Pocket Full of
Tinder
Noon Onyx
#4
Jill
Archer
Genre:
Fantasy
Publisher: Black
Willow, LLC
Date of Publication:
December 15, 2016
ISBN (ebook) –
978-0-9979138-0-4
ISBN (print) –
978-0-9979138-1-1
ASIN: B01MEGPUA4
Word Count:
90,000
Cover Artist: Rebecca Frank
Book
Description:
Noon Onyx is back! In
this long-awaited fourth installment, Jill Archer returns readers to the
dangerous world of Halja, where demons, angels, and humans coexist in an uneasy
state of détente.
Maegester-in-Training
Noon Onyx feels like she’s done it all – mastered fiery magic, become an adept
fighter, learned the law, killed countless demons, and survived having her heart
broken by both love and an arrow, but now she’ll face her greatest challenge
yet…
Far to the north lies
an outpost famous for its unrest – Rockthorn Gorge. The town’s patron has
specifically requested Noon’s help. Her assignment? Help the neophyte demon lord
build his fiefdom and keep what’s his. The problem? Lord Aristos – Noon’s new
employer – is her erstwhile lover, Ari Carmine, the aforementioned heartbreaker.
And the number one thing he wants is her.
When Rockthorn
Gorge’s viaduct is destroyed by Displodo, an enigmatic bomber, killing a dozen
settlers and wounding scores more, Noon sets off early to aid in the search and
rescue. Ari is listed among the missing and the suspects are legion. But Noon’s
search is just the beginning. Her journey forces Noon to confront not only those
she loves, but also enemies hell-bent on destroying
them.
Pre-Order
Links:
Book will also be
available on Nook and CreateSpace on or about the release
date.
7 Icy Winter Movies
As I write this winter
storm Decima is moving across the U.S. It’s supposed to be sleet or freezing
rain by the time it reaches Maryland – ugh. Since we have yet to see snow this
season, I put together an icy winter movie list. In no particular order:
The Shining : on every winter movie list out there. How can it not be when the movie ends with Jack Nicholson frozen in carbonite snow?
The Cutting Edge : Ice Skating. Romance. Toe picks. You either love it or you
don’t. Video clips
here .
(“Pairs means two.”)
Under the Greenwood Tree : Starts with old fashioned fun – Dick Dewy singing a
Christmas carol to Fancy Day. I’ve never read Thomas Hardy’s source novel. Has
anyone else? Is the movie a fair adaptation?
Hanna :
Saoirse Ronan as a fifteen year-old assassin. The movie opens in snowy northern
Finland with her hunting a reindeer.
Snowpiercer :
Graphic, bloody, brutal… and oddly compelling. Maybe because it’s just so damn
weird. The whole thing takes place on a giant, super train filled with the last
of humanity. Outside a snow storm rages.
Empire Strikes Back : Every time I shut my garage door in the winter, I imagine Luke
in the wampa cave.
Thank you to Book Crazy Scrapbook Mama for hosting me today!
Wishing everyone a warm holiday season!
Excerpt
POCKET FULL OF TINDER
Noon Onyx #4
The claw-and-ball had been chewed clean off. It lay on a
patch of sunny parquet floor, just to the right of an antique, aubergine wool
rug now covered with the splintered remnants of an eleventh century pedestal
table and one very large, ghastly looking, somewhat repentant barghest.
Nova’s head rested on her front paws as her gaze shifted
warily from me to Miss Bister, Megiddo’s dormater, or house mother.
“Megiddo’s lobby is not a kennel, Miss Onyx. That”—she
motioned dismissively toward Nova—“beast can no longer be housed here.”
I opened my mouth to respond, but Miss Bister continued
speaking, her tone rising only infinitesimally, her back as stiff as Luck’s
lance must have been, and her expression just as hard. She pointed toward the
previously priceless, three-footed piece of furniture that was now a worthless,
two-footed pile of kindling.
