Storms of Lazarus Blog Tour: Interview + Giveaway

Today I'm pleased to welcome author Karen Kincy back to the blog as part of the promotional tour for the second book in her new adult dieselpunk romance series, Storms of Lazarus. I was able to pick Karen's brain a bit regarding Ardis, Wendel, and the world she's created for this series, so I hope you all enjoy the interview! Be sure and check the bottom of the post for all the details on a special giveaway as well as the full list of participating blogs.

In this second installment, Ardis and Wendel head to Königsberg, Prussia from Constantinople. Is there any particularly interesting historical tidbit or piece of trivia you learned while researching either place for Ardis and Wendel’s adventures?

Königsberg, Prussia is Wendel's hometown, and this city no longer exists in reality. (Neither does Prussia, for that matter.) Königsberg suffered heavy damages in World War II, and the Russians renamed the city Kaliningrad after they took over the city. The castle was demolished, though the cathedral was rebuilt. I had to search through old postcards and photographs of Königsberg to get a sense of this lost city where Wendel once lived. As for Constantinople, that's now Istanbul, so I had a lot of inspiration to work with. My grandpa, who's Armenian, actually came to America from Istanbul.

If you could steal one of the steampunk/dieselpunk gadgets of this fictional world for your own personal use in this reality, which one would you most want for yourself?

I would steal a clockwork dragon. (And I can't say anymore without spoilers!)

If both Wendel and Ardis were asked to name a way in which they felt the other  person was different in Storms of Lazarus from who each was in the beginning of Shadows of Asphodel, what would each of them say?

Wendel would say that Ardis is less sanctimonious, since he did think she was rather prejudiced against his necromancy when they first met. She didn't even want to touch him. But I doubt Wendel would say this to her face. Self-preservation, and all that.

Ardis would say that Wendel is finally free to become the person he could have been. He's no longer forced to work as an assassin necromancer, so he's searching for who he is now and what he wants to do with his life. She's not sure how to help him with his nightmares, but she would be damned if she doesn't try.

In Storms of Lazarus, Ardis gets to spend her first Christmas holiday with Wendel. Given the two of them are currently facing innumerable problems and therefore can’t have what one might call a normal holiday together, what would she say her ideal Christmas Eve with Wendel would consist of if possible?

Her ideal Christmas Eve with Wendel would definitely be warmer and quieter. After all, they didn't plan to spend the holiday as fugitives trudging across the snows of Bulgaria. Ardis dreams of a little cottage where they can be alone together and--finally--relax. They talk about running away together to Switzerland someday, and they aren't entirely joking.

Let’s say you’re granted the ability to jump into any piece of steampunk fiction for a single day. Which world would you be most curious to explore and which character in that world would you most want to meet?

Oh man, I would totally want to meet Nikola Tesla! I'd want to meet him in our world's history, too, but if Tesla were given steampunk technology, I'm sure he would invent something genius. As for places to visit, I'd be really curious about steampunk Japan.

I happen to have an enormous soft spot for characters who are damaged or tormented in some way, and Wendel fits that bill pretty well given everything he’s been through. Who would you say is your all time favorite damaged or tortured hero?

Maybe, just maybe, I'm mildly obsessed with Wendel. He was a character in my very first novel, which will never see the light of day, and he waited patiently until I wrote a better book for him. Besides Wendel, I would have to say I'm still a major Snape fangirl. He's definitely a hero by the end of the series, even if Harry didn't always appreciate it.

Thanks so much for stopping by Karen!

• • • • • • • • • • •

STORMS OF LAZARUS

Sometimes escape is impossible. Sometimes love isn't enough.

1913. Christmas Eve. Ardis hardly expects a quiet holiday with Wendel, between fleeing Constantinople and hiding from an ancient society of assassins. And they owe a debt to a certain archmage.

In Königsberg, Prussia, they work with Konstantin on the next evolution of Project Lazarus. Wendel once called Königsberg home, the city now besieged by the Russians and their clockwork engines of war. This may be Wendel’s last chance to save his family and find redemption, but he's tormented by nightmares and tempted by laudanum. Ardis fears her love isn’t enough to save Wendel. Her hands are full piloting the automatons, and she's terrified to tell him a secret of her own. Will they—and their love—survive the storms of war?

Goodreads • Amazon

• • • • • • • • • • • •

KAREN KINCY

Karen Kincy (Redmond, Washington) can be found lurking in her writing cave, though sunshine will lure her outside. When not writing, she stays busy gardening, tinkering with aquariums, or running just one more mile. Karen has a BA in Linguistics and Literature from The Evergreen State College.

Website • Twitter • Facebook

• • • • • • • • • • •

GIVEAWAY

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Follow the tour!

