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The Blood Witch Easter Preview Release Drive - April 17
11 years ago
Announcing a special holiday treat!
Every day from now until Easter Sunday I will be posting an excerpt from my upcoming novel, The Blood Witch, right up until April 20, when I will be releasing a preview version of the first few chapters of the work (which won't include some of the excerpts I will be posting; some of those occur much later in the book). After that, I may consider releasing additional pieces of following chapters one by one every week until a certain predetermined chapter limit is reached (so I don't just give the entire book away for free), but only if demand is so high that folks are scrambling for it.
But more than simply sharing a taste of things to come, I encourage all my readers and fans to retweet the excerpts - or at least, a link back to the journal containing the excerpt - and/or to repost them on Facebook, Myspace, Livejournal, blogs, FA and DA journal notes, writing and reading enthusiast forums... anyplace you can get a foothold in. Just spread the word. Together, let's get the hype out there before it even ever goes to print.
And more to the point, let's get eyeballs on my page and drive some interest in my work. =)
They say it's the golden age of social media, so let's take this thing and make it trend. I've never gotten around to making a Twitter account myself - and I tend to avoid Facebook and Myspace - but I know many of you do, and your help would be so greatly appreciated. Together, let's make this thing a hit before it's even ever released.
Well... assuming it's worthy, anyway.
But enough modesty... on to today's part of the story:
Rowan chances a look down at his sword, taking a moment to watch the light glint from its polished steel length as he catches his breath... this battle is intense. Far too intense.
He had expected their final confrontation with the Blood Witch to be fierce, but even given all that he's come to know of her and the power she wields, he still finds himself surprised by the immense destruction she commands with but casual flicks of her wrist. Glancing back up to her, he watches as her tattoos – ancient, arcane runes of power etched on her face and shoulders – glow an otherworldly white, then flash as she waves her arm in a wide arc, flinging a powerful gale of wind at his companions; a burst of air so strong that it knocks both back against the chamber's wall behind them, armor and sinew cracking sickly against the ancient stone.
Momentarily, he wonders what magic she would have used against the people of the village Candarat... a village that won't be found any map; not anymore. She passed through the hamlet only recently – just ahead of them – cutting a swath of destruction so total you would have thought the Reaper himself had laid waste to the town... leaving smoldering homes and a broken landscape in her wake.
More damning than the physical destruction, however, were the scores of bodies she left behind... piles and piles of them, mutilated and rotting in the sun. Many of them had been split open in vivisection while others lie beheaded and skinned, but almost all of them had been drained of blood and gut, made component to some unknown black magic that created the army of unholy, undead constructs that had barred their way forward... bloody, raging beasts created from the flesh of hundreds of innocents.
But perhaps most terrifying is that she does all this without a single hand to help her... none except those she creates with her own magic. If not for the fact that he knows better, he'd say the powers of Hell itself aid her.
Clenching his jaw tight, the paladin mercenary resolves that this will indeed be their final battle... whether he survives it or not. “By God's hand... you will fall today!”
He flips his sword around as she turns in midair, her floating form casting a sneer on him as she begins conjuring another spell – her tattoos now flashing a brilliant red – when he brings his shield to bear before himself and charges headlong towards her, giving a fierce, roaring battle cry as he closes the distance quickly; his ears pinned flat to his head. In a moment, her spell comes to fruition, and a bolt of flame leaps from her outstretched palm just to wash over the shield and dissipate into the air, while he leaps through the fading fire and raises his sword, slashing it down as he approaches her with a mighty swing... only to strike at empty air.
The sword clangs against the stone floor as she teleports backwards, moving only a short distance away to conjure another spell, her tattoos briefly flashing a bright white before a wave of invisible force crashes against him; sending him flailing onto his back. There's a loud clatter of metal against stone as he tumbles haphazardly, but his charge has given his companions time to recompose themselves, and Garam levels his crossbow to the witch, aiming only briefly before letting fly a flurry of arrows from the multi–shot rack... watching then in stunned silence as she sneers back; her tattoos flashing white again as she summons together swirling force magic, capturing the arrows and causing them to spin in circles about her waist.
He squints his eyes, then widens them as she flings her hand out towards him, the arrows leaping forth with shocking speed as she redirects them towards his chest. Reacting almost on instinct, he hastily leaps in the air, turning himself parallel to the ground and performing a barrel roll until the arrows pass by – narrowly missing his fluttering clothes – and twists to land on his feet, facing her. Almost amused, she smirks at him, but then turns her attention to his sister as Larenna steps forward and thrusts her staff out, hurling the flames gathering in her other hand out towards the witch with conviction and a menacing glare.
