I was recently tagged by the very lovely Krista Walsh to participate in this fun blog hop. It’s cool because I get to talk about my next big project, and since so many developments toward getting it published have occurred in the last couple of weeks, I’m pretty damn excited. Before you jump into my responses though, be sure to have a look at Krista’s too—looks like she has a very interesting book in the works!
What is the working title of your book?
Soul Avenged (Sons of Wrath, #1)
Where did the idea come from for the book?
I’m not exactly sure. The main character, Ayden, has been rattling the cages for a while now and back in January, I finally sat down to find out what all the noise was about.
What genre does your book fall under?
Paranormal romance but probably a bit more on the side of urban fantasy.
Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
Oh man, I have no clue. Maybe once it’s released, my readers will tell me who fits the characters. Ha!
What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
After being brutally attacked by Lycans, a female teams up with a brood of Wrath demons for revenge.
Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
Self-published
How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
A little over six weeks
What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
JR Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood, Gena Showalter’s Lords of the Underworld.
Who or What inspired you to write this book?
Just the unrelenting draw of the characters in the story. As they became more distinct, I needed to know more about their world.
What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
The story is set in gothic Detroit. Even though many parts of Detroit are abandoned and run-down, it has its little diamonds embedded within the city. In fact, I’ll be blogging about Detroit coming up.
This book also falls a little outside of my usual writing – it’s very dark, much more violent and the sex scenes have a bit more steam.
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For step two of the blog hop, it’s my turn to nominate 5 amazing writers. I’m dying to know what they're cooking up in their secret labs! Be sure to check out what they’re working on next:
As my projects are beginning to round out a bit more, I thought it’d be a good time to give another update on progress. Forgive any nonsensical ramblings that may occur along the way, I had the horrible experience of waking up to find I’m out of coffee this morning. This is my pre-Starbucks run version of a blog post.
So I finally came up with a title for my novella that I’ll be contributing to the Witch Hunt anthology. Kinda smacked me upside the head one day - wasn’t really thinking about it at the time. I happened to be perusing some websites when The Banishing just sort of popped in my head out of nowhere. It fits the story perfectly so I’m incredibly happy about that. Second draft has been submitted and the project is coming together nicely.
Requiem (Halos, #2) is underway. Some exciting little twists going on with this book! You’re either going to love me or hate me. My hope is, you’ll just keep reading and trust me. No matter what.
Thanks to my beta readers, who were eager to know more about the dark and crazy world I’ve created for Soul Avenged, I’ve added a glossary to the book.
If you’ve read some of my tweet and FB updates, you’ll see that I’ve gotten some reviews back for Soul Avenged. How the….?
I’d sent some ARCs to a few book reviewers/bloggers who were awesome enough to give some feedback. What I hadn’t expected was coming across kickass ratings they left on GoodReads for it. Hot damn!! If you haven’t seen them yet, take a lookie:
Even though it’s not yet available, you can still go ahead and add it to your shelf! So by all means, do so.
You might be wondering why the boring looking cover?
Well…that’s because, my lovelies, it's in the works! I’ve been locked away in my secret laboratory cooking up something really sexilicious! It’s all sketched out. And the BEAUTY of not being a graphic designer is that I have no comprehension of what complexities are involved in this. So I've handed it off and moved on to the next exciting piece of design – finding that gorgeous face to match the one in my head. Pretty sure I’ve gone through about a thousand pictures of half-naked bodies in the last couple of weeks. Erm, not that I’m complaining…
I’m on a hunt. And I’m determined.
So once the face has been chosen, I shall release my secret monstrosity onto the world!! Uh…in other words, cover reveal to come.
If you are a blogger/reviewer and think you might want to participate in the cover reveal, please sign up here:
I’ve got some interesting blog posts planned, another flash story for one of the Soul Avenged characters and I’m thinking about posting my playlist for Soul Avenged too. Busy times! So be sure to keep checking back...
It’s Friday. It’s a long weekend. And I get to announce some news. Hot damn!
For a while now, I’ve been dropping hints about an anthology that I’m working on. With the deadline for Requiem (Halos #2) fast approaching, I’ve been rather picky about taking on new projects. So what in the world could’ve snagged some of that focus?
Something that I’d be fool to pass up…
Back in June, I received a very humbling invitation by best-selling author, Devin O’Branagan, to write a story for an anthology based on her novel, Witch Hunt. If you’ve not yet read this one, you should check it out. Devin weaves a very intricate cast of characters so fascinating, her fans have begged for more.
I’m excited to be working alongside Devin and three other amazing authors: Krista Walsh, KL Schwengel and Sue Campbell. Each of us has taken a character from the original Witch Hunt book and will be expanding on the story.
