BooksChatter: ☀ The Alastair Stone Chronicles [1-2]

Thank you for joining us on the Virtual Book Tour for The Alastair Stone Chronicles, a Contemporary Paranormal Urban Fantasy series by R.L. King (Magespace Press).

Find out more about the series below, and in our Q&A with author R.L. King.

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The Series | Author Q&A | About the Author | Giveaway & Tour Stops

The Series: The Alastair Stone Chronicles

Dr. Alastair Stone, Occult Studies professor, powerful mage, and snarky British expat now based in Palo Alto, California, does his best to keep his academic and social lives separate from his increasingly frequent brushes with various malevolent forces from the supernatural side of the street. A little horror, a little humor, but mostly straight-up urban fantasy.

At least seven books are planned in this series, with the third instalment, The Threshold, due for publication in late 2015.

Part of this series was previously published as "The Forgotten" Trilogy; two titles were published: "The Forgotten", and "The Threshold". The series has been completely revised and re-published starting in early 2015, with these all brand new editions which begin with a whole new adventure: "Stone and a Hard Place".

Click on the book cover to Look Inside the book on Amazon and read an excerpt.

Stone and a Hard Place [1]

SAFE AS HOUSES

It’s hard enough for Alastair Stone to keep his two lives—powerful mage and mundane Occult Studies professor—separate without an old friend asking him to take on a new apprentice. Especially after a university colleague wants him to investigate a massive old house for things that go bump in the night. Still, Stone figures it’s an easy job: just turn up, put on a little show, and announce that the house is clean.

Only it isn’t. A malevolent spirit is reawakening in the basement, imprisoned between dimensions and intent on escape. If it succeeds, countless people will die. Worse, a trio of dark mages want to help it break free so they can control it for their own sinister purposes. They’ll do whatever it takes—including seducing Stone’s young apprentice and using him against his master—to get what they’re after.

With time running out, Stone has to stay alive long enough to uncover the spirit’s secrets. But even if he does, he fears that his own power won’t be enough to send it back.

Stone and a Hard Place is the first book in the Alastair Stone Chronicles series [1st Edition Published 16 March 2015, 365 pages]

Excerpt

“…I’m going to kill you…” said a voice in the darkness.

Stone stirred, opened his eyes. He was still where he thought he was, Megan’s cheek warm against his bare chest, his arm draped protectively over her back. He listened for a moment, then shook his head. He must have imagined it. Or maybe it was the wind. He glanced at the clock on the nightstand: 1:42 a.m.

Megan muttered something and snuggled closer to him, and he settled back.

“…I’m going to kill you, and everyone you ever cared about. As soon as I am free, I will rip their entrails from their bodies…”

His eyes flew open again. He sat up a little, looking around, then shifted to magical sight. Nothing was out of the ordinary on either the mundane or the magical plane. “Who’s there?” he whispered, not wanting to wake Megan.

“…I will flay your skin from your body, and boil your eyeballs until they pop. You will beg for death...”

Stone looked around, trying to identify the source of the voice. At first he saw nothing, but then a faint light caught the corner of his eye. He turned.

There was a crack in the door to his walk-in closet. A thin line of unhealthy-looking greenish light shone from it, creeping out into the room.

And the line was getting thicker.

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The Forgotten [2]

HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT

When a friend asks Alastair Stone to question a disturbed child who’s committed a horrific act, Stone has no idea what kind of rabbit hole he’s starting down. His investigations turn up more instances of appalling crimes, all committed by people with no history of violence. And other people have turned up missing…

It’s not long before Stone crosses paths with Jason Thayer, a young man searching for his runaway sister who might be a victim of the same bizarre affliction. Together, Stone and Jason are embroiled in a network of odd homeless people, strange symbols, a growing conspiracy, and deadly danger. Even if they find Jason’s sister in time, there’s no way to know if they can help her—and it’s soon clear that the problem is a lot worse than they originally suspected.

What do you do when you discover an extra-dimensional plot that threatens the safety of the entire world, but you can’t tell anyone about it because literally anyone on earth could be part of it?

The Forgotten begins The Forgotten Trilogy, and is the second book in the Alastair Stone Chronicles series. [2nd Edition Published 22 June 2015, 498 pages, first published 18 May 2012]

Excerpt

Jason let out a loud sigh, his natural tendency to want to move nearly overwhelming now. “How do we know if it doesn’t work? Do we have to stand in here forever?”

Stone was about to answer when he stiffened, startled. “It’s back,” he said, pointing at the mirror.

Jason spun around. Sure enough, the reddish figure had reappeared behind them in the mirror, looking as angry as ever. It said something to Stone in its bones-and-parchment voice, punctuated by many growls and other sounds of displeasure. The mage nodded. “She’s there now, then?” he asked.

The figure snarled and glared at Stone. It appeared to be contemplating another lunge out into the real world, but eyed the mage warily and decided against it. Instead, it spat at him. The spittle flew out, contacted its own side of the mirror, and ran down toward the table with a sizzle. Then it reached out with a ropy, muscular arm and attempted to sweep all the objects off the table on its side of the mirror. The candles, knife, and chalice went, careening silently over the edge and out of sight. The book remained, and the creature screamed in agony as its arm contacted it.

“It’s fighting me—” Stone said under his breath. “I’m going to release it now.” He reached up with both hands and put them on the mirror again. Loudly and clearly, he uttered a long sentence in the strange Latin-like language, then pulled his hands back abruptly and clapped them together in a sudden, sharp sound that made Jason jump. He stumbled, reeling back, realizing with horror even as he did so that he had no way of stopping himself. He was going to fall over backwards, taking out a good chunk of the circle when he landed.

As he went over, he got a last look at the creature’s face. Instead of looking angry, it looked suddenly surprised and triumphant. That lasted about two seconds. It flung itself forward again, clawed hands eagerly reaching in front of it, reaching for Stone, for Jason—

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The Alastair Stone Chronicles
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About the Author

R.L. King is an award-winning author and game freelancer for Catalyst Game Labs, publisher of the popular roleplaying game Shadowrun. She has contributed fiction and game material to numerous sourcebooks, as well as one full-length adventure, "On the Run," included as part of the 2012 Origins-Award-winning "Runners' Toolkit."

Her first novel in the Shadowrun universe, Borrowed Time, was published in May 2015.

When not doing her best to make life difficult for her characters, King is a software technical writer for a large Silicon Valley database company. In her spare time (hah!) she enjoys hanging out with her very understanding spouse and her small herd of cats, watching way too much Doctor Who, and attending conventions when she can. She is an Active member of the Horror Writers' Association and the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, and a member of the International Association of Media Tie-in Writers.

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