Today I'm excited to invite author Leigh Evans to the blog to celebrate the release of her second book, The Thing About Weres. Let's welcome her to the blog!
You’re Wrong, Mr. Shakespeare
The man was full of crap. Why do I say
this? Because Shakespeare is the guy responsible for this line: “A rose by any
other name would smell as sweet.” For those of you who managed to miss your
teacher’s aching, slow dissection of Romeo & Juliette that statement can be
reduced to this: names mean squat, it’s what you’re made of that truly matters.
Again, bullshit.
Names matter. If you doubt me, try to
warm up to the idea of calling Chris
Hemsworth by the less tempting moniker of Clarence Hamsterface. Can you see yourself moaning “Oh, Clarence!”
into your pillow?
If you can, nice to know you. Please don’t email
me.
If you can’t then you’re like me. You think
names matter. Which is why I spent several days coming up with a name for the
Mystwalker series’ male lead. I had
plenty of false starts, and in the end his final name is directly related to
the fact that my boy was paying more attention to killing zombies than me. When
I called from the other room, “How about
“Something-or-other Trowbridge?” my
darling son only partially heard me. But he liked what he thought he heard enough to pause the relentless slaughter on the
video screen to say, “Robson Trowbridge is great!”
There you go. That’s how Robson “Bridge”
Trowbridge was born.
But let’s face it. The girl protagonist’s name is a bigger deal,
isn’t it?. The book’s written in first person. It’s intensely first person. Obviously, her name required extra-special
effort. It had to be both unique and tied to her back story.
Brace yourself for a reveal—my heroine’s
first name was stolen from the 1940’s pin-up girl Hedy Lamarr. Except I
couldn’t remember how to spell it. But really, correct spelling is over-rated
isn’t it? (A rose by any other name..) And besides, Hedi looked more
interesting than Hedy. To my eye, harder and more forceful. Now, you may ask
yourself...does my Hedi resemble that semi-famous screen strumpet?
No. Not even remotely.
But as it happens, back in the day when
Faes snuck through the Gates of Merenwyn for a little slumming with the humans,
Hedi’s mom was very fond of the cinema. Her favorite star was Hedy Lamarr.
See? That’s a piece of back story that
never made it into the books. As was the fact that her last name came from the
side of a decorator’s truck: Peacock Designs.
Tadah. After much thought and mulling, I
had a unique name.
Hedi
Peacock.
Half
Fae. Half Were.
All
Trouble
Who
falls in love with her One True Thing
Robson
Trowbridge.
All
Were.
Equal
Trouble.
I thought it was damn near bullet proof in
terms of originality until my husband called her “Heidi” one night. I stared at
him for a long, silent moment. He said, “Whaaaat?”
I said, “Did I ever once mention the Swiss
Alps or lederhosen?”
He took a sip of his coffee, then shook his
head. “Nope.”
I’m still not convinced he got it. (We’re
not talking Shirley Temple here, folks). Still, he can be forgiven. Though the
man is smarter than Stephen Hawkings, he’s only read two pieces of fiction in
his life and neither of mine were one of them:-)
If you’d like to meet Hedi Peacock—a rose
with several thorns--and your tastes run toward some snark, seasoned with a
little dark, go find the second book in the Mystwalker series—THE THING ABOUT
WOLVES!
The Trouble With Fate (Mystwalker #1) by Leigh Evans
Meet Hedi Peacock. She's half Fae. Half Were. And all trouble…
I Have Two Words For Werewolves:
My
name is Hedi Peacock and I have a secret. I’m not human, and I have the
pointy Fae ears and Were inner-bitch to prove it. As fairy tales go, my
childhood was damn near perfect, all fur and magic until a werewolf
killed my father and the Fae executed my mother. I’ve never forgiven
either side. Especially Robson Trowbridge. He was a part-time werewolf, a
full-time bastard, and the first and only boy I ever loved. That is,
until he became the prime suspect in my father’s death…
Bite Me.
