Michele Lang: Oh, the Places You’ll Go! A tour of cities in the Lady Lazarus series

I’ve had such a blast writing the Lady Lazarus trilogy. In the process, I’ve visited strange and dangerous places without ever leaving the comforts of my writing lair. The protagonist of the series, the beautiful young witch Magdalena Lazarus, is trying to avert total war in the summer of 1939, and she traverses Europe and beyond in order to fight a supernatural battle.

Here’s a quick overview of some of the places you will visit if you crack the spine of the Lady Lazarus books and dive in after Magda:

·         Budapest, Hungary: The heroine, Magda Lazarus, is a denizen of this golden city, the “Paris of the East,” in 1939. Her Budapest is a magical and deadly world, filled with vampires, demons, werewolves, and magical creatures of all sorts.

·         Paris, France: In search of her family’s magical inheritance, Magda heads west, and falls headlong into the demimonde of Paris, filled with refugees, spies, intrigue, and smoky cafes. She runs into an old friend and finds danger of a spiritual kind along the Seine in the dead of night.

·         Amsterdam, the Netherlands: Magda encounters a worldly courtesan with a wealth of magic to share, a mysterious American bookseller with tangled loyalties, a dear friend in grave danger, and a trio of demonesses intent on destroying her.

·         Krakow, Poland: Magda finds a conquered city, one filled with desperate partisans and patriots. The ancient cobblestone streets teem with cruel Nazis, werewolves of the SS, brave members of the underground, and earth spirits determined to defend their land.

·         Baku, Azerbaijan: This land of fire angels and magic flying carpets is the gateway to Magda’s last hope to finding her family’s magic. Secret agents attack her at a caravanserai, and she seeks sanctuary at the Temple of Fire, filled with a magic more ancient and dangerous than her own.

 I’m such a homebody writer, and yet I love to travel, and have visited many of the places that Magda finds herself in these books. Cities have their own personalities, and meeting them is like meeting a beautiful, mysterious stranger. It’s not the same as getting the chance to live in a place, but I find that once I’ve visited a city or a foreign country, the memory of it stays with me and plays on my imagination.

What is your favorite place in the world? And where would you visit if you had the chance?

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 Nazis' 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

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

TRILOGY GIVEAWAY!

We have three sets of the entire Lady Lazarus trilogy to give away! Please enter the giveaway by leaving a comment below. Since these are print books, winners must be residents of US/Canada.

Here is a giveaway for everybody: Michele will send a free ecopy of her novella, “The Magic of Fabulous,” to everybody who supplies an email address. Please send in your email address and she will send you a Smashwords coupon.

Thanks for stopping by!

**Michele's winners are Mary Kirkland, Laurie G. and Pat Cochran.  Please email totebag@authorsoundrelations.com with your mailing info!**