Paranormal Romance. Enchanter's Echo by Anise Rae.

Today it’s my pleasure to welcome over Anise Rae, author of Enchanter’s Echo, Mayflower Mages, Book Two. So cozy in and check out a fabulous interview!

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Publisher: Kensington/Lyrical

Date of Publication: February 17, 2015   

ISBN: 9781616505394

ASIN: B00PP2ZX8M

Number of pages: 270

Word Count: 99,685

Giveaway! Be sure to enter the Rafflecopter after this post for a chance to win either a $25 Amazon gift card or one set of Paper copies of Syphon’s Song and Enchanter’s Echo open to US Shipping. 

Book Description

Aurora Firenze lives a quiet life hiding in a junkyard. Her repair shop is the last hope for gadgets and gizmos before they get tossed onto the trash towers. Fortunately, Aurora can fix almost anything, including mages, though repairing people with metal enchantments is highly illegal.

Edmund Rallis, heir to the Rallis senate seat, has spent months hunting down his errant enchantress. He’ll play every game he knows to win her back and entice her to share the secrets she hides. But he’s inadvertently put her on the frontlines of a new game, one with an opponent who’s determined to destroy Rallis Territory and drive the Republic toward war. If the new enemy isn’t stopped in time, Edmund will lose his enchantress again—and this time there won’t be another chance.

Available at   Amazon    BN    Kobo   iTunes

Let’s Interview!

What inspired you to write this book?

I love this question because the answer is so easy. Two words. Edmund Rallis.

Edmund is the hero in Enchanter’s Echo, but he first appeared in Syphon’s Song, Mayflower Mages #1. As I was writing Syphon, it was clear that Edmund needed his own book, although he was still very much a mystery to me. All I knew was that he had a scary, dark power that everyone ignored. I didn’t even know what his power was. He was charming and funny, yet completely doomed because of this mysterious power. I had to give him a happy ending with a true love of his own.

How did you come up with the title, Enchanter’s Echo?

Aurora, the heroine of the story, is an enchantress. In the Republic of Mage Territories, this gives her instant celebrity because enchantresses are so rare and special. (I won’t tell you why…I don’t want to spoil the story!) But being the center of attention is not her style. Her kind heart doesn’t need the spotlight to shine. The fact that she can’t resist being the champion of the disenfranchised earns her the spotlight anyway. Her compassion and bravery have ramifications that echo through every corner of the Republic.

What made you choose the setting of this book?

For me, home is not only where the heart is, it’s also wherever my imagination can find seeds of inspiration and wonder. For years now, Columbus, Ohio has been just that for me. My mother lives there in a neighborhood that is very walkable. My kids and I visit at least a couple of times a year. We walk to Starbucks, to the park, to restaurants, and to the most fabulous bookstore in existence. I love it all. I find magic in every corner. It’s the perfect setting for my city-dwelling mages. However, in the Mayflower Mages series, Columbus is not the capital of Ohio. It’s the capital of Rallis Territory.

Did you enjoy writing one scene above all the rest?

There are so many parts of Edmund and Aurora’s story that I cherish, but here’s a little snippet of one of my favorite scenes. To set this up, the two are facing some terribly trying times. Their whole world is falling apart, and they are struggling to stop it. They’re heading toward another spot of trouble, and they know it. But in this one little moment, despite their obstacles, they find joy in each other.

“We’re off to save the city together this time. If we had capes and purple boots, we’d be like Mageman and Vibe Girl. Saviors of the city,” Aurora quoted.

Good goddess. He’d already thought she was perfect. “You read comic books.” He might have howled at the moon if not for the clouds.

“I’d like to see you in purple boots,” she said. Her eyes shined, a teasing sparkle in their depths.

Just like that, contentment settled back into his soul despite the fact they were tracking down an evil that had the potential to destroy his land. “I’d look dashing and handsome in purple boots.”

