I am thrilled to be hosting a spot
on the THE PRINCE by Antony Soehner Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out
my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!
About The Book:
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Author: Antony Soehner
Pub. Date: April 12, 2022
Publisher: Roll15 Publishing LLC
Formats: Paperback, eBook
Pages: 226
Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle, B&N, iBooks, Kobo, TBD, Bookshop.org
Destiny will always test the greatest of leaders.
"Theo
never imagined life outside the king's castle. But when the queen's funeral
reveals the king's true colors, Theo must rely on his sister, her allies, and
his friends to get him to safety. With the help of mercenaries and the native
tribes of the plains, Theo must learn to face his destiny and open his mind to
the diverse world he's been thrown into."
The
Prince is
a High-Fantasy Adventure and the first book in
the Prince Theo Saga by Antony Soehner. A multi-layered story about
a young prince who discovers the diverse, fantastic world around him as he
escapes his abusive tyrant father, King George. Finding himself in the care of
a native tribe thought to be the enemy, Theo begins his long journey of growing
and healing from the traumas he faced back home.
Content
Warnings:
Abuse(Physical, Mental), Fantasy Violence
TOP 5 FAVOURITE SCENES
Chapter 7 “Alice
and Olsdeyr”-
*“Your Highness—”
Alice placed a hand on Oli’s cheek. “In another
life—” she choked on her words and tried to smile through the tears pooling in
her eyes. “In another life, maybe I could have kept you by my side. But our
destinies now lie in different directions.”
Oli swallowed hard. “I will see you again, cross my
heart,” he promised her.
“I will count the days until we see each other
again,” Alice said through the knot in her throat. “Your duty is to my brother
and your friend,” She shook her head
and swallowed hard. “You need to go. Get him out of—”
Oli leaned over and planted a kiss on Alice’s lips.
It was quick and subtle. As Oli pulled away, Alice followed, trying to hold the
moment as it vanished too quickly.
“When I return, my princess,” Oli began as he
started shuffling the prince towards Ashti, “we will finish this moment.”
Without another glance, Oli, Theo, and Ashti ducked
into the other room and vanished.*
I love the secret relationship at the end of the
chapter is a small beacon of hope amidst the turmoil and chaos of them trying
to save Theo’s life and future. There’s a deeper connection I placed here that
I will one day play out in a future part of the series.
Chapter 10 “Improvising
Destiny”-
*Before the guard even drew his weapon, Jeb had
swung his guitar around, strummed a chord, and a burst of energy from the tune
blew off the man’s helmet.
The guard stumbled backward, shielding his now
exposed face.
“Run,” Jeb mumbled, taking a few blind steps
backward. “I said—RUN!” He raised his arm high in the air and brought it down
on the strings. Another chord rang and a different blast came from the guitar.
Theo hesitated as he watched the armored man forced
to the ground by magical, floating runes.
Jeb strummed one last time before turning to run.
Theo caught a glimpse of the guard being engulfed by
the bits of grass in the dirt.
Jeb grabbed his arm, yanking him up the road. Theo
took one last glance over his shoulder as they crossed the treeline. The
armored man was no longer to be seen and a new set of riders were galloping
their way into the city.*
This chapter has one of my favorite moments where we
see Jeb’s range of abilities. Getting to write and create with such wit and charisma
is fun, but to take that character and get them to set aside their powerful
brains for their limited brawn willingly is a great way to show the utility of
someone like Jeb. He will have a lasting impact on Theo’s story and this is
where it all began.
Chapter 14 “Ancestor’s
Dance”-
*The drums pounded again as the man sang. In the
ring of dancers, some of the men started tapping their feet, and the jingling
filled the empty space between drum beats.
Gradually, the rest of the crowd began singing along
with the Firekeeper. The song grew louder and the echoes sang a distant harmony
over the valley.
Theo hesitated, but the urge to join was much
stronger than he imagined. At first, he kept his voice down to not be noticed.
The longer he sang, the more confident he became. Words he’d never spoken or
even understood started flowing from his mind to his mouth and came out as the
same song he was hearing.
He raised his head now and looked around the crowd.
Different beings who lived their own lives. No one around him cared who he was.
He wasn’t a prince or the son of a tyrannical king. Nobody told him about the
atrocities his family caused. He was, for once in his short life, hidden among
people and he never wanted to leave that moment.*
One of the
biggest components I wanted in my story was a heavy influence from Native
American traditions. To move away from the medieval European fantasy and bring
those with beautiful tradition and history into the modern fantasy tropes. The
entire feast is a celebration of togetherness and the bounty of their hard work
as a community. I really enjoyed writing the feast scenes because it forced me
to really study and learn about the vastness of another’s culture that I was
once introduced to. It was absolutely inspiring and I couldn’t stop reading,
watching, and listening to everything I could find in order to make my
characters fit their real-life representation to my best ability. I hope my
tale will bring forth conversations whether positive or progressive.
Chapter 17 “Man
in the Mask”-
*“I hope you don’t mind, Your Highness,” the man
jabbed, “it’s just business.”
