To Poison a Prince (A Tale of Two Princes): MM Fantasy Romance by Aldrea Alien ➱ Release Tour with Giveaway

BLOG TOUR

Book Title: To Poison a Prince

Author: Aldrea Alien

Publisher: Self-published

Cover Artist: Leonardo Borazio

Release Date: July 31, 2021

Genre: M/M Fantasy Romance

Trope/s: Hurt/Comfort, Man in Peril, Cultural Differences, Dysfunctional Family, Mystery Murderer, Opposites Attract

Themes: Royalty, Wedding, Revenge

Heat Rating: 4 flames

Length: 269 231 words

It is book 2 in the A Tale of Two Princes series

Goodreads Link

Buy Links - Available in Kindle Unlimited

Amazon US | Amazon UK

Someone is out to murder his husband and he might just be the reason they succeed.

Blurb

Imperial Crown Prince Darshan knew his journey home wasn’t going to be the modest one he hoped for, especially not after eloping with Hamish, a former prince—and now exile—of Tirglas.

When he thwarts a clumsy attempt on his husband’s life during a soirée hosted by his long-standing rival and half-sister, he figures the worst is behind them.

Yet, the threat of death continues to shadow them across the empire. Someone is intent on making the rumours of his husband’s demise a reality, someone who can erase the memory of their very presence from people’s minds.

Darshan must discover who is behind the attempts before they succeed. But who can he trust when the culprit is capable of slipping by the most vigilant of guards?

Excerpt

“Your highness,” Katarina said in a clear address to himself. “I hear you’ve travelled through imperial lands for some months. What is your current outlook on it?” Although she spoke Udynean, the musical hint of her own language whispered through. A much softer melody than the last hedgewitch Hamish had met.

He swallowed the wine and considered the past eight weeks of travel from the distant port of Haalabof to here, of the seemingly endless roads winding along the lands and the villages small enough to barely warrant a mention on a map. “It has certainly been an experience.” He’d been propositioned at least seven times along the way. Maybe even more that had been too subtle for him to notice.

The hedgewitch’s eyes almost sparkled. “You simply must give me details, your highness. It’s so rare to have an outside opinion on Udynea.”

Hamish opened his mouth, his agreement balancing on his tongue, only to remain silent as Darshan laid a bejewelled hand atop his.

“I’m sure my husband is most eager to oblige the request, Madam Hedgewitch, but perhaps another time would be more suited?”

Her lashes fluttering, Katarina lowered her head. “Of course, vris Mhanek.” She picked at the rest of her meal, perhaps looking for a reason to remain silent as she vibrated with an energy that reminded Hamish of his nephews when they sorely wanted to natter people’s ears off.

A pang of longing turned his stomach. A yearning to embrace his sisters, to hear his nephews scheming and his niece’s laughter. He would even take his brother’s good-natured ribbing just for a chance to hear his voice.

Hamish swallowed, blinking furiously to stem the tears threatening to spill. He hadn’t expected to feel homesick, but he’d never been beyond Tirglas before, hadn’t even been more than a week’s travel from Mullhind Castle for years. Now it was months away and there was more land to cover before they reached their destination.

A whole continent between him and his family; people he would never get to see again thanks to his mother’s poisonous ire.

“Do eat up, brother dear,” Onella purred, jolting Hamish from his thoughts. His sister-in-law gestured to the plate before Darshan, the rings adorning her fingers glittering in the candlelight. She had changed gowns, or at least the filmy topmost layer, and her arm showed no sign of Darshan’s attack. “All that dancing must’ve worked up quite the appetite. I can’t imagine the poxy inns you’ve stopped at during your travels had meals sufficient for a man of your power. You must be ravenous.”

Darshan smiled. Hamish wasn’t sure how his husband managed to seemingly detach the expression from his face, but the sight prickled his skin. “I think I’ll pass, dear half-sister.”

“But isn’t quail your favourite?” Onella pressed. “Did all those stodgy meals up north affect your palate?” She leant closer to one of the men flanking her and continued on in a loud whisper. “I hear they do ghastly things like stuff sheep stomachs and eat them.”

“They do indeed,” Katarina piped up as grumbles of distaste trembled along the table. “And the stomachs of cows and pigs.”