“No amount of money – or magic – can fix that, Nouiomo. It’s
beyond repair. I warned you. I made an exception to my ‘no pets’ rule because
you never cause trouble. You never forget your key; you promptly pick up your
deliveries; you change your own light bulbs; you double bag your trash. You
leave nothing behind in the bathroom; you don’t monopolize the washing
machines; you are exceedingly polite to the lift operator; you don’t sing in
the shower.”
I suppressed a sigh. After a year and a half of painstaking
efforts, harrowing experiences, and endless hours of education, my worth had
just been measured by the fact that I could change a light bulb. I’d mastered
fiery magic, become an adept fighter, learned the law, killed countless demons
(one regrettably, the others much less so), freed myriad immortals from an
accursed, tortured bondage, and survived having my heart nearly destroyed by
both love and an arrow, yet none of that meant bupkis next to the fact that I
double bagged my trash. And yet…
I couldn’t really argue with Miss Bister either. Everything
she’d said was true. And who was I to tell her what she should deem important?
I respected that she valued domestic order and antiques. I did too, if not
nearly as much as I valued the thing that now threatened our continued access
to such. I glared at Nova, who swept one paw over her eyes as if she could hide
from me and the evidence of what she’d done.
Barghests are giant hellhounds. They’re bigger than bears,
fiercer than rabid raccoons, and uglier than naked mole rats. Their teeth are
the size of railroad spikes, their claws as sharp as a sickle, their breath as
foul as sewage gas. But they are also affectionate, brave, and loyal. What
barghests lack in magic, they make up for in devotion. And even though I was
plenty mad at Nova for chewing up Miss Bister’s table, I also knew it wasn’t
Nova’s fault.
It was mine – for thinking the lobby of a demon law school
dormitory would be a good place to keep her.
“Miss Bister, please,” I said. “I’m truly sorry. I know I
can’t replace that exact table. But if you would just allow me to—”
“No,” Miss Bister said simply. “Either the beast goes… Or
you do.”
I stared at the small, frail, magicless woman in front of
me, trying desperately to think of some way to fix this problem. Wasn’t there
something I could do, or say, or offer her that would make amends and convince
her not to kick us out?
But all I could think of was how useless some of the things
our society valued most were. As Miss Bister had pointed out, neither magic nor
money would help. If I was going to repair the table, I’d need to find another
way. Which would take time. And that meant I’d need to find somewhere else for
us to sleep tonight. Because if the beast was going… I was too.
“Yes, Miss Bister,” I said. “I understand.”
She narrowed her eyes, slightly suspicious of my now
gracious defeat since I’d just spent the last half-hour trying to persuade her
to accept various forms of reparation. But then she nodded, handed me a couple
of paper bin bags, and left.
I slid one bag inside the other and stooped down to pick up
the slobbery remains of Nova’s mangled chew toy. When I finished, she came over
to me and nudged my arm with her head. She let out a woofy whine.
Was she sorry? She darn well better be!
I gave her a scratch behind the ears.
“Now that you’ve sharpened your teeth on my former dormater’s
furniture, are you ready to eat some real food for breakfast?”
About the
Author:
Jill Archer writes
dark, genre-bending fantasy from rural Maryland. Her novels include Dark
Light of Day, Fiery Edge of Steel, White Heart of Justice, and
Pocket Full of Tinder. She loves cats, coffee, books, movies, day
tripping, and outdoor adventuring.
Website: http://www.jillarcher.com/
Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/bAzF7n
Twitter: https://twitter.com/archer_jill
Discussion Questions: http://jillarcherauthor.wordpress.com/book-clubs//
Tour giveaway:
Two prize options:
#1 – an Etsy “Book Lover” prize pack which includes a book hoarder dragon poster, a dozen book page flowers, six book wine charms, and a pair of book earrings. (U.S. Only for Option #1. If these items are no longer available on Etsy, winner will receive Option #2). Or #2 -- $50 worth of fantasy books from Book Depository and a $25 Etsy gift certificate.
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1 comment:
Thanks for inviting me to guest blog today.
Have a great week!
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