Guest Post & Review: The Luminary Tour

Good Morning everyone. I am thrilled to have Elle J. Rossi here as part of her book tour for The Luminary. Please welcome Elle to the blog as I give it over to her talented hands.

Welcome Elle!

Inspiration Is Required

Many times, the process of writing can become stale and boring. When this happens, the story reflects how I feel, ultimately becoming a churning puddle of crap. Those pages quickly get the big “D”… DELETE.

There are a few things that can help me find my way out of that mundane slump.

• Summer storms.
  There’s nothing quite like the sights and sounds of a summer storm. I open the curtains wide and stare at the colors of the changing sky. Blue gives way to shades of silver, grey and black. I listen to the driving beat of the downpour and the rumbling of thunder as the storm rages on. Lightning flashes, the interior lights flicker, and my fingers start to fly over the keys. I prefer my stories on the dark side, so the combined elements that make up a storm really appeal to me.
• Fall candles.
  I like the heat of summer, but autumn has the best scents. Pumpkin Spice, Cranberry, Hot Cider, Cinnamon Apple, Harvest. They fill me head with witchy imagery, battling warriors with a great cause, vampires on the hunt for the ultimate mate. Yes, one inhalation and my imagination soars.
• Music.
  The genre and artist I choose depends on the scene I’m writing. I’m a huge country music fan so Miranda Lambert and Jason Aldean are with me most nights. Evanescence is my friend when I’m looking for something haunting and ethereal. Battle scenes call for either Eminem or Nox Arcana. For me, music is an integral part of the creative process. I’d surely be lost without it.
• Coffee.
  Preferably with a bit of Bailey’s mixed in! Most of the time I wait until after 5pm before adding liquor into the mix. “Most of the time” being the key words there. I heard that statistics show, women who drink more than 3 cups of coffee a day are 20% more unlikely to be depressed. Um, that’s because we’re too wired to be depressed! I’m up to 4 or 5 cups a day. I’m probably the happiest person you’ll ever meet. I hear laughing. Who’s laughing?

How about you? Where do you turn for inspiration?

LMAO..I know I am now...WOW 4-5 Cups of coffee in one day?!?! O.O Adding liquor is definitely a laughter inducing chemical. I love a grand thunderstorm. If it rattles the house and lights it up with white light even better. Thanks for sharing some of what inspires you Elle!

When Meera Brennan learns she’s a Luminary, one of the most powerful witches in existence, it rocks her already fragile world. The revelation explains the disturbing episodes that made her question her sanity, but does little to soothe the sting of discovering her life is now at risk. To save herself and keep peace within the veiled community, Meera will have to hone her powers and brave an ancient realm to destroy the slayer’s magickal source. She alone must dispel chaos and ensure the balance of good and evil for all mankind.

Banished and stripped of his guardian powers because of a witch, Ghanem Adamo, former prince of the Saharren realm, receives a chance at redemption when his estranged father reveals an immortal battle destined to alter all realms. In order to protect the innocent, regain his title and reunite with his family, Ghanem must destroy the slayers’ source of power and bring down their terrorizing leader.

Her life . . .

Or his throne . . .

When the war against the slayers force Meera and Ghanem to work together, more than magickal sparks fly. Challenged by fate, can love survive a nefarious battle that can result in only one prize?

Buy Links: Amazon US

About Elle

Elle J Rossi grew up in rural Indiana surrounded by great people, a huge family and more animals than she could count. But the sites and sounds of the world beckoned, so she left her small town to escape into a creative world full of music. As a full time singer she was able to lose herself in a thousand different songs in a hundred different places.

After meeting the love of her life and settling down, she yearned to find a new and fulfilling creative outlet. Overly fond of the happily ever after, she wondered what it would be like to have her own characters lead her down dark and twisted paths. The very first word on the very first page sealed her fate. She'd found a new love. She'd found her escape.

Now along with weaving haunting tales about the journey to love, she's creating cover art for authors around the world and loving every second of it. For fun, she cranks country music to take her back to her roots, and sings karaoke anytime she gets a chance. Her husband, two children, and a cat that rules the roost keep her company along the way and guarantee she doesn't get lost in the enchanted forest. She wouldn't have it any other way.

Where to find Elle

Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook

Review

Meera is struggling with strange "episodes" or flashes which occur every so often. With many episodes starting to happen more frequently she seeks out her friend, a psychic who is more then she lets on. Meera is about to have an episode in front of her friend, when her friend uses some "special smoke" which draws Meera in and her episode becomes a full out experience. It leaves her shaken until her psychic friend leaves suddenly and without explanation. Something is definitely up.

Ghanem is a former Guardian, a protector of humanity if you will, who is sent back to his home to retrieve a letter and given a very daunting mission. Seek out Meera, but he doesn't know that She has no clue of her special abilities or whom she truly is. When he realizes she doesn't know about anything veiled he's shocked. Soon however the dark creatures start their assault on her. She wakes up from dreams injured and frightened. She is thrust into the veiled world as she learns of what She is, a powerful Luminary witch.

After learning of what she is she finally comes to grips with the facts; her parents are long gone, understands why her adoptive parents never really took a liking to her and why she is different from most people. She is also thrust into learning incantations, spells and harnessing her "light" powers to use at her will. Her time is cut short when her Psychic friend realizes that the dark forces are gaining power and effecting Meera more. Help (Ghanem, his brother and two others) to help bring her into their world to fend off the dark forces.

Unfortunately as they set to trap the dark forces they see that more is at play and Ghanem and team go through a portal and Meera jumps in without thinking about what it means to her. Separated from everyone, Ghanem included, she is surrounded by the dark and nearly trapped in her mind she huddles in and is brutally attacked in her dream-state. Ghanem is trying to find his way home when her he feels her heartbeat nearby and rushes in to find her...she's badly hurt and unconscious, but alive. He tends to her and after she's mended they take off to find out what dark forces are turly plotting.

The dark forces are closing in on them both, but Ghanem had gotten his Guardian powers back and in his bravery attempt to save the day, but Meera is captured and taken away to the dark princes castle and she is bound, unable to use her magic or light powers. She tries to placate the king, but he sess through her plot and decides to succumb to being a shell of herself. But when Ghamen shows up his dark secret comes out. Ghanem is attacked and Meera fights back and fends off the prince, and runs into hiding... You'll have to read the end of this story to find out if Meera and Ghanem can save the worlds, destroy the slayers power source or if Meera and/or ghanem fail at their task.

Elle does a very intriguing job of introducing us to both Meera and Ghanem. I liked Meera from the beginning and how she didn't just want to sit by and let life go by. She is a fighter, een when she didn't understand what was happening to her. Ghanem is funny as he started off being an office worker, but takes off when he knows that is needed back home. Their two worlds collide and both feel the impact, but Meera and Ghanem can't explain why their attraction is so potent. not to mention Ghanem has a dark past which still haunts him. Seeing them come together when hurt was so emotionally packed, as much as neither was trying to hurt they other, they did...but overcame that to fight for the greater good. The strange world they wind up in left plenty for us to imagine and lot to still see. This was an excellent start to an upcoming trilogy. A 5 star read from me.

Elle Is offering 2 eBook copies of her book as part of the tour stop. All you have to do is enter the Rafflecopter giveaway form below. Thanks for stopping in and good luck!

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