Wednesday 9 November 2011

Blog Tour: Donna Grant with Shadow Magic + giveaway

Today Donna Grant is over with a guestpost about tortured heroes, and there is a giveaway too at the end. Open to all.

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Tortured Heroes and Mystical History

Thanks, Linda, for having me here. 

I get asked a lot why there are so many tortured heroes in romance novels.  First, as a writer, they’re some of the best characters to write.   You can put them in circumstances that seem impossible to get out of, or have them do things that would doom lesser men.  They can be good men, or bad men who are reformed (another one of my favorites).

But, I think it comes down to women.  We have an innate need to want to improve things.  What’s better than taking a man who feels there’s no turning back from who or what he is and showing him love to convince him there’s so much more if he’s willing to let go of the past?

Who wouldn’t want a piece of that? Lol.  Now, this isn’t changing a man – the inner person who a heroine falls in love with.  No, this is helping him overcome whatever obstacles he faces, even if its nothing more than saving said heroine. 

For me I get such a thrill when a hero is not only an alpha male, but who is so tortured even I wonder if there’s a way to save him.  Those are the most difficult to write, but the most rewarding.  I’m emotionally and mentally exhausted by the time I finish their stories, but they long stay my favorites.  Examples: Gabriel from A WARRIOR’S HEART (Shield series, to be re-released later), Cade from DANGEROUS MAGIC (third Sisters of Magic book), and Hayden from UNTAMED HIGHLANDER (Dark Sword).

It’s not just the tortured heroes that I love, its mixing magic with history.  Even my parents ask me all the time why I put paranormal aspects in my books.  I don’t set out to do it, it just happens.  I’ve always loved fantasy movies and books, and with my love of history it just seems so natural to do it.

When I first began writing it, there were so few historical paranormal or historical fantasy romance books out there that editors didn’t really know what to do with me.  The genre has grown, but still not as I’d like to see it.

Every author has a favorite genre or time period that they love to write in.  For me, its historical paranormals.  It’s so freeing to just let my imagination go and not have to be so confined to the restrictions of a certain time period.

There are no boundaries when writing paranormal or fantasy.  The canvas – or page for us authors – is as open and far-reaching as our imaginations.  I find it odd that contemporary readers gobble up paranormals, but that’s not the same with historical readers.  I’m hoping to slowly change that.  

So, do you like mixing magic with your history?

I’ll be giving away an ebook copy of DRAGONFYRE my fantasy romance I’ve recently re-released to one lucky commenter.

To learn more about me and my books, watch book trailers, sign up for my newsletter, and read excerpts, please visit www.DonnaGrant.com!

Hugs,
D

GIVEAWAY
Ecopy of Dragonfyre

1. Open too all, in all countries
2. Ends Nov 18th
3. Just enter, and you are also free to answer Donna's question :)
(So, do you like mixing magic with your history?)

She's the only one who can pull him from the darkness...


As Commander of the Fae army, Aimery is used to tracking evil and putting an end to it. When one of the rare and treasured blue dragons is killed and an egg stolen, Aimery is ordered to find the murderer. He never expects it to be one of his closest friends...


Kyndra is a priestess of the Dragon Order sworn to protect all dragons in the Realm of the Fae. She is sent by the high priestess to accompany Aimery and return the killer for execution. Aimery is instantly drawn to the sword-wielding priestess, but he knows he cannot have Kyndra. Her life is sworn to the dragons, to be touched by no man. Neither expects to find desire and unyielding passion in the other. Yet when they track the killer to another realm, Aimery's life is at stake and Kyndra gives herself to him and the love she cannot deny in order to save him...

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Blurb and excerpt for SHADOW MAGIC:

With a past soaked in sin and darkness slowly closing in around him to claim his soul, Drogan only wants to live his life in solitude. Years in the king’s service and his numerous deeds directed by the crown have left Drogan with horrendous nightmares and immeasurable guilt...
Serena is a witch, cursed and forever alone. She accepts her future. Until she meets Drogan. With Drogan a passion deep and unyielding awakens inside her. She is willing to sacrifice herself for his love, but can he put his past to rest and embrace the future?

Excerpt

Hawthorne Castle
Central England, 1127

Jealousy, if left unbridled, could turn a good soul as black as Satan.

And so it was the first time Serena of Hawthorne saw Lord Drogan of Wolfglynn with another woman. The jealousy was instant and sharper than any needle that could pierce her skin. The fact that she hadn’t even met Drogan and so shouldn’t have noted the beautiful woman on his arm did not go unnoticed by Serena.

She was a bana-bhuidseach, a witch, cursed and forever alone. ‘Twas because of what she was, men rarely caught her attention. Except for Drogan.

Her always sure footed feet faltered and then stopped as the excessively crowded great hall allowed her an unobstructed view of Drogan for a heartbeat. But in that moment, his image would be etched in her memory for all time.

