Handbook for Mortals
by Lani Sarem
Date of
Publication: August 15th 2017
Publisher:
GeekNation Press
Cover
Artist: Ryan Kincaid
Genre:
Urban Fantasy/Paranormal Romance
Tagline: A
young woman goes to Las Vegas to join a magic show only to learn that falling
in love is more dangerous than magic.
BLURB
Zade Holder has always been a
free-spirited young woman, from a long dynasty of tarot-card readers,
fortunetellers, and practitioners of magick. Growing up in a small town and
never quite fitting in, Zade is determined to forge her own path. She leaves
her home in Tennessee to break free from her overprotective mother Dela, the local
resident spellcaster and fortuneteller.
Zade travels to Las Vegas and
uses supernatural powers to become part of a premiere magic show led by the
infamous magician Charles Spellman. Zade fits right in with his troupe of
artists and misfits. After all, when everyone is slightly eccentric, appearing
''normal'' is much less important.
Behind the scenes of this
multimillion-dollar production, Zade finds herself caught in a love triangle
with Mac, the show's good-looking but rough-around-the-edges technical director
and Jackson, the tall, dark, handsome and charming bandleader.
Zade's secrets and the struggle
to choose between Mac or Jackson creates reckless tension during the grand
finale of the show. Using Chaos magick, which is known for being unpredictable,
she tests her abilities as a spellcaster farther than she's ever tried and
finds herselfat death's door. Her fate is left in the hands of a mortal who
does not believe in a world of real magick, a fortuneteller who knew one day
Zade would put herself in danger and a dagger with mystical powers...
Handbook for Mortals is the first
book in the series of this urban fantasy, paranormal romance series by author
Lani Sarem.
Following Zade through the
trials--and romance--of finding her own place in the world, readers will
identify with their own struggles to fit in, reflected in the fantastic, yet
mundane world of Zade's life.
Handbook for Mortals is in
development as a motion picture set to debut in 2018.
Add it on Goodreads
Book Trailer: https://youtu.be/BWegIoTJO2g
Excerpt:
“Hopefully
I wasn’t interrupting something important,” Mac said, with no attempt at
feigning actual sincerity. I could tell he didn’t care that he had interrupted,
or that he had been rude.
“Just
kindness.” I responded. I don’t think he expected my answer to be truthful, and
he looked taken aback. He had probably expected me to say “Oh, no worries!
Nothing important.” He made no comment, but backed off a little. When he
continued talking, he had a bit less snap in his voice.
“I’d like
to schedule a crew call for you once your contract has been signed. You, me,
and all of our techs, so we can go over your trick and map out how it will be
safely implemented into the show.” He knew that calling what I had done a
“trick” instead of an illusion I would take as a slight. It’s sort of like
telling someone who had just won an Olympic gold medal and was proudly wearing
it around their neck, that their necklace was cute. Mac kept incessantly
tapping his Sharpie on the side of his clipboard and shifting his weight between
his feet.
I stood
up slowly and calculated, looking him square in the eye, which probably
surprised him a bit, since he was at least six feet tall. I’ve always enjoyed
the luxury of being a tall girl. I’m five foot nine inches and so while I don’t
usually tower above any guys I know, I can definitely look them directly in the
eye. Most girls who at five feet five inches (which, I believe, is an average
height for a woman) have to look up. My height was an advantage that I never
took for granted and here, again, I was happy that I didn’t have to look up to
him—figuratively or literally. In heels I could even be as tall or taller than
him and I’ve always loved that part about being the height I am. I half smiled
and slowly spoke, “Maybe you misunderstood. I don’t show anyone how it’s done.
That wasn’t just for the audition. I handle this illusion on my own.”
Mac held
still for a moment, and then glanced up from his clipboard, looking irritated.
He pursed his lips and flared his nostrils. The tapping stopped. He dropped the
clipboard from his stomach and held it in his hand while pointing his finger
directly in my face. “Listen, lady, I don’t know who else you worked for, but
we don’t do that Lone Ranger stuff around here. I’m the technical director and
in charge of everyone’s safety, no matter how stupid you want to be. You do
what I say, and I keep your pretty self from getting hurt. Got it?” I’m fairly
certain he growled at me as he spoke.
