Welcome Author Dana Marton!

I love discovering new authors and I've just added Dana Marton to my TBR list.  A long time Harlequin author, Dana has branched out and written a fantasy novel that sounds fantastic.  It's great to have her here on Quinn's Essentials and I hope you'll join me in welcoming her.  Make sure to leave a comment--there's a giveaway at the end....

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Thank you so much, Erin, for having me as a guest!

I’ve been waiting for so long for THE THIRD SCROLL to be published, it almost doesn’t even seem real that here I am, talking about the release, finally.
I’ve published close to 30 books with Harlequin Intrigue and sort of learned the ropes there. But publishing a nearly 500 page epic fantasy is a new and scary venture. I spent about six months writing this book, then a number of months editing it, then nearly ten years figuring out how to publish it. (If there were any shortcuts along the road, I must have driven by them with my eye on the doughnut box on the passenger seat.)

Fantasy editors loved the book, but weren’t sure how to market it as it had too much romance, according to them. Romance editors loved the book, but it’s more of an epic fantasy than romance. So it took the Kindle revolution to reach readers who just want a good book (bless their hearts) and are no so worried about proper categories.

Sold into slavery, Tera, a budding healer, is thrust into the savage realm of barbarian warlords, the same realm which claimed her mother years ago. She must avoid the displeasure of her warrior lord and survive the cruelties of the concubines, even as war threatens on the horizon.

Yet a greater danger looms when she catches the eye of the most powerful lord of the land and he takes her for his Pleasure Hall. Tera struggles to escape, while searching for the secret behind her mother’s death. But what she discovers challenges everything she believes in. A path set long ago beckons. A path that could lead to triumph, or the destruction of her world.

Every author has a ‘special baby,’ a book they can’t let go no matter how many times it gets rejected. THE THIRD SCROLL is that book for me. I know it’s a special story. Still, I was more than nervous when I received the Kirkus Review for the book recently. They’re known for tough reviews and not mincing words. I was so relieved that they liked the book! So now the review, “Marton excels at worldbuilding and character development. Readers will find it impossible not to care what happens next to Tera… etc.” hangs above my computer. We all love our babies, but it’s so nice when somebody tells us our baby is beautiful, isn’t it?

But the true test still remains: the readers. I can never relax until I hear from readers on a book. So if you pick it up (the ebook is 99 cents until Friday to celebrate the release http://www.amazon.com/Third-Scroll-Hardstorm-Saga-ebook/dp/B007YWXDEW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1335814926&sr=8-1 ), please let me know how you liked it. You can download an excerpt from amazon, or read it on my web site: http://www.thethirdscroll.com/. And if you have a minute, stop by my Facebook page www.facebook.com/danamarton  I’ll be doing giveaways all month long, starting with a giveaway for reviewers. The first 20 people who review the book online then come to my FB page and tell me about it, will receive a special THE THIRD SCROLL book bag!
Do you have a ‘special baby’ project, whether it’s a book, or a garden or running 5K at the township run, a special project that you’ve been carrying in your heart for years? I’d love it if you shared it. I’ll raffle off one of my Intrigues among the people who respond here.

May all your dreams come true!

Dana

THE THIRD SCROLL
An epic journey begins....
Coming to stores on May 1, 2012

http://www.thethirdscroll.com/
http://www.facebook.com/DanaMarton
http://twitter.com/
http://www.danamarton.com/