Fire Baptized Book Tour: Guest post, excerpt + review

Reader Girls is hosting the Fire Baptized Book Tour today. Welcome and enjoy learning about this gripping paranormal novel by Kenya Wright. Isn't that a mesmerizing cover? The author has written a guest post for our readers and shares an excerpt. Keep reading to the end to see how you can enter Kenya Wright's giveaway.

Blurb: Since the 1970’s humans have forced supernaturals to live in caged cities. Silver brands embedded in their foreheads identify them by species: a full moon for Vampires, a crescent moon for Shifters, a pair of wings for Fairies, and the list goes on, for each supernatural species has been tagged and categorized by humans.

Lanore Vesta is marked with a silver X, the brand of Mixbreeds, second-class citizens shunned by society. She stays to herself, revealing her ability to create fire only during emergencies. All she wants to do is graduate college and stop having to steal to survive. But when she stumbles upon a murder in progress, she catches the attention of a supernatural killer. Now all she wants is to stop finding dead bodies in her apartment.

Enlisting help from her Were-cheetah ex-boyfriend Meshach and a new mysterious friend named Zulu, she is steered through the habitat’s raunchy nightlife. But their presence sometimes proves to be more burden than help, as they fight for her attention.

While the corpses pile up, and the scent of blood fills the air, Lanore is left wondering: will she find the psycho or die trying?


Guest post by Kenya Wright
Imagine a world where you walk outside, look up into the sky, and see the sun's rays peek through a barred ceiling. That's Lanore’s and every other supernaturals' existence.

SUPERNATURAL HISTORY

Pre-Habitat Years
Back in the 1970s, supernaturals secretly lived among humans. It was a time of social unrest. Women sought to redefine their societal roles. Students held anti-war demonstrations. Homosexuals contested discriminating law. Supernaturals existed within all those groups. They marched, protested, and rioted while keeping their species identity a secret.

This all changed when the Black Panther Party was created. The revolutionary organization consisted of black fur-coated Were-leopards and Were-jaguars. They were so controversial that the FBI labeled them terrorists and began surveillance operations on them. One night after a meeting, the members went to the woods and shifted. To say the FBI was shocked is an understatement.

The Probe Period
The FBI shot or trapped the party members. The imprisoned were tortured and questioned about other supernaturals’ existence. Magical species were revealed. The government conducted probes in schools, hospitals, and prisons. Supernaturals fled to refugee camps in third world countries, but their safety was short lived. The United Nations coordinated a world probe. Any discovered supernaturals were delivered to laboratories or concentration camps.

The Supe-Human Wars
Supernaturals began to fight back. Shapeshifters, Vampires, and Trolls fought together side by side. Fire Witches summoned Demons to help in the battle. Fairies cloaked headquarters in glamour, hiding them from Human eyes. Sirens produced songs to gain Human support.

In the end, the Human’s machinery won. The government had conducted extensive testing on imprisoned supernaturals. Each species’ weakness was exposed. Weapons were invented. The supernaturals, that weren’t killed, surrendered.

The Habitat Years
The Sirens’ songs gained PETA’s support. The group protested the inhumane treatment against magical species and forced countries to seek alternative methods in dealing with supernaturals.

Later, caged supernatural cities were established and called Habitats. Governments built walls around poverty stricken areas and attached bars to the walls that extended thousands of feet into the air and covered the area like a ceiling. Each habitat was categorized by religion. Supernaturals were allowed to choose the habitat they wanted to live in.

My story Fire Baptized is set in the Santeria habitat outside the city of Miami. Here’s an excerpt displaying Santeria’s setting. FYI, Lanore is on the back of a motorcycle with Zulu riding to his condo.
Excerpt from Chapter 3 
The rush of wind lessened to a breeze. I opened my eyes and peeked over Zulu’s shoulder as we turned out of Shango District. The habitat was divided into five districts. Each district was named and themed after a popular Santeria god. I lived in Shango’s flaming orange district. Zulu lived in Yemaya.

We entered the sapphire gates of Yemaya. A life-size statue of the goddess stood near the entrance, carved from spelled ice that could not melt. It shimmered in the moonlight, giving the effect of wavering liquid. Blue and white flowers lounged at her sandaled feet.

Even though it was in the middle of the night, Supes kneeled in front of her, chanting. Their voices rose above the jeweled gates. Teal silk robes covered them. Cowrie shells, dyed in blue ink, draped their necks. Gone was Shango District’s smell of death and blood, poverty and depression. The soothing scent of the sea hovered in the air and seized me, stirring up memories of Orisha beach during the summer, salt on my tongue, sand between my toes, and the calming waves of the ocean pushing me forward.

