Gilded Wings by Amy Lignor Blog Tour [Guest Post + Excerpt]

Welcome! Today I am very excited to be a part of the Gilded Wings by Amy Lignor blog tour. I read Until Next Time and loved it after receiving it from the author to review.  I believe that review is what got my blog noticed my the wonderful Tribute Books, who I have been working with ever since. I have been anticipating the next book in this series and actually asked to be a pat of the blog tour when I saw there was a release date for the book. It was a while before the blog tour was even planned, but I had to be part of it. Needless to say I'm pretty excited about this book. On my post you get to read a small excerpt from the book and a guest post from one of the characters, Matt. I hope you enjoy the post as much as I did.

Gilded Wings by Amy Lignor

The Beloved Angel/Warrior Team from Until Next TimeReturns!

When Matt and Emily are sent on their second mission they have no idea how truly dark human nature can become…

Emily never wanted to face humans again. With the heartache that went on down below, she’s still trying to figure out how to save souls that don’t deserve saving. The only one she wants to see again is Jason - the young man she fell in love with who became the soulmate she simply can’t forget…

Matt was trained to protect and defend the souls down below. Longing to feel the heartfelt emotions that come from being human, Matt wants nothing more than to have just one life - one chance - to live and love the girl of his dreams…

The powerful team find themselves in a brand new century, living in the Gilded Age of New York City. Emily takes over the body of Anya, a young Russian girl who arrives on Ellis Island after a hideous tragedy. There she meets up with a strangely familiar young man by the name of Drew Parrish, who helps Anya survive in an unknown world of luxury, snobbery and…obsession.

What Anya’s inner angel doesn’t know is that the soul she loves is also back. This time around Jason goes by the name of Max Carrow. Once a quiet and kind boy, he’s now part of the ‘Four Hundred Club,’ and wants nothing more than to be among the most admired as he climbs the shaky ladder of society’s elite.

As two worlds merge, Emily and Matt struggle under the weight of their “Gilded Wings.” Not only will they have to figure out who they should fight to save, but they must also face a romantic choice that could destroy them both. (Goodreads)

Excerpt:

Anya..Even after all this time her name still makes me ill. I blame her for being the vessel that held my soul the second time around. She’s my alter-ego, like those comic book superheroes down below who do battle with their villainous counterparts. Although in that life, I suppose I was the villain. That life... The one where I finally understood what a thin line there is between the person we truly are and the person we have the ability to become.

On our first trip into the human world the wealthy and powerful reigned, so slaying those sinners on earth was justifiable—it was simply our job. Of course, we didn’t know until later that the Irish world which had been serving as the backdrop for our first try was just a dress rehearsal to prepare us for the truly dangerous demons that had yet to make an appearance in the hearts of mankind.

Character Guest Post:

A Day in the Life of a Warrior

Hey everybody! This is Matthew and I was asked to take you all through a ‘day in the life’ of ME up here. I have to say, it’s basically like a day in the life down there - just way brighter. Sometimes it actually hurts your eyes. My partner, Emily (you know, the sarcastic one) actually brought sunglasses up here. She kind of looks like she’s playing the lead in Grease. Anyway…

People ask if I sleep and I do…actually, more than I should. But when  I rise, I head into the TV room where I watch the news. I don’t like it most times. We see everything that’s going on down there and try to figure out ways to help from up here - which is really hard. After eating - and yes, we eat - BIG TIME. (I can’t even tell you how amazing the food is up here. Anything you want at any time of day. Forget McDonald’s, Heaven lets you have it ’Your Way’ all the time.

After breakfast I head to Michael’s classroom with Emily. She and I - and I know we’re too old for shenanigans now - still like to drive him nuts. Yesterday she brought one of St. Francis’ elephants into class (her name is Jenny). She trumpeted her horn while Michael tried to teach us about the Roman Army. I have to say…it would’ve been boring without the elephant. Jenny made cool special effects.

