With: Emily McKay
Congratulations to "Amanda B.", the winner in Emily's giveaway. Please contact JUST CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE to claim your prize!

At the time I got a lot of questions about how I went from short romantic comedies to post-apocalyptic horror.
The leap from short contemporary to this book (which is YA portal fantasy) is a little more obvious. This book, Storybound, is about a normal girl, Edie Keller, who crosses the boundary between our world and the Kingdom of Mithres, the world of her favorite fantasy series. The Kingdom of Mithres is a lot like contemporary Austin, Texas, but with a few differences … differences like hell hounds, time travel, and maniacal bad guys who will do anything to capture and kill Edie. On the bright side, she does run into her book boyfriend, Kane the Traveler. She might even get to save his life.
I hope you enjoy this excerpt of Storybound!
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Emily McKay
All I’ve ever needed are my books. I’ve lived a thousand lives, had adventures I couldn’t even begin to imagine. To me, the places I discovered between the pages of a book are as real as the world I live in.
When I walk into my favorite bookstore, the last thing I expect is to walk out onto the pages of the kingdom of Mithres...or that the book boyfriend I’ve loved more than life, Kane the Traveler, really exists. And he has no clue the fate that awaits him in book five...
Excerpt from Storybound:
Kane dips a finger into the ointment and smears it on one of the scratches on my left shoulder. His touch is brusque and quick, as if this is a task he just wants done. He doesn’t look at the reflection of us in the mirror, but down at the wounds he’s dressing.
He’s nearly a full foot taller than I am. With his head ducked, I can still see his face, the seriousness of his expression. I’m so distracted watching him, I don’t think to brace myself against the sharp sting of pain when he touches one of the deeper cuts.
I gasped involuntarily, and his gaze jerks to mine in the mirror. His hand stills.
“I’m sorry.”
“No, it’s okay. I can take it.” I’ve had much worse, but I don’t tell him that.
“I’m not used to”—he clears his throat again— “delicate things.”
“It’s really okay. I’m tough.”
He nods, but still, he hesitates before barely trailing his finger across one of the scratches on my shoulder blade.
“I don’t think that,” he says, his voice rough.
“What?” I ask.
He clears his throat again. “That you’re delicate.”
I snort. “Obviously. I think the term you used was stubby.”
His gaze flickers to mine in the mirror and then back down again. “No. What I meant is, I don’t think you’re weak.”
“Oh.”
“You handled yourself well out there. With the Kellas cat. You’re pretty tough.”
“Pretty tough for a Dark Worlder, you mean?”
“No.” He looks up again and his gaze holds mine in the mirror. “Pretty tough for anyone. Dark Worlder or Tuatha.”
His compliment sends another burst of heat spiraling through my chest. Kane-the-effing-Traveler thinks I’m tough.
He tosses the towel on the counter and goes to leave, then pauses with his hand on the doorknob.
“I’m not him, you know.”
“What?” I ask, turning toward him
Now he does look up at me, and I press the washcloth more firmly against my skin.
“The character from the books. That guy you think you know. I’m not him.”
“I know that,” I say quickly.
“I’m not a hero. I’m not someone anyone looks up to. I’m not even particularly nice.”
“I—”
“If we met under different circumstances, if I didn’t need your help, I probably wouldn’t even care if you lived or died.”
“I know,” I say again, but this time Kane is already gone, closing the door firmly behind him.
Giveaway:
If you could cross into any fictional world, which world would you chose?
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Giveaway ends 11:59pm EST May 7th. Due to GDPR regulations you no longer need to submit your email address in the comments. If you have been selected as a winner your name will be posted at the top of the post. You may then contact maureen@JustContemporaryRomance.com to claim your prize. Your email address will be shared with the author/publicist providing the giveaway.
Giveaway ends 11:59pm EST May 7th. Due to GDPR regulations you no longer need to submit your email address in the comments. If you have been selected as a winner your name will be posted at the top of the post. You may then contact maureen@JustContemporaryRomance.com to claim your prize. Your email address will be shared with the author/publicist providing the giveaway.
Just crossing, right - not stay in it, lol. I’d love to crossing Harry Potter world (no, amusement park doesn’t count! 😆).
ReplyDeleteWow! Storybound sounds really good! Knowing your favorite fictional world actually exists and you can interact with your favorite hero(s)? Amazing! There are so many worlds I would love to cross into. I can't narrow it down to one so I'll say J.R. Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood series, Nalini Singh's Guild Hunter AND Psy-Changeling books and Rebecca Zanetti's Dark Protectors series! Thanks for sharing an excerpt! I'm adding Storybound to my TBR list!
ReplyDeleteWell, although I like to read urban fantasy world, I am not sure I can survive them if I have no supernatural powers of my own. So I just cross the wonderful world of small town romance, like Jill Shalvis's Heartbreaker Bay
ReplyDeleteI so want to read this book!
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh. I would love to meet so many characters. I'm going to pick Connie Archer's cozy mystery world of Snowflake, VT, as long as I don't become a dead body. The main characters are all people I would love to hangout with. Plus there's food
The future - so I can glimpse how well my kids and grandkids are doing. Right now my 14-mth-old grandson is trying to talk, and I'd love to hear exactly what he wants to say! (I know, I know. Be careful what you wish for, LOL!)
ReplyDeleteIf that isn't the type of answer you requested, then I'll go with Little House on the Prairie days. A far simpler time....
Harry Potter
ReplyDeleteMaybe JD Robb's futuristic world... all the tech she writes about... would be pretty interesting!
ReplyDeleteHard choice but the fictional world I'd choose is the world of The Dark Elements series by Jennifer L. Armentrout!
ReplyDeleteNalini Singh's Psy-Changeling world and Sharon Sala's Blessings, Georgia setting are two that come to mind.
ReplyDelete