Linda Mooney's Other Worlds of Romance

Wednesday, November 20, 2024

Crystals

Tuesday, November 19, 2024

More Beautiful Artistry of Subway Stations Around the World

Heidelberger Platz, Berlin

Kiyevskaya, Moscow

Komsomolskaya, Moscow

Louvre–Rivoli, Paris

Mayakovskaya, Moscow

Narvskaya, Saint Petersburg

Olaias metro station, Lisbon, Portugal

Monday, November 18, 2024

Please Welcome Barbara Hartzler as She Tells Us About Her Urban Fantasy, The Century Portal, The Sacred Stones Portal Series, Book One

The Century Portal

The Sacred Stones Portal Series

Book One

by Barbara Hartzler

Genre: Urban Fantasy Portal

Date of Publication: May 14, 2024

ISBN: 979-8325107788

ASIN: ‎ B0D1WBMTLR

Number of pages: 208

Word Count: 58,600

Cover Artist: FantasyBookDesigns.com

Tagline: Downton Abbey meets Shadowhunters as Bella portals to the 1920s to rescue the Seer from a time-traveling villain bent on changing the course of history.

Book Description:

I thought my days of magical battles were behind me—until a portal opened in my dorm room.

I’m Bella, and I’ve done my fair share of saving the world. But when two strangers from 1924 show up begging for my help, it’s clear that my quiet college life is about to be anything but ordinary. Their mission? To stop a dangerous villain from unraveling the future by tampering with the Seer’s family line.

Suddenly, I’m thrust into the magical world of time portals, glitzy debutante balls, and the underground speakeasies of the Roaring Twenties. And that’s not even the worst of it. There’s a new enemy in play—one who can manipulate time itself and has their sights set on Lucinda, the future Seer.

In 1924, Lucinda thought her biggest problem was planning her future. She couldn’t be more wrong.

Eighteen is supposed to be an exciting time for Lucinda—freedom, ambition, maybe even a little romance. But as strange powers start manifesting and a mysterious suitor takes an interest in her, life gets complicated. Add to that a time-traveling villain who’s decided she’s the key to his plans, and her once-bright future starts to look pretty dangerous.

Now, Lucinda and I are fighting across centuries to stop history from being rewritten. But with enemies closing in from every side, the battle for the Seer has only just begun...

Century Portal is the spellbinding first book in a new YA historical time-travel fantasy by bestselling author Barbara Hartzler. Downton Abbey meets Back to the Future with a good dose of Shadowhunters-like magic in this thrilling blend of coming of age romance, mystery, and urban fantasy adventure.

Amazon

Excerpt 2, Ch. 14:

Both Rocco and Ricky Montrose turned toward our hiding place.

My pulse pounded in my ears as I held my breath, leaning into Patrick for support.

Through the crack of the door, I could hear Rocco’s gruff hiss. “Did you hear that?”

“I don’t know. Maybe,” came Ricky’s mumbled reply.

Leaning in, Patrick rolled his eyes at me. “Some spy you’d make. Time for plan B.”

Then, in one deft move, he slid in front of me, pressing his hands to the wall on either side of my head, trapping me between his arms.

My breath hitched in my lungs as I stared into his mesmerizing dark eyes.

Brushing his nose against mine, he whispered, “Time for the makeout cover.”

Then he kissed me, a soft peck at first as we both kept our eyes on the door.

But no one came through.

“We need to tell the Sinclairs about Ricky’s plan,” I murmured against my boyfriend’s soft lips, reveling in his warmth and closeness.

“Or maybe we should find a way to stop him from attending the ball tonight.” Patrick’s mouth brushed against mine with each word.

“Good idea.” I leaned my head against the wall. “I bet Lucinda will see right through his lies if he stands her up for the ball,” I whispered.

“If only we can make sure he stays gone permanently.” He arched back, eyes roaming my face.

I let out a little whimper. He was too far away.

“We’ll think of something.” I grabbed him by the shirt and smashed my lips into his until

I forgot where, or when, we were.

Patrick broke away first, easing the swinging door open a crack. “Looks like they’re leaving. Should we follow them?”

“Probably,” I huffed, pulling back as I smoothed my hands down my silky dress. “But first, how do I look?”

“What?” He arched back, narrowing his eyes at me. “Why does that matter?”

“Because I’m pretty sure in 1924, if I came out of a secret door looking like I just made out with my boyfriend, people would take notice.” I swiped the edges of my lips, looking for any errant lipstick.

“And that would ruin our goal of being invisible. Got it.” He gave me the once over, his mouth tilting up on one side. “Do you have a compact or extra lipstick or something?”

Then his cute little half-smile morphed into a full-on sheepish grin.

