Book Tour & Giveaway: A Sliver of Shadow author Allison Pang on saucy unicorns and relating to OtherFolk
Welcome Allison Pang, author of A Sliver of Shadow!
One of the things I enjoy most about writing Urban Fantasy is the ability to write both the fantastical and the mundane and mix them all up. In the Abby Sinclair series, many of the characters are mythological in nature and have their own lives and issues outside of the story. I tend to poke fun at a lot of tropes in my books – mostly tongue-in-cheek pop culture stuff (i.e. references to sparkly vampires, etc.), but I also tend to run snippets of additional plots that don’t always come blatantly to the surface.
So, while, yes – I do have a dirty little pervert of a unicorn running around biting people on the ass as a form of comedic relief, I also have more serious moments as well. Charlie and Robert, for example – they may be mostly secondary characters at this point – but behind the scenes for all three books they’re dealing with Charlie’s infertility issues, Robert’s infidelity and what happens to a child born within that situation. Robert certainly doesn’t act very heroic within his own life and there are probably readers who wonder why Charlie chooses to stay with him, but I’m pretty sure most of us have run across people in that sort of situation…or even *been* in that situation.
And no, things don’t always work out happily ever after. Real life doesn’t always work out the way we want it to and I feel like glossing things over really does a disservice to both the readers and the characters. It’s not a major plot point as far as Abby’s story goes, but I do feel like it adds some overall depth to the world as a whole.
Plus it makes the OtherFolk much more relatable. Often in fantasy stories, the mythological beings seem to have problems and issues that are so far removed from the everyday that it’s hard to be able to connect to them. Giving an elven prince mommy issues or a making a magic violinist a secret cutter might seem a little beyond the pale at first glance, but it drives home the point that magic does not make things perfect. There certainly isn’t a spell that can fix everything, anyway.
Plus, even though I have an overall “defeat the villain” story arc happening, things don’t stop happening just because you’re in the middle of trying to save the world. If anything, it just hammers home the point that life goes on.
That being said, I do try to keep much of what’s going on with the secondary characters fairly subtle. The main focus is on Abby, since this is her story, but I also like to keep the background as three-dimensional as possible.
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A Sliver of Shadow
Abby Sinclair series, book #2 Just when her new life as a TouchStone – a mortal bound to help OtherFolk cross between Faery and human worlds – seems to be settling down, Abby Sinclair is left in charge when the Protectorate, Moira, leaves for the Faery Court. And when the Protectorate’s away…let’s just say things spiral out of control when a spell on Abby backfires and the Faery Queen declares the Doors between their worlds officially closed. The results are disastrous for both sides: OtherFolk trapped in the mortal world are beginning to fade, while Faerie is on the brink of war with the daemons of Hell. Along with her brooding eleven prince Talivar and sexy incubus Brystion, Abby ventures to the CrossRoads in an attempt to override the Queen’s magic. But nothing in this beautiful, dangerous realm will compare to the discoveries she’s making about her past, her destiny, and what she will sacrifice for those she loves. |
Excerpt from A Sliver of Shadow“Who’s my little man?” The unicorn crooned at Benjamin and then winced when a hank of beard became the baby’s newest form of entertainment. “Keep that up and you’ll be a baldy chin,” I retorted. “And I don’t recall asking your opinion. Not that that’s ever stopped you before. Talivar around?” “Nope, burned the coffee again. Ran out to get more.” A snort escaped him. “He’s even worse at it then you are.” “Probably something about being a prince and not having to actually cook for himself. At least he’s trying. More than I can say for you.” I stooped to search for my Crocs, pushing through dust bunnies and clumps of what suspiciously looked like unicorn droppings. “Christ, Phin, use the toilet or go outside or something.” I snatched my hand away. “That’s not me. I think you’ve got mice.” His tone became wheedling. “I’ll bet. Just clean it up.” “With what? Gonna turn my tail into a broom?” The furred tuft in question flicked as if to make the point. “I’m sure you’ll come up with something. Besides, aren’t unicorn horns proof against poison? Purifying water, that sort of thing? Surely something that can bring a dead man back to life can disinfect like Lysol?” |
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About the author…A marine biologist in a former life, Allison Pang turned to a life of crime to finance her wild spending habits and need to collect Faberge eggs. A cat thief of notable repute, she spends her days sleeping and nights scaling walls and wooing dancing boys….Well, at least the marine biology part is true. But she was taloned by a hawk once. She also loves Hello Kitty, sparkly shoes, and gorgeous violinists. She spends her days in Northern Virginia working as a cube grunt and her nights waiting on her kids and cats, punctuated by the occasional husbandly serenade. Sometimes she even manages to write. Mostly she just makes it up as she goes. |
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Where to find Allison…
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Giveaway opportunity
Allison is giving away 10 signed copies of A Sliver of Shadow tour-wide. Use the Rafflecopter below to enter! Allison will announce the winners at the end of the tour (it will not be announced here)…
a Rafflecopter giveaway
the excerpt is such a teaser. hope i win one of the book..
Love the series!
Allison is a new author to me. I’m so glad that I’ve became aware of this second book. It sounds great. On the last stop there were some great pictures of art that make it even better. It sounds like all kinds of creatures and humor mixed in. I’d love a chance at winning this book.
Tanyaw1224(at)yahoo(dot)com
Dirty little pervert of a unicorn, I love this character already!!! I’m going to have to go find the first book to read now, hoping to win this second one!
goaliemom00 (at) cox (dot) net
What at great teaser! Thanks for the chance to win!
kristinaparmenter51(at)gmail(dot)com
Sounds like a great book!
Thanks for the chance to win!
Thanks to Allison for visiting GT today and for the giveaway opportunity!
For more giveaway madness and a great dual interview with Allison and Jennifer Estep, go here:
http://pocketafterdark.com/_Jennifer-Estep-38-Allison-Pang-Co-Interview/blog/5822429/159176.html
You had me at “dirty little pervert of a unicorn” 😉
I am all for meeting new mythological creatures and that’s what I like about urban fantasy. I’ve heard about this book recently and now I have my eye on the series.
Great post. This book sounds good. Thanks for the chance.
mythic021@gmail.com
Enjoyed the intro to this new to me author and that excerpt was hilarious!
Thanks for the giveaway opportunity!
I love A Brush of Darkness and cannot wait to continue with the series. Thanks for the giveaway.
smccar1 at hotmail dot com
I’m always looking for new UF series, and as I’ve had A Brush of Darkness for a while now, I really need to get caught up on this series.