Blog Tour: The Perilous Journey of the Much too Spontaneous Girl by Leigh Statham

The Perilous Journey Of The Much Too Spontaneous Girl

(The Perilous Journey of the Not So Innocuous Girl #2)

by Leigh Statham

Publication Date:  September 20, 2016

Publisher:  Month9Books

Lady Marguerite Vadnay and her trusty automaton, Outil, have settled into life in New France rather well. Marguerite is top of the class at flight school and her future as an aerpilot is nearly secure. She has everything she wants— except a commission on the pirate hunting dirigible The Renegade. Using every card in her aristocratic arsenal, Marguerite wiggles her way onto the finest warship France has to offer. But as usual, Marguerite’s plans endanger the lives of those she holds dear— only this time no one else is going to save them. As Marguerite and Outil set off on a rescue mission they may not return from, she finally realizes it’s time to reorder her cogs.

This steampunk adventure is littered with facts from The Golden Age of Piracy and follows (not too closely) some of the lives and adventures of the brave men and women who sailed the seas as privateers, pirates and soldiers.

Link to Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28537398-the-perilous-journey-of-the-much-too-spontaneous-girl   

Purchase Links:

Google Play | BAM | Chapters | Indies | Amazon | B&N | Kobo | TBD | iBooks

How you created the plot for this book around what you learned from your family history.

Hi! Thank you so much for having me on your blog. This is an excellent question that I don’t think anyone has ever asked me before. The idea for the series came from, as you mentioned, a story I discovered while doing family history research. One of my ancestors was a Daughter of the King (a girl adopted by King Louis the IVX and sent to Canada to pick a husband and help settle Quebec) but because she was a good girl and did her part for her country without any issues, there isn’t much information about her personally. There is a LOT of information about girls who didn’t follow the rules or decided to do their own thing in Canada. 

This got me wondering. What would make a nice girl from a good family (the Daughters of the King were all recruited from upstanding families in France, some were even nobles) want to leave her cushy life and sail across the pirate infested Atlantic ocean to pick out a soldier husband and settle down? It was a really fun game of “what if” that I actually dwelled on for a few years. I went back and forth from a bad family life, to a kidnapping situation. None of that felt right. Then the image of a girl came to me that fit exactly the kind of character I would want to write about. She was rich, beautiful, popular, completely spoiled, and had a lot of growing up to do. But there had to be things about her that made you want to stick with her. Even rich beautiful people have trials, so I gave her a mean governess with ulterior motives, a best friend below her station that is heading off on adventure without her, an absentee father who is trying to marry her off to the highest bidder, and a passion for machinery. When this all came together in my mind, I knew I had the right combination for a great story. After that it was all downhill. The more research I did about the era, the life styles, fashion, and pirates, the more excited I got and the faster the story flowed. I love writing about characters that start out borderline despicable and then redeem themselves. I feel like it has the biggest payoff in the end and if you do it right.

However, at the end of the first book, I felt like Marguerite was just starting to come into her own and learn the things that she needed to learn. I also felt like I didn’t get to spend enough time with the pirates, so that led to a natural path for the second book— pirates and more shenanigans!

I hope you enjoy reading the series as much as I have enjoyed writing it. Marguerite does grow up in the end, eventually, I promise!

OTHER BOOKS IN THE SERIES 

Lady Marguerite lives a life most 17th century French girls can only dream of: Money, designer dresses, suitors and a secure future. Except, she suspects her heart may be falling for her best friend Claude, a common smithie in the family’s steam forge. When Claude leaves for New France in search of a better life, Marguerite decides to follow him and test her suspicions of love. Only the trip proves to be more harrowing than she anticipated. Love, adventure and restitution await her, if she can survive the voyage.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18308621-the-perilous-journey-of-the-not-so-innocuous-girl   

Google Play | BAM | Chapters | Indies | Amazon | B&N | Kobo | TBD | iBooks

Leigh Statham was raised in the wilds of rural Idaho, but found her heart in New York City. She worked as a waitress, maid, artist, math teacher, nurse, web designer, art director, thirty-foot inflatable pig and mule wrangler before she settled down in the semi-quiet role of wife, mother and writer. She resides in North Carolina with her husband, four children, five chickens and two suspected serial killer cats. If the air is cool and the sun is just coming up over the horizon, you can find her running the streets of her small town, plotting her next novel with the sort of intensity that will one day get her hit by a car.

