Guest Melanie Card and Ward Against Death

I want to thank the goddesses of the Naked Hero for hosting me today. I absolutely love the title of this blog but I have to giggle (just a little) when I think about the hero of my YA fantasy WARD AGAINST DEATH naked (I know you mean psychologically naked, but I can’t help thinking physically naked as well). It’s not that my hero, Ward de’Ath, isn’t handsome, it’s that he hasn’t figured out yet that he’s handsome and he’s really shy about his physique.

You see, Ward isn’t your typical fantasy/action hero. He’s 20 and a tall guy who’s spent his life going through that gangly phase that tall guys go through. And because he’s been completely absorbed in his medical studies he hasn’t realized yet that he’s handsome and starting to catch the attention of the girls around him.

A few quick facts about Ward:

He comes from a family of necromancers and is the 8^th generation to be able to raise the dead.

He’s not very good at necromancy because he’s mystically blind and can’t sense magic.

He’s studied to become a physician

But he’d rather be a surgeon instead of a doctor (surgery, however, is illegal).

The story takes place in a fantastical world, set in a time period of princes and swords, carriages and corsets. Ward’s dream to saves lives (through surgery) is impossible because of religious doctrine and he’s been forced to fall back in the family business of necromancy to make a living.

The thing I love about Ward is his determination and sincerity. In the book he’s thrown into a world he knows nothing about, that requires skills he doesn’t have. Sure he’s read about sword fighting and as a physician he knows what will kill someone, but he’s never actually been in a fight before.

And while he could just give up, he doesn’t. Keeping his promises is important to him, even when things go terribly wrong. And things do go really wrong when he’s hired to wake the heroine, Celia Carlyle, from the dead.

In one way, Ward is your average kind of guy (if your average guy could wake people from the dead). He means well, tries to do the right thing, and really just wants to live a normal life. But what Ward doesn’t realize is that he has the soul of a hero. He keeps his word, even if it might get him killed. He will do what needs to be done regardless of personal danger. And he cares about doing the right thing for the good of others, even if it might not be the right thing for him.

And about that naked thing? He’d like to graciously decline… for the time being.

Thanks for joining me today. For more about Ward and his book, WARD AGAINST DEATH, you can visit me at www.melaniecard.com

Connect with Melanie:

Facebook

Twitter @melaniecard

Goodreads

Excerpt from Ward Against Death

Her eyes narrowed and her hand snaked under the pillow. “It’s not wise to enter a lady’s bedchamber without her consent.”

Ward plastered on his calmest, gentlest expression. The newly wakened dead often assumed they had just roused from sleep. “You’ve been unwell.”

Her icy blue eyes examined him, her gaze jumping from his face, to his wig, to his jacket, and back to his face. “Unwell? Is that what my father told you?”

“In a manner of speaking.” She wasn’t acting the way she was supposed to.

Noblewomen, particularly those around his age, were usually demure or aloof—not suspicious.

“Well, I’m fine, and I’m sorry my father troubled you.” She threw back the covers, sat up, and stepped onto the thick rug. “Now go, be a good doctor, and tell my family I’m healthy and sleeping.” She punctuated her last word by pulling her nightdress over her head, revealing a slim waist, athletic muscles, and pale skin marked with the purple bruises of livor mortis along

her back. And no other clothes.

“But—” He flushed and spun around to face the wall. “What are you doing?” No. Wait. What was he doing? He’d seen a dead naked woman before. Just never like this.

She chuckled. “I’m going for a walk.”

“A what? No—You can’t.” She really wasn’t acting the way she was supposed to.

“I beg to differ.”

The situation was spiraling out of hand. Damn it, he had to take control. He was the necromancer, she the newly awakened. She was supposed to listen to him.

He turned to confront her. Thankfully, she was fully dressed—in men’s clothes, but at least she was dressed. “Listen, I—”

She slipped her hand under her pillow and removed a sheathed dagger.

Great Goddess! She kept a dagger under her pillow? Ward inched toward the door to block her escape without appearing obvious, although he had no idea what he’d do if she fought him. Why did he always get stuck with the difficult corpses?

• Tweet