| Almost two years after her sister's death, Leannan O'Neal feels the loss of Serena more now than ever. A secret meeting between them before she died left Lea with an ugly figurine and nothing but questions. Hang-up calls at work and a trashed house reminds her of the card Serena gave her. "If you find yourself in trouble, go to him and only him" were the last words her sister spoke to her.
With Smthye out for revenge and hot on her heels, Lea goes on the run in search of Serena's 'Angel', but how long can Gabe keep her alive, and is the cost worth more than her life?
Read an excerpt from To Take Up the Sword
Visit Brynna Curry's web site
About Brynna Curry
Paranormal romance author and reviewer, Brynna Curry is a life long believer in the importance of reading. She enjoys the writing process and helping others hone their craft whether by reviewing published novels, critquing raw manuscripts or serving as a contest judge. When she isn't writing, you may find her at the local library or the park with her children. Brynna makes her home in the Deep South with her husband, son, two daughters, and their redbone hound Diablo.
Backlist:
Gypsy Moon (writing as Brianna Roarke)
Earth Enchanted: Elemental Magic Book 1
Gypsy Moon
Coming soon:
Wait For The Wind: Elemental Magic Book 3
An Interview with Brynna Curry
By Holly Hewson for The Romance StudioHH: Brynna, thank you for talking with us at TRS! Please tell us about your featured book, To Take Up The Sword. BC: Hi, it's wonderful to be here! To Take Up the Sword is the second book in my Elemental Magic series. Here's the blurb and an excerpt:
After the acquittal of Gueraldi's right hand and favored killer for hire, Ashton Smythe, Special Agent Gabriel Spiller takes time away from his work with the FBI. Having failed in his mission to avenge his lost would be lover, Serena Roarke, Gabe returns to Alabama in search of the missing diamonds needed to reopen the investigation and to lay low from the death threats he's received since Smythe went free.
Almost two years after her sister's death, Leannan O'Neal feels the loss of Serena more now than ever. A secret meeting between them before she died left Lea with an ugly figurine and nothing but questions. Hang-up calls at work and a trashed house reminds her of the card Serena gave her. "If you find yourself in trouble, go to him and only him" were the last words her sister spoke to her.
With Smthye out for revenge and hot on her heels, Lea goes on the run in search of Serena's 'Angel', but how long can Gabe keep her alive, and is the cost worth more than her life?
Excerpt:
Lea fished her keys out of the pocket of her windbreaker and unlocked the front door of her sweet little house. Uneasiness swept over her for the second time this morning. Turning, she scanned the empty street behind her. Nothing looked out of the ordinary as far as she could tell. At six-thirty, it was too early for the school bus riders in her neighborhood to be waiting outside.
She'd be at her desk in her warm classroom if she hadn't forgotten the graded test papers. Those really needed to be added to the signed papers she sent out over the weekend.Though it was an hour before she'd have to report to her first class, she'd go in at seven o'clock to catch up on grading homework. The smell of Dunkin Donuts' coffee and sweets lingered on her jacket, beckoning her back to the car. She just had to get one thing she'd forgotten.
Opening the door, Lea froze. Oh my God! What had happened to her house? She picked her way over the broken glass of an old vase in the foyer and looked into the living room. Couch cushions were ripped apart, stuffing all over the floor. Mirrors, shattered lamps tossed into corners. As she picked her way through the destruction of her home, down the hall she found her office and bedroom the same way. Completely trashed. She'd never get the blood out of her clothes or mattress. Were the criminals who'd done this still here? Why would they want to attack her home? Unless... This was about Serena's statue. Lea thought back to the last meeting with her sister here in her home.
"Lea, I need a favor, a gigantic one." Lea watched Serena's red curls bounce around her face as she emphatically pleaded with her sister.
"Sissy, calm down, I'll do it if I can." Lea noticed Serena kept her back to the wall, alternately looking between the windows and her watch. Serena thrust a statue into her arms. "Keep this safe and with you always. Never let anyone know you have it. When I need it I'll come back for it."
Lea looked at the cheap trinket curiously and shook it, but it made no sound.
"I will, because it's important to you. Can you tell me why?"
