BOOK TWO IN THE EDEN SERIES
BY JANELLE STALDER
SYNOPSIS:
New beginnings, new conflicts, and new adventures arise in the second installment of the Eden Series, Eden-West.
Months
after his initial journey to Eden, Aiden is learning to cope with his
own transformation. His social status has changed, his friendship with
his best friend Ethan is in jeopardy because of it, and worst of all, he
has heard absolutely nothing from his new friends in Eden. What has
become of the world he fell in love with? Are his friends safe? Is the
war over? With no answers, and no hope for contact, Aiden decides to
focus on his life in his world.
Just
as he makes this decision, he encounters a familiar bright light and
thinks he knows exactly what it means. Except the light isn’t at all
what he expects and neither is the person behind it. When Aiden returns
to Eden, it is to a whole new part of that special world, and a whole
new set of adventures.
Weeks
after Aiden was returned to his own world, Elisa is sent to Nysa, the
revered Southern city, to retrieve the one thing she’d rather avoid –
Wolf. Captain Turk instructed her to get in and get out - but that is
easier said than done. When she finds her missing friend, she also
stumbles upon a great deal of trouble. This trouble goes by one name –
Markus, the leader of the Sun People.
Follow all your favourite characters as they ready themselves for battle and fight for a world threatened to be destroyed.
GENRE: Young Adult Fantasy
AGE: 13 and up.
WHERE TO PURCHASE: Amazon, Barnes and Nobel, Smashwords, Kobo
EXCERPT:
“We have bigger problems on our hands now.”
“Such as?” Logan asked.
“Well, she’s one,” Wolf pointed at Elisa.
“Now wait just one minute –” she began.
“No
you wait!” Wolf interrupted. “We’ve both asked you now: what are you
doing here? I expect an answer, and quickly, so we can send you back.”
The antagonism in his voice stunned her. She was momentarily speechless.
She had known it would be awkward to see them again, but this was
something else.
When
they had last seen each other it hadn’t turned out well. Wolf was upset
over Felix’s death, blaming himself for not being quick enough to save
him. He was also bitter about the fact that he had been unaware of the
truth behind Aiden’s origin. He felt betrayed, especially by Elisa.
She
remembered the night before he left for the south, when he had shown up
at her bedroom door. She’d never forget the hate in his voice as he
yelled at her: “Where were you? What were you doing in that tree?
Watching the birds?!” He had screamed at her. Elisa had been speechless
then as well, taken aback by his onslaught. “It was your job to keep an
eye on everyone. You should have done something to save him!” He hadn’t
been talking about Felix then. He meant the arrow that hit Aiden. Wolf
believed she should have seen it heading toward him, and should have
knocked it off its path with one of her own. It was true, she could have
done that – she had done it many times in practice. But at the time she
had been distracted by everything else that had been going on. The
truth was, no one had noticed that arrow heading towards him, nor had
they been able to figure out where it had come from.
“How can you blame me
for something like that? We were in battle! How was I supposed to be
watching all of you and still be doing my part?” Normally she had no
problem yelling back at Wolf, but her chest felt too tight. Her voice
came out quiet and shaky.
“Don’t
act like you weren’t watching him the whole time,” he spat back, making
her face burn. “You two were the best of friends, the only ones who
knew the truth.”
“Wolf, that’s not fair –”
“I
SHOULD HAVE KNOWN!” His face was scarlet with anger, his eyes bulging.
Elisa didn’t know what to say. After a moment, Wolf turned and left,
leaving her alone. That was the last time she saw him in half a year. He
had left the same night with Logan, travelling south to the City of the
Sun.
Now, as they stood on the roof, she could see the same anger in his eyes, but he was more controlled.
“My
father sent me,” she said, keeping her voice strong. There was no way
he’d get the best of her again. “The King has sent numerous messages,
asking for the two of you to return, with no reply. I’m here to make
sure you receive the message.”
“Great,
message received. Now you can go back home.” Wolf got up and walked to
the opposite side of the roof, turning his back to both of them. Logan
watched him closely.
“I’m not supposed to leave without you,” she said. “We need to leave tonight.” Unexpectedly, Wolf started to laugh.
“No one is going anywhere tonight,” he said, without turning, his voice betraying a sense of fatigue.
“Why not?” asked Logan.
“Because we still have our other problem.”
“Which is what?”
