BooksChatter: ☀ The Ancients (Part II): A Fine Line [3]

Thank you for joining us on the Virtual Book Tour for The Ancients (Part II), a Mythological Dark Fantasy by J.C. Brennan (22 August 2015, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 454 pages).

This is the third book in the A Fine Line series.

Check out the book's synopsis and the excerpt below, as well as details about the whole series, and our Q&A with author J.C. Brennan.

PREVIEW: Read several excerpts with Amazon Look Inside.

J.C. Brennan will be awarding three digital copies of The Ancients: A Fine Line Part 2, a Notebook and Pen set, and a Paperback Set of The Ancients Part 1 and Part 2 to a randomly drawn winners via Rafflecopter during the tour. Please do take part: comment on our post and follow the tour where you will be able to read other excerpts (☀), interviews (ℚ), reviews (✍) and guest blog posts (✉).

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

Synopsis

War is coming… Is William’s family ready?

The mysterious appearance of a young girl—brutalized and half dead—has thrown the Crew into a heightened state of disquiet. Aurora and her evil pack of Damned have declared war, and William now wonders if, somehow, the seemingly-innocent girl may be employed in some way as a dangerous weapon in the coming battle.

The revelation of an ancient relic may deliver the critical aid the Crew so direly requires. Its newly-discovered power enables William to delve into the strange girl’s memories, but will the answers be too horrifying for the Crew to accept? Along with the newfound strength found in this lost treasure comes a treacherous caveat, and William must decide if all of the gains gifted to his family are worth the precarious risks it demands.

A Fine Line: The Ancients Part II is the continuing story in the A Fine Line series. This third book chronicling the story of William Healthaway and his family—the descendants of an ancient race possessed of powers they are only just learning to control. Fans of historical high drama, with traces of fantasy thrown into the mix, will enjoy this sweeping saga of romance, war, family, death and the supernatural. Enter a world where no one is safe from the wicked clutches of the Damned. Where love, laughter, family and all that is held dear wavers on the knife-edge between life and our eternal slumber.

Teaser: Excerpt

As the men walked through the woods looking for any signs of trespass, both were at the peak of readiness, though neither said much of anything to the other. William and Buckner were almost at the south-west line of the property and could hear the babbling of the water splashing along the rock bed of the narrow stream when a strong stench hit pervaded their senses.
     “Oh…my…God, what in the hell is that?” Buckner shouted, covering his nose.
     “I have no idea. Boy, that sure is rancid.”
     They searched the area, spreading further apart to see if they could discover the source of the foul odor. William believed they would find a body at the height of its decay.
     “Do you see anything, Jonathon?” William called, choking as the putrid stench became more intense.
     “No, noth…” Buckner cut his response short, so William began walking in his direction. “No, no, stop! Will, stay perfectly still.”
     “What is it?”
     “Shhh, just listen,” Buckner whispered putting a finger to his lips.
     William stopped and listened hard. The sound was strange but familiar and, at first, he thought it might be an animal caught in a trap.
     “It’s coming from over here, Will,” Buckner said following the flow of the stream.
     The men walked quickly but carefully. If it were a trapped animal, it might not take too kindly to them, whether they intended to help it or not. The sound became louder, but William realized it was being made by something quite small.
     “What in the hell is that?” Buckner asked.
     Then, Buckner stopped abruptly, William crashed into his back and nearly bowled him over, he’d been so focused on finding the creature making all the noise. Buckner’s eyes widened in disbelief, “I can’t believe it.”
     “Believe what? You know, you need to give some warning before you stop like that. What? What is it?”
     Buckner pointed to a small area just ahead of them off to the right, where a very large, very old sequoia tree stood. The tree had a naturally formed opening at its base, which reminded William of the entrance to a cave. The girth of a sequoia tree could grow very large, but this one was massive, nearly forty meters. The opening at the bottom of the tree was quite unusual and almost perfectly rounded.
     After the initial shock at the size of the tree had worn off, William saw what had made Buckner stop. In the huge opening, was a nest of leaves, which held a small bundle wrapped in cloth. Neither of them could believe what they were seeing... It couldn’t be…
     Buckner’s words faltered. “Is that, that…”
     “A baby? Yes, that does appear to be exactly what that is.”
     “I can’t believe a smell like that could come from a baby,” Buckner uttered, still cupping his hand over his nose.
     “Yeah, neither can I. Just stay alert we don’t know where the parents are…and we don’t want to appear threatening.”
     As they approached the tree, the baby gave a happy, high-pitched squeal. It was obvious the child was not in danger or distress, so William signaled Buckner to go to the left of the huge tree as he went around to the right.
     Buckner made it around his side of the huge tree just before William did.
      “My God!”
     William heard Buckner shout, followed by the unmistakable sound of his friend regurgitating the contents of his stomach. William stopped when he heard the sound and stood with his back against the tree. He wasn’t altogether sure he wanted to see what had caused such a reaction from Buckner. He gathered his courage and finished the few steps it took to see…
     “Holy shit,” William cursed in no more than a whisper.
     It took everything he had not to follow Buckner’s lead, turning away to the nauseating image from his sight. William took a minute more to prepare himself mentally, for viewing the most ghastly spectacle he’d ever seen before. When he turned, he fought desperately to keep from looking (though his eyes kept veering over) and went to Buckner who was bent over, his hands on his knees. After a few more gut-wrenching heaves and a moan of pain, Buckner was able to stand up straight again.
     “You gonna be alright?” William asked, knowing full well Buckner would be physically fine, but mentally…well, he might never be quite right again, himself .
     “What in the fuck did that?” Buckner bellowed.
      “Someone with an absence of conscience, morality, and honor… someone we both know.”
     “I cannot believe even she could be so…so morbidly twisted.”
     “Jonathan, I wouldn’t put anything past Aurora and that band of demons she commands. Even Amarious wasn’t this gruesome.”
     The two men stood and gazed in horror at the sight in front of them. The ground was no longer covered with the serene beauty of white snow. The scene put William in mind of the stories by Edgar Allan Poe or Nathaniel Hawthorne, but neither of them had ever written anything that came close to being so gruesome. Even the men’s worst nightmares couldn’t have generated a creature that could have ripped, tortured, and completely annihilated a person in such a merciless grotesque fashion as the one they currently laid witness to.

