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Divide and Conquer

Champions of Elonia

Book 1

Carmen Fox

Genre: Urban Fantasy with romance elements

Publisher: Champagne Books

Date of Publication: March 2, 2015

ISBN: 978-1-77155-175-5

ASIN: B00U0W2BIM

Number of pages: 377 print pages

Word Count: 97k

Cover Artist: Ellie Smith

 

Two women. One prophecy. Zero places to hide.

Flung from her mundane Seattle existence into a world of magic, scientist Lea struggles to make sense of a destiny she doesn’t want. The moment she finds comfort in the arms of a man who appreciates her inner nerd, a new magic sweeps the realms.

Nieve, Lea’s instructor, may be seasoned in the art of war, but she’s clueless when it comes to romance. To save her world, she allies herself with her enemy, a kindred warrior soul, who leaves no doubt he’s after more than her cooperation.

As each tick of the clock swallows another person’s memory, Lea and Nieve will do anything to hang on to theirs, but betrayal drives a wedge in their friendship. Can they reconcile and rally the troops before the magic wipes out their pasts?

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"Urban Fantasy doesn't get better than DIVIDE & CONQUER.  Action, excitement, and 2 kick-ass heroines to root for fill this rich, complex and dynamic world. Carmen Fox does not disappoint!"

~National & USA Today Bestselling author Anna J Stewart

NIEVE

I dropped my magical defenses, allowing my luster to envelop me in a powerful light. Without the sun’s ready supply of energy, that meant using some of my precious resources.

“Holy crap.” Lea jumped out of her bed and squeezed against the far wall of the room.

Finally, some reaction. “It’s called luster.” I twirled to prove I wasn’t hiding a flashlight behind my back. “It’s a by-product of an Elonian’s affinity with light. Anyone sensitive to magic can see it unless I suppress it.”

In my mind, rows of thick bricks piled one on top of another around me, extinguishing my luster.

“A-are you an angel?” Her airless voice barely traveled the distance between us.

I kinked back my head and laughed. “Definitely not.”

She unglued herself from the wall and took a few steps toward her bed. “You said I’m an Elonian. Why don’t I shine?”

“You can’t see your own luster, but it’s there. Without the training to suppress it, you’re a living flame to the Shades. It’s the reason they call us Sparks. It’s also how they’ll identify you. You know, before they kill you.”

Lea picked up a sweater from the floor. Her focus went distant, no longer in this world. Something I’d said must have triggered a switch in her brain. Not a day too soon.

I trotted to the corner by the window and picked a collection of stuffed animals off the armchair. From the deep V between Lea’s brows, I concluded her thought processes weren't going anywhere fast. Once the toys occupied the windowsill, neatly arranged by height, I sat.

With her dark lashes, a tiny nose and a sprinkling of freckles, she looked so young and so…Kindred. Unexpected sadness ripped through my chest. The misery pressed onto my diaphragm, making me feel like I was an evil monster come to chop up her innocence like next week’s firewood.

Even though she was predicted to be my ally through the dark days, she was still a total stranger. Yet her pale, elfin face stirred something in me, some glimmer of recognition, of familiarity even. My childhood friend Belinda had a similar innocence about her. She’d chew the end of her pen for hours while pondering her words. Her poems were meant to bring joy to a war-torn land. They burned with her when Galleo invaded her village.

Lea would not share Belinda’s fate. I’d see to that. By the end of her training, she’d be able to take on a whole battalion of Shades by herself. I squinted at her short stature and took a sobering breath. If not a battalion, then a group of ten.

Carmen Fox is an Amazon no. 1 bestselling author in the vampire and werewolf mystery categories for her book Guarded (The Silverton Chronicles). Guarded was also the Amazon no. 1 urban fantasy novel in Australia.

She lives in the south of England with her beloved tea maker and a stuffed sheep called Fergus. An avid reader since childhood, she caught the writing bug when her Nana asked her to write a story. She also has a law degree, studied physics for a few years, dabbled in marketing and human resources, and speaks native-level German and fluent Geek. Her preferred niches of geekdom are tabletop games, comics, sci-fi and fantasy.

Book page: www.carmen-fox.com/dac

Tell us about the role of women in your writing.

They’re strong. This is particularly true for Lea and Nieve, the two heroines of DIVIDE AND CONQUER. They’re happy to accept help, but are perfectly capable of beating the odds by themselves.

What makes DIVIDE AND CONQUER different from other books?

Many books rely on a main female character and a male character working together. The importance of female friendship often falls by the wayside. I wanted to create a book with an ambitious plot that celebrates women and their friendships. Think Lethal Weapon, or any other buddy movie, but with women, magic and a chain-smoking gargoyle.

Who are Lea and Nieve?

Lea is a physics geek who searches for meaning. She starts out as a newbie to all things magic, but proves herself to be resilient and stubborn. Nieve is a tough warrior, but over the course of the book her softer side comes through, helped along both by Lea and by a man she wishes she didn’t have feelings for.

So, what about romance?

Neither Lea nor Nieve have had typical high school experiences so their romantic entanglements throw both for a loop. Lea is too cerebral to simply fall for a guy, or at least she thought she was until she meets a certain someone. Swept away by her first real crush, she must find a way to balance who she is with who she wants to be. If anything, Nieve is even worse off. She’s a warrior, and the men she knows are put off by strong woman. The one guy who isn’t might just be the last man Nieve wants to get involved with.

Do you have a close best friend?

No. Even though most of my life my best friends were male, for a few years I did have a best female friend called Kim. She moved away from my home town when I was about thirteen and we kept in touch until we went off to college. I haven’t seen or spoken to her since. As you get older, making close friendships gets tougher. You end up with many good friends, but this one meaningful other who is willing to accept you for who you are is a rare beast to find.