“Markus.”
DON’T FORGET TO CHECK OUT BOOK ONE IN THE SERIES, EDEN.
BOOK ONE IN THE EDEN SERIES
BY JANELLE STALDER
SYNOPSIS:
Stuck
in the cruel world of hormones and high school bullies, Aiden is
convinced life has something more to offer. A stranger soon brings him
to a world that co-exists alongside our own called Eden. Here he will
learn to trust himself and those around him, as all of Eden finds itself
on the brink of war. With the handsome rider Wolf, his sidekick Logan,
and the beautiful archer Elisa at his side, Aiden will battle to save
Eden and learn just what he is capable of.
Being
the only girl in the King’s Army, and the Captain’s daughter, Elisa
constantly feels the need to prove herself. It doesn’t help that she is
betrothed to Wolf, who challenges her at every turn, and who she refuses
to marry. With the new stranger, Aiden, now involved, Elisa finds her
life even more confusing than ever.
Rose
is a prisoner of the war, taken by the army from the North. Her captor,
the exiled Prince Callum, intrigues her and terrifies her all at the
same time. Now she must choose to either betray her heart, or the memory
of her family. Eden is packed full of romance, adventure, humour, and action.
GENRE: Young Adult Fantasy
AGE: 13 and up.
WHERE TO PURCHASE: Amazon, Barnes and Nobel, Chapters, Kobo, iUniverse
PRAISE FOR EDEN: A NOVEL – BOOK ONE, EDEN SERIES
“The
author pulls us into their world, and by the time the book is over, we
want to go back. Go back to Eden and relive the experiences again. This
is one of those books where when you’re through reading it, you miss the
characters.”
– Emerald Barnes, Author “Piercing Through the Darkness”
“Stalder wrote Eden in
a way that it became the perfect blend of Medieval, Magical and Modern.
Her characters are so rich in texture and description that you can
easily visualize them and the settings around them.”
– Tristen Calnan from Totally Booked Solid (totallybookedsolid.blogspot.com)
“This
story has multiple storylines that some authors can’t pull off. Not
Janelle Stalder. She takes it and runs away and as a reader you just sit
back and enjoy the ride.”
– Terri Thomas from My Book Boyfriend (mybookboyfriend.blogspot.com)
“Wow.
Eden was definitely nothing like I expected it to be. The more I read
the more I fell in love with this book. There are so many books out
there where romances develop way too quickly and the reader is left
thinking whoa, how did that happen? So it is nice and refreshing to find
a book where you can see the starts of relationships but where it is
not rushed.”
– Kayleigh-Marie Gore from K-Books (k-booksxo.blogspot.com)
“The world created by Janelle is absolutely mesmerizing and I just could not get enough. I enjoyed all of the characters.”
– Heather from Nightly Reading (nightlyreading.wordpress.com)
Personally, I give both book 1 (Eden)
and book 2 (Eden West) this rating:
Keep an eye on Dark Obsession Chronicles for a review of both books!
Interview Time!
Grab your
britches, because I got some questions for you!
Good thing I’m wearing my good ones!
♦ Not many writers (it seems to me)
seem to go with a male POV, especially in YA. I also love the fact that we get
'in the head' of multiple characters both male and female. What made you break
that convention? Are you as comfortable writing from a male's perspective as
you are a females?
You know, I didn’t really think much of it when I started to write as Aiden. I guess I must be pretty comfortable with both, because I didn’t find it very difficult. I
always like to say I think more like a man lol so maybe that’s why?! I didn’t
purposely set out to break the convention. Having both male and female is fun
for me, especially when I switch during one specific scene. Wolf’s view on what
is happening is always a bit different than Elisa’s, and I think it helps to
keep things interesting. I’m just glad people think I can pull it off!
♦ Why did you choose YA to write
rather than adult? And why did you choose Aiden to begin the Eden series as a
15 year old? Are you planning several books spanning until he reaches
adulthood? And do you already have a 'set' number of books planned for Eden?
Since the main character is fifteen I felt like it was more fitting to have it be a YA novel. Didn’t seem right making it adult with such a young main character. I’ve thought about doing adult books though, so maybe I’ll come out with one. Fifteen is right on that cusp of becoming a young adult and starting to gain responsibility and maturity. I wanted him at an age where finding his confidence and courage took a lot of growth in himself, and I think it’s harder for someone who is still quite young when you think about it. It’s much harder for a fifteen year old to take the fate of an entire world on his shoulder than it would an adult, and I wanted that struggle. He is sixteen in the next books, but you won’t
really see him grow older than that. There are four books in total. I have
another series in mind, and you might see some familiar faces cross over, but this particular storyline will end in book four.
