Guest Post #1
What does it mean to be a Soulkeeper?
As I release the fifth book in my Soulkeeper series, I’m reminded of what it means to be a Soulkeeper. In my novels, the Soulkeepers embody a few important characteristics the world needs most.
Soulkeepers…
1. Do the right thing, even when it’s hard.
2. Feel a responsibility for others
3. Accept others for who they are
4. Accept themselves for who they are
5. Take action for the greater good.
With that in mind, and since we are closing in on the holidays, I thought I’d take a moment to be thankful for three real-life Soulkeepers.
Malala: She took a bullet to the head to stand up for what she believed in. I find this modern day Rosa Parks inspiring and know that her work to give girls in Pakistan the right to an education has made a world of difference. Every time I see her picture, I am thankful for being born in a country where it is legal for girls to go to school. Learn more about Malala at http://youtu.be/gjGL6YY6oMs.
Jack Andraka: At the age of fifteen, after the death of a family friend, Jack researched and developed a rapid test to detect pancreatic, ovarian, and lung cancer in its early stages. Just to find a lab to test his protocol, he wrote to 200 professors at John Hopkins and the National Institutes of Health with a plan, a budget, and a timeline. He received 199 rejections before the one acceptance that made all of the difference. Jack won the 2012 Gorden E Moore award, the grand prize of the Intel International Science and Engineering fair. You can watch Jack’s story at http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=50157066n
Ian Somerhalder: While Miley Cyrus was twerking, Lindsey Lohan was making another visit to rehab, and Robert Pattinson was brooding over…Does he ever stop brooding?...Ian was running the Ian Somerhalder foundation. Yes, at the peak of his popularity, this celebrity isn’t self-destructing but making an effort to improve the world. The Ian Somerhalder foundation focuses on mobilizing youth toward animal rights and environmental causes. Looks like he’s more than just a pretty face. Learn more about the Ian Somerhalder foundation here http://www.isfoundation.com/welcome
So, readers, do you know any Soulkeepers? Who else do you think belongs on this list?
Guest Post # 2
Malini’s favorite things
‘Tis the season to give thanks, readers! With the release of book five in the Soulkeepers series, Malini won’t stop talking to me about all of the things she wants you to know. Today, she made me promise to gab about a few of her favorite organizations, the ones she thinks are doing a lot of good in the world.
See, as Healer, Malini is the charitable sort. She’s interested first in helping others. So, for today’s guest post, I’m featuring three charities that Malini endorses as effective Healers of our non-fictional world.
Compassion International: This organization connects sponsors with needy children across the globe to provide basic needs, education, and health care with the goal of lifting them from the cycle of poverty. I know what you’re thinking. How much REALLY gets to the kids. Well, in the case of CI, most of it. The organization has earned the highest rating from Charity Navigator for twelve consecutive years for being one of the most efficiently run charitable organizations out there. Beyond that, I was privileged to have two close personal friends travel to Africa this year to see the results first hand. You can read about their journey here. (The Ching household is privileged to sponsor Juan Daniel from Peru.) http://www.compassion.com
The Carter Center: Former president Jimmy Carter and his wife help lead the Carter Foundation, a charitable organization guided by a fundamental commitment to human rights and the alleviation of human suffering; it seeks to prevent and resolve conflicts, enhance freedom and democracy, and improve health.* What I love about the Carter Foundation is they have very specific and obtainable goals and the foundation is achieving measurable results. Take the guinea worm. This parasite once infected 3.5 million people in Africa in 1986. Thanks to the Carter foundation, there were only 542 reported cases in 2012. The Carter Center does not duplicate the efforts of other effective charities and also has the top rating by Charity Navigator. http://www.cartercenter.org/index.html
The Conservation Fund: Malini would certainly be concerned about our planet and I think she’d love what The Conservation Fund is doing. This highly rated charity finds ways to preserve the environment while balancing economic development for sustainable results. The fund has protected 7 million acres across America. http://www.conservationfund.org
Okay, okay. *Slaps Malini’s hands back from the keyboard* Geesh, characters can be so bossy! Malini would also like you to know that anything you do for others, even on the smallest, most personal level, is a form of Healing, and she thanks you for your help. As Mother Theresa once said, “We can do no great things, only small things with great love.”
Thank you for visiting today. Malini and I hope you enjoy Lost Eden.
