The Dragon In the Garden - Book Tour and Giveaway

The Dragon in the Garden
The Watcher Rising Series #1
by Erika Gardner
Genre: Epic Urban Fantasy

There is magic beneath the mundane and in The Dragon in the Garden, Siobhan Orsini witnesses it all. No lie can fool her, no glamour or illusion can cloud her Sight. She sees through them all and wishes she could close her eyes. Returning to face her past, Siobhan inherits her grandparents’ house in California’s wine country. She encounters a talking dragon, a hot fallen angel, a demon lord, a Valkyrie, and, oh yes, her ex-boyfriend. And that is just in the first twenty-four hours.

It’s time to find out why she has this power.

Siobhan seeks out the Oracle and learns that only her Sight can help mankind navigate the travails of an ancient war. Our world is the prize in a battle between the dragons, who would defend us, and Lucifer’s fallen angels, who seek to take the Earth for themselves. Using her gift, she will have to make a choice that will decide humanity’s future.


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​ The memory has haunted me for years.
In the middle of a bright California summer, dark days came. My mother and grandparents spoke in hushed, serious voice, arguing about my absent father. Was it my fault he left? A soft whimper escaped my throat and my eyes burned. I needed a hug, but no one paid any attention to me that day. So I ran away to the refuge of my grandparents’ garden where I could hide among its statues and flowers.
My eyes lingered over the familiar garden ornaments. I passed the old birdbath, the statues of gnomes, and a cheerful squirrel. I ran one hand over the stone deer. Its brown paint had faded from years under the sun. Walking with quick steps down the gravel path, I made my way to the center of the garden, my special spot where my favorite statue waited.
A gnarled apricot tree grew there. Right now it was covered with tiny green apricots. Later in the summer the sweet fruit I loved would ripen. I would get to pick them with my parents, no, just with my mother. My lip trembled. My father wouldn’t be here.
The bright-green dragon lay curled at the foot of the apricot tree, partially covered by vines. My mother called the color jade green—the same shade as my eyes. As a child she talked to all the statues, but I only spoke to the dragon. I named her Daisy. Sitting down next to her now, the tears welled up at last, spilling over my cheeks. I wrapped my arms around my legs, making myself into a little ball of five year old misery.
“Child, why are you sad?” said a woman’s voice.
“Who said that?” I asked, wiping my cheek.
“I did.”
“Where are you?” I stood and peered at the plants and statues around me.
“Right here.”
“Are not,” I retorted.
A soft laugh filled the air and the woman spoke again. “Perhaps you are right. Easy enough to fix, I suppose.”
The breeze picked up. The space beneath the apricot tree shimmered. Ripples warped the air like the heat over the barbecue when my father cooked. The sweet notes of wind chimes filled the yard. Grandma and Grandpa didn’t have any wind chimes. I whirled around to find the noise.
Under the branches appeared an enormous green dragon’s head.

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​A powerfully intriguing read! This book has got it all - dragons, angels, demons, oracles, faeries and so much more! Packed full of action, I was immediately enamored from the beginning and was left hanging onto every word, devouring the book as quick as I could. The writing was very well done, with intricate details and spectacular worldbuilding. I loved how there was a ton of intrigue with the characters as they raced to figure out prophecy and all the details were slowly unveiled, layer by layer. The characters themselves were very complex with palpable emotions that make you truly feel for them. I actually almost cried when a small tragedy occurred near the end of the book, it was so touching and heartrending! This absolutely original, sweeping adventure was a pure pleasure to read and actually made me think to try to figure out the mysteries of the prophecies. The ending was absolutely perfect, without a cliffhanger, yet left open for continuation. I will definitely be on the lookout for a sequel soon!

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Erika is a sixth generation San Franciscan of Irish descent. She attended the University of California at Davis and completed degrees in Medieval History and Biological Sciences. A lifelong lover of books and a scribbler of many tales from a young age (her first story was completed at age five) she turned to writing full-time in 2011.

On a personal level she loves spicy food, twilight, dark chocolate (with sea salt-yum!) and nickel slots at Vegas. Erika lives for time with friends, a nice glass of red wine, “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” & “Doctor Who” and good conversation. Her favorite things to do are running, cooking, reading, needlework, gardening… and of course, writing. Erika's music of choice is heavy metal. To pick her out in a lineup you should know that she is very short, fairly loud, and has dark eyebrows. The rest, as her hero Anne McCaffrey once said in her bio, “is subject to change without notice”.

Erika resides in Northern California with her incredibly hot husband, their three amazing kids, and their chocolate Labrador named Selkie. To reach Erika regarding her books, wine recommendations, or to debate which Iron Maiden album is the best (clearly, it’s Brave New World)


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Follow the tour HERE for exclusive excerpts, guest posts and a giveaway!

​Aug 21
kickoff at The Silver Dagger Scriptorium
Mythical Books – GUEST POST

Aug 22
Adventures in Publishing
Jamie Marchant, Fantasy Author

Aug 23
Zola Blue Blog – GUEST POST
Books Dreams Life

Aug 24
Laurie's Paranormal Thoughts and Reviews
Land of Oyr

Aug 25
A Mama's Corner of the World
Sapphyria's Book Reviews

Aug 26
Readeropolis – GUEST POST
YA Book Divas

Aug 27
Jazzy Book Reviews
Nicole's Book Musings

Aug 28
Joe Forrest
Eclectic Evelyn

Aug 29
Celticlady's Reviews
Circle of Stalkers

Aug 30
Just Being Myself
Queen of All She Reads

Aug 31
Rabid Readers Book Blog
Tales of A Wanna-Be SuperHero Mom

Sept 1
Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer
Teaser Addicts Book Blog

Sept 2
Turning Another Page

Sept 3
United Indie Book Blog

Sept 4
BrizzleLass Books – REVIEW
Angels With Attitude Book Reviews

Sept 5
AC Squared Book Blog
For Love of Books4

Sept 6
Lisa-Queen of Random
Stormy Nights Reviewing & Bloggin'

Sept 7
Laurisa White Reyes, Author
Must Read Faster

Sept 8
Indie Wish List
Sylv.net

Sept 9
Yearwood La Novela

Sept 10
Yah gotta read this

Sept 11
Susan Heim on Writing
The Authors Blog

Sept 12
Teatime and Books
The Avid Reader

Sept 13
Book Bangers Blog
The Bookworm Chronicles

Sept 14
Ourbookstars
Port Jericho

Sept 15
Spunky N Sassy

Sept 16
Just Books – GUEST POST
Adventures Thru Wonderland – REVIEW, GUEST POST

Sept 17
Mello & June

Sept 18
Triple A
The Book Town

Sept 19
Shh, I am Reading
The Pen and Muse Book Reviews

Sept 20
Bound 4 Escape – REVIEW
SnoopyDoo's Book Reviews

Sept 21
Momma Says: To Read or Not To Read – REVIEW
Traci Hayden

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