Happy Book Release to A Touch of Stone and Snow by Milla Vane!

A Touch of Stone and Snow by Milla Vane hits bookstores today. This second installment in Vane’s romantic fantasy series, A Gathering of Dragons, catapults you out of everyday life and into a magical adventure. Amazon.com lists it as one of the best romances for July! (Plus, book 1 in the series, A Heart of Blood and Ashes, made the list of best romances of the year so far.) And I have to admit, I’m a sucker for this cover…

A Touch of Stone and Snow

Milla Vane returns to a world of kings, magic, and passion in her exhilarating A Gathering of Dragons series. A great alliance forms to stand against an evil warlord intent on their destruction.

Danger lurks in the western realms. The Destroyer’s imminent return has sent the realms into turmoil as desperate citizens seek refuge—but there’s no safety to be found when demons and wraiths crawl out from the shadows. Even Koth, a northern island kingdom left untouched by the Destroyer a generation past, is besieged by terrors spawned from corrupt magics.

When Lizzan leads the Kothan army against these terrors, only to see her soldiers massacred and to emerge as the only survivor, she is called a coward and a deserter. Shunned from her home, Lizzan now wanders in solitude as a mercenary for hire, until she encounters a group of warriors seeking new alliances with the northern kingdoms—a group that includes Aerax, the bastard prince of Koth, and the man who sent her into exile.

Though they were childhood friends, Aerax cannot allow himself to be close to the only woman who might thwart his treacherous plan to save their island realm. But when a goddess’s demand binds them together, Lizzan and Aerax must find a way to overcome their painful pasts. Or there will be no future for the western realms…

Find A Touch of Stone and Snow at your favorite retailers, online and brick-and-mortar. Happy reading!

Friday Links: Reading Your Way into Summer

TGIF! It’s been a long and not-so-terrific week for me, filled with insurance talk: car insurance to handle the repairs to my new car after it was rear-ended on Sunday, and the health insurance machinations in Washington, D.C. all over the news and social media. My reaction? I really just want to go hide and read a good book.

Reading has always been my reaction to stress. Sometimes I reach for a feel-good favorite, while other times I want to read about people solving their problems so I know there’s hope that things will turn around. Books really are my answer to most everything. So this week’s links come down heavy on the book talk and recommendations. It’s officially summer, so let the great seasonal book binge commence. (And if you’re in the southern hemisphere, well, curling up with a book is still a good idea.) Wishing you all a wonderful weekend filled with productive writing time and lots of excellent stories. Enjoy!

10 Famous Book Hoarders – Check out these enormous book collections and the people who own them.

The 17 Best Young Adult Novels of 2017 – Some terrific sounding titles to add to your TBR pile, or your kids’.

Now Is the Time to Read These 11 Novels about Female Artists – Delve into the worlds of these fascinating and talented women.

24 in 48 July Readathon Sign-Ups – The 24 in 48 readathon has been set for July 22-23, and sign-ups are officially open. For the uninitiated, this readathon involves trying to spend 24 hours reading over the course of two days (so, 24 out of 48). There’s lots of chatter on social media during the readathon about what everyone’s reading and loving (or not), snacking on, using for a quick break, and so on, plus fun challenges to keep things interesting for anyone who feels like playing along. I highly recommend, even if you can only join in for a few hours.

Speaking from the Shadows: 5 Books that Tell the Monster’s Story – One obvious choice, but this is still a great list if this perspective interests you, or you just want a change of pace.

A Brief History of Pen Names – An interesting look at some of the reasons writers have used pen names through the years.

The Story Museum – If you live near or are visiting Oxford, England, this museum sounds like a must-see for anyone with a literary bent, young or old.

Leading Ladies in Lit: 16 Books with Fierce Female Protagonists – Pretty much what it says on the box. Some terrific sounding titles here.

Science Fiction Short Story Collections by Authors of Color – Book Riot compiled these recommendations as part of a celebration of what would have been Octavia Butler’s 70th birthday.