Guest author/giveaway Michele Lang

Spotlight: The LADY LAZARUS series by Michele Lang

Book 1: LADY LAZARUS

ADVENTURE, ROMANCE, AND MAGIC ON THE EVE OF WORLD WAR II
Summer 1939: In Budapest, the magical city where East meets West, beautiful, young Magda Lazarus has managed to make a life for herself in a dangerous world that teeters on the edge of war. But then her sister has a terrible vision: Nazi Germany overruns all of Europe, and their family and millions of others are exterminated.
Magda, the last of a long line of witches descended from the legendary Witch of Ein Dor, must find the secret of her family's magic. Alone, pursued by SS werewolves, a Nazi wizard, and demons, including the one that has possessed a willing Adolf Hitler, she has no choice but to summon the family's guardian angel, the dark keeper of secrets Archangel Raziel.
And when she stands in his celestial presence, her heart is utterly, completely lost…
"An absolutely unique protagonist in an engaging tale set against the backdrop of the greatest clash of good and evil in human history. What's not to love about LADY LAZARUS?"
-Jim Butcher, #1 NYT Bestselling Author of THE DRESDEN FILES

Book 2: DARK VICTORY

THE REMARKABLE SECOND STORY IN THE LADY LAZARUS TRILOGY
Magda Lazarus was a reluctant witch, until the dire threat of Nazi Germany convinced her to assume the mantle of her family's ancient powers. But though this young, beautiful woman has fought Hitler's werewolves and the demon who would rule through the Fuhrer, she has been unable to prevent the outbreak of World War II.
There is still a chance of saving the millions slated for destruction, but Magda knows she cannot fight the Nazi supernatural war machine alone.  With the power to summon an army of spirits, Magda stands with her guardian angel Raziel in a battle against the human and unholy forces of evil arrayed against her people and all of Europe.
Magda is desperate to win at any price, but the victory she seeks may be at the cost of her soul…
"The best entry yet in a groundbreaking, rich, enthralling series set in the darkest days of World War II with magic, very human characters, and stakes that couldn't be higher. A tour de force!"
-Rachel Caine, NYT Bestselling Author of the MORGANVILLE VAMPIRE series

Book 3: REBEL ANGELS

THE THRILLING CONCLUSION OF THE LADY LAZARUS TRILOGY
Magda Lazarus, the Witch of Budapest, has returned from the dead time and time again to fight the Nazia' devastating conquest of Poland. To prevent the Holocaust her sister has seen in terrible visions, Magda will need the Heaven Sapphire, a gem powerful enough to defeat even the demon Asmodel. With the future of all Europe in the balance, Magda and her beloved, the angel Raziel, begin a perilous journey to the Caucasus, the resting place of the fabled stone.
Surrounded by Nazis, Stalinists, and wary Azeri tribesmen, Magda must summon all of her magic to battle her supernatural foes. But more dangerous yet is the power of the Sapphire itself, which could stop Hitler -- or destroy Magda.
At the end of this long road Magda's epic quest will end…in love and redemption, or with annihilation. REBEL ANGELS, the climactic book of the LADY LAZARUS trilogy, filled with suspense, magic, and action, will have readers on the edge of their seats until the riveting conclusion.
"REBEL ANGELS is a satisfying, powerful conclusion to a series that is as moving as it is thrilling. Rooted in a compelling version of history, peopled with unique and intriguing characters, the tale of Magda Lazarus combines the action of a modern urban fantasy with the atmospherics of CASABLANCA.  With this final volume, Michele Lang establishes herself as one of the leading voices in historical urban fantasy."
-D.B. Jackson, author of THIEFTAKER

About Michele:

Michele Lang writes supernatural tales: the stories of witches, lawyers, goddesses, bankers, demons, and other magical creatures hidden in plain sight. Author of the LADY LAZARUS historical fantasy series, Michele's most recent book in the series, REBEL ANGELS, released March 2013.

Michele is also a lawyer who has practiced the unholy craft of litigation in both New York and Connecticut. She returned to her native New York shortly before 9/11, and now lives in a small town on the North Shore of Long Island with her husband, her sons, and a rotating menagerie of cats, hermit crabs, and butterflies.

Find her on the web at www.michelelang.com and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/michelelang

Excerpt from REBEL ANGELS, the final book in the LADY LAZARUS trilogy:

     By now we had reached the lonely hut at the edge of the village.  We stood in front of the red door, red like a gaping maw, red like raw meat.

     A hand hung upside down in the middle of the door, at my eye level.  At first I thought it was a real human hand, but after I blinked hard I saw that it was bejeweled, with mother of pearl fingernails and red jasper for palm lines.

     “The five fingers of God,” I whispered.

     “Yes, the hamsa.  A mark of the Lord’s protection, for both the Jews and the Muslims here.  It is ancient, my love. . . this looks very like a Temple hamsa.  But I imagine it has been put here only recently.”

     “We cannot pass.”

     I stood before the door, holding Raziel’s hand now, and I wanted nothing more than to curl up in the dirt of the road and hide from that mark of the Lord.  Those five fingers struck down Pharaoh, they smote the Amalekites.  They smote the Hebrews too, when they got too far out of line.

     “You can pass.”

     “Not for what I intend to do.”

     Raziel’s hand squeezed mine.  “Trust me.  You can pass.”

     But I didn’t know the words.  I didn’t have the spells, the magic trick, the Hebrew words.  I just stood in the dust before the threshold, humbled and I will admit it, ashamed.

     I bowed my head and racked my brain.  How could I force my way in, trick my way in?  I could hurl witchfire at the door, but I knew just by looking that it would hold.  And that hand would hurl the fire right back at me.

     Almost I considered walking away, giving up.  But we had come so far.  This terrifying gemstone was our last hope.  Gisele waited for me in London, Eva risked her life in Budapest, and Churchill marshaled his human armies.  But if Hitler reached the oilfields, and this gem, none of their sacrifices would matter.

     I took a single step forward, slipped my fingers out of Raziel’s grasp. 

     “I am Magdalena Lazarus.  May we please enter?”

     The hamsa never spoke.  No cosmic flashes emanated from its palm.  But silently, on well oiled hinges, the big red door swung open.

     And Raziel and I stepped over the threshold, into the darkness inside.

     As soon as we passed by the hamsa guarding the front door, I knew for sure.

     The gem was hidden here…  

 Tor is hosting a giveaway of three whole sets of the trilogy to US/ Canada resident. Please leave your email and state you want to enter the Tor giveaway.

The author will give a free e-copy of my novella "The Magic of Fabulous", set in the world of Lady Lazarus, to everybody who gives you their email address, no matter where in the world they live.