Stinger and Bow by Orren Merton Blog Tour with Excerpt and Giveaway :)

Welcome to my tour stop for Stinger and Bow by Orren Merton! This is a young adult urban fantasy and is the first book in a spin off series of The Sedumen Chronicles. The tour runs Feb. 15-26 with reviews, interviews, guest posts and excerpts.  Check out the tour page for the full schedule.

About the Book:

Stinger needs a new crossbow. 

Thirteen year-old Rachel Silver—or as she's known to the world, Stinger—needs a new crossbow. Her last bow failed her when she needed it most. Besides, Firebird Alex, her aunt and fellow Seduman—half-human, half-spirit being—wields a Sedu blade, made with spirit magic.
So Stinger designs herself a magic crossbow, then convinces her best friends to accompany her around the world and into the universe of Sediin to find the right craftsmen to have it made. Trouble is, warriors attract people who want to challenge them, whether they're ready or not. Stinger is still tormented by her last battle—she's suffering night-terrors, shakes, and cold sweats. When the situation turns deadly, will she be able to come to grips with her trauma and become the warrior she needs to be to save her friends?

Goodreads | Amazon

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 Excerpt

“As you know, Rachel, Tustin Middle School has a zero-tolerance policy for violence—”

“And acid!” Mrs. Orson shouts. “I’m sure there’s a zero-tolerance policy about sneaking weapons like acid onto campus, too!”

“She spit it at me! The freak!” Tiffany nearly yells.

How much can I tell them? I’ve never admitted to my principal or the other students that I’m a Seduman—half human, half spirit being from the universe of Sediin. But I am, and that gives me powers that plain old humans don’t have. Like spitting out acid-laced stingers.

Mrs. Kelley stares at me with alarm. She knows who I am and what I can do. God, if this makes her afraid of me—that would be the worst.

“I didn’t sneak anything,” I nearly whisper.

“Oh, so your spit just burns like acid?” Tiffany taunts.

“In a way, yeah…”

“You’re not the first student to bring contraband of some kind on a fieldtrip,” Principal Gorne jumps in. “Trust me, I’ve seen it all in my fifteen years as a principal. I seen students spit all kinds of crazy substances out of straws and worse. And remember, when you’re off campus, you are representing our school. You were visiting a rehabilitation center for troubled teens. Instead of showing sensitivity, your altercation showed disrespect and may even have caused undo stress on the residents in treatment.”

“But she didn’t use a straw!” Tiffany insists. “She just spit! She’s a monster!”

Three quick knocks on the heavy brown door interrupt us. The receptionist pokes her head in. “Excuse me, but Alexandra Gold, Rachel’s aunt, has arrived.”

Principal Gorne nods. The receptionist opens the door wider and directs Alex to the chair next to me.

I can’t see Alex’s eyes through her glasses, but her lips are curled in a sympathetic but exasperated expression. I feel relieved. I mean, I’m sorry that she had to come here and all, but I know that she’s always on my side. We’re soul sisters, we’re both Sedumen of the House of Keroz, and I know she’s got my back. She sits next to me.

“I’m sorry I’m late,” she says. “When the school called about this meeting I wasn’t at my phone, so it took me a while to get the message and get over here. What’s going on?”

“You weren’t that late; we’d just begun,” Principal Gorne says. “You were called because you are listed on Rachel’s emergency card as one of her guardians, and she is in very serious trouble. We’re trying to get to the bottom of what happened right now. It happened off campus, during a seventh-grade fieldtrip to Rebecca’s House down in Lake Forest. They’re an eating disorder treatment facility.”

Alex turns to me. I can tell by the way she tilts her head that she’s wondering if this has something to do with our friend Klara.

“There was an altercation that ended with Rachel spitting some kind of acid or chemical on Tiffany Orson’s left cheek.”

“Is it true?” Mrs. Kelley asks me.

There’s a split second where I wonder if I could get away with a lie. But I’d never do it. There are no lies in the House of Keroz is our motto. Our House takes not telling lies so seriously that when Keroz, my Sedu grandfather, sacrificed his life to save Alex, he was reborn as the Greater Sedu of Honesty. I mean, that’s hardcore. So I inhale slowly, to give myself another moment to gather my thoughts. I’ve only got one chance to get this out right.

“I promise, I didn’t mean to. I was just going to tell her off. As soon as I spit the acid stinger in her cheek, I pulled it out immediately asked for help. Mrs. Harold, our health teacher, was with another group from our class, but a volunteer—I think Raya was her name—was in the room with us. I shouted to her, and she ran over and directed me to the duty nurse. I ran Tiffany to the nurse’s office to clean it out. I tried to make it right.”

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About the Author:

Orren Merton started writing fantasy and science fiction at an embarrassingly young age. In high school, he picked up guitar and start playing up and down California in a few loud and moody bands, culminating in his current project  Ember After.  During that time, magazines, developers, and corporations began to pay him to write and edit music software related articles, manuals, and  books. Since then he has written the urban fantasy novel The Deviant and the science fiction novel Skye Entity before working on The Sedumen Chronicles, his current series of urban fantasy YA novels. He lives in Southern California with his family, pets, collection of sci-fi/fantasy memorabilia, and curiously large stuffed animal collection.

 

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Amazon | Goodreads 

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GIVEAWAY:

One winner gets a Kindle and digital copy of Stinger and Bow (US)

One winner gets a $25 gift card & digital copy of Stinger and Bow (INT)

Ends March 2nd

Prizing is provided by the author, hosts are not responsible in any way. Must be 13 or older to enter and have parental permission if under 17. Void where prohibited by law. No purchase necessary to enter. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

This event was organized by CBB Book Promotions