“Naturally. The kingdom’s prince could be nothing less. Although, I’d rather be Energy Woman than Vibe Girl. She has that sleek suit and long legs. I always thought Vibe Girl looked kind of dumpy and fat next to her.”

“Dumpy and fat! No way. Her curves are essential to the Mageman/Vibe Girl team.” Just as Aurora’s curves were essential to every fantasy he’d had in the last nine months. “Mageman could never hold onto Energy Woman while he flies. She’s all straight and slippery. She’d fall right out of his grip and smash to pieces against the ground. Vibe Girl’s curves give her man something to hold onto. Besides, her little skirt flutters in the air.”

“And if it would flutter just right then you could see what she wears under it?”

“You’ve wondered, too?” He grinned, foolishly happy.

She laughed. His heart fluttered just like that pink skirt.

“No.”

Are you currently working on another story? If so, we’d love some details.

I’m always working on another story. Right now, I’m editing Sorcerer’s Spin, Mayflower Mages #3. It stars Gregor, who’s one of the guards in Enchanter’s Echo. His sorceress is one amazing lady.

Tell us about your favorite writing environment. Is it indoors, outdoors, a special room, etc.

My favorite place to write is my screened-in porch. I live in an urban forest. (Really. It’s an official designation.) I’m surrounded by trees, songbirds, deer, owls and more. As I wrote Enchanter’s Echo, two baby deer would frequently saunter through my yard and take a nap in the ivy. My porch is a magic spot. I miss it during the winter.

What genres do you prefer to write? Are there other genres you’d like to write in the future?

I’ve been dreaming up stories ever since I can remember. Even when I was little, those stories always included magic and romance. Paranormal and fantasy romance are the perfect genres for me. However, I also love sci fi romance…otherworlds, spaceships, handsome aliens species just waiting to be discovered…some of whom have to be magical, right? Surely a thorough statistical analysis of the endless possibilities of the universe would show this.

Therefore, for the sake of those unknown handsome aliens with magic, I also write sci fi romance. And someday I’m going publish those stories.

Thanks so much for having me on A Writer’s Mind!

Excerpt

The keep-out spell awoke at her approach. The enchanted mesh of vines and branches that blocked the entrance to Rallis Territory’s forbidden forest vibrated in welcome as its creator returned. Aurora Firenze cast her vibes along the perimeter of her spell, testing and prodding. Its strength resonated back. It was as strong as it had been six months ago when she’d created it and hid her secrets within the forest’s depths. She let go of a relieved breath, but it didn’t cure her tension.

Her nerves were strung tight, as if she’d spent hours placating customers in her repair shop. But the day had been quiet. She’d even made decent progress—fixing a curling iron with a too-hot heating spell and a stapler that had a bad habit of chasing the boss around the conference table. Yet a restlessness itched at her skin with an unpleasant persistence. She’d closed up early and headed out for the short walk to the forest. Within its heart, she’d find the peace to wash away this unease.

She sent another stream of vibes into the keep-out spell. A discreet doorway formed. With a quick glance around the barren field and the junkyard behind her, she stepped beneath her illegal spell.

As she brushed against the branches, a faint thump sounded at her feet—the soft crash of a pinecone or a weak branch falling to the ground. A normal forest noise. She flinched anyway. Her glitter puffed around her in an anxious cloud as her mage energy escaped her control. It was the fifth time today. Enchantresses did not make good criminals. She should probably let the other three in existence know, in case they were considering lives of crime. Those blasted sparkly clouds would blow their covers wide open.

She lifted her foot to continue into the small forest that was tucked inside the territory’s capital city, but stopped. A proper lawbreaker should investigate mysterious noises outside her lair. She turned and scanned the ground for the culprit. A gold coin glinted in the crisp weeds. That wasn’t normal. She reached to pick it up, scanning the field and the junkyard beyond with a twitchy gaze. Empty. 

She was alone.