♦ I don't want you to necessarily
give spoilers... oh, who am I kidding, yes I'm looking for spoilers... you give
hints of romantic interest on Aiden's part toward other females, but it seems
the odds are stacked against him 'getting the girl'. Why is that? Similarly, in
Eden West (so far at least), the same thing seems to be going on. Aiden seems
like such a nice, loyal teenager, and I can't help but wish he could ultimately
be happy.
I think his struggle with the
opposite sex is just another thing boys his age deal with. That’s why I didn’t
want him to necessarily fall in love with Elisa, because that’s just not normal
for a boy his age. Fifteen year old boys are full of raging hormones, so I
think it’s pretty much expected for them to fall for every pretty girl that
comes their way. His confidence is still building, and I think that is why he
has a harder time actually getting the girls. Speaking for most girls, I think
we tend to gravitate to guys who have that confidence and self-assurance. We
don’t necessarily want them cocky, because that can be annoying, but you like
them to have a bit of swagger. Aiden certainly doesn’t have that yet, poor guy
lol You will see him finally get “a girl” though, and I really like them
together. There is a definite pull between them, and hopefully the readers will
enjoy the growth of their relationship.
♦ Now, I'm still reading book 2, Eden
West right now, but without giving too much away, were you nervous about how
you ended the first book?
Not really.
The first book was really me setting everything up; the characters, the world,
the conflict, etc. Once I had set the stage, sort-to-speak, I was free to
really delve into the story. Book two was a bit easier because I didn’t have to
re-establish all that. The readers are already familiar with what is happening and
who is involved, so I just picked it up and went right into things. The ending
of book one just established that Aiden isn’t this untouchable person in Eden.
He has weaknesses like everyone else, but he’s also very different. You’ll find
out why he’s so different, and why he was picked in the fourth book.
♦ I'm not sure if you can answer
this, but WTF is up with Aiden's twitchy friend at home? Book one, he was just
a side character with some 'pop' to make him stand out, but book 2 he's
downright odd.
Lol are we talking about Ethan? He’s just that quirky best friend. The Robin to Aiden’s Batman. They’re not the “cool guys” in school, so he’s a bit strange. Both need to find out who they really are, and grow into men, and you’ll get to see that from them both as the series continues. Ethan isn’t gone from the story just yet, so you’ll have to wait and see how he evolves.
♦ Why did you give readers the
opportunity to get inside Callum's head? Was it a statement about how almost
any character can have redeeming qualities, or is there something up your
sleeve for Eden?
I just don’t like stories that are
black and white. It’s easy to make a bad guy and have everyone hate him. It’s
harder to have a bad guy that is actually not so bad, and therefore the readers
start to identify with him as well. Suddenly the reader is connecting with both
sides of the war, causing them to become more emotionally involved in who wins
and how things will eventually turn out. I wanted that with my books, so I’m
glad that people love Callum. I don’t think he is a bad guy innately, I think
he was let down and the wrong sort of people were there to pick him back up.
♦Do you use multimedia (pictures, music, or other) to assist you with
writing? Especially when writing from various character's POV?
No not really. Sometimes
I’ll listen to music while I write, but I don’t think that affects my writing
in any way. For Eden-West I listened to a lot of Tides of Man and Coldplay for
some reason. Don’t really know why, but it does help me from having my thoughts
start to wander lol
♦ Do you have any books
unrelated to this series that you have written or are planning on writing?
Yes and yes. I have a couple of books
that are already written. I don’t know if I’ll publish them, but I have a few
people beta reading one series that I could possibly release just as a freebie.
If you know of any betas *cough* you *cough* I’m looking for some! ;) I also
have quite a few ideas floating around in my head for new stories, but I haven’t
started any. One is begging to be put on paper, but I don’t really want to
start anything new until I’ve finished the Eden series. I haven’t started the
fourth book yet, so once that’s written I can move on to new things.
*OK...
enough with the hard and heavy questions.
Now I'm going to really put you on
your toes....*
Uh oh…
