, it seems as if their loved ones’ lives are as good as over.
"Or seen Cinderella kill a man with just a shard of glass?"
And despite meeting a dragon, internal disputes, and the fact that they’re all most likely going to die, the young women grow close. Too close.
"Snow White has vanquished more with her poisoned breath than her beauty."
For secrets will come to light that have the power to change everything. There is a traitor in their midst, one who could potentially save or destroy them.
"And Sleeping Beauty? She will bring slumber with but a touch of her hand."
Oceane McAllister is a fangirl-supreme, tea-drinking, novel-writing, thunder storm-obsessed indie author from New England. First and foremost a Christian, she tries to glorify her Lord and Savior in all that she does. Oceane also has a passion for writing YA fiction and believes it possible for them to be both quality and clean at the same time. With a tendency to wear only black, she is a staunch defender of the Oxford comma, abhors love triangles, and may or may not be obsessed with black olives.
Most days you can find her curled up on the couch typing away furiously on her computer. She is most definitely a Slytherin, Enneagram 3w4, and has convinced herself that she could win the Hunger Games. Some of her biggest inspirations are C. S. Lewis, Brandon Sanderson, Marissa Meyer, Jennifer A. Nielsen, and Suzanne Collins.
A friendly retail PSA: not all retail workers are out to annoy you and withhold your food. We want you to take our food, that's why it's there; for you to buy, consume, and (hopefully) enjoy. There are the occasional few workers who don't like people (why did they choose a retail job? No clue). Don't worry, they'll be gone within a week (usually. Unless they work at Walmart--no idea why the stereotype is so accurate, but it is--or somehow sequester themselves in a management position, in which case we'll look the other way if you happen to key their car or something). Just something to keep in mind when you shop.
Aaaaaaaaannnnnnywayys.
Today, we have a character spotlight, from the book Rebekah's Refuge! First, a bit about the book:
Never allow a stranger to buy you anything. Never reveal what you truly are. Above all, never, ever allow your hair to be cut.
In a plague-ravaged world, people will stop at nothing to find a cure. Rebekah is a young norn who on the run for her life. Charles, a man desperate to heal his ailing wife, wants the life-giving magic contained in Rebekah's hair.
When Rebekah’s path crosses with Martha’s, a mother who has lost her daughter to the same man, secrets will be revealed. Buried fears will be resurrected, and the conflict between norns and humans may cause devastating havoc. Will Rebekah and Martha find a way to help both human and nornkind, or will Rebekah’s pursuer capture her? Will the plague be eradicated, or is a more sinister plan at work?
Things are not how they appear in this story of finding a place to belong. Rebekah’s Refuge is a tale of sacrifice, love and courage. You will meet many individuals, human and norn alike, who bear scars, scars that cannot be seen. A tenuous thread binds their destinies together, but threads, like hair, can easily be cut. Only those who listen can find the courage to fight. Rebekah’s Refuge is a tale of desperation and hope, a story of turmoil and healing.
Martha Brunswick is a stout, soft-spoken woman with a
careworn face and a kind heart. She
loves to bake and spend time outdoors.
She lives in Plumvale, a rather commonplace town. Her husband was a banker, so Martha’s house
is large. Martha’s time is spent
volunteering with charities and other tasks of a helpful nature. The activities provide Martha with something
to keep her occupied and serve as an escape from her inward turmoil. Martha is not a stranger to
tragedy. She lost her husband to a
plague outbreak. She has also lost
someone very dear to her, a fourteen-year-old daughter who vanished without a
trace. Martha knows the name of Laura’s
captor, but no trace of her daughter has ever been found. As months pass, Martha’s desperate hope
continues, but her loneliness grows ever stronger.
When
Martha meets a blind norn on a train, she is immediately drawn to her. She resembles Laura in so many ways. When an accident occurs and the norn reveals
that she has no where to go that is safe, Martha offers to help her. Rebekah and Martha need each other, but will
they be able to work together, or will the division between norns and humans
destroy all?
About the Author:
Meredith Leigh Burton is a voracious devourer of fairy tales. She is a motivational speaker, teacher and writer. She attended the Tennessee School for the Blind and Middle Tennessee State University, where she received a degree in English and theater. Meredith hopes to convey through her writing that people with differences can contribute much to the world. "Snow White" has always been her favorite fairy tale. Meredith has written another fairy tale based on "Snow White" entitled Hart Spring, which can be found in her anthology, Blind Beauty and Other Tales of Redemption. She resides in Lynchburg, Tennessee.
Find her online at: Goodreads || Amazon
