Excited to host a spot on the TEMPLE OF ICE blog tour by Christian Cura hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out an excerpt and make sure to enter the giveaway below!
ABOUT THE BOOK
Meet Tama, an adept winter mage of Khione, a beautiful, dangerous land. Bloodthirsty monsters roam the frozen wilderness, and the unforgiving elements are a constant. Tama and her friends—Kachina and Masou—are on the cusp of completing their education at the temple where they have trained for the past four years. They need only to do one more thing: earn the Goddess Tira’s final anointing. But to do that, they must fight through hordes of corrupted creatures and endure the perplexing obstacles within Mount Orodani.
The road before them is long and bloody, and Tira’s evil sister, Malsumi, won’t stop sending her minions until she is strong enough to break free of her prison. Tama fights valiantly to defend herself and her people from these twisted monsters. But she will soon discover the real threat is much closer than she initially thought…
Reviews:
". . . Christian Cura's Temple of Ice is a fast-paced, action-packed fantasy story full of thrills, suspense, and unsuspecting moments . . ."-Rolanda Lyles, Readers' Favorite 5 out of 5 stars
". . . a thrilling book to read."-ILoveUniqueBooks.com 4 out of 5 stars
"Temple of Ice is an action-filled sword and sorcery novel. With a well-crafted magic system, an interesting setting, and fascinating characters, fantasy fans will find plenty to love in Christian Cura's suspenseful novel."-Literary Titan 4 out of 5 stars
Genre: Adult LGBT Fantasy | Publication Date: May 10, 2021 | Publisher: Christian Cura | Page Count: 340 (Paperback) | Disclosure: I received an eARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review; but will not be reading the book for the blog tour!
EXCERPT
Liseli walked along the row of statues and gazed in awe at the life-like appearance of each one. Then she turned and approached one sculpture in the center of the lobby, which portrayed three young women standing atop a snowy promontory. “And who are these fine ladies?”
“These are Tayen, Mika, and Sakari. Legendary figures among our people.”
“Do tell!”
Tama explained how the Khioni used to live in a fertile valley, their broken covenant with Tira, and their subsequent exile.
“After we were exiled from the valley, the three clans blamed one another. We bickered over land and resources. The bickering escalated to skirmishing, and the skirmishing led to war. Our people became divided and bitter over the bloodshed. As a small measure of mercy, Tira gave us magic so we could have control over our environment. She opened two gateways through which magic flowed: Mount Orodani and the Beirani Sea. For a time, we only used our powers peacefully, but it didn’t take us long to realize we could use it as a weapon. The first tushka were trained to kill other Khioni. We warred among ourselves for centuries. Grieved that we were misusing our gift, Tira closed the gateways. Although the winter mages retained their power, no new mages were born after the gateways closed. Again, the three clans blamed one another, and war continued. They fought until the winter mages dwindled to near extinction.”
Liseli gasped.
“Eventually, they were the last three winter mages,” Tama said, pointing to the statues. “One from each clan. Each of them was competent with one winter element but struggled with the other two. One night, their spirit guides led them to each other, and together, they matured in their powers. Then they went back
to their respective chiefs and told them what had happened. Moved by their story, the three chiefs decided that day to end all hostilities.”
“Wow,” Liseli exclaimed.
“The three clans were reconciled back into one nation, and we settled here. The three chiefs ruled concurrently as the first tribal council. Tayen, Mika, and Sakari built that shrine over there to honor Tira and atone for our sins. Pleased that we had reconciled, the Goddess transformed the shrine into a new gateway, restoring magic to our people. When new winter mages emerged, these three trained them together at the shrine. Centuries of peace followed. Over time, as our population grew, the shrine was expanded into the winter mage temple.”
“What an incredible story! I wish I could have met them,” Liseli said.
“As do I.”
Isabelle appeared in the corridor leading out of the lobby. “Liseli, it’s time for supper.” “Thank you for the tour, Tama. But I must go now.”
“You’re welcome.”
“I hope to see you again,” Liseli said with a twinkle in her eye.
Tama smiled.
GUILD'S REVIEW
COMING SOON
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
CHRISTIAN CURA is an independent writer who dreams of becoming a successful author. Ever since he read Lord of the Rings as a teenager, it has been his dream to write and publish a novel of his own. Christian's favorite authors include J.R.R. Tolkien, J.K. Rowling and Robert Jordan. When he is not writing, Christian can be found getting beaten up at his MMA gym. His other hobbies include, drawing, photography, graphic design and eating.
GIVEAWAY
Giveaway Details:
2 winners will receive character portraits from TEMPLE OF ICE, US Only.
Ends April 18th, midnight EST.
TOUR SCHEDULE
Week One:
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4/3/2023 |
Excerpt |
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4/4/2023 |
Excerpt/IG Post |
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4/4/2023 |
Excerpt/IG Post |
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4/5/2023 |
Excerpt/IG Post |
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4/6/2023 |
Excerpt/IG Post |
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4/6/2023 |
Excerpt/IG Post |
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4/7/2023 |
Review/IG Post |
Week Two:
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4/10/2023 |
Review/IG Post |
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4/10/2023 |
Review/IG Post |
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4/11/2023 |
IG Review/LFL Drop Pic |
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4/12/2023 |
IG Review/TikTok Post |
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4/12/2023 |
Review/TikTok Post |
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4/13/2023 |
Review/IG Post |
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4/14/2023 |
Review/IG Post |
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4/14/2023 |
Review/IG Post |
