Worth of a King Blog Tour + Giveaway + Interview
Good morning and welcome to a new week! Today, I have the great pleasure of helping out my friend, Kendra with her blog tour for her latest release, Worth of a King! You can find more details about the other stops on this tour HERE.Also, Kendra is giving away a special prize to whoever leaves the MOST COMMENTS across the blog tour and that giveaway is open internationally!I have an interview with Granite... the husband of the Lady Dragon herself... and an awesome giveaway, as well as a snippet to share, so make sure you stick around to the end of the post! But first, a bit about this new release:
Princess Obsidia’s father was killed the night she was born. Since there was no male heir, the crown went to the man who killed him, by Dialcian law. This never bothered her, growing up, and when it comes time for Obsidia to choose her husband, she chooses Prince Delaney, the son of that man, with little hesitation. Only then does her life start crumbling around her.
Adrian expected to live a normal life, taking his father’s place at the print shop when his father retired. But, on his eighteenth birthday, when the princess’ engagement is announced, his world is ripped out from under him when he learns that his life was a ruse, and he is the twin brother to the princess – and expected to take back his father’s throne.
Delaney knows that his country is hovering on the brink of war – and that his father may harbor murderous intentions towards his intended bride due to her Zovordian blood. He wants nothing more than to protect Obsidia and his people, but as merely prince, he has little power against his father.
The ancient war between the Dragons and the Immortal King and Queen is nearing its climax, and the three are already caught in it.
Add the book to your Goodreads TBR pile!
I find myself in a long, echoy chamber of a room. I'm not sure exactly where I am... this is one of InterFiction's "in-between" places. It is where we reporters meet characters who are a bit skittish or paranoid. This one looks fit for a king, if a bit austere. Sitting in a luxurious chair, one of the few decorative things in the room, is a man. He is polishing a wicked-looking dagger, and I pause. Even though I know Granite has not shared his wife's fall... the dagger makes me a little nervous. Perhaps I should have brought back-up. After all, I know very little about this character.
Granite looks up at me and raises an eyebrow. With a tiny quirk of his lips, he slides the dagger into his sleeve. I approach and take a seat in the plainer chair facing him.
"Good morning, Granite," I say, opening my notebook. He does not return the greeting, so I take that as permission to dive right into the questions. "Can you tell me a little bit about yourself?"
He is thoughtful and quiet for a moment. "A little about myself, eh? How about this - I'm older than I look. Much older, in fact. I've seen the passing of nearly three thousand years - the rise and fall of kings, countries, and worlds. And so's my wife, Amber."
"That is a long time," I reply. "Speaking of Amber, how did you and she meet?"
He gets a tiny smile on his face. "To be honest, I can't remember a time when I didn't know her - her parents selected me to be her husband when she was only a year old, brought me to the castle, and trained me alongside her. We didn't spend a lot of time together as children, as we were each devoted to our own studies. I always admired her, though, with her dangerous combination of intelligence and beauty. It wasn't until she used the love potion on me that I realized that it was a bit ... more than admiration, though..." he pauses, then gives a wistful chuckle. "Now those are some embarrassing memories that I'd rather not discuss..."
"I understand," I grin. His quiet demeanor is completely disarming and I am feeling less nervous. "If you could have one wish, what would it be and why?"
He ponders this for a moment. "Mine is a good life, though I might complain about my immortality from time to time. Honestly, I'm quite happy with where I am and what I've done with my life. However, if you're going to make me wish for something - it bothers Amber a lot that we cannot have children of our own. I would wish for her to finally find some cure for her barrenness. She'd make a wonderful mother.
I feel a twinge of sorrow for him, but I have to continue the interview. "I am sorry to hear that. Speaking of parents... can you tell me a little bit about your relationship with Laura? What is it like having the Doorkeeper as a Mother-in-Law?"
Granite chuckles a little. "Laura is not my mother-in-law - Queen Jade was, though Amber and I slew her in her final war the day we spoke our bond. Laura is as much my mother figure as she is Amber's, and perhaps a bit more, as Jade meddled little in my upbringing, and I don't even know who my own parents were. My former family was unimportant once I was selected as Luna's future king.
The Doorkeeper, though ... she's one of a kind - more a force of nature than a person - and yet she remains so painfully human despite her power and knowledge. Even after three thousand years, she still teaches me something new every time I meet her."
"Interesting. One last question, If you could ask your author to change just one thing about your story, what would it be and why?"
He gets a strange look on his face that I cannot quite identify. "I'm not sure, but this sounds like a very similar question to the one where you made me wish for something, and, again, I'm very content with my life. That said, I've frequently regretted that my age was frozen at only eighteen. If Laura had only waited a year or two more before she bound Amber and I to the cloths that give us our immortality... But all of the Immortal Kings and Queens of Luna were frozen at eighteen and sixteen, respectively, and I don't see why our case would have been any different. Laura has her reasons for almost everything she does." He waves a hand, suddenly impatient. "Are we finished? I have other business to attend to."
"Yes, thank you for speaking with me, Granite."
He nods as my badge begins to glow. I try to hide the disappointment from my face as I fade from this room... I had hoped to stick around long enough to see Laura, sure she would be the one to help usher Granite back to this own world. I've met her once before and found her a very interesting person, and I wanted to ask her a question or two... alas, perhaps next time...
About the Author
Kendra E. Ardnek loves fairytales and twisting them in new and exciting ways. She's been or acting them on her dozen plus cousins and siblings for years. "Finish your story, Kendra," is frequently heard at family gatherings. Her sole life goal has always been to grow up and be an author of fantasy and children's tales that glorify God and His Word.Find her online at: Website || Blog || Goodreads || Facebook || Twitter || Amazon
And now, a snippet from Worth of a King
“Well, it’d still be more fun,” Nadilynn pouted. “As it is – how long have we been cooped up in here already? How much longer will it be before we reach the first village?”
Delaney sighed. “We should be there soon,” he answered. “And we’ll spend the night there before we leave for the second village in the morning.”
“You didn’t have to come with us if you didn’t want to, Nadi,” Obsidia pointed out. “We’re just visiting twelve villages and collecting a girl from each one. Hardly exciting.”
“Oh, but I really had no choice in the matter,” Nadilynn countered, shaking her head. “Tradition demands that Obsidia has a proper female companion. If I hadn’t volunteered, your mother would have had to come instead, and since she is still convinced that you marrying Del is the worst idea ever, I don’t know that the three of you could have survived this whole excursion. I’m sure that you both much prefer me.”
“Ah yes, you’re quite correct,” said Delaney. “With you, we only need to survive endless meaningless chatter, not murderous glares.”
“My conversation isn’t meaningless!” Nadilynn protested. “At least I don’t spend three hours discussing the nuances of a law about chickens, or four about whether some king’s death was natural or due to poison.”
“No,” said Obsidia, dryly. “You spend five hours talking about how sashes are so in style.”
“They are so not!” Nadilynn exclaimed. Then she lowered her voice “Not thick ones, anyway. Ribbons used as sashes are acceptable, belts, especially beaded belts, are best…”
“And there we go,” Delaney groaned. “You did have to get her started.”
Obsidia just shrugged and mouthed a “sorry.”
GIVEAWAY TIME!
Kendra is giving away a paperback copy of Worth of a King as well as a 15mL bottle of peppermint oil. This giveaway is restricted to US only, and more details on how to enter the giveaway will be found HERE SOON!