People teemed around her, but Serena didn’t notice. She closed her eyes and let her mind’s eye looked over Lord Drogan of Wolfglynn at her leisure. What she saw made her break into a sweat and her soul stirred for the first time.

Dark auburn hair fell straight and thick, with a slight curl at the end, to his broad shoulders. He had a high forehead with gently arching brows over eyes of a rich golden brown. His nose was straight and aristocratic, and his mouth wide and full.

He wore a brown leather jerkin over a deep green tunic that didn’t hide the rippling muscles in his arms and chest. Her eyes moved lower to his thick legs encased in tight leather. Boots, worn but well cared for, encased his feet and calves.

Serena caught of glimpse of something shiny from the top of his left boot, alluding to a hidden dirk. The broadsword and dagger strapped to his waist let all know he was a warrior.

She opened her eyes and found Drogan staring at her. For the briefest of moments, Serena found herself starting toward him before someone bumped into her. 'Twas all she needed to break away. She turned her back on Drogan and the longing in her heart.

Duty called.

Donna's website: http://www.donnagrant.com/
Book Info

Sisters of Magic, Book 1

Re-issued
ISBN 13: 978-1600883484
Release Date: Nov 2011


Order eBook
Kindle | Nook
Smashwords

Donna Grant is the award winning author of more than twenty novels spanning multiple genres of romance – Scottish Medieval, historical, dark fantasy, time travel, erotic, and paranormal.

Donna was born and raised in Texas but loves to travel. Her adventures have taken her throughout the United States as well as to Jamaica and Mexico. Growing up on the Texas/Louisiana border, Donna's Cajun side of the family taught her the "spicy" side of life while her Texas roots gave her two-steppin' and bareback riding.

38 comments:

  1. Thanks for having Donna here today,Linda. Donna what a great post. I do like a little magic with my heros. Heroes,are magical,are they not?SHADOW MAGIC sounds like an aswesome read.
    *Please don't enter me for the contest*
    Thanks for sharing,Donna...
    AprilR

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  2. Oh tortured heroes are my very favorite! Especially the ones who are so damaged you're not quite sure they're even capable of healing, I get super emotionally involved with stories like that. I'll definitely be trying these books!

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  3. oohhh I love LOVE Tortured heroes!!! Scottish ones are even better.

    Don't enter me in the giveaway.

    hugs,
    WendyK

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  4. April - hey, sweetie!

    Jenny - Oh, I do as well. I'm such a sucker for those types of heroes. :)

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  5. Thanks for stopping by my blog Donna :)

    And for your awesome guestpost

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  6. Thanks for the great post Donna, I enjoyed reading it. And yes, I do love paranormal mixed with historical romance. Perhaps because I enjoy paranormals, fantasy and more along with historicals. A little blending of the genres makes for interesting reading.

    thanks for the giveaway!

    auriansbooks at gmail dot com

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  7. OK... I tried to leave a comment before, I guess I'll try again.

    Donna, it's great that you were here, and I do think tortured heroes really help draw the reader in and make them care about the characters more.

    I'm all about giveaways- so sign me up!

    And, everything is better weith magic!

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  8. Loony
    Both comments were there so I published the new one and deleted the old since they were pretty much the same :)

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  9. Thanks for the interview! I love tortured heroes because their stories are always more touching and heartwrenching. I also like and tend too attract tortured souls in real life because I always feel like I can heal them.

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  10. Wendy - I so agree! :D

    Blodeuedd - thank you for having me!

    Aurian - Thank you. :)

    Alana - lol. I couldn't have said it better. ;)

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  11. Awesome blog post Donna :) I like the cover of your book, it's very cool.

    I love a good tortured hero...it makes the redemption so much sweeter :)

    rachie2004 AT yah00 *d8t* c-m

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  12. oooh shadow magic looks really good!

    no need to enter me-no ereader!

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  13. I have to agree with you all the way, Donna. Nothing beats a tortured hero, and I think it is because we want to be the one to show him the love he needs to overcome all the crap he's had in his life. :D

    As to your question, I love when authors mix historcial with magical or paranormal elements, though it's true that very few such books are out, at least compared to other genres. If it's magical, fantasy, or paranormal, I'm in. If it happens to come together with my other favorite genre (historical) then I'm definitely in! :) Oh, and with Kilts, please!

    Enjoy!
    TBQ
    The_Book_Queen (at) yahoo.com

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  14. I enjoy stories that mix magic and history because there are so many ways for the story to go.

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  15. When you have a hero at your side and you doubt you will really help him is more awesome to read how even love appears by helping ! love the cover and it sounds really good the story. Thanks for the giveaway!

    Queen.jade09@hotmail.com

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  16. I do like to mix magic with my history. I think it makes it a little more exciting and interesting.

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  17. Hi. I love historical romances and I love PNR, so why not thrown in a little magic?