Heading into Gabriel’s classroom, Emily and I still train in the pit. We need to make sure we can fight down there, protect - unfortunately, if we’re a little on the angry side with each other the battles can get a little out of hand sometimes. But…I don’t think it can be helped…the emotions between us. Well…you all know by now what I‘m fighting for when it comes to her.

We’re getting prepared for our, hopefully, ‘third time’s the charm’ lifetime, and things will be way different. I still hold the hope that we’ll be partners down there in other ways besides the job when all is said and done. We usually break from each other after Gabe and Mike. She heads to Francis and I usually head to our favorite ‘love saint’ because I really need to get that whole thing together in order to make Em see that I’m the charming one…and not Jason.

There’s a lot of hallways to run around and doors to open up here, so it’s kind of an adventure everyday. And then, when the sun sets, I always head into the library (my favorite place) and Emily is always sitting there. I swear, I hope in one of these lives she can be a librarian. After all, that’s what she loves. 

I hope I can meet you all up here someday; it would be cool since you‘re reading our stories. But, for right now, I’d rather meet you down there. Life is a whole lot of fun…and it’s SO not over for me and Em!

Until Next Time, Everybody.

Matthew, out!

Until Next Time by Amy Lignor

How does a girl choose between the one who steals her heart and the one who owns her soul?

Matt and Emily were created for a specific job. Raised and trained as the ultimate angel/warrior team, they are sent down to save, defend, judge and forgive, depending on the 'life' they've been assigned. What they don't realize is that the power of human emotions, such as love, anger, passion and fear can take over even the best of souls, causing them to make mistakes and follow paths that lead to confusion and heartache.

When the reason for their training is finally revealed, the angel/warrior team find themselves thrust into a world they know nothing about. Matt takes over the life of Daniel, a young man with a great deal of baggage. Emily becomes Liz, a girl living in a remote village who relies on nothing more than her own strength to survive. A violent storm erupts one night, and framed in the window of Liz's establishment is a frightening face. Let in by the soul of a Good Samaritan, the two visitors bring with them a past full of secrets that could literally change an angel's path and a warrior's plans.

From murder to redemption, this angel/warrior team must find a way to keep the faith they have in each other in a world that's ripping them apart. (Goodreads)

Find The Angel Chronicles:

| Website | Facebook |

About Amy:

Amy Lignor began her career at Grey House Publishing in northwest Connecticut where she was the Editor-in-Chief of numerous educational and business directories.

Now she is a published author of several works of fiction. The Billy the Kid historical The Heart of a Legend; the thriller, Mind Made; and the adventure novel, Tallent & Lowery 13.

She is also the owner of The Write Companion, a company that offers help and support to writers through a full range of editorial services from proofreading and copyediting to ghostwriting and research. As the daughter of a research librarian, she is also an active book reviewer.

Currently, she lives with her daughter, mother and a rambunctious German Shepherd named Reuben, in the beautiful state of New Mexico. 

Find Amy:

| Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads |

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Interview and Giveaway with Amy Lignor

Welcome Amy Lignor, a fantastic author. I’m very happy to have her on my blog today. She has even agreed to give away an e-book copy of her book, which I will add more about after the interview. I came into contact with Amy when she asked me to read and review her book, Until Next Time which was a fantastic read. You can find the review by clicking here. I have since greatly enjoyed talking with Amy and am really excited to be doing an interview with her.

I hope everyone enjoys this interview and will check out Until Next Time if you haven’t already.

Christie: Welcome Amy! Thank you for joining me today for an interview.  Please tell us a little about yourself.

Amy: I was raised on books - literally :).  My Mom was a career librarian, so while all the kids were going to the movies or hanging out on the sports field, I was in the library surrounded by my absolute favorite things in the whole world! 

I’ve been writing since I was thirteen-years-old, and my Freshman Social Studies teacher was actually the first one to tell me that I should be a writer as a career, after I wrote an essay about Rasputin.