2 copies of the Divide and Conquer e-book

1 copy of the Guarded paperback (unsigned)

3 $10 Amazon giftcards

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Guarded

The Silverton Chronicles

Book 1

Carmen Fox

Genre: Urban Fantasy/Romance/Suspense

Publisher: Smart Heart Publishing

Date of Publication: July 31, 2015

epub: 978-0-9931992-0-2

paperback: 978-0-9931992-1-9

hardcover: 978-0-9931992-2-6

Number of pages: 276 print pages

Word Count: 104k

Cover Artist: Ana Grigoriu

When everyone's existence depends on the lies they tell, trust doesn't come easy

Ivy’s neighbors have a secret. They aren’t human. But Ivy has a secret, too. She knows. As long as everyone keeps quiet, she’s happy working as a P.I. by day and chillaxing with her BFF Florian, a vampire, by night. When a routine pickup drops her in the middle of a murder, her two worlds collide. While Florian knows how to throw a punch, deep down he's a softie. His idea of scary? Running out of hair product. It’s time Ivy faced facts. Even with a vampire on stand-by, one gal can only kick so many asses.

For help, she must put her faith in others. A human, who might just be the one. A demon, who will, for a price, open the doors to her heritage. And a werewolf, who wants to protect her from herself.

Torn between these men, Ivy must tread carefully, because one wants her heart, one wants her body, and one wants her dead.

Available at Amazon

Review Trailer: 

Blurb Read by Voiceover Artist:

A growl from behind made my skin crawl. I whipped around. Florian’s face was grim, his posture unnatural and stiff.

The hairs on my arms stood on end, and I suppressed a shudder. “Are you all right?”

“Can’t.” He propped his hand against the wall. “Not feeling well.”

My gaze followed the direction of his stare. Large crimson stains pooled on the immaculate living room carpet. Oh crap. Blood.

I turned back. Florian’s pupils dilated to form two black marbles, trained on me. His canines lengthened, coming to sharp and lethal points. The pounding of my heart overrode my motor skills, and for a second, I stood rooted to the spot.

This wasn’t how I’d envisioned his secret being revealed to me. I’d pictured cupcakes, and maybe tissues at the relief of finally being straight with each other, not a full-out blood frenzy.

Finally, the switch labeled “common sense” flipped and triggered me into action. I fingered the guards in my pockets. The small plates were my only chance.

Carmen Fox is an Amazon no. 1 bestselling author in the vampire and werewolf mystery categories for her book Guarded (The Silverton Chronicles). Guarded was also the Amazon no. 1 urban fantasy novel in Australia.

She lives in the south of England with her beloved tea maker and a stuffed sheep called Fergus. An avid reader since childhood, she caught the writing bug when her Nana asked her to write a story. She also has a law degree, studied physics for a few years, dabbled in marketing and human resources, and speaks native-level German and fluent Geek. Her preferred niches of geekdom are tabletop games, comics, sci-fi and fantasy.

Book page: www.carmen-fox.com/guarded

Author Interview

Tell us about the role of women in your writing.

They’re strong. And I’m not talking about a token ‘feistiness’ to balance out an inherent need to find refuge in a man’s arms, but about an inner strength that allows them to weather any situation alone. If they choose to be with a man, it’s because they want to be, perhaps driven by passion or love, but never by a need for safety.

Who is Ivy?

Ivy, GUARDED’s main character, doesn’t let her past define her. Or so she thinks. In truth, her experiences have left her with emotional pressure points she doesn’t want anyone to poke. She deals with most situations with her special brand of humor, and although she’d do anything for her friends, she’s far from perfect. When people vie for your attention, perhaps it’s natural to take their support for granted. Worse, her curiosity often gets the better of her. It’s not that she deliberately walks into danger, but rather her idea of what is safe is a little skewed. Most of all she’s self-reliant. Not too proud to accept help, but she will act alone if she has to. In many respects she is who I want to be.

Why does Ivy have such a hard time deciding between the men in her life?

Ivy dithers between her sexual urges and her desire to be loved. Each of the three men offers her something different. One promises a normal future, the one she’s always wanted. Guy number two is incredibly hot and satisfies an itch the first man might not be able to scratch. And the third might be the most passionate, but also the most possessive of them. Sometimes, heart, body and mind simply cannot agree.

Tell us about Ivy’s relationship with Florian.

Florian is Ivy’s best friend. I imagine he’s every woman’s ideal best friend. No matter the situation, he has her back. Plus, he’s funny, and a little goofy. The two of them just click. He’s quickly become the most memorable character, and I’ve had women tell me he’s their ideal book BFF.

Do you have a Florian in your life?

I used to have a Florian in my life, the kind of person I spent every free minute with without ever being bored. We’d do the craziest things. And the total absence of sexual tension made it easy for us to laze in front of the TV in our sweat pants, greasy hair or not. Sure, our closeness wasn’t always straightforward, especially for my boyfriends or his girlfriends, but we made it work.

Would you categorize GUARDED as urban fantasy or paranormal romance?

I wish I didn’t have to categorize it. An agent informed me that GUARDED is a romance, since it has a HEA, a happily ever after, which is the payoff readers of that genre expect. But some romance readers have struggled with the fact that they can’t immediately tell who Ivy is going to end up with. She experiences different chemistries with different men. It’s part of the fun. Also, there’s a strong non-romance plot, which shifts the book closer into the urban fantasy or suspense genres. To me, it’s an urban fantasy romance.