Welcome to today's stop on the blog tour for "The World Below"; I have an excerpt for you to enjoy. Mike is the author of not only "The World Below" but "Reign of the Nightmare Prince". His short stories have appeared in ParAbnormal Digest, Cemetery Moon, Sinister Tales, Beyond Centauri, the World of Myth, Mystic Signals and many others. Online, his work has appeared in Lorelei Signal, Kzine, Bewildering Stories, Midnight Times, and Fringe. He is best known for his Crow Witch and Patrick Donegal series.
Find Mike online:
Website: mikephillipsfantasy.com
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Mike has a brief message for you all:
Good morning, everyone. Mike Phillips here. Thank you for joining us on the book tour. I hope you check out The World Below. I was asked to say a little something about the authors that have influenced my work. The poetry of WB Yates has been a big influence on my writing. I love the imagery. My style of writing is most influenced by James Lee Burke. Beyond that, I must give a nod to Dean Koontz. He taught me how to write suspense, how to draw out key moments to the action more dramatic. Thanks again for joining us. I’m off to work, but I’ll be checking in during the day. Please visit me at mikephillipsfantasy.com Take care, Mike Phillips
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EXCERPT
Magic sigils were hidden all over the
city, but along the Riverwalk powers of earth and water converged. Magic here
was strange and unpredictable, but always strong. A star was carved on the
nearest of the old cottonwoods. It was ancient magic, made perhaps by the
native tribes who once inhabited this place.
Hume could not guess what its purpose was.
For all he knew, it would take him away to some desperate corner of the
underworld to be forever enslaved. He did nothing to protect himself. He had to
let events run their course.
Finding Lady Elizabeth proved impossible.
If this stranger had information, then he would surrender himself to free his
sister.
A breath of chill air interrupted his
thoughts. He shivered.
It was his humanity giving him warning.
People who didn’t know any better would attach some old wives’ tale to the
feeling, but he was not so blinded by the mundane. No one tread on his future
grave. Evil approached.
In the world outside the reach of the
cottonwood, the sun escaped below the horizon. Night had come.
Darkness coalesced; growing deeper in
this haven below the trees, gathering until the river and the bay and everything
beyond the sphere of darkness was lost. A black bird flew to a nearby piling.
The crow was mangy and looked only moments from death by old age. It ruffled
its ancient feathers and stared at Hume, penetrating his mind.
Unafraid, he stared back, filling his
thoughts with a variety of deaths the crow might suffer at his hand. The bird
cawed angrily, its harsh voice a show of defiance.
“Let’s get on with it,” he said. “Sunset
was an hour ago.”
“Nightfall is now,” snapped the bird.
“Point taken. My mistake.”
The crow’s voice was as harsh as its
call. “Patience Hume, your eagerness does you no credit. A lesser being than I
might take it as a sign of weakness, but no advantage will I press. I know what
it is to have a loved one in danger.”
“Oh? So, is that why you are here? How
nice.”
“Yes, I wish to help you, and I have
other reasons.”
“What are they?”
“Patience, Hume. Patience” The crow laughed. “We’ll get to that later.”
“Lovely.”
Another crow flew to the piling. Soon the place within the dark was full of crows. They raced to the piling, circling Hume like a cyclone. He stood still, and though the impossibility of safety seemed assured, he wasn’t touch.
The birds fused together, forming
something in the shape of a man. The man was covered in black feathers. He had
a crow’s head with a sharp beak and beady eyes. A mantle of greater feathers
ringed his neck.
“That’s a little much,” Hume said. “Who
are you trying to impress?”
“I must admit I’ve always had the knack
for the dramatic. As a show of trust I appear to you as my true self.”
“Does that make you a murder or a man?”
“Ha, ha, quite clever,” said the crow man.
“I shall have to remember that one. Yes, quite clever indeed.”
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Publisher: Damnation Books
Series: Chronicles of the Goblin King, #1
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Formats: paperback, ebook
Length: 206 pages, 799 KB
Release Date: March 1, 2013
Buying Links:
The book is on sale for half off if you buy direct from the publisher, use code: 50worldbelow The discount ends June 2nd.
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