This is the first time I’ve written something that’s a bit more historical, since most of my stories take place in the present. Still paranormal, but I got to add a little science to the mix this time. What does science have to do with witches? Well, you’re just gonna have to wait and find out!
One thing I hadn’t fully anticipated was how challenging it would be to write a piece with historical elements though. Sure, it was easy enough to not to mention a computer, iPod or a microwave. But there were so many other factors that had to be researched for this story. Not just dress, mannerisms and progression of science in that period, but the state of the world as well. What was going on in the periphery of this character’s life? What world events might’ve ultimately impacted the character’s behaviors? This project has required some research into the time period and I must say it’s been an interesting journey.
So my first draft is written. I’m just working on some edits and then it will be ready to ship off to my beta readers. This anthology will be available in the next couple of months so be sure to keep an eye out for upcoming announcements!
What else is going on?
Soul Avenged is in the hands of some pretty wonderful bloggers/reviewers who’ve agreed to give me a bit of feedback on the story before it’s prepped for publication. If you’ve not read previous posts, this is book 1 of my new series, Sons of Wrath - a paranormal romance set in gothic Detroit.
And then…I’m shooting for a late December/early January publication for the second in the Halos trilogy, Requiem. I was so excited recently to see this review for Somnium posted by the lovely ladies of Paranormal Book Club. You guys rocked my morning!
You want to know what’s going on at Seavey’s? What exactly is Colton’s dark secret? Who the hell is the guy from the bar? And what’s up with Allie’s behaviors around all these men?
The answers are coming….
The next few months are going to be incredibly busy. In the meantime, I’ll keep you updated on progress. Thank you so much for your continued interest in my writing. I adore each and every one of my readers. Mwah!!
By the way!
I’d love to add you to My Readers on Pinterest. Just send me a pic of you holding a copy of Somnium. If you’ve read the ebook version, simply take a picture with the cover on your ereader. No worries if you’re camera-shy like me, feel free to send pics of the book itself, maybe on your favorite reading chair, curled up with your cat or dog, next to your favorite coffee mug – whatever best represents you!
Email your pictures to keri@kerilake.com and be sure to include ‘Fanpic’ in the subject line.
Hope you all have a wonderful, long and relaxing Labor Day Weekend!
Between editing Soul Avenged, working on Requiem and writing for an anthology, my blog posts have been suffering! At least I'll have something to show for it soon. In the meantime, I decided to post just a short snippet from Soul Avenged. Once my plate clears a little (there's a light at the end of the tunnel!), I'll go back to writing some flash stories. I have yet to write Logan and Zeke's from Soul Avenged.
Speaking of Zeke...
(I promise I'll get to the snippet) I found a couple of things I love this week that I want to share. First, while perusing Amelia James' (Trashywriter) Pinterest board titled 'Man Candy', I came across something that made my coffee taste a little sweeter.
When it comes to a guy's hair, I'm typically a short-crop kinda girl. However, in Soul Avenged, I gave Zeke a little bit longer hair. I've seen very few guys who can pull off this style, so I had to go with a LOT of my own imagination. Zeke looks like a god in the book - he's big and brawny and beautiful.
Although I don't like to put existing faces to my characters while I'm writing them, I'd say this guy's probably the closest I've gotten to what I had in mind for Zeke...just need to photoshop a few tats on him ;)
So, can ANYONE tell me who the hell the guy is in this photo? Because I think he is just about the best looking long-haired hottie I've seen yet.
The second thing I came across is a couple of bands whose music I've been listening to non-stop. Blood Red Shoes is one worth checking out. Bonus points for the lady rockin' the guitar. My favorite song so far is Cold <<must listen to this one!
I've always been a fan of The XX, and I'm so looking forward to the new album, Coexist, coming out September because I have absolutely fallen in love with their sneaky peek song, Angels . I'll just come clean and admit that it's played a couple of times while writing Requiem (Halos #2).
Another favorite from The XX is Shelter. This one I've listened to a few times while writing Soul Avenged. Birdy did a nice version of it too...but I remain a fan of the original:
OK! OK! Now on to the snippet:
In this scene, Kane wakes up from a nightmare to find Ayden standing over him...
A raging storm emanated from the woman’s gunmetal eyes, almost palpable, as she held him captive with no more than the weapon in her hand.
So beautiful.
In spite of the blade at his throat, his breathing slowed, heart calmed. He fell back against his pillow as she held tight to the hilt.
Her hands were steady, unmoved by him - a relief after the nightmare he’d had. She didn’t speak a word as she lowered her weapon and retreated to the chaise beside him.
He wanted to watch her for longer. Wanted to study the lines of impassiveness in her face.
