Immortal Surrender Blog Tour ~ Guest Post and Giveaway with Claire Ashgrove

Good morning everyone! I’m so excited to be here today and celebrating the release of Immortal Surrender.

Everyone knows romance concludes with a Happy Ever After. Our characters have fought, stood at opposite odds, likely had amazing sex, and they end up together forever, thoroughly in love.

But getting there isn’t just a matter of an author saying “this happens and it leads to love.” It’s more than that. There’s a journey for the character. He or she can jump into bed, have their world rocked, and there’s nothing different the morning after if the experience didn’t have more than a physical effect.

Each encounter the characters have, must impact the other character somehow, and usually it contributes to a growth arc. Take the conservationist arguing with a land developer – the argument may not be resolved, but the developer is now at least thinking about another ramification of cutting down a corner of a rainforest. Whatever that argument includes forces the developer tothink.

In Immortal Surrender, Noelle, a confirmed atheist, is thrust into a world that’s in direct opposition of what she believes. Beliefs are core elements of a person’s composition. Altering them isn’t easily done. As such, everything that happens to her has to impact her in some way that she begins to question what she understands about the world around her.

Farran, on the other hand, required more of a nudge, not a huge shove off a cliff. (Or rooftop as the case may be.) He’s not changing his overall scope, he’s embracing a new outlook on one particular aspect – women. He doesn’t want to, and he fights like hell to hang on to his safe perceptions. But every time he interacts with Noelle, his foundations are rattled.

The impact of the events affecting both Noelle and Farran is what bonds them, not the events themselves. The push-pull of excitement and fear, the satisfaction of secret yearnings, not being kidnapped or forced into a role by an archangel.

And it’s that emotional journey that leaves us readers believing in the eternal happily ever after, not because the author said it would be. It’s why we laugh aloud, why we grimace, and why we cry alongside the characters. We feel their journey and we believe in the hurdles they have overcome.

 Farran de Clare, loyal member of the cursed Knights Templar, wants nothing to do with predestined mates. Even the Almighty won’t turn him into a fool again—he’d rather sacrifice his soul. Yet in the scientist Noelle Keane, a devout atheist, Farran meets the seraph designed for him.

Ordered by the archangel Gabriel to protect Noelle, the possessor of a sacred relic that could give Azazel incredible power, Farran swears to do his duty—but in name only. Fighting an attraction that grows with each day, he’s determined that he’ll never pledge himself to her.

As they war over her future, their mutual passion ignites a conflict far more damning. But before Noelle will agree to eternity with him, she demands the ultimate sacrifice – his heart

“This series (The Curse of the Templars) is explosive, sexy, riveting, and Claire Ashgrove is a master of her craft.” ~ NYTimes Bestselling Author, Maggie Shayne

********* Excerpt *********

Farran stared up at Noelle, cursing her bad luck, the Almighty, and his fate. He well knew how terror could trap a person, had seen it countless times with unseasoned knights. In her unmoving position, he recognized the signs too clearly. This was no act meant to gain his sympathy.’Twas no ploy to soften his anger over her attempt at escape. She was truly terrified.

“Damnation,” he muttered beneath his breath.

He closed his eyes with an inward prayer his stomach would not revolt and made the mark of the cross over his chest. Eyeing her, he strode to the ladder. She would pay for this later. He would find a way to make certain she came to regret her attempt at escape.

Do not look down. He chanted the mantra as he climbed the icy rungs. In less time than he had imagined, he arrived at her feet. Holding on with one hand, he placed the other on her calf. “I am here. Climb down.”

’Twas then he noticed the shaking of her shoulders, heard her muffled tears. When she did not move, he gave her leg a squeeze. “Noelle, come down. I will not let you fall.”

“I’m scared,” she murmured.

Saints’ blood, she did not intend to make this easy. Aye, indeed, he would lock her in her rooms at the temple for a week.

He assessed her position, made note of the little space her tiny body occupied. Carefully, he tucked his feet between hers and the side rails and eased his body up her legs. When he had pinned her between the ladder and his chest, he stopped. “Grab on to me.”

She let go with one hand, then clutched at the rail with a fierce shake of her head. “I can’t. I can’t, Farran.”

At the sound of her broken voice, all his defenses shuddered like a door under the barrage of a battering ram. The anger her defiance provoked dissolved with her sniffle. Deep in his gut, a heavy knot unwound. He pressed his body into hers, molded his thighs around her legs. Holding on with one hand, he pried her fingers off the metal and guided her hand to his shoulder. “Turn around, damsel,” he encouraged quietly. “Wind your arms around my neck, and we shall descend together. I swear to you, I will not let you fall.”

 Author Bio:  

CLAIRE ASHGROVE HAS BEEN WRITING SINCE HER EARLY TEENS AND MAINTAINED THE HOBBY FOR TWENTY YEARS BEFORE DECIDING TO LEAP INTO THE PROFESSIONAL WORLD. HER FIRST CONTEMPORARY NOVEL, SEDUCTION'S STAKES, SOLD TO THE WILD ROSE PRESS IN 2008, WHERE SHE CONTINUES TO WRITE STEAMY, SEXY STORIES FOR THE CHAMPAGNE AND BLACK ROSE LINES. ADDING TO THESE CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED ROMANCES, CLAIRE’S PARANORMAL ROMANCE SERIES, THE CURSE OF THE TEMPLARS DEBUTED WITH TOR IN JANUARY 2012. FOR THOSE WHO PREFER THE MORE EROTIC SIDE OF ROMANCE, SHE ALSO WRITES FOR BERKLEY HEAT AS THE NATIONAL BESTSELLING AUTHOR TORI ST. CLAIRE.

She is an active member of Romance Writers of America, and her local RWA chapters, Heartland Romance Authors,Midwest Romance Writers, Midwest Romance Writers, North Texas Romance Writers of America, and Celtic Hearts Romance Writers.

Claire lives in Missouri with her two toddler sons, and too-many horses, cats, and dogs. In her “free” time, she enjoys cooking, winning at Rummy, studying Ancient Civilizations, and spending quiet moments with her family, including the critters. She credits her success to her family's constant support and endless patience.

To learn more about Claire, visit her on the web at www.claireashgrove.com, or www.toristclaire.com.

********* GIVEAWAY DETAILS *********

Claire is giving away one digital copy of any one of her backlist books, excepting those in the Templar series, to one randomly drawn commenter at each stop on the blog tour.  In addition, commenters’ names will be added into the tour-end drawing of a 25.00 Amazon gift card.  Follow the tour – the more you comment, the better your chances of winning.  Complete tour dates can be found here. 

Make sure to leave your email address in case you are the lucky commenter to win. That way Claire will know how to reach you.