**Visit Dark Faerie Tales today for her Deadly Destination tour of Diana Rowland’s Louisiana from Angel Crawford & a chance to win MY LIFE AS A WHITE TRASH ZOMBIE**

Welcome to the very first stop of our Deadly Destinations event! Our first character Tour Guide is a personal friend of mine, Kalayna Price's Alex Craft.  Like many of you, I met this grave witch P.I. last October (read about my impressions HERE) and I’m thrilled that Alex is returning to Nekros City on July 5, 2011 in GRAVE DANCE and giving us a behind the scenes tour today.  Thanks to the wonderful people at Penguin/Roc Books, three of you who comment on this post will win a copy of the book!  See details below

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Alex Craft’s Guide to Nekros City
by
Kalayna Price

 

Hello and thank you for making Nekros City a stop on your Deadly Destinations Tour. I’m Alex Craft. I’ll be your guide today, and . . . and there’s a coffee ring obscuring my notes. Sorry, Death visited right before I ran out the door to meet you. He does love his coffee.

Okay forget the cue cards. I’ll just wing it.

Like I said, I’m Alex Craft, and as you’re probably guessing, “tour guide” isn’t my normal job. My day job is as a PI and grave witch, meaning I raise shades so people can question the deceased. I prefer working with the police, but I take private clients as well. Business has been a little slow (hence the gig as your tour guide), so if anyone here needs to uncover secrets from beyond the grave, I will be handing out my card at the end of the tour. Alright then, moving on.

I think I’m supposed to tell you the history of Nekros. You know, the whole spiel about the Magical Awakening occurring 70 years ago when the fae came out of the mushroom ring and announced their existence to the world. This caused the folded space humans had long forgotten to expand, creating new—or at least, new to us—territory. Nekros was established in an unfolded space between Georgia and Alabama in year 21 MD, becoming the fifty-fourth state with Nekros City as it’s capital. I guess I should also show you the State House.

Hey look, it’s a building.

The Humans First party is currently in control of the government, and as their stance is anti-witch and anti-fae, you’ll forgive me if I don’t take you inside. You’re welcome to head in on your own—they have scheduled tours—but you’ll have to pass through security so if you have any spells on you, please remember to plan accordingly.

Moving on. I think what most of you want to see is the Magic Quarter, right? I thought so. Okay, we’ll head across the river.

The Magic Quarter is the magical hub of Nekros. Whatever spell or charm you’re looking for, be it a tonic to reverse balding, a charm to attract good fortune, or a totem to keep leftovers from spoiling in your fridge, you can probably find it in one of the shops in the Quarter. Avoid shops with gaudy displays in the window— they’re tourist traps that prey on norms and non-sensitives. Good magic is subtle.

At the far side of the Quarter you’ll notice Nekros City has it’s own division of the Organization for Magically Inclined Humans (OMIH, pronounced “Oh Me” typically with a groan by most of us who have to renew our license to practice yearly). We also have a prep-school for the magically gifted, and, I tell you this with some hesitation, a magic school for norms called Spells for the Rest of Us—it’s kind of shady though, so I’d avoid it.

If you’re hungry, the Quarter boasts dozens of great restaurants, all with the latest and best charms to keep their customers happy and comfortable. I suppose I should also mention the Eternal Bloom, Nekros City’s fae bar. The drinks are expensive and the menu is limited, but it’s the one place in town you’re guaranteed to see unglamoured fae. Just remember to properly date and time the ledger when you enter—you won’t like the consequences if you forget—and whatever you do, don’t accept an invitation to the VIP section. Trust me.

Next . . . Sorry, that’s my phone. I’ll be right back.

Well, it looks like I’m going to have to cut this tour short. I’ve just been called to a crime scene at the Sionan Floodplain.

Thanks for visiting Nekros City.

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About Kalayna Price

Kalayna Price is the author of the Alex Craft Novels, a new dark urban fantasy series from Roc, and the author of the Novels of Haven from Bell Bridge Books. She draws her ideas from the world around her, her studies into ancient mythologies, and her obsession with classic folklore. Her stories contain not only the mystical elements of fantasy, but also a dash of romance, a bit of gritty horror, some humor, and a large serving of mystery. She is a member of SFWA and RWA, and an avid hula-hoop dancer who has been known light her hoop on fire.   Visit Kalayna online: Website|Blog|Facebook|Twitter

Want to read more from Kalayna Price?

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Giveaway provided by Ace/Roc Books

Three winners will each receive a copy of GRAVE DANCE by Kalayna Price

Available on July 5, 2011 from Roc

Description:

Whoever said dead men tell no tales obviously never met Alex Craft.

After a month spent recovering from a vicious fight with a sorcerer, grave witch Alex Craft is ready to get back to solving murders by raising the dead. With her love life in turmoil thanks to the disappearance of Fae Investigation Bureau agent Falin Andrews and a shocking “L” word confession from Death himself, Alex is eager for the distractions of work. But her new case turns out to be a deadly challenge.

The police hire Alex to consult on a particularly strange investigation in the nature preserve south of Nekros City. The strange part: There are no corpses, only fragments of them. A serial killer is potentially on the loose, and Alex has no way to raise a shade without a body, so she’ll have to rely on the magic of others to find leads. But as she begins investigating, a creature born of the darkest magic comes after her. Someone very powerful wants to make sure the only thing she finds is a dead end—her own.

Click HERE to read an excerpt

Pre-Order from

Giveaway Guidelines

1. Open to US addresses only

2. Leave a comment for Kalayna & a way to contact you unless it’s listed in your profile

3. All Deadly Destinations winners will be announced on August 7th

4. See our Giveaway Policy if you have any questions

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