Connect with the Author: Website |Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

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Son of a Pitch Twitter Party!

Twitter Pitch Party begins NOW and runs until 5PM Arizona time Sept 27th.

Rules:

Keeping it simple: Once an hour per manuscript. Do not Favorite others pitches unless you are making a request.

That's it!

Go crazy!

Tackle Your TBR Read-a-thon!

I came across this challenge on Goodreads, and since I have a massive To-Be-Read pile, I really appreciated the sentiment behind it!

My challenge is to take a photo of your favorite books from when you were growing up and tag me on Instagram, (@katie_hamstead) If you don't have Instagram, share it on my Facebook page and mention the Read-a-thon.

Also, I have a reading challenge that you can find on Goodreads, and I have joined in with myself. And, since my books fit the profile, I highly encourage you to use them to join in with the fun. (Find my books HERE) Australian Women Writers Challenge.


I also have a giveaway for you! So click below and enter to win some books!

 

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Son of a Pitch Editor Round Has Begun!

Congratulations to everyone who has participated in Son of a Pitch thus far. More than anything I hope everyone has gleaned valuable insight on how to improve their query and writing so going out and querying will be successful for all. Querying is a beast, and getting objective eyes on your work to help you make that next step toward a contract is something we all seek out. So good luck to everyone!

Now, on with the show! Twenty entries were voted through to this round by published authors who helped the writers refine their queries. Let me tell you, counting those votes wasn't easy, because they were so widely spread! But here are the end results, and I hope the editors who come by make plenty of requests.

Just a reminder: Only editors and the author can comment on the post.

Here are the entries:

Young Adult:

Jaguar Child

The Doll Train

The Crow Queen

The Mortal Coil - Revelation

Molfar

Soul Bound

Eden

Broken

The Fall of Troy

The Sword & The Shield

Nascent

Queen For All Seasons

Doleful Creatures

Aquestrials

Fount of Power

Adult:

Best Laid Plans in Scotland

Improbable Girl

Trans Liberty Riot Brigade

Cuckoo's Cradlesong

Boarding All Rows

Son of a Pitch YA Entry: Jaguar Child

Title: JAGUAR CHILD

Age and Genre: YA Fantasy

Word Count: 79,000

Query:

In two weeks, sixteen-year-old Nadya must announce her choice of hut-mate to her entire rainforest village, but she has no idea which unlucky man she’ll pick. Her last hope is that the ancestral Mother will give her guidance during a pilgrimage with other teens from the village. But instead of advice, the Mother torments her with nightmarish visions of fire and skin-melting pain, cementing Nadya’s belief that she’s cursed.

When the group returns, a translucent dome has risen over her village, trapping their families inside. Distressed by the strange magic, Nadya and the others set off through the perilous jungle to seek answers from the shaman of the nearest village.

As she battles past vicious apes and swarms of venomous wasps, Nadya can feel something skittering in her bones, demanding to be released. She fears it’s all part of the Ancestors’ curse, but when she transforms into a jaguar and tries to eat the future leader of her village, she realizes the truth: she’s hadana, a shape-shifting monster. Nadya is terrified and repulsed—especially since the Ancestors demand such abominations be put to death.

                                                                                                    

Worse, Nadya unknowingly caused the dome around the village and is the only one who can fix it. But her jaguar form is overtaking her mind. As she struggles to keep from becoming feral, Nadya must decide how long she will fight against herself to save a people who have never accepted her—and who will surely execute her if she succeeds.

First 250:

I sweltered by the river and considered dropping my hearth bowl into the green-shadowed water. Maybe the current would carry the monstrosity away, past the palm trees and orchids that crowded the shoreline, until it finally sank down among the anacondas and rotted.

