Presented by
Title: Portia
Series: Angelbound Offspring
Vol or Book #: 2
Author: Christina Bauer
Audience: Adult 18+
Genre: Romance/Fantasy
Format: E-book and Paperback
Publisher: Ink Monster LLC
Cover by: Art by Ana Cruz, Graphics by Paddy Donnelly
Editor: Ink Monster LLC
Pages: 250 pages
ISBN: 9780990635246
ASIN: B00W2A9Q0G
Date Published: 10-27-15
Unlike her famous older brother Maxon, Princess
Portia isn't known for killing demons or attracting admirers. The reason why is simple: a spell was cast on Portia, and the magic has
marked her to one day transform into a dreaded Void demon. To fight this horrible fate, Portia's spend
her life hiding in libraries and learning magic. But when the Void demons threaten to destroy
all the after-realms—and the handsome dragon Emperor Tempest offers his help—then
Portia suspects that her future holds more than just a demonic
metamorphosis. Fate is calling the
bookworm princess onto the battlefield, and it's a fight against both deadly
enemies and her heart's desires.
Chapter One
I am so late.
My heart beats at double speed while I rush up the staircase to the Ryder mansion. After pulling open the fancy wooden door, I step inside a large and empty foyer. Well, it’s almost empty.
The President of Purgatory is waiting for me. Not good.
Even worse, her mouth is pressed into a thin and frustrated line. No question why she’s unhappy. My lecture on Magic Across The After-Realms should’ve started twenty minutes ago.
“Portia, you’re finally here,” she sighs. “We were getting frantic.”
The President’s known for being tough on crime, graft, and well, everything really. But she’s also my grandmother. When it comes to family, Gram’s a softie who worries like crazy. I should know, being a softie myself. I give her a quick peck on the cheek. “So sorry, Gram. I got caught up.”
Gram’s tail sways warily over her right shoulder. No shock, there. Every quasi-demon in Purgatory has a tail. Gram’s variety is long and black with an arrowhead-shaped end and a mind of its own.
Currently, that mind totally suspects that I’m up to something.
Good suspicion, actually.
“What are you working on this time?” asks Gram. “Is it dangerous magic? Please tell me you’re being safe.”
“No, it’s not dangerous at all,” I say.
Which isn’t entirely true.
My cheeks redden with guilt, but I can’t exactly admit that I was up all night trying to track Void demons by casting spells with an enchanted canopic jar. It’s super-tricky stuff. I could’ve ended up with a Void demon in my living room, and I’m not what you call battle-hardy.
Christina graduated from Syracuse University’s Newhouse School with BA’s in English along with Television, Radio, and Film Production. An avowed girl geek, Christina loves creating immersive fantasy worlds with action, adventure, romance, and kick-ass female protagonists. As part of her work in Ink Monster, Christina has co-developed the ‘Heroine’s Journey,’ a blueprint for telling female myths inspired by the work of Joseph Campbell. She lives in Newton, MA with her husband, son, and golden retriever Ruby.
Thank you for speaking with me. I'm trying not to fangirl too much, though
I'm not much good at it. I gush about
this series and Ink Monsters different series as a whole since I first read
Angelbound and Becoming Alpha what seems like forever ago. Anywho thanks again I guess I'll ask
questions now ;)
Aw, shucks!
You made my day!
What are three things on your bucket list?
Good question!
One. Quit my day job and write
full time. Two. Visit the pyramids. Three.
Support my son into becoming the best little guy that he can be.
How did you first get into writing?
I started telling 'my stories' as soon as I could
talk. By the time I hit first grade, the
nuns had to set aside story hour for me at the end of the day so I wouldn't
interrupt class anymore! To this day, stories are going on in my head all the
time. My Aunt was a writer, so she
steered me in that direction from an early age.
Guess I was lucky she didn't work in an asylum, because I sometimes
wonder where my behavior could have sent me otherwise!
What inspired the world of Angelbound?
Angelbound came right out of my experiences
working at Microsoft and founding a global investment program for our small
reseller partners. I was having a great
time kicking ass, taking names, and building the program across multiple
groups. At the time, people kept warning
me about becoming a target—back then, it was dangerous to build something
across groups—but I was having such fun, I didn't care. Myla's voice is exactly how I sound when I'm
in the zone on a good work battle. I do
fist bumps, happy dances, the whole nine yards.
I even sing little songs on calls when I have good news. Ba-ba-ba-bah-bah-bah-BAAAAAAH! I had people search me out 'just to meet me,'
and I thought this side of myself might be fun to make into a character.
So you know, I did get the backlash from a new
boss who wanted me and my program gone.
He got what he wanted. Today, I still
work with Microsoft but as a partner.
I'm going out to Remond next week to meet with the VP of Global
Alliances. Myla FTW!
Purgatory sure is full of different creatures that
make sure there is never a dull moment.
Briefly tell us a little about the main ones we'll be focusing on in
Portia. Void demons, Quasi-demon, Thrax,
and Dragon Emperor.
Ooooh, I love this question! I do Pinterest boards to inspire my world
building. I've linked the appropriate
ones below.
Void demons are nasty goop monsters who eat the
Firmament, which is the magical network that keeps Purgatory, Heaven, Hell and
everything else connected.
Quasi-demons run Purgatory. They are mostly human with a little demon DNA
that manifests as a tail and as a power across one of the seven deadly
sins. Portia's mother is quasi. Since Portia has a little demon blood in her
as well, that makes her quasi, too.
Thrax are demon fighters who are part angel and
part human. They live far below the
Earth's Surface in Antrum. Portia's
father is thrax.
Tempest is the Emperor of the Furor, a race of
dragon shifters who have special powers over the deadly sins of lust and
wrath. Tempest is known for constantly
taking new lovers. However, those
closest to him have recently noticed a change in the Emperor. Is he getting ready to chose his Rhana, what
dragons call their life mate? Or has the
choice already been made long ago?
Dragons.
There s a dragon on the cover and in the summary. How did you decide on the mythology of your
dragons?
OMG. This
is something I spent a ton of time on and then, it got like two paragraphs in
the book! The way my mind works, it just
turns over a world 24-7 while I'm in a book.
I can't shut it off if I tried!
Once I get on a roll, I use Pinterest to help me visualize things. For Portia, the dragons are organized into
different tribes. There are glassdragons, water dragons, butterfly-sized dragons, and dragons who craft gems in
order to gain power over magic. And a
ton more.
We started out with Myla. Now we have progressed forward jumping a bit
forward with each book moving to the children.
What made you decide to jump forward and from Myla as primary?
This is all Tempest's fault. He started showing up in scenes in book 2 and
would not get out of my head. He
appeared as this fully realized character and I fell in love with him. I was like, hey now! You're who and you want what?! He was even already buds with Maxon and had a
thing for Portia. Now that Tempest has
his book and can shut the f*ck up, I'm thinking about going back and doing
another book in Myla's voice between Scala and Armageddon. It would cover their wedding and all that
good stuff. It's tentatively called Acca
and I should have a release date soon.
The Igni predicted Portia and even whispered her
name to her mom, did her parents have any say in her name?
No, they had no say whatsoever in Portia's
name. Kind of like how I felt when
Tempest started showing up J
From a story perspective, the ingi got in cahoots with Verus and came up with
the name together.
Also how did you as the author or the Igni come up
with the name?
From a writer side, I like the idea of Portia and
Tempest. Her character is a 'port in the
storm' of Tempest's life. Can't say more
without giving anything away!
What do you want readers to take away from your
books?
Oh, if you have a good time and can escape from
reality for a while, then I'm a happy camper.
I love it when people tell me that my books inspire them to go out and
kick ass in some way, too!
Do you have any new projects coming up?
Yes, I'm working on a new series called
Beholder. The first book, Cursed, is due
out in March 2016.
How can your readers get in touch? (Links provided just below)
Thank you so much!
I can't wait to see your answers.
Thank YOU for your thoughtful questions!
Instagram Username : CHRISTINA_CB_BAUER
So
now that you know all the awesome reasons you should be reading this series I
want to share with you my thoughts on the newest edition. I was beyond excited when this one became
available on NetGalley. Like out of town
download the kindle app on my phone and stayed up all night at my friends not
sleeping but reading. Yep. That is how
good.
Rating: 5 Stars
As
if it wasn't clear I LOVED this book.
Meeting Portia and seeing a different type of character was super
interesting. She is kick-ass no doubt,
but she is a different kind of kick-ass.
She's not as battle ready as the rest of her family but she is fierce in
a way of handling the adversity she has been plagued with from birth and not
standing around waiting for things to happen to her but fighting to challenge
them. And of course she's not completely
unequipped in battle, she is the daughter of Myla and Lincoln after all. Oh and then there is Tempest. I liked him in Maxon sure, he was intriguing
and such but now to have so much of him is even better! I can see what Christina was compelled by
this dragon. He's a charming and mysterious
bad ass with a soft side that makes you want to sin.
There
is more magic in this story that previous ones and we also learn more about the
world as a whole, how all the realms work and are connected. The story is a roller coaster that doesn't
stop moving. There is constantly
something happening, never a dull moment, probably why I couldn’t put the book
down to sleep. You are instantly pulled
into the world, into Portia's destiny, the salvation of all the realms. There is something in the story for
everyone.
Portia
and Tempest work together, both new to one another and figuring the other out
but still working together on the quest.
I liked how the story built. There
is some insta-attraction, but come on both parties have part lust demon in them
and are sexy that was bound to happen but the connection builds from just
attraction which is something I loved discovering with them. Plus did I not mention he can turn into a
full on dragon! How awesome is that? I would totally want him on my side. Even when there was some vague answers thrown
about courtesy of our favorite angel of visions, seriously I think she likes
talking in riddles, everything blended into the larger story. I also love how the characters I fell in love
with from the first book are still active and present in the story and not just
a foot note.
That's
all I have to say on it. I highly
suggest picking up Portia, the whole series really because they are all such
great fun to read. I hope you all have
enjoyed these fun events I know I have.
Fangirl central being able to interview authors whose books I loved,
hello. I only have one more thing for
you today and that is the giveaway just below.
Take a moment and enter you could get some awesome goodies!
Until
next time…
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/33870edf7/?widget_template=55f70ccb0e6eaee8318e2421
"To cure fear, you must use fear."
