Hello book friends!
Welcome to the 1st official book tour of the year! Raven's Bookish Network proudly presents Heart of Shadow by Sarah K. L. Wilson, the first book in the Seven Swords series! A journey through plague, love, and monsters, a wonderous ride into the unknown. The book was released on November 24th, 2021.
Special thanks to all the amazing hosts who took part in this tour. Tap on their handles to visit their profiles on Instagram!
About the book:
I'm not afraid of the shadow. He's the only thing keeping me alive.
I'm hiding in my father's closet, desperately picking the lock on a box containing an ancient evil when he emerges. He doesn't seem all that evil. But neither did my friends before they turned into monsters. I'd like to think that I don't need him. But I love books and he loves battles. I'm used to drinking tea and he's used to drinking the blood of his enemies. Or whatever his kind drink. In a world stricken by plague, all my friends have become terrifying monsters, and I have no other option but to trust him to keep me safe. He'll teach me to hunt those monsters and I'll try not to fall hopelessly in love with him.
Author's Note: This is a deep, dark romp (not steamy) with an unrelenting pace and cliffhangers. Read at your own risk.
Excerpt
I am Isaletta. I drank clover tea on my eighteenth birthday, five days ago. I want to be a famous cartographer someday. I am the daughter of Admiral Redtide. I will be dead if I don’t get this lock open.
Excerpt
My hands fit around the grip of the sword as if it was made for them. It’s balanced and easy to lift – which is good because I have only a heartbeat to draw it from the velvet bed it lies on and lift it in front of me like a horn before he crashes through the door, arms raised, axe over his head.
Not like that. Hold it higher. Slide your bottom hand lower. Have you never held a sword before?
The thoughts aren’t mine but they’re useful. I adjust as Herrault roars toward me.
He doesn’t look surprised as the sharp blade slides through his belly.
I can’t stop the shake in my hands, though. I can’t stop the way my breath gulps.
Steady now! This is no tea ceremony. It’s killing. The steadier you are, the faster it’s done.
He stumbles back and comes off my blade, one hand clutching his belly, the other raising his axe. His mouth opens and I’m braced for his roar, but it doesn’t come...
Excerpt
I am born again. Reiterated. Made new.
I feel the thrill of life pouring through me as the sword makes a shadow again and I taste fear and desperation in the soul nearest me. There is violence to be had and it is close by.
My memories are shreds and tatters. I reach for them and they’re gone but I know enough to guide these novice hands and feet into the forms of the sword.
A little lower, I nudge her.
And to my eyes, she is bright as the sun, a goddess born before me. Her big eyes and trembling lips are wide as if she might drop blessings on my head right now and her dark skin and darker hair are lit with the light of glory.
I have never met a goddess before – not even a newly-made one. I hardly know what to say. I ought to make obeisance to her.
Danger. She’s in danger. Someone batters at her door.
And I am the black darkness of judgment and silky rage and it matters not that I am only minutes old. It matters not that I am guided by nothing but scraps of other men’s memories. It matters only that she is safe, that she lives. This goddess needs a defender.
I can live a whole life in the time I spend keeping her safe.
Excerpt
I close my eyes. Something tingles on my forehead and the tip of my nose.
Keep them closed. I kneel before you and press my forehead and nose to yours. This is the beginning of our binding. It will not be completed until two mornings hence.
I didn’t have three days to kneel here with my eyes shut.
Nor will you. Now, stay still for just a moment and hear the words of my vow.
He sounded nervous now. Uncertain. What does it take to make a sword-spirit uncertain?
I, Vargaard of the Spineheights, make this soul vow. In your shadow may I dwell that your shadow I may be. Your sorrows I will borrow, your pain I will bear, the lifting of your head shall be my glory, and the light of your eyes my delight. To the last drop of my blood, I will defend you, screaming defiance into the depths.
He pauses here as if he is overcome by some emotion and then he continues.
If I fail in my vow, may curses fall on my head, and may my soul walk the howling roads beyond the veil.
My teeth rattle so hard that I’m worried I’m going to be heard and my eyes fly open just in time to see shadow dissipating from right before my face. Had we truly been nose to nose? He is made of shadow – insubstantial and impossible to touch – and yet I feel touched by him.
I feel like I should repay vow for vow and yet I do not know how.
No return is required. This is not a bargain – unless it is a bargain I make with myself.
Q&A with author Sarah K. L. Wilson & @808bookdr
Q: What inspired you to write this?
A: I have always loved magic swords and bodyguards and combining the two felt like a natural thing.
Q: Who is your favorite character?
A: I'm the author so I don't really have favorite characters. They're all a part of me. But my beta reader likes Stekkan the most!
Q: What was the most difficult part of the writing process?
A: I'm always limited by my own skill level. I get better with each book, but I can see the big gap between what I'm trying to portray and what makes it on the page. That's the hard part - giving the audience the full story that I'm experiencing in my mind.
Q: What can we expect for book 2?
A: Expect pirates and a talking parrot. ;)
Q: What’s your tag line for this book?
A: I'm not afraid of the shadow. He's the only thing keeping me alive.
About the Author:
I write timeless stories. Not the stories you think you want but the stories you don't know you desperately need. I believe in happy endings and that it should take a lot of struggle to get to them. I believe that sometimes violence is the answer, that sometimes no one is coming to save you, and that self-sacrifice is always worth it.
I believe in big twists and beginnings that start in the end. I believe in heroic acts of bravery, that chaos sometimes trumps order, that there's humor in dark things, and that risks are what you make of them. I believe in the someday that will make all things new. And I believe in stories - sweeping, epic, glorious stories that renew our hearts and our hopes and refresh our minds like woodland streams.
Oh, and I'm a USA Today bestselling author. I suppose I should mention that.
Purchase the Book: Amazon
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