Myriad
thoughts ran through my head and I’m pretty sure several seconds passed in
silence as we stared each other down. I could feel my hands tightening into
fists. I really did want to punch him. I could see it happening. I’m not strong
by any means but I’m also not a wimp. I wouldn’t have broken anything, but he
would have been bruised and sore. I quickly ran through the possible outcomes
of punching the technical director on my first day of work. It didn’t really
seem to be the best idea.
I leaned
into him so closely that it might have looked like to an outsider that I was
about to kiss him. I huffed a little and my words were slow and deliberate. “I
understand this is your job and all, but I don’t think you’re listening to me,”
I hissed. I tapped his chest with my finger and he jolted a bit at my touch. He
looked at me like I was speaking some kind of foreign language.
“I’m not
listening? Lady, you need your ears cleaned,” he snarled back. He turned around
to walk away, as if that was the end of our conversation. If he was trying to
piss me off more, it was working.
I grabbed
him by the shoulder, stopping him in his tracks and swinging him around to face
me. My face had flushed and I’d raised my voice to a full yell. “And you need
to get some manners. I’m not showing you how it’s done, okay? If we have a
problem I can go to another show where the technical director doesn’t have a
God complex. I’m not a girl who needs a knight in shining armor.” I was
practically snarling at him.
Mac
gritted his teeth and looked like he might hit me, but I knew that wasn’t
really an option for him. Guys like him didn’t hit women, no matter how mad we
made them. He laughed loudly. “Ha! Good luck finding a Technical Director who
will treat you like the princess you clearly think you are. If I found you
locked in a tower, I promise I’d leave you there.” Mac whipped around again and
this time saw Riley, who had been standing just a few feet away from us the
whole time. Riley was pretending not to be paying too much attention, but you
could tell that was all he had been doing. I couldn’t blame him. Mac glowered
at Riley and barked, “Where’s C.S.? Riley, go find Charles. Now!”
“On the
move,” Riley replied with a nervous, almost panicked look on his face as he ran
off to the side and disappeared.
Author Info
Lani Sarem always wanted to work
in the entertainment industry. She began acting at age 3 and continued to act
and perform through her early years. Lani started writing scripts when she was
11 and over the years has done everything from writing, acting, band managing
and helping start and work festivals. She's managed bands like the Plain White
T's and Blues Traveler and toured with everyone from Ryan Adams to Gnarls
Barkley. Lani has appeared in films like Mall Cop 2 and Jason Bourne. Make sure
to catch her in her latest film Trailer Park Shark on the Syfy channel this
July as Roxy.
The Book Junkie Reads Interview with
Lana Sarem . . .
How would you describe your style of writing to someone
that has never read your work?
Well in this book it’s from Zade’s perspective and her
thoughts. So you need to want know what it’s like to be in the head of a young woman
in her early 20’s and still figuring out life.
What are some of your writing/publishing goals for this
year?
Well my big one is getting this book out! So I can check
that one off the list…I’d also like to finish the 2nd book in the
series…I think that’s pretty good for the this year!
Do you feel that writing is an ingrained process or just
something that flows naturally for you?
It’s both…ideas spill out of me very naturally…but
grammar is always a struggle for me.
Do you have a character that you have been working on for
a long time that still isn't quite ready, but fills you with excitement to work
on the story?
Well Zade is the character I’ve been working on the
longest…her and her story…and since not all the books are done she isn’t quite
ready…she’s still growing…and she is very exciting.
If you could spend one-week with 5 fictional characters,
who would they be?
Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen from Game of
Thrones, Yvaine and Tristan for Stardust
and maybe Aslan from the Chronicles of Narnia.
Where would you spend one full year, if you could go
Anywhere? What would you do with this time?
I would just travel the world. I’ve been to 34 countries
so far…I’d like to add several more to my list! And I’d do all the things you
are supposed to do when you go to those places. I’m a gypsy at heart…
Can you share you next creative project(s)? If yes, can
you give a few details?
Sure it’s the next one in this series. The story opens up
and becomes way more fun in the sense that there is a lot more magick and
adventure and danger…and of course her love story gets far more complicated.
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