Rotting couldn’t make it any uglier. 

My fingers tightened around the rough wood of the bowl. It was supposed to be a gift for my hut-mate, to be presented when I announced his name in front of the whole village at the hearth ceremony in two weeks. I had hoped to carve a masterpiece that would win the affections of my chosen man—and prove I had the blessing of the Ancestors. Prove that, in spite of everything, I belonged in the village of Liermo.

But whichever man I picked would probably take one glance at my pathetic bowl and flee ten miles through the jungle, seeking refuge in the village of Cardua to avoid marrying me. Because though I had been laboring over my bowl for weeks, trying to listen to the wood, to let it tell me where to chisel and scoop, the wood remained as silent as a dung beetle. I couldn’t even figure out the direction of the grain.

And now only an hour remained before the thing had to be finished. So tossing it in the water wasn’t really an option. But maybe if I could just add the right details, no one would notice the bowl wasn’t exactly smooth.

Son of a Pitch YA Entry: The Doll Train

Title: THE DOLL TRAIN

Category and Genre: Contemporary YA

Word Count: 60,000

Revised Query:

High school junior Marc Amazi would do anything to blend in. But his dark skin isn’t exactly an invisibility clock. And though it’s been years since an accident he caused killed his younger cousin, the hushed voices and judgmental stares have yet to go away. He just needs to make it to graduation and then he’ll be on the next train out of town. That is, until he befriends Anna Mason. Arguably the most stunning creature in the universe. Captain of the varsity basketball team. And the only one who doesn’t fault him for his past.

Marc’s almost out of the dreaded friend zone. Almost. But then Oct. 17 happens. Anna shows up at Marc’s house disoriented and confused, only to die in his arms. Immediately Marc is targeted as a suspect. And when her death is ruled an overdose and pills are planted at the scene, he’s the one who goes down for delivering the narcotics that killed Anna.

As the justice system brands Marc by the color of his skin, the town doesn’t label him a friend in morning. They label him a murderer. A social media group is created to attack Marc. He’s all but ready to give up and join Anna on a journey to the stars. But in the midst of Marc’s trial, Anna’s younger sister goes missing. Marc might have a real shot at finding her, but to do so he will have to battle the demons of Anna’s death and a childhood trauma he thought he buried long ago.

First 250 words:

Oct. 17

The night Anna died

Time doesn’t stop when the world is ending. It sticks together, every moment exaggerated, ticking by so dreadfully slow.

Knees slicing the pavement. Crimson drops staining the gravel. Anna limp. A pretty little doll someone forgot to put back on the shelf. 

Come back to me, I silently plead. Come back.

Her body is stretched out on the pavement. I attempt to pull her up from the ground. Shake her until she wakes up or until I find a way to give her my heart. But all 5 feet and 9 inches of her is dead weight. She slips back to the ground, her arms and legs nothing but gelatin.

Only seconds ago she was seizing. Her body possessed, dancing in shapes I never knew existed. My head collapses onto her chest, searching desperately for a heartbeat.

And then I hear it. Erratic and panicked throbs ricochet between us. But she is still. So very still. This horrendous symphony is only compromised of my pulse. Hers is…

Gone? It shouldn’t be a surprise. This is what happens to everyone I love. And yet I would give her my heart, every drop of my blood, every second of every hour of every day. If only I knew how.              

Anna, please.

I drown. Even on dry land. Air rushes in and out at warp speed, but none of it reaches my lungs. Salty drops of water slide down my face. I don’t hold them back anymore.

Wake up. Dammit wake up.

Son of a Pitch YA Entry: The Crow Queen

Title: The Crow Queen 
Category and Genre: YA Fantasy 
Word Count: 84,000


Query: 
Once, no one would have dared threaten the kingdom of Rhodaire. Not when skilled warriors protected the land on the backs of massive Crows with elemental magic. 