Guest Post #3
5 Ways to be a Soulkeeper this Holiday
It seems like only yesterday I was releasing the first book in my Soulkeepers series. Releasing book 5 is almost surreal. As I prepare to complete the series, I’m reminded of what it means to be a Soulkeeper and how thankful I am for the real-life Soulkeepers out there. Here are five ways you can be a Soulkeeper this holiday season.
- Bell Ringing- two hours of your time could go a long way toward raising funds for the Salvation Army, an organization that houses and feeds the most vulnerable among us. It’s fun, easy, and the Salvation Army makes it simple to sign up for a slot. Visit this site for more information
- Collect and Donate – Coats for the homeless and cans for the food drive are things you might do every year, but don’t forget your local Humane Society. Homeless dogs and cats need love too. Many times humane societies need used towels and blankets for the care of the animals. (Call yours first to check for their specific needs.)
- Deck the Halls- Many retirement home residents don’t have family and often the home itself can’t afford the time or expense of decorating. Check with your local hospitals and convalescent homes for opportunities to use your crafty talents to spread the holiday cheer.
- Provide, Cook, or Serve a Meal- Chances are your local mission has opportunities to help with serving meals this holiday. Usually you have the choice of donating toward the cost of the meal, helping to cook, or serving the residents.
- Reach out – To the person in your life that needs a friend. Charity starts at home. Think about the neighbor or family member most in need of compassion and offer it. Sometimes just extending an invitation to dinner can make a huge difference.
There’s no better way to relax after a day of charitable giving than with a good book! I’m so excited to bring you this installment in the series. I hope you will find some time to enjoy Lost Eden.
Excerpt 1
As Fatima rose from the dirt, she noticed a patch of black mold where the ceiling met the front wall in the upper corner of her stucco manse. Her home was a product of her consciousness, constructed of her thoughts and will, but this was not hers. She did not invite the darkness. This was something other, something dangerous. The black mold spread, down the corner of the wall to the floor and then mushroomed, reproducing to the size of a grapefruit, a bowling ball, a bush. Fatima backed away, taking her place behind God who held Her ground faithfully.
With a final sprout of growth, the black fuzz paled and hardened, and a man in a shiny gray business suit stepped from the darkness. His blonde curls set off his lapis eyes, and the perfect smile he gave took Fatima’s breath away. But his expression was icy and his posture arrogant. Lucifer.
“I see you are expecting me,” he rasped, his voice holding the sizzle of Hell and his breath the hint of brimstone. Fatima covered her mouth and nose with her hand.
“Say what you came to say,” God said. Her glow increased, pressing his darkness back toward the wall.
He blinked rapidly and then shifted his eyes downward, smoothing his perfectly tailored suit. “I demand a consequence.”
“State your reasoning.”
“Your immortal has broken the law. She has created a Soulkeeper of her own will, and disrupted the balance by sending that soul to attack me in my own dominion.”
“Were you not also to blame, Lucifer? Did you not break our agreement first? Even now, I sense your minions on Earth, in clear violation.”
He gave a half smile and slid his hands into his pockets, pacing toward the archway to the veranda. “No. I did nothing of the sort.”
“You lie.”
“Yes, I do. It is my nature and as such, should be expected. I am entitled to a consequence, and I will not back down until I have my just due.”
Excerpt 2
God approached him, the air crackling with her presence. The back of Lucifer’s head glowed brassy in her light. “Very well. What is your suggested price?”
“My price is Fate. She has been in her position far too long. I will choose her replacement, and she will step down.”
“No!” Fatima yelled, her hands flying to cover her foolhardy mouth. Why had she allowed her true feelings to show? Now he’d be even more likely to use those feelings against her.
He turned the force of his stare on her, laughing through a toothy half smile. “Oh yes, Fatima. Perhaps, I will not only choose your replacement but take your soul as my own.” In a blink, he was in her face, his hand on the small of her back. Her skin squirmed beneath his touch. “You are a beautiful sinner. Hell, could use an ornament such as you.”
“Let her go.” A wash of cool light poured through the room, and Lucifer retreated, joints folding unnaturally in his haste for the shadows. “The Watchers who reside on Earth negate your ability to make such a demand. You are in breach of the law, Lucifer. You must return your minions to Nod or Hell.”
“Or what?” Lucifer carefully slithered into the shadow of a bolt of fabric where his eyes could open fully.
