Spotlight & Giveaway: Cloaked by Taylor Hobbs

 

GENRE:   Historical Fantasy Romance

Taylor Hobbs will be awarding a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

See the other stops and follow the tour here: http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2018/08/vbt-cloaked-by-taylor-hobbs.html

 

Description

 

As the Cloaked Shadow, Fawkes has made his career breaking into prisons for any contract with a large enough purse. He takes advantage of the kingdom’s impending revolution by playing both sides of the conflict. Each rescue contract he fulfills turns a tidy profit until he angers the wrong duke.

Charlotte is a criminal-in-training who yearns to crack her mentor’s guarded façade, but is unprepared to confront the depths of his dark past. As her sense of right and wrong blurs, Charlotte discovers just how far she will go for the Cloaked Shadow and the sacrifices he requires.

Now hunted throughout the land, Fawkes must face long-buried secrets in order to survive, but they could destroy him. Charlotte risks everything, including her heart, to set Fawkes on the path to redemption.

Will Charlotte have the strength to pull Fawkes into the light, or will she follow him into the shadows?

 

 

Author Interview with Taylor Hobbs

 

Do you have a favorite scene? If so, what was it?

I love this scene because it demonstrates how Fawkes and Charlotte work together, and how much chemistry they have as a team.

Fawkes’ attack pressed Charlotte backward, and soon they were outside. As Charlotte’s feet slipped in the mud, she realized she had lost her size advantage. Lightning cracked across the sky, illuminating her surroundings long enough to blind her, and she failed to anticipate the next punch. It landed hard on her right shoulder and spun her around.

Before she could steady herself to counter, her arm was wrenched behind her back. Fawkes had a grip on it with one hand, the other around her throat. She stood flush against him, feeling his harsh breath and pounding heart as it beat against her back. They stood like statues, neither one of them wanting to be the first to break the spell.

The roar of thunder made her jump and brought them back to reality. “I’ve gotten better, haven’t I?” Charlotte couldn’t help asking.

 

Any challenges in writing this book?

Getting Cloaked ready for publication was hugely challenging. So much happened in between the first draft and the final product. There were a lot of major life transitions–a cross-country move, a baby, and my husband’s deployment–all while trying to make my publishing dream come true. It was hard to stay on top of everything!

 

When you’re not writing, what are you up to?

I’m probably sailing with my family or doing yoga.

 

What do you love most about writing?

The complete freedom to explore the ‘what-if’ without judgement. I have the power to create the book I want to read, which is both terrifying and exhilarating.

 

Any tips to share with someone who wants to be published?

Read a lot. Write what excites you. Query the heck out of it. Shelve it if you don’t get any bites, with the promise to come back to it one day. Write the next book. As long as you keep writing and keep trying, you will get there. I shelved two novels before writing Cloaked. It was heartbreaking putting my book babies away for another time, but I had to focus on the next story. Every book you write will teach you something new on your path to publication, and suddenly everything will click into place at the right time.

 

What’s your writing routine?

I’m a plotter, so I pre-write my books using the Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook. It takes about a month to fill out, but once it’s completed, I’m ready to dive into my first draft. I do my best writing in the morning, with a cup of coffee while my brain is fresh. When I’m drafting my goal is 1,000 words per day, and I don’t let myself edit along the way.

At the end, I print out the manuscript and finally read it all the way through in one sitting. Then I bleed all over it with red pen and transfer the changes over on the computer. Once the story is in decent shape and I’m not embarrassed to show it to people, my darling beta readers take over and proof it for me. A few more rounds of edits to polish it up, and I have a full novel!

 

What’s on your “bucket list?”

Do an ocean crossing in our sailboat. Walk the Camino de Santiago. Learn a fourth language. Move abroad. Write a bestseller. It is an ever-evolving list! I’m also up for suggestions, so if any readers have great ideas, please put them in the comments section!

 

 

Excerpt

 

Fawkes’ attack pressed Charlotte backward, and soon they were outside. As Charlotte’s feet slipped in the mud, she realized she had lost her size advantage. Lightning cracked across the sky, illuminating her surroundings long enough to blind her, and she failed to anticipate the next punch. It landed hard on her right shoulder and spun her around.

 

Before she could steady herself to counter, her arm was wrenched behind her back. Fawkes had a grip on it with one hand, the other around her throat. She stood flush against him, feeling his harsh breath and pounding heart as it beat against her back. They stood like statues, neither one of them wanting to the first to break the spell.

 

The roar of thunder made her jump and brought them back to reality. “I’ve gotten better, haven’t I?” Charlotte couldn’t help asking. She’d meant it as a quip, but it came out too hopeful.

 

She felt Fawkes sigh, tensing his hold on her before dropping his grip. With her back still to him, she waited for his answer. Instead, his hand brushed wet hair back from her face before a finger traveled down and traced her jawline. Charlotte leaned into the touch, but then it was gone. She turned to see only darkness, and then a flash of lightning showed his tall frame heading back to the cave.

 

Author Bio 

 

Taylor Hobbs lives aboard a 38 ft sailboat named Story Time with her husband, baby girl, and dog. They are a military family and who love to travel, whether it is by sea or air. When she’s not writing, Taylor enjoys doing yoga and planning her next adventure. You can keep up with their crazy life at cannonstocruising.com or follow on Twitter at @tayhobbit.

 

Cloaked is her debut novel and can be found at https://catalog.thewildrosepress.com/all-titles/6046-cloaked.html

 

Buy links:

Barnesandnoble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/cloaked-taylor-hobbs/1129153048

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Cloaked-Taylor-Hobbs-ebook/dp/B07FKXJ7Z6/

 

 

 

Taylor Hobbs will be awarding a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway