Author Ambush with Laura Kaye

with

Laura Kaye 

Hello Book Monsters and Literal Addicts!  Book Monster Reviews and LITERAL ADDICTION are very pleased to welcome award-winning author Laura Kaye back to our sites today.

A multi-published author of paranormal and contemporary romance, Laura Kaye’s hot, heartfelt stories are all about the universal desire for a place to belong. Laura grew up amidst family lore involving angels, ghosts, and evil-eye curses, cementing her life-long fascination with the supernatural. Though an avid fiction writer as a teenager, a career as a historian took her in other directions until recently. Now that Laura’s inner muse has awakened, she’s constantly creating new story ideas! Laura lives in Maryland with her husband, two daughters, and bad dog, and appreciates her view of the Chesapeake Bay every day.

Laura is a member of the Romance Writers of America (PRO), Maryland Romance Writers, and the Futuristic, Fantasy & Paranormal (FF&P) Chapter of the RWA.

We’re here today to help Laura promote book #2 in her HEARTS OF THE ANEMOI series, “West of Want”. 

For those of you not yet familiar with Laura and her work, we highly suggest you check out her entire backlist HERE, but for today, we’ll give you the synopses for the 2 books in the HEARTS OF ANEMOI series to peak your interests.

“North of Need”

HEARTS OF THE ANEMOI Book #1:

 

Her tears called a powerful snow god to life, but only her love can grant the

humanity he craves…

Desperate to escape agonizing memories of Christmas past, twenty-nine-year-old widow Megan Snow builds a snow family outside the mountain cabin she once shared with her husband, realizing too late that she’s recreated the very thing she’ll never have.

Called to life by Megan’s tears, snow god Owen Winters appears unconscious on her doorstep in the midst of a raging blizzard. As she nurses him to health, Owen finds unexpected solace in her company and unimagined pleasure in the warmth of her body, and vows to win her heart for a chance at humanity.

Megan is drawn to Owen’s mismatched eyes, otherworldly masculinity, and enthusiasm for the littlest things. But this Christmas miracle comes with an expiration—before the snow melts and the temperature rises, Megan must let go of her widow’s grief and learn to trust love again, 

or she’ll lose Owen forever.

“West of Want”

HEARTSOF THE ANEMOI Book #2:

Betrayal is all he’s ever known, but in her, he’ll find a love strong 

enough to be trusted…

When Marcella Raines’ twin brother dies, she honors his request to be buried at sea, never expecting the violent storm that swamps her boat. Recently divorced over her infertility and gravely injured, Ella still fights to survive.

Zephyros Martius is the Supreme God of the West Wind and Spring, but being the strongest Anemoi hasn’t saved him from betrayal and loss—worse, he’s sure his brother Eurus is behind it. When Zeph’s heartbreak whips up a storm that shipwrecks a human, his guilt leads him to save her, but he vows not to get involved.

Ella’s honesty, empathy, and unique calming influence attract Zeph like no other, and he finds himself wanting…everything. Ella knows Zeph’s different and fears rejection, but falls for his otherworldly masculinity and ancient, sad blue eyes. When Eurus threatens Ella, she and Zeph struggle to let go of the past, defend their future, and embrace what they most want—a love that can be trusted.

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"Laura Kaye's captivating writing and vibrant world-building will have readers hooked on the gods of the Anemoi. WEST OF WANT is steamy, spellbinding, and a must-read for all romance fantasy fans." ~Elisabeth Naughton, author of the Eternal Guardians series

So….now that we teased you all, we have a special treat. Laura has ambushed our sites again with a special guest post dedicated to “West of Want”. Go check it out:

The Significance of Settings: 

The Bay Bridge in West of Want

I’m thrilled to be back at Book Monsters and Literal Addiction Book Club today to celebrate the release of my contemporary fantasy romance, West of Want, book 2 in my Hearts of the Anemoi series. This book draws significantly from the mythology of the Anemoi, wind gods the Greeks associated with the weather and seasons. But it also draws enough from the local settings in which the books are placed that those settings serve almost as characters themselves. If you’ve read North of Need, the first book in the series, there’s no question that the snowy setting is significant enough that it shapes the plot, the characters, and their decisions. It’s almost as central in significance as the characters.

