Thursday, April 6, 2017
The Nate Temple Chronicles Book Tour & Giveaway
Obsidian
Son
The
Nate Temple Chronicles Book 1
By
Shayne Silvers
Genre:
Supernatural Thriller
A
city that doesn’t believe in magic. Bloodthirsty weredragons. Good
thing this reckless playboy has superpowers…
It’s
been said that monsters cry when a good man goes to war. But they
should run screaming like little school girls when that man is
secretly a wizard, and maybe not necessarily good…
Nate
Temple’s all-consuming quest to avenge his parents is temporarily
put on hold when shape-shifting dragons invade St. Louis. And perhaps
cow-tipping the Minotaur for answers might not have been Nate’s
smartest opening move, because now every flavor of supernatural thug
from our childhood nightmares is gunning for him. Nate learns that
the only way to save his city from these creatures is to murder his
best friend…
Nate’s
choice will throw the world and his own conscience into cataclysmic
chaos: avenge his parents or become a murderer to save his city.
Because to do either, he’s going to have to show the world that
magic is very, very real, and that monsters are very, very hungry…
To survive, he might just need to take a page from the book, How to
Win Friends and Influence Monsters.
If
you like Jim Butcher, Kevin Hearne, or Patrick Rothfuss, you will
LOVE the first installment of The Nate Temple Supernatural Thriller
series.
Blood
Debts
The
Nate Temple Chronicles Book 2
A
Wizard, an Angel, and a Horseman of the Apocalypse walk into a bar…
The
ancient pact between mankind, Heaven, and Hell has been broken. And
this upstart wizard’s quest for vengeance may have just kicked off
Armageddon. So, time for a drink... or maybe two.
Already
plagued with sinister night terrors that could qualify him as a
card-carrying psychopathic insomniac, Nate can barely even manage to
put his pants on in the morning, let alone pick teams for the
Apocalypse.
But
when he’s framed as a demon sympathizer, condemned by the Armies of
Heaven, and hunted down by both his allies and the Four Horsemen,
this wizard doesn’t think it can get any worse…
Then
they take away his magic. And a wizard without magic stands no chance
against the forces of Heaven and Hell…
Grimm
The
Nate Temple Chronicles Book 3
The
Brothers Grimm – legendary supernatural assassins – have escaped
their prison, and their first day in St. Louis could be Nate Temple’s
last…
Sharing
a beer with Death – one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse –
really put a few things into perspective for this foul-mouthed,
billionaire wizard. Like finally strapping on the boots to propose to
his girlfriend.
But
assassination contracts have a way of putting wedding plans on hold.
Perhaps permanently. And with the entire wedding party on the
bloodthirsty Grimm’s hit-list, and his family fortune in jeopardy,
Nate realizes they can’t run and they can’t hide. So, time to do
magic and stuff…
But
with every flavor of supernatural thug teaming up to help the Grimms,
Nate realizes that friends have become enemies and enemies have
become friends, and he’s forced to cross lines that are better left
uncrossed.
When
magic, claws, and teeth dance to the song of war, the only thing left
to learn is who lives and who dies. And if Nate can live with the
consequences.
No
wonder a guy is terrified to propose…
Silver
Tongue
The
Nate Temple Chronicles Book 4
My
resume is pretty full: I’ve cow-tipped the Minotaur, decimated a
gang of weredragons, sucker-punched an Angel, and eaten pancakes with
the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse…
I’ve
kidnapped one of the most powerful wizards on the planet, and
slaughtered the Brothers Grimm. I’m kind of a big deal.
But
I never thought I’d find myself at a crossroads, a pawn in a deadly
game that I hadn’t known existed, willing to sell my soul to save
the life of someone I loved… That’s when I learned true fear,
because the world I thought I knew was all just smoke and mirrors,
and I was just a puppy playing amongst wolves…
Beast
Master
The
NateTemple Chronicles Book 5
What
do you do for Thanksgiving Dinner when your guests are Death, an
Angel, and a slew of other monsters? You have a nerf gun war, of
course… But the Queens of Fae want to crash his party. And the
Beast Master is abducting shifter children for a Monster Circus.