However, with aggravating nonchalance the Blood Witch raises a hand, then waves it aside as if slapping away a fly, the fireball dissipating harmlessly as her tattoos briefly flash red again. Snarling at her skill, Larenna levels a glare that can burn through steel, while her enemy sneers again, pausing to laugh at them from deep in her chest, the sound coming through grinning teeth as she regards them with amusement. The tassels of her headdress bounce on her forehead as she laughs, and Larenna takes a moment to study them, wondering if they hold some form of key to her power while the witch floats back and away, splaying her arms to her sides as she taunts them. “I'm almost having fun! You certainly are an entertaining bunch.”
“You'll find the torture of Hell far less entertaining, witch!” Rowan shouts out, settling his feet beneath him as he readies his sword again, scowling in rage at her.
She looks aside to him – silken black hair waving in an unnatural breeze as she grins devilishly – then turns to face him as he charges again, swinging his sword in a wide arc to his side while growling, intending to cleave her in two any way he can. She lets him draw closer... then suddenly conjures a rapid force spell against her own back, pushing herself violently towards him.
He barely has time to be surprised, however, as she then raises her feet and teleports, then reappears directly before him, her momentum causing her boots to collide against his chest with violent authority and send him sprawling onto his back some distance away, his sword flying from his hand to clatter to the ground beyond his reach. She rocks backwards momentarily from the blow, but quickly regains control of her float and spins to face the other two, who both level their weapons in preparation for a combined strike...
A strike they'll never have the chance to make. Waving an arm in an ever tightening circle, the witch conjures together particularly powerful magics, and her tattoos glow an intense white until she clenches her fist shut and twists in place, grabbing the two of them in a tight force hold and flinging them across the room to join Rowan. They crash helplessly to the ground beside him – sliding across the stone – and come to stop only to hear the witch laugh at them again, then look up as one to see her splay her arms aside again, presenting open palms and a wide grin. “This has been an amusing battle... but I'm afraid playtime is over.”
The Blood Witch is copyright © 2014 KL Sanchez. Second revision, 2014.
Content of released previews & excerpts is subject to change in future and final release versions.
April 1
April 2
April 3
April 4
April 5
April 6
April 7
April 8
April 9
April 10
April 11
April 12
April 13
April 14
April 15
April 16
April 17
April 18
April 19
The Blood Witch Preview Release.
Every day from now until Easter Sunday I will be posting an excerpt from my upcoming novel, The Blood Witch, right up until April 20, when I will be releasing a preview version of the first few chapters of the work (which won't include some of the excerpts I will be posting; some of those occur much later in the book). After that, I may consider releasing additional pieces of following chapters one by one every week until a certain predetermined chapter limit is reached (so I don't just give the entire book away for free), but only if demand is so high that folks are scrambling for it.
But more than simply sharing a taste of things to come, I encourage all my readers and fans to retweet the excerpts - or at least, a link back to the journal containing the excerpt - and/or to repost them on Facebook, Myspace, Livejournal, blogs, FA and DA journal notes, writing and reading enthusiast forums... anyplace you can get a foothold in. Just spread the word. Together, let's get the hype out there before it even ever goes to print.
And more to the point, let's get eyeballs on my page and drive some interest in my work. =)
They say it's the golden age of social media, so let's take this thing and make it trend. I've never gotten around to making a Twitter account myself - and I tend to avoid Facebook and Myspace - but I know many of you do, and your help would be so greatly appreciated. Together, let's make this thing a hit before it's even ever released.
Well... assuming it's worthy, anyway.
But enough modesty... on to today's part of the story:
Rowan chances a look down at his sword, taking a moment to watch the light glint from its polished steel length as he catches his breath... this battle is intense. Far too intense.
He had expected their final confrontation with the Blood Witch to be fierce, but even given all that he's come to know of her and the power she wields, he still finds himself surprised by the immense destruction she commands with but casual flicks of her wrist. Glancing back up to her, he watches as her tattoos – ancient, arcane runes of power etched on her face and shoulders – glow an otherworldly white, then flash as she waves her arm in a wide arc, flinging a powerful gale of wind at his companions; a burst of air so strong that it knocks both back against the chamber's wall behind them, armor and sinew cracking sickly against the ancient stone.
Momentarily, he wonders what magic she would have used against the people of the village Candarat... a village that won't be found any map; not anymore. She passed through the hamlet only recently – just ahead of them – cutting a swath of destruction so total you would have thought the Reaper himself had laid waste to the town... leaving smoldering homes and a broken landscape in her wake.
