Virtual Book Tour for SKIES OF GOLD by Zoe Archer
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Zoe Archer
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Skies
of Gold
The
Ether Chronicles Book 5
By: Zoe Archer
Available August 6, 2013
From Avon Impulse
ISBN (Print on Demand): 9780062241443
ISBN (e-book): 978006210963
From Avon Impulse
ISBN (Print on Demand): 9780062241443
ISBN (e-book): 978006210963
Blurb
Two Lonely
Hearts…
Kalindi
MacNeil survived the devastating enemy airship attack that obliterated
Liverpool, but even her engineering skills can’t seem to repair her broken
heart. Seeking to put her life back together, Kali retreats to a desolate,
deserted island—only to discover she’s not alone. Captain Fletcher Adams, an
elite man/machine hybrid, a Man O’ War, crashed his battle-damaged airship into
this deserted island after Liverpool, never expecting to survive the wreck. But
survive he did.
Believing
he is nothing but a living weapon, Fletcher is wary of his new-found
companion—a pretty, damaged, but determined young woman. Together they are
stranded on the deserted island, and it is only a matter of time until desire
gets the best of both of them. Soon Kali and Fletcher find they may be just
what the other needed. But a danger from beyond the island puts them to the
test. Will it rip them apart or bond their hearts forever?
Link to Follow the Tour: http://tastybooktours.blogspot.com/2013/06/now-booking-tasty-virtual-book-tour-for_25.html
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Excerpt
At least he
didn’t press her with questions—what had brought her here, how long she planned
on staying. And she wouldn’t ask him the same questions.
Still, she
couldn’t help her curiosity. He wore a long navy coat, patched in places and a
little threadbare, with tarnished buckles. Standard naval issue. All of his
clothing seemed clean but slightly ragged, from his linen shirt, to the
buckskin breeches clinging tightly to his dense, burly thighs, to the scuffed
tall boots, stained with seawater.
Was he a
disgraced sailor? A deserter? Or one who’d left the navy but kept some of the
trappings.
Whoever he
was, he continued to stare at her as if she’d descended from the sky on iron
wings. Well, he hadn’t looked in disgust at her artificial leg, and he wasn’t
leering at her, either. Two small elements in his favor.
“You’ve got
an odd voice,” he said suddenly.
“And you’re
an expert conversationalist,” she retorted.
A slight
ruddy color stained his cheeks above his beard. “Been a while since I had
company. But”—he narrowed his eyes, thoughtful—“I hear a burr in your accent,
and a lilt of Hindi, too.”
She tried
to hide her surprise. “My father’s Scottish. Maa’s from Nagpur.”
He nodded
contemplatively. “Bit of Scouse in there, too.”
Here was
another shock. She’d only lived in Liverpool for five years, but apparently it
had been enough to give her accent some color. A perceptive man, this wild
former sailor. Unease crept through her belly. She’d come here to be alone, not
to think of the past, but those plans were crumbling apart.
“The last
place I lived was Liverpool,” she said cautiously. She could turn and flee,
ending the conversation, but even under good conditions, her prosthetic didn’t
let her run fast. This stranger could easily catch her. The length of his
stride was twice her own. Maybe more.
He was
silent, however, for a long moment. Then, “The Battle of Liverpool. You were
there.”
Her left
leg suddenly ached, and the air in her lungs turned brittle. “And I survived.
Which is more than I can say for more than half the people with me on the
ground.”
Images,
sounds, smells—phantom senses assaulted her.
Hapsburg
and Russian airships, captained by Man O’ Wars, dropping explosive devices upon
the city, setting everything ablaze. Flattening buildings and crushing the men,
women, and children within them. Screams. Cries. The useless clanging of the
fire brigades’ bells. Seafaring ships at dock turned to charred, sunken wrecks.
The British Man O’ Wars and their airships arrived quickly, and they’d fought
the enemy in the skies above Liverpool—something mythical and terrible straight
from the Mahabharata.
Trapped
beneath a collapsed wall, Kali had seen it all. The bursts from ether cannons.
Airships plunging out of the sky, crashing into the rubble as the men within
shouted in terror. She’d watched the world become a fiery hell. She’d seen,
too, the remaining British ships destroy or chase off the enemy vessels. Until
loss of blood had claimed her consciousness. And her leg.
“It’s still
a smoking ruin,” she said. Just as she was. “There’s no Liverpool left in
Liverpool. And the navy lost a lot of airships that day.” She stared at the
man, his face ashen.
“The sun’s
going down,” he growled. “Better get back to wherever it is you’re staying.”
Without
another word, the big man turned and strode away. The mists engulfed him, and
in an instant, he’d vanished. She couldn’t even hear his footsteps. It was as
though he’d never been there.
Kali was
many things, but never fanciful. She hadn’t imagined the meeting and
conversation with the stranger. He’d left giant footprints in some of the mud
amongst the rocks. So he was real. But her exploration of the island had left
her with more questions than answers. Who was he? Why had he run away so abruptly?
It had to have been his home casting the light—but why did his house hum?
It didn’t
matter. None of it mattered. She was here to be alone. He didn’t concern her.
Whoever the
man was, though, he’d spoken truly. Daylight didn’t last long this far north. And
the mists still hadn’t cleared. The safest thing to do was retrace her steps.
Carefully,
she made her way back, taking extra care not to get her prosthetic leg caught
in the uneven terrain.
He clearly
wanted to be left alone. Just as she did. They could share this island without
actually sharing it—couldn’t they?
Yet if
she’d come to Eilean Comhachag in search of peace, she knew now she wasn’t
going to find it.
Author
Info
Zoë Archer
has always loved stories of adventure, but she didn’t love how most of the
women depicted in these stories had a nasty habit of screaming, fainting, being
kidnapped by the bad guys, pulling the wrong lever, falling overboard, and
generally being pains in the butt. So when it came time for Zoë to write her
stories of adventure and romance, she wanted to make sure that her heroines
were just as kick-ass and capable as the heroes, and that the heroes loved them
for it—which is exactly what she writes. From historical paranormal adventure,
to steampunk, to sci-fi, to historical romance, Zoë writes confident heroines
and sexy heroes in waistcoats and tall boots.
For her novel
REBEL, she received a RITA Award nomination for Best Paranormal Romance.
Her historical romance LADY X’S COWBOY won the Book Buyers Best Award for
Best Historical & Regency Romance. SCOUNDREL also received a starred
review and Pick of the Week from Publisher’s Weekly.
Zoë earned
her MFA in Fiction from the University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop, but she’s
lived almost her entire life in California. In fact, she and her husband,
fellow romance author Nico Rosso, currently live in Los Angeles.
When she isn’t writing, she enjoys baking, spending too much time on the
Internet, and attempting to amass the world’s largest boot collection.
Author Links
Zoe Archer
Nico Rosso
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