Blog Tour: Spotlight/Giveaway!! Firebolt, by Adrienne Woods

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About the Book

Firebolt
(The Dragonian Series, #1)
Adrienne Woods
Trade Paperback, 304 pages
CreateSpace, November 19, 2013
Fantasy, Paranormal Romance, Young Adult Fiction


Book Synopsis:  For the love of blueberries, Elena Watkins was destined for greatness, even though she didn’t know it. Before entering Paegeia Elena was not special, she wasn’t even average until the night her father was killed by a creature she thought only existed in fairy tales – a dragon. With her father’s death leaving her orphaned, Elena is whisked away to her true birthplace, Paegeia. Arriving at Dragonia Academy, the premier school for young Dragonians; a school she was never meant to attend because her father was a dragon. Unbeknownst to Elena danger is lurking behind the enchanted vines concealing the once thriving capital of Paegeia – Etan. Goran, the darkest sorcerer in the realm, has lain dormant for over a century behind the crumbling city. There, in the shadowy ruins he plots his revenge to destroy the only weapon that can kill him – the King of Lion Sword. When the sword is stolen without a trace Elena doesn’t think twice about seeking it; knowing deep down that it is her destiny to save her new home.

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Book Excerpt

     "Dad, dragons...."  I took a deep breath.  Dragons didn't exist, but then the image of the huge thing that had flown past me a couple of seconds ago sprang into my head.  "You mean that thing was a dragon?"
     He nodded, and looked over his shoulder.
     A figure with huge paws and talons flew in front of the truck.  Tires screeched at the same time I shrieked.  The truck spun around on the turf a couple of times and came to a standstill on the dark stretch of road.  My heart jumped at a great speed inside my chest.  My throat and lips became dry.
     Pushing my face against the cool glass of the passenger window, I searched the horizon for any sign of life.  Apart from the pickup's headlights, there wasn't a single light peeking through the blanketed darkness, and the rain crushing down made me see figures I didn't know were real or imagined.  Dragons don't exist.
     "You okay?" my father yelled.
     "I'm fine, " I tore my eyes away from the window.
     "Elena, I need to get out --"
     "No, no, please don't leave me here!"  I could feel the fear beginning to rise up again and my vision became blurry.  Why am I afraid?  Dragons aren't real.
    He cupped my face and made me look at him, his hands trembling.  "Listen to me, Elena.  Listen!"
    I tried to swallow my tears, but it was no use.  They were caught in the back of my throat, silencing me as he said his goodbye.
    He hugged me tight and kissed me on my forehead.  I could feel the love he had for me behind that kiss.
    "You drive like hell, you hear me?  Don't slow down for anybody.  There's a motel on Interstate 40.  Just stay on this road, you can't miss it.  Someone named Malt will meet you there."
     For the love of blueberries, Dad, it's pouring dogs and horses outside.  I can't leave you here with whatever...."  We can rationally sort this out.
     Dad cringed and looked down for a minute.  When he looked at me again, that set to his jaw was back.  I knew my words hadn't made an impact on him whatsoever.  He had already made up his mind for the both of us.
     My strength returned as I slowly came to terms with what I had to do.
     A man appeared in the middle of the road.  The rain made it hard for me to see him, but the headlights of the truck outlined his figure.  I squinted to see him clearer.  He was tall with long, black hair; wet strands clung to his face.  He wore a pair of pants, no T-shirt, and it looked like no shoes, either.  He stared at the pickup for a couple of minutes, and it made my heart pound faster.   He began to walk slowly toward us.
     "Daaaad?"  I slapped his shoulder, trying to expel the fear from my body.
     "Elena." He grabbed my wrist.  "I'll be fine.  You need to go.  Now.  And, Bear, I'm so sorry.  Whatever happens, don't stop for anything."
     "Dad?"  My lower lip quivered like mad.  He kissed me one more time on my forehead and wiped away my tears gently with his thumbs.
     "I'll meet you there."  He climbed out of the truck and slammed the door in my face.  My gaze switched back at the macho loon making his way toward Dad, who stood right next to the pickup.  I quickly moved into the driver's seat, took a deep breath, and buckled up.
     With my hands trembling on the steering wheel, I took another deep breath.
     You can do this, the voice in my head rambled a couple of times.  The key sat lazily in the ignition, and I jerked it to the right.  The pickup sputtered and died.  The guy disappeared into the darkness, and a new set of fear pumped through my veins.
     "No, no, no, no!  Please don't die on me now," I mumbled as I tried to restart the engine.  The man appeared again by the faint glow of the headlights.  He was getting closer.
    "Start, you stupid piece of crap!"  I yelled over the roar of the blood pumping in my ears.
     The engine came to life, and I screamed as the man's figure leaped toward the pickup.  Dad jumped from the asphalt and tackled the man in mid-air.  "Go, Elena!" he shouted over the pounding rain.
     I floored the gas pedal and the pickup's tires screeched as I drove past Dad, who'd wrestled the guy onto the road.  Tears blurred my sight.
     I can't just leave him back there.  I struggled to come to terms with what the hell was going on.
     My father and the other man quickly disappeared into the horizon of my rear view mirror.  I wiped away my tears with the back of my hand and lowered the mirror so that I could see Dad, but they vanished into the night.
     Don't stop for anything.  Dad's voice replayed inside my head.
     My hands trembled on the shift as I found the third gear.  A strong force hit the pickup on the passenger's side.  The impact of the blow jolted through my body as the truck rolled a couple of times, and came to a halt on its roof, leaving me suspended in the air.  My head and body throbbed with pain, and warm blood ran down my skull.  I began to slip into darkness.