Thanksgiving
Dinner plans with Death, an Angel, a vampire, Achilles, and a slew of
other monsters are cut short because a Monster Circus has come to
town. And the Beast Master needs new Monsters for his show…
But
the Queens of Fae also want a little deep-fried wizard for the
holidays.
Oh, and Nate is losing that last finger-hold on his
sanity: hallucinating, and talking to creatures that no one else can
see. The ancient demon inside of him is getting stronger, fighting
for dominance, and only one of them can survive.
But when a
wizard curses Nate, extorting him to rescue a lethal Chimera child
from the Beast Master’s Circus, Nate’s only option is to partner
with his inner demon, risking his very soul. But his friends begin to
doubt and fear this new, darker Nate, taking matters into their own
hands – even when that means standing against him.
With
allies turned enemies, the Fae breathing down his neck, and a
dangerous child’s life on the line, Nate must call upon, bully, and
coerce new storybook legends and gods to save his traitorous friends
from becoming the Beast Master’s next victims…
Discover
what – if anything – Nate is willing to sacrifice to save the
friends who betrayed him…
Shayne
is a man of mystery and power, whose power is exceeded only by his
mystery. In other words, a storyteller.
He
currently writes the Nate Temple Supernatural Thriller Series, which
features a foul-mouthed young wizard with a chip on his shoulder
attempting to protect St. Louis from the various nasties we all know
and fear from our childhood bedtime stories. Nate’s been known to
suckerpunch an Angel, cow-tip the Minotaur, and steal Death’s horse
in order to prove his point. His utter disregard for consequences and
self-preservation will have you laughing and cringing on the edge of
your seat.
Shayne
holds two high-ranking black belts, and enjoys conversing about
anything Marvel, Magical, or Mythological. You might find him writing
in a coffee shop near you, cackling madly into his computer screen
while pounding shots of espresso.
Join
my Readers’ Group for your free books and a pile of other goodies
when they become available.
Wednesday, April 5, 2017
Demon Cursed Blog Tour
Gin
Crawford, the world's newest demon huntress, just wants to enjoy a football
game, but finds herself hunting a serial killer minion instead. When his victims
turn out to be the local football star’s female fans, she must determine if the
player has joined forces with the minion, but her efforts lead her deeper into
danger. When her mentor, Aidan Smythe, is attacked, Gin resolves to go to any
lengths to save him, even if it exposes her most tightly held secret. Minions
and demons, however, aren't the only terrors she faces. Will she realize the
greatest danger lies within—before it's too late?
Excerpt
I shake my head at him before straightening my shoulders. And slapping a hand over my mouth and nose. Yuck. Hours-old death in humid Texas weather makes for a smelly situation. At least I’m not the only one with their hand, or handkerchief, over their mouths.
“What happened?” Smythe meets the gaze of each guard and the
hyperventilating janitorial women who clearly found the body.
One of the women points to where the body lies in front of
the Dumpster, flat on her back, hands resting in classic death pose on her
bloody stabbed chest, a red rose clasped in her fingers. Her open eyes stare
into the night, her mouth curled into a grimace of pain and death. Her clothes
look like she came from a club: tight, short, and low-cut, with spiky heels. At
one time, I would’ve been jealous of her hot-to-trot figure. Now all I notice
is the pain and terror stamped on her face and the unfurling anger deep in my
core.
Effing murderers. I might be a fancy-assed demon huntress,
but I destroy minions, not human killers. Lucky for me, I can tell which type
of kill this scene belongs to with little effort.
Closing my eyes, I start to take a deep calming breath,
think better of it, and focus on activating my minion sensors. Tapping into the
power of the entity lying along my nerves, I open my eyes to a tactical grid
display of reds and oranges, a clear indication of a minion’s presence at the
scene.
Looks like I’ll get my wish to annihilate the bastard who
killed this poor woman.
About the author
Karilyn Bentley's love of reading stories
and preference of sitting in front of a computer at home instead of in a cube,
drove her to pen her own works, blending fantasy and romance mixed with a touch
of funny.
