Today we’re so pleased to welcome author S.A. McAuley back to chat about the Borders War Series, and the upcoming newest installment in the series, Falling, One by One. Merq and Armise, guys… Merq and Armise. <3
Enjoy!
While you and I are ringing in 2016 tomorrow, 544 years in the future Merq and Armise are fighting for their lives. Fighting for each other.
The Borders War series is five books about Merq and Armise—two men who used to fight on opposite sides of a global war, yet have come to an uneasy truce.
Can these former enemies let go of their violent pasts? For the first three books of The Borders War, Merq and Armise’s romance has been on the periphery as they maneuver around each other trying to uncover hidden motivations and secrets.
That all changes in the fourth book Falling, One by One.
I won’t lie, though—their path isn’t an easy one. The first time I read the advisory tags for Falling, One by One I cringed. Here they are, from Pride Publishing’s page:
Reader Advisory: This book contains scenes of graphic violence, forced genetic modification, genetic experimentation, genetic experimentation on children and torture.
Falling, One by One is the darkest book I’ve ever written.
It’s also, arguably, the most romantic.
Go figure.
While the reissues of the first three books have added Armise POV scenes at the end of each book, the Borders War is told almost exclusively through Merq’s POV. Don’t despair, though! In Falling, One by One we get to learn much more about Armise—his history and motivations—as Merq uncovers the truth of who the Mongol giant is.
Merq and Armise have come a long way since they met almost twenty years ago in the eye of the riflescope. But if they’re going to find any peace, together, then they’re going to have a hell of a lot more to fight through.
Falling, One by One rips both of their pasts open, and the fifth and final book—Strength of the Rising Sun, releasing only one week later—reveals what their futures hold. We’ll soon know whether that’s a dark future or the peace they crave.
As for all of you, I hope nothing but joy and good health in 2016 and for many years to come!
(Author note: The first book in The Borders War, One Breath, One Bullet—is currently FREE through Pride Publishing and is a completely different book than the first version! There is also special pricing for all of The Borders War books through Pride Publishing in the month of January 2016.)
Excerpt from Falling, One by One: I tightened the grip on my father. “What did you do to him?”
“Keeping your dog on his leash,” my father choked out. I pressed the tip of my knife deeper into his neck, the flesh giving away under the pressure. Just enough to make him hurt. Just enough to make him bleed. In that moment I saw Armise as they did and I hated them.
Armise was not a dog.
What had drawn me to Armise years ago was intrigue, at first. An unrelenting physical attraction for a man who was just as strong as I was. For a while I’d continued to let him into my bed because of the challenge he presented me, or more likely because of the upheaval he threw into my highly ordered life. But none of those reasons spoke to the core of who he was and why I chose him when there were other men available. Men who were just as scarred, nearly as strong… Men who could never be Armise.
What I recognized in Armise was persistence, and willfulness. An unflagging steadfastness, even though I’d wrongly attributed his allegiance to evil instead of good for years. He was temperance and calm in a world of madness. He was safety when risk ruled us all.
He wasn’t the dog in the room.
“Be careful with the words you use to bait me,” I warned them.
SERIES BLURBS
One Breath, One Bullet (The Borders War #1): Face to face, and rifle to rifle. The time and location change, but never the circumstance. Merq Grayson and Armise Darcan are enemies. And neither will be considered successful until the other is dead.
It is the year 2558. A mere decade has passed since the signing of the treaty which ended the three hundred year long Borders War. In the midst of an uneasy peace, the world gathers for the first Olympic games since the war began.
The Rifle competition showcases the very soldiers who fought in the war, pitting former enemies against one another again. Continental States Peacemaker Merq Grayson will once again battle the Dark Ops officer from the People’s Republic of Singapore, Armise Darcan, this time under the flag of their own uneasy truce. The relationship between Merq and Armise is one of violence, secrecy, and a growing intimacy that could have them both branded as traitors.
But there is more at stake than pride or medals in these games. And neither Merq nor Armise may be able to make it out alive before the fires of revolution are set ablaze again.
Reader Advisory: This book contains scenes of violence.
Publisher’s Note: This book has previously been released under the same title. It has been revised and re-edited for re-release with Pride Publishing.
