Berserker by Emmy Laybourne Book Nerd tour, Spotlight, Excerpt & #giveaway @JeanBookNerd @EmmyLaybourne ~ '

Series: Berserker (Book 1)
Hardcover: 352 pages
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends (October 10, 2017)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1250055202
ISBN-13: 978-1250055200

Praise for BERSERKER

"Emmy Labourne deftly melds Viking lore with the American West and creates something wholly new, a journey filled with heart-pounding suspense and surprising tenderness. Loved!"―Danielle Paige New York Times-bestselling author the Dorothy Must Die series

"Berserker combines the magic of Norse mythology with the thrill of the American West with staggering results. Startlingly original, unputdownable, and electrifying." ―Kass Morgan, author of New York Times bestseller The 100

"A completely winning, romantic, and heart-wrenching historical fantasy. Your pulse will race from page one of this rich, rugged adventure of a book."―Alyson Noel, New York Times-bestselling author of The Immortals series

"Berserker embraces the beautiful brutality of both Viking lore and Frontier tales, and it does so without resorting to tired tropes or toxic masculinity. This is a brilliantly unexpected fusion of cowboys and old gods―intense and gritty and yet surprisingly tender―but the real strength of Emmy Laybourne's writing is that, for all their superhuman abilities, her characters are so very human."―William Ritter, author of the New York Times-bestselling Jackaby series

Praise for EMMY LAYBOURNE

“Simultaneously terrifying, hilarious, and action-packed, Sweet is a wild ride that holds up a warped mirror to our society. I loved it from the first line to the last.” ―Marie Lu, author of Legend and The Young Elites on Sweet

“Frighteningly real . . . Riveting.” ―The New York Times Book Review on Monument 14

“A tense, claustrophobic, and fast-paced thriller.” ―Publishers Weekly, starred review of Monument 14

“Pretty darn breathless.” ―Booklist on Sky on Fire

Are Hanne's powers a gift from the old Norse gods, or a curse?

Her brother Stieg swears their powers are a gift from the old gods, but Hanne Hemstad knows she is truly cursed. It's not Stieg's fault that their father is dead, their mother has left, and their brother Knut has been accused of a crime he didn't commit.

No, the fault lies with Hanne and her inability to control her murderous "gift"--she is a Berserker. When someone she loves is threatened, she flies into a killing state. The siblings must leave Norway for the American frontier or risk being brought to justice.

Aided by a young cowboy who agrees to be their guide, Hanne and her siblings use their powers to survive the perilous trail, where blizzards, wild animals, and vicious bounty hunters await.

Will they be able to reach their uncle, the one man Hanne believes may be able to teach her how to control her drive to kill? With Berserker, Emmy Laybourne, the author of Monument 14, presents her vision of an American west studded with Viking glory.

You can purchase Berserker at the following Retailers:

EXCERPT...

As they drank their coffee, Stieg asked Owen if he knew the story of the pancake. Owen did not and so Stieg told the old folk tale, recounting the rolling pancake, and his clever escapes from Manny Panny, Henny Penny, Goosey Poosey and the rest.

Hanne watched Owen’s face. In the glimmering firelight, some of the age and experience seemed to fall away. He looked much younger, and was rapt with attention at Stieg’s silly story. He laughed when Piggy Wiggy gobbled up the runaway pancake at the end of the story. Sissel and Knut laughed along with him.

Hanne observed that Sissel’s eyes were lit up with admiration for Owen.

She felt a stab of possessiveness. The idea that she wanted to make a claim on the cowboy so startled her so much she stood up abruptly. She turned and clumsily sought out the tin bucket among the kitchen items, her skirts knocking her pie tin off the rock where it had been sitting.

“Hanne?” Stieg asked.

“Nothing. I must fetch water to soak the beans, that’s all.”

“Beans for breakfast and pancakes for dinner,” Knut said in Norwegian. “Our food is backwards!”

Stieg translated for Owen. Hanne heard their laughter as she set off towards the stream in the dark.

She slowed her pace as she approached the stream. She did not want to make a further fool of herself by falling in the cold water.

The moon was only a sliver. The sky was so black it seemed clean and fresh, and the stars were bright. Was the sky so big at home? It must have been, for it was the same sky.

“Pretty dark out here.” She jumped at Owen’s voice behind her. “I brought a lantern. Wouldn’t do to lose you our first night on the trail.”

“Yes,” she answered. “It is dark.”

Hanne felt nervous and reluctant. It wasn’t proper for her to be alone with this strange boy. They ought to have a chaperone. Only that was how they did it in Norway and they were no longer there. Maybe in America, it was acceptable for a young woman to be alone with a young man.

Anyway, she was not in any danger. That was certain.

“I can get the water if you like,” Owen offered.

“I can do it,” she said. But she didn’t want to send him away. “Can you hold the lantern toward the stream?”

“Sure,” he answered.

He held the lantern forward and together they picked their way across the slippery rocks at the edge of the stream.

Hanne settled the bucket into the icy water.

“I wanted to say something. I wanted to thank you for taking the job of being our guide,” Hanne said.

Owen made a dismissive noise.

“It’s my pleasure,” he replied.

Hanne stood up with the bucket, now streaming water. Owen put his hand on the handle, next to hers. A warm current travelled up Hanne’s arm and she realized their fingers were touching.

“Let me carry it for you,” he said. When she withdrew her hand, the bucket was transferred to Owen’s firm grip.

“Yes,” she said. “Very well.”

“And Miss Hanne, you don’t have to thank me.”

Hanne glanced at his face. In the dark, his bruises didn’t show so much. The light from the lantern fell on his strong jawline, and the shape of his lips.

He was a handsome young man, it could not be denied. She wondered what it would be like to kiss him.

It was dark, but did she see his eyes flickering toward her own lips? Was he leaning in to her, ever so slightly?

“I’m glad… that is to say…” He paused here, and the pause made her heart rise up in her rib cage. He regained speech. “I’m grateful for the work,” he said.

He looked to the bucket.

The work. Of course he was grateful for the work. Nothing but the work.

“And, uh, Miss Hanne, just so you know. There’s mountain lions up here,” Owen said. Hanne realized now that he had his long rifle tucked under his arm. “So if you’re going to go out in the dark, it’s best to have company.”

“Very well,” she said stiffly.

Of course he would think her a defenseless girl who would need his help to stay safe. A part of her wished it were so.

Hanne took the lantern and led the way back to the campsite.

Book Nerd Spotlight

Photo credit: Kit Laybourne

Emmy Laybourne is a novelist, screenwriter and former character actress. She is the author of the upcoming release BERSERKER ("You will love Emmy Laybourne's vision of an American west studded with Viking glory." - Hypable.com), as well as the MONUMENT 14 trilogy ("Frighteningly real… riveting" - NYT Book Review, Editor’s Choice) and the novel SWEET (“A gripping action-adventure survival story” – VOYA, rated Perfect Ten).

Before her life as a novelist, Emmy performed original comedy on Comedy Central, MTV and VH1; and acted in the movies "Superstar," "The In-Laws" and "Nancy Drew," among others. Emmy lives outside New York City with her husband, two kids and a flock of 9 nifty chickens.

Social Media