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Electronic Release date

Silver Leaf Books will be releasing Book 1 in the Shadow Legacy series in Dec 2010.  Art of the Ninja - Earth will be available in all types of electronic format.  Check on SLB's website for the exact release date.  Go to my website and read a sample chapter www.authorsden.com/tjperkins

Enjoy!

Sample Chapter Released...

 Below is a sample in the Shadow Legacy series. This is an exerpt of a chapter in Art of the Ninja - Earth:

     Hikaru had sunk to one knee, holding a hand over the slice across his chest as blood continued to ooze between his fingers.  He was losing too much blood.  I grabbed his right arm and flung it over my shoulder. 

     “Hikaru.  Stand,” I ordered.

     “Dude, that was about fifty guys you just laid out,” he drunkenly smirked.

     “Get up Hikaru.  I need you to walk.  We have to get out of here.” I urged.

     “That was sooo awesome,” Hikaru muttered then tried to laugh only to wince and clutch his gi.

     Distant shouts set my senses on edge and I knew we didn’t have a lot of time to make our escape before more Shimoshuki would surround us.

     “On your feet Shinobi!” I shouted at Hikaru jostling him a little, “Now!  Get up and move!”

     Hikaru raised his head and sobered at the sound of an angry order.  He instantly stood and took a few steps.

     “Move, Hikaru, move!”

     The next thing I knew he was running next to me and the more we ran the more his head seemed to clear.

     “They’re gonna be on us in no time,” he gasped, “Just go on.  Forget about me.”

     I didn’t reply, instead I practically picked him up and bolted through the trees while entering the clearing that separated the forest.  The strength I’d felt earlier surged new life into my tired muscles and I knew once we crossed the clearing, the boarder between our clans, they wouldn’t follow.  If only I could stop their pursuit.  Yelling and shouting drew closer.  They were only a matter of several feet away, right at the tree line.  At only a fourth of the way across the clearing, I stopped, dropped Hikaru to the ground and rounded on the enemy.  My eye caught something in the trees.  There, off to the left, high in a tree and away from the clamoring group of men was the kunoichi.  She just stood there, watching.  Her presence peaked my curiosity, but I couldn’t worry about her now I had to buy us some time.

     If only I could stop them.  How? I thought.

     You know…the voice cooed again, do it.  Whatever you think of.

    “I want them to stop,” I said out loud and held out both hands as if to hold back the approaching ninja.  Instantly a strong gust of wind blew up around me, whipping my hair, gi and the tall grass into a frenzy of motion.  The energy rush was staggering and I wasn’t sure what happened next.  I equated it to a blackout because moments later I had Hikaru flung on my back and was bolting for the Chiao Clan tree line with incredible speed.  I cast a glance over my shoulder to see a pile of ancient trees lying on the ground and Shimoshuki ninja trying to get past them.

     Did I do that? I wondered silently.

     I ran through the trees, zipping around boulders and thorny bushes until I started to tire.  I slowed to a walk and realized I wasn’t angry anymore.  My mission was accomplished, I had what I wanted, and decided that all the energy I expelled must’ve drained my anger.  I stopped and gently sat Hikaru on an old log.

     “You’re still bleeding,” I said pushing back his extremely long hair as it fell forward and stuck in the blood.

     “Well, I was lying across your back, so the jostling didn’t help,” Hikaru said with a smile.

     “You got a pretty nasty bruise on your face where that guy hit you.”

     “You think I can use my ‘battle scars’ to impress the ladies?” he grinned slyly.

     “Yeah, you’re going to be back to your old self in no time,” I breathed a sigh and hoisted him to his feet, while placing his sword in its sheath.  “You’re walking.  We’re not too far away now.”  I flung his arm over my shoulder again as we started off.

     “Think Mayumi would like my battle scars?” he said.

     I stopped abruptly and looked him in the eye, “Don’t even start, Hikaru, or I’ll take you back and dump your butt right on their doorstep,” I threatened in a very serious tone.  For some reason I didn’t tell him about me and Mayumi.

     “All right, all right, just yanking your chain,” he said.  “But I do want to thank you for saving me.”

     “That’s what friends do.  That’s what Shinobi do…what we’re trained to do,” I said quietly.  A silent communication radiated between us, the kind that said we’re brothers in many different ways and we’ll always be there for each other.

Shadow Legacy - Book 1 Coming Soon

Shadow Legacy is a 5-book series. Book 1 is entitled Art of the Ninja - Earth. Basically the series is about modern day teen assassins trained in the ways of the ninja. It's not just about killing or spying. This story follows Duncan Kimura, a 17 yr old, facing all the basic teen trials and tribulations of life, while training to be one of the top assassins in his village, but with all the stress of having an entity within trying to take over every time he uses his inner power.  So, ask youself - what is your inner demon? How do you supress it?  What is your inner power? Do you call it Yin, Yang, Ki, Chi? How to you strengthen it? Meditation, coffee, chocolate? How do you call it forth to find the strength you need?

The storyline has become more serious and indepth than I originally planned. In my effort for originality I've mixed together two cultures, their myths and beliefs and expanded with new age traditions. This is fantasy with a new twist on - ninja magic, the dark ninja arts, elementals, and New Age beliefs.

Release date Feb 2011.  Check out the cover art and brief plot summary at Silver Leaf Books. Now availble for pre-order.