THE PROTECTOR’S PRESSURE by Susan L. Markloff - Then there's the Second, Protector of all. One noble, a shield for his role.

 

I am so excited that THE PROTECTOR’S PRESSURE by Susan L. Markloff is available now and that I get to share the news!

If you haven’t yet heard about this wonderful book, be sure to check out all the details below.

This blitz also includes a giveaway for a complete set of the novellas once they’re all released courtesy of Susan & Rockstar Book Tours. So if you’d like a chance to win, check out the giveaway info below.

 

About The Book:

Title: THE PROTECTOR’S PRESSURE (The Human-Born Chronicles)

Author: Susan L. Markloff

Pub. Date: July 27, 2023

Publisher: Niveus Press

Formats:  Paperback, eBook

Pages: 198

Find it: GoodreadsAmazon, B&N, BAM, Powell’s, Bookshop, Blackwells 

Then there's the Second, Protector of all. One noble, a shield for his role.

To the outside observer, Skylar Mitchell has a life most people only dream of. With the wealth, fortune, and power granted to a nobleman's son, life should be perfect. But the ideal family seen by all and sought by many for political gain are shadowy illusions of the truth: the Mitchell family is anything but perfect. Wrapped up in the politics that have infected their home, Skylar yearns to find the one thing he's craved his entire life: a genuine family.

Adding to the conflict, Skylar is a Human-Born with extraordinary powers that aren't becoming of a nobleman's son. Though he wishes to explore his abilities and grow in his strengths, his parents have staunchly denied his involvement with anything outside the norm.

Until one day, a portal opens from another world, unleashing enemies aimed at attacking Skylar, and threatening to tear the veil that masks the Mitchell family's happy facade. In that moment, everything could crumble, most notably the boy who was supposed to be unbreakable.

Caught between duty to his family and his remarkable destiny, Skylar may be forced to make a decision that could fracture the Mitchell family. Will he be bold enough to step into the path he was made for, or will he cower under the weight of family pressures?

 

Excerpt

Skylar looked forward to Tuesdays. They were short by all accounts. His classes wrapped by late morning, and he always grabbed the train to London so he could have lunch with Charles in the city. The train’s bustle awarded Skylar anonymity for a spell. Between tourists and general passersby, no one paid him any mind.

Well, no one save his Zaheri.

He’d grown accustomed to the ever-present knowledge that someone was watching him over the last year and a half. Initially, the concept had been unnerving. Skylar would whip around in a panic, only to be welcomed with the sight of one of his Zaheri shaking their hands dismissively or not-so-subtly trying to not be seen.

Truthfully, that ‘eyes on your back’ feeling was one he’d always attributed to fear at mis-stepping or misspeaking. Now however, it was a comfort to know someone watched over him and sought to keep him safe.

Safe from what, exactly, he wasn’t entirely sure.

There had been a handful of lessons from Ira and notes for him to study that Streya slipped into notebooks and textbooks. He’d seen the sketches and studied the bestiary of Agerius. He’d spoken with Ryder enough times to know that grovix weren’t beasts to underestimate or undervalue. The beasts and creatures he might one day encounter were easy, he thought, to wrap his head around.

But this mysterious Caliga, and their shrouded-in-rumor leader, left him puzzled.

What was he to this powerful opposition? Just another shield-bearer in Skylar’s mind. Sure, he was told he was incredibly powerful. And yes, he’d made a couple shields that his Zaheri had marveled at.

But he’d never actually protected anything.

Was he truly something powerful enough to withstand this Cregorous or any of his followers? Since he’d never had anything combat his shields, Skylar genuinely worried whether he’d be capable of stepping into the shoes of…whatever his Zaheri and their people saw for him.

Though, perhaps he was overthinking it. After all, it wasn’t as if making indigo shields of raw energy was the norm for people. That had to mean something.

Ambling on his way to the train station, he could hear Erador’s heavy footfalls against the pavement not far behind him. The bulky warrior was the funniest to see try and hide himself. On more than one occasion, Erador had stumbled over barrels or boxes or run smack into other people. Apologizing wasn’t exactly Erador’s strong suit, and he tended to become a spectacle of chaos in those moments.

The memories made Skylar chuckle a bit as he continued on his way.

He had barely left Oxford’s main hub when Ryder suddenly burst through the trees nearby. Skylar nearly leapt a foot off the ground. People nearby shrieked. A handful of phones were whipped out, pointed toward Ryder as they recorded the massive beast.

Erador was there in a flash as he asked angrily, “What are you doing?”

“We have a problem,” the dark furred grovix shot out.

Before he could continue, Streya and Ira joined them. Streya began to shove at Ryder, as though that would make his appearance null to the world around them. “Are you trying to get us all noticed?! Why are you out here?” Streya demanded as she continued to push in vain.

Ryder shoved her off and barked, “There are bratak’ra and werewolves nearby! Not a hundred feet away. We have to act!”


About Susan L. Markloff:

2022 Readers' Favorite Award Winner.

Susan Markloff spent a majority of her childhood pretending to live in other worlds. Coupled with her admiration for fantastical stories, she crafted one of her own. Studying writing at Houghton College, she learned how to hone her skills as an author, writing first drafts of five books during her college career. The Rise of the Raidin is her debut novel and the first in the Human-Born Era series. Susan resides in her hometown of Sellersville, PA with her faithful dog, Pinkerton.

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Giveaway Details:

1 winner will receive a complete paperback set of The Human-Born Chronicles, US Only. When all the books are out.

Ends January 5, 2024, midnight EST.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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