Storybound

With: Emily McKay

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

I started my writing career writing contemporary romance. It’s my first love, both as a reader and a writer. I wrote eighteen books for Harlequin and Silhouette before I tried my hand at anything else. My first foray outside the genre of short contemporary romance was my young adult horror series, The Farm. (Incidentally, if you sign up for my newsletter, you can download the novella prequel to The Farm, The Before, for free!).

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

STORYBOUND

I’ve lived in nine towns in the past six years. I know my mom feels bad about it, but I don’t mind. Who wants friends anyway?

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...

Now that I know the truth, I have a chance to save Kane. But if I change the story, will I ever find my way home?

AMAZON

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?

I will pick one person who answers to win a special Storybound prize pack, including: signed copy of Tracy Wolff’s Crave, a $20 amazon gift card, and a cool Farm backpack! 

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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.