Guest Post with KaSonndra Leigh

The Larks are happy to welcome KaSonndra Leigh to the nest today. She's got some goodies for our readers - an excerpt and a tour of the setting for her novel, When Copper Suns Fall.

Intro and Excerpt by KaSonndra Leigh

Thank you for hosting me on your blog today. I’m so excited to be here because today I’ll be sharing a new excerpt. So if you’ve been following the tour around the various stops, you’ve probably seen a few interesting tidbits by now. Stuff like Faris and Chela’s first meeting, descriptions of the music that inspired the scenes, video trailers, yada yada. And a couple of tour stops have even hosted one of my characters, Seth Alton. He’s outspoken, gorgeous, and speaks his mind whether the recipient likes it or not. I’m happy to say that today your readers get to catch a glimpse of the first meeting between Seth and Chela. Here’s the excerpt: 

 Scurrying down the Thalian’s deserted hallway, I came to the girl’s bathroom and grabbed the knob. Nervousness was working overtime on my rationality, I guess. I pulled the handle. The lever didn’t budge. My bladder expanded by the second. Wonderful. Surely the Thalian’s staff kept repair people on duty. 

I turned back to the knob, yanking it again and again. Why lock the doors on a day like this? Laser eye power would come in handy right about now. 

 I crossed my arms, uncrossed them, squeezed my left fist. Flirted with the idea of using a memory technique. But that was how I ended up standing here kicking a door. Nerves rolled up in me. All I could think about was facing the crowds while I smelled like urine. Maybe not taking the ale-medicine made me weaker. “Don’t panic yet. Figure out something.”  

“Door troubles?” A boy’s calm voice spoke behind me. 

 Horrified I’d been caught talking to a door, I turned to face a dark-haired boy a few years older than me. Wavy silver hair framed his face. He wore a silky, smoked gray shirt, opened to expose a star-shaped tattoo at his throat. He met my eyes with dark ones of his own, vivid blue-black pools staring at me with no reflection of anything in them. They were the darkest, lovely blue I’d ever seen. I blinked and lowered mine.  

“I—I, it’s locked, I think,” I said to the floor. 

 “Let’s have a look.” He reached over me and pulled the door open as if it were a feather. “See. Magic.” 

My cheeks burned. “Thanks, um…” 

 “Seth Alton.” He held out his hand, long and svelte like the rest of him. An earthy scent surrounded him. It reminded me of the incense Lexa’s mom used to cover the watery smells inside their house sitting beside the marshes. 

 “I’m Chela. Wish I could talk more, but I…” 

 He laughed softly. “Duties first, of course.” 

 Those blue-black eyes stared at me. No blinking, or anything. He moved closer to my neck, sniffing the air around me. “Nice scent. What is it?” 

 “Lotus. I—I, um, it used to belong to my mother.” 

 “Used to?” He raised his left eyebrow, something I thought only girls could do so well. It intrigued me in a strange way. 

 “My mother is, well um, she died when we were babies. I—I wear her old perfume for luck,” I said. 

 Okay, so why are you stuttering? 

 “We?” he asked. 

 “My brother. But he’s, um, not here today,” I said, chest filling with a tinge of sadness. 

 “Sorry to hear that. About your mother and brother, that is.” He moved back, freeing me from whatever thing I needed to relieve myself from. He wore no clothing that offered any evidence as to what group he belonged to. 

 “She died two months after we were born. So it’s—I don’t remember her.” I truly didn’t understand why I chose to reveal my private stuff with this stranger. If I stood around talking much longer, I’d probably be asking him to come home for medicine tips. 

 “Luck to you today. Although, I’m sure you won’t need any. Don’t get lost on the way back. These hallways are…tricky,” he said. I nodded like a mute standing there plastered against the wall beside the door. “We’ll see each other again soon, Chela Ceylone.” 

 He mini-bowed and strolled away. 

 Seth turned the corner. I peeled myself off the wall and exhaled. Wait, I didn’t even realize I’d been holding my breath. I glanced at the handle, stepped into the bathroom, but stopped in the doorway. 