Her paranormal
romance novella, Werewolves in London, placed in the Got Wolf contest and
started her writing career as an author of sexy heroes and lush fantasy worlds.
Karilyn lives in
Colorado with her own hunky hero, a crazy dog nicknamed The Kraken, a silly
puppy, and a handful of colorful saltwater fish.
Where to find
Karilyn:
Amazon Author
Page: https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=karilyn+bentley
Buy Links:
The Falcon Flies Alone
Gabrielle
Mathieu lived on three continents by the age of eight. She’d experienced the
bustling bazaars of Pakistan, the serenity of Swiss mountain lakes, and the
chaos of the immigration desk at the JFK airport. Perhaps that’s why she
developed an appetite for the unusual and disorienting. Her fantasy books are
grounded in her experience of different cultures and interest in altered states
of consciousness (mostly white wine and yoga these days). The Falcon Flies
Alone is her debut novel.
Interview
1. What are your biggest literary influences? Favorite
authors and why?
When I
was eight, I read Tolkien’s trilogy, which made me incapable of normal kid
conversation for a couple of years. Who can play with a Ken doll when you’re
longing for Aragon? As the years went by, I began to view Tolkien as a product
of his times, stilted in some respects. I’m impressed by the low fantasy world
George RR Martin crafted, which seems appropriate for modern times, but I’ve
had to stop reading because of the grisly flayings. I would say they both
influenced me, and I stand between the two poles: absolute brutality and
abstract idealism.
2. What are you reading at the moment? Would you recommend it to readers of this blog? Why?
I’m
reading Aliette De Bodard’s The House of Binding Thorns, as preparation for our
kickoff interview on the NBN Fantasy channel. The podcast should be available
on April 6th or 7th, so drop by http://newbooksnetwork.com/category/arts-letters/fantasy/.
The novel, the second in her series, is heavy on atmosphere. This is Paris like
you’ve never imagined, a ruined battleground where fallen angels vie for power,
and allegiances are made and broken. Aliette lives in Paris and has used her
knowledge of the city to create a spell-binding environment.
3. Tell us something about how you write? i.e. are you a
plotter or a pantser? Do you have any weird or necessary writing habits or
rituals?
I’m in
neither a plotter or a pantser. I usually have a good idea how I want the novel
to end and what locales it takes place in. After the first draft, I’ll plan to
a trip to the country to nail down details. This will be challenging once I
start my epic fantasy series though since it’s set in another world. I like to
write while I listen to music. I’ve got a play list up at http://gabriellemathieu.com/inspirational-music/.
4. Could you tell us a bit about your most recent book?
My
heroine, chemistry nerd Peppa Mueller, falls prey to an unscrupulous
anthropologist who tricks her into drinking a hallucinogenic potion that
changes her life forever. But Peppa’s no victim. Soon she’s locked in a power
struggle that threatens her chance at love, and maybe, her sanity.
5. What gives you inspiration for your book?
The
Falcon series was inspired by a whopping nightmare. When I was in my twenties,
I didn’t just have run of the mill nightmares. I had detailed vivid dreams,
during which I even felt pain or smelled strange smells. My lifestyle, hanging
out with musicians and experimenting with various substances, fed the tendency
of my night time psychic wandering.
6. Do you have a day job in addition to being a writer? If so, what do you do during the day?
I have
three day jobs! I earn a monthly regular income working in the high-tech
environment of a laboratory testing human blood and body fluids. This
information includes parameters such as cholesterol, but there’s so much more.
In 2001, I received a Master’s in Traditional Oriental Medicine, so I also see
private clients and help them with acupuncture, massage, and herbal prescriptions.
Just recently, I also began translating a book from German to English. Being
busy spurs me on to being productive.
7. Tell us a little about your plans for the future. Do you have any other books in the works?
The Falcon Strikes, the
second in the series, is coming out this July. It takes place in Ireland,
against the background of the IRA’s campaign against British rule. Once again,
Peppa tries to carefully plan a strategy, but ends up involved with a handsome
young paramilitary and in trouble with both sides of the political spectrum.
Then there’s the secrets her Grandmother’s been keeping.
