Guarded
The
Silverton Chronicles, Book
1
by Carmen
Fox
Genre: Urban
Fantasy/Romance/Suspense * Publisher: Smart Heart Publishing
Date of Publication: July 31, 2015 * epub: 978-0-9931992-0-2
paperback: 978-0-9931992-1-9 * hardcover: 978-0-9931992-2-6
Number of pages: 276 print pages * Word Count: 104k
Cover Artist: Ana Grigoriu
Book Description:
When everyone's existence depends
on the lies they tell, trust doesn't come easy
Ivy’s neighbors have a secret. They
aren’t human. But Ivy has a secret, too. She knows. As long as everyone keeps
quiet, she’s happy working as a P.I. by day and chillaxing with her BFF
Florian, a vampire, by night. When a routine pickup drops her in the middle of
a murder, her two worlds collide. While Florian knows how to throw a punch,
deep down he's a softie. His idea of scary? Running out of hair product. It’s
time Ivy faced facts. Even with a vampire on stand-by, one gal can only kick so
many asses.
For help, she must put her faith in
others. A human, who might just be the one. A demon, who will, for a price,
open the doors to her heritage. And a werewolf, who wants to protect her from
herself.
Torn between these men, Ivy must
tread carefully, because one wants her heart, one wants her body, and one wants
her dead.
Available at Amazon
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Video
Trailer: http://youtu.be/9gEgmHhoABg
Review
Trailer: http://youtu.be/rpI5DtqvR8E
Blurb
Read by Voiceover Artist: http://youtu.be/6i3DmvcaMWs
Excerpt:
A growl from
behind made my skin crawl. I whipped around. Florian’s face was grim, his
posture unnatural and stiff.
The hairs on my
arms stood on end, and I suppressed a shudder. “Are you all right?”
“Can’t.” He
propped his hand against the wall. “Not feeling well.”
My gaze followed
the direction of his stare. Large crimson stains pooled on the immaculate
living room carpet. Oh crap. Blood.
I turned back.
Florian’s pupils dilated to form two black marbles, trained on me. His canines
lengthened, coming to sharp and lethal points. The pounding of my heart overrode
my motor skills, and for a second, I stood rooted to the spot.
This wasn’t how
I’d envisioned his secret being revealed to me. I’d pictured cupcakes, and
maybe tissues at the relief of finally being straight with each other, not a
full-out blood frenzy.
Finally, the
switch labeled “common sense” flipped and triggered me into action. I fingered
the guards in my pockets. The small plates were my only chance.
My Review:
I found myself drawn into this fascinating world from the very beginning. Ivy is a PI with a secret, she can tell who is paranormal and who is not. Even her bff, Florian, who is a vampire, doesn't know this secret. When a job goes wrong, Ivy suddenly finds herself in need of help. As I don't want to spoil the surprises, I am going to keep this review very short.....Amazing! Ivy is a fabulous character who is intent never to be dependent on any man, be they human, vampire, werewolf or demon. She is smart and feisty. The author did a wonderful job building this fantastic world with its amazing characters that I am looking forward to more books in this series. I highly recommend this beautifully well written book to lovers of urban fantasy stories that have a fantastic blend of romance, humor, suspense and action. 5 stars ~Booklover Sue
About
the Author:
I found myself drawn into this fascinating world from the very beginning. Ivy is a PI with a secret, she can tell who is paranormal and who is not. Even her bff, Florian, who is a vampire, doesn't know this secret. When a job goes wrong, Ivy suddenly finds herself in need of help. As I don't want to spoil the surprises, I am going to keep this review very short.....Amazing! Ivy is a fabulous character who is intent never to be dependent on any man, be they human, vampire, werewolf or demon. She is smart and feisty. The author did a wonderful job building this fantastic world with its amazing characters that I am looking forward to more books in this series. I highly recommend this beautifully well written book to lovers of urban fantasy stories that have a fantastic blend of romance, humor, suspense and action. 5 stars ~Booklover Sue
About
the Author:
Carmen lives in the south of
England with her beloved tea maker and a stuffed sheep called Fergus. An avid
reader since childhood, she caught the writing bug when her Nana asked her to
write a story. She also has a law degree, studied physics for a few years,
dabbled in marketing and human resources, and speaks native-level German and
fluent Geek. Her preferred niches of geekdom are tabletop games, comics, sci-fi
and fantasy.
She writes about smart women with
sassitude, about pretty cool guys too, and will chase that plot twist, no
matter how elusive.
Expect to be kept guessing.
DIVIDE AND CONQUER, Carmen’s first
urban fantasy novel, was published in March 2015. To find out more, visit her
at www.carmen-fox.com .
Website: www.carmen-fox.com
Book page: www.carmen-fox.com/guarded
Tell
us about the role of women in your writing.