Behind her, the forest shuttered closed, nearly catching her in its fortress wall. She jumped forward with a surprised lurch at the swat of vines and twigs. A basic rule of illegal enchantments: get out of the way or risk being incorporated into the spell.

Ignoring the sting of the swat, she stared at the coin. It was tarnished at the edges, a used-up charm. See-me-not was embossed on its golden surface. She jerked her head up. A man stood ten paces away. He was tall, broad...beyond familiar.

“Edmund,” she whispered. A shiver tiptoed across her shoulders like kisses, soft lips that hid a sharp bite. Her nerves stretched thinner yet, trapped in a battle between memories of lovers’ frolics and the promise of a dark fate that had just materialized from thin air.

Behind her, the forest’s trees rustled with the wind, a warning to retreat, one she dare not heed. Not until she knew why he’d finally come searching for her. She hadn’t thought he’d ever come back.

He prowled forward. “Hello, princess.” Though his words might have held some affection, nothing of the lover she’d once known appeared in his countenance. He lifted his left hand to reveal a glowing ball of mage vibes in his palm. His blue eyes reflected the tiny flashes of energy, and his power snapped in the air like a miniature electrical storm. The heir to the most powerful territory in the Republic had quite a steam of anger built up.

Dark hair waved across his forehead, and little curls peeked out at the edges of his neck. Though the wind buffeted and pushed at Aurora, winter’s boldness didn’t dare touch Edmund, not his hair, nor his dark gray suit or scarlet tie.

The hard slope of his nose matched the sharp lines of his jaw and cheekbones. When he smiled, he was deadly handsome. At the moment, he was simply deadly.

“Aurora.” He cast her name through the air and a piece of her soul tumbled away, as if it might dash toward him and cling like a forlorn, discarded lover. But he hadn’t discarded her....

“You stand accused of melding earthen metals to human flesh with an enchantment.”

Her heart thumped once, hard and loud, and then took off with a sprint, drenching her veins from head to toe with lightning sharp fright.

Goddess, he’d found out. How?

Even as she thought it, he revealed the answer. The glow faded from his ball of energy to reveal a small metal sphere. Her racing heart shriveled at the sight, pulling the rest of her organs with it, as if they thought to hide, seeking a chance to slip past this disaster unnoticed and, perhaps, survive. She shifted her feet on the ground, unable to resist the fear pumping through her core. Run, her gut whispered. She couldn’t afford to listen... not with the evidence sitting in his hand.

The sphere was heavier than it looked. She knew that. After all, she’d made it...and thought it long gone. He closed his fingers around it, capturing her fate within his fist.

“How’d you get that?” Her fast words shot out, hustling forward before fear, creeping up her legs with tingles and pricks, stole her voice.

“You ought to be down on your knees thanking me for confiscating it.” His voice was sharp and cutting. He sounded like a stranger, his jokes and teasing wit long gone.

“What did you do? Sneak into the junkyard and pluck his eye from his skull? Has it been hiding under your pillow for six months?” Not at all where she’d thought it was. Betrayal jolted through her.

“Hardly actions befitting the heir of the mighty Rallis realm.” Her voice wavered.

“You have no idea what I’ve done.”

About the Author

Anise Rae has been reading romance novels since she first discovered her grandmother’s stash of books hidden away in a cabinet. Learning that she wasn’t the only one dreaming about love and magic was a turning point in her life. She started her own stash of books and wrote a few too.

A native of Ohio, Anise long ago moved south, armed with boxes of romance novels and degrees in chemistry and library science. Creating chemistry on the page between two lovers proved to be a lot more fun than working with test tubes in a lab or searching patent databases. She refocused on writing.

Her stories revolve around heroines who dare to stand up to society’s expectations and be true to themselves and heroes with plenty of savvy to fall in love with such brave women.

Anise lives in Atlanta with her two children and a fluffy dog that has an amazing ability to find dirty socks.

For information on future releases and giveaways, sign up for her newsletter at www.aniserae.com.

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