Cover reveals for Rachel E. Carter's Black Mage series

Rachel E. Carter is relaunching her Black Mage series with some beautiful new covers and we here at St. Sisters Book Reviews are lucky enough to help reveal all five, yes five covers as the novella Non Heir & Last Stand, the eagerly awaited last book in the series are all here.

These covers are for new editions of The Black Mage, a YA fantasy series. They will not be available for purchase until 1/26/17 (book 4, Last Stand, preorder will go up same day). The new editions will have new covers, fresh edits and updated content. Please note that the old editions of the series (for books 1-3) will be removed from all vendors between now and 1/23.

If you would like to be notified when the new editions are available to purchase from all ebook retailers, you can follow Rachel on Amazon (www.amazon.com/author/rachelecarter)

BookBub (www.bookbub.com/authors/rachel-e-carter)

or her newsletter (www.subscribepage.com/rachelecarternonheir).

Add the series to your TBR on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/series/140549-the-black-mage

Magic. Romance. Rivals. Perfect for fans of Throne of Glass, Falling Kingdoms, and Tamora Pierce.

Before the age of seventeen, the young men and women of Jerar are given a choice —pursue a trade or enroll in a trial year in one of the realm’s three war schools to study as a soldier, knight, or mage… For fifteen-year-old Ryiah, the choice has always been easy. Become a mage and train in Combat, the most prestigious faction of magic. Yet when she arrives, Ry finds herself competing against friend and foe for one of the exalted apprenticeships. Everyone is rooting for her to fail—first and foremost among them is Prince Darren, the school prodigy who has done nothing but make life miserable since she arrived. Will she survive, or will her dream go down in flames?

She survived a trial year at the Academy of Magic, but that was the easy part…

Now sixteen-year-old Ryiah is an apprentice of Combat, her school’s most notorious faction. When she finishes, she will be a war mage, but in order to do so, she has to survive four years traveling across Jerar, training with a master she hates, her old nemesis, Priscilla, and Prince Darren, her sometimes-rival sometimes… more? Ry’s new apprenticeship is nothing like what she prepared for. War is on the horizon and her lessons aren’t just for practice anymore. It’s time to fight.

Welcome to the Candidacy. Where dreams go to die. Twenty-year-old Ryiah is a black mage of Combat, but she’s not the Black Mage. Yet. She’s had her eyes on the legendary robe for as long as she can remember, and in just one year, she will have a chance at her country’s prestigious—and only—tourney for war mages... Too bad she is going up against a certain prince—the one person she has yet to beat. The Candidacy finally arrives and a winner is robed, but something dark is lurking in her kingdom’s midst. Rival nations are closing in, and it’s time to make an alliance. Unfortunately for Ryiah, that’s only the beginning. The worst enemy resides in the palace.

He’s the Black Mage and she’s the traitor to the Crown. Ryiah’s world was shattered the night she discovered King Blayne’s nefarious plans. Now, she has to betray the one she loves most in order to save the realm from war. Torn between love and duty, Ry finds herself on a perilous mission to help the rebels and convince the kingdom of Pythus not to honor its pact with the corrupt king of Jerar—all the while deceiving the most powerful mage in the realm, the very man sworn to protect the Crown and hunt the rebels at all costs: her husband. She’s one step ahead, but sooner or later the curtain will fall. Sooner or later, she’ll have to fight. Witness the epic conclusion of The Black Mage series, and see just how far one girl will go to save her kingdom and the boy she loves—even when that boy has become the enemy.

Prince. Prodigy. Mage. Perfect for fans of Throne of Glass, Falling Kingdoms, and Tamora Pierce.

This prequel novella is set before the events of First Year (The Black Mage Book 1), following Prince Darren as a child through adolescence and his first run-in with Ryiah at the Academy of Magic. Readers discover the dark backstory between the two princes and their father, as well as the ensuing events that shaped Darren into the Academy’s most prodigal mage.