8. Where can we find you online?
Website: www.gabriellemathieu.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/GabrielleAuthor
The Falcon Flies Alone
As the sun rises on a
quiet Swiss mountain village in 1957, runaway Peppa Mueller wakes up naked and
stranded on the roof of her employer’s manor, with no idea how she got there.
As she waits for help, she struggles to piece together fragmented memories of
the previous night. Did she really witness the brutal massacre of a local
family? Did she kill them? Her fear of sinister house guest Dr. Unruh fuels her
panic—as do electrifying flashes of a furious falcon, trapped inside her.
Wanted for murder,
Peppa flees the police, intent on finding out if there’s a scientific
explanation or if she’s just going mad. Her godfather, world-renowned chemist
Dr. Kaufmann, risks his career to help her. In the meantime, Peppa fights her
attraction to the handsome priest from India who offers her shelter. With their
help, she not only finds Dr. Unruh but places herself at his mercy. His
experiments may be the reason Peppa now shares her body with a bloodthirsty
bird of prey—but the revenge she plans could kill them both.
NOTE: The book will be on sale for only $0.99 during the tour.
Excerpt
I took out the illustrated book about birds of prey,
wondering if Silvia had been researching hawks because of Horus, the
hawk-headed god. I flipped idly past owls and vultures, until I came to the
sections on falcons. A full-page illustration of a peregrine caught my eye.
She was buff -colored with gray barring along her legs and
chest. The head was slate-colored, her eyes large and profound, the darkness of
them more pronounced by the light rim around them. The artist had captured her
in full flight, her wings outspread and the tail feathers fanned around her
tucked claws.
A stab of yearning—where was she going?
Seconds passed, then minutes. I couldn’t look away from her.
A conviction seized me that if I looked into the mirror, I would see her curved
beak and piercing eyes instead of my homely features.
I could not face my reflection. Instead, I forced my
trembling hand to graze my nose, my cheeks, my eyelids. Familiar. Ordinary.
I slammed the book shut and pushed it to the bottom of the
satchel.
GIVEAWAY INFORMATION
Gabrielle
Mathieu will be awarding a $20 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via
rafflecopter during the tour.
Tuesday, April 4, 2017
The Kronicles of Korthlundia has moved
I've moved my blog to a new server with better interacting features. Please, follow me to http://jamie-marchant.com/blog/
The Light and Shadow Chronicles Release Tour & Giveaway
The
Shield of Soren
The
Light and Shadow Chronicles Book 2
by
D.M. Cain
Genre:
Epic Fantasy
Ten-year-old
Soren Nitaya's marked talent makes him the youngest soldier ever to
become an apprentice to the legendary warrior, Raven Lennox. As a
prince of Alcherys, he will be expected to fight in the eternal war
against the Brotherhood of Shadow when he reaches sixteen.
But
is the young prince up to the task when he's more interested in
causing mischief than in mastering weapons?
When
one of Soren’s adventures goes off course, he unwittingly unleashes
a deadly threat. It appears that an age-old prophecy is finally
coming to pass, and Soren and his family must take a perilous journey
deep into their enemy's land. Does Soren have what it takes to save
his country before the Brotherhood destroys everyone and everything
he loves?
A
Chronicle of Chaos
The
Light and Shadow Chronicles Book 1
In
a world ravaged by war, the paths of two warriors are about to cross
with world-changing consequences.
Chaos
is a soldier of The Children of the Light, and fights in the name of
destiny, honor and glory. Arrogant and headstrong, he believes he is
the strongest warrior in the land, until a fateful coincidence puts
him at the mercy of the demon Anathema.
The
two strike up an intense rivalry, but their obsession to destroy one
another only leads them closer together. When the forces of Light and
Dark collide, where will their loyalties lie?
D.M.
Cain is a dystopian and fantasy author working for Creativia
Publishing.
The Light and Shadow Chronicles series features a range of books
which can be read in any order. The first of these to be written was
A
Chronicle of Chaos.