I sighed.

“You’re lucky to live here,” I whispered. Zulu’s body tensed under my arms.

“Luck has nothing to do with it," he said as we stopped at a light. "It’s a way for my mom to pay me off. To make sure I don’t call her mommy in front of her Pureblood friends.”

“So then, what do you call her?” I asked, watching a couple stroll by, hand in hand.

Each time the Pureblood laughed, her massive diamond earrings sparkled like expensive champagne. I shook my head. Her jewelry could fund both MeShack’s and my education and provide us room and board for several years.

I hated her for flaunting her wealth and looked in another direction.

“I usually call my mom by her first name,” Zulu replied.

“Which is?” I asked, raising my eyebrows.

“Nice try, Lanore,” he said. “If you want to know my secrets, then tell me yours.”

I laughed.

Zulu maintained a reasonable speed as we passed high-end restaurants painted in cobalt blue. An aroma of slowly roasted meats and simmering delights tugged at my senses. Crystal fountains glowed, producing playful shadows of fish. Luxury condos with bricks the color of the ocean decorated the clean streets. There was no litter—anywhere. Nothing to suggest Supes walked on the sidewalks at all. 

Website  

About the author: Kenya Wright always knew she would be famous since the ripe old age of six when she sung the Michael Jackson thriller song in her bathroom mirror. She has tried her hand at many things from enlisting in the Navy for six years as a Persian-Farsi linguist to being a nude model at an art university.

However, writing has been the only constant love in her life.

Now Kenya is publishing her first book, Fire Baptized, the urban fantasy novel she always wanted to read. This novel is the first book in a series.

Will she succeed? Of course.

For she has been coined The Urban Fantasy Queen, the Super Iconic Writer of this Age, The Lyrical Genius of Our Generation. Granted, these are all terms coined by her, within the private walls of her bathroom as she still sings the Michael Jackson thriller song.

Kenya Wright currently resides in Miami with her three amazing, overactive children, a supportive, gorgeous husband, and three cool black cats that refuse to stop sleeping on Kenya’s head at night.

GIVEAWAY: 
Kenya will be giving away a $10 Amazon.com gift certificate to one randomly drawn commenter during the tour as well as to the host whose post receives the most comments (excluding Kenya's and the host's).

The more you comment, the better your chances of winning so follow all of the tour dates here.

OUR REVIEW: 

My thoughts: Fire Baptized (Habitat series, Book 1) caught me completely off guard. I wasn't sure of what I would find when I began reading and by the time I finished I was pleasantly surprised. This story had a mix of my favorite genres--paranormal, urban fantasy, romance and mystery. 

I found the setting in Fire Baptized unique with its futuristic spin: all supernatural creatures have been branded on their foreheads according to classification and have to live in special habitats where they are looked down upon by the humans. Lanore is a mixed breed, half fae/half demon, a race despised by both humans and the purebloods among the supernaturals. Besides being suppressed and treated like dirt, Lanore is just trying to make her way through the Santeria compound where she lives and hopes to finish college. Smart, independent, a thief, she is part of the MRE (Mixed Race Equality). She keeps her fire talent a secret, revealing on a need to use basis. After she witnesses a horrific murder, the killer begins leaving her messages along with gruesome gifts (and I mean gruesome). Her ex-boyfriend, MeShack, a Were-cheetah, figures out what the killer is doing while another friend, Zulu, a powerful political figure who wants equality for the mixed breeds, wants to provide protection for the female he has feelings for. Can these two men keep the spirited, independent Lanore alive?

I'll admit I was surprised by the gory bits and recommend this title to mature readers. In the beginning Lanore seemed unwilling to show her fire power and as the story progresses she becomes comfortable with her ability to almost come across brutish. I did want to know more about the history of these habitats and of Lanore's demon father. I also wonder if she'll finish her studies. Since this is the first in a series I expect my questions may be addressed further on. What I do know is I anticipate more excitement from Lanore, Zulu and the others (especially the vampires!) in the next book.

This novel has action, intrigue, spicy romance and a murderer to catch before Lanore becomes a victim herself. This should be enough to entice any fantasy fan to check out Fire Baptized.

Rating: I liked it.

Cover comment: This cover oozes a certain coolness to it.

Book source: From author for my honest review during a tour.