Book Blitz: The Longing of Lone Wolves by Lana Pecherczyk + Giveaway (INTL)

The Longing of Lone Wolves
Lana Pecherczyk
(Fae Guardians, #1)
Publication date: June 8th 2020
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Romance

He bargained with her to break his curse. She stole his heart instead.
Rush is a Fae Guardian, a wolf-shifter whose enhanced abilities have made him a ruthless protector of Elphyne. His job is to protect the realm from the human enemy, and to ensure the sins of the past never come to pass again lest magic die forever. But one night of weakness resulted in a curse worse than death – exile. He now spends his lonely time longing to be part of the living, once again protecting them from monsters… until one washes up on the shores of his lake.
Clarke is human. She’s beautiful, feisty, and fierce. She’s also the only person who can see him, speak to him, and touch him.
If he hands her over to the Order, she’s his ticket to having his curse removed. The more he learns about this human enemy, the more he realizes she’s not the monster he’s been trained to believe. In fact, she’s capable of inciting passion he’d never dreamed possible again, but Clarke has a message from the past… sins are already repeating. This time, if they don’t stop the coming evil, it won’t just be magic that dies. It will be everything.
The Witcher meets Beauty and the Beast in this gripping, epic fantasy featuring steamy romance, a dash of time travel, a band of brothers, shifters, fae protectors and their strong willed women from our time. If you love your books full of page turning action, intrigue, and romantic tension then this book is for you. For fans of Kristen Ashley’s Fantastical series or Sarah J Maas’s adult fantasy romance.

Goodreads / Amazon

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EXCERPT:

As Clarke wended down rocky terrain, the snow melted and revealed fresh dirt and abundant nature. The more they descended, the grumpier she got. Something shifted inside when she saw how the world had changed because of the way she’d lived her old life. Death had been on one side of the mountain and life on the other. Even though she’d had a part, she didn’t want to be lumped in with humans who’d intentionally destroyed the world.
The fae’s words came back to her. “We don’t choose the rules of life, but if we don’t follow them, we’re destined for nothing.”
“You know,” she said as she dodged a divot in the path. “We’ve been walking for hours and you still haven’t told me your name.”
She was also tired, itchy, and hungry.
The fae nudged her between the shoulder blades. She almost lost her footing.
He may have a giant sword, scary mother-fucking teeth, and a powerful body she was sure could snap her in two, but her instinct just wasn’t feeling the fear. He had the ability to control her words and her actions, yet he’d only just used the power. She rounded on him.
“Take these off me,” she demanded. “Free me.”
He looked down his nose and flicked his gaze to the restraints. Her breath stuck in her throat and, for a moment, she thought her instincts needed a serious talking to. But then he moved toward her. Fast.
With a speed that left her breathless, and a flick of his powerful hand, his bone knife sliced through her restraints. Clarke’s fists dropped to her sides.
He leaned forward, his menacing presence only inches from her face. And then he sniffed, nostrils flaring as he trailed his nose along her cheek, jaw and neck. Where he stayed. Hot air puffed out as he exhaled, and goosebumps erupted over her flesh. The tattoo under his eye flared, casting an eerie blue glow as he bared sharp teeth and bit the air, snapping with an audible click.
Clarke squeaked. A tremble of fear skated up her spine.
He raised a brow. “It matters not if you are free. You will not run.”
“And why not? Because you’ll compel me to stay?”
“Because, woman,” he growled, mouth curving into a wild, wicked grin, “I am the reason for those goosebumps on your skin. I am the reason children have nightmares, and in there”—he pointed into the shadowed woods only a few hundred feet away—“there are far worse things than nightmares. I am the reason you will live to breathe another day.”
“So I need a monster to fight a monster, is that it?”
Stupid woman. Stop provoking the beast.
His eyes narrowed and held her gaze.
An unearthly howl came from deep within the woods. At least, Clarke thought it was a howl. It could be any manner of creature in this foreign place. His pet wolf stiffened and raised his hackles.
Watching the woods, the fae stilled in a way that was wholly inhuman. He reached for his sword. Fingers locked tight around the hilt. Knuckles whitened. His ears pricked up straight.
Leaves rustled and trees whispered that night was falling. Then the tension left his shoulders and he let go of the sword. He tossed a self-righteous look at her, and then swaggered away, continuing toward the very forest that had caused him concern only moments before.
Goddamn it. She wanted to stomp her feet.
Smug, smug bastard.
She should leave just to spite him. But where would she go? To the human city that brutalized fae and animals through a barbed wire ceiling? The one the source of her dread came from? No thanks. She had to face facts. She was in a strange place and on her own. There were dangers out there in the night, and her gut said to go with the fae. He had the upper hand.
She hurried to catch up, for she knew something he didn’t. She could make friends with nightmares. She’d had practice.

Author Bio:
Lana Pecherczyk is an author from Western Australia. She makes a mean chocolate cake and is a fan of 'pro-caffeinating.' She writes kick-ass, action-packed, sometimes funny romance in all sorts of sub-genres - Paranormal, Fantasy, Superhero, Sci-fi and a dash of Contemporary. Basically, if it's got swoony men, strong women and page turning action, then she'll write it. She also wins love by daylight, fights evil by moonlight.

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Guest Post: Greek Warfare: Sea by author Wilbur Arron

Hey everyone!

