Virtual Book Tour and Giveaway: Divided Fates (Immar & Stauros Trilogy #2) by Stephanie M. Allen

Welcome to my stop on the virtual book tour for Divided Fates by Stephanie M. Allen. This book tour was organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. On my stop, I have an excerpt from the book as well as a guest post from the author about her writing process. There's also the tour wide giveaway for a chance to win a $25 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: Divided Fates

Series: Immar & Stauros Trilogy #2

Author: Stephanie M. Allen

Publisher: Liminal Books (Between the Lines Publishing)

Publication Date: April 26th 2022

Print Length: 348 pages

Genre: Fantasy

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Ten days after the battle in the north, the world of Erez has been thrown into turmoil.

Princess Isemay awakens - injured and weak - in a strange village. Branded an outcast because of her mixed heritage but forced to stay against her will, she must choose to conform to the sha’nidow way of life or face the consequences. When a mysterious stranger arrives with a heartbreaking message, Isemay’s hope abandons her to a fate far more destructive than she was prepared for.

Princess Alena finds herself the queen of the northern kingdom - powerful, adored, alone. Fighting inner demons of darkness, she travels south to visit her brother, now the king of Neilos. But fate will not allow her to find peace, and she must decide whether she will side with those she loves or the one who holds ultimate power.

Niri Flesh-cleaver, granddaughter to the elusive Choshech and heir to the nashech throne, has everything she could want - and yet her heart yearns for more. Torn between her mother’s orders and a forbidden love, she quickly realizes she cannot have both. Driven by brokenness, she will seek to destroy the one person she blames for Choshech’s demise - and find that perhaps her heart was the better guide all along.

Three women. Three separate journeys. One path to find that fate will divide even the closest of bonds.

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EXCERPT:

“Your Majesty, go!” Jeremy shouted as he shoved the king toward his stallion. “We can’t fight what we can’t see.”

Jordan murmured a prayer for Jori and Noam as he gripped Ryoma’s mane and mounted bareback. “Get to a horse!” he ordered as he slammed his heels into his stallion’s ribs. Ryoma shot forward into the night, his ears flat against his skull. Refusing to allow panic to shiver its way into his body, Jordan used his legs to guide his stallion, keeping his hand fisted in the horse’s mane. Echoing hoofbeats came from behind—as well as the flapping of several wings.

“Your Majesty, above you!”

Jordan lay forward against Ryoma’s neck as a shadow passed right where his head had been. “Who are you?” he shouted at the fleeing darkness.

A shrieking roar filled the night as another shadow blew above him.

He squeezed his heels against Ryoma, urging the poor horse to gallop even faster. They were among trees now. He could feel branches whipping him in the face as his stallion fled at a blinding pace. He couldn’t be sure, but it felt as though they were climbing.

He could no longer hear hoofbeats behind him and prayed that Jeremy hadn’t befallen the same fate as the other two men. The trees seemed to be providing some cover for he could no longer hear flapping wings close by. The night was pitch black as they barreled headlong over unfamiliar ground, driving further and further up the mountain.

A roar and a crash sounded from somewhere behind him as Jordan and Ryoma broke through the tree line. He gasped as the moonlight suddenly filled his vision. They were atop a mountain peak, streaking along an open space. He risked a glance behind to see another horse break out of the forest—a riderless horse.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Stephanie M. Allen graduated from California Baptist University in 2009 with a B.A. in English and a desire to share her imaginative stories with the world. She loves to write fantasy, particularly centered around young adults. Aside from writing, Stephanie loves to read, ride horses, and sing. She currently lives in Wyoming with her husband and two children.

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GUEST POST:

- What was your writing process like for this book?

This is the sequel to Dueling Fates, so I already had a good base for this book. I had the main characters, the world, and the basic storyline. As an author, I like to create story outlines with music. I have a Spotify playlist for every single book that I write. When I start the writing process, I will begin adding songs to that book's playlist. Those songs will change as I progress through the story, however I tend to find a theme for the book. I like to have songs that have a similar sound or are from the same soundtrack. For this particular book trilogy, the Game of Thrones soundtrack has heavily influenced my writing. Once I have a basic outline, I just begin writing. Oftentimes, I will change a character's story halfway through. This happened to both Savant and Alena for this book.

I also added a new character to this story. Niri, the nashech princess, was not supposed to be part of this story. However, as I began writing, I realized there was a huge missing component and after reading fantasy novels like Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas and Dark Fever by Karen Marie Moning, I started to realize I needed an anti-heroine in my story. Niri quickly became one of my favorite characters in this book. I loved fleshing out her story and writing a character that has to play the villain even if they don't fully believe what they are fighting for. Once her character came into the story, it felt much more complete and I was able to add onto the world that I'd already created. The nashech are a fun fantasy race that are a mixture of human and dragon, which isn't exactly a new concept, but I like the direction I took them in this story.

This book took me several months to write, much longer than I anticipated. It was quite an emotionally-draining book. It's the second in the trilogy, so there are a lot of loose ends to tie up in the third book. I liken this book to The Empire Strikes Back, one of my favorite Star Wars movie. There's a lot of bittersweetness here and it takes a very dark turn. However, my hope is that the readers will have a little hope after reading the very last chapter, which happens to be my favorite scene in the book. It was also a scene I never intended to add until I heard the song "Take It All" by Ruelle. When I heard that song, I saw the scene play out in my head and I knew I had to end the book with that. Overall, this is my favorite book I've ever written and I can't wait for everyone to read it!

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GIVEAWAY:

Stephanie M. Allen will be awarding a $25 Amazon or Barnes & Noble gift card to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter. Good luck!

(All the Ups and Downs is not responsible for this giveaway, its entries, or the prize. Goddess Fish Promotions and the author assume all responsibility over this giveaway.)

a Rafflecopter giveaway