Blog Tour: BITTERSOULS by L.A. Morton-Yates

 

Bittersouls

by L.A. Morton-Yates

 

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GENRE: YA Fantasy

 

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BLURB:

 

A Shade. A Storm. A Soul.

 

Cursed with forbidden knowledge, 19-year-old Dela must hide her secret from her nomadic tribe or face exile into the frozen wasteland of the Bitters. When she becomes separated from her people during a blizzard, a mysterious and dangerous wanderer named Talon promises to help her find her way back to them. She quickly learns that nothing is what it seems, that her curse may actually be a gift, and that the Bitters are far more dangerous than she could have imagined.

 

Packed with unexpected twists, Bittersouls is a mixture of survival, adventure, and slow-burn romance that is sure to get your heart pounding.

 

 

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Excerpt One:

 

A Shade

 

Something moved at the edge of the horizon. It was like a shadow, black as a cloud but moving fast across the snow plain. Time seemed to stop, but Dela could feel herself sliding forward as if she were standing on a lake of ice. Freja was still yelling, but she couldn’t hear her. Her arms were flailing, but Dela hardly noticed.

 

A wave of lights moved in front of the thing, jumping and turning, quick as sparks. It was like a field of quails fleeing into the sky before a coming wolf, but the wolf—the shadow—followed them. The closer it got, the more the shiver racked her spine. She knew exactly what it was, though she’d never seen one. No one in the congregation had. There were no stories. No whisperings. Only a name.

 

“Shade.”

 

Freja stared at her, bewildered into silence. Perhaps she was going to speak, but then—

 

“Shade!”

 

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Please describe your most impactful scene and why it’s important to the story

 

In Bittersouls, Dela transforms from a naive but well-meaning girl to a fierce and self-sufficient woman. There are many turning points in her journey, some more subtle than others, but a lot of her character arc has to do with the conflict between two opposing ideals:

1.     Protect yourself. Others will fail and betray you, and risking yourself for them will probably just get you both killed.

2.     Protect others. Without people you can trust around you, you won’t survive the Bitters—and you certainly won’t find any meaningful happiness.

In many ways, this is a decision that every person faces every day. We can choose to focus inwardly—prioritizing our needs and desires at the expense of others when the need arises. Alternatively, we can choose to prioritize others, giving of ourselves selflessly, but sometimes opening ourselves up to pain, betrayal, and disappointment.

 

Mercy. The word floated across her mind, a common name for such an uncommon act. Did it not have its place out here? Was this not proof enough of that? It took strength, she realized. Judgement. As she could bring death, so could she bring life. It was that life that she owed herself, if only she could take control and do what she had set out to do.

Bittersouls, Chapter 19

 

Dela’s journey through the Bitters has her bounce back and forth between these ways of thinking. In the emotional climax of the story, she must finally make a choice. Are those really the only two options? For her to win, do others have to lose? For others to win, must she lose? Her decision compels her to face her fears and confront something that she’s spent over a third of the book running from.

 

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 

A life-long lover of the magic of storytelling, L.A. wrote his first story at the age of 7 and has been writing ever since. Speculative fiction, particularly fantasy, has always held a special place in his heart for the uniqueness of the places and the questions it can address. Though veiled by apparent strangeness, he has always seen it as capable of revealing deeper truth about our own reality.

 

L.A. graduated from Montana State University in 2015 with Honors in Biochemistry and a minor in Music Composition. This helped nurture his critical thinking and research skills which continue to be instrumental to his writing.  During his collegiate years, he also met the love of his life, Julie, whom he later married. At once his greatest supporter and his staunchest critic (when he is wrong, which is more often than he’d like to admit), she has been an integral part of his creative process ever since.

 

In February of 2018, L.A. became the father of his first son, Griffin. His second son, Tiber, was born in December of 2019 and his third son, Malachi, was born in January of 2022. Though life has become considerably busier since he became a family man, L.A. continues to work on writing in what little spare time he can find. He hopes to one day pass on his love of literature to his sons.

 

Links:

Substack- www.lamortonyates.substack.com  

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/lamortonyates/

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/authorlamortonyates

Twitter - https://twitter.com/lamortonyates

Buy on Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BQFLM7D4

 

 

 

 

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GIVEAWAY 

L.A. Morton-Yates will be awarding a $20 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway