Today I'm thrilled to have Kary Rader as my guest! You might recall that I reviewed her new book, QUEEN OF JASTAIN, last week on this blog (I loved it, btw - read the review
HERE.)
I invited Kary to come talk about her book, and her inspirations. The topic she chose feels timely to me, with the recent events in Boston. That Light will always overcome Darkness. My heart goes out to all those still affected by the marathon tragedy. But let's not dwell on darkness - we're here to listen to Kary talk about The Light!
* * * * *
The Light Within
By Kary Rader
The
light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
In the
elemental battle between Light and Dark, Light always wins. There is no
darkness known to us that can swallow light. The Light must be snuffed out
before darkness can reign.
If you have
any form of lighted technology in a dark room you know how true this is. The
little blinking light on your phone or your digital alarm clock can provide
enough illumination to see the entire room.
This is how
it is in the world of Jastain, the setting for my current release, Queen
of Jastain.
Many years
before the story began, Light in the hearts of men was snuffed out and the
darkness took over. All that was good in the world began to fade. Famine, wars,
sickness, disease took hold. Even the skies clouded and the sun was blotted
out.
But the
Light, as it always does in life and stories, sends a savior, one who can bring
back the former glory—T
he Chosen One. Except this savior
is an unlikely college student who knows more about current trends in nail
polish than how to save the world.
Abby
Randall, my heroine, finds herself, her destiny, and a way to save the world.
During the course of the story she has to change her way of thinking, and do
things differently than she’s ever done
them before. Fortunately for her, there is a little magic that comes with a
title like The Chosen One.
In the end,
Abby realizes that the same Light inside her that helps her accomplish her
goals and win her battles, is the same Light that resides in all people. It’s
the same Light in you and I, and, just as the Light helps Abby accomplish her
purpose, it will do the same for us.
Light
always does one thing—it shines.
Let the
Light within you shine today. Go and accomplish your dreams. Let it dispel
darkness and reveal your purpose.
* * * * *
Queen of
Jastain, by Kary Rader
About the Book:
The Light brought her to him, but does he have the faith to make her
his queen?
For twenty years, Avant
plotted revenge against the dark king, but when a mysterious woman suddenly
appears, everything changes. Although his prophetic Gift reveals she's the Seed
of Light chosen to restore the Crown, his overwhelming attraction to the women
threatens his long-held plan for revenge and two decades of fidelity.
Abby Randall is
inexplicably transported from Dallas to the medieval land of Jastain. There she
meets Avant, who claims she's the foretold champion of his people. While the
hot guy has her hormones pumping, his crazy talk of defeating an evil king
leaves questions to his sanity. Through his supernatural Gift, Avant
transplants his memories into her, but neither are prepared for how their
hearts intertwine.
Together they embark on their quest, but when
Abby and Avant come face to face with destiny, will they sacrifice what matters most to provide a happily-ever-after for the
people of Jastain?
Excerpt:
When Avant climbed back to the cave, his hair was wet. He'd slicked it
back from his face and tied it into a little ponytail with a leather string.
The sexy shadow of a light beard softened his angular jaw, and the thick waves
of his hair shined with chestnut highlights in the morning sun. It was a good
look for him, but then again, what wasn’t? Abby ran her fingers through her own
tangled tresses and pulled her hair back. What she wouldn't give for a hairclip.
“Would you like a thong for your
hair?”
She giggled at the word thong,
certain that what she pictured was not what he referenced. “Do you have an extra one? I’d like to get it
out of my face, and I don’t have anything.” Actually she had her own thong,
but she sure as hell wasn't putting it in her hair.
He immediately unlaced the tie at the neck of his shirt and handed it
to her.
She gasped and put a hand to her face to hide the heat in her cheeks as
his shirt fell open below his breast bone. “You
don’t have to do that.”
Her blood coursed wildly at the sight of the smooth muscles of his
chest. A soft sprinkling of dark hair beckoned her fingers. She swallowed hard.
“It’s all right. Please use it. It will be a hard day’s journey
with hair in your face.” His
words rang in her mind so sincerely she forgot her embarrassment, but her eyes
kept flitting to his heavenly chest.
“Thank you, Avant, and not only
for the lace but for everything you're doing to help me.”
Holding her gaze, he nodded once, and her heart fluttered. Was it
getting warm in the cave? She wiped the beads of sweat from her forehead.
"It is time to be off if we are to make it to the next shelter
before nightfall.” He picked
up his pack and walked to the mouth of the cave. She grabbed her bag and
followed.
Climbing down proved to be more difficult than going up. The muscles
required to lower herself from one level to the next worked her thighs and butt
like no gym equipment she'd ever experienced. It was like doing hours of
squats. She trudged down the mountain with the previous day's tumult weighting
her down like the “freshman ten.” Avant helped her along on the steeper steps,
but, for the most part, she made them on her own, clippity-clopping in those
damned Docinis all the way.
When he reached the bottom, he disappeared around an outcropping. Abby
took the last little step to the base and hurried after him. As she turned the
corner, Avant grabbed her arm and spun her around. Driving her back against the
rock, he pressed the length of his rigid body against her. His face, barely
three inches from hers, clenched in thin lines of stress. Her heart raced…with
fear.
She was pretty sure it was fear.
* * * * *
Kary Rader is a
part-time T
witter sage, stay-at-home mother of three, and
slave to the characters and worlds inside her head. Always creative, she's
drawn to stories with fantastical worlds and creatures. With a little bit of
magic and divine guidance, there isn't anything that can't be accomplished with
words. It's the power of words that creates and destroys. Vanquishing evil and
injustice while finding eternal love in the process is all in a day's work.
With the help of her critique partners and master cartographer imaginary places
come to life.
You can find her at: