Blog Tour & Giveaway: Shadowglass by Rin Chupeco
Today is release day for Shadowglass the 3rd book in The Bone Witch series by Rin Chupeco. I hope you check out all the book information, and our special post with DELETED SCENES from Shadowglass. Be sure to enter the tour-wide giveaway!
Deleted Scenes
From Shadowglass by Rin Chupeco
I had originally written more backstory regarding the friends Polaire, Mykaela, and Altaecia – how they were as kids growing up and being trained to be asha in the Willows, including all the shenanigans they got into (usually instigated by Polaire) but had to be cut because my wordcount was already ballooning up!
Here’s a snippet:
Despite my situation, I couldn’t stop a quick burst of laughter at the sight. Polaire was clearly no more than thirteen or fourteen, with her dark hair cropped short. She wore her hua the way she had often yelled at me not to wear, with sleeves rolled up her arms and her skirts hiked up above her knees for maximum mischief. And running with her was Mykaela – beautiful and golden Mykaela, a young girl with every indication of becoming the beauty I would know her to be. But at this stage she was willowy and coltish, moving like she hadn’t quite taken full command of her long legs just yet. And following closely behind them was Althy; just as round, wreathed in soft smiles and sunny purpose.
“I’m not sure we should be doing this, Polaire,” Mykaela giggled, turning her head to see if anyone else noticed them. They were approaching the Imperial asha-ka, and it looked like there was no one else around to stop them from deviltry.
Polaire snorted. “Oh, come now, Mykkie. It’s only going to take a minute. You know that I failed badly in the dance exams, and I’m not going to have my asha raising delayed just because I didn’t spin in a slow enough circle for Mistress Tanaka’s liking.”
“Surely you don’t think that you can change your scores without her knowing?”
“It’s actually quite easy,” Althy said helpfully. “Mistress Hestia isn’t one for cleanliness, and I’ve seen her be careless with her records in her classrooms. From what other asha have told me, she’s just as messy in her private chambers.”
Mykaela sighed. “You’re supposed to be helping me talk her out of this, Althy, not egging her on.”
“It will take the whole of five minutes,” Polaire wheedled. “That’s all I’ll need to have a peek at her book. I’m part of the Imperial asha-ka, so it’s not like it would be strange to see me walking about inside. But I do need a distraction in case Mistress Iva is still inside.”
“Well…” Polaire was a persuasive sort. I could see Mykaela slowly giving in. “Are you absolutely certain that Mistress Tanaka failed you?”
“Almost positive. I would not be so insistent on this if I didn’t believe it. You wouldn’t want me to fail dancing, of all things?” Polaire fluttered her lashes. “As if I’ll be spending all my time as an asha performing The Rage of the Three Rivers, anyway.”
“The Rage of the Three Rivers is a complicated routine,” Althy said. “I’ve seen you dance. I’m not sure people would be begging for a preview.”
“Are you on my side or not?” Polaire demanded.
Mykaela and Althy looked at each other, sighed in unison. “You owe us,” Mykkie said, and shut her eyes.
It took a moment for me to notice the rats. It’s saying much about Mykaela’s abilities that the rodents didn’t look dead at all. It was impossible to distinguish them from their living, breathing brethren, and there were at least three or four dozen of them slowly gathering in the asha-ka next door.
I expected what happened next. There were several screams as women inside the Aster asha-ka scrambled outside, shrieking for help. Almost immediately people dashed toward them and faltered at the sight of the rodents, most beating hasty retreats of their own. While the crowd was thus distracted I spotted Polaire flashing a grateful grin at her companions and slowly sneaking inside the Imperial asha-ka unseen by all save for us.
“I hope she knows what she’s doing,” Althy sighed.
“It’s Polaire,” Mykkie responded. “She knows exactly what she’s doing. And that’s rather the problem.”
About Rin Chupeco
Despite an unsettling resemblance to Japanese revenants, Rin always maintains her sense of hummus. Born and raised in Manila, Philippines, she keeps four pets: a dog, two birds, and a husband. Dances like the neighbors are watching.
She is represented by Rebecca Podos of the Helen Rees Agency. She is also fond of speaking in the third person, and may as well finish this short bio in this manner. While she does not always get to check her Goodreads page, she does answer questions posed to her here as promptly as she is able to.
Giveaway
1st Prize: Win a signed copy of Shadowglass, stickers of Tea, Kalen, and Fox, an art print of Tea & signed bookplates (INT)
2nd Prize: Win stickers of Tea, Kalen, and Fox, an art print of Tea & signed bookplates (INT)
Open until March 15th, 2019
Check out the rest of the blog tour!
That quote is amazing! Thanks for sharing this deleted scene 🙂
I am happy you enjoyed it! I thought that was a fun guest post we don’t get to see often!
[…] Review @ Bookish Kali ↠ Guest Post @ Haunted By Books ↠ Review @ One Mused ↠ Deleted Scenes @ Book Crushin ↠ Guest Post right here ↠ Review @ Bookwyrming Thoughts ↠ Tell Your Story in 3 or 5 GIFs @ […]
The cover is cool and thanks for the deleted scene. I am looking forward to this book.