He turned his hand over and pointed it at the
ground. Pulling it towards him, Ta’goda’s massive body was dragged through the
mounds of debris and stopped at the man’s feet.
The man stood over the chief and placed his boot
against the orc’s chest. Leaning down on his knee, he brushed the loose hair on
Ta’goda’s forehead with his wand.
“Chief,” the man smirked. “Ta’goda, The Raging Bear.
You and that little half-blood traitor over there are going to bring me quite
some coin.”
Ta’goda’s jaw tightened in anger.
“Don’t look so upset,” the man shook his head,
“you’re worth more to me alive.”
He spun his wand in a circle and Ta’goda struggled
to get up. The chief couldn’t move his arms from his sides or bend his knees.
“I wouldn’t fight too hard,” the man said as he
stepped off Ta’goda’s chest, “that binding gets tighter when you do.” Without
another word, he continued walking towards Rhan and Oli.*
In this
chapter, we’re introduced to one of the main antagonists and a favorite bad guy
of mine. He’s shrouded in mystery which only makes him more dangerous. The
entire time he is calm but everything about him screams cruel and evil. The
scene that introduces him was one of the few original images in my head that
spawned this story and series. I hope he makes your skin crawl and your fists
clench.
Chapter 2 “King’s
Philosophy”- *TW (Physical Violence/Abuse)
* Theo
hadn’t taken more than two steps into the castle’s courtyard when the king
halted in front of him.
“Leave us,” the king commanded.
The three knights walked backward down the stairs,
leaving Theo alone with the king.
“This will be my only warning,” the king clipped
without turning to face Theo, “you will refrain from making a fool of your king
in front of his people.”
“Father—”
King George
whipped his arm around. With the back of his heavily ringed hand, he struck
Theo across the side of his head and face. One of the rings snagged the bridge
of his nose, leaving a deep gash in the middle of his face.
Theo could feel the warm liquid pooling in his hands
as he held his face and collapsed to his knees in a daze of white pain.
“I am your king!” he snarled through the ringing in
Theo’s ears. “Your purpose is to obey me as your king and know your place
beneath me. You think that because you are the heir to my throne, I would allow you to disrespect me without consequence?
Those people are beneath us both and any of them could try to take that from
me. That woman could have been an assassin or one of those disgusting animals
on the eastern border. She could have killed me!”
“She was holding a child,” Theo groaned through the
manic daze. He tried to stop the blood flowing from the gaping slash across his
face but it kept pouring through his fingers.
“But it was a risk and could have ended my life! My
empire was at stake!” The king shouted.
For a moment, the king looked down upon his wounded
son in disgust. He slowly raised his hand to the hilt of his sword and with a
click, the blade came free of its scabbard. But something caught his eye and he
froze. Light glinted off the white silver saber hooked to Theo’s belt. The
Queen’s Saber.
The king clicked his sword back into its sheath and
let it dangle from his waist again.
“I will send someone to come clean you up,” the king
clipped as he turned on his heels. “I want you to remember that everything I do
is for you… don’t make me regret it.”*
In this early scene between the king and Theo, I
wanted to establish the abusive power dynamic that would also give a small
glimpse into who the king truly is. I wanted readers to hate him as much as I
did in my head. He is a horrible nasty being and if the “Queen’s Funeral”
wasn’t enough, I pushed the envelope so it would fully explode. This is the
bomb that sets off the entire chain reaction of events that has led me and my
characters into the second act of my fourth book of the series so far. I want
his despicable acts to sit in the back of readers’ minds as the victims take
their stand against the king’s abuse and tyranny.
About Antony Soehner:
Raised on a healthy diet of geek and pop culture, I have come
to share my love and appreciation for role-playing games, geek culture, and
fantasy adventure. If it's random comic book fact, Star Wars trivia, or just
the measly obscure movie reference, I'm there!
antonysoehner.com
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok | Goodreads | Amazon | BookBub
Giveaway Details:
1 winner will receive an eBook of THE PRINCE & a $10 Amazon GC, International.
a Rafflecopter giveawayTour
Schedule:
Week
One:
|
4/1/2022 |
Guest Post |
Week Two:
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4/4/2022 |
Excerpt/IG Post |
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4/5/2022 |
Guest Post/IG Post |
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4/6/2022 |
IG Spotlight |
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4/7/2022 |
Guest Post/IG Post |
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4/8/2022 |
Excerpt |
Week Three:
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4/11/2022 |
Guest Post/IG Post |
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4/12/2022 |
Excerpt |
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4/13/2022 |
Review |
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4/14/2022 |
Review/IG Post |
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4/15/2022 |
Review/IG Post |
Week Four:
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4/18/2022 |
Review |
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4/19/2022 |
Review |
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4/20/2022 |
TikTok Review/IG Post |
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4/21/2022 |
Review |
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4/22/2022 |
Review |
Week Five:
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4/25/2022 |
Review |
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4/26/2022 |
Excerpt |
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4/27/2022 |
Review |
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4/28/2022 |
Review/IG Post |
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4/29/2022 |
Review |
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4/30/2022 |
Review |
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