Series Spotlight
DARKNESS AWAKENED
Order of the Blade Series, Book One
…but their destiny is to destroy each other and all they care about the moment their bond is complete.
Quinn Masters will stop at nothing to rescue his rogue teammate. To save his blood brother and ensure his brand of justice triumphs, Quinn will break every rule of his kind and partner with the sensuous, courageous woman destined to be his ultimate destruction.
Haunted by a brutal past, Illusionist Grace Matthews will risk everything to save her kidnapped sister, including putting her life in the sinfully capable hands of an immortal warrior whose ravaging kisses and intense passion propel her ruthlessly toward a fateful destiny she can't afford to believe in.
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Order of the Blade Series, Book Two
After escaping from a two-year imprisonment at the hands of a madman, the only thing Lily Davenport wants is to go home and reclaim her life. Unfortunately for Lily, standing between her and that goal is a sensual, demanding protector whose dangerous seduction threatens to claim her life…and her soul.
The Calydons Destiny: The Calydons are a race of ancient immortals cursed with a dark side. Each Calydon is destined to meet his soul mate, to be so drawn to her that he is unable to resist bonding with her through the rituals of his race…
…but their destiny is to destroy each other and all they care about the moment their bond is complete.
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Order of the Blade Series, Book Three
Now, that same evil is back, and Elijah is all that stands between it and the destruction of all of humanity, but each step he takes drags him further back into the nightmare that once consumed him.
Elijah's only chance is Ana Matthews, whose sensual kisses and passionate fire thrust hope and light into his blackened heart and fragmented mind, but her deadly past could be the final trigger for his descent into irretrievable madness and the destruction of his soul…and humanity.
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Order of the Blade Series, Book Four
Light and darkness, shadows and death, reality and illusions swirl around Ian as the curse hauls him relentlessly toward his own demise. Desperate to survive, Ian fights ruthlessly to uncover the truth about the sensual, desperate female who has died in his arms already…twice. Can she save him, or will she be the final key to the destruction of everything he has fought to protect?
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Order of the Blade Series, Book Five
Sarah is on the verge of losing everything, but she can't afford to trust Kane, who is either the key to her final destruction…or her only chance of survival. Bound together by a connection so deep that it has the power to bring the past and all its nightmares back to life, Kane and Sarah must tap into the hearts they closed down so long ago or lose everything, including their souls.
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DARKNESS ARISEN
The Order of the Blade Series, Book Six
Calydon warrior Ian Fitzgerald refuses to die. Cursed by black magic, he has stayed alive through sheer force of will and unyielding commitment to a mission he is sworn to complete. There is only one thing that can defeat him…and she has just found him.
Desire Torments Her.
Ravaged by her own passions, tarnished angel Alice Shaw is fighting desperately for salvation before all she cares about is lost forever. Her sensual allure, and the forbidden power buried inside her, are outshone only by the burning need she awakens in Ian.
Fierce Passion Ignites.
Raging desire explodes between Ian and Alice, pushing them to the brink of destruction. They cannot afford to succumb, but the cord that binds them will never let them go…not until their most dreaded nightmares come true. Together, they are destined to fail. Together, they will fight to survive the impossible
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The Order of the Blade Series, Book Seven
Release date: August 27, 2013
Intensely loyal and yet violently unpredictable, immortal warrior Ryland Samuels has hours left to save the soul of the man he owes his life to, but with each passing moment, he spirals closer and closer to a hell that once trapped him, a nightmare that has been waiting to reclaim him for almost a thousand years.
An angel driven to the edge.
Ravaged by betrayal and loss, Catherine Taylor is almost out of time to save her daughter from a place so deadly, so haunted, that no one has emerged alive in centuries. The angel of death will not let anything stand in her way, not even the deadly, haunted warrior on a lethal mission. Ryland needs her help desperately, but she needs his even more…and they can't both get what they want.
Enslaved by their own darkness. Forbidden heat explodes between the two tormented, isolated souls when they meet, a fiery, sensual connection that threatens everything they hold most dear. Will they survive the passion raging between them? Or will it cost them the one thing each cannot bear to lose?
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Author Interview
Hi Stephanie,
Thank you so much for sitting down with Toot's for an interview. If you don't mind, I have some questions for you about the series and your process for our budding authors as well as fans, which I am definitely among!
So first off, The Order of the Blade Questions.......
In your own words, what is The Order of the Blade series about?
It is a darkly passionate series in which the members of the Order of the Blade, an elite group of immortal warriors, must face their darkest, deepest nightmares and survive being bound to the one woman who strips them of all their defenses and awakens in them the man they never thought they could be…while trying to defeat the most deadly, most powerful evil that exists.
How did you come up with the title of the series and of the current book?
I actually spent a great deal of time trying to come up with the series title. I knew that I wanted it to reflect the incredible tight bond that the warriors have with each other, while reflecting their mission to protect the innocents from the rogues of their kind and their trademark weapons that are such a critical part of each warrior. Hence, the Order of the Blade was born.
How does the new book, Darkness Unleashed, fit into the series?
Darkness Unleashed is the seventh book in the series, and it caps a three book search for the Order's guardian angel trinity. Ryland has been tormented for the entire series thus far, and it was a challenge to write his book and do justice for the darkness within him, while still showing the reader why she should fall in love with him with every last bit of her heart.
What was your favorite scene to write for your hero or heroine in Darkness Unleashed?