General Release Date: 5th January 2016
Dominant Predator (The Borders War #2): A relationship is the least of Merq and Armise’s concerns…
With one bullet Merq Grayson set the wealthiest citizens of the world on a collision course with the poorest—with those fighting for their freedom. As the Borders War reignites, the Revolution faces heavy losses. They scramble to maintain their advantage, to strike at the Opposition and crumble their power structure before they are able to rally.
But Merq is in the midst of an internal battle that shakes him to the core. For the first time in his life Merq will have to reconcile the inherent tragedy of war and decide just how much vengeance can be justified by spilt blood. How much can he trust the men and women around him? The President, Neveed, his former soldiers, his parents…and Armise.
Merq and Armise find themselves off grid and on the hunt for Committee members. Merq is just as unsettled with Armise at his side as he was with Armise as an enemy, but they will have to learn how to fight together—or they may just die together.
Reader Advisory: This book contains scenes of violence.
Publisher’s Note: This book has previously been released under the same title. It has been revised and re-edited for re-release with Pride Publishing.
General Release Date: 5th January 2016
Powerless (The Borders War #3): He was built to be invincible.
Merq and Armise return to the States after their mission to assassinate the remaining Committee members only to find the leadership of the Revolution isn’t as stable as they had thought.
Outside forces come crashing down on a Revolution stronghold, leaving two of their soldiers gravely wounded. Merq’s history with his brothers in arms Simion and Neveed forces him into making decisions that will impact his future with the Revolution.
Merq has always identified as a soldier first. Always known who deserved his loyalty and who didn’t. But with the uncertainty surrounding the leadership of the Revolution, the mysterious disappearance of the jacquerie and increased activity with the PsychHAgs, Merq knows there are few people he can trust.
The only man Merq wants or needs at his side is Armise Darcan. But his reliance on his former enemy may be a miscalculation that will threaten everything Merq stands for.
Reader Advisory: This book contains reference to genetic experimentation on children.
Publisher’s Note: This book has previously been released under the same title. It has been revised and re-edited for re-release with Pride Publishing.
General Release Date: 12th January 2016
Falling, One by One (The Borders War #4): Whether Armise lived or died was never supposed to matter to Merq.
As the fight for the kids of the jacquerie begins and the war between Opposition and Revolution heightens, Merq discovers that he may not have as much control over his actions as he thought he did. Further complicating their tangled relationship, Armise may be just as compromised.
Desperate to learn the truth, Merq and Armise put themselves directly in the path of a powerful enemy. They’ve spent fifteen years of their lives on the knife’s edge of trust and loyalty. What they learn about each other’s pasts—and what it means for their future—will bring them together or definitively tear them apart.
Merq’s life has always been at risk—one bullet away from death in sacrifice of his mission. As his focus begins to shift, Merq may be too late to understand what, and who, is most important in his life.
Reader Advisory: This book contains scenes of graphic violence, forced genetic modification, genetic experimentation, genetic experimentation on children and torture.
General Release Date: 19th January 2016
Strength of the Rising Sun (The Borders War #5): Merq’s always known there’s only one way Armise and he can end.
The Opposition is losing—both the war and the fight for citizen support—and the Revolution’s victory appears certain. Despite that success, Merq knows his leaders won’t let two of their greatest assets simply walk away. But with Armise fighting for his life, getting out becomes Merq’s primary objective.
Almost two decades of selfishness can’t be alleviated with one right decision, and Merq is faced with the reality of how deeply he has wounded Armise in ways that cannot be seen from the outside. Merq’s world has been upended more times than he can count and he’s always survived, but life without Armise is no longer an option. He just has to prove that to Armise.
Merq believes there are few who are strong enough to challenge them when they stand together. But when the secret Armise has been protecting Merq from is revealed, the truth has consequences neither of them can prepare for.
Reader Advisory: This book contains graphic violence, mention of torture and genetic experimentation.
General Release Date: 26th January 2016
Buy Links and Promotional Price Info:
One Breath, One Bullet – FREE (99p/c on Amazon, free on Pride Publishing’s site and other retailers, Offer ends 31st January)
Dominant Predator – 99p/c (Offer ends 31st January)
Powerless – 30% off (Offer ends 31st January)
Falling One by One – 30% off (Offer ends 31st January)
Strength of the Rising Sun – 30% off (Offer ends 2nd February)