ASCENSION By Stacey Rourke ~ Blog Tour ~ GLITERARY GIRL MEDIA

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Interview:

Crystal: Today as part of the GLITERARY GIRL MEDIA Ascension Blog Tour, I have the opportunity to interview Stacey Rourke. Would you share a little bit about yourself with us today?

Stacey: I’m an author, mother and wife with an irrational fear of garden gnomes and a shoe obsession that borders on unhealthy. That pretty much sums me up!

Crystal: Do you have a favorite scene you would like to share with us?

Stacey: There is a scene at the end of Ascension, I don’t want to give anything about it away, but that final battle scene is a huge favorite of mine. It gave me chills and I hope it does the same for readers.

Crystal: Where did you come up with the idea for your newest release?

Stacey: The series needed a turning point, a game changer if you will. This book is just that. The past and the present come together and everything changes. This book leaves the future of all the characters very up in the air, anything could happen from here and I love all the possibilities that opens up for me!

Crystal: What are you currently working on?

Stacey: An entirely new series that is uber top secret! I am so excited about it and am having a great time with it! I’d tell you more but I’d have to use one of those MIB mind eraser gadgets and those are hard to come by.

Crystal: Do you have any special routine that you follow when you are writing? 

Stacey: I usually write best in the evening; comfy chair, music playing, and my hands clicking over the keys.  

Crystal: Did you have to do a lot of research for this book or any other? If so do you have a fascinating fact that you have learned you would like to share with us?

Stacey: I do a great deal of research for each book and have found many story ideas that way. For example; in my series I refer to the Gryphon as the Protector of the Divine. This is an actual myth associated with the creature, that two of those bad boys guard the entrance to Heaven. Finding that rumor worked as wonderful story fodder.

Crystal: Who are some of your favorite authors that you like to read?

Stacey: There are really too many to name! Most of them are under the Anchor Group Publishing label! Check them all out at anchorgrouppublishing.com

Crystal: Is there a genre you haven't written that you would like to try?

Stacey: I go more for storyline than genre. If there is a story there I will never let the genre hinder me! :)

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ABOUT STACEY:

There is nothing worse than being put on the spot and asked to talk about yourself. For me it brings back that inevitable moment in a new school when the teacher would ask me to stand up, introduce myself and tell the class something about myself. I was always worried I would blurt out something stupid that I would get teased for. Something like, “My name’s Stacey and I like pickles!” Then for the rest of the school year I’d be known as the Pickle Girl and let’s be honest, no one wants that. So to avoid such a faux pas I will simply say that I love to write. It allows me to get my crazy out just enough that I can function as a normal member of society.

Best selling award winning author of the Laugh-out Loud Gryphon Series and the nonfiction book I'm Not Crazy I'm on Lupron; a Journey Through Infertility. Learn more about Stacey's books at www.staceyrourke.com or diaryofasemi-crazyauthor.blogspot.com. If you are a blogger or reviewer interested in reviewing any of Mrs. Rourke's work please contact her publicist Sara O’Connor at info(AT) gliterarygirlmedia(DOT)com

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ABOUT ASCENSION:

From best selling and award winning author Stacey Rourke comes the heart-pounding continuation of the acclaimed Gryphon Series. 
The turning point of the Gryphon saga is at hand …
Battle looms. Three unstoppable forces prepare to clash in a colossal explosion that could wipe Gainesboro off the map. Fate and sacred calling have landed nineteen year old Celeste Garrett in the middle with nowhere to run. 
Her trust wavers as she uncovers dark secrets of the Council, powerful enough to test her loyalty and turn her against those she swore to protect. Playing to the longing of her heart, a malevolent enemy uses her weakness against her to form an alliance. 
With the trumpets of war about to sound, which side will the Conduit choose, and who will be left standing?  



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Excerpt: 

Blood pooling.

Seeping.

Merging.

Swirling together to form a detailed map of carnage.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk.” The Countess pursed her full lips in a mock pout. “And to think he was trying to save you. You must feel simply dreadful right now.”

Anger quickened my breath making each word come out a breathless gasp. “Shut … up.”