8/11

Girl of 1000 Wonders- Review

Beauty and the Bookshelf- Author Interview

Fiction Dreams- Guest Post

Romance Schmomance- Review

8/12

Three Boy Circus- Review

Bookhounds- Author Interview

Always YA at Heart- Promo

Every Free Chance Books- Promo

8/13

Books With Bite- Review

Supernatural Snark- Author Interview

Leeanna.me – Review

8/14

Ja čitam, a ti? – Review

My Guilty Obsession – Review

The Temporary Escape – Review

8/15

A Tiffyfits Reading Corner – Review

CBY Book Club – Author Interview

Bookality- Guest Post

8/17

Ashley’s Paranormal Book Blog- Promo

8/18

Books Live Forever – Review

Whimsical Nature – Review

My Love for Reading Keeps Growing – Promo

8/19

Tower of Babel – Review

Paperrdolls – Review

A Book Junkie’s Obsession- Promo

8/20

Gin’s Book Notes- Review

Nay’s Pink Bookshelf- Review

Once Upon a YA Book- Author Interview

8/21

Rainy Day Ramblings- Review

Bibliophilia, Please – Review

Deal Sharing Aunt- Promo

8/22

Mad Steam- Review

Buried in Books- Review

Melissa’s Eclectic Bookshelf - Review

  

Review: Shadows of Asphodel

SHADOWS OF ASPHODEL
Shadows of Asphodel #1
Karen Kincy
Dieselpunk Romance
350 pages
Self-published
Available Now
Source: From author for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
When Ardis discovers a man bleeding to death on the battlefield, she knows she has to walk away.

1913. In her work as a mercenary for Austria-Hungary, Ardis has killed many men without hesitation. One more man shouldn’t matter, even if he manages to be a charming bastard while he stands dying in the snow.

But when he raises the dead to fight for him, she realizes she must save his life.

If a necromancer like Wendel dies, he will return as a monster—or so the rumors say. Ardis decides to play it safe and rescues him. What she doesn’t expect is Wendel falling to one knee and swearing fealty. Ardis never asked for the undying loyalty of a necromancer, but it’s too late now.

Ardis and Wendel forge an uneasy alliance underscored with sexual tension. Together, they confront rebels, assassins, and a conspiracy involving a military secret: robotically-enhanced soldiers for a world on the brink of war. But as Ardis starts to fall for Wendel, she realizes the scars from his past run more deeply than she ever imagined. Can Ardis stop Wendel before his thirst for revenge destroys him and everyone else around him?

MY THOUGHTS
Shadows of Asphodel gives us an intriguing story full of magic and gadgets with two protagonists who are beacons of light in a world hovering on the precipice of all-out war. While both Ardis and Wendel are highlights though, the rest of the story causes us a bit of trouble, mainly due to the fact that we are provided with absolutely no framework for the world itself. We know war is imminent and there are “rebels” fighting against those to whom Ardis swears allegiance, but we don’t really know who either side is or why exactly they’re at odds, leaving us feeling like tiny boats torn from our moorings and left to drift with no hope of rescue.

Ardis is a woman who can more than take care of herself, wielding a sword with lethal skill and earning her keep by the blade. She’s hesitant with Wendel initially, put off by his necromancy but also more willing to give him a chance than anyone else in his life, making her someone we can easily support for the compassion she shows him. Like the world-building though, we’re left with lots of questions with regard to necromancy and the reasons it’s so despised and loathed by everyone. There appears to be no reason for the hatred Wendel is subjected to other than the obvious fact that he raises the dead, but Ardis herself is a mercenary receiving payment for taking lives, so we can’t help but shake our heads and wonder why the blood on Wendel’s hands seems to be so much heavier in terms of sin than the blood on Ardis’s own.

Wendel, for his part, is a charmer, always quick with a smile or quip and shockingly positive despite the utter disgust with which others look upon him when they learn what he is, and we find ourselves feeling emotionally protective of him throughout. Though we may thoroughly enjoy both him and Ardis, we don’t come to know either of them all that well, with Wendel in particular being more of a mystery. We know he was disowned by his wealthy family and picked up by the Order of the Asphodel–and there’s a brief scene with his brother and sister toward the end–but ultimately that familial line is cast out into the water and then never reeled back in to see if there’s meat on the hook.

Overall, Shadows of Asphodel is a book that just feels a touch unfinished, various threads woven into the story that end up going nowhere, and we’re left with a lot of whys and whats haunting our thoughts. Why is the Order of Asphodel so desperate for Wendel to begin with? What is their end game? Despite those questions and some of the fairly large holes in the world-building, our time with Wendel and Ardis is enjoyable, the two of them a couple that makes us smile as they try to move past their initial shared hesitancy and into something emotionally and physically intimate.

Rating: 3.5/5

*Note: At the time of this review, I couldn't find any information on whether or not this would be a series. Since then I've learned there will be a sequel, so the unfinished aspect makes a bit more sense:)

Find Karen:

Website • Twitter • Facebook • Goodreads • Amazon • B&N

This book was sent to me by the publisher free of charge for the purpose of a review. 

