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The Truth About Night - Book Tour and Giveaway

1/14/2020

60 Comments

 
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The Truth About Night
by Amanda Arista
Genre: Paranormal Mystery 

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As an investigative journalist, Merci Lanard has an uncanny knack for getting the truth out of people, a talent she uses to expose the real story behind her city’s most gruesome crimes. 
Until one night, when her partner, Ethan, is killed. 
Reeling from shock and grief, Merci vows to track down his murderer. As she starts digging, she meets Ethan’s estranged brother, Rafe, who agrees to work with Merci to find his brother’s killer. She soon discovers Ethan had been hiding things from her, mainly that he was a Shifter and had a whole life in a supernatural world she knew nothing about.
A Shifter himself, Rafe introduces Merci to magic she never knew existed. As they work together to uncover hidden connections between Ethan's murder and a series of strange dead bodies, they find themselves in the crosshairs of a turf war for the soul of the city. 
If Merci is to have any hope of saving her city, she will have to face the truth about this war, the truth about this new magical world, and the truth about who she truly is.



Goodreads * Amazon ​



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​“She’s lying!”
The words echoed across the parking lot, and everyone turned. They turned because it was a show; it was a spectacle at a funeral. It distracted people from their loss and own sense of mortality.
I turned around because this voice felt like someone sliding a blanket across my skin. The static in my brain rose to greet this new sensation, as did the hairs on the back of my neck.
The man I’d seen fighting with Levi stormed across the parking lot straight toward me. Hayne tried to step between us, but I restrained him with an outstretched hand. I’d never hidden behind Hayne before, I wasn’t about to start now. I would face him as I faced all threats, head on.
When he stopped before me, my skin singed under his teal-blue eyes and the anger that poured off of him. He glared at me, the arch of his eyebrow giving a wicked articulation to a presence that felt bigger than his body. Who was he? What were he and Levi fighting about? Why had he called me a liar? The questions started circling around in my brain and the sizzle to answer them was like Frankenstein’s monster being brought back to life.
“You’re lying about what happened that night.”
My body reanimated with the new electricity running through it. I took my time with my answer as I collected details. The who’s and what’s of the situation. Accent was Scottish. Couldn’t be family. He was smaller than Ethan. The suit was new from the smell of it. And, seriously, those eyes were as deep as an ocean trench.
“I never lie about anything,” I answered, keeping my voice steady and my nerves calm.
He thrust his finger at me. “You got him killed.”
Oh, the game was on now. A smile played across my lips as the current danced around my head, tingling and tightening the hairs at the nape of my neck, “You really want to do this here?”
“Yes. Here.” His glare deepened. “I need to know.”
It was comforting to feel the familiar chill down my spine as I slipped into interrogation mode.
“Did you see the initial police report?” I asked.
“It was a load of shite.”
The police report didn’t have much in it because I didn’t have much to tell. Even now, after three days of reliving it in my head, there was very little I could articulate about what had happened. And I’d never give up Benny as my informant—his ass was mine. “What do you think happened?”
“Ethan was targeted. Either by your stupidity or—” He snapped his mouth shut as the words nearly spilled out of him.
“Or what?” My voice somehow remained calm though I was vibrating on the inside with anticipation, like a high schooler with their first cup of coffee.
Tension filled his jaw and his entire body as he restrained himself from speaking.
I bit my lip to keep the questions inside. Who was this man? Why did he think that Ethan’s death was on me? What did he think happened that night? They were all right there, the questions, beating against the inside of my skull like a swarm of angry bees against a window.
He took another step toward me. I watched his lips, the flush of his cheek as he spoke. “I will find out what happened.”
I didn’t back down. Never backed down. “No, I will. He was my partner.”
His nostrils flared, and his knuckles went white at his sides. “Aye, but he was my brother.”
It was like steel bat to my midsection, and all the air left me in one quick assault.
Ethan never mentioned a brother.


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Amanda was born in Illinois, raised in Corpus Christi, lives in Dallas but her heart lies in London. Good thing she loves to travel.
During the summer after second grade, she read every book in the young adult section of the library, much to the surprise of the local librarian. So she started making up her own stories and hasn’t stopped.
She has a husband who fights crime, one dog who thinks he’s a real boy, and another who might be a fruit bat in disguise. She recently added a tiny human to the mix who is following in her mother’s footsteps of storytelling.
Along with her BA in English & Psychology and her MA in Education, Amanda is a graduate of the SMU Creative Writing Program and now teaches other aspiring authors. She has delivered lectures at several writer conferences and loves discussing craft, character, and structure. Her current favorite: Stirring up Trouble with Romantic Subplots.
She is represented by Kimberly Brower, of Brower Literary & Management.