    I would love to read this book. I must confess to having one of her books that I haven't read yet. I just bought Donna Grant's Shadow Highlander, because I was attracted to the cover. Upon looking it up, I realized it was Book 5 of a series. I am a little anal about reading series in order, so I haven't read it. My husband ordered me a Kindle Fire for my birthday, so I will have to get the Dark Sword series on it, so I can read Book 5!

    Anyway, thanks for the giveaway and the interview.I hope I win a copy.

    Chinyere Ezinwanyi
    ezinwanyi1@yahoo.com

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  18. Nothing makes my heart beat faster than tortured heroes, especially when they aren't sure they are worthy of love. *le sigh*

    And yes, I love to have a bit of magic in my historical reads.

    Thanks for the giveaway!
    missie at theunreadreader.com

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  19. Yes, I LOVE magic (or any kind of paranormal) with my historical. It's really the only kind of historical I will read. :)

    ferishia.1@gmail.com

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  20. Yes, I love magic with my history... heros... ;)

    I also agree with the post. I think women love to nurture and men love to fix things. LOL

    Great giveaway!
    books (dot) things (at) yahoo (dot) com

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  21. Brunette Librarian - thank you!

    Carrie - :) thanks!

    TBQ - if you love historical paranormals and kilts, then you might want to take a look at my bestselling Dark Sword series (in print and ebook). You might like it. :)

    Sandy - I so agree!

    Aliraluna - exactly! :)

    Donnas - so true! ;)

    Chinyere - aww! Thank you for buying Shadow Highlander. Yes, its the 5th in my Dark Sword series, with the 6th coming out January 31, 2012. :)

    Missie - yes, me too! :D

    Ferishia -yay! :)

    Melissa - thanks! :)

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  22. I love tortured alpha males...it makes me like them even more!

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  23. Interesting article about why I (and a lot of other women too I guess) love brooding/troubled leading men.

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  24. Yes, I do love mixing magic, or other paranormal elements with my history. Mixing two (or more) of my favorite things together in one book is a winning combination to me.

    Barbed1951 at aol dot com

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  25. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  26. Oh! Count me in! Romance and magic are always good in my book, especially when both of them are together. Unfortunately, I haven't had the pleasure to enjoy many romance books that mix both elements, so this definitely catches my attention.

    n.dematos@gmail.com

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  27. Hi Donna!! Nice post!! I love a little magic in my romance :) I do have a question for you! In your opinion, do you think strong females like the idea of rescuing the tortured heros? I think about that a lot. Because most of the time the hero is greviously tortured in some form only to have love love them. Your book sounds great!!
    viajeradelmar@aol.com

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  28. A great guest post - thanks Donna- and hello to all my sadistic friends who like tortured heroes especially from Scotland! We should form a club you know...;)

    Count me in:

    portiabridget(at)yahoo(dot)co(dot)uk

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  29. Staci - it does, doesn't it? :)

    DCMetroReader - thank you. :)

    Barbara - :D

    Nenssa - well, I hope you find what you're looking for in my books. ;)

    Nikki - Great question. I think most women do (strong or not), though sometimes it takes a really strong woman to deal with such brooding men. :) It's difficult to pass up a man so tortured.

    Anachronist -Thanks! :)

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  30. I LOVE mixing magic in with my history!! Actually, I love mixing magic in with everything! I think it spices up any genre :)

    jwitt33 at live dot com

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  31. Great post Donna, I haven't read any of your books but I'm an absolute sucker for the tortured alpha male so count me in :)

    and I have to say I'm a fan of mixing magic & history as long as it enhances the story. So many of the ancient cultures' beliefs are focused on the Gods & magic.

    teddyree[at]optusnet[dot]com[dot]au

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  32. I will enjoy reading Shadow Magic it sounds awesome. I love the tortured hero. He's a mystery to be solved and then you find that he is capable of so much love and passion that it's hard not to cherish someone like that. A beautiful fantasy!
    Thank you for introducing me to your books I will definitely be picking them up.

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  33. Nice guest post.
    I do agree, tortured heroes in romance novels are usually really interesting to read about.
    The book sound great.

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  34. Great post! I love the mix of magic and history. To me adding paranormal elements doesn't ruin a story, it enhances it.

    No need to enter me but I will be checking these books out at some time.

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  35. Oh, yes! I enjoy any book that adds magic and supernatural elements to either historical or contemporary settings :-) Thanks for the giveaway!

    smaccall AT comcast.net

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  36. Twitted about your giveaway at: http://twitter.com/#!/cherrymischivus/status/135676006538297344

    Goodluck to everybody entering! :)

    Cherry Mischievous
    (not an entry)

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  37. Thank you all so much everyone for stopping by :D
    You are all the best, and i am finally catching up on things (evil internet)

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  38. Winner:
    Melissa Books and Things

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