“I think I brought the lipstick and a mirror.” I reached into the small bag hanging from my wrist and reapplied my lipstick. “There. All better. Now you just need to wipe your mouth.”

“Fine.” He pulled out a handkerchief and wiped his lips. “Now can we go?”

“Yes. Let’s hurry,” I whispered, opening the door.

“I’ll go first. Just in case.” Patrick slipped by me and out the door.

I waited in the serving hallway for a few minutes, then ducked out into the parlor.

Thankfully, almost everyone had vacated the room. Anyone left was heading toward the grand ballroom as a bell rang throughout the house.

I followed the stragglers, slipping in behind Patrick as he skirted the edge of the crowd.

A middle-aged man and woman stood at the back of the room, the woman with a bell in her hand.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” the man announced in a loud voice. “Thank you for attending this year’s pre-ball luncheon, organized by my beautiful Charlotte.”

I recognized that name. That must be Mr. and Mrs. Beatrix.

Edward Beatrix went on about the history and tradition of the luncheon, while I scanned the crowd for the Montrose boys.

They were edging toward the back of the room when I spotted them.

“There,” I hissed into Patrick’s ear, pointing low so no one else in the crowd would see.

Just then, they slipped out into the hallway.

Wasting no time, Patrick grabbed my hand and pulled me away from the crowd. For my part, I raised the back of my hand to my forehead, feigning a fainting spell.

Not my finest moment. But hey, you gotta work with what you’re given.

As soon as we reached the long hallway with a dozen doors, we caught sight of two dark heads. Rushing forward, we tried to catch up with them.

But they disappeared again. Just vanished into thin air.

We hustled as fast as we could in our 1920s getup down the long corridor. When we reached the end of the hallway, there was still no sign of them.

“What the heck?” Patrick’s head swung around. “Do they have stones that make them disappear now?”

I glanced around, scratching my chin. “No, I don’t think that’s it. We would’ve seen some kind of light or heard rushing wind if they used a portal.”

He snapped his fingers. “Look at you, being all smart and logical.”

I grinned at him for a second, but it faded fast. “There’s got to be something else we’re missing.”

The Three Societies were known for their hidden tunnels and secret rooms, and the Guardians were no exception.

He scrunched his bushy eyebrows together. “You mean like a secret door or something?”

“Yes.” I nodded at him. “Exactly like that. Who’s the smart one now?”

His sideways half-smile reemerged. “Okay, let’s start tapping the wall and see if we find something.”

I pointed to the right side, towards the back. “They disappeared somewhere around here.” I made a big circle with my arm.

We both started knocking on the walls—softly so we wouldn’t draw attention.

I scanned the dark wood paneling as I knocked, and then my gaze snagged on a strange piece of molding on the chair rail. Every ten feet or so, the waist-high mahogany molding was broken up by an intricately carved square decorative piece. Most were rosettes, but this decorative square was a familiar symbol.

Right there in the molding of the Beatrix’s hallway was a Guardian symbol—a circle with wings above and fire below.

“Here,” I whisper-screamed, pressing the symbol.

Topic: What is it about this book that makes it special?

Great question! Century Portal is the first book in a series that is the final installment in my Sacred Stones universe. The other three series in the universe focus on magical academies around the world that help the Chosen Ones find their powers.

Century Portal, however, begins a new story that explores one scary idea—what if an old villain suddenly has the power to time travel to get what he wants? And what if he wants the powers of the Chosen One powers above all else?

One of my fiction students gave me the idea to travel back in time and open up a whole new can of worms in my Sacred Stones universe. He suggested that the characters go back really far back in time, like the biblical era. But that sounded like too much research!

So I decided to have the sidekick couple from the previous series, Bella and Patrick, get conscripted to travel back in time a hundred years. The Roaring Twenties sounded like a much more interesting time period to explore, especially since I’m a fan of Downton Abbey.

Century Portal gives a modern best friend-type sidekick, Bella, her own story and is set mostly in 1924. The villain has portaled in, trying to manipulate Lucinda, the Seer of that era, into marrying him. Just for fun, I added some period-appropriate events, like a debutante ball and speakeasy shenanigans. And, of course, every good young adult story needs a love triangle. For an extra twist, I also touched on the women’s suffrage movement, with Lucinda daring to dream of a career in law and politics.

Yes, there was quite a bit of research that went into this book. And the rest of the series, which eventually travels through several time periods. But at its core, this is still a coming-of-age story about a young woman finding her voice and her power in a complicated time.

I have readers of all ages who love this book. One reviewer described the story as, “Downton Abbey meets Back to the Future” which I think is an interesting mashup.

Century Portal is a great escape-style read that explores interesting topics like identity, time travel, and fighting for what you want despite societal norms.

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