"No, I can't. I will return for it, Lea." A chill went through Lea and she hugged her sister so tightly she could scarcely breathe. "I love you. I'm sorry to ask this of you, but I have no one else to trust."
"Not even your husband? You're scaring me, Sissy."
"Especially not Jack, his life depends on it. I know you're scared. You need to be. If I don't come back or you find you're in danger, go to this man and only him. Promise me." She grabbed a ballpoint pen off a nearby table and scribbled something on the back of a small white square. Serena gave her Gabriel's business card. "Tell him who you are. He will help you. I'd trust him with my life, and in a way I guess I am."
"Are you going to be okay?" Lea asked.
"I don't know..." She paused as she opened the door. Her eyes were grave as they met Lea's gaze "Tell no one I was here. We're estranged. You don't know me. No one does, not anymore. Take care, I love you."
The next time she'd seen Serena was in a casket.
Whoever had done this must have been looking for the statue. Thank goodness she kept it with her, even on her morning donut runs. She took stock of the damage. In her bed, on her pillow, covered in blood was a mannequin's head that bore a striking resemblance to her.Get out now! Serena's voice flitted through her mind.
What the hell? Hurry! Run! Find Gabriel!
HH: This is the second in your Elemental Magic series. Where did the idea for this series start? BC: For years I didn't write anything. Figuring with three small children and a full time job, I didn't have the time needed to devote to the craft of writing. Then I had a dream, well it was more a nightmare at the time, of this beautiful woman with smoky gray eyes and her lover facing off in battle of wits, magic and temper within an ancient stone circle. The next morning I couldn't get them out of my mind. I had to write down as much as possible. I sketched them. I wrote half of Earth Enchanted with a notebook and pen. The written word truly is a form of art the reader creates as they read.
HH: What can you tell us about Earth Enchanted and how To Take Up The Sword continues the series? BC: Earth Enchanted tells the story of Jackson Roarke, an ex-cop, horror writer and widower and Olivia Corrigan, an Irish mystery writer and telepath. Liv is visiting her brother Ryan in the States. While attending a signing, she meets Jack and they hit it off immediately. Little do they know they have a lot more in common than careers. Caught up in a whirlwind of death and destruction, these two writers are thrown into a real-life fight for their lives.
Blurb: Writer Liv Corrigan has the worst luck with men -- her telepathy tends to make them run for the hills. When she meets widower and ex-cop Jack Roarke, she decides to keep her talent hidden. Things are looking up until their third date crashes and burns as the man who murdered Jack's wife turns out to be after him too.
Injured, Jack retreats with Liv to his house under armed guard. But with Liv's mysteries rapidly coming unraveled, a diamond-thief killer to stop and passion in the air, the safe house is anything but safe for their hearts!
To Take Up the Sword continues the series with the trial of Ashton Smythe (Gueraldi, the villain from Earth Enchanted right hand) Serena Roarke, Jack's deceased first wife, had worked undercover for the FBI by stealing diamonds for Gueraldi, but the last set she should have turned in, disappeared with her death. Sword is about finding those lost diamonds and keeping them out of Smythe's hands.
HH: What can you tell us about the books to come in Elemental Magic? BC: Wait for the Wind is the next installment in the series, followed by Sea's Sorceress and Fire's Ice. Wind should release in January with Sea and Fire in April and August respectively. Here are the unofficial blurbs for the rest of the series.
Wait for the Wind: Ryan Corrigan is glad to be back on Irish soil. But the reason he left eleven years go, still haunts him. As he tries to build a new life, can he forgive Kate and reclaim his healing gift in time to save Liv and her twins?
Kate O'Connell grew up loved by the Corrigan family as Liv's best friend, but at home the darkness of her alcholic father was a reality she couldn't escape. At a young age she secretly gave her heart to Ryan, at eighteen they were in love. For once happiness seemed to be within her reach, until in one horror filled night, the monster she called 'Daddy' changed everything.
Kate had lost her mother at the age of two, inspiring her to become a doctor. Molly Corrigan comforted her,helped her heal and follow her dream. Even after Ryan left and refused to have any contact with Kate. Too many misunderstandings forced them apart. Will Kate and their daughter Allaina be able to open Ryan's heart to his magic?
