Book Nerd Spotlight
T. L. Shreffler lives in Los Angeles, CA. She loves diversity, fantasy, romance, iced tea, long walks, philosophy, and thrift store shopping. She recently graduated with a BA in Badass (Creative Writing) and her poetry has been published consecutively in Eclipse: A Literary Journal and The Northridge Review. She works as the assistant editor for the funky and fantastic Tinsel Tokyo Magazine!
Social Media
Crash is still on the run from the dark sorcerer, Volcrian, but now a plague is spreading across the land. Volcrian's quest for vengeance has awakened something far more evil than himself; a force that could destroy the entire kingdom. Together, he and Sora must harness the power of the Cat's Eye and kill the sorcerer before it's too late....
EXCERPT
“I constructed this place especially for combat training,” her mother said, “though it hasn't been used in a while.”Sora was confused. The poles looked degenerate and rotted. With a bit of effort, she dug her fingers into the soft wood. A firm shove might have sent one toppling to the ground. She couldn't imagine what they were used for. Was she supposed to practice sparring? She raised an eyebrow. They didn't strike her as very challenging opponents.
“I don't get it,” she said plainly. “And why wouldn't you let me bring my staff? What's the point?” Her staff was her best weapon, the only thing that felt natural in her hands.
Her mother grinned, a mischievous glint in her eye, and said, “Climb one.”
“What?”
“That one, right there.” Her mother pointed to a short, stout pole nearby. It was only about a foot off the ground, Sora stepped on top of it easily. Then she stood there, balancing on one leg like an awkward stork. She felt a little foolish.
“Okay, now what?” she asked, trying not to get annoyed.
“Now jump to the next one.”
Sora looked around, trying to see where the next pole might be, only to find it almost a yard away and a good foot higher than the first. After a bit of eyeballing, she swung her arms and jumped, landing clumsily on the other foot, wavering to keep balance.
“And now the next one,” her mother said immediately.
The next one? Sora looked for her next landing place, only to find it another yard away and a whole foot higher. At this point, she shook her head. “You're crazy!” she exclaimed. “I can't jump over there and land, I'll break my ankle! No one can do that!”
Her mother's mischievous grin widened. “No one?” she asked in amusement.
Lori walked boldly past her. She leapt lightly onto the third pole, as though it were a normal doorstep, and proceeded to dash across the clearing from one to the other. Sora's mouth dropped. Her mother was magnificent! Fluid! Graceful! She danced across the pillars, climbing to the highest and then bouncing down to the lowest. When she finished, she came vaulting back in Sora's direction, and landed at her daughter's side with an elegant twirl. She had crossed the entire clearing and back in under five minutes.
Sora was seventeen, but had only known her real mother for about a year now. The woman was full of surprises. She still couldn't believe her eyes.
“This is called 'step training,' it's to gain balance and confidence,” her mother said knowledgeably. “This is an old, old technique. It's also the way your assassin friend trained.”
Her assassin friend.
The reminder of Crash was unexpected, and Sora bit her lip, quickly turning away. Well, he hadn't truly been a friend, but definitely someone who had changed her life. The mention of Crash left her flustered and tense, not a welcomed feeling, though she didn't mention it. He had left a year ago, traveling away with their mutual companion, Burn. An entire year... but she still thought of them every day. Every. Single. Damned. Day.
You can purchase Viper's Creed at the following Retailer:
So awesome! Thank you so much for participating in the book tour, Jean! You rock!
ReplyDelete-T. L. Shreffler
www.runawaypen.com
Thanks so much for this awesome giveaway!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the giveaway!!
ReplyDelete