 Seth called me Chela Ceylone. 

 No one but Father knew my middle name.

Today I get to take readers on a tour of the world in When Copper Suns Fall. I chose the combined states of North Carolina and Virginia for the setting because: a) I live in N.C. and b) it was the perfect blend of metropolitan and dark history I needed to breathe life into the dystopian fantasy element. 

The book: When Copper Suns Fall 

 The genre: A Dark Urban Fantasy (minus the vampires for the moment, anyway) but with a Dystopian twist  

The setting: Castle Hayne, Hill Borough #1- the greatest and largest of all eight Hill Boroughs in the Nation of Corunum. It’s a walled-in city beside the ocean and is located in a newly rebuilt region that was once called the southeast. Break it down even more? The states formerly known as Virginia and North Carolina have been merged into one after the Tidal Years destroyed and reformed the earth’s surface 55 years ago. Glowing clouds line the sky at night. Residents of Castle Hayne call them the Falling Lights. 

 The premise: Angels in a dystopian society 55 years into the future…the year is 2067. Certain groups in the society have genes enhanced by radiation, creating gifts. Young kids like Chela Prizeon are grouped into one of the five classes of gifted citizens. Supernatural practices such as alchemy have been outlawed by the government. Magical creatures have either been exiled or exterminated. Eight great cities still stand in a world destroyed by a magical war. 

 The problem? Chela and her sick brother, Micah, belong to one of the exiled groups. And both kids will be exterminated if anyone finds out. But to save Micah, Chela needs to use her powers. The ancient ones who hold the Memories call to Chela in her dreams. A gloomy past compels her to experience their heartache and loss all over again. Their world calls to Chela. The way to get inside that world is through the locked gates leading to the old cemetery behind her house. The only way Chela can save her brother, is to face dark fears about her family and herself. Even with the help of the mysterious boy known as the Protector, Chela fears what she will have to do. 

 The world of When Copper Suns Fall offers a blend of the fantastical elements of an urban fantasy and the gothic imagery associated with a dystopian world. Readers of urban fantasy, dystopian, and paranormal romance will all find something they love in this story. I know those are my favorite genres. So I simply took the best of all three and gave the reader something I would love to see for myself. Thank you for hosting me today. I hope you all enjoy the novel.

About When Copper Suns Fall:

In fifteen-year-old Chela Prizeon’s city, alchemy is forbidden, and angels hide among the mortal. With a deadly virus ravaging the globe, Chela’s nightmarish memories compels her to experience a past riddled with gloom, and now her brother is infected.

Chela’s only hope is the Caduceans, slayers sworn to protect the last seven Light Keepers and the ancient memories they share. A group led by the sometimes elusive, sometimes infuriating boy who intrigues Chela. But can she trust this boy with the mysterious past, someone who can influence her memories?

With the Caduceans aid, Chela races to defeat her rivals, to unearth dark family secrets, desperate to find a cure…only to discover the glutovirus is far more than a simple disease.

In this haunting debut, KaSonndra Leigh offers an escape into a world as intriguing as The Mortal Instruments and a story as chilling as Enclave. Full of celestial creatures, fascinating villainy, high-stake choices, and a secret romance, When Copper Suns Fall, is a fresh and original urban fantasy—with a dystopian twist—that will take readers on an unforgettable adventure.

About KaSonndra Leigh:

KaSonndra Leigh lives in the City of Alchemy and Medicine, North Carolina. She likes to write about teens doing fantastical things in magical worlds. Her two sons have made her promise to write a boy book next.

She holds the MFA in creative writing, and loves to play CLUE, Monopoly (the Indiana Jones version), and Pandora’s Box (good writer’s block therapy). She lives in an L-shaped house with a garden dedicated to her grandmother. It has a secret library complete with fairies, Venetian plastered walls, and a desk made out of clear blue glass.

When Copper Suns Fall is her debut novel.

www.kasonndraleigh.com 

http://twitter.com/#!/kasonndraleigh 

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5137209.KaSonndra_Leigh

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