We're so excited to be part of the Gilded Wings blog tour. I LOVED book one and can't wait to read the new release. You can check out my review of Until Next Time...here.
Amy's here today with a lovely guest post and excerpt from her new book, Gilded Wings. There's a giveaway down towards the bottom too so be sure to check that out! Alright, Amy, the blogs yours...
Amy's here today with a lovely guest post and excerpt from her new book, Gilded Wings. There's a giveaway down towards the bottom too so be sure to check that out! Alright, Amy, the blogs yours...
A ‘New’ Take on an ‘Old’ World
The various interpretations of angels in fiction have been extremely fun to read. In fact, I was one of the readers most excited when the ‘winged ones’ came along and gave the ‘fanged ones’ a run for their money. Although I’m a fan of the ‘fallen’ in the YA world, I always wanted my angels to be different - something new and special that hadn’t been seen before. When I get to speak about them on sites and to fans, I’m filled with everything from honor to excitement from all the amazing bloggers and readers who accepted the angel/warrior team into their lives.
Angels are one of the most difficult paranormal characters to write - simply because of what agents and publishers refer to as, “religious overtones.” For quite a long time angels were frowned upon, because the literary world believed that readers wouldn’t accept anything that had to do with divinity. I was younger when I wrote this book so that particular view upset me, for the simple fact that Emily and Matt are not about religion.
My angel/warrior team are all about life. Whether it be up there or down here, or whatever interpretation you’d like to make, Emily and Matthew are two young people who have a job to do.
Matt is a boy who really wants to live, love, fight, and have fun with it all. And when I decided to write his lives, I really didn’t want to place him in the ‘old’ place in literature; I wanted him to be like a regular teen who does have a home with a family who loves him. Albeit, the home has more cool magical stuff in it, but it’s still home to him.
Readers get to see the training pit where Emily and Matthew battle. In Until Next Time they witnessed the Lightning Room, and in both books the friends and family and mentors of the angel/warrior team play cards, race horses, and have fun - all of this had to be there. I wanted them to have a sense of humor, and I thought that taking these fantastical factors away in order to be ‘accepted’ was wrong. After all, if we think about going to a ‘better’ place there should be more than just bright, white light. So Emily and Matt received the home I saw in my imagination - with an incredible library being the number one place they went to when they needed a bit of ‘alone time.’ (Which is so me because I actually want to live inside the NYPL).
Emily needed to be strong and, like her author, gets more than a bit confused and mad at this supposedly ‘great world’ when she experiences the heartache, pain, and power of love and loss. I truly believed that it would be interesting for one of the main characters to have the hardest time believing in anything.
In the end, the world of Emily & Matt had to be different - and not some political argument. It had to really show the fact that these were two characters who faced very normal problems - they just happen to have abilities that help and also get in the way. For each adventure this angel/warrior team will find themselves up against bad guys, hard decisions, humor and confusion, as they desperately try to make sure they keep each other in the process. Love does bloom but this, again, is no ordinary love triangle. No one is perfect - that’s impossible. So readers will be surprised at the twist in Gilded Wings that they weren’t expecting. And, hopefully they will continue to love this new world where anything can and does happen, as much as I do.
Until Next Time, Everybody!
Amy
The Beloved Angel-Warrior Team from Until Next Time Returns!
When Matt and Emily are sent on their second mission they have no idea how truly dark human nature can become...
Emily never wanted to face humans again. With the heartache that went on down below, she’s still trying to figure out how to save souls that don’t deserve saving. The only one she wants to see again is Jason - the young man she fell in love with who became the soulmate she simply can’t forget...
Matt was trained to protect and defend the souls down below. Longing to feel the heartfelt emotions that come from being human, Matt wants nothing more than to have just one life - one chance - to live and love the girl of his dreams...
The powerful team find themselves in a brand new century, living in the Gilded Age of New York City. Emily takes over the body of Anya, a young Russian girl who arrives on Ellis Island after a hideous tragedy. There she meets up with a strangely familiar young man by the name of Drew Parrish, who helps Anya survive in an unknown world of luxury, snobbery and…obsession.
What Anya’s inner angel doesn’t know is that the soul she loves is also back. This time around Jason goes by the name of Max Carrow. Once a quiet and kind boy, he’s now part of the ‘Four Hundred Club,’ and wants nothing more than to be among the most admired as he climbs the shaky ladder of society’s elite.
As two worlds merge, Emily and Matt struggle under the weight of their “Gilded Wings.” Not only will they have to figure out who they should fight to save, but they must also face a romantic choice that could destroy them both.
Get Your Copy
Drew completed his exam by asking his last question in English. The couple, or at least the man, would have to answer in English before they could be passed on to the medical personnel.
“What is your final destination in the United States?” Drew asked, holding his breath, hoping that the couple would understand.
The sullied man’s eyes glowed. “We are here,” he replied, with a confused smile. “New York City; where the streets are paved with gold.”
Drew laughed out loud and stood up to shake the man’s hand. “Well, sir, please come back and tell me where you find that street. I’d sure like to get some gold for myself.”
The wife snickered, and began pulling her heavy bag across the polished floor. The medical examiner halted their progress and began to ask them his own questions in a very clipped, condescending tone.
Drew sighed as the strangely belligerent young doctor began to roughly examine the German couple. “Let me hear you breathe,” he snapped. The immigrant looked scared, as he quickly exhaled the stale air from his lungs.
The medic flinched when the stench hit him square in the face. “Ugh. Move along."
The wife let out a sigh of relief and turned back to Drew. “Thank you.”
Drew smiled. “Welcome to America.”
How does a girl choose between the one who steals her heart and the one who owns her soul?
Matt and Emily were created for a specific job. Raised and trained as the ultimate angel/warrior team, they are sent down to save, defend, judge and forgive, depending on the 'life' they've been assigned. What they don't realize is that the power of human emotions, such as love, anger, passion and fear can take over even the best of souls, causing them to make mistakes and follow paths that lead to confusion and heartache.
When the reason for their training is finally revealed, the angel/warrior team find themselves thrust into a world they know nothing about. Matt takes over the life of Daniel, a young man with a great deal of baggage. Emily becomes Liz, a girl living in a remote village who relies on nothing more than her own strength to survive. A violent storm erupts one night, and framed in the window of Liz's establishment is a frightening face. Let in by the soul of a Good Samaritan, the two visitors bring with them a past full of secrets that could literally change an angel's path and a warrior's plans.
From murder to redemption, this angel/warrior team must find a way to keep the faith they have in each other in a world that's ripping them apart.
Get Your Copy: Until Next Time: The Angel Chronicles, Book 1
Amy Lignor began her career at Grey House Publishing in northwest Connecticut where she was the Editor-in-Chief of numerous educational and business directories.
Now she is a published author of several works of fiction. The Billy the Kid historical The Heart of a Legend; the thriller, Mind Made; and the adventure novel, Tallent & Lowery 13.
Currently, she lives with her daughter, mother and a rambunctious German Shepherd named Reuben, in the beautiful state of New Mexico.
Find Amy Lignor Online
Find The Angel Chronicles Online
'Gilded Wings' Blog Tour
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