“Or the compact is rendered null and void.”
“War.” The word rolled off of his tongue, smooth as melted butter.
Excerpt 3
“Hello, Abigail.” The velvet smooth voice lassoed her shoulders, stopping her short.
She turned to face her enemy. At first the man’s attire, a double-breasted suit with Italian loafers, threw her. Very human. But then she noticed his eyes matched the deep navy blue, almost purple color of his tie. A Watcher, for sure. Human beings didn’t have eyes that color or noses that straight. He twisted the gold, lion’s head ring on his manicured finger.
Lucifer was the Lord of Illusions, and his followers boasted similar talents, but under it all, Abigail knew the Watcher’s skin and blood were black as tar. “How is your illusion so strong during the day?” she spat, nervously. Distraction was her only hope.
“Well fed.”
“Who are you? I deserve to know who Lucifer sent for me.”
“You don’t remember me, Abigail? That hurts. We were once very close.”
A deadly smile crossed his full lips, and he smoothed a hand over his meticulously styled black hair. Abigail tried to place his voice, but in her human form all she could sense was the illusion. Worse, the smell of freshly baked cinnamon rolls had filled the maple grove. His sorcery drew her in, luring her, a fly to the spider’s web. The smell triggered a memory of a long ago day, before Lucifer had become jealous of God and led the Watchers to fall from grace.
This Watcher had chosen an illusion not far from his appearance as an Angel. Abigail shook her head. Lucifer must be serious about her capture to send his right hand man. “Cord.”
He took a step closer. “Good girl. I see your senses haven’t completely dulled with your humanity. Now come, Lucifer is waiting.”
Abigail took a step back, dropping into the fighting stance Lillian had taught her. She wasn’t completely defenseless. She’d learned the martial arts basics Lillian insisted all of them learn. Cord took another step toward her, and she whipped her knife from her boot. “I think it’s you who have lost your senses, Cord, if you think for a second I’m coming with you willingly.”
Lost Eden by G.P. Ching
(The Soulkeepers #5)
Publication date: November 18th 2013
Genres: Paranormal, Young Adult
Synopsis:
(The Soulkeepers #5)
Publication date: November 18th 2013
Genres: Paranormal, Young Adult
Synopsis:
Rules. Balance. Consequences. War.
When Fate gave Dane the water from Eden to drink, she did more than save his life. She changed his destiny.
Since the beginning, a compact between God and Lucifer has maintained a tenuous peace, balancing Soulkeepers and Watchers and the natural order of things. Dane upset that balance the day he became a Soulkeeper. Fate broke the rules.
Now, Lucifer is demanding a consequence, requiring Fate to pay the ultimate price for her involvement. God intervenes on the immortal’s behalf but in order to save her soul must dissolve the compact and with it the rules, order, and balance that have kept the peace. A challenge is issued. A contest for human souls begins. And the stakes? Earth. Winner take all.
The Soulkeepers are at the center of a war between Heaven and Hell, and this time, nobody, anywhere, is safe from Lucifer’s reach.
When Fate gave Dane the water from Eden to drink, she did more than save his life. She changed his destiny.
Since the beginning, a compact between God and Lucifer has maintained a tenuous peace, balancing Soulkeepers and Watchers and the natural order of things. Dane upset that balance the day he became a Soulkeeper. Fate broke the rules.
Now, Lucifer is demanding a consequence, requiring Fate to pay the ultimate price for her involvement. God intervenes on the immortal’s behalf but in order to save her soul must dissolve the compact and with it the rules, order, and balance that have kept the peace. A challenge is issued. A contest for human souls begins. And the stakes? Earth. Winner take all.
The Soulkeepers are at the center of a war between Heaven and Hell, and this time, nobody, anywhere, is safe from Lucifer’s reach.
Purchase:
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AUTHOR BIO:
G.P. Ching is the author of The Soulkeepers Series, Grounded, and a variety of short fiction. She specializes in cross-genre paranormal stories, loves old cemeteries, and enjoys a good ghost tour. She lives in central Illinois with her husband, two children, and one very demanding Brittany Spaniel. Visit her at www.gpching.com and www.
Author Links:
Website: http://www.gpching.
Facebook: https://www.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/
Goodreads: http://www.
Author Links:
Website: http://www.gpching.
Facebook: https://www.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/
Goodreads: http://www.
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