“There’s little from an animal we dinnae eat or use,” Hamish added, ferocious pride for his homeland’s self-sufficiency puffing his chest. “And what’s left goes to feed our dogs and pigs. We dinnae let a thing go to waste.”

“Clearly, trade relations with a superior people isn’t listed as one of those things.” Onella sipped at her wine, her gaze boring into him. “But I suppose you’re not privy to such matters, being dead and all.”

A woman part way down the table flung her head back and guffawed.

“He seems very lively for a dead man,” pointed out the woman sitting next to her as her neighbour continued to wheeze.

“Clearly not in the literal sense,” Onella said, her gaze remaining firmly on Hamish. “But it would seem that the news of how the current queen of Tirglas disowned her younger son hasn’t reached all present company.”

Darshan straightened in his chair. “Has it not?” He took up his glass and tapped his forefinger against it, waiting whilst a servant topped up the wine. “What is the rumour mill coming to if it cannot keep up with such trivial concerns?”

Interview

Author Interview Questions – ALDREA ALIEN

When did you first realize that you wanted to be a writer? When I was twelve. At least, that’s when I started. I don’t recall if being a writer before then was even on my radar.

How many books have you written? Eleven. Two of them aren’t for sale anymore as I’ve plans to rewrite them at some point.

How long does it usually take you to write a book? The last two big ones took about a year each. My novella, Someone Else’s Shoes, was done in roughly two months.

Do you aim for a set number of words/pages per day? I aim for a minimum of 500 words a day. It’s not a huge amount, but I can do it consistently for months on end without burning out.

Do you use images to develop your character’s looks? Yes. I start off with a vague idea of their features and go hunting for pictures until I find one that clicks. It also helps when the times comes for cover images, because I can then show the artist exactly how I see them.

Do you use your experiences in your books? Somewhat. My past leant in strong on certain scenes in To Target the Heart. It was kind of cathartic and emotionally draining at the same time. I still can’t read that piece without crying, but I feel it was worth it.

Do you ever get writer’s block? Oh yes. I’ve found that it tends to come because I’m forcing the characters into a position they wouldn’t naturally take. I usually take a break around then, give myself a day and come back to it with a fresh outlook.

Does writing energize or exhaust you? That depends on where I am in the story. Any heavily emotional scenes tend to drain me. For the most part, writing is less energising and more a relief of finally having one less scene bumping about my brain.

What do you do when you’re not writing? I read books or comics, largely fantasy romance, although there are a few contemporary m/m authors I like. Other times, I play video games: Dragon Age, Witcher, Sims 4, Spiderman and a bunch of the Lego ones.

Do you like music or silence when your write? Silence is preferable, but my writing space is the dining room, which has an open arch to the living room where there’s a TV running for hours on end most days. So I listen to instrumental music, generally video game soundtracks. They’re very good at keeping me focused and I end up with a good little playlist.

Do you prefer pen and paper or computer? Definitely computer. The way I write, I end up putting extra sentences into paragraphs or move stuff around for a better flow. It got real messy when I used to write on paper.

Do you write as routine or do you write when you feel like it? There’s definitely a routine. I typically aim to write the biggest chunks during midday and the remainder in the evening as parental obligations insist I must be there for my child and that includes collecting them from school. Once I hit that 500 word minimum mark though, I’ll stop only when I feel like it.

What do you love best about your current book? That it’s finally finished? Heh. No, it’s that I got to delve deeper into Udynea’s culture, do a little world building and flesh out minor characters that’ll likely pop up as mains in other books.

What is your next project? The next release is Someone Else’s Shoes, a lesbian retelling of Cinderella that’s out in November. What I’m writing at the moment is a prequel to In Pain and Blood focused on Tracker’s time before him and Dylan meet. Lots of fight scenes. Apparently, I like to torture myself.

About the Author

Aldrea Alien is an award-winning, bisexual author of fantasy romance with varying heat levels. Born and raised in New Zealand, she lives on a small farm with her family, including a menagerie of animals, who are all convinced they're just as human as the next person. Especially the cats. Since discovering a love of writing at the age of twelve, she hasn't found an ounce of peace from the characters plaguing her mind with all of them clamouring for her to tell their story first.

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