I received no other compensation and the above is my honest opinion.

Shadows of Asphodel Blog Tour: Character Interview with Wendel + Giveaway

I'm so pleased today to be a part of the blog tour organized by CBB Book Promotions for Karen Kincy's new dieselpunk novel, Shadows of Asphodel. Necromancer Wendel was nice enough to answer a few questions for me about his abilities, his love interest Ardis, and the mysterious Order of Asphodel, so I hope you all enjoy the interview. Be sure and check the bottom of the post for the details on a tour-wide giveaway and don't forget to look at the full list of participating blogs for more reviews, interviews and guest posts!

Welcome to Supernatural Snark Wendel!

Necromancers have a tendency to elicit either fear or revulsion from those they encounter. If you could tell the world one thing about necromancers they don’t already know or assume, what would it be?

Let me tell you a secret. Nobody thinks of this except for a few clever historians, but necromancers can recover the memories of the dead. When I touch a bone in a catacomb, for instance, I feel an echo of that person’s life. Sometimes these echoes are strong enough for me to know names or remember lost secrets. A professor with a particular interest in Ancient Egypt once asked me if I would touch a mummy, though I never had the chance. The Order of the Asphodel sent me to the university on an unpleasant mission, though that’s another story.

If you suddenly found yourself without your necromancy and free of the Order, what’s the first thing you would do?

Without my necromancy? I hadn’t thought of that. Though I will confess that when I was a boy, I had a violin and aspirations of performing in concert halls. My sister told me that my violin playing sounded like a cat being skinned alive, so there is the slight possibility that my only talent lies in necromancy. Sadly. I still love music.
   
What’s one question you would ask Ardis if you weren’t scared of the answer you might get?

I would ask Ardis if she really wants to run away to Switzerland and start a chocolate shop. She doesn’t know that I’m a horrible cook, so don’t tell her, and especially don’t tell her that I have the suspicion she also couldn’t make chocolates to save her life. But I would still sell the world’s worst chocolates if I could spend my days with Ardis.

Many say their biggest fear is coming face to face with someone who has your gift. What would you say is your biggest fear?

I’m not sure I should answer this question. It’s the kind of thing your enemies can and will use against you. Let me say that I’m the most afraid of dead bodies, since that should give me something to work with if my enemies come knocking.

If you could take Ardis and jump ship from the world of Shadows of Asphodel, what other fictional world would you like to live in?

I would take Ardis to one of Jules Verne’s worlds. Maybe we could journey to the center of the earth together. She would like that, I think. Plenty of things for her to hack at with her sword. Though I might be more interested in exploring the prehistoric forest.

If someone were to tell you that you’d been cast as the romantic lead in an upcoming story, what would your first reaction be?

I’m intrigued. Would I be guaranteed a happy ending? Was I offered this position based on my undeniable charm and unbelievably good looks? I’m joking, I’m joking. But here’s my card.

Do you have any parting words for the Order of Asphodel knowing they could read this interview?

My parting words for the Order of the Asphodel would be unprintable. Along the lines of hope we never meet again, rot in hell, and so on. Truthfully, I would love it if nobody in the Order could hear me, which would involve all of them in prison or in the grave. Is that too morbid?

• • • • • • • • • • •

SHADOWS OF ASPHODEL

When Ardis discovers a man bleeding to death on the battlefield, she knows she has to walk away.

1913. In her work as a mercenary for Austria-Hungary, Ardis has killed many men without hesitation. One more man shouldn’t matter, even if he manages to be a charming bastard while he stands dying in the snow.

But when he raises the dead to fight for him, she realizes she must save his life.

If a necromancer like Wendel dies, he will return as a monster—or so the rumors say. Ardis decides to play it safe and rescues him. What she doesn’t expect is Wendel falling to one knee and swearing fealty. Ardis never asked for the undying loyalty of a necromancer, but it’s too late now.

Ardis and Wendel forge an uneasy alliance underscored with sexual tension. Together, they confront rebels, assassins, and a conspiracy involving a military secret: robotically-enhanced soldiers for a world on the brink of war. But as Ardis starts to fall for Wendel, she realizes the scars from his past run more deeply than she ever imagined. Can Ardis stop Wendel before his thirst for revenge destroys him and everyone else around him?

Goodreads • Amazon • B&N

• • • • • • • • • • 

KAREN KINCY

Karen Kincy (Redmond, Washington) can be found lurking in her writing cave, though sunshine will lure her outside. When not writing, she stays busy gardening, tinkering with aquariums, or running just one more mile. Karen has a BA in Linguistics and Literature from The Evergreen State College.

Website • Twitter • Facebook

• • • • • • • • • •

GIVEAWAY

Enter below to win a $25 Amazon gift card (open internationally)!

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