During her tour, Anna is going to award a $30
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Blurb about The Fox's Mask:
Demon hunter Akakiba keeps many secrets from his human companion.
The fact he's a werefox isn't the worst one.
In feudal Japan, magic is dying. As a demon hunter, Akakiba finds
this problematic. The evil he's been trained to destroy is disappearing and,
along with it, the shape-shifting abilities of the clan he left behind. With
his only companion, a determined young human named Yuki, Akakiba traverses the
country slaying demons and performing odd jobs.
But when an army of demon-possessed humans masses to exterminate
his clan, Akakiba must put aside old feuds and protect his family–-all while
hiding an important secret from Yuki. Will they find a way to defeat the demon
possessed before it's too late? With magic dwindling, will it matter either
way?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Excerpt from The Fox's Mask:
Sometime later, the boy woke.
“I’m hungry,” he said shyly. “Are we
there yet?”
“Do you want a rice cake, um, you?”
Yuki blinked. “Uh, you never gave us your name.”
“I’m Taro, because I’m the firstborn
in my family,” he explained as if they couldn’t figure out that a person named
“eldest son” was likely to be the eldest son.
After discovering Taro’s name, they
also discovered that once he was finished being awed into silence, it was very
difficult to get him to stop talking.
“Why is your name Akakiba?” Taro
asked. “Is it a warrior name?”
“No. It’s the name I was born with.”
“Why would your parents pick that
name?”
“My father is named Kiba, the fang.
My mother is Akahana, the red rose. They compromised with Akakiba, the red
fang.”
“Oh. Do you always wear your
swords?”
“Yes.”
“Even when you sleep?”
“Yes.”
“Even when you take a bath?”
“No.”
There was an all-too-brief moment of
silence before Taro asked another question. “Why is it the Fox clan and not the
Dragon clan? Foxes don’t fight demons, dragons do.”
Yuki intervened, perhaps sensing
Akakiba’s growing impatience. “Foxes fight demons too. Don’t you know the
legend?”
“There’s no legend with fighting
foxes,” Taro asserted.
“Is that so? Then I can’t tell you
about it since it doesn’t exist...”
“Tell me!”
Yuki’s voice softened as he began.
“A long time ago, when foxes were more than mere animals and possessed great
powers, it wasn’t rare for them to take our likeness and live among us unseen.
It so happened that a fox disguised as a beautiful lady fell in love with a
strong and honorable samurai. They married and lived happily for a time.
“One day, a dog wandered into their
garden and started chasing the fox lady. So afraid was she that she turned back
into a fox and leaped to safety on top of a wall. Having witnessed the scene,
the samurai begged her not to leave, swearing to love her forever even if she
were a fox. She heard truth in his voice and returned to him. They had many
children and lived happily for a time longer.
“In those days, demons were strong
and cruel, and they despised foxes for their willingness to side with humanity
against them. One such demon descended upon their home and killed the samurai
before the fox lady’s eyes. In her anguish, she took up her husband’s sword and
slew the monster.
“The fox lady’s sorrow was, however,
too great to bear; a wasting sickness took her, and she was soon on her
deathbed. Sensing her death approaching, she told her children that they were
to become slayers of demons, for nothing else would allow her to rest in peace.
Her children obeyed and founded the Fox clan to honor their mother. Ever since,
the Fox clan’s warriors have been fighting demons wherever they can be found.”
Akakiba glanced at his friend with
surprise. “I didn’t know you knew the legend.”
“I didn’t know it before. Someone in
the village told the story during the festival. You should have told me. It’s
interesting.”
Akakiba heard the unspoken reproach:
You never tell me anything. But why should he? There was no need to speak of
his clan. He himself hadn’t dealt with them in years, not since he rebelled,
left the clan house, and found Yuki.
Taro spoke up. “But how did the fox
lady know how to use a sword?”
Akakiba and Yuki sighed in unison.
The road would be a long one.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Author Bio
and Links:
Anna Frost is a Canadian girl who spends
winters writing and dreaming of summer. An overdose of Japanese culture and
media has led her to write fantasy inspired by Japanese mythology. In a
shocking break with literary tradition, Anna does not live with cats. Instead
she lives with chinchillas, which can be just as demanding and evil as cats.
Author links:
Buy links:
This
book is on sale for only $0.99 for a limited time.
Thanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteHi, thanks for hosting my book. :)
ReplyDeleteI'll be lurking about for the next few hours so if anyone has questions, shoot!
-Anna Frost