Seventeen-year-old Princess Ana Cerralté trained her entire life to become one of those riders, until the Illucian Empire’s elite soldiers invaded on the night of Rhodaire’s yearly festival. The Illucian soldiers set fire to the rookeries and hunted down any Crows that escaped the flames, leaving Ana’s kingdom vulnerable and destroying the future she worked so hard for. 

Ana falls into depression and withdraws from her kingdom, leaving her sister, the queen, to piece it together. When Illucia threatens to attack again, Ana learns her sister has engaged her to the cruel Illucian prince in exchange for peace. Thinking Illucia plans to forcibly place Ana and the prince on Rhodaire’s throne once the marriage is official, Ana searches desperately for an alternative. When she finds a Crow egg in the ruins of the royal rookery, she rushes to hatch it, knowing even one Crow could level the playing field between the kingdoms – but the secret of hatching may have died with the Crows.

As Ana hunts down the last known Crow rider in hopes of learning the egg’s secrets, she discovers the Illucian prince is having her followed, and may already know about the egg. With time running out, Ana must let go of her past and depression, and find the secret to hatching the egg before her marriage becomes official, and Rhodaire is enslaved to Illucia.

First 250 Words: 
Sometimes all I could think about was fire. 

I’d see it in the reflection of the sun on the gray castle walls, or in a flash of red hair flickering in the wind. Or I’d see it in the swirls of burn scars creeping up my left forearm, etched there the night the Crows were killed. I absently traced the edges where the red splotches met my brown skin, ignoring every word my sister said.

We sat on the patio in the castle garden, the remains of the papaya and yogurt we’d had for breakfast spread out on the table. It was early, and the only sounds outside Caliza’s talking came from the warble of goldfinches and the song of a nearby thrush.

“You hardly talk to anyone… I know you’re still not back to normal… If you’d just try a little…”

Then, sharply, “Ana? Anadithia! Are you listening to me?”

I looked up from my hand, blinking several times until I felt alert enough to feign interest. “Define listening.” A tiny vein in Caliza’s temple twitched, and I added, “Last I heard, you were instructing me in the ways of fluff and grandeur. At the next ball, I promise to pretend to like at least five people. Maybe even six, if you never bring it up again.”

My biting tone was meant for her, but it ate at my insides too. I used to love parties – well, mainly the food and dressing up. I’d never enjoyed playing politics; it took too much tact.

Son of a Pitch YA Entry: The Mortal Coil - Revelation

Title: The Mortal Coil - Revelation

Age and Genre: YA Paranormal

Word Count: 73,000

Query:

Aiden Milligan knew his life wasn’t normal, but it took breaking into the school gym to hunt for spell sigils to realize how far from normal his life really is.

His grades were the only thing Aiden Milligan didn’t screw up while drifting through the foster system. When his exceptional scores open the door to the distinguished Covington Academy, seventeen-year-old Aiden sees a way out of his hellhole and doesn’t look back – until his past catches up. Members of the basketball team end up comatose a day after an altercation with Aiden, and he finds himself a detective’s prime suspect.

Aiden is determined to clear his name, even if it means teaming up with fellow student Jessie Rivas, a wannabe journalist whose theories are as outlandish as her wardrobe. When people start collapsing into comas all over the city, and bizarre symbols are found at the scene of the incidents, Jessie’s occult conspiracies start sounding more plausible than the police reports.

As Aiden begins to receive visions that tie him and the incidents to something larger, he realizes he may be more involved with the case than he thought. With police ready to lock him up, a coven out for blood, and the incidents showing no signs of stopping, Aiden may not be able to save his reputation or the victims – or even his life.

 First 250 Words:

Aiden Milligan spent so much time in Covington Academy’s hot seat, he kept expecting them to engrave his name on it. Even his shadow dragged its feet as he trudged to the principal’s office, repeating that all-too-familiar question.

What had he done now?

Aiden made a point to stay detached from most people at Covington Academy. He’d become well-acquainted with Principal Hadley, however, during the two years he’d attended – in all the worst ways. Most of the students and faculty avoided him at all costs, but Hadley either didn’t get the memo or took it as a challenge. In his seventeen years, Aiden had never met anyone who could match him in bull-headed determination. The man was going to churn out the future world changers for which Covington Academy was renowned, like it or not.