In West of Want, that’s true as well. The Chesapeake Bay plays a central role in the telling of the story in this book. And more specifically, the Chesapeake Bay Bridge does as well. The Bay Bridge is a dual-span bridge that’s part of Route 50 and crosses the Chesapeake Bay near Annapolis, Maryland (my home town!). It is nearly 4.5 miles long and the taller of the two bridge towers, on the west-bound side, is nearly 400-feet in height or approximately 40 stories above the water’s surface.

A bridge is a perfect element to include in a paranormal story. Bridges are highly symbolic features. Dreaming of bridges may symbolize fear of change, important life transitions, aging, or travel. Bridges can also symbolize birth, death, or movement between worlds. Bridges can also relate to connecting people and worlds together. In Tarot card reading, bridges represent life transitions, a journey between distinct realms, or emerging spiritual consciousness. They can even reference the path to enlightenment or divinity.

It’s easy to see how these symbolic meanings could be relevant to and useful in telling a paranormal story. In West of Want, because there are characters from a different realm than the human one (the Realm of the Gods), the movement between these realms is a constant theme in the stories in the series. And because the Bay Bridge in particular connects the eastern and western shores of Maryland, it is the perfect physical feature around which to build a conflict between Zephyros, the Supreme God of the West, and Eurus, the Supreme God of the East.

Three specific scenes take place on or around the Bay Bridge—and all three are dark moments in the book. Each of these scenes involves conflict, movement between the realms, and major changes in people or relationships. Here’s a short excerpt from among them, set on the sailboat Woodwind II (which you might recognize if you’ve seen the movie, The Wedding Crashers). This is the only bridge-related scene non-spoilerish enough to share! *grins*:

Zeph kissed Ella’s forehead, enjoying the cadence of her voice mixed in with the breeze. It was like music to him. “Tell me something else,” he said, wanting more of the magical notes.

She smiled up at him. “About what?”

“Anything.”

Her fingers caressed the curve of bone around his eyes. “Your eyes are bright again.”

“Your fault.”

Despite the cool air, her cheeks reddened. He liked that his words, his look, could do that to her. “Okay, well…” She looked away, out over the ship’s bow. “Um, that bridge there.” She pointed to the massive dual-span bridge that crossed the bay just ahead. “That’s the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. It connects the Western and Eastern Shores of Maryland.”

Zeph froze and eyed the impressive suspension cables arcing out over the bridge. The thing was a literal portal between East and West.

Ella continued on in that same warm lilt of her voice. “The views from the highway are phenomenal. You can see all the spires of Annapolis. Just beyond the bridge is where all the international ships anchor to wait for pilots to take them into the port at Baltimore. They’re fun to sail near—you can see flags from all over the world. Sometimes Navy ships anchor here, too, even naval ships from other countries. They often come for events at the Academy.”

The sound of her words continued to intrigue him, but he remained stuck by that one thing she’d said. “So, what you’re saying is that you live on the divide between the eastern and western parts of your state.”

“It’s the east thing, right? That’s what’s bothering you?” The tone of her voice completely different now, Ella’s words pulled him from his thoughts. She turned her whole body toward him.

Zeph felt his mouth drop open. “I…”

“In the car, too? I didn’t put it together right away. But I’m right, aren’t I?”

“It’s just a coincidence,” he said, willing belief into his voice.

“Do you really believe that? Because, honestly, you looked kinda freaked out in the car, and you just had that same expression on your face again.”

He sighed and dropped his head. So much for not ruining what was between them.

“Hey.” The warmth of her palm curled around his jaw and tugged his eyes back to hers. “I met your brother, remember? I was on the receiving end of his freaking curse. So I understand why anything to do with him would make you suspicious.” Her gaze was all rich brown and open concern. “But how can I prove to you it is all coincidence?”

GIVEAWAY!: Did you have a favorite line from the excerpt? Or have you ever dreamed about a bridge? One commenter who leaves their email address will win an ebook of West of Want! Open to international. Good luck!

Don’t miss the West of Want in the Wild (thru 8/24) giveaway event, too!

Thanks for reading!

Laura Kaye

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