The
Shield of Soren
will be released in March 2017. She is currently working on the next
novel in the Light and Shadow Chronicles series, The
Sins of Silas,
as well as two complementary novellas entitled Genesis
of Light
and Origin
of Shadow.
Cain
has released one stand-alone novel: The
Phoenix Project,
a psychological thriller set in a dystopian future. The Phoenix
Project was the winner of the 2016 Kindle Book Review Best Sci-Fi
novel Award.
D.M.
Cain is also a member of the International Thriller Writers and one
of the creators and administrators of the online author group
#Awethors. Her short story The
End
was published in Awethology
Dark:
an
anthology by the #Awethors.
Cain
lives in Leicestershire,
UK
with her husband and young son, and spends her time reading, writing
and reviewing books, playing RPGs and listening to symphonic metal.
I've been doing everything wrong
I have confidence in my writing, and the reviews I have received are excellent, but my books haven't been selling well. I sought advice from those whose books sell better, and I have learned that, apparently, I have been doing everything wrong.
These experts told me that my covers are terrible and my blurbs not interesting. My website is worse than horrible, and it doesn't make sense to have my blog separate from my website. Commenting on my blog on its present platform is too difficult because you have to sign into a google account, which stupid me was unaware of.
Therefore, I am going to be making a lot of changes. I am getting my book covers redesigned by a professional who has been recommended and should be able to produce much more enticing covers. This will unfortunately delay the release of the expanded edition of The Goddess's Choice and The Bull Riding Witch. I am rewriting my blurbs and will soon have new and improved ones.
I am moving and combining both my blog and website onto the WordPress platform. For this week, I will be making blog posts on both this old blog and the new one. Starting next week, I will be operating solely on the new blog/website. I sincerely hope all of you will follow me to the new site and subscribe to my blog there. The address is http://jamie-marchant.com/blog/. I'm still working on the design over there, so it's not as pretty as I hope it will eventually be, but it is fully functional. Click on it now if you will, and comment on my post there on what you think of the new set up and if commenting is now easier for you. I sincerely value your opinions.
These experts told me that my covers are terrible and my blurbs not interesting. My website is worse than horrible, and it doesn't make sense to have my blog separate from my website. Commenting on my blog on its present platform is too difficult because you have to sign into a google account, which stupid me was unaware of.
Therefore, I am going to be making a lot of changes. I am getting my book covers redesigned by a professional who has been recommended and should be able to produce much more enticing covers. This will unfortunately delay the release of the expanded edition of The Goddess's Choice and The Bull Riding Witch. I am rewriting my blurbs and will soon have new and improved ones.
I am moving and combining both my blog and website onto the WordPress platform. For this week, I will be making blog posts on both this old blog and the new one. Starting next week, I will be operating solely on the new blog/website. I sincerely hope all of you will follow me to the new site and subscribe to my blog there. The address is http://jamie-marchant.com/blog/. I'm still working on the design over there, so it's not as pretty as I hope it will eventually be, but it is fully functional. Click on it now if you will, and comment on my post there on what you think of the new set up and if commenting is now easier for you. I sincerely value your opinions.
Friday, March 31, 2017
World Building
One thing readers
of fantasy look for is a journey to a magical world that is unlike the mundane
world we all inhabit, so building that world is one of the most important tasks
of a fantasy writer and also one of the most fun.
There are two
basic types of world builders, sometimes called architects and gardeners. Before
they even begin to write the story, an architect takes days, weeks, months
outlining every intricate detail of their world from economics to politics to
magic. They will create whole notebooks full of climate data, geography, types
of inhabitants, religious systems, and even holidays. There are two basic
dangers to this type of world building. The first is using it as an excuse to delay
beginning the actual story. It can become a distraction/procrastination tactic
to combat a writer’s anxiety about whether or not they are truly good enough to
be a writer. (An anxiety nearly all writers share.) So a writer needs to know
when to stop world building and start writing. The second danger is to use
every detail imagined within the novel itself. You spent time creating it, so
you need to share it, right? Wrong. The writer will always know more about the
world that actually appears in the story itself. As an author, you only reveal
as much of your world as the reader needs to know. The details of the world
should emerge gradually as they are needed for plot and character development,
not be dumped on the reader because the writer created a cool aspect of their
world that doesn’t matter to the story itself.
