September 21 Changed Tour
Changed
Vicki Stiefel
What if you could be young again? Would it be a dream come true or truly a nightmare?
That’s the startling reality retired circus trapeze artist Breena Balážová awakens to on the world of Eleutia in her own re-engineered younger body. For a woman whose death on Earth was inches away, it seems like a second chance at life. But in this parallel world, where horses fly and animals and humans are symbionts, Bree is intended as breeding stock to balance the plummeting female birthrate.
As she searches for her missing sisters, who were pulled to Eleutia with her, Bree also must survive assassination attempts, the growing threat of war, and her unexpected attraction to the arrogant animal Clan Alpha, Gato, a man with terrible burdens and secrets.
The animal Clans join forces to combat a dark conspiracy that will shake the foundations of their world, even as Bree’s search for her sisters grows more desperate and dangerous.
If Bree has any hope of finding her sisters and fulfilling her own destiny, she and Gato must carry out a perilous deception, their success or failure deciding not only their own fate, but that of all Eleutia.
Guest Post: 10 Kickass HeroinesXpresso: Stiefel —Changed
Mercy Thompson in the Patricia Briggs series pretty much defines kickass. But she’s also a wonderfully three-dimensional character.Isabella Mackenzie in Lady Isabella’s Scandalous Marriage, by Jennifer Ashley. Isabella has left her husband, Lord Mac Mackenzie. Even though she still loves him. That takes will and guts, and Isabella has a full house of both.
The Blanche White mystery series by Barbara Neely. Blanche is savvy, sharp-witted, and tough, but funny, as well. A housekeeper on the hunt. Yes, housekeepers can kick ass, too.Scarlett O’Hara - Though the book and film, Gone with the Wind, has fallen out of favor for its racist depiction of blacks, Scarlett O’Hara remains - for good or for ill - a defining kickass heroine. When she stands gazing at Tara—cold, hungry, ravaged by war—clutching Tara’s soil in her fist, she determines she will never be hungry again. One of the most powerful scenes of all time.
Ilona Andrew’s Kate Daniels rewrote the book for kickass heroines. Initially reluctant and a sword-for-hire, she evolves into a woman both wise, powerful, and a true hero.Louvaen Hallis Duenda - Entreat Me by Grace Draven - Don’t give up. That’s Louvaen’s mantra. And while she’s handy with a knife, she’s much handier with her tongue as she slices and dices others to ribbons. Brave, bold, and determined, Louvaen never gives up on her love, who is gradually turning into a monster.
Breena Balážová - in my new novel, Changed, Breena lands in a strange place in odd circumstances, and though vulnerable, she never misses a step. She’s a helluva fighter, too.
Sascha Duncan - in Nalini Singh’s Slave to Sensation. Sascha is an empath, something she must keep hidden. I love the contrast of Sascha’s gentle nature with her determination and grit. She quests for more, and though it’s enormously hard for her to attain, she goes after it with a titanium determination.
Grace Condry in Sarah MacLean’s Daring and the Duke. The Duke of Marwick has done his brothers and the teen girl he loved wrong. Or so it appears. Grace Condry gives him his comeuppance in so many great ways. She’s strong and tough, an excellent boxer and swordsman, and even when the love of her life is about to leave for good, she stands strong.Penelope - I know, she doesn’t get much page time in Homer’s The Odyssey, does she? But each day her suitors demand she marry one of them, Odysseus’ replacement. She’s not having it, so she promises, once her tapestry is done, she will choose a husband. She works on her tapestry daily, and each night, she undoes much of her work, because—dammit—Odysseus will return. And she’s not picking just any old man. That is a definition of courage.