​Random Facts:

Amanda is adopted and loves to share that story with others to promote adoption.
Amanda has a collection of turtle figurines that collects on her travels.
Amanda has a strange love of cheesy horror movies. She prefers demons and witchcraft to slasher films.
Amanda is a really good bowler and completely rocks at croquet.



Website * Facebook * Twitter * Instagram * Bookbub * Amazon * Goodreads ​



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World building in Urban Fantasy: Quick and Dirty


I thought when I sat down to write The TRUTH ABOUT NIGHT I thought the world building would be a cinch. It was going to be a modern Philadelphia with shape shifters. Done. I set my mythology for shapeshifters and I’m golden.
Hah! The moment you ask your readers to suspend any disbelief in your story, you have to lay everything out for them as well as understand that your readers are just as brilliant as you and will have the same questions that you will about your new world.
I’ve heard that smarter writers have all this laid out before they start writing. Me, well, I had to discover my world through my writing. I’d never thought of a day in the life of my world, what things would smell like, or how my hero would be seen in the world.
So before or during the writing process, which ever you prefer, think about what a day in the life would be like. Think about what a year in the life would be like. Think about what a life time looks like through the eyes of your character. This will give you the details of the world: what they eat, what they wear, what opportunities they will be given, what they do for a living and who they are allowed to marry. I think we all know how culturally insightful that little detail is.
Writing an urban fantasy gives you a little less to plan out but is just as painstaking because the readers know the world already and you have to speak to that knowledge. Philadelphia is a city. It has city rules. There are big buildings that people see everyday and know. There are cars and roads. Using the corporeal world that readers are used to is not a cop out; you still have a lot of building to do to layering your mythology on top of that to make your readers believe that this could happen in their backyard. For me, my goal was to make sure that every reader was a little afraid to put their trash out and check their locks at night. The smaller details make it real. I built most of my supernatural stuff on the little things that we tend to brush off in everyday life: phantom smells, déjà vu, nightmares. These details layered on top of everyday life it the key to writing an urban fantasy.
And you have to all of this without telling the readers any of it. They must experience the world for themselves in order to believe it. All senses must be used to immerse your reader in the world. For me, a major example was what power would feel like and what each character’s power would smell like. I couldn’t just say “Her power floated out around the room.” As a human, I have no idea what that would feel like. So you connect it to sensations that people have experienced. This translated for me into “Her power floated out around the room and my skin was smoothed in cashmere as the smell of library dust filled my nose.” You are setting the rules of your world as well as connecting it to an experience that your readers have felt before. They now know what being brushed by a shapeshifter feels like.
Without letting it go to your head, you are a god in the world that you build. Even in contemporary romance, you still control the world that the characters live it. You decide what tests this world will hold for the characters and how the others will view your main character. Know your world and the people in it. Believe in your world and the readers will see it as you see it.
What does your world taste like? Pen me a line below and enter yourself for a chance to win a $50 dollar gift certificate to Amazon and a Merci Lanard survival kit.




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Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!

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60 Comments
Beyond Comps
1/14/2020 04:27:56 am

Nice cover!

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James Robert
1/14/2020 04:48:23 am

Thanks so much for sharing your book and for the giveaway also. Greatly appreciated!

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Kelly D
1/14/2020 06:11:40 am

I like the cover. It fits the title well.

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Janet W.
1/14/2020 07:28:28 am

Love this mysterious cover! Sounds like a great mystery to read!

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Shirley Ann Speakman
1/14/2020 08:15:05 am

Congratulations on your upcoming release Amanda, the book sounds very intriguing and the cover is great too.

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Pauline Milner
1/14/2020 10:24:20 am

I recently read about that include shapeshifters and I found both the plot and the concept of shapeshifters very interesting. I would love to read The Truth About Night to see how the author connects two different realms. Thanks for the super giveaway opportunity.

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LYNN CLAYTON
1/14/2020 10:46:05 am

nice cover looks like agreat read

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Elaine G
1/14/2020 10:47:26 am

This sounds good. Thanks for sharing the excerpt

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Bea LaRocca
1/14/2020 11:02:43 am

I love the cover, synopsis and excerpt! This is a must read for me. Thank you for sharing your guest post and book details. I have enjoyed reading about you and your work.

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Rita Wray
1/14/2020 12:09:01 pm

Sounds like a great book.

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Calvin
1/14/2020 12:35:48 pm

Good to have some spooky vibes over the winter.

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Sara Zielinski
1/14/2020 12:44:18 pm

I think this book has a great cover.

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Betul
1/14/2020 01:06:37 pm

The cover looks creepy and mysterious.

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Amanda Arista link
1/14/2020 01:08:13 pm

Thank you all so much for the encouraging words! I've been working on Merci's story for about 5 years now so I'm excited the day is almost here. If you want to, you can check out the first chapter over at my website!

