Guest Post & Giveaway: Allison Pang

We'd like to welcome author Allison Pang to the Dark nest today. Allison is the author of A Sliver of Shadow. She is giving away 10 copies of A Sliver of Shadow tour wide. 
You can enter to win following her guest post.

Jewelry 
I always find jewelry to be horrendously interesting – both on real people, and on characters. Even if the pieces are small or large, plain or extravagant – it can tell us so much about the person. Do they prefer silver, gold, copper, platinum? Precious stones? Semi-precious? Wood? Marble? 


It can seem like a small thing, but even in the paranormal world, these things can be intensely personal, driven by culture and circumstance – or merely decoration. After all – think about werewolf lore – silver is supposed to be a no-no – or iron for the Fae – so it would make sense that said creatures would avoid that particular metal. (Unless he or she is trying to be a bad-ass – in which case, maybe they wear silver hoops in their ears or some such.) 


But jewelry can have sentimental value or magical powers as well, or it can be symbolic (i.e. wedding rings.) 


At the end of A Brush of Darkness, Abby ends up with a necklace. It falls out of an envelope from her mother’s estate and Brystion rather innocently puts it on her. 


But of course things are never really that simple in Abby’s world. So, yes, the amulet does have magical properties that allow her to do certain things. I’m not going to directly explain those things right now because I don’t want to spoil anyone, but one of the things that I like about using items like this is that the power it grants the wearer isn’t permanent. 


Although Abby does have a peculiar ability to TouchStone anyone she comes in contact with (something that could also be seen as a vulnerability), as far as powers go– she doesn’t have any special warrior strength or supernatural capability. She isn’t going to earn any particular level of respect from the OtherFolk for being who she is. 


The necklace changes that a bit, but only because she’s wearing it. The thing that makes it interesting is that this sort of power can be transferred or lost or taken. Plus possessing such an artifact makes Abby a target – which isn’t something she’s directly prepared to deal with. So even though it’s got some nice whiz-bang capabilities that help her get out some jams, it also adds a level of complexity to her relationships with the other characters, and not all of them for the better. 


The other character I wanted to mention in regards to this is Brystion. Although he doesn’t technically wear jewelry, Abby often mentions hearing the sound of bells when he’s around. In his daemon form, however, he wears a tiny set of bells, tied with red thread at the end of a single braid. The bells themselves don’t do anything directly, but they’re very much a symbol of who he is through the series – and they’re going to have a major part to play in A Trace of Moonlight (October 2012).


a Rafflecopter giveaway

A Sliver of Shadow

Book 2 Abby Sinclair Series

By Allison Pang

Blurb:

Just when her new life as a TouchStone – a mortal bound to help OtherFolk cross between Faery and human worlds – seems to be settling down, Abby Sinclair is left in charge when the Protectorate, Moira, leaves for the Faery Court. And when the Protectorate’s away…let’s just say things spiral out of control when a spell on Abby backfires and the Faery Queen declares the Doors between their worlds officially closed.

The results are disastrous for both sides: OtherFolk trapped in the mortal world are beginning to fade, while Faerie is on the brink of war with the daemons of Hell. Along with her brooding eleven prince Talivar and sexy incubus Brystion, Abby ventures to the CrossRoads in an attempt to override the Queen’s magic. But nothing in this beautiful, dangerous realm will compare to the discoveries she’s making about her past, her destiny, and what she will sacrifice for those she loves.

Buy Links:

Amazon   Kindle  B&N  Nook  BAM  Powells Indiebound  Chapters

About the Author:

A marine biologist in a former life, Allison Pang turned to a life of crime to finance her wild spending habits and need to collect Faberge eggs. A cat thief of notable repute, she spends her days sleeping and nights scaling walls and wooing dancing boys….Well, at least the marine biology part is true. But she was taloned by a hawk once.  She also loves Hello Kitty, sparkly shoes, and gorgeous violinists.

She spends her days in Northern Virginia working as a cube grunt and her nights waiting on her kids and cats, punctuated by the occasional husbandly serenade. Sometimes she even manages to write. Mostly she just makes it up as she goes.

Author Links:

Official site: http://www.heartofthedreaming.com

Borrowing Heaven, Subletting Hell Blog: http://mynfel.blogspot.com

Word Whores Blog: http://word-whores.blogspot.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/apang

Facebook Author page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Allison-Pang/154530877925333

Twitter: @allison_pang (also @phintheunicorn)

Tumblr: http://ionsfolly.tumblr.com