I'm back with another guest post from Wilbur Arron about ancient Greece. Coincidentally I recently read two books that related to ancient Greece so it got me even more excited to continue learning about the era. And I gotta say that when it comes to Greek warfare I really love sea warfare for some reason. Anyways enjoy the guest post!

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Greek Warfare: Sea

by Wilbur Arron

In Ancient Greece, the reputation of the hoplite was well known throughout the world. However, this is not where the Greeks had their most lasting effect on the ancient world. Above all else, the Ancient Greeks were sailors. In the time before the Classical Period (500-300 B.C.E.), the Greeks had colonized much of the area around the Middle (Mediterranean) Sea extending from Spain to Southern Russia. Their only serious rivals were the Phoenicians.  Their trading networks also spanned the entire Middle Sea. You could buy goods made in Egypt and have them as household wares in Neopolis, or modern Naples. The Greeks defended their trade routes with one of the best navies of the ancient world. The backbone of that navy was the Trierse; known in Latin as a Trireme.

Triremes were long thin ships that had a variety of designs depending on the age and government that built them. They had three banks of oars on both sides. Several years ago, two Triremes were built as replicas of ancient ships. The Olympias was 120 feet long(36.8m), 18 feet wide(3.6m), and had a displacement of around 42 tons. The Trireme had sails for longer voyages. Under oars only, it could travel between 7 to 10 knots but only for short periods of time. Under sail and oars, the speed could be about 8.5 knots. You never went into battle with your sails up however. In each ship there were about 170 unarmed rowers, 10 deck crew, and about 20 armed men that acted like marines for a total crew of 200. Despite what you see on TV or in the movies, the rowers were not slaves, but free men. In Athens, they were taken from the poorer classes who could not afford hoplite armor. As a rower in the fleet, you served with your neighbors and even your family members. There was great cohesion in these rowing crews you would never find in a slave powered ship. Men were proud to serve in the Navy. This service allowed the poorer classes to serve the state and made them full voting citizens in the Athenian Assembly. With a navy of 200 ships, each with 170 rowers each, that allowed at least 34,000 poorer citizens to have their say in government. It has been suggested by some historians that the advent of a fleet fostered the ability of poorer citizen to take part in government. This made the Athenian democracy even more inclusive of its citizens.

The main weapon of the Trireme was the large bronze ram under the front of the ship. The trick was to maneuver your ship under oars and ram your enemy (preferably in the middle of their ship). That would tear open a hole in the ship allowing water in to flood it and put it out of action. Another technique would be to run close to the side of an enemy ship breaking off all the oars on one side and immobilizing it for later capture or destruction. Not the entire Trireme sank if rammed. The light woods they were made of were naturally buoyant. They would burn, and did on several occasions. If you went over the side in combat or by accident, unless you could grab something floating, your survival prospects were dim unless picked up by another friendly ship. Otherwise you drowned or because a slave of your enemy. Combat at sea was a brutal affair where quarter could seldom be offered.

Using these tactics, Athens fairly much ruled the Aegean Sea and even along the coasts of the Persian Empire (from 450 to 404 B.C.E.). This became one of the greatest Naval based empires of history. More important that this were the trade opportunities this mastery of the sea allowed Athens. The polis became rich, not just from trade, but from tribute other members of the Athenian Empire contributed, either voluntarily or coerced. This allowed the Golden Age in Athens that saw the dawning of democratic government as well as, philosophy, formal science, literature and the university. However, keep in mind that while Athens was reaching the pinnacles of influence, culture, and power, it did so by running one of the most lucrative protections rackets in history.

As the ancient period continued, larger and more powerful ships became available. In Rome ships of 4 and 5 banks of oars were known. In the Helenistic Period, there are reports of ships with 16 banks of oars. On report tells of the Leontifera, a ship with 1600 oarsmen and 1200 marines. The biggest ship I have read about was over 420 feet long (130m) and had a total crew of 7250 rowers, deck crew and marines. Frankly, I find these numbers difficult to believe for the simple reason of how do you store provisions, especially water, for a crew this size for several days? The crew of this last ship is the size of the crew on a modern aircraft carrier.

For more information as well as detailed diagrams, I recommend Ancient Greek Warship 300-322 BC by Nic Fields and Illustrated by Peter Bull. It is available through Osprey Publishing:

https://ospreypublishing.com/ancient-greek-warship-pb

More about Greek government in my blog on ancient governments:

https://wilburarron.com/2020/02/ancient-greek-culture-governments.html

You can read about my books and other topics at my web page of

https://www.wilburarron.com

June 2020 Of Books Giveaway Hop (INTL)

Hi everyone! Welcome to the June 2020 of Books Giveaway Hop. 

This giveaway hop is hosted by It Starts at Midnight & Flylēf!

The prize is one book of choice up to €20 from The Book Depository. You can pick any book you want. It doesn't have to be a June or 2020 release. Any book goes!

Scroll down to the rafflecopter to enter the giveaway! 

Terms and conditions: 

• Open internationally. 
• Winner will have 72 hours to respond to my email before a new winner will be chosen. 
• I'm not responsible for items damaged or lost in the mail. 
• I will be checking the entries, so no cheating or unfollowing.
• Book will be send via The Book Depository so make sure you can receive books from it.

The Giveaway

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And don't forget to hop to the other blogs and enter their giveaways. May the odds be ever in your favor!