I come from the East, which is where I began in the publishing industry, and currently I live in the warm, dry air of New Mexico. I came here to study a book I was putting together on Billy the Kid, believe it or not, and stayed because I loved the fact that there was absolutely no snow. :)

Christie: It sounds like you had a great childhood. It is very awesome that the teacher encouraged you to become a writer. It would be cool if they saw your book and saw they were right! Amen to no snow!

Christie: Your New book Until Next Time, which is also the first book in the Angel Chronicles series is about angels. What made you decide to write about Angels?

Amy: Actually it all came about when I was thirteen. I lost my grandfather and I was truly heartbroken. I began to think about where he went and whether or not, if there were such a thing as angels, why they would possibly come down into a place that was so filled with pain, death, heartache, etc. I dreamed about Matt when I was going through this time period; not a ‘romantic’ dream, just a boy who showed me around a large library where we sat and talked a great deal. He wanted to be a part of this world and, I guess you could call this an ‘imaginary friend,’ helped me through one of the toughest times in my life. When my father passed away too early about ten years ago, Matt and the dreams returned, and I suddenly knew that it was time to tell his and Emily’s story.

Christie: That is very personal. I’m glad you found a way to deal with the grief that ended up creating a great story. Thank you for sharing the story with us, that must have been hard with it being so personal.

Christie: Did you base any of your characters off of real people?

Amy:  There are a few characters ‘up there’ that I based on my grandfather and my father - two extremely wise men who had the biggest hearts imaginable. Emily is based a great deal on how I felt at that time, and how to face the world while trying to still hold on to that ‘faith’ she has in her partner.

Christie: Matt and Emily were supposed to be soul mates but fate took them on a different course when they were sent down to earth.  This changes things between them, will they be pushed back together in the future?

Amy:  The true core of each book is Emily and Matt’s friendship, love, work and the decisions that have to be made between them. Although Emily is the one with a ‘human’ romance in Until Next Time, she is also the one who wants to be ‘home;’ whereas Matt actually likes to be free and living on Earth. There are twists and turns coming up for the angel/warrior team - and Emily and Matt have more than a few surprises when it comes to their friendship and love. So, the upside is, readers will not know the conclusion until the actual conclusion. LOL.

Christie: that sounds great! I can’t wait for these twists and turns.

Christie: Will Jason show up again in future books?

Amy: Yes, Jason will return, as will Charles and Faith - just not in the same ‘form’ as readers think.

Christie: that makes me very happy!

Christie: What made you start writing? Was there a specific author that inspired you to write yourself.

Amy: I have so many favorite authors it’s almost impossible to name them all. Each genre has its own ‘masters.’ Writing was a very personal thing at the beginning of my life, but I have fallen in love with many authors who’ve helped me along the way. From the classics of Austen and Poe to the modern stories, such as Rowling and Koontz, literature is one of the most amazing things - to me - that this world has to offer.

Christie: Do you have a favorite Angel?

Amy: In the book, Matt is my favorite. He is the warrior and thinks with his heart and his deep passion for life, freedom and the job he has to do. Emily has it a lot harder. As an angel, she doesn’t have one ‘job’ to do; she has to find a way to balance everything and it’s far more stressful on her. In the ‘personal’ world, I love Gabriel. He was written in a specific way that blends fun and humor with the fact that he could teach a warrior how to be the ‘best of the best.’ He’s like an older brother.

Christie: Is there anything you can tell us about the next book? Some awesome detail to hold me over until it comes out more specifically.

Amy: Let’s say that the next book has more of a focus on Matt this time around, and they will be living in a very ‘gilded’ time period that was based on wealth, greed, and a nation that was just about to grow into THE one that everyone wanted to come to in order to find their chance at a ‘golden’ life.

Christie: I look forward to finding out more about Matt!

Christie: What is your writing style? Do you have any advice for other writers?

Amy: My writing style is a combination of research (I love history and I want to make sure that locales, time periods, buildings, etc., are all correct); plus the ability to just let go with the imagination. I really can’t do an ‘outline’ before writing and then simply follow along. Twists and turns come up, characters change - so I never hold myself to one thing. Not to mention I get so ‘deeply embedded’ in the story that I  feel like I’m the narrator telling ‘their’ story, and I’m just along for the ride.

