I am so excited to be a part of this blog tour, sharing Marlena Frank’s new novel, The She-Wolf of Kanta, and even more so excited because we have a deleted scene from the author herself. As an author myself, I know how hard it is to get rid of scenes, so its awesome to see some additional scenes, like a deleted scene on a blu-ray. Let’s dive in!
ABOUT THE BOOK
“A pair of yellow eyes caught the moonlight and locked onto hers.”
Mercy has always dreamed of becoming a werewolf trapper like her father. In Kanta, one must learn how to survive one way or another. A dark-skinned, blue-eyed young beauty, Mercy understands that she brings out the beast in monsters and men. When a routine werewolf delivery turns into a vicious assault from a pair of human traffickers, Mercy’s life changes forever. Somehow she must endure in a dangerous city where women and werewolves are hunted.
You Can Find Her Book At:
Amazon / B&N / iBooks / Goodreads
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
I write about strange creatures. Typically they shouldn’t exist, or they have bled through from a different reality, or they’re pretending to be a crying baby in a crib. Sometimes that lands my stories in horror and other times in fantasy, but there’s always an air of strangeness to my tales. If you want to get a better feel for what I’m talking about, check out a few clips or read a few drabbles.
My work has appeared in a spattering of short story collections, but I do have a few novellas and novels in the pipeline. Other than talking about writing, I also talk about cryptozoology, werewolves, wildlife conservation, and of course kitties. I’ve also been known to nerd out about Batman and The Hobbit, and have recently discovered the cracktastic fun of Black Butler cosplay, so there will likely be more of these incidents.
By day I work as a web developer, so I’ll occasionally talk about web issues like finding the right theme.
You Can Find Her At:
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest | Goodreads
THE DELETED SCENE
A word from Marlena: So this was one direction that The She-Wolf of Kanta almost took, and one that I would definitely explore further if I end up writing a sequel to this novella. This was an alternative to Mercy meeting Leyda while trapped inside of Thomas Farrell’s mill. He has led her to a strange area that she has never before seen.
This is a small piece taken from a larger scene that I edited for potential spoilers.
Enjoy!
Marlena Frank
******
Despite the fact that her room had a window looking outside, Mercy had no idea where she was in the Mill. Thomas had fetched an oil lamp from a side table in the hall and was soon leading her down a spiral staircase past several floors. She wondered if perhaps he was taking her underground to kill her or punish her, or whatever it was Thomas Farrell did with young girls in his cryptic mill. Either way she knew better than to run. There were few places as well guarded.
They finally reached the base of the stairway and the candlelight gleamed off Thomas’ pale features and limp, black hair. He was giddy with excitement and that only made Mercy more nervous. They were standing before a great wooden door reinforced with metal. Thomas lay the oil lamp aside, then placed two hands beneath the wooden latch that kept the door closed. He grunted as he lifted it and dropped it to the ground with a loud bang.
Mercy took a step backward as Thomas recollected his oil lamp and pulled open the door.
“After you, my dear,” his voice echoed off the metal walls.
Mercy took a deep breath and walked inside. She expected dungeons, torture chambers, possibly the wailing of many prisoners. What she didn’t expect was the wave of heat that made the air escape her lungs. She was only a few feet inside the room, and Thomas followed her a few paces behind with his glowing lantern the only light. At least, that’s all she could see at first.
She noticed the slight light dancing against the wall ahead and realized that she was facing a wall that split off to the right and left. Then a woman’s voice called out, “Thomas, is that you?”
A woman emerged from the left passageway. Her face smeared with coal and her button-up shirt was equally as soiled, and her long braid tossed over her shoulder. She gave a friendly smile to Thomas, then looked down at Mercy.
“This the one you were telling me about?”
“Yes, but please, let’s not talk in this darkness, shall we?”
The woman shrugged and led the way back out. She pulled a rag off her hip and wiped her hands clean on it. Mercy followed her, absolutely confused.
The room they entered must have been at least two stories tall and filled with several enormous furnaces. The metal doors that held the flames in check had slots that allowed her to see the lapping flames within, but that wasn’t what made Mercy stop in her tracks. There were people down here, ten maybe twenty in total, and all of them were women.
Thomas gestured to them, “This is the heart of the Mill. Without them these very walls would crumble and the fires inside would swallow us whole.”
The woman chuckled and put out a hand to Mercy. “My name is Lynda.”
She took it, “Mercy.”
Now that she could see her in full light, Mercy saw that Lynda was covered from head to toe in black soot. She wore long overalls with a sleeveless shirt and a pair of goggles perched on top of her head. Lynda studied her a moment, then folded her arms, “I don’t think she’s going to be much use to us. She’s too young to do much lifting.”
Thomas put a hand on Mercy’s shoulder from behind and she jumped beneath his touch. “I believe she has promise in other ways.”
“You’re talking about our plan, aren’t you?”
Thomas shrugged, “The first step at least. If any of you were to step outside, you would cause much interest. Mercy here is young enough to not be recognized.”
A few other workers had put down their tools: large metal guns that shot out electric fire, and shovels to feed the fires. Some even dropped great mounds of coal that they carried. Mercy felt suddenly very out of place and uncomfortable and she took a step back from these impossibly strong women, but Thomas made his grip on her firmer and prevented her from budging.
THE GIVEAWAY
One Winner (Open Internationally) Will Win a $10 Amazon Gift Card
FOLLOW THE TOUR
Week One:
4/9/2018- BookHounds– Interview
4/10/2018- Twinning for Books– Review
4/11/2018- What A Nerd Girl Says– Guest Post
4/12/2018- The Life Stories– Review
4/13/2018- A Gingerly Review– Excerpt
Week Two:
4/16/2018- Jena Brown Writes– Review
4/17/2018- Confessions of a YA Reader– Excerpt
4/18/2018- Fantasy Book Critic– Interview
4/19/2018- Reese’s Reviews– Review
4/20/2018- Novel Novice– Guest Post
Thanks for the giveaway; I like the deleted scene. :)