Spotlight: Initiate - Book 1 in the Unfinished Song Series - by Tara Maya (including excerpt)

It's no news flash that the book market is up to its gills in Fantasy series. So it takes something unique to make a reader sit up and take notice. Tara Maya - if you read this - you have my full attention. And, as soon as I'm done formatting this blog post, I'm going to grab your book. 

Everyone else - if this piques your interest, you should check it out, too. Tara Maya's rep has been kind enough to provide me with the cover, summary, and an excerpt (all below.) It's FREE in ebook everywhere except for Barnes and Noble, where it's just 99 cents. Links are provided below for ebook download locations and social media connections.

First and foremost, take a peek at the lovely cover:

 

Now then - the summary of "Initiate"

DEADLY INITIATION

A DETERMINED GIRL...

Dindi can't do anything right, maybe because she spends more time dancing with pixies than doing her chores. Her clan hopes to marry her off and settle her down, but she dreams of becoming a Tavaedi, one of the powerful warrior-dancers whose secret magics are revealed only to those who pass a mysterious Test during the Initiation ceremony. The problem? No-one in Dindi's clan has ever passed the Test. Her grandmother died trying. But Dindi has a plan.

AN EXILED WARRIOR...

Kavio is the most powerful warrior-dancer in Faearth, but when he is exiled from the tribehold for a crime he didn't commit, he decides to shed his old life. If roving cannibals and hexers don't kill him first, this is his chance to escape the shadow of his father's wars and his mother's curse. But when he rescues a young Initiate girl, he finds himself drawn into as deadly a plot as any he left behind. He must decide whether to walk away or fight for her... assuming she would even accept the help of an exile.
 

EXCERPT

Blue-skinned rusalki grappled Dindi under the churning surface of the river. She could feel their claws dig into her arms. Their riverweed-like hair entangled her legs when she tried to kick back to the surface. She only managed to gulp a few breaths of air before they pulled her under again.

She hadn't appreciated how fast and deep the river was. On her second gasp for air, she saw that the current was already dragging her out of sight of the screaming girls on the bank. A whirlpool of froth and fae roiled between two large rocks in the middle of the river. The rusalka and her sisters tugged Dindi toward it. Other water fae joined the rusalki. Long snouted pookas, turtle-like kappas and hairy-armed gwyllions all swam around her, leading her to the whirlpool, where even more fae swirled in the whitewater.

 
"Join our circle, Dindi!" the fae voices gurgled under the water. "Dance with us forever!"
 
"No!" She kicked and swam and stole another gasp for air before they snagged her again. There were so many of them now, all pulling her down, all singing to the tune of the rushing river. She tried to shout, "Dispel!" but swallowed water instead. Her head hit a rock, disorienting her. She sank, this time sure she wouldn't be coming up again.

"Dispel!" It was a man's voice.

Strong arms encircled her and lifted her until her arms and head broke the surface. Her rescuer swam with her toward the shore. He overpowered the current, he shrugged aside the hands of the water faeries stroking his hair and arms. When he reached the shallows, he scooped Dindi into his arms and carried her the rest of the way to the grassy bank. He set her down gently.

She coughed out some water while he supported her back.

"Better?" he asked.

She nodded. He was young--only a few years older than she. The aura of confidence and competence he radiated made him seem older. Without knowing quite why, she was certain he was a Tavaedi.

"Good." He had a gorgeous smile. A wisp of his dark bangs dangled over one eye. He brushed his dripping hair back over his head.

Dindi's hand touched skin--he was not wearing any shirt. Both of them were sopping wet. On him, that meant trickles of water coursed over a bedrock of muscle. As for her, the thin white wrap clung transparently to her body like a wet leaf. She blushed.

"It might have been easier to swim if you had let go of that," he teased. He touched her hand, which was closed around something. "What were you holding onto so tightly that it mattered more than drowning?"

 

LINKS

Tara's Blog: taramayastales.blogspot.com

Tara’s Twitter http://bit.ly/162sCtE

The Unfinished Song on Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheUnfinishedSongEpicFantasy
Amazon http://amzn.to/15ciwYc
Barnes and Noble http://bit.ly/13yM5Dr
Kobo http://bit.ly/1aFhg1P
iTunes http://bit.ly/1baddhN
Smashwords http://bit.ly/17zK8Xn

 

Initiate is free everywhere except on Barnes and Noble (where it’s $0.99). You can download a free .epub version via Smashwords.

A-Z Challenge: K is for Kentucky

Tanzy journey begins at Wildwood Horse Farm, which is nestled in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley. A turn of events and a new friend take her to the blue-grass hills of Kentucky. Tanzy expects to have the time of her life... but something goes terribly wrong. Here is an excerpt from Tanzy's first sunrise in Kentucky:

15. Blueblood.

Waking up is a mixed bag. Because if today is real, if I get to shop the world’s most pedigreed horses without a budget, then last night was real. And I almost killed a man. The first thought makes me want to leap out of bed. The second makes me want to jump out the window.

I glance at the clock on my bedside table. Seven-thirty. Time to get moving. But the simple action of swinging my legs over the side takes everything I’ve got. I blink and John’s face is in front of mine again, smoke and beer on his breath. Another blink and all I see is red. Salty, warm, red that smells like rust and is every bit as corrosive, eating straight through my flesh and deep into my soul.

Even now I can feel the drops of blood that splattered my cheek the moment my fist made contact. I catch myself wiping at it, sure I’ll see stains on the back of my hand. But there’s nothing there. A man could be dead because of these hands but they don’t look any different. Shouldn’t they look different? They start to tremble all over again. I shake them at my sides, shake them until they hurt.

A-Z Challenge: D is for Dancing 'til the world ends

Music does something to me - I can't explain it. The right song comes on, and the energy that kick starts inside of me insists that I move with the beat. So, naturally, the "playlist" in my head for Moonlit is something I take pretty seriously. Of course I'm about to say the name: Britney Spears, so maybe that hurts my credibility...

Anyways, there's a scene in Moonlit when Tanzy and Vanessa go dancing at a swanky nightclub - with some unforeseeable consequences. I can see it in my head, the bright, iridescent energy swirling around the room full of throbbing, wanting people. And I hear Britney Spear's song: Dancing 'til the World Ends every time I read the scene.

Tanzy isn't one to let loose, so she takes some coaxing from Vanessa on the way there. Check out an excerpt from Moonlit, where Tanzy gets her first taste of letting go:

           “That’s a good song. Turn it up,” Vanessa says, and starts to dance in the driver’s seat. “Come on, Tanzy.”

I turn up the volume and nod along to the beat.

“Aw, you’ve got more than that.”

“I don’t know how to dance,” I finally admit.

“You don’t have to know how to dance, you just have to know how to let go,” she says, and promptly releases the steering wheel. She twirls her hands above her head as we fly down a straight road.

“Vanessa!”

“I’m not stopping until you start,” she teases.

I do my best to copy her.

“Do you feel that? How can you not want to move? Close your eyes and feel it, Tanzy.”

Well, at least this way if we crash I won’t have to see it coming. I hold in a breath and close my eyes. The deep bass thumps like a heartbeat. My hands drum against my knees as the sounds flood my veins.

“There you go!” she says. I open my eyes and Vanessa grins in approval as she rocks her hips in her seat. I mimic her movement, feeling the little twists in my waist. My shoulders join in, rolling side to side with the music. Before I can stop them, my fingers press against the ceiling of her car and my body sways to the pounding rhythm.

Louisville’s lights fly past like a whirling disco ball as we speed through the city. Vanessa throws her head back with laughter, and I can’t help but want to feel just how she does in this exact moment. At last, I let go of the final thread of hesitation. I brace myself, sure it will feel like falling. But it doesn’t. Not at all. I’m soaring. I’m free.

 

You know what else starts with D? Discount! A friend of mine saw that Barnes and Noble online (BN.com) is currently offering print versions of Moonlit for $10.95. The price for print copies on Amazon (amazon.com) is also reduced, and they're selling kindle copies for $1.99.