Bookish Snob Promotions: Land of Falling Stars tour & Giveaway

Happy Monday! And what a way to start off the week. Keta Diablo is in the house and she has brought along an excerpt from her sexy historical, Land of Falling Stars. She is also giving one commenter a choice of one of any of her books (with one exception, see below). Read, enjoy and 

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Book blurb: After her parents die in a fire, Sophia
Whitfield struggles to save her beloved home, Arbor Rose. The Civil War has devastated the South, and another blue coat has come to steal her meager possessions. Before the hated enemy inflicts his destruction, she shoots him. And soon discovers the soldier is Gavin, the champion of her childhood.

Gavin's dark secret lurks in Sophia’s future. When she discovers the truth, she's torn between a burning hunger for the man she truly loves and loyalty to Jesse, their childhood friend. The despicable acts of war have changed everything Sophia and Gavin once cherished. Yet somewhere deep in their hearts, the mystical Land of Falling Stars still exists.

Land of Falling Stars Excerpt

Set-up: Sophia sees a stranger walking toward Arbor Rose. Believing the man has come to steal or worse, she grabs her father’s Springfield and shoots him.

Excerpt: The bedraggled specimen of a man on the road advanced at a foot-dragging pace. Sophia’s heart sank. Not one speckle of gray covered his lean form. "Another Yankee," she spat. "Thanks to your friends, there's nothing left."

She fled toward the house, raced up the porch steps, and scurried into the parlor.

Retrieving her father's Springfield, her heartbeat gathered speed. From the porch, she lowered the musket to the floorboards and loaded the cartridge, maybe not fast enough for the army, but the outcome would be the same. She rammed the cartridge twice and then lifted the gun level with her chest. With one eye on the stranger, she inserted the primer cap and cocked it.

“Lord above, the man moves slower than tree sap.” Hatred roiled in her bosom.

“Come on, Yank, keep on walking. Your kind destroyed my home, reduced my family to beggars and took Jesse from me. I won’t tolerate one more smidgen of degradation.” She drew a bead on the listless form, set her sight on the left side of his torso. With any luck, she’d hit his villainous heart. Pulling back on the trigger, she tasted sweet revenge. Seconds later, the muzzle exploded and the Yankee toppled to the ground in a heap. Ol' Nap and Daddy Brister hobbled from the barn, their dark eyes bulging.

Ol' Nap clasped the sides of his head. Stout and beefy, his skin weathered by years of picking cotton, the darkie shouted across the distance separating them. ,"Lawdy, Miss Sophia, has ya done lost your mind? Ya shot a man!”

“Coming to plunder and steal. Or worse.” She rushed down the steps with a prayer on her tongue. "Lord, if I make it to heaven, forgive me."

Dropping to her knees beside the man, she glanced at the haversack slung over his shoulder. “Let it hold food or Union money. Confederate notes aren’t worth spit.” She pulled the bag from his still form and rifled through it. Beside her, Ricochet whined and licked the man’s face. Dread rumbled in her stomach. Why would Ricochet lick his face? She flipped the hat from his head and gasped. "Sweet Mother of Jesus! Gavin!"

Her gaze traveled to his wound. Blood soaked his blue shirt and seeped into the waistband of his trousers. Pain-filled eyes opened and blinked, and a hard-earned smile parted his lips. Mindless of his wound, Sophia fell against his chest. “Dear God, I didn’t know. Gavin, oh, please don’t die. Stay with me.”

"Sophia." Coughs racked his frame and his eyes rolled in the sockets. "Walked for miles."

"Don't speak, Gavin. Save your strength. I thought you were one of them."

He chortled and gasped through another faint smile.

"You are one of them, but . . . Gavin, the Yankees came, took everything.”

He struggled to lift his head. "Beautiful Sophia.”

The pewter buttons scattered when she tore his shirt open. God, so much blood.

"Discharged, head wound. I came to tell you . . . ." One hand went to his chest, the other to her face. “Dreamed of you every night.”

"Shush now." His bloodless face loomed before her. Soon he’d lose consciousness or, the Virgin save her, die.

He frowned when another cough ripped through him. “Thought of you every day; ever since I pulled you from the Rappahannock.”

That undid her. She touched his cheek and blanched beneath his cold skin. "Please don't try to talk."

"Jesse," he moaned. "Jesse is . . . ." His head lolled to the side and his eyes fluttered shut.

About the author: Keta Diablo is a multi-published author in romance (paranormal/historical) and gay fiction. In 2009 her historical novel Decadent Deceptions was a finalist in the RWA Molly contest (Decadent Deceptions on Kindle). In 2010 Keta finaled in The Scarlet Boa contest with her yet to be published novel Phoenix Rising. In 2011 Keta's paranormal/shifter Where The Rain Is Made was nominated for a BOOKIE AWARD by Authors After Dark (Where The Rain is Made on Kindle).  Her Crossroads series (gay fiction) has won numerous awards, including Best Book of the Month, Recommended Read and Top Reviewer's Recommendation (Crossroads on Kindle).

Diablo has written for numerous publishers over the years, most recently Books We Love Spice and Decadent Publishing and occasionally self-publishes.

You can find her on the Internet here:
Keta's Haunt Author home (sign up for her newsletter here) Keta's Keep Romance Blog 
The Stuff of Myth and Men gay fiction blog  Keta on Twitter Keta on Facebook

GIVEAWAY:
Remember that for commenting on the tour, a winner will be selected from our blog. The winner may choose any of Keta Daiblo's books listed on her website. This includes any of her gay fiction, historical and paranormal books (with the exception of FOR LAND OF FALLING STARS).

We thank Keta Diablo and Bookish Snob Promotions. My review will be posted soon.