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wendy hutton
1/14/2020 03:06:51 pm

very nice cover, this book sounds interesting thanks

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Victoria Scott
1/14/2020 05:14:57 pm

Thank you for sharing!

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Karla R.
1/14/2020 06:28:13 pm

I love the book cover, so mysterious!

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Sherry
1/14/2020 06:59:12 pm

I think the book sounds really good.

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Victoria Alexander
1/14/2020 07:16:43 pm

Great cover, thanks for sharing!

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Shannon Holmes
1/14/2020 08:48:14 pm

I love the cover.

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Wanda B
1/14/2020 09:15:23 pm

I love the colour blue on the book cover.

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jenn fike
1/15/2020 07:42:28 am

This is a great cover

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Wendy Jensen
1/15/2020 08:58:38 am

I love the book cover.

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Tracie Cooper
1/15/2020 12:23:21 pm

I love the amazing trees on the cover!

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Debbie P
1/15/2020 05:40:32 pm

This book sounds like an awesome read. Very cool cover!

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Kelly Nicholson
1/15/2020 08:57:17 pm

What do you think of the book or the cover?

night is unforgiving ..

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Terri Quick
1/15/2020 09:03:48 pm

I love the cover

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AuntySuzany
1/16/2020 12:19:54 am

Love the cover and the synopsis!

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jenn fike
1/16/2020 07:42:48 am

This cover is perfect

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Kristen
1/16/2020 05:29:22 pm

The cover definitely sets an aura of mystery.

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Sarah L
1/17/2020 12:33:14 am

Looks like an interesting book.
Thanks for the contest. 

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athena graeme
1/17/2020 12:11:34 pm

Love the blue, it looks so cold and really sets the stage.

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Serge B
1/18/2020 11:45:12 am

Nice color scheme on the cover

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MARCY MEYER
1/18/2020 12:33:41 pm

Love the coloring on the cover. Looks great.

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Rosa link
1/18/2020 10:35:35 pm

I love that the cover has an eerie feel to it

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kath g
1/19/2020 12:31:03 am

So my question is..is the title really THE truth about night or A truth about night? because they are two very different things. THE truth would seem to be all encompassing so then I'd have to know!

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polly
1/19/2020 02:45:27 pm

I really like the cover.

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Mary Cloud
1/19/2020 09:04:31 pm

No questions. The cover is interesting. Very mysterious.

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Kate F.
1/20/2020 10:33:29 pm

What is your favorite horror movie?

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Paula
1/21/2020 12:45:55 pm

The cover art seems appropriate for the book. Good job.

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Elizabeth H.
1/24/2020 03:51:45 pm

I love a good paranormal mystery! Thanks for sharing the excerpt! The book cover look spooky!

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Julie Barrett
1/25/2020 11:09:51 pm

Pretty cover. Sounds like a mysterious read!

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Heather Mahley
1/26/2020 05:40:45 pm

love it

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Lorena Keech
1/27/2020 12:22:29 pm

The cover drew me in, but I'm not sure after reading the excerpt. I think I'd have to read a little more to be able to tell if it's a book for me.

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Dianna link
1/28/2020 10:04:27 pm

The cover caught my attention, but the book summary made me want to read this!

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Terri Shaw
1/29/2020 06:06:03 pm

This sounds like a great read. I love the cover art.

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Tracy Urschler
1/30/2020 06:43:32 pm

The cover and excerpt look great!

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Jaclyn Reynolds
1/31/2020 12:24:38 pm

I love the colors and image for the cover!

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Lisa F.
2/1/2020 09:34:55 pm

Cool that the author started making her own stories when she had read all of the young adult books in the library.

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athena graeme
2/2/2020 03:45:07 am

Beautiful dark moon! Super creepy!

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Julie Lundstrom
2/2/2020 12:43:19 pm

I love the cover and would love the to read book.

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Mood Reader
2/4/2020 02:16:02 pm

Looks good!

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Francine Anchondo
2/4/2020 02:32:43 pm

love the cover

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Heather
2/8/2020 10:03:16 am

I love the cover. The colors and mystery of it.

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Heather Kaufman
2/10/2020 03:41:14 pm

The book sounds intriguing.

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Catelyn
2/11/2020 12:08:39 am

My world probably tastes a bit feline as I have cat hair everywhere

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bn100
2/13/2020 12:52:14 am

no questions

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DeGeorgetown
2/13/2020 01:41:18 pm

The story sounds so interesting! I like the cover, it looks mysterious.

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Daniel M
2/13/2020 05:21:05 pm

like the cover

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Jerry Marquardt
2/14/2020 11:35:04 pm

I would like to give thanks for all your really great writings, including The Truth About Night, and wishing the best in keeping up the good work in the future.

Reply



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