Aiden begrudgingly admired that on some level. He’d appreciate it more if it wasn’t directed at him.

“Well, Aiden, thank you for coming,” Hadley said as he entered the office.

Aiden looked up at the dirty-blonde, balding man behind the impenetrable oak desk and raised an eyebrow. They both knew he wouldn’t be there if given the choice. But Hadley was the poster boy for pointless formalities.

Aiden looked at the uncomfortable wooden chair in front of him. No plaque yet. Shame. He plopped down and took interest in a spot over Hadley’s shoulder.

“Yes, well,” Hadley continued, moistening his thin lips. “To business.”

He folded his hands on his desk, eyes narrowed.

“This morning, there was an incident.”

Son of a Pitch YA Entry: Molfar

Title: MOLFAR

Category and Genre: YA Contemporary Fantasy

Word Count: 98K

QUERY:

Seventeen-year-old Ian Hill, the first male in a long line of witches, is a dud. His sixteenth birthday came and went, along with his hopes for a power. Any power. He would’ve settled for levitating pencils.
Used to being a disappointment, Ian resigns himself to a boring suburban existence, running errands and taking out the garbage at his mom’s pagan supply store. Until he meets Violet. The talented witch not only saves Ian’s life, but mysteriously awakens his weird powers, and some normal teenage hormones, too. Welcome to the world of telepathic trees, killer shadows, and ghost pet cats.
Ian’s new tree whispering Gift isn’t just unique; it’s practically extinct. But having loyal leafy allies with unmatched wisdom, protection, and healing abilities isn’t enough for Ian. To impress Violet, Ian “borrows” her treasured book of spells and tries a shortcut to master more magic. His attempt ends in a wildfire, and Violet, betrayed and hurt, disappears from his life.
While nursing a broken heart and gnawing guilt, Ian learns he is a target of the Dark Soul Stealers. Feared by the whole witch community, these powerful occultists seek to unleash denizens of demonic realms onto the world. Ian’s powers may be the missing ingredient they need to succeed. Without Violet’s training, Ian fails to prevent the destruction of his hometown and his mom falling gravely ill. As he races to save his mom and to find Violet, his adversaries present him with an impossible deal: his mother’s life in exchange for his soul.

 

250 WORDS:

When your mom is a walking lie detector, you master the art of withholding the truth.

Sitting under a shady oak, I grab the closest sack full of flowers and tie it tightly with a twine. A little too tightly. Applying unnecessary force feels cathartic. I’m not as mad as I was yesterday when Mom announced my four day emergency plant harvesting trip to Gram’s cabin in the Poconos. But I haven’t forgiven her either. Surely she didn’t know I’d be missing Rick Gogol’s graduation party. Midsummer—Litha, as witches call it—is in a few days, but Mom can’t void my plans every time a high holiday rolls around. There are eight of them! I’d never have a social life. And since the family witch gene skipped me altogether, I can’t be expected to make that kind of sacrifice.

So I’ve decided tonight I’ll drive back to Chornohora and attend Rick’s party against Mom’s wishes.

It’s a two hour drive one way, which means no evening plant harvesting, but I’ll have two more nights to catch up. Sleep can wait and Mom won’t know a thing. In the unlikely event she does find out, the worst she can do is make me work overtime at her pagan supply store. I practically live there already, so what’s a few more hours?

Besides, Samantha Lawrence is worth the risk.

Day one of senior year’s French class, when Sam waltzed over and sat in the chair next to mine, I knew I was a goner.

Son of a Pitch YA Entry: Soul Bound

Title: SOUL BOUND 

Category and Genre: YA Urban Fantasy 

Word Count: 83,000

Query:

18-year-old Falon is soul bound. She shares her mind and body with her other soul, Wolf, and they don’t always get along. Falon has to constantly resist Wolf’s animal urges and attempts to take control of her body, but at least she’ll always have a loyal, ill-mannered, pain in the ass best friend.

