Virtual Book Tour and Giveaway: Luka by Dianne Hartsock

Welcome to my stop on the virtual book tour for Luka by Dianne Hartsock. This book tour was organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. On my stop, I have an excerpt from the book and a great guest post from the author. There's also a tour wide giveaway for a chance to win a $20 Amazon or Barnes & Noble gift card. Be sure to visit the other stops on the tour for more content. Enjoy!

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Title: Luka

Author: Dianne Hartsock

Publisher: NineStar Press

Publication Date: January 11th 2021

Print Length: 345 pages

Genre: M/M Fantasy Romance

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Luka makes a desperate wish and the earth shifts to his will. Regretting it immediately, he tries to undue the sorcery, but it is too late. He asked for hope, and to his horror, all the hope in the world is given into his keeping. He desires nothing more than to return this gift to the world.

Aethan wants to get his hands on the Well of Hope in Luka’s keeping. If he can ransom out hope to others at his whim, the world will be at his feet. Where it belongs.

With the aid of his lover, Rhys, Luka stays one step ahead of Aethan. But Rhys has his own enemy in Aethan, his estranged father.

Rescued by Luka, his sweet, gentle witch, Rhys now stands with him against Aethan. They have vowed to return the Well of Hope to the earth despite all odds, or die trying. For what is life worth, for anyone, without hope?

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EXCERPT:

Rhys knelt up and stirred the glowing embers of their fire into a pile, adding a few large pieces of wood against it, then sat with his back to a nearby wall, feet toward the fire. He’d seen Luka ward their home with sage and sweet grass. Widow Ravan used cedar. What would Luka do with a stone?

Luka moved to the center of the cave and took a slow turn around, banishing any malicious energy from the hollow. Raven had taught Rhys that much, explaining they wouldn’t want to trap anything negative in with them when she warded a place. After several long heartbeats, Luka sat cross-legged on the sandy floor, a dark figure in the bright glow from the fire, relaxed, comfortable, as if he rested in his own home. Watching him, pride stirred in Rhys’s breast. Most others he’d witnessed would strut around the area they warded chanting under their breaths, making grand gestures and filling the space with smoke that stung his eyes. It all seemed to be for show, their wards precarious at best.

It was never like that with Luka. He went calmly about his business, with purpose, and a reverence for the magic of the earth. He sat calmly now, his focus on the stone he passed back and forth between his hands as if weighing it, studying its structure, its essence. He did this for a long moment, then stilled.

The hair on Rhys’s arms and the nape of his neck lifted, and he shivered. The air felt different, charged. His senses heightened.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Dianne is the author of m/m romance, paranormal suspense, fantasy adventure, the occasional thriller, and anything else that comes to mind. She lives in the beautiful Willamette Valley of Oregon with her incredibly patient husband, who puts up with the endless hours she spends hunched over the keyboard letting her characters play. She says Oregon’s raindrops are the perfect setting in which to write. There’s something about being cooped up in the house with a fire crackling on the hearth and a cup of hot coffee warming her hands, which kindles her imagination.

Currently, Dianne works as a floral designer in a locally-owned gift shop. Which is the perfect job for her. When not writing, she can express herself through the rich colors and textures of flowers and foliage.

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GUEST POST:

- Where did you find the inspiration for your characters?

Although I wanted LUKA to be a fantasy story, I didn’t want my main character to be either a sorcerer or the apprentice of one. I wanted someone closer to the earth, more in tune with nature. Someone who dealt with herbs and grasses, crystals and minerals, air and fire. I made Luka a witch, powerful yet gentle of heart. He knows the ways of dark magic but chooses every day to do good in the world. During my morning walk I pass a grove of oak and decided this is where Luka draws his strength from, an ancient grove of oak, deep rooted with branches stretching toward the sky. Strong and lasting.

Luka chooses to live in a secluded cabin on the mountainside above the town where he sells his herbs and potions. It’s a lonely, solitary life, and I decided he needed a lover. Rhys is a young man Luka rescued from his enemy. Strong, brave, true, a witch in his own right, Rhys is the perfect complement for Luka. But that is too easy. I had Luka send him away to find a better life than the one Luka could give him.

I also came to realize Luka was the type of man who needed a family, someone of his own to care for, to be truly happy. He never knew his father and his mother left this earth when he was quite young. As a youth, when the oak grove was new, he fell in love with a Fae from the nearby woods. She stayed with him one joyous year, but after their daughter, Ravan, was born, she left Luka to return to her woodland home. The oaks were quite ancient before he loved again.

When this story begins, Ravan is a grown woman, the village witch, well-loved by the townsfolk. She’d grown up free and wild, married her huntsman lover. When he passed away she moved to the village near Luka’s home, and took Rhys in as her apprentice when Luka sent him away. She plays a large part in this story, a friend Luka relies on heavily.

And of course Luka needed a nemesis, someone to bring conflict to the story. That’s the sorcerer, Aethan, a man jealous of Luka, wanting his powers for his own, wanting the Well of Hope to control the world through fear and despair. His son Lorin aides him, Rhys’s half-brother, a victim of Aethan’s cruelty until he could do nothing but Aethan’s will.

And now we come to Tarian, someone for Rhys to tease and teach, a lad with a hopeless crush on Luka, Rhys’s apprentice who may one day earn a story of his own. That’s the main group of adventurers! Though there’s a host of others I don’t have time to speak of at the moment. How do you come up with characters of your own?

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GIVEAWAY:

Dianne Hartsock will be awarding a $20 Amazon or Barnes & Noble gift card to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter. To increase your chance of winning, leave a comment at a different blog participating on the tour each day. Good luck!

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