“Why’s that?” She rested her palms on her ample hips and let her head fall to the side in a flowing curtain of scarlet. “Don’t feel like talking about it? Can’t say that I blame you. Here he was marching over here so gallantly to protect you while you called him names and berated him. That’s evil even by mystandards and I make a viable vocation out of this.” 

One stride into a forward charge toward certain death, I froze. My shocked heart lurched into an awkward stutter beat. The cause of my surprise? Rowan, rolling to his side and yanking the dagger from his gut. The Countess’s painted lips pulled back in a sneer.

Heels clicked across the floor with sharp snaps as she strode straight for him. “I hate it when people don’t have the courtesy to die the first time you kill them.”

With the stiletto heel of her boot, she pinned Rowan’s wrist to the floor … then stomped. Rowan howled and writhed as blood spurted from his wound. His injured hand loosened around the hilt. Before the blade could clank to the ground, the vile enchantress scooped it up. Flipping it in her hand, she arched back for the death blow.  

“Nooooo!!”  I channeled everything inside me. Pulling every emotion that ravaged me throughout this god-awful day into my core, I raised both hands and hit her with the full force of my telepathic fury.

The dagger flew from her hand as she pin-wheeled into the darkness.

I rushed to Rowan’s side and eased him to a sitting position. “Row? Rowan?”

It took a minute for his sleepy gaze to find me. Even then his dilated pupils hinted consciousness would be fleeting. In the distance came a soft thud. The Countess must’ve found the other side of this massive hall. My little stunt bought us seconds only.

“Row?” My fingers dug into his shoulders as I attempted to shake him awake. “Can you teleport? I don’t know any other way out of here and we need to go now!”

In place of an answer, his eyes rolled back and his head lulled to the side.

Like rapid-fire gunshots, her heels clicked closer, building around us in an ominous echo.

I slapped Rowan softly once, then a second time with more vigor. “Rowan! Come on! One little poof then you can pass out! I promise! Just get us out of here!”

He woke with a jerk, a protective passion rising on his face. His tensed features sharpened. Turquoise eyes blazed as his injured hand weaved into my hair and pulled me to him. Blood dripped down the back of my neck and dampened my hair, yet pulling away never occurred to me. His lips brushed mine with a tentative question—a plea for acceptance. I hesitated for a fraction of a second before consenting with a resounding mutual urgency. Locked in each other’s embrace, we disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

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LINKS:

Website: http://Staceyrourke.com
Blog: www.diaryofasemi-crazyauthor.blogspot.com

Amazon

With the release of Ascension comes the newest edition of the entire series, complete with amazing illustrations of these dynamic characters. Here’s a sample:

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Illustrator Crystal Ord will be bringing some of your favorite Gryphon Series characters to life!  
Crystal Smalls Ord is a freelance illustrator and writer who resides in the rainy Pacific Northwest. Her art and stories have appeared in the macabre children's lit magazine, Underneath the Juniper Tree. Last year she illustrated her first children's book, Ethan's Story; My Life with Autism which can be found on Amazon.com. Her art has also appeared in hitRECord.com's musical short, Madamoiselle Noir.


In her free time Crystal plays with her kids, cleans house, teaches music in Sunday School, and lingers in the geekery corner of Pinterest.
Contact her at: 
Website: wix.com/fynn47/author-website
Facebook: facebook.com/smallsord




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The demonic and fantasy elements of the Conduit’s journey will jump off the page thanks to Robert Immings;

In 2000 Robert Immings graduated from the Art Institute of Atlanta with a BFA in graphic design. Since then he’s done work in package design, web development and designed training applications and software interfaces. These days he’s a mild-mannered operations technician with an electronic trading firm in Alpharetta Georgia. Earlier this.year he had a chance to enter Sony's "Treasures of Middle Earth" design contest which was a promotion for the hobbit movie. He came in as a runner-up. More recently he had the opportunity to do some sketches and collaborate on the cover for Emily Fogel's wonderful fantasy novel Dragon Wars and created the cover for her soon to be released book "Chasing Flames". Right now he’s excited to be working on a collection of illustrations for Stacey Rourke's Gryphon Series.
He’s always interested in illustration and graphic design projects and can be contacted at robertimmings@hotmail.com.

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