Blog Tour Schedule:
https://www.heatherfrost.com/post/shield-blade-media-tour-schedule
Book Info:
Title:
Shield & Blade: A Fate of Eyrinthia Novella (Fate of Eyrinthia #3.5)
Genre:
YA Fantasy Romance
Release Date:
July 14, 2022
Official Blurb:
His to protect
When Vera broke Venn’s heart, he was shattered. When she was abducted by mercenaries, he vowed to tear Mortise apart to find her. Now, reunited, he is determined to keep her safe–and win back her heart. Of course, things are never that simple.
Hers to defend
Vera has regretted hurting Venn ever since that fateful night in Wexon, but finding the right time to tell him is proving difficult. Traveling with him to Duvan should give her the perfect opportunity, but things take an unexpected turn when they find young children abandoned near a roadside.
Theirs to save
Helping the children isn’t in question, but the detour leads Venn and Vera into the heart of a sinister mystery. The truth they fight to uncover could change everything in Eyrinthia–and may cost them their lives.
Links:
Shield & Blade Preorder Link (Kindle):
Add on Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60781337-shield-blade
Series Info:
Learn more about the Fate of Eyrinthia series by checking out Royal Decoy (Fate of Eyrinthia #1)
Royal Decoy Blurb:
Clare made a mistake when she saved the princess’s life . . .
In one horrible night, Clare is forced to give up her life as a kitchen maid to become the princess’s decoy. Thrust into a dangerous new world of royals and deadly politics, she must learn how to be the princess’s perfect double to ensure her betrothal to an enemy prince. Desperate to survive, Clare throws herself into self-defense training, taught by her distractingly attractive bodyguard, Bennick. The spark between them is undeniable, though a relationship is forbidden. When a ruthless assassin begins stalking her, it becomes frighteningly clear that some will stop at nothing to end the tenuous peace—and Clare’s life.
Across the northern mountains, Prince Grayson is his father’s ultimate weapon. His name inspires fear in all who hear it, but no one knows his heavily guarded secret. He carries out every brutal order only because his father holds power over the one person he cares about. Grayson’s silent obedience is tested, however, when his father reveals plans to exploit the marriage alliance between two of their greatest enemies. If Grayson submits, the blood of thousands will spill. If he resists, the girl who means everything to him will die.
The fate of Eyrinthia hangs in the balance. Some want peace. Some want war. All will be thrown into chaos.
Royal Decoy is the first in the Fate of Eyrinthia YA fantasy romance series told from multiple POVs. If you like swoon-worthy romance, complex characters, and non-stop action with epic twists, then you’ll love the captivating world of Eyrinthia.
Royal Decoy Links:
Kindle:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B085299HQN
Add Royal Decoy on Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51585276-royal-decoy
Add Royal Decoy on Bookbub:
https://www.bookbub.com/authors/heather-frost
Author Bio
Heather Frost is a #1 Amazon Bestselling YA author who loves epic stories with breath-stealing romance. She is the author of the Seers trilogy and the Fate of Eyrinthia series. Her books have been Whitney Award Finalists and Swoony Award Finalists. She has a BS in Creative Writing and a minor in Folklore, which means she got to read fairy tales and call it homework. When she’s not writing, Heather likes to read, travel, and re-watch Lord of the Rings. She lives in a beautiful valley surrounded by towering mountains in northern Utah. To learn more about Heather and her books, visit her website: www.HeatherFrost.com
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Guest Post:
5 Tips For Creating Strong Side Characters
One of the things readers love about the Fate of Eyrinthia series are the characters. There’s a huge cast in Eyrinthia, with people from four different kingdoms. Some are good, some are pure evil, and the rest are varied shades of gray. There are a lot of main characters, but we also have a lot of side characters–and they get a lot of love!
So, what does it take to make a strong side character?
- Give them a quirk/defining personality trait. This won’t be the only thing about them, of course–that wouldn’t make a strong side character!–but especially if you have a large cast of characters, it can be a good idea to have something that helps them take shape. Venn was the “funny guy/best friend”; Vera was the “shy maid/kind confidante”. This helps them stand out for the readers, and it helped me know how to have them act in a scene without always having to reach deep and figure out all their motivations all the time. That would be exhausting!
- Learn where they came from, and where they want to go. We all know that main characters need clear pasts and goals. If you want your secondary characters to also leap off the page, you need to know some things about them, too. It doesn’t need to be as fleshed out as your main characters, but by figuring out their history and dreams, you can know them better–and write them better. You may also be surprised at how that can shape subplots–or even the main plot.
- Give them a worry or fear. It makes them more human, and more interesting. The dialogue will be better, and it could provide opportunities for the main characters to be supportive, which can make everything feel more real and fleshed out. Especially since it’s often the secondary characters that offer the main characters support and insights.
- Allow them to change. Just because they’re a secondary character doesn’t mean they need to be static. In fact, giving them a story arc–or letting them have unexpected reactions–can lead to more engaging storytelling. Venn is the funny guy–until things get dangerous. Then he’s deadly. And when he loses Vera, he loses a lot of his humor. None of this overtook the main storyline, or necessitated him to become a POV in the main series–it was all in how the other characters saw him, and reacted to him.
- Allow them to live ‘off-camera’. We’re following the main characters for a reason; most of their story happens ‘on-camera’, so to speak. We see the conversations, because they’re important to the plot. Side characters aren’t always on camera, and even if they are there, they’re often in the background. But if you recognize that they are doing things off-camera–having conversations, making connections, etc–then you can incorporate realistic changes in their relationships with other characters, as possibly bring in fun changes to the story. For instance, Venn and Vera have their first kiss off-camera–we see them flirt, and we learn they have a budding romance, just as we also learn that things go horribly wrong after Vera’s sister is killed. This, of course, is what helps set the stage for Shield & Blade.
There are many different ways to write rich, realistic characters. These tips provide just a few ideas, but they definitely helped me in Eyrinthia.
Stars Books & Tea 