Welcome to Ari McKay and the tour for their latest release, Forged in Fire, book two in the Asheville Arcana series, and the most recent addition to the Dreamspun Beyond line from Dreamspinner Press. We have the Ari half of the writing duo with us today, so enjoy and also be sure to check out the giveaway details below!

Hello, everyone! I’m the Ari half of Ari McKay, and I’d like to thank The Novel Approach for hosting us today! I’m excited to be here to talk about our latest release, Forged in Fire, book two of the Asheville Arcana series and book nineteen in the Dreamspun Beyond line from Dreamspinner Press!

One of the things you might not know about the various Dreamspun lines is that they have a hard word limit of 50 to 60K. It’s one of those things that always makes an author wince when people say “the story was too short, I wanted more!” Most of the time, we wanted to GIVE more, but we’re bound by the restrictions of the publisher, who are going for a certain uniformity in the book line. Don’t get me wrong – I LOVE Dreamspinner, writing for them is a fabulous experience, and I hope to be writing for them for a very long time to come. The reason I mention it here is that we BARELY squeaked in under the 60K limit, and that was after cutting an entire 8K scene from the book!

Not that I think you’ll feel short changed by Forged in Fire at all. What we took out for the sake of length wasn’t anything vitally necessary to the story, just some extra stuff between the major couple and their friends that we ended up summarizing rather than showing directly. I doubt that readers will even notice, but sometimes as writers it is SO hard to kill our darlings (metaphorically speaking, of course!) when we love them so much. It’s especially true in a series like Asheville Arcana, where the couple in the first book, Eli and Arden, are present in the second book and we kind of want to show where THEY are a year later. But of course it isn’t THEIR story, right? In this case, it’s Whimsy and Harlan’s story, and so it was key to keep the action focussed on them first and foremost.

It’s also important from the standpoint of making each book a standalone even within a series. You don’t have to have read Out of the Ashes to enjoy Forged in Fire, since we give you all the information you need to know what’s been going on. It doesn’t hurt, of course (and we would LOVE for you to have read it!) but you can pick it up and not feel lost if you haven’t.

There, now that I’ve indulged myself, and hopefully haven’t put you to sleep, on to the story!

Whimsy, for those of you new to the series, is a human mage, half Cherokee, and half descended from Puritans who avoided the Salem witch hunts by heading south. Which explains his unusual (yet totally appropriate) name. He specializes in transformation magic, and is one of those people who can’t help but reach out when he finds someone in need. Into his life comes Harlan Edgewood, who is definitely a man who needs a little help and love in his life. Harlan is a lycanthrope, a cursed creature who was born human but bitten by a wolf-shifter who had been possessed by a demon, thereby condemning Harlan to centuries of torturous transformations every full moon. Harlan feels like a man apart – he isn’t human any longer, but even though he lives with a pack of wolf shifters, he doesn’t really belong among them, either. When they meet, Whimsy immediately wants to help Harlan, and Harlan… well, he’s a little skittish, because the wolf half of his nature finds Whimsy very attractive indeed!

In the midst of the careful dance Harlan and Whimsy are doing around one another, we toss in a a few wildcards. Julian Schaden, the sarcastic, antisocial vampire who has been “friends with benefits” with Whimsy for a while, and who is a little put out at Harlan figuratively sniffing around Whimsy. There are also demons, possessed shifters, and, most worrisome of all, a potential traitor amongst the Asheville paranormals who has put everyone’s life in jeopardy. Whimsy is a powerful mage, but it’s going to take everything he has to keep Harlan and his friends safe — because the evil in the area has set its sights on Harlan, and if Whimsy fails, it just might cost Harlan his soul!

Thanks for spending a little time with me today! I hope I’ve managed to pique your interest, and that you’ll check out Forged in Fire! Love to everyone, and happy reading!!!

Universal Buy Link
Cover Design: Aaron Anderson
Length: 59,473 words
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Asheville Arcana Series
Out Of The Ashes (Book #1)
Blurb: The magic touch.

Ever since Harlan Edgewood was bitten by a possessed werewolf, his monthly shifts have been agonizing. When he meets Whimsy Hickes—a mage who specializes in transformation—the attraction is mutual. But Harlan believes his curse is too great a burden to inflict on any romantic partner.

Fortunately, Whimsy thinks he can help.

When Harlan is provoked into an unexpected change, Whimsy uses his magic to help ease Harlan’s pain, but with an unexpected consequence. While he’s shifted, Harlan’s wolf claims Whimsy as his mate.

As they draw closer, suspicious events in the Asheville magical community escalate. Shifters are disappearing, others are murdered, and Harlan’s curse makes him an obvious target. It will take all of Whimsy’s magic to force back the rising evil—and if he fails, Harlan will lose not only his life, but his very soul.

About the Authors

Ari McKay is the professional pseudonym for Arionrhod and McKay, who have been writing together for over a decade. Their collaborations encompass a wide variety of romance genres, including contemporary, fantasy, science fiction, gothic, and action/adventure. Their work includes the Blood Bathory series of paranormal novels, the Herc’s Mercs series, as well as two historical Westerns: Heart of Stone and Finding Forgiveness. When not writing, they can often be found scheming over costume designs or binge watching TV shows together.

Arionrhod is a systems engineer by day who is eagerly looking forward to (hopefully) becoming a full time writer in the not-too-distant future. Now that she is an empty-nester, she has turned her attentions to finding the perfect piece of land to build a fortress in preparation for the zombie apocalypse, and baking (and eating) far too many cakes.

McKay is an English teacher who has been writing for one reason or another most of her life. She also enjoys knitting, reading, cooking, and playing video games. She has been known to knit in public. Given she has the survival skills of a gnat, she’s relying on Arionrhod to help her survive the zombie apocalypse.

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The Giveaway

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Follow the Tour

May 1 – OMG Reads
May 2 – Bayou Book Junkie
May 3 – Making It Happen
May 5 – Love Bytes
May 7 – My Fiction Nook
May 8 – The Novel Approach
May 9 – Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, RAM PA Group, Drops Of Ink, Momma Says: To Read or Not To Read, United Indie Book Blog
May 10 – MM Good Book Reviews
May 11 – Bayou Book Junkie, Mirrigold, Valerie Ullmer, Virginia Lee
May 12 – Diverse Reader