Del Toro Moon by Darby Karchut Book Tour [Excerpt + Giveaway]
Title: DEL TORO MOON
Author: Darby Karchut
Pub. Date: October 2, 2018
Publisher: Owl Hollow Press
Formats: Paperback, eBook
Pages: 224
Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, B&N, TBD
“Ride hard, swing hard, and take out as many of those creepy critters as you can.”
Twelve year old Matt Del Toro is the greenest greenhorn in his family’s centuries-old business: riding down and destroying wolf-like monsters, known as skinners. Now, with those creatures multiplying, both in number and ferocity, Matt must saddle up and match his father’s skills at monster whacking. Odds of doing that? Yeah, about a trillion to one. Because Matt’s father is the legendary Javier Del Toro—hunter, scholar, and a true caballero: a gentleman of the horse.
Luckily, Matt has twelve hundred pounds of backup in his best friend—El Cid, an Andalusian war stallion with the ability of human speech, more fighting savvy than a medieval knight, and a heart as big and steadfast as the Rocky Mountains.
Serious horse power.
Those skinners don’t stand a chance.
Excerpt
Eyes white-rimmed with battle rage, Turk gained on us with every stride of his powerful legs. Dad rode low in the saddle, mace at the ready and head turned, watching the pursuit. A tiny corner of my mind marveled that he hadn’t lost his hat.
Half hidden in Turk’s dust, the three remaining skinners raced after us, strings of venom and saliva flying from their open mouths. One creature dragged a hind leg that was mostly a splintered stick. Chunks of meat clung to it. Even as I watched, the leg grew back. The skinner gave a yip of delight and picked up its pace.
With a surge, Turk caught us. I glanced over. My father’s jaw was clenched and his lips were pressed in a thin line. “How bad?” I yelled. “Did it—”
“Matt, no matter what,” Dad shouted, “you stay on El Cid.”
I crouched lower, rocking forward and back in rhythm with his stride. My ankles and knees flexed with each jolt of the stallion’s stride, working like shock absorbers. All the while, I forced myself to stay relaxed, my weapon at the ready.
Just the way Dad had taught me and Ben. The way his father had taught him and his brother and sister. And his father before that. Generation after generation. All the way back to our legendary ancestor.
Four centuries ago, Santiago Del Toro had stepped off that frigate and waded ashore to this New World, a magic-enhanced mace in one hand and his Andalusian war-brother by his side. Spain in his wake and a vow to keep.
The thunder of hooves bounced off the valley walls. The echoes grew louder. Or was it my pulse thundering in my ears? Ahead of us, at the top of a short incline, the mouth of the Gate loomed. I could feel El Cid’s ribs heaving as he pounded up the slope.
Behind us, the skinners yelped, eager to munch on manflesh or horseflesh. Or boyflesh. I thought of what would happen if those monsters caught me. What their teeth would do to me. What it would feel like to be eaten alive.
Stop it. Don’t think about it. Just ride. I leaned forward and stretched out along El Cid’s neck, practically burying myself in his mane.
“Fear not, Matt,” El Cid panted between words. “No demon-spawned skinner has ever outrun an Andalusian.”
Man, I sure hoped that wasn’t just bragging on his part. I swore I felt the hot breath of the skinners on my neck.
Darby Karchut is an award-winning author, dreamer, and compulsive dawn greeter. A proud native of New Mexico, she now lives in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, where she runs in blizzards and bikes in lightning storms. When not dodging death by Colorado, Darby is busy wrangling words. Her books include the best selling middle grade series, THE ADVENTURE OF FINN MacCULLEN. Coolest thing ever: her YA debut novel, GRIFFIN RISING, has been optioned for film.
1 Winner will receive a signed finished copy of DEL TORO MOON, US Only.
Tour Schedule:
Week One:
Week Two:
10/5/2018- Two Chicks on Books- Excerpt
2 comments
Any monster known as a "skinner" sounds like a pretty creepy critter to me! Sounds like a good story and I bet it would make a good movie!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for hosting me. It was a kick to share some of my favorite passages. So fun!
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