The second type of
world builder is often called a gardener. A gardener will have the seeds or the
very basics of their world in mind and allow that world to grow as they write
the story. They don’t know everything about their world when they begin, but
allow it to emerge as the story needs it. This type of world builder also faces
potential problems. The first is a shallow or insufficient developed world with
too many aspects of it unexplored. A shallow world will not satisfy the reader.
The second problem is continuity errors. The author may claim one thing about
the religion on page 5 that is contradicted by the scene on page 94 that doesn’t
mesh with what they bring out on page 296.
Either method can
work and work beautifully as long as the author is aware of the dangers and
guards against them. The problems of both methods will be inevitable in the
first draft and is one of the many tasks that will need to be addressed in
revision.
Some people
believe that since they are creating something that doesn’t exist, they can do
anything they want with it. This is true only to an extent. When you are
creating a new world, you are asking your readers to suspend their disbelief
for the length of the story. The reader knows that dragons and magic don’t
exist, but during the time they are emerged in your story, they should be
willing to pretend they do. In creating a suspension of disbelief, the author
will find the reader a willing accomplice. Fantasy readers come to a fantasy
novel with an absolute willingness to loose themselves in a make-believe world.
If they didn’t want to temporarily believe in unicorns and fairies, they would
have chosen a different genre. But the reader will turn against the author if
the author doesn’t create a believable world, and once a reader loses their suspension
of disbelief, it is almost impossible to get back. They probably won’t finish
the current novel, and they certainly won’t read another by the same author.
So how does an
author keep the readers’ suspension of disbelief? The following 4 rules lay
that out. (Note: The only unbreakable rule of writing is, does it work?
However, if these rules are followed, it will work most of the time.)
Rule #1: Your world needs consistent
rules. Unicorns can’t be drawn only to virgins at one point in the story and
then come to your non-virgin main character at the moment she has need of a
unicorn. Dragons can’t need 100 lbs of meat a day, but exist in a desert
without much life. Fantasy doesn’t mean illogical. Readers will readily believe
something that they know not to be true, but they will balk at anything that
insults their sense of logic.
Rule #2: Anything in your world that
also exists in the real world either needs to be consistent with what the
reader knows of reality or have an explanation for why it isn’t. So if you’re
including such aspects that you have little experience with, you need to
research them. One glaring examples of this problem are horses. Horses are a
staple of epic fantasy, but few in the modern world have had much interaction
with horses. They aren’t like cars with legs, which you can ride all day with only
brief stops to load them with fuel and simply park and forget about at night.
They are living beings that need a lot of care and have restrictions on their physical
strength and endurance. If you are going to include horses in your world, make
sure you understand horses.
Rule #3: Include diverse people. No
group of people (or elves, fairies, or dwarfs) is all good or all bad. If you
have a large enough group, you will some assholes in the mix, some truly caring
and good people, and a whole lot of people with varying degrees of assholeness
and niceness. Nor will they all think, believe, or act the same way. You may
decide in your world that dwarfs are obsessed with mining gold and gems, but if
your novel has a large enough sample of dwarfs, there should be some who prefer
to play the lute or carve pictures into the rock walls of the caves. A society
of only knights and nobles also couldn’t exist. It would also need farmers and
artisans.
Rule #4: Your world needs to be
structured in such a way that it addresses real world realities, such as food,
clothing, shelter. If a society is to exist, human needs must be met. If they
aren’t, society is unstable and won’t last long.
What's your favorite fantasy world? Please tell us in the comments below.
Thursday, March 30, 2017
Guest author, Holly Evans
I met Holly on Twitter. She has a tendency to post adorable pictures of kittens, puppies, and other baby animals, which first attracted me to her. Then I became intrigued by her mention of her novels starring a gay tattoo magician. I had to check them out, so today, in addition, to my unusual author spotlight, I'm writing a review of the first novel in her Ink Born series, Stolen Ink.
Stolen Ink
I’m
Dacian, a tattoo magician, and my life went from my biggest concern being
finding a pretty guy to fall into bed with at the end of the week to everything
falling apart around me.