     Lightning struck, and the road was instantly engulfed in flames, leaving me wide awake.  Something to the left grabbed my attention as the fire slowly began to creep toward the overturned truck.  The aching inside my head blurred my vision and I couldn't see the figure properly, but when it lifted up the truck, righting it on the asphalt once again, a shrill sound left my lips.
     The belly of a huge blue beast on four legs the size of tree stumps stood in front of the pickup.  The sight left me breathless, and my entire body froze.  Dragons don't exist.
     A part of his head popped in front of me.  Huge horns on the top of his nose lingered inches from the windshield, leaving a foggy condensation on the glass as he breathed.  On of his frilly ears lay flat against his head, like a cat's when sensing danger.
     He climbed on top of the hood with one of his front legs, and my body trembled as the truck started to crumble.  A part of his wing came into sight.  It appeared to be shredded, with a sharp talon located at the end.  Oval-shaped blue scales fanned over its entire body and glistened in the flames on the side of the road.  Maybe it only looked that way through the tears blinding my sight.  Beady eyes, sunken deeply into its skull, locked with mine.  The picture in front of me just became my number-one worst nightmare.  I shrieked as the dragon's weight shifted, forcing the pickup to crumble even more.
     Another dragon sank his jaws into the one in front of me.  Two huge copper horns lay flat on top of its copper head.  The blue dragon growled, and snapped with gaping jaws at the copper one attacking him.  With powerful force the dragon was dragged off the pickup's hood and thankfully away from me.  The truck shook slightly and groaned as if a huge weight had been dispelled; my heart pounded as if I'd just run a hundred meters.
     A bolt of fire came from the sky and lit up the entire scene in front of me.
     More dragons landed with a thud in the middle of the road.  One seemed to be green with a long neck and a fin-like mane running from the top of its head to its tail.  A cloud of dark emerged slightly from its nostrils.  The other dragon was red and oddly beautiful, but something evil derived from its aura.  They attacked the copper dragon with startling savagery.
     Get the hell away from here, my voice shrilled in my head.  Quickly, I tried to unbuckle my seat belt, but the clip wouldn't release.  For the next couple of minutes the earth shook with bolts of fire, and lightning flew through the air, while I tried to free myself.
     My father wouldn't just leave me here!  As each second ticked off my watch, I became more worried about Dad.
     The dragons came close to the truck a couple of times, but the copper dragon kept driving them back, as if he was trying to protect me.  I shook my head, trying to expel that thought.  Dragons don't exist.  Wake up.  The tips of my fingers felt raw as I hammered endlessly on the buckle of the safety belt.  My face was soaked with tears and blood, but I knew that I had to get out of the truck, and quickly, too.  With trembling hands, I pounded on the buckle with my fist until it unlocked.  Throwing the vicious restraint from around me, I saw the copper dragon bite fiercely into the blue dragon's neck.  I watched as blood squirted everywhere and pooled in thick puddles on the road.  It staggered and dropped down to the ground.  Electricity still sparkled off its body, but it soon died away.  The green and red dragons jumped on top of the copper dragon.  It knocked the red dragon hard onto the ground and crushed the green dragon with its huge front legs.  The sound of flesh ripping made me feel sick, and I had to lean over as tremors wracked my stomach.  The picture of the copper dragon shredding off the green dragon's left wing sent a stab of new fear deep into my core.
     Dad, where the hell are you?  I pleaded into the darkness.
     The red dragon got back up and flew away just as the copper dragon ripped the green dragon's neck apart.  Then the copper dragon turned its gaze to me.  For the love of blueberries!  I forced myself to look away from the humungous beast, and I started to kick at the windshield with my newly freed legs.  A new series of urgency punctuated every kick.
     C'mon!  I kicked three, four times, but it only left long cracks in the glass.  Watching the copper dragon trudge toward the pickup through the jagged cracks made the scene before me look even more terrifying.  The copper dragon stopped right in front of the pickup.  Our eyes locked, and I could see the vertical pupil inside a pair of dark, rich brown irises.  My heart thumped wildly inside my chest as it hooked on of its talons gently into the windshield and ripped it off.
     It paused, stared at me for what seemed like an eternity, took a few steps back, and nodded in my direction.
     It wants me to get out?  You're imagining things, Elena.  Dragons aren't real. 
     I didn't act.  I couldn't.  The dragon started to shrink its wings, and its legs dwindled into a smaller size until they disappeared.  Its big head and horns shrunk into nothing.  I watched as the dragon's huge figure melted away.  The heap transformed into the figure of a human crouching low to the ground.  The figure lifted up its face, and huge cuts with blood seeping from them ran down his face.  It felt as if somebody had squeezed all the air out of my lungs.  I'd finally found my father -- without a shred of clothing.

About the Author

Adrienne Woods

I was born and raised in South Africa, where I still live with my husband, and two beautiful little girls.  I always knew that I was going to be a writer, but it only started to happen about four years ago; now, I can't stop writing.

In my free time if I get any because Moms don't really have gree time, I love to spend time with friends, if it's a girls' night out, or just a movie; I'm a very chilled person.

My writing career is starting with Firebolt, Book One of the Dragonian Series.  There will be four books in total, and two to three books that are about the stories taking place inside The Dragonian Series.

I do write in different genres.  I have a woman's fiction titled The Pregnancy Diaries, but it would be published under another name.  And then I have a paranormal series, called The Watercress Series.  There are about ten novels in that one.

So, plenty of novels to come out, so little time.

I hope you are going to embrace The Dragonian Series as much as I loved writing it.

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