April, 2017eBook only
Disney Hyperion
Phoebe Plumm and Micah Tanner are no longer the spoiled heiress and naïve servant boy who first stumbled upon the fiercely beautiful world of living metal known as Mehk. They have rallied to aid the mehkans and risked their lives fighting the relentless greed of the Foundry, a corporation that harvests the metal creatures to sell as products back home in Meridian. But the kids' mission to retrieve a mysterious relic ended in devastating tragedy and with Micah as a prisoner of the enemy. Shattered, he can only watch as an unthinkable new power rises in Mehk and international war erupts in Meridian. Trapped between the Foundry and this staggering mehkan threat, Micah has no choice but to work with dangerous humans and mehkans alike, each with their own agenda. As the path of destruction spreads and hope fades, Micah leads his unlikely allies in a desperate race back to Meridian, where the two worlds are about to clash. A terrible reckoning is underway, and this time, everything is at stake.
______________________________________________________
Cam Baity and Benny Zelkowicz are pleased to share an excerpt from Blaze of Embers, the conclusion to their Books Of Ore series. Available now!
Margaret Tanner already wished she hadn’t come home.
When
she got the news that Micah had run away, Margaret had requested a
leave of absence. It had taken an entire week for her submission to be
processed. Tensions had spiked after President Saltern’s condemnation of
the Quorum at the Council of Nations, so it was an “inopportune time”
for an officer of the Foundry’s special engineering corps to be off
duty. Nevertheless, she had managed it, and after a high-speed Galejet
flight from Vellaroux, Trelaine, to Albright City, Meridian, she was
home.
Yet international strife was nothing compared to what was waiting for her at Plumm Estate.
“Not
like that,” Deirdre Tanner snapped, snatching the ornamental zigzag
silverware from her daughter to properly pack it for shipping. “Fold the
table linens.”
Accustomed to taking orders
without question, Margaret moved with military precision to the other
end of the giant brass table in the dining room. She adjusted the cuffs
of her starched gray-and-gold Foundry uniform, brushed a strand of
copper-blond hair from her heart-shaped face, and set about the new
task. In their correspondence, her mother had neglected to mention that
Dr. Plumm had fired the Tanners, and that he and Phoebe had moved out
without so much as a thanks. Foundry officials had packed up all of the
Plumms’ necessities, mostly files and personal effects, and shipped them
to their new, undisclosed residence, leaving the staff to take care of
the rest. Of course, Mr. Macaroy, Mr. Kashiri, and most of the others
had abandoned ship at the first sign of trouble, leaving all the
remaining work to the Tanners—namely Margaret and her mother, since
Randall was utterly useless. So they had been at it for hours, working
away into the night. Margaret wouldn’t have said no to a quick bite to
eat, especially because a Televiewer in the kitchen was blaring with
revelry from President Saltern’s campaign rally, and she was curious to
hear his address.
“No, no,” Deirdre said,
slamming down the box of silverware and stomping over to Margaret. “The
trim folds in. Like this.” She yanked the silversilk tablecloth away.
“Mother,” said Margaret.
Deirdre
flattened the pleats of the tablecloth as if she were spanking a
disobedient child. Margaret placed a firm hand on her shoulder.
“Mom?”
Strands
of cobweb hair framed the gouges of grief in Deirdre’s face.
Bruise-colored bags hung beneath her mudbrown eyes, which swam with
tears.
“I just . . . What am I going to do, Margie? Where am I supposed to go?”
“It’ll be fine.”
“It won’t be,” Deirdre sniffled. “I’ll have to go back home to Oleander. Back to . . . him.”
Margaret stiffened at the mention of her drunken absentee father.
“You’re not going anywhere,” she stated. “We’ll figure it out. I’m here. We’re together now.”
“We’re not,” Deirdre whispered. “Not all of us.” Her round shoulders quaked. “My baby . . . My baby’s gone.”
Margaret
handed her mother a silversilk napkin from the table. “Not the linens,
Margie.” Margaret insisted, forcing the napkin into her hand. Her mother
conceded and dabbed at her eyes.
“Go lie down, Mom. You need a break.”
Deirdre
appeared eager for the opportunity, but she glanced with some concern
at the mountains of valuables that still needed to be packed.
“I’ll take over here,” Margaret said, offering a soothing smile. “Don’t worry, you can redo everything I touch in the morning.”
Her mother smiled in return, a little embarrassed.
