Virtual Book Tour and Giveaway: Vengeance of Grimbald (The Alchimeía #2) by Richard Hacker

Welcome to my stop on the virtual book tour for Vengeance of Grimbald by Richard Hacker. This book tour was organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. On my stop, I have an excerpt and a guest post for you as well as the tour wide giveaway for a chance to win a $25 Amazon or Barnes & Noble gift card. Follow the rest of the tour for more content. Enjoy!

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Title: Vengeance of Grimbald
Series: The Alchimeía #2
Author: Richard Hacker
Publisher: Del Sol Press
Publication Date: January 31st 2020
Print Length: 317 pages
Genres: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Time Travel, Historical, Speculative

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Addison and Jules, members of the League, a secret alchemist society of Inkers who protect the time continuum, believe they defeated their enemy, Cuthbert Grimwald, known to them as Kairos. When he resurfaces filled with vengeance, intent on destroying the League, and acquiring the Alchimeia, a book of such power the League has hidden it for millennia, Grimwald leaves a path of destruction across centuries. As he quests for absolute control of reality, Addison and Jules pursue him through time and death in a desperate struggle to save the world from his vengeance.

Goodreads * Amazon

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EXCERPT:

Addison glared at her.

“You inked in, blind to everything around you. You were so focused on getting revenge you forgot why we were there.”

“Okay, I screwed up. Is that what you want to hear?”

“I want to hear you say you’re my partner and we’re in this together. I want to hear you say you’re not going to run off again on a personal crusade.”

They locked eyes, Jules wanting her partner back, Addison not yet able to give her what she wanted.

“One more thing.”

“Come on, Jules. Give it a rest. Feels like the damned Inquisition.”

“We inked into the Inquisition, so we both know how much your exaggerating right now. It’s about me. What did Kairos’ minion mean when he said you loved another Jules?”

“He was crazy. Ranting. I don’t know what he meant.”

Jules studied him, sitting back, arms crossed. “I’m not saying you’re lying to me, but you are holding something back. Something significant enough for you to lose control like you did under the citadel. We’re partners, Addison. Whatever goes on in your head effects both of us. Secrets lead to lies on top of more secrets. Secrets corrode relationships.

“There is no secret, Jules.”

“Okay. But if there is, I hope you won’t wait until it’s too late to tell me.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Richard Hacker, lives and writes in Seattle, Washington after living many years in Austin, Texas. In addition to the science fiction/fantasy novels of The Alchimeía Series, his crime novels ride the thin line between fact and fiction in Texas. Along the way, his writing has been recognized by the Writer’s League of Texas and the Pacific Northwest Writers Association. As a judge in literary contests shuch as PNWA and ChicLit, and as a freelance development editor, he enjoys the opportunity to work with other writers. In addition, he is the Sci-Fi/Fantasy editor for the Del Sol Review. DIE BACK was his first novel in the Alchimeia series.

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GUEST POST:

- If you could venture into any book setting, which book would you choose and why?

When ‘book setting’ is mentioned, a couple things come to mind: setting as it relates to genre and the setting for a specific book. Vengeance of Grimbald falls into slipstream—in my book, a combination of speculative, sci-fi, historical fiction with a fantastic element. As a genre, settings for slipstream often shift and meld. China Miéville’s The City & The City tells a story of a police procedural in two cities occupying the same space. My novel edges toward science fiction with what appears to be time travel and yet uses the fantastical element of alchemical ink to transport a character’s consciousness into the mind of someone who has died in the past.

I have to admit that I’m a fan of this type of story that messes with your mind by breaking through barriers of time and space and mind. Jacob’s Ladder, Inception, Neuromancer, The Marbury Lens, Sixth Sense all come to mind. I’m currently watching a series on Amazon called Undone which has all the elements I’m describing. I think what attracts me and drives me to write stories with this setting is threefold.

The Puzzle

I find a story that keeps me slightly off-balance, unsure of what is real or not, creates an interesting puzzle. I want to know what is going on. I want to understand. Sometimes I’ll work my way through to a satisfying conclusion, but often I’m left with multiple possibilities. I’ve got a writing colleague who cannot stand this kind of story. She wants a clear, linear path from beginning to middle to end. If the story lacks that kind of linear clarity, she finds the lack of a handhold very disconcerting. I suppose it’s a bit like horror movies. Some folks love to be frightened. They love the adrenaline rush of it. Others, (okay, me) avoid horror flicks. I love the open-ended, maze-like quality of many slipstream stories.

A New Awareness

Maybe you’ve heard this: You know what you know. You know what you don’t know. But what will get you is not knowing what you don’t know. The slipstream setting, with its sometimes real and sometimes false barriers plays with what you think you know and brings to awareness things you didn’t know you didn’t know. The twist at the end of Sixth Sense (spoiler alert!) has the power it has because you suddenly realize you’ve been in the perspective of a dead man for the entire story.

Courage and Perseverance

In Vengeance of Grimbald, reality itself becomes shifting ground. With each twist of the time continuum, some elements remain while others disappear. Sometimes the changes are almost insignificant and other times the transformation has global consequences. And what happens to a person when all the moorings to their reality keep shifting and moving? And so I find this setting fertile group for exploring a character’s courage and perseverance in the face of insurmountable odds.

In the Alchimeia series, six hundred years after a fifteenth century scryer gains the alchemical knowledge to create a dark future in his own image, Addison Shaw inherits a destiny: to fight this ancient war that threatens all he loves with extinction. Using an alchemical pen, he writes himself into past lives, leaving his body in the present. Upon completion of his mission, he must die in order to break the link and return home. Addison, and his inking partner, Jules, are members of the League, a secret alchemist society of Inkers who protect the time continuum. They believe they defeated their enemy, Cuthbert Grimwald, known to them as Kairos. When he resurfaces filled with vengeance, intent on destroying the League, and acquiring the Alchimeia, a book of such power the League has hidden it for millennia, Grimwald leaves a path of destruction across centuries. As he quests for absolute control of reality, Addison and Jules pursue him through time and death in a desperate struggle to save the world from his vengeance.

The underlying message of the Alchimeia series is about courage and perseverance. When life looks hopeless, when everything seems to be turned upside-down, the people who make a difference are not superheroes, but people like you and me, who persevere in spite of the odds.

I hope you’ll check out DIE BACK and now book 2 of the Alchimeia, VENGEANCE OF GRIMBALD. Both are available on Amazon.

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GIVEAWAY:

Richard Hacker will be awarding a $25 Amazon or Barnes & Noble gift card to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter after the tour. To increase your chance of winning, leave a comment at a different stop on the tour each day. Good luck!

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