Friday, September 18, 2015

New release: Salvaged Soul by Desni Dantone



Salvaged Soul by Desni Dantone
(Ignited Series #3)
Publication date: September 19th 2015
Genres: Mythology, Urban Fantasy, Young Adult

Synopsis:

Life in paradise isn’t exactly what Kris thought it would be. Treated like a prisoner and forced to keep her romance with Nathan hidden, she struggles to adapt to island life with the Kala. Worse, her specialties are coming in faster than she can control, and she fears the Skotadi within her will soon win the battle for her soul. Her only hope is to embrace her Incantation lineage, master the skills she’s supposed to have, and free herself of her destiny. If only she could figure out how to do it…
The ghosts of Nathan’s past still inhabit the island. Adapting to the Kala way of life again is something he will grudgingly accept, as long as they agree to help Kris. But falling back into the Kala system means being a Kala soldier, and when the gods ask for help, he cannot refuse. Sent around the world on a mission, he faces new dangers and stumbles upon a startling discovery that could change everything…
Together, they face their biggest hurdle yet and put their relationship to the ultimate test. When old temptations arise, new enemies emerge, and emotions run high, can their love survive?
From Amazon’s bestselling author, Desni Dantone, comes the third installment of The Ignited Series, where the danger is real, the stakes are higher, and nothing is as it seems. Continue the journey with Kris, Nathan, Alec, and Callie as they discover that when friends become enemies, enemies become friends, and the battles lines between good and evil blur, choosing the right side isn’t always easy.





Excerpt 1:

Kris’s face scrunched up, and eventually broke into a smile. “Are you asking me out on a date right now? Because if you are, you’re seriously bad at it.”
“Give me a break. I haven’t done this in a long time.”
I finally pushed away from the dresser. As I angled closer to Kris, her teeth caught her bottom lip. It was a nervous habit, but oh, my God. Something in me came unhinged at the sight, and I had to remind myself to behave. But then her tongue flicked across her lips—a move so quick I wouldn’t have noticed if I weren’t staring at them—and I knew there wasn’t a chance in hell I would be able to keep my hands off of her now.
“I may be bad at the asking part,” I said, lifting my gaze from her mouth to her eyes. “But what I’m good at more than makes up for it.”  
I reveled in the fact that sometimes I managed to make her nervous. Her eyes were everywhere but on my face by the time I reached her. Bending down until my nose nearly touched hers, I placed my hands on either side of her legs, essentially trapping her. Her eyes widened when she finally met my gaze, then just as quickly as the nervousness appeared, it was replaced by the bravado she always managed to muster up.
That was one of the many things I loved about her.
“Oh? And what exactly are you good at?” she breathed.

“This.” I yanked her legs out from under her, forcing her to fall back on the bed with a squeal. I followed and hovered over her long enough to register the gleam of excitement in her eyes before taking her mouth with mine.

Excerpt 2:

I lifted a hand, and brushed my knuckles against the stubbly shadow on his jaw. “How long has it been since you shaved?”
            “A few days.” He leaned into my touch. “Does it bother you?”
            His tone suggested that he knew it didn’t, but I answered anyway. “Not at all.” In fact, I thought it was sexy. Not a full beard. But a few missed shaves’ worth of stubble? Hell, yeah I thought that was hot.
            “You sure about that?”
The mischievous gleam in his eyes caused my pulse to jump. I didn’t know what he was up to until his head lowered to mine. I prepared for a kiss—and expected it to be another wonderfully glorious moment. But no. I didn’t get a kiss. Instead, I got roughed up by a stubbly chin against my cheek.    
            “Ah!” I screeched, and pressed my palms against his chest. My hands warmed from the sudden contact with hard, smooth skin. Of course, his chest was bare. And of course, I didn’t manage to budge him at all.
            And I wasn’t so sure I really wanted to now. Not with pecs like that at my fingertips.  
            Nathan took advantage of my moment of weakness. Tossing the bed sheets to the side, he threw a leg over both of mine and rose above me, pinning me beneath him. At the same time, his mouth moved to my ear, his stubble mercilessly scraping against everything in its path.
            “Say uncle?” His breath tickled the sensitive spot behind my ear, causing me to squirm in I’m-being-tickle-tortured agony. 
            “Never!” I pushed against him, harder this time, because I was really ticklish there—and the jerk knew it.
He grabbed my wrists and pinned them above my head. As if I ever stood a chance. He nuzzled my neck, continuing his stubble-faced assault as I twisted and squealed beneath him, completely at his mercy.
“Uncle! Uncle!”
I felt the vibration in his chest as he chuckled. “That’s what I thought,” he murmured dangerously close to my ear.

This time, his breath against my skin didn’t tickle so much as it . . . felt good. Really good. So good a tiny, barely audible moan snuck past my parted lips. Nathan stilled, and the rush of his breath stirred the hair that had pooled on the pillow beneath me. He paused there, for only a moment, before his lips were on the move again, trailing a line of soft kisses along my jaw, coming closer.

Excerpt 3:

My training hadn’t been going so well the past few days. I knew why. Everyone knew why. My head wasn’t in it because my heart was gone, and I didn’t know when it would come back. 
Top secret mission. How long could it take? A week?
“I was talking to Gran the other day about your specialties.” Alec sat across from me at our usual table in the mess hall, with Kim and Bruce between us. We had been talking about the progress we both had made so far, but somewhere between fire yielding and charming, my mind started to wander.
“Uh-huh.” Two weeks tops. Definitely couldn’t be more than two weeks.  
“And we both think that maybe some of the things you’re trying to do aren’t working because . . .”
How was I going to make it two weeks? What if it ended up being longer? 
“So I was thinking about giving up girls, and maybe try the gay thing for a little while . . .”
What if it was a month or more? What if . . .
“There are some hot gay guys out there. Some even as hot as me . . .”
What if it was forever? What if the last time I saw Nathan was really the last time?
“Actually, I did try it once. I was drunk, and one thing led to another . . .”
What?
“What?”