More damning than the physical destruction, however, were the scores of bodies she left behind... piles and piles of them, mutilated and rotting in the sun. Many of them had been split open in vivisection while others lie beheaded and skinned, but almost all of them had been drained of blood and gut, made component to some unknown black magic that created the army of unholy, undead constructs that had barred their way forward... bloody, raging beasts created from the flesh of hundreds of innocents.
But perhaps most terrifying is that she does all this without a single hand to help her... none except those she creates with her own magic. If not for the fact that he knows better, he'd say the powers of Hell itself aid her.
Clenching his jaw tight, the paladin mercenary resolves that this will indeed be their final battle... whether he survives it or not. “By God's hand... you will fall today!”
He flips his sword around as she turns in midair, her floating form casting a sneer on him as she begins conjuring another spell – her tattoos now flashing a brilliant red – when he brings his shield to bear before himself and charges headlong towards her, giving a fierce, roaring battle cry as he closes the distance quickly; his ears pinned flat to his head. In a moment, her spell comes to fruition, and a bolt of flame leaps from her outstretched palm just to wash over the shield and dissipate into the air, while he leaps through the fading fire and raises his sword, slashing it down as he approaches her with a mighty swing... only to strike at empty air.
The sword clangs against the stone floor as she teleports backwards, moving only a short distance away to conjure another spell, her tattoos briefly flashing a bright white before a wave of invisible force crashes against him; sending him flailing onto his back. There's a loud clatter of metal against stone as he tumbles haphazardly, but his charge has given his companions time to recompose themselves, and Garam levels his crossbow to the witch, aiming only briefly before letting fly a flurry of arrows from the multi–shot rack... watching then in stunned silence as she sneers back; her tattoos flashing white again as she summons together swirling force magic, capturing the arrows and causing them to spin in circles about her waist.
He squints his eyes, then widens them as she flings her hand out towards him, the arrows leaping forth with shocking speed as she redirects them towards his chest. Reacting almost on instinct, he hastily leaps in the air, turning himself parallel to the ground and performing a barrel roll until the arrows pass by – narrowly missing his fluttering clothes – and twists to land on his feet, facing her. Almost amused, she smirks at him, but then turns her attention to his sister as Larenna steps forward and thrusts her staff out, hurling the flames gathering in her other hand out towards the witch with conviction and a menacing glare.
However, with aggravating nonchalance the Blood Witch raises a hand, then waves it aside as if slapping away a fly, the fireball dissipating harmlessly as her tattoos briefly flash red again. Snarling at her skill, Larenna levels a glare that can burn through steel, while her enemy sneers again, pausing to laugh at them from deep in her chest, the sound coming through grinning teeth as she regards them with amusement. The tassels of her headdress bounce on her forehead as she laughs, and Larenna takes a moment to study them, wondering if they hold some form of key to her power while the witch floats back and away, splaying her arms to her sides as she taunts them. “I'm almost having fun! You certainly are an entertaining bunch.”
“You'll find the torture of Hell far less entertaining, witch!” Rowan shouts out, settling his feet beneath him as he readies his sword again, scowling in rage at her.
She looks aside to him – silken black hair waving in an unnatural breeze as she grins devilishly – then turns to face him as he charges again, swinging his sword in a wide arc to his side while growling, intending to cleave her in two any way he can. She lets him draw closer... then suddenly conjures a rapid force spell against her own back, pushing herself violently towards him.
He barely has time to be surprised, however, as she then raises her feet and teleports, then reappears directly before him, her momentum causing her boots to collide against his chest with violent authority and send him sprawling onto his back some distance away, his sword flying from his hand to clatter to the ground beyond his reach. She rocks backwards momentarily from the blow, but quickly regains control of her float and spins to face the other two, who both level their weapons in preparation for a combined strike...
A strike they'll never have the chance to make. Waving an arm in an ever tightening circle, the witch conjures together particularly powerful magics, and her tattoos glow an intense white until she clenches her fist shut and twists in place, grabbing the two of them in a tight force hold and flinging them across the room to join Rowan. They crash helplessly to the ground beside him – sliding across the stone – and come to stop only to hear the witch laugh at them again, then look up as one to see her splay her arms aside again, presenting open palms and a wide grin. “This has been an amusing battle... but I'm afraid playtime is over.”
The Blood Witch is copyright © 2014 KL Sanchez. Second revision, 2014.
Content of released previews & excerpts is subject to change in future and final release versions.
April 1
April 2
April 3
April 4
April 5
April 6
April 7
April 8
April 9
April 10
April 11
April 12
April 13
April 14
April 15
April 16
April 17
April 18
April 19
The Blood Witch Preview Release.