They’re strong. And I’m not talking
about a token ‘feistiness’ to balance out an inherent need to find refuge in a
man’s arms, but about an inner strength that allows them to weather any
situation alone. If they choose to be with a man, it’s because they want to be,
perhaps driven by passion or love, but never by a need for safety.
Who
is Ivy?
Ivy, GUARDED’s main character,
doesn’t let her past define her. Or so she thinks. In truth, her experiences
have left her with emotional pressure points she doesn’t want anyone to poke.
She deals with most situations with her special brand of humor, and although
she’d do anything for her friends, she’s far from perfect. When people vie for
your attention, perhaps it’s natural to take their support for granted. Worse,
her curiosity often gets the better of her. It’s not that she deliberately
walks into danger, but rather her idea of what is safe is a little skewed. Most
of all she’s self-reliant. Not too proud to accept help, but she will act alone
if she has to. In many respects she is who I want to be.
Why
does Ivy have such a hard time deciding between the men in her life?
Ivy dithers between her sexual
urges and her desire to be loved. Each of the three men offers her something
different. One promises a normal future, the one she’s always wanted. Guy
number two is incredibly hot and satisfies an itch the first man might not be
able to scratch. And the third might be the most passionate, but also the most
possessive of them. Sometimes, heart, body and mind simply cannot agree.
Tell
us about Ivy’s relationship with Florian.
Florian is Ivy’s best friend. I
imagine he’s every woman’s ideal best friend. No matter the situation, he has
her back. Plus, he’s funny, and a little goofy. The two of them just click.
He’s quickly become the most memorable character, and I’ve had women tell me
he’s their ideal book BFF.
Do
you have a Florian in your life?
I used to have a Florian in my
life, the kind of person I spent every free minute with without ever being
bored. We’d do the craziest things. And the total absence of sexual tension
made it easy for us to laze in front of the TV in our sweat pants, greasy hair
or not. Sure, our closeness wasn’t always straightforward, especially for my
boyfriends or his girlfriends, but we made it work.
Would
you categorize GUARDED as urban fantasy or paranormal romance?
I wish I didn’t have to categorize
it. An agent informed me that GUARDED is a romance, since it has a HEA, a
happily ever after, which is the payoff readers of that genre expect. But some
romance readers have struggled with the fact that they can’t immediately tell
who Ivy is going to end up with. She experiences different chemistries with
different men. It’s part of the fun. Also, there’s a strong non-romance plot,
which shifts the book closer into the urban fantasy or suspense genres. To me,
it’s an urban fantasy romance.
Tour giveaway:
1 copy of the Guarded e-book (for Kindle)
1 copy of the Guarded paperback
1 copy of the Guarded hardback
2 $15 Amazon gift cards
August Tour Schedule Guarded by Carmen Fox
August 3 Character Interview
Diane’s Book Blog
August 3 Review
Reviewing in Chaos
August 4 Review
Romance and Fantasy for Cosmopolitan Girls
August 4 Spotlight
marianne willis author
August 5 Review
The Book Cafe
August 6 Spotlight
Vampires, Werewolves, & Fairies, Oh My!
August 7 Guest Blog
Paranormal Cravings
August 10 Review
My Book Filled Life
August 11 Interview
Roxanne’s Realm
August 12 Guest blog
Buffy's Ramblings
August 13 Review
Booklover Sue
August 14 Spotlight and review
Penny For Them...
August 17 Interview
Mythical Books
August 17 Guest blog
Highlighted Author
August 18 Spotlight
I Love Books
August 19 Spotlight
Chicas Love to read
August 20 Interview
Deal Sharing Aunt
August 21 Spotlight
Lisa’s World of Books
August 24 Interview
Author Karen Swart
August 25 Character Interview
Eclipse Reviews
August 26 Spotlight
Books N Pearls
August 27 Spotlight
Cover Reveals
August 28 Interview
Urban Fantasy Investigations
August 31 Interview and review
happy tails and tales
Thank you so much for having me on your blog today, and for your kind review. I'm so glad you enjoyed it. :-)
ReplyDeleteGreat post! This sounds like it is going to be an awesome series, thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Victoria. It's nice when, as a writer, you get more excited about the characters every day. But the greatest thrill comes from discovering others enjoy your world, too. :-)
DeleteGreat review and excerpt.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Rita. The review put a huge smile on my face. :-)
DeleteI have enjoyed learning about the book. Thanks for sharing it.
ReplyDeleteVery interested in this one :) Thanks for the chance to win!
ReplyDeleteLoved the interview; so cool to learn about authors. The book sounds so awesome and unique so now I'm off to purchase it!
ReplyDeleteWoot! Thank you. I hope you like it. :-)
Delete