Friday, April 19, 2013

RELEASE DAY GUEST POST - ST BENDE (ELSKER)

Guest Post 
by ST Bende


Thanks so much for letting me visit on ELSKER’s release day, Tracie! As a debut author, it’s been such a treat to be embraced by such a kind group of bloggers. And it’s doubly exciting for me to be on Books By Banister. I’m a huge fan of your work, and I think your character development is brilliant. Anyone who loves Kenneth Branagh enough to put him in one of her books is pretty fabulous. (*cough, Tracie, cough*)

Thanks to our beloved Kenneth Branagh (and that cutie pie he cast in the title role of his film, Thor), we all know about America’s favorite Norse God. According to the mythology, the God of Thunder with the oversized hammer had a more colorful past than Sir Branagh led us to believe. See, before Thor married Sif (or fell for Natalie Portman, whichever version you prefer), he had an altogether different kind of love story… with that hammer, Mjölnir.

Once upon a time Mjölnir was kidnapped by an evil jotun.  Said jotun promised to return Mjölnir if he could marry Freya, the Goddess of Love. Freya wasn’t too into this plan. She was a goddess, a fierce warrior, and the original cat-lady -- she traveled around on a chariot pulled by cats. Seriously. Since Freya wasn’t about to give all that up to save Thor’s precious hammer, Thor had to come up with another idea.

A resourceful god, Thor decided to dress up as a bride his own self rather than live another day without his beloved Mjölnir. He traveled in drag to Jotunheim, tricked the perp out of his prize, and brought Mjölnir back to Asgard, leaving a trail of dead jotuns in his wake. Yep, Thor was the original runaway bride.

In ELSKER, Thor’s stepson Ull isn’t running from marriage -- in fact, he’d give anything to have a family of his own. But a family is a luxury he can never let himself have. As an Asgardian Assassin, Ull has experienced -- and inflicted -- plenty of loss. The idea of losing another person he loves literally immobilizes him. And since he’s fated to die at the Norse apocalypse, Ragnarok, he can’t see the point in getting attached to anyone. Ever. 

Ull’s not ready to meet Kristia Tostenson. Can the small-town human show the Norse God of Winter that there’s more to life than going through the motions? And more importantly, does she want to?

Sometimes fulfilling your destiny means doing the exact opposite of what the Fates have in store. 



Book Title: Elsker

Author Name: ST Bende

Series Title: The Elsker Saga

Genre: New Adult Paranormal Romance

Publisher: Entranced Publishing, Blush

Blurb: Kristia Tostenson prefers Earl Grey to Grey Goose and book clubs to nightclubs, but when she transfers from her one-stoplight town to Cardiff University in Wales she falls in love with Ull Myhr. Her new boyfriend isn’t exactly what she was expecting. He’s an honest-to-goodness Norse God — an immortal assassin fated to die at Ragnarok, the battle destined to destroy Asgard and Earth. Kristia’s crazy visions are the only thing that can save their realms.

Her orderly life just got very messy.



TUR, the prequel, can be downloaded for free HERE. 
Be sure to stop by ST Bende's blog between April 11th and May 20th to enter to win fabulous prizes in Waffle Fest -- the ELSKER Release Month of Giveaways! Prizes include $10 Amazon gift card, a query critique, and getting your name in the ELSKER sequel!


Buy ELSKER:

 

Connect with ST Bende:


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15 comments:

  1. Thanks for sharing ladies! As Tracie knows this is right up my alley and she's determined to bankrupt my book budget! LOL ;)
    <3 Tobi

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    1. Thanks so much, Tobi! I hope you like Ull as much as I do. ;)

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  2. Love dalliances with gods! I've gone one "in the cooker" myself. Sounds like a great book--I look forward to reading it!

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    1. Ooh, I love mythology stories. Can't wait to hear more about yours! Greek, Norse, or other?

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  3. Wow, ST, what an incredible story! I am both intrigued and amazed. Elsker sounds like nothing I have ever read before, and I'm very excited to dive into it!

    Congratulations on the release!

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    1. Thank you Samantha. I am so grateful for your support!

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  4. Thank you SO MUCH for sharing the Elsker love, Tracie! I'm so excited to be on your site - I'm an uber-fan of INOT and BIOTF. Squee!

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  5. Congrats! Hope you have a wonderful release day. :)

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    1. Thank you Rachel! Time to get out the waffle maker. ;)

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  6. Hip Hip Hoorrraaaayyyy! Elsker is out ToooodddaaaaayyyyY! :) Love this post and the history of Thor! :)

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    1. Thank you Melinda! Who knew Thor had such a good sense of humor, right?

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  7. I'm so excited about your release, ST! Even though I know very little about it, I've always found Norse mythology fascinating, and LOL about Freya being the original cat lady. I'm really looking forward to reading Elsker. Huge congrats on the release! I hope you're celebrating in style. :-)

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    1. Thank you so much Libby! You have no idea how much your support means to me!

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  8. Happy Launch Day, ST!! :) I hope you had an amazing day! Your post was beyond fascinating! I'm really looking forward to reading Elsker. All the best!

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    1. Thanks, Cat! If Elsker makes people even half as happy as Breaking the Rules made me, I will consider it a great success.

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