Would you like to start reading the series now for free?

Rachel is giving out the prequel novella (told in Prince Darren’s point-of-view) if you sign up for her newsletter (www.subscribepage.com/rachelecarternonheir) >>she also notifies readers of new releases, giveaways, and sales first!

Rachel E. Carter is a YA & NA author who hoards coffee and books. She has a weakness for villains and Mr. Darcy love interests. Her first series is the bestselling YA fantasy, The Black Mage, and she has plenty more books to come. Sign up for her newsletter to stay up to date on all new releases, giveaways, and sales: http://bit.ly/rachelecarter. SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS Official Site: http://www.rachelecarter.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rachelecarterauthor Instagram: https://instagram.com/rachelcarterauthor Snapchat: @RECarterAuthor Twitter: https://twitter.com/recarterauthor Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/recarterauthor Tumblr: http://rachelcarterauthor.tumblr.com Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/rachelcarterauthor Wattpad: https://www.wattpad.com/user/rachelcarterauthor Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/author/rachelecarter Email: rachelcarterauthor@gmail.com

Rachel E. Carter Interview

1. What inspired you to write The Black Mage Series?

So the original idea came in middle school for me –I was obsessed with the idea of where a prince and princess from opposing countries go to school learning monarchy during a time of peace only to become rival kingdoms when they grow up… Then I forgot all about that idea for years. Then in 2007 I heard a song that was super epic, you could just tell it was dramatic and sad and I immediately saw those two in the #1 scene I’ve been waiting to write this whole series… which happens to be the BIG MOMENT of Last Stand. Let’s just say it’s I realized the boy & girl were fighters, and that they needed awesome magic. So I knew how I wanted the series to end, I just needed to work up to that moment. I immediately decided to start where it all began, when they met. Oh, and I realized I didn’t want Ryiah to be a princess, I wanted her to be a commoner and make everything difficult because I really admire characters that aren’t automatically good at anything (BIG pet peeve of mine). That’s the whole point… Ryiah literally spends the entire series building to this epic point and I know a lot of people were pissed that she didn’t win the Candidacy but let’s just say that duel wasn’t the final one….

2. When writing a character like Darren, how were you able to bring him to life? Was there anyone from your life that inspired him as a character?

No one in real life. Gosh, I would punch him out if he ever treated me how Darren treated Ryiah in that first book. I always pick the nice boy (aka Ian) in real life because I don’t like drama and douche bags… That said Darren was initially derived from the character Julian in The Forbidden Game series by LJ Smith. If you read that series you will be like “what the hell, Darren is nothing like Julian” and you are right. But I wrote fanfiction about TFG’s Julian for YEARS all through middle and high school with my best friend. He was the reason I WANTED to write because his character was so compelling. Pretty early on, though, I realized that while I was calling that character “Julian” he was morphing into someone else. A lot of Darren’s dialogue and general attitude was like that guy, although when I wrote the first draft of First Year it was a huge change –he ended up being a lot darker/meaner than I initially imagined. I remember reading the first draft and thinking “god, Darren is such a douche (but great tension!)” because compared to my fanfic for TFG he was really mean, but my heart knew Darren had a terrible backstory (which we find out in Candidate and I expand on it from his POV in the novella Non-Heir I’m working on), and I just had to pray readers would give him a chance to grow. You get the real Darren in glimpses and then finally see him in Candidate when his dad dies and then taking care of Ryiah when her brother is murdered. That’s the true Darren. But we all know he has a dark side, this series is all about shades of gray, and I think everyone’s big question for Last Stand is what is going to happen if he finds out what Ryiah is doing….

3. Why did you want to become an author?

I have wanted to be one since seventh grade when I started writing fanfic, but I never thought I could be one because I have this issue called NEVER FINISH A BOOK SYNDROME. Seriously, every time I would start a book I could never finish it. It was like a disease. I used to cave into every shiny new story idea that popped into my head. So it depressed me because I had all these ideas (1000’s) and no finished book. Finally post-college I got a great paying corporate job that I absolutely hated. We are talking serious depression because I wanted to do something with my life and now that I was finally done with school I thought it would all be over. But money isn’t everything, and so I started writing as a way to cope with that depression (I hadn’t written at all in college because I was too busy between classes and a job). I got about halfway through the first-draft of First Year and finally made a decision to follow my dream. I quit, sold my car, walked to a part-time job by my house and wrote the rest of the week. It was tough, it was the scariest thing I have ever done, I used up all my savings and made a lot of sacrifices, but guess what? This May it will be 3 years since I made the biggest decision of my life and I’m now a full-time writer (yup, that happened!) and I wake up every day with a smile on my face and have the best readers in the world.

4. If you could pick your top 10 book boyfriends/crush. Who would they be and what book are they from?

Warner from Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi and Julian from The Forbidden Game by LJ Smith (top two ULTIMATE). Noah from The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkins. George from The Song of the Lioness by Tamora Pierce. Professor Snape from Harry Potter by JK Rowling (hells to the yes, SO HOT). Lord Wyldon and/or Neal from Protector of the Small by Tamora Pierce (apparently I have a thing for mean teachers???). Paddy from Titanic: The Long Night by (forgot author name). Michael from The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot. Ash from Night World by LJ Smith. Gabriel from Dark Visions by LJ Smith.

5. Last Stand is the final book in the series. What has it been like writing the conclusion to a story that had touched your readers and leaves them wanting more? Will this be the best book in the series? (Do I need to have a tissue box handy?)

Sooooo you are catching me before I have technically finished (I’m about 75-80% done) but I can say it’s been the biggest honor of my life. I wasn’t sure anybody would ever buy my books, let alone read them. I have an incredible fan base of readers and reviewers who have made being an author a dream come true. I love hearing what everyone thinks and I am so READY to see what people think of this book. I can’t say what the outcome will be (I know everyone is scared, hehe, I love the fact no one trusts me to write a happy ending or a sad one, no one knowwwwwwsssssss). Seriously, though, this conclusion (I wrote a rough draft of it) has brought tears to my eyes (not saying which kind). It’s the ultimate ending for me and I think everyone will understand when they read it. This whole series has been emotional but this final book is dark & emotional & real & everything. This book to me is EVERYTHING. This book is the story I have been waiting to tell the whole series. To me it is the best, no doubt. But I can’t say what readers will think. But you will need a tissue box. Book four is nothing but a constant string of emotions and I want to leave my readers battered and bruised the way any good book does where you FEEL SO MUCH that you can’t bare to open a book the next day. If you do, I have failed. Doesn’t matter if the feeling is good or bad, I just want you to FEEL.

6. I know we have talked previously and you talked about a song that inspired your books. How did a song help inspire your story? What was the song?

So the song is Red’s “Lost” >> it’s a religious band, I guess, I didn’t realize that initially but I always interpreted the “you” like any love song where they are singing about another person. That song is epic and amazing and I can’t mention what scene I inspired because that’s the big scene of Last Stand.

7. We hear Authors talking about all the characters chattering away in their heads. Which character of yours is the loudest?

Darren. Definitely Darren. Just because I love writing his dialogue so much. I may think like Ryiah but Darren is just so much fun to write.

8. What made you decide to write in the YA genre?

It’s all I ever read; I never grew up!

9. When you are writing, what do you think is the most difficult process?

Writer’s block. Some authors never get it, but I get it all the time. I also have no steady word count. Some days I write nothing staring at computer all day, other days I could write 6k (2 chapters).

10. How do you keep your characters in line, or how do you keep your world straight without losing your story?

I have a million folders on my computer and subfolders and more subfolders all dedicated to world building and character lists and magic and history and maps, etc., etc.. The sad thing? My world isn’t even that complicated. What I want to know is how the greats like JK Rowling did it!