Advice…do NOT give up. I started my company, The Write Companion, a while back because I was tired of seeing writers give up because of a rejection letter. There will be many…and you have to be able to solidify your backbone, KNOW that you are right, and keep right on going. A rejection letter just brings you closer to the eventual acceptance.

Christie: I can’t do outlines either I totally agree with you. You just can’t always know where the story and characters will take you.

That is great advice and very admirable. The writing world is a tough one.

Christie: is there anything I didn’t think of to ask that you would like to tell us?

Amy: LOL.  I actually just want to thank the readers and the bloggers, as well as everyone who got so into the book thus far that they’ve made Team Jason and Team Matt buttons. J I am beyond proud of these characters, and it’s nice to see the ‘winged ones’ edging out the ‘fanged ones’ every once in a while. I hope everyone gets on board with Emily & Matt and follows them even further to see exactly how they turn out!

Christie: Thank you again Amy for joining me for this interview. I hope to have you on my blog again in the future. I had a fantastic time talking with you.

Amy: Anytime!  Thank you for having me!

About Amy: Amy Lignor began her career at Grey House Publishing in northwest Connecticut where she was the Editor-in-Chief of numerous educational and business directories.

Now she is a published author of several works of fiction. The Billy the Kid historical The Heart of a Legend; the thriller, Mind Made; and the adventure novel, Tallent & Lowery 13.

She is also the owner of The Write Companion, a company that offers help and support to writers through a full range of editorial services from proofreading and copyediting to ghostwriting and research. As the daughter of a research librarian, she is also an active book reviewer.

Currently, she lives with her daughter, mother and a rambunctious German Shepherd named Reuben, in the beautiful state of New Mexico. (From Amy's blog)

 

GIVEAWAY:

One person can win a copy of Until Next Time by Amy Lignor. Open Internationally and you must be a follower of my blog to win. To enter, fill out the rafflecopter form below. The winner will be notified by email and will have 48 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen.

You can also buy a copy of Until Next Time and support the author now from Barnes and Noble and Amazon.



 

Until Next Time Review

Until Next Time by Amy Lignor

★★★★★

Matt and Emily completed each other and were soul-mates. They were created to be an angel team that was supposed to stick together. They were best friends and loved each other, but that didn’t stop fate from taking an unexpected turn when they were sent down to Earth. They didn’t remember their angel lives when they became Daniel and Liz. Not knowing sent Liz on a path without Daniel, and she was drawn to someone else instead of who she was meant to be with. Emily and Matt were not ready for what they would experience as humans, or how it would affect them as angels.

This was a fantastic read. The only other books I have read that have to do with any angel form was the Kissed by an Angel series by Elizabeth Chandler, so I didn’t know what to expect. This was very different from the Kissed by an Angel books, which I also love a lot. It was interesting reading about Heaven and the well-known angels there, like Michael. I don’t really know stories about angels, and my only angel fix I have gotten like that was from watching Supernatural. Different stories have different takes.

I liked seeing pieces of Heaven and how the angels acted. It was also entertaining when they were playing with different human things in Heaven and trying to understand them. Angels didn’t have human experiences unless they went down to Earth and had them, and then, they received all of the human emotions like anger and hurt. I never thought about angels not having those emotions; maybe life is easier that way.

The author did really well with having Emily and Matt experience these emotions, and, the longer they were on Earth, the harder it was to separate them when they were back in Heaven. Emily and Matt (as Liz and Daniel) were touched by some truly kind people - and some truly vile people - on Earth, which is really how it is in the world. Even as angels, they struggle to make the right choices and protect the people they love.

I enjoyed the characters and the world and the entire experience. I liked that you got to see their human life and also get glimpses of the angel life. I really look forward to reading more books in this series when they come out.

I received a copy of this book from the author for review. Thank you, Amy Lignor, for this great read.

Buy from Barnes and Noble or Amazon now!