Saturday, August 29, 2020

Casting Shadows SERIES by L.R. Braden Genre: Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Romance


  • Can you tell us a little bit about the characters in Casting Shadows?

The main character, Alex, recently discovered she’s part fae, but is keeping it secret from the authorities. A good plan considering the rising persecution those of mixed descent are experiencing. Her good friend Emma recently registered as a practitioner (a human who can perform magic) and has since been disowned by her mother, had her workplace vandalized, and blames herself for the abduction of her little sister--the catalyst that kicks off the story.

Alex’s romantic interest, James, plays a greater role in this book as Alex opens up more about both her hopes and her fears for the future.

This book also explores the past of one of Alex’s enigmatic sidekicks, Chase, a fae who can change shape between human and a small gray cat.

 

  • What is your favorite part of this book and why?

My favorite part of this book is probably the interaction between Chase and Haru, who have a mountain of unresolved issues between them centered around tragedy and abandonment--both issues Alex also struggles with. I found their sub-plot engaging both because they’re snarky characters who tend toward cutting remarks, and because of the parallels I could draw between Chase and Alex regarding the merits of confronting and moving on from your past. Their story was both a good echo of the lessons Alex was learning and provided a number of entertaining exchanges.

 

  • If you could spend time with a character from your book whom would it be? And what would you do during that day?

There’s a character in Casting Shadows named Morgan who has the ability to walk into a shadow and walk out of any other shadow in the world, thereby traveling great distances in only a few short steps. I would love to spend the day with her, traveling all over the world. With her help, I could cross every country off my bucket list in a day!

 

  • Do your characters seem to hijack the story or do you feel like you have the reigns of the story?

For the most part I’ve got a pretty good handle on my stories. Sometimes scenes move around, and sometimes they take me in unexpected directions, but I always find my way back to somewhere near where I thought I’d be. The one place where my characters get free reign is in dialogue. Sometimes while I’m writing, I’ll find my characters have started chatting, or arguing, or they’ve gone off on some tangent, and I have trouble figuring out how to get them back on track.

 

  • If your book had a candle, what scent would it be?

Cinnamon spice.

 

  • What was your hardest scene to write?

The hardest scene for me to write in this book was Alex’s naming trial. I needed to balance having her revisit events from her past, and therefore from the three previous books, without the encounters becoming boring or repetitive for the readers who may have just read those stories. I also had to make significant challenges for Alex to overcome while keeping her success believable. I ended up writing the entire ordeal twice (not including smaller re-writes), with her facing different challenges each time.

 

  • What did you enjoy most about writing this book?

I loved finding ways to make the sup-plots of the secondary characters mirror issues that the main character, Alex, was dealing with. For example, Jynx and Ava deciding to get married despite the fact that one is immortal and the other isn’t played right into Alex’s worries about the future of her own relationship. And Chase’s difficulty in working with Haru because he can’t let go of the past reflected Alex’s trial, which forced her to revisit and overcome her own ghosts.

 


Casting Shadows  The Magicsmith Book 4  by L.R. Braden  Genre: Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Romance 

Children are disappearing. 

With Purity growing in political power and bigotry on the rise across the Realms, Alex’s short-term goals are to stay under the PTF's radar and as far from the fae Courts as she can. But her plans go up in smoke when May, the younger sister of her good friend Emma, goes missing. 

The fae are involved. 

Alex will do everything she can to find May, but to mount a rescue she'll have to avoid PTF raids, conquer old ghosts, and risk coming face to face with her fae grandfather again. 

War is coming. 

Lines are being drawn. No one is safe. To survive, Alex will have to choose a side. 





Faerie Forged 
The Magicsmith Book 3 


New world, new rules . . . 

Alex is screwed. She’s due at the fae Court of Enchantment in less than twenty-four hours, but she’s not even close to being ready. Her job is hanging by a fraying thread. There’s a new vampire master in town. And several of her werewolf friends have been captured by the Paranatural Task Force. 

She’s their best chance for release before the full moon reveals their secret, but the Lord of Enchantment is not someone you keep waiting—even when he happens to be your grandfather. All Alex can do is call in a favor, hope to hell she can survive the plots of the fae court, and hightail it home to salvage her life. 

One mistake at court could change everything . . . . 

“Original and riveting.”—Book Likes Blog on A Drop of Magic, Book One of The Magicsmith series 

“Great plot. Lovable characters. Heart-pounding action.”—Lauren Davis, Netgalley Reviewer on A Drop of Magic 





Courting Darkness 
The Magicsmith Book 2 


“A great story of murder, mystery . . . and well-developed characters.”—Margie Hager, Netgalley Reviewer on A Drop of Magic 

“A Drop of Magic is a damned fun and original read, with sass, action, hot men, and a whole lot of magic.” —Diana Pharaoh Francis, author of the Diamond City Magic, Magicfall, and Horngate Witches series 

Deeper into the shadows. . . 

The paranatural community isn’t done with Alex. She’s been summoned to the fae court, and she's got her hands full trying to prepare. But her date with the fae will have to wait. There’s been a death at the gallery, and the man she hoped would be a part of her future is the prime suspect. 

Bitter enemies pull her into the middle of a paranatural war for territory that has her dodging police, swords, teeth, and claws—not to mention the truth. The deeper she digs, the more secrets she uncovers, and the less certain she is about the innocence of the one man she wanted to trust. 

She thought she was done with murder and monsters, but she’ll have to enter the belly of the beast if she hopes to save her friend. 





A Drop of Magic 
The Magicsmith Book 1 


The war isn’t over . . . 

With the world clinging to a fragile peace forced on the Fae by humanity after the Faerie Wars, metalsmith Alex Blackwood is plunged into the world of the half-fae who traffick in illegal magical artifacts. Her best friend’s murder and his cryptic last message place her in the crosshairs of a scheme to reignite the decade-old war between humans and fae. 

Worse, violent attacks against her and the arrival of a fae knight on a mission force Alex to face a devastating revelation of who and what she is. To catch a killer, retrieve a dangerous artifact, and stop a war, Alex will have to accept that she’s an unregistered fae “halfer” with a unique magical talent—a talent that would change everything she believes about her past, her art, and her future. 

Her world is crumbling around her, and Alex will have to decide who to trust if she and the world are going to survive. 

“A Drop of Magic is a damned fun and original read, with sass, action, hot men, and a whole lot of magic.” —Diana Pharaoh Francis, author of the Diamond City Magic, Magicfall, and Horngate Witches series 






Born and raised in Colorado, award-winning author L. R. BRADEN makes her home in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains with her wonderful husband, precocious daughter, and psychotic cat. With degrees in both English literature and metalsmithing, she splits her time between writing and art. 





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