Special excerpt for fantasy romance The Green Rose by Stephanie Burkhart

I’m kicking off a new week with a special excerpt from the fantasy romance novel, The Green Rose, by Stephanie Burkhart.

During her virtual book tour, Stephanie will be awarding a $10 Amazon or Barnes and Noble (winner’s choice) gift card to a lucky randomly drawn winner. To be entered for a chance to win, use the form below. To increase your chances of winning, feel free to visit her other tour stops and enter there, too!

A little bit about The Green Rose:

On the continent of Gaia, evil is brewing. Turncoat wizard, Balthyser, kidnaps the kings of Dahaka and Tapin. He wants the green rose, a source of powerful magic.

Princess Sonia of Tapin is forced to hunt down the rose in exchange for her father's life. It's the ultimate betrayal of Gaia's peace, but she has no choice if she wants to save her father.

Prince Ivánstan of Dahaka accompanies her on the journey. Both face challenges and obstacles that test their strength of character during the hunt for the rose. Dare Sonia put her trust and faith in a man she hardly knows to secure Gaia's peace or will the continent's harmony be shattered forever?

Excerpt from The Green Rose:

Draco stood next to the bank of the brook on hind legs which were thick and stocky. The dragon was no taller than Ivánstan. His wings rested at his side. The green scales that covered his body glistened in the twilight. Upon seeing her, Draco's eyes widened and he moved his head, looking her over from head to toe. Sonia cradled the now sleeping Hiro in her arm against her breast. Heat radiated from the dragon's body.

Ivánstan glanced at Draco and chuckled. "He says you're pretty." "Thank you." She'd never been called pretty by a dragon before. Draco raised his right wing, exposing his claws upward.

"He wants you to put your hand in his. It's his way of greeting you." "I won't burn?"

"Nay. His scales usually negate the heat's effect for us."

Sonia steeled her courage. Seeing Draco so close, she understood why Ivánstan's bonding had been so challenging. She had to trust him when he said Draco wouldn't burn her.

There was that dirty word again -- trust. But how dirty was it? Why did Ivánstan consistently demand it of her? And why did she give it piece by piece?

Slowly, she offered her hand to the dragon. His scales possessed the consistency of slate, but she detected an inner hardness, reminding her of Taveran steel. His claws wrapped around her hand.

A little bit about the author:

Stephanie Burkhart is a 911 dispatcher for LAPD.  She was born and raised in Manchester, New Hampshire.  She served 11 years in the US Army and currently calls Castaic, California her home. Stephanie was married in Denmark in 1991 and has two young sons. She adores chocolate and is addicted to coffee.  She writes paranormal, contemporary, and steampunk romance and has two children's books published with 4RV Publishing.

Links:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | YouTube | Pinterest  

Buy links for The Green Rose:

Publisher | Kindle | Nook | AllRomance

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Interview with paranormal romance author Stephanie Burkhart

Today’s special guest is paranormal romance author Stephanie Burkhart. She’s sharing a bit about her newest novel, Sunrise Over Brasov.

During her virtual book tour with Goddess Fish Promotions, Stephanie will be giving away a $25 Amazon gift card to a randomly drawn commenter. To be entered for a chance to win, leave a comment below. To increase your chances of winning, feel free to visit other tour stops and leave comments there, too!

Bio:

Stephanie Burkhart is a 911 dispatcher for LAPD. She writes romance and children's stories. She's currently published with Desert Breeze, 4RV, and Victory Tales Press. She adores chocolates, loves coffee, and enjoys going for walks. In September 2014, she'll be participating in the 5K Walk to End Alzheimer's in Santa Clarita, CA.

Welcome, Stephanie. Please tell us about your current release.

Sunrise Over Brasov is Book 3 in the Moldavian Moon paranormal series. It's set near Brasov, Romania in the 1880's. Romania has such delicious folklore with the Vlad Tepes/Dracula legend that one just might believe the paranormal is real in Romania.

In the story, Rosa, who is a virgin witch, is kidnapped by Clement, an evil werewolf intent on using the purity of her witchcraft for his own personal gain. Michael, Rosa's beloved, chases after her in the hopes of freeing her from Clement, but will the separation doom their relationship or bring them closer together.

What inspired you to write this book?

Michael's story had to be told. The series is a trilogy and starts with Michael's parents, Mihai and Theresa. While finding love, Mihai and Theresa make a series of choices that doom their family to be haunted by werewolves. Can Michael finally end the curse? Love can led to redemption and forgiveness, but does Michael have the inner strength and courage to travel down that path considering the hurts he's suffered?

Excerpt:

He raised his hand and lowered his hood. An inherent strength filled his profile. Confidence. Concern. Relief.

Rosa's breath jammed in her throat. He looked familiar. He smelled familiar.

"Rosa, it's Michael. Let's go."

"I'm not going anywhere with you."

A frown set against his rugged features. "I don't have time to argue -- now put on a warm dress and cloak."

"No." She was not going anywhere with him despite the relief in his voice.

He sighed and shut the door. Moving with fluid grace, he crossed the room, jerked the door to her closet open and threw the items he wanted her to wear on her bed. "Get. Dressed."

"No." She was determined not to budge, despite the danger outside.

"Rosa, we're leaving."

"I'm staying."

"Why would you want to stay? Clement kidnapped you."

Disconcerted, she pointedly glanced away from his hard stare. What did he mean by kidnapped? Clement didn't keep her behind bars and feed her only bread and water. Rosa could even go into Brasov to shop as long as Lucien or one of the bodyguards went with her.

"I'm going to take you back to your mother."

Her head snapped toward his direction. Mother? Of course she had a mother -- a family, even -- only she had no recollection of them. So why did her body fill with warmth at the mention of her mother by a man she hadn't seen before, but was hauntingly familiar? She pursed her lips, torn by conflicting emotions.

"Caroline and Darius can't keep this up. Now get dressed or I'll dress you myself."

"You'll find me an unwilling subject."

He drew in a deep breath and raked a hand through his thick ebony hair. "You are exasperating."

"So I've been told."

What exciting story are you working on next?

I'm between stories right now. I want to work on a paranormal for Halloween and I need to start the prep work for Book 4 in my steampunk series, "The Windsor Diaries." In June, I'll have a short story coming out called "Arrow Through the Heart," in the Victory Tales Press Summer Anthology and Book 3 of The Windsor Diaries is coming out called "A Lady Never Lies."

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

I remember there was a show in the 1970's called The Electric Company (Interesting note: Morgan Freeman was a cast member). After watching the show I'd go to the kitchen table with my crayons and pencils and create little Spiderman comics based on the skits from the show. Since then I kept writing, focusing on poems and short stories, but it wasn't until I was a teenager did I realize I was a writer and this was something I was going to do for the rest of my life.

What do you do other than write and how do you find the time to write?

I have a full time job as a 911 operator for the city of LA. Since we don't have access to personal computers, I usually do my writing on my down time with a pen and paper. When I get home, I type up what I've written at work. I'm a fast typer so it comes together quickly.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I used to tell people I wanted to be a bus driver because I wanted a job where I didn't have to go to college. I chuckle because I got a lot of reaction with that so sometimes I would say it just to get a reaction. I eventually went to collage (graduated Magna cum laude from California Baptist University in 1995) and went to work in law enforcement after serving in the US Army from 86-97.

Links:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | YouTube | Pinterest

Thanks, Stephanie! Readers, don’t forget to leave a comment if you’d like a chance to win the gift card!