“I’m
so glad you’re here,” Deirdre said, kissing Margaret on the cheek. She
took one last uneasy look around the cavernous dining room of Plumm
Estate before shuffling off to her quarters.
Margaret
breathed a sigh of relief. She loved her mother and would do anything
for her, but the atmosphere in a room always felt lighter when she left
it. A sudden spray of wet coughing came from the kitchen. Concerned,
Margaret put down her folding and walked over to see. Her brother,
Randall, decked out in his Military Institute of Meridian uniform, sat
hunched over the counter, sputtering. Tennyson the chauffeur chuckled as
he pounded the teen’s back. Between them sat a brown bottle of liquor.
“Tenny’s bailin’,” Randall managed, wiping his mouth. “Just havin’ a little farewell drink, is all. Don’t tell Mom.”
Margaret huffed. “A chip off the ol’ block, aren’t ya?”
Randall narrowed his beady little eyes at her.
“Go
see if she needs anything,” Margaret ordered, and her brother obliged,
breezing past her. Tennyson followed, offering Margaret a sly wink as he
slipped away.
A tumultuous ovation on the
Televiewer grabbed her attention. On the screen, three Razorback fighter
jets flew in formation, blazing a trail of golden fire above a gleeful
crowd packed onto the bridge to Foundry Central. Newscam drones swept
over the bay, looking for the perfect angle of the Crest of Dawn, the
titanic sunburst that towered over Albright City. There, thousands of
feet above the crowd, emerging onto a platform festooned with bunting
and ribbons in patriotic red, white, and gold, was President Saltern
with his beautiful wife and children. The leader of the free world had
never looked more youthful or vibrant.
An
orchestra started playing “Our Shining Hearts.” The crowd sang, voices
ringing throughout the glorious metal city. This was a celebration for
the ages. The nation’s beloved first family sang along with the people.
“Meridian cast off all her bonds, when Creighton Albright forged the bronze.”
The sky crackled with fireworks, a frenzy of dazzling lights reflecting off the gleaming skyscrapers.
“With ball of lead and sword of steel, we’ll crush our foes beneath our heel.”
The Salterns laughed, squinting against the spectacular light show.
“So praise the gold, the brass, and chrome, of Meridian, our mighty home!”
A
Newscam drone held the President’s proud visage in an iconic beauty
shot. But something was wrong. His eyes went wide. His mouth went slack.
Fear paralyzed Margaret as she too understood. Fireworks were speeding
toward his platform. Not fireworks. Missiles. An explosion—a blinding
white supernova. The gutwrenching screams of an entire city in shock. A
strike against the legendary Crest of Dawn.
Thus the war began.
Excerpted
from BLAZE OF EMBERS © Copyright 2017 by Cam Baity and Benny Zelkowicz.
Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.
__________________________________________
Missed The Foundry's Edge (The First Book Of Ore) or Waybound (The Second Book of Ore)? Found out more at http://www.booksofore.com.
About The Third Book Of Ore: Blaze of Embers
Phoebe
Plumm and Micah Tanner are no longer the spoiled heiress and naïve
servant boy who first stumbled upon the fiercely beautiful world of living metal known as Mehk. They have rallied to aid the mehkans and risked their lives fighting the relentless greed of the
Foundry, a corporation that harvests the metal creatures to sell as
products back home in Meridian. But the kids' mission to retrieve a
mysterious relic ended in devastating tragedy and with Micah as a
prisoner of the
enemy. Shattered, he can only watch as an unthinkable new power rises
in Mehk and international war erupts in Meridian. Trapped between the
Foundry and this staggering mehkan threat, Micah has no choice but to
work with dangerous humans and mehkans alike, each with their own
agenda. As the path of destruction
spreads and hope fades, Micah leads his unlikely allies in a desperate
race back to Meridian, where the two worlds are about to clash. A
terrible reckoning is underway, and this time, everything is at stake.
About the Authors
Cam Baity is
an Emmy Award winning animator, and his short films have screened
around the world, including at Anima Mundi in Brazil and the BBC British
Short Film Festival. His credits include major motion pictures like Team America: World Police and The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, and popular television shows such as Robot Chicken and Supermansion.
Benny Zelkowicz studied animation at CalArts and made the award winning film, The ErlKing. He directed and starred in the BBC/CBC animated series Lunar Jim, and worked on The LEGO Movie as well as several TV shows including Robot Chicken and Moral Orel.
More Links
Website:
Twitter: @CamandBenny
Hashtag: #BooksOfOre
Facebook: https://www.facebook