As part of my Guest blog series for authors and fellow bloggers I am proud to present another guest blog spot. Claire Frank author of To Whatever End and An Altered Fate has been kind enough to write a guest blog post for us today. She is also Revealing the cover for her new book The Strength to Serve (Echoes of Imara Book 3)! I am very excited and I would like to thank Claire for this opportunity to host this Guest Blog/Cover Reveal.

To Whatever End and An Altered Fate are out NOW!

So go grab some copies!

The Strength to Serve (Echoes of Imara Book 3) is available January 19, 2016!

Preorder Here:

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Hey fantasy fans!

The third installment in the Echoes of Imara series is coming January 19th, and MightyThorJRS is kind enough to host the cover reveal for The Strength to Serve. So, without any ado, I give you, The Strength to Serve, cover art by the amazing Trevor Smith:

About the Cover –

This cover features the character, Pathius, a displaced prince. He’s become a favorite among fans and in many ways came out of nowhere to steal the show. Originally conceived as a side character, his story has grown in importance as the series has progressed. His struggles as he walks the line between darkness and light have made him incredibly fun and interesting to write. I’m excited to give Pathius this cover, and Trevor Smith did a wonderful job bringing him to life.

About the Series –

When I began this adventure, I wanted to write a series that would begin with a more personal story than what you often see in epic fantasy. Instead of the farm boy who must save the world, the series begins with a woman who needs to save her husband, in the first book, To Whatever End. For the two of them, the stakes are high – the risk for each is that they will lose the one person who is their whole world. Set against a backdrop of magic, where Wielders and Shapers work with energy and matter to manipulate the world around them, it is a story of rescue and survival.

The events of the first book set things in motion that spur the conflicts for the rest of the series, and with each book, the stakes are higher. The second book, An Altered Fate, deals with what we know as PTSD, as the protagonists grapple with the trauma they endured in book one, all while facing a larger threat to their homes.

In book three, The Strength to Serve, the characters are drawn back into the political turmoil of Halthas as an invading army threatens their homeland. An assassin wreaks havoc on the city, a dangerous artifact is stolen, a force bent on conquest marches toward their border, and they all must take up arms to defeat an enemy their kingdom is not prepared to face.

The series will conclude with book four, The Heirs of Imar, due for release next fall.

-And finally, Lego!-

Lego? Sure! My husband, David, is a popular Lego builder and he’s created depictions of scenes from the first two books. You can see more on my website at http://www.clairefrankbooks.com.

Thanks for taking a peek! Also, it’s a bit of an open secret, but The Strength to Serve (ebook edition) is available for preorder at a very special price – just $.99 – so if you’re interested, now is a great time to reserve a copy!

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About the books:

To Whatever End: Echoes of Imara Book One (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00QXSSH2Q/)

Veterans of a past war, Daro and Cecily left the politics and turmoil of their kingdom behind, making a home for themselves where they can live in peace. An unexpected attack fractures their quiet existence and although Cecily narrowly escapes with her life, Daro is taken captive. He awakens to a world where his captors exact complete control. Forced to wear a mask and given a number instead of a name, he endures crushing psychological torture, conditioning him to be an experimental subject in a madman’s bid to bend the laws of Wielding magic.

As Cecily turns to old friends and attempts to mend broken alliances in her desperate search for her husband, Daro struggles to hold onto the shattered pieces of his mind. No sacrifice is too great to bring Daro back, but as the days tick by, he may succumb to his captors, becoming another living weapon in a growing army of abominations.

An Altered Fate: Echoes of Imara Book Two (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B017SBWMTU/)

Although liberated from captivity by his wife and friends, Daro’s ordeal left him tortured, drowning in power he can’t control with voices haunting his mind. Cecily, weary and losing hope, watches with growing dread as her husband’s condition deteriorates.

People from the land of Daro’s birth arrive with a possible solution. But to repair the pieces of his shattered psyche, Daro must leave his wife and travel to a home he scarcely remembers, where many believe he is too dangerous and the only answer is for him to die.

News of the other captives reaches Cecily, and with an unlikely ally in Pathius, she sets out to prove they can be saved. But Pathius was once the prince and his very presence jeopardizes the peace she and Daro fought for. As tensions mount, Cecily may not be able to stem the tide of violence that threatens to overtake her kingdom, and war may be inevitable if Daro does not return.

Home after their long absence, Daro and Cecily want nothing more than to pick up the pieces of their life and return to normalcy. But outside events intrude and the memories of what they lived through aren’t so easy to leave behind.

Pathius languishes, an unchained prisoner in a foreign land, doubtful of his place in the world. In Imara, he is offered a chance for a new life, if he can release the ghosts of his past and accept the man he has become.

As an invading army threatens their homeland, Daro, Cecily, and Pathius are drawn back into the political turmoil of Halthas. An assassin wreaks havoc in the city, a dangerous artifact is stolen, a force bent on conquest marches toward their border, and they all must take up arms to defeat an enemy their kingdom is not prepared to face.

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About the author:

Claire Frank is a longtime fantasy fan who was raised on a steady diet of magic and wonder. She started writing as a child and somewhere along the way, realized she had worlds to explore and stories to share.

Her husband David is her co-creator in everything she does. He is blessed with an abundant imagination and a tendency to daydream. Together, they craft worlds, banter ideas, create characters and develop their stories. She may be the one to craft the words on the page, but he is a part of every word.

They live in the Pacific Northwest with their three children. Claire loves coffee, great books, The Princess Bride, chocolate, and bacon. Because everything is better with bacon.

Links:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Claire-Frank/e/B00QXUZ32Q/

Website: http://www.clairefrankbooks.com

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