Their quiet life protecting the forest is shattered when two supernatural strangers show up. And they’re after Falon’s blood.

Soul binders are caught in the middle of a centuries-long struggle for power over the supernatural underworld, and they’re being murdered as threats or exploited as weapons. Falon’s blood is the tide-changer both sides are after. One that could end it all for good and stop a war before it starts.

But this is no battle of good versus evil. There are only evils. Joining a side might mean Falon can save her kind. Joining the wrong side could mean she dooms them all to extinction. 

First 250 Words:

Even from here we can feel their heartbeats, thumping inside their chests. We can hear their labored breaths and see their faces moist and glistening with humidity. They have no idea they’re being watched, my body blending in with the thick, deep darkness of the inner forest of the Refuge.

Poachers, Wolf says, watching them through my eyes.

They were easy to track, the stench of alcohol and sweat, their heavy boot prints and tire tracks, all glaring evidence of trespassers.

Stupid poachers, she amends.

I shuffle closer, carefully choosing each place to set my feet. A canine hooks over my lip as I grin. Stupid is right. This is almost too easy.

My toes sink noiselessly into the damp dirt, the calloused soles of my feet numb to the muddy grit. Energy from the Earth passes from the ground into my feet, teeming with life that I can’t see, but can feel around me. I am one with everything, one with the souls of the animals and trees that I share this forest with.

And these poachers do not belong.

I part the waxy leaves of a giant fern and can see them, swatting at mosquitoes and toeing the prints from a boar in the dirt.

Attack, Wolf growls, pushing me forward.

Beads of sweat bubble up on my forehead as I keep my feet firmly planted, resisting her control. It’s always a fight over control.

Not yet, I tell her. Haven’t you heard that patience is a virtue?

No.

Well apparently it is.

Son of a Pitch YA Entry: Eden

Title: Eden

Age and Genre: YA Light Science Fiction

Word Count: 109,000

Query:

When eighteen year old Savannah Black wakes up in an underground research facility called Eden, her memories are fuzzy. Assigned a new name, Jaye, for her "new life", Eden informs her of what she's missed: a worldwide airborne virus, half the population infected or dead, and her mother locked up in quarantine. Eden's offering sanctuary and a chance at a cure, but not for free. In exchange, Jaye will have to consent to scientific testing, including Eden's colored serums, the ones aimed at making her forget her past. But when the serums fail and Jaye's memories come flooding back, she's faced with two game-changing truths: her mother died a long time ago and Eden's lying about why she's here.

The more the truth unravels, the more Jaye has to lay on the line. And the more dangerous to Eden she becomes. When Jaye and her newfound friends uncover proof of Eden's hidden agenda, they're left with one last choice: attempt escape. But escaping won't be easy, since those who don't abide by Eden's rules tend to wind up dead.

First 250 Words:

I pry my eyes open, dark spots dancing in my vision. A revolving metal fan stares back at me, it’s blades spinning lazily, the cool breeze welcome on my sweaty skin. The white lights are blinding compared to the fog I’m coming out of. The dream. Me, floating in a thick gelatinous substance, one that clung to my body, hugged me close. Everything within in me jumbled and stuck, sinking beneath me like quick sand. I wipe the sleep from my eyes, catch the small red light flashing above the metal door. An automated voice cuts through the silence.

“7346 is now awake.” 

I back against the headboard, my heart seizing within my chest, oxygen draining from my lungs. Where am I?

Four bare white walls surround me, the sterility of it like bleach, singeing my nose. An armchair sits in the left corner and to my right, a small desk, three books resting on its metal surface. The only other item in the room is the bed beneath me, covered in white linen.

Images surge through my brain: a small girl coughing, people wearing masks, a white corridor. None of them make sense.

The blinking light turns solid red, watching me.

“Hello?” I call out. 

The door slides open and a young girl with short blonde hair steps inside. Her skin is so fair it nearly matches the pale walls. She smiles at me, checking her clipboard.

“7346, I’m glad you’re awake.”