There are two problems in my life.
Number one – I’m an ink magician, the thing of myths. A lot of very powerful people would love to get their hands on me, and I have no intention of letting that happen.
Number two – A tattoo thief came to my city, and the magical community has decided that I’m the guy to stop them.
Somehow, I have to catch the thief without letting my secret out of the bag, and that’s even harder than it sounds.
There are two problems in my life.
Number one – I’m an ink magician, the thing of myths. A lot of very powerful people would love to get their hands on me, and I have no intention of letting that happen.
Number two – A tattoo thief came to my city, and the magical community has decided that I’m the guy to stop them.
Somehow, I have to catch the thief without letting my secret out of the bag, and that’s even harder than it sounds.
Review
I absolutely loved this book. First, Holly has created a truly innovative world that drips with magic. It is urban fantasy in the sense it's set in a large city with contemporary level of technology, but it most certainly isn't our world.Tattoos pick their wearer, and the tattoo magician's job is to call them forth, not create them. The creatures can then leave their tattoos and become corporeal. Most people have magic of one kind or another and humans share their world with elves and other mystical creatures. It truly isn't like any other urban fantasy world that I've read (and I've read a lot of urban fantasy). More importantly to me, Holly has people her world with fantastic characters. Dacian is sexy, intelligent, and intriguing, but my favorite character is Kyra, his tattoo cat. I love cats to begin with, but Kyra is a feisty one who literally claws the eye out of the bad guy to protect her people. How can one not adore such a creature? The plot contains an appropriate amount of mystery, danger, and intrigue. After finishing it, I immediately pre-ordered Book II, Blood & Ink, and I believe you will, too. I highly recommend Holly Evans and her Ink World.
Excerpt
I gestured to the tattooing
chair. “Strip down to your pants. I’ll paint the design of the tattoo that’s
trying to break free. Should you choose to accept it, then I’ll bring it forth
and tattoo it. It will be painful. The more powerful the tattoo, the more pain
you will endure. You will find its presence in the back of your mind once we’re
done. As this is your first tattoo, I must add that, if you do not like the
design, you cannot choose something else. Should you try and do so, you’ll be
risking disfigurement or even death. Do you understand?”
He gave a short sharp nod before he carefully unbuttoned the black
jacket and folded it, taking his time to ensure that the shirt was properly
folded and crease free next to the tattooing chair. I could almost see the skin
of his back shimmering where the tattoo fought to be free. It covered his
entire back and wrapped around his ribs. Keirn would owe me a few drinks once I
was done battling something of that size.
“Sit with your back to me, and I’ll paint on the design,” I said.
He nodded in acknowledgement and straddled the padded leather chair, his
strong back facing me. Taking a deep breath, I opened myself up to the threads
of tattoo magic. My own tattoos wriggled and clawed, trying to be free. I
mentally growled at them to be quiet. There was work to be done. Kyra yowled at
me. The cat had never been one to do as she was told. Aris, however, stilled,
his form tightly coiled against my spine. The soothing warmth of the magic
flooded my being and tugged my hands towards the brushes. My instincts took over,
removing all superfluous thought. I was verging on nothing more than a vessel
for the magic. It was a dangerous dance, but one I loved more than life itself.
The
tendrils of magic flexed and coursed down the brush. There was nothing but the
painting. Everything else slipped away as I lost myself to the art, caressing
the threads and edges of the creature that was buried within the man’s very
existence. It didn’t need coaxing, it practically exploded through the colour.
I stepped back and wiped sweat from my brow. My hand froze halfway down to my
hip when I saw the art on his back. It was there in glorious colour, clear cut
lines and heavy muscle. There was no denying it, no escaping the fact that he
had a dragon desperately clawing at the fibres of his being.Interview
1.
Tell
us a little about yourself?
I’m a passionate little red-headed woman originally from England, but I
now live in Co. Kerry, Ireland. I’m only 5’2, but I make up for my lack of size
with my huge personality and attitude. When I’m not writing Urban Fantasy, I
usually reading it or wandering around the local area taking in the views and
seeing what inspiration pops up.
