Blog Tour: Arvia: Wings of the Wild by D.H. Willison

Hey everyone!
Today is my stop on the blog tour for Arvia: Wings of the Wild by D.H. Willison. I am excited to be sharing an excerpt post with you all, so you can get a little taste for the book!

A massive thank you to @The_WriteReads for allowing me to be a part of the tour.

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Book Blurb:

It’s easy to stand up for your friends. What about for anonymous creatures nobody else cares about?

With their homes apparently safe from the magical storms, Darin and Rinloh venture to an isolated elven village and another ancient mystery: ruins of an imperial city whose entire population vanished centuries ago.

The duo befriend a host of eccentric new characters, from a chipper ogress and hipster troll to a deadpan griffin. Yet the Forest of Nightmares challenges them as never before. Merciless carnivorous trees, subterranean horrors, ethereal creatures no mortal weapon can slay… and most sinister of all, the greed and ambition lurking within the human heart.

Darin and Rinloh’s empathic connection grows stronger the deeper into the wilderness they go, but will it be enough to stop a dark conspiracy from ravaging the land?

Arvia: Wings of the Wild challenges the harpy-human duo with their grandest adventure yet. They must balance their deepening relationship as they sharpen their skills and work together as never before to unravel a deadly new plot.

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Excerpt:

CHAPTER ONE
A Daunting Destination 

“Hey Darin, you haven’t passed out, have you? You know you could get eaten by siltworms sleeping on the beach.”
I tipped my head to squint at Fogmort in the dim light of the moon and scattered bonfires. “No. And isn’t that what the lifeguards are here for?”
“You gonna trust your life to one of those clowns?”
“Good point. But now I have you.”
He plopped into the sand next to me. “Having second thoughts?”
“No. No! Not at all. This is what I’ve always wanted. Getting invited on a real adventure? I’ve only waited two years for it.”
“When you first arrived from Earth, you weren’t ready. You wouldn’t have lasted a day in the wilderness.”
“And now?”
“You should easily last two.”
I snorked. Good ol’ Fogmort. He belonged to that rare breed of adventurers that managed to survive to the age of… actually I didn’t know how old he was, though he appeared to be in his forties. I also took a certain satisfaction in the fact that in contrast to many in his profession, he was only slightly taller and stronger than I. If he could survive in the wilderness, there was hope for me. This evening he was clean shaven, his blond hair close cropped, even his linen button-up shirt was pressed. That would all change once we hit the wilderness.
“So what’s up?” he asked.
“The stars are really beautiful tonight.”
“Is this gonna be one of your pseudo-philosophical rants?”
“My rants are deep and meaningful, thank you very much.”
“Yeah.”
“Stars weren’t like this on my home world.” I gestured to a cluster of sparkling dots in the sky. “With all the electric lights, you’d hardly notice them. And one of those stars out there someplace might be my home system.”
“You don’t know which one?”
“I never studied astronomy. Besides, there are a lot of stars.”
A shriek caught my attention. I sat up and eyed clusters of revelers around the great bonfires dotting the beach. Some danced, some sang—poorly I might add—while most seemed intent on feasting and drinking.

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About The Author:

The same situations can be viewed by different cultures quite differently. Sometimes it leads to conflict, sometimes to hilarity. Both make for a great story. He’s also never missed a chance to visit historic sites, from castle dungeons, to catacombs, to the holds of tall ships, to the tunnels of the Maginot Line. It might be considered research, except for the minor fact that his tales are all set on the whimsical and terrifying world of Arvia. Where giant mythic monsters are often more easily overcome with empathy than explosions.

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YOU CAN FIND D.H. WILLISON HERE:
Website, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, GoodReads

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