The Ancients (Part II) - available NOW!

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The Series: A Fine Line

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

The Beginning [1]

When you are a soldier, the thought of getting back to your family, without being surrounded by a pine box, is what keeps you going. This line of thinking was no different for William T. Healthaway, a Union soldier fighting in the battle of Pickett’s Mill. However, William would find out living through this battle would only throw him into a whirlwind of an abnormal variety of hell. He had no way of knowing a more sinister war awaiting him when and if he did return home.

The war awaiting his homecoming was a war that had been raging for hundreds of years; a war that would lead him into a world he had never known or believed existed. After his commitment to a battle of freedom, William is vaulted into a merciless coldblooded war of the ancients. He is plunged into a world of mystery filled with intrigue, deception, death, temptation, and powers. However, with every miraculous power revealed comes with sinister evil. He finds himself in a world that takes him beyond any reality he once had known."

Take a winding, mystical journey with William Thomas Healthaway II, a Union Solider, as he tries to make it through the battle at Pickett’s Mill alive. The battle was brutal and treacherous. But William and the friends he picks up along the way; would soon find out that the war was less complicated and demanding in comparison to what they were about to experience just by being themselves. The “Crew” come together to face the biggest mystery of their lives; who they really are and their history. The line between coincidence and fate is tested in this entrancing tale of the supernatural and unknown.

[Published 7 November 2012, 399 pages]

The Ancients: Part I [2]

**FREE on Kindle Unlimited and Kindle Owner Lending Library**

The Crew have never been strangers to tragedy…

William Healthaway’s family has proven to be quite resilient. Surviving an unprovoked attack by the Damned and defeating the evil warrior Tetron, however, hasn’t guaranteed a happy ending for the family. Still reeling from the loss of his children and plagued by nightmarish images from the Civil War, William must overcome his grief in order to unify his family and prepare them for the impending revenge, certain to be meted out by the Damned.

Unexpected peril presents itself in the form of hate and prejudice from an unlikely source—the townspeople the Crew have live lived among for much of their lives. Rumors of witchcraft, unprovoked attacks and an unfortunate reveal of the powers the family struggles to keep hidden threaten to drive the Crew from their home, just when they crave stability and peace the most. Despite all of the upheaval in their lives, the members of the Crew press on, facing the challenges to come with fortitude, tenacity and a profound love for one another. Dark days lie ahead, ones that will challenge William and his family’s sanity and make them question whether life is even worth living anymore.

In the face of unspeakable tragedy, will the Crew rebound so they can seize the opportunity, unexpectedly lain before them, to learn of their ancient lineage and convoluted history? Does the appearance of a mysterious, but alluring, stranger spell disaster and death…or can she provide the answers the Crew have sought for so long to find the source of their mysterious powers? Even if the pieces to the puzzle all fall into place, will William’s family be able to stave off the Damned and prevent the decimation of the family they hold so dear?

A Fine Line: The Ancients Part I is the second novel in the series, continuing the story begun in A Fine Line: The Beginning. Follow the further adventures of the Crew as they face down the demonic wolves of the Damned and the destruction delivered in their wake. Celebrate with the family at Christmas and at a wedding…or two, and watch the world transform around them as they observe history from the standstill vantage point of an immortal race. The story of the Healthaways and their ever-growing, ever-changing family is a grand saga which begs to be enjoyed by readers who love sweeping historical drama, grand romance and enchanting fantasy. ~Claudette Melanson [Published 14 February 2015, 236 pages]

About the Author

I started by just writing poems when I was younger. The thought of writing a novel was always on my mind but I was not sure if I could actually write a full novel. When I decided that I was going to give it a shot the words just began to flow and before I knew it this wonderful story emerged.

My first novel was the hardest, a nightmare actually. I had never published before and it was a whole new world. I learned quickly that there are people in every industry that will take your money and use you. However, there are also good people out there, people with good hearts. I don't think I would have made it without the wonderful independent author that are out there willing to help and are genuinely good people.

The second one was the same. My greatest hope for this first novel is that people enjoy the story and can get lost in it for a moment.

About me, well I grew up in a small village in Michigan call Skidway Lake. The small town live was a fantastic way to grow up but I always wanted more. My life was a difficult one and being a single mother most of my life made me realize that will power is a person's greatest friend.

I found my calling in the arts at Central Michigan University but with the birth of my son I could not pursue that adventure. I currently hold three degrees and live in Arizona were I have found a beauty that is without compare. I have struggled most of my life to get where I am and know that there are more battles yet to face. However, with will, strength, and the love of my family and friends I know I can accomplish anything.

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Giveaway and Tour Stops

Enter to win one of three eBooks of The Ancients: A Fine Line Part 2, a Notebook and Pen set, and a Paperback Set of The Ancients Part 1 and Part 2.
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