Sea's Sorceress: Skye Corrigan treasures his art and excels in his psychic talents, but has never found a woman to claim his heart. Shadowed dreams of a different time and a celtic temptress haunt his every moment with a burning ache that can't be quieted by any other woman. Rhiannon O'Malley has always been just a family friend, but lately the fiery pub owner affects him in ways she never has.
Rhia knows their past as well as the future, but love must always come with a willing heart. The death of her father hit her hard, and left her in charge of her ailing mother and the family pub. Skye was always a willing hand and a friend. When their relationship changes, can she help him accept their pasts and claim the future? Or will Daemon and Briella be forever trapped in the mist of earth and sea.
Fire's Ice: Devin McLoch, born as the future Laird of the McLoch clan a thousand years ago in Scotland, has seen battles, death and countless other tragedies while captured by his cousin's spell. Now that the spell is broken, he must return to Ireland and give Arianne Farrell her chance at freedom. There is more at stake than he knows and he will need Arianne to help Liv and Jack's daughter Raine survive her power. But can either of this self centered wizards set aside their wants for the needs of the other? Which is worth more? Ultimate power or endless love?
HH: What else do you have in store for lucky readers? BC: I'm working on several other projects when Elemental Magic grants me time. Cullen's Luck is a standalone shape-shifter novella set in Ireland. Cassidy's Fate, Cassidy's Love, and Cassidy's Emerald are going to be a new series with a ghost and time-travel theme. I'm also working on a paranormal romance/urban fantasy series featuring vampire Kail McKenna and hereditary witch Allaina Corrigan whom you'll recognize as Ryan and Kate's daughter from Wait for the Wind.
HH: With the growing popularity of ebooks readers like Nook and Kindle, what do you see in the future for eBooks? BC: I see (with the exception of Harlequin/Silhouette) traditional publishers taking a more upgraded ebook/pod model. It's a green option and decreases the number of books waiting around in the warehouse. Royalties would be higher for the authors, but I guess we'll just have to wait and see what the future brings.
HH: As an author, has eBook piracy had an impact on you? BC: To date I've managed to stay off the pirate radar, but I think e-books won't really be the wave of the future unless we can devise a way to secure the books from being copied, forwarded, etc. I know several other authors who have been pirated. I wish our readers would realize unless the author or publisher is offering the book for free themselves, every free download is stealing money from the author. I still hold my day job, but think of an author who survives solely on her royalties. You aren't getting a free book, your stealing money they would use for bills, food, and care for their family. It's just plain wrong. Report piracy to the proper authorities. I'll get off my soapbox now.
HH: What made you want to become an author in the first place? BC: I've always loved to read. I grew up with a rough childhood and books were an escape for me. I wanted to give that solace to others. A moment of escape after a bad day or during a time of sadness or just a reason to laugh. Writing is a labor of love for my characters and for my readers. I may write a story, pour heart and soul into it, but what the book becomes, where it takes you is in your hands. May the ride be wild and the landing soft.
HH: What is your happiest moment as an author to this point? BC: There are so many little things, it's hard to choose just one. Getting an email from a reader who really enjoyed my work ranks top of the list. I have a folder just for those emails and when I'm in a particularly rough place, I read them and remember it's all worth it to make just one person smile. So thanks all of you for being there.
HH: Any big plans for the fall? BC: I'm looking forward to Sword's release (like a kid at Christmas) on September 6th. The fall issue of 'Apollo's Lyre' will be out that month, my first as acting review editor. I'll be running contests all month to celebrate. More details will be available on my website soon. It will be busy too with book reviews for You Gotta Read and completing the last two books in the series.
It's been wonderful to visit with y'all today. I'd love for you to stop by the site or blogs and say hello.
http://brynnacurrybriannaroarkebooks.webs.com
http://brynnacurrybriannaroarkebooks.blogspot.com
http://brynnacurry.wordpress.com
http://paranormalwriters.blogspot.com
I'm also on Facebook, Twitter, My Space, & Linked In as Brynna Curry.
HH: Thank you!
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