Wednesday, June 17, 2020

THE SACRIFICE OF ONE by Emily Fortney - Author Guest Post and Giveaway

I'm so excited to be one of the blog tour stops for the re-release of The Sacrifice of One by Emily Fortney! Emily is a longtime writer friend of mine ever since I joined her writers' group in 2015 and having read multiple drafts of her work over the years, I can vouch firsthand for how much this book (and series) has grown. I can't wait to see it in the hands of other readers who will see how good it is, just like I've seen! Camilla Crim is a force to be reckoned with as a heroine; you should definitely get yourself of copy of The Sacrifice of One to see for yourself.

Please welcome author Emily Fortney!


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I’m so excited to be guest posting on The Magic Violinist today! Thank you for having me here, and a special thank you to the multi-talented Kate for inviting me to tell you all about my book, The Sacrifice of One. Kate and I have been writer’s group friends for years, so when I told her I would be refreshing and re-launching one of my books, she offered to help.


The Sacrifice of One is a book I originally wrote back in 2016. It’s a part of my young adult, fantasy series called the Camilla Crim series. It follows a 17-year-old girl named, you guessed it, Camilla Crim.


Camilla’s been branded as a slave and forced to labor at The Supreme Ruler’s national farm for a pitiful payout. What little bit of money she does make is handed over to her drunkard father. Camilla’s days are a drudgery. The only good thing in her life is her big brother, and best friend, Tuor. 


One day, while leaving work, a stranger slips a cryptic note into Camilla’s hand that says:


I’m in serious danger. I need your help. Meet me at the church on Twenty-First tonight.
Tell no one.
Mind the key.


Camilla has no doubt that this note is from her brother. She finds out that he is indeed in serious trouble. Tuor is being accused of a heinous murder. He’s being hunted down by the governor, who wants Tuor’s head on a pike for his crimes. The problem is, Tuor is innocent, or at least Camilla is sure he is… 


By the time she figures out who’s behind this plot, it might be too late for Tuor, and he’ll have to go to the execution block. Camilla will have to face the truth. Will Tuor be sacrificed for the good of many?


I got the idea to write The Sacrifice of One years ago when I was just a teenager. I used to jot down little ideas here and there when I would think of something I liked. I pictured a heroine that was confident, feisty, and strong. 


But, I never dreamed that I could actually write a book. In fact, the thought literally never even entered my mind until I was well into adulthood. One day I just decided to give this story a whirl. Over the course of a few months, I wrote down everything in my head, and unintentionally wrote nearly the plot to the entire Camilla Crim series!


After some contemplation, I realized I was trying to cram too much into just one novel. So, I actually started by writing a prequel to this series which was set 12 years before Camilla’s story began. When I was done with that, I immediately turned around and started writing The Sacrifice of One and getting into the nuts and bolts of the story I really wanted to tell.
I drew a lot of inspiration for this series from my surroundings. One of my characters is named Leo after the street I grew up on as a child. The resident bad guy in Camilla’s story is named Warwick which happens to be the name of one of my favorite restaurants!


Although The Sacrifice of One was originally published in 2016, I decided to re-launch this book this month. I refreshed the manuscript and the cover and also widened the distribution by having it now available on Nook, Apple Books, and Kobo! 


For a limited time, I’m offering the eBook for FREE to anyone who signs up for my email newsletter here >>> http://eepurl.com/g0x0bH 


I’m doing a rabid release of books 2 and 3 in this series this year so if you enjoy The Sacrifice of One, you’ll get to binge on the next couple of books in just a few months!


Thanks again to Kate for letting me stop in and talk books with you guys. If this blog post can incite action from anyone (aside from reading my book), I hope it’s to write that story that you’ve had in your head. I went many, many years keeping it all inside when I could have been writing. 


Thanks again. Happy reading (and writing)!


Emily
















Bio:


Emily has come a long way from building forts in the woods behind her childhood home. She’s the author of the The Sacrifice of One, the first book in a thrilling, young adult fantasy series. Born and raised in central Pennsylvania, Emily currently resides with her husband and shelter cat, and is vigilant about keeping her house well stocked with dark chocolate.


Blurb:


The proof of 17-year-old Camilla’s slavery is on the inside of her arm. A mutilated scar has been branded into her skin, W for Warwick. Forced to labor at Warwick’s national farm for a pitiful payout, the only good thing in Camilla’s life is her best friend and big brother, Tuor. 


When Camilla receives a mysterious note from a stranger, she has to face the truth about her brother: He’s on the run. He’s in grave danger. And he’s being accused of a hideous crime. Camilla would bet her life that someone has set him up, but who? If Camilla can’t prove Tuor’s innocence, he’ll have to face the executioner. 


As Tuor’s demise draws near, will Camilla find relief in learning the truth surrounding her brother’s crime? Or will she accept that he must be sacrificed for the good of many?


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Tuesday, June 2, 2020

Help the #BlackLivesMatter Movement From Home

Make sure you're educating yourself and reading articles/books/posts from black authors. Keep posting your support and calls to action. Sign petitions. Donate, if you can.

Here's one easy way to financially contribute to the campaigns, even if you can't afford to donate: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCgLa25fDHM&feature=youtu.be Keep this video streaming and don't skip ads; the ad revenue is going directly to various #BLM campaigns. You can mute the video and keep it running in the background while you're doing other work on your computer too.

I won't say much more on the matter, because the focus right now should be on promoting black voices, but I wanted to make sure I shared something here so others know how to help.

Stay safe, stay strong.