“Ah,” Alec said over the cup of coffee lifted to his mouth. Though I couldn’t see his lips, the twinkle in his eyes suggested that they were slanted in an Alec-style grin. “So coming out of the closet is what it takes for you to pay attention to me?”



AUTHOR BIO:

Desni Dantone is the author of The Ignited Series: Ignited (2013), Sacrificed (2014), and the upcoming Salvaged Soul and Avenging Heart.

She resides in Everett, PA with her husband, 3 sons, dog and cat, where she can usually be found writing on her laptop or engrossed in a book, usually of the paranormal romance variety. She loves to hear from her growing fan base on facebook or on her website at: www.facebook.com/ignitedbooks or www.desnidantone.com

Author links:

Interview questions:

  What is The Ignited Series about?
a.     It’s a 4 part series with a mild Greek Mythology theme. Our heroine, Kris, discovers some truths from her past that lead her on an adventurous ride to find answers as she tries to avoid the unwanted future she discovers she was meant for. She is aided by several fun and likable characters, most notably, Nathan and Alec, the two men who each hold a piece of her heart. There’s a lot of mystery, action, and romance along Kris’s bumpy journey of self-discovery. 

What made you want to start writing this series?
a.     A few years ago, I got into reading young adult books, and loved the genre. Vampires, angels, demons, werewolves… they were everywhere! Up until then, I had only dabbled in romance, and I wanted to try writing something in young adult, because they were so fun to read. Back then, no one had done anything with Greek Mythology in it yet, and I kind of wanted to read a book about demigods…so I wrote one!

 Tell us about the main characters in The Ignited Series.
a.     Kris is the main character. She starts off as a seventeen year old girl that, despite her troubled past, thinks she is normal teenager. When a group of frightening ‘non-humans’ attempt to kill her, she learns that she is anything but normal. Though she hits some bumps along the way, she maintains her wit and shows some serious growth throughout the series. By the end, she is a much stronger person.

Nathan is a hero by all accounts. He’s a skilled fighter in their world, and very good at what he does. He has rescued Kris from danger her entire life, and is the one that protects her from this enemy that is after her now. He attempts to keep his distance from her…unsuccessfully, and eventually realizes the extent of his feelings for her.

Alec is the sharp-tongued bad boy with a heart. He has a past as well, which is linked to Kris in ways that neither of them could have imagined. Unlike Nathan, Alec isn’t afraid to wear his heart on his sleeve, and the level of his devotion to Kris has been known to pull at readers’ heart strings. 

I’m not usually a fan of love triangles, but yours was written in a way that I enjoyed, and I have come to like both leading males. What made you decide to write a love triangle?

a.     I love to read them! As the saying goes, “write what you love,” so I naturally penned a love triangle. Honestly though, it doesn’t end up being so much a love triangle as a deeply rooted love that the character has for both men. But one has a romantic base, while the other develops into a super strong friendship. From the beginning, Nathan is the “it guy,” but I wanted readers to form an attachment to Alec as Kris does…and they have! Maybe a little too much, because I certainly have my “Team Alec” members!

How much time do you spend researching the Greek Mythology used in your books?
a.     In the first two books, the Greek Mythology element doesn’t contribute that much to the plot. It’s more of a background setting. Aside from learning more about the gods and goddesses, and what traits they were known for, I didn’t spend too much time on research. Books 3 and 4, however, dive much deeper into the inner workings of Greek Mythology. Though I’m far from an expert, I have learned a lot about it. The books straddle the line between keeping with some of the more widely known facts about Greek Mythology and my own imagination, creating an additional word on top of what the research suggests. If you’re looking for a factual Greek Mythology series, this isn’t it. There’s a lot of other made up stuff that I’ve created in the name of fiction.

Are you a full-time writer, or is writing something you do for fun on the side?
a.     Writing, for me, started off as a hobby...which I have enjoyed for 20 years! After the release of Sacrificed last year, I was able to quit my “day job” and I am a full-time writer (and stay at home mom) now.

How do you balance having three small children with writing?
a.     A lot of late nights, caffeine, and patience. Now, I mostly find time to write when my babies (10 month old twin boys) are napping, and after I put them to bed for the night. They’ve recently started sleeping through the night (for the most part), and my oldest has just started kindergarten, so I’m finding much more time to write now. I didn’t get anything done for a long time, hence the huge gap between the release of Sacrificed and Salvaged Soul.

Books 1 and 2 of The Ignited Series are written from Kris’s POV. I would love the opportunity to get into Nathan’s head. Do you have any plans to write any books, or scenes, from his POV?
a.       Salvaged Soul (Book 3) is written in alternating POVs, between Kris and Nathan. So you will have the opportunity to see what makes that man tick. Though I only have rough ideas at this time, I would like to create some bonus material after the series is over, and go back to rewrite a few of the more popular Kris/Nathan scenes from his POV.

Do you ever imagine or fantasize about living the life of your characters?
a.     All the time! The entire storyline for The Ignited Series started off as a fantasy in my head. That was where I imagined up the character’s relationships to each other. Early in the development of the books, scenes or ideas would suddenly come to me in the oddest of locations, like the shower, and I would quickly run to jot down whatever scene had played out in my head before I forgot it.

Your characters have some extraordinary powers. If you could choose one, which power would you like to have?
a.     I think the ability to communicate with the dead would be awesome, only because in this world it’s not weird and creepy. It would be cool to see missed loved ones. Or receive pertinent information from the dead (hint!)


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