I’m probably a little bit too interested in sharp pointy things, fae
(particularly those with sharp pointy teeth), and fast cars. I plan on having a
Dodge Challenger in the future – that deep growling v8, yum!
2.
What
are your biggest literary influences? Favorite authors and why?
I’m honestly not sure who my biggest influences are. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde definitely had
an impact on my writing. I tend to explore that man and beast line and dynamic
quite a bit. The Night Circus also
had an impact; it really encouraged me to embrace my poetry side.
As for favourite authors I adore Seanan McGuire. Her clear love
of mythology shines through in her books and makes for engaging, deep, and
fascinating Urban Fantasy. Maggie Stiefvater’s books are poetic, sumptuous, and
beautifully crafted with real emotion. S.M Reine’s worldbuilding is fantastic,
and I adore Gail Carriger’s way of balance humour, action, and romance.
3.
Do
you think people have misconceptions about the speculative fiction? Why do you
think it is a worthwhile genre?
I think there are a lot of assumptions thrown around that
speculative fiction is nothing more than idle escapism. It isn’t worthy of
those who wish to think.
It’s a worthwhile genre because of the scope! That step away
from reality opens up the possibilities for exploration. We can explore the
very fibres of humanity, psychology, through shifters. We can ask ourselves how
society is put together and look at possibilities of the future through sci-fi.
The potential to explore philosophy, psychology, sociology, and more is huge!
No longer are we constrained about the hard and fast laws of reality; we can
use the realms of our imagination to ask ‘what if?’
And yes, we can offer people the opportunity for escape. We
can give people who feel trapped, lost, and worse, a place to have adventures
and to explore who and what they are. We can provide safe spaces and spaces in
which to think and be happy. Is it really so wrong to give people an escape
from the grey drab of day to day life?
4.
Could
you tell us a bit about your most recent book?
Yes and no, lol. My most recent book is Blood & Ink, but as that’s book 2 in a series, I can talk about
book 1, Stolen Ink.
Stolen Ink is an
Urban Fantasy that follows Dacian, a gay tattoo magician. It’s set in a fantasy
kitchen sink, meaning that there are lots of types of magic, magical creatures,
etc. The entire cast is LGBT+ (primarily gay with some bi and an ace
character).
Dacian wants a quiet life, but everyone around him has other
plans. He’s not a typical hero, but he’s an absolute sweetheart.
5.
Of all
the characters you have created, which is your favorite and why?
Tyn. He isn’t in a published book, but I love him. He’s
broken, he’s had a horrible start in life, but he has a heart of gold. He comes
across as a bit of a jerk sometimes, but he’s my little kitten, and I adore
him. He’s a Cait Sidhe (a fae cat), and he shows up in Blood & Ink.
6.
Do
you have a day job in addition to being a writer? If so, what do you do during the day?
I’m a developmental editor – I look at the big picture stuff,
plot, character development etc. So when I’m not writing, I edit other people’s
books for them. I might be a tad too passionate about books and writing…
7.
Tell
us a little about your plans for the future.
Do you have any other books in the works?
I have Blood & Ink
currently up for pre-order, that goes live on May 5th. I’m currently
book 3 in the Ink Born series; Ink Bound
will go live in early August. Then Seers
Stone is book 1 in a new Urban Fantasy series, that’ll go live in early
November. Seers Stone follows Kaitlyn,
a treasure hunting alchemist, and her books are set in the same world as the
Ink Born books. I’ll likely keep writing a bunch of series in the ink world for
a good few years now. It’s huge; there’s so much to explore!
Where can we find you online?
Twitter: https://twitter.com/KhaosFoxe (Jamie's note: If you like adorable baby animals, you need to follow Holly.)
About the author:
Holly Evans is
an urban fantasy author with an unhealthy fascination with blades, a deep love
of hellhounds, and would love one day to wake up as a fae. When she isn't
wrangling rogue characters and trying to tame her muse, she's researching shiny
new ninja moves. During her spare time she fights crime and rights wrongs on
the streets of Prague.
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