Today
I’m a half-breed barista working at a fancy coffee house, living with
my loopy Aunt Lou and a temperamental amulet named Merry, and wondering
where in the world I’m going in life. A pretty normal existence,
considering. But when a pack of Weres decides to kidnap my aunt and
force me to steal another amulet, the only one who can help me
is the last person I ever thought I’d turn to: Robson Trowbridge. And
he’s as annoyingly beautiful as I remember. That’s the trouble with
fate: Sometimes it barks. Other times it bites. And the rest of the time
it just breaks your heart. Again…
The Trouble With Fate
is a unique urban fantasy with plenty of things to make it stand out
from other UF's out there. It's hard to find something truly different,
but luckily this book had those elements that made it stand out from
others. Some of these are the fae ways,world and rules; Hedi is half
fae and half werewolf and that Hedi has an amulet around her neck called
Merry and it's a living being inside that communications by changing
colors and wiggling around (like pointing and stuff).
Hedi
is a strong willed woman, though she's not always strong and has often
taken the shortcuts and easy way in life. But almost straight away
there's an abrupt major change in Hedi's life and from then on she's not
so much about the
easy way, but more about the
right
way. It is a bit of a journey for her, finding her way and discovering
what she may really want in life and that she doesn't want to just
survive, but also wants some meaning in her life. Not to mention,
revenge.
It's clear and her and Robson Trowbridge
are going to cross paths and I was pretty certain there was a romance
waiting to happen there. It was just a matter of how and when. Luckily
this was a romance that worked pretty well for me. Time wise it
happened quickly, but they had lots of life or death moments together
first and there's the whole thing that Hedi has been like, in love with
him since she was a child. Trowbridge did some jerky things a few times
that had me concerned he was going to turnout to be an a$$hat, but
luckily it led to discussions which cleared things up for them so they
could progress. He ended up being a great character. He's been dealt a
hard hand like Hedi and I think they'll be good for each other. I
think they really need each other and can understand the other better
than anyone else could. And Trowbridge definitely has a sweet side, he
just keeps it hidden.
Parts of the book felt a bit slow
to me, but I never really felt bored either. I was anxious to see where
things would go, but I never felt a pressing urgency to find out more.
The end does have a cliffhanger and for that reason I'm very glad I
waited to read it cause now I can dive into the 2nd book very soon!
I'd give this one 3.5 stars but am rounding up to 4.
Disclosure:
I received this book from the author for review purposes. All opinions
expressed are my own and I was not paid or influenced in any way.
The Thing About Weres (Mystwalker #2) by Leigh Evans
THE HEART IS A LONELY HUNTER
In
the never-ending saga that is my love-hate relationship with Robson
Trowbridge, I, half-Were Hedi Peacock, have had a change of heart. Ever
since I shoved Trowbridge through the Gates of Merenwyn, I’ve been the
leader of the pack—hard to believe, right? The thing is: I’m half-Fae.
So even though my Were side is ready to heed the call of the wild, the
other part of me is desperate to take flight. And much as it pains me to
admit it, life without Trowbridge is really starting to were me down…
I AM WERE, HEAR ME ROAR.
To
make matters worse, the wolves of Creemore want my blood—and the North
American Council of Weres wants me dead. So I’m just counting the days
until Trowbridge returns from the other realm…and comes to my brave
rescue…and becomes my alpha mate. Wishful thinking? Of course it is. But
given all the mess I’ve been through already, what’s the harm in doing a
little bit of daisy-plucking? Besides, Trowbridge owes me bigtime. A
girl can dream.
About this author
: I was born in Montreal,
Quebec but now live in Southern Ontario with my husband. I’ve raised two
kids, mothered three dogs, and herded a few cats. Other than that, my
life was fairly routine until I hit the age of 50. Some women get
tattoos. I decided to write a book. A little tardy, but then again, Mum
always said I was a late bloomer.
This giveaway is not sponsored by me. The winner will not be selected by me and will be contacted by the author or tour coordinator, Sarah. I am not responsible for anything regarding the giveaway and do not have access to the entries.
