fuonlyknew

The release of the paperback edition of Firstborn, the second book in the thrilling House of Bathory duology is March 20. New readers will want to begin their journey with The Progeny. Check it out!

The Progeny

by Tosca Lee

Series: Descendants of the House of Bathory (Book #1)
Category:  YA Fiction,   352 pages
Genre:  Thriller, (YA-leaning), Slight paranormal
Publisher:  Howard Books
Release date:  May 2016
Tour dates: March 26 to April 13, 2018
Content Rating: PG

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Synopsis

From New York Times bestselling author Tosca Lee comes a story of love, ancient secrets, and survival. Book 1 in the House of Bathory duology.

When you wake up, you remember nothing. Not your name, or where you were born, or the faces of the people you knew. Just a single warning written to yourself before you forgot it all:

“Emily, it’s me. You.

Don’t ask about the last two years… Don’t try to remember and don’t go digging. Your life depends on it. Other lives depend on it.

By the way, Emily isn’t your real name. You died in an accident. You paid extra for that.”

You start over in a remote place with a new name, a fresh life. Until the day a stranger tells you you’re being hunted for the sins of a royal ancestor who died centuries before you were born.

You don’t believe him, until they come for you. Now you’re on the run.

Every answer you need lies in a past you chose to erase. The only thing you know for sure is that others are about to die and you need those memories back.

But first, you have to stay alive.

Purchase Links: Amazon / Author’s Website

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Check out the interview.

On The Writing Trail With Tosca

1. The Progeny is so fast-paced, filled with vibrant young characters, masquerade raves and so many costumes—it seems like it must have been fun to write!

It was super fun. I love bringing readers to new places, tugging them to the edge of their seats, and filling their minds with vivid, electric scenes.

 

It was also fun because my then-fiancé (now husband) and I had so many great   conversations about the story’s impossible situations as I wrote it and its sequel, Firstborn. These books represent such a great time in my life—getting engaged, married, and becoming an instant mom to four—that when I look back at them, I not only see the stories, but the events in my own life that unfolded during their writing.

 

2. The story travels from the U.S. to several locations in Europe. Did you actually travel to all these places?

I did. I went to Hungary, Croatia, Vienna, Slovakia and Italy. Best of all, I got to take my mom with me. My mom and I have a history of globetrotting together, so it was a fun adventure to go tromping around through castle ruins and churches and city streets with her once again. And YOU can visit each of those places in the story with us as you read at: https://www.pinterest.com/toscalee/real-life-progeny/. (Boards for all my books can be found on Pinterest at www.pinterest.com/toscalee.)

 

3. Is there anything funny/strange/interesting happen to you while doing research for the book?

Yes! The novel’s backstory is based on the real historical figure of Elizabeth Bathory, the most prolific female serial killer of all time… whom I learned I was distantly related to. (Ack!)

 

4. Your books are enjoyed worldwide. How did you get started?

I was writing for a long time before I ever thought of it as a thing. As a young teen, I was an aspiring ballerina and spent my summers dancing out of state. When it became clear that it wasn’t going to pan out for me, I went off to college thinking I’d go into business school as my father did. But talking to Dad during a trip home my freshman year, I blurted out: “I’d really like to write a book.” My dad made me a deal: he’d pay me what I would have made that summer as a bank teller (which I was horrible at) if I’d devote myself to writing my first novel and treat it like a job. So I did. I never sold that book—it’s in the basement with the skeletons—but I sure learned a lot!

 

5. What’s the coolest place you’ve been as part of your writing career?
6. 

Israel. That was a big part of my research for my novel, Iscariot, but also highly significant to me personally.

But because I’m a nerd, I also have to say Comic-Con. 😀

 

7. What are you working on now?

Another thrill ride coming this winter. Get ready to hold on to your hats!

 

Do you love to write? Join From the Asylum, Tosca’s newsletter just for writers, here: http://bit.ly/subscribetoTosca

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Praise

“Be warned: once you start this book, it’s impossible to put down!” 
– Maria V. Snyder, New York Times bestselling author of Poison Study

“Intriguing and romantic, I literally couldn’t put it down.”
– Jennifer L. Armentrout # 1 New York Times bestselling author

“Irresistible…”
– Publishers Weekly

“[A] complex thriller with various turns and twists…A great choice for readers who enjoy their psychological thrillers with a historical twist.”
– Library Journal

“Exciting…action packed…intriguing.” 
– Romantic Times Book Reviews

“Filled with intrigue, romance, and reversals fans are sure to love.”
– Family Fiction

“The Progeny has risen to the top of my favorites list…I devoured every word of it.”
– Book Reporter

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Excerpt

The Center

No one speaks when you enter the Center for the last time. There’s no need. You’ve gone through the counseling, tests, and a checklist of preparations to get the plastic bracelet you wear the day of treatment. The one that saves a life. They don’t need to know why you’re doing it any more. Or that you lied about it all. Just the scratch of the stylus as you sign your name on the screen one last time.

A nurse takes me into a room and I lie down on the table. I give her the sealed packet—the only thing I brought with me. There’s cash, meds, and an address inside, the one for “after.” It’s a thousand miles away. She’ll pass it to the companion assigned to me. No point meeting her now.

I’m 21 years old and my name doesn’t matter because it’s about to be erased forever. I’m choosing to forget the ones I love, and myself, in the process.

They say your life flashes before your eyes when you die. But they don’t tell you that every detail comes screaming back to life. That you taste each bite of every meal you savored, feel the shower of every rain you walked in… smell the hair against your cheek before that last, parting kiss. That you will fight to hold on to every memory like a drowning person gasping for poisoned air.

Then everything you knew is gone. And you are still alive.

For now.

Continue reading the first four chapters FREE.

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Author Tosca Lee

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Follow The Tour HERE.

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