Well, I don't want to do any spoilers, so I'll just say it was a scene near the end, when Ryland gets his due.
What was the hardest scene to write for Darkness Unleashed?
The hardest scene to write is always the first scene in a book. It's so tricky to know the exact moment that a story truly begins, and to know how much background to give to make the scene come alive, without dragging it down.
*with a wink* Did anything memorable happen to you, that you wouldn't mind sharing, during the writing of this book?
You mean, like the time Ryland visited me while I was sleeping and we… ahem… No. Nothing happened that was memorable. Ahem.
Writing.......
Do you recall how your interest in writing originated and what made you decide to pursue it as a career?
I was looking forward to the rest of my life and trying to figure out what I wanted to do for a career, because it wasn't what I was doing at the time. After much soul searching over several years, I saw an article in my alumni magazine from my college. The cover story was about two alum who had written a thriller novel and optioned the movie rights. Immediately, I thought, "Yes, that is what I want to do." It took 18 full novels and 8 partials before I finally sold my first book, but I never doubted it was what I wanted to do.
What inspires you to put the pen to paper or fingers to the keyboard?
Truthfully, when I sit down at the computer to write, it is not because I'm inspired. It is because it is my job. Writing is hard, and getting started every day is even harder! The inspiration starts rolling once I have made myself grind out the first few pages, and then things start cooking.
What are some of the elements in/of your writing process?
I have a set of detailed pre-writing brainstorming documents that I fill out. Once I have those done, I usually have the main characters very well dialed, and the key plot points. At that point, I can start writing. If I start writing too soon, I always stall out.
Have you released anything under a different pen name, and if so, is there any difference between them?
My teen romances were originally released under Stephie Davis, but I have re-released them under Stephanie Rowe. I also wrote a few middle grade books under a pen name of Heather Brooks. Those were sweet horse stories, nothing like the Order of the Blade!
What's next for you?
My next release, Prince Charming Can Wait, is coming out in October. It's a darkly passionate and intense contemporary romance that basically delivers all of the sensuality and intensity of my Order of the Blade, but without anything paranormal. In November, the next Order of the Blade comes out. It is supposed to be a novella, but it's coming in long, so it's going to be more like a long novella or short novel.
Is there anything you’d like to add before we get into the personal questions?
In August, we launched an Order of the Blade Reader's Group on Facebook, and it has been the most amazing experience for me to get to know all these readers, and to see and hear their reactions to the series and the book. Spending time with them has made me into a better writer, and it is so incredibly inspiring and motivating to mingle with them, and to know that I must do everything I can to give them what they deserve for the next book. I'm in awe of readers and how much they know and see in the books they read. It's truly inspiring.
Personal questions......
Are there any of your stories that hold a special place in your heart?
Actually, the next book coming out, Prince Charming Can Wait, is very personal to me, because of the main plot of the story and the motivation for the heroine's choices. I don't want to give anything away, but it was very powerful. Similarly, Darkness Unleashed was very meaningful for me as well because of Ryland's journey as a dangerous outcast to a place where he…well…let's just say that his journey is very inspiring to me, while staying true to who he is.
What was the last book you read and what are your thoughts on it?
Actually, this is top secret information. I review for a major publication, and I am sworn to secrecy on what books I review. I will say, however, that it was a self-published novel that was clearly not ready to be published. As a reviewer, I see this frequently, and it makes me sad that people who are still developing as a writer rush to publication just because they can. An author gets only one chance to impress a reader, and if she blows it, that can affect her reputation for her entire career, even if she eventually evolves into an amazing writer. When I was trying to get into writing, I wrote 18 novels before I sold my first one. I'll admit, I thought they were great, and if self-publishing had been an option, I would have jumped on it. But the truth is that they are so far below a publishable level that I can't even edit them enough that I would publish them. So, how does an author know her books are ready? For me, the best way is to enter writing contests, which gives you multiple, objective critiques of your book. Until you start finalling and winning contests, and receiving requests for fulls from editors and agents, your writing probably isn't ready.
Lastly, let's steal an idea from the magazines.....What 5 things do fans not know about you and 5 they don't know about the book?
Things they don't know about me:
1) I have nightmares about driving across really tall bridges.
2) My dog sleeps on my bed.
3) I have an addiction to chocolate chip cookie dough.
4) I am not the best housekeeper.
5) I eat oatmeal and berries for breakfast every day.
Things they don't know about Darkness Unleashed:
1) Darkness Unleashed was the easiest book to write that I've written in the last several years. It almost wrote itself.
2) One of the key elements of the book was something I had planned to do another way, until Ryland told me I was wrong.
3) I love this book. LOVE IT.
4) My cover artist did the cover before I wrote the book, and some of the elements in the book came after I saw the cover and was inspired by it.
5) The interplay between Ryland and Thano was one of my most favorite elements of the book to write.
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for taking time to answer some questions. Congratulations on the new book and I can't wait for everyone to read it!
Thanks so much for having me!
Author Info
Connect with Stephanie:
Website / Facebook / Twitter / Goodreads
~Giveaway~
Stephanie is
giving away winners choice of eBook from either the
- ORDER OF THE BLADE
- EVER AFTER
- or ALASKA HEAT series
to EIGHT (8) winners at the end of the tour
~To Enter~
Please fill out the rafflecopter below
Tour Info
Book Monster Promotions
I love this series. Thanks for sharing the great interview and the giveaway. evamillien at gmail dot com
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