I'm pretty damn excited today for two reasons...
One, it's Friday. What is it about this day of the week that makes me want to sit outside and sip on a margarita?
And second, I get to share a small excerpt from my WiP, Soul Avenged (Sons of Wrath, #1). You'll finally get to meet Ayden, the badass who's been going fist-to-fist with some of the other MC's in my head.
This won't be very long, just enough to give you a taste of what I've been up to while locked away in my crazy secret laboratory. So find a comfy chair, grab your drink of choice and have a read. Comments are welcome.
Most of the musical inspiration for this series came from Paramore and NIN, but I had to include this song as it fueled the excerpt and the scenes that followed. I recommend turning down your speakers...
The frigid sensation sliced through Ayden’s veins, leaving a numb trail in its wake as she stepped through the remains of the abandoned factory - one of many havens for the crack addicts and prostitutes.
A vile stench assaulted her nose, a potent blend of piss, sex and rotted meat, as garbage crunched beneath her boots. Foundation had collapsed all around where she stood, crumbled as if the building would fold into the depths of hell.
Graffiti spattered the walls, giving the impression that gangs were the real threat - ‘We don’t die, we multiply.’
Right. Like gangs own any part of this city anymore.
The old Packard Plant - a ghostly haunt for tormented souls. Shitholes were cropping up everywhere, much more rapidly than ever before. Detroit once a thriving city, brought to ruins. Grey and lifeless like the suffocating overcast that loomed during daylight.
A Beretta, loaded with silver bullets and a silver parrying dagger rested at one of Ayden’s hips, a silver bullwhip at another, as she moved past comatose bodies and decaying corpses.
Feeding grounds, like a bait pile.
Deadened eyes, zombified, slowly tracked her movement in the darkness, squinting, as though craving the light that hers didn’t need to see. Humans so strung out on drugs, they failed to recognize the half-eaten carrion were once their own kind.
Not that knowing would stop them. They’d apparently chosen to face danger rather than kick their addiction, roaming the streets every night in search of their next high.
Lambs.
They were already dead. Death just hadn’t come to collect yet.
The blissful sigh of a hopped-up junkie reached her ears. She snarled her lip. “Enjoy it while it lasts, asshole.”
It’d be one thing if they were homeless. Hell, she might’ve fired a warning shot to evacuate.
The homeless didn’t come here though.
Neither did the police - making it the perfect spot to get wasted and hustle some money. Shots fired would’ve been nothing more than a momentary distraction before their minds slipped back into their ignorant state of euphoria.
Screw ‘em.
For any other girl, the place promised very bad things - an opportunity for a sadist to live out wild fantasies without ever getting caught.
But for Ayden? Humans posed no threat. Their fragile bodies would shred like paper dolls against the work of her hands. Lucky for them, she sought something else to sate her thirst for bloodshed, something far more threatening than their most psychopathic criminal - and she’d tracked it here to the surrounding cornucopia of human flesh.
As promised, here is another flash piece based on characters from my newest WiP, Soul Avenged. I really need to do something nice for Zayne, because even though his part is small in the first book, I somehow managed to take everything away from him...
Ordinarily if I opt to include a song in my flash stories, I'll just post a link, but because this video is so freakin' awesome and Trent Reznor is too damn hawt, I decided to break my rules a little. So enjoy...uh, just...don't forget to read the story.
In Dreams
My fingertips glide down the concave glass. Darkness lies on the other side of it. Pitch blackness that I cannot see beyond.
Laughter taunts me from my curiosity and I smile. Her voice. It drowns out the sound of my thoughts and moves through my body, commanding me to follow.
I twist to a stand, greeted by a cloudless sky and an open field. Somewhere, cloaked in swaying reeds, she hides. Like an aimless breeze, I drift through the meadow. Hollow stalks crunch beneath my boots and the conspicuous black of my clothing is a dead giveaway. She chuckles then hums a familiar tune and I change direction, following a siren’s promise.
I dare not call to her and risk losing the game. Instead I continue through the tall grass, reaching out for the soft wisps of her song that trail behind her, carefree as a child chasing after butterflies on the wind. A flash of black catches my eye and I kneel to the ground. My hand swipes at the dagger on my hip. I lean forward, crawling toward the object that sits on a blanket of green, instinct beckoning me all the while. Closer, I come. Still, it lies.
I sneak from behind, unsheathe the dagger and slip the blade beneath its neck. Long locks tumble over bare shoulders. The song silences.
“I knew you’d find me, lover. You always do,” she whispers.
My hand replaces the sharp edge of the dagger and I tip her head back, seizing her mouth. As many times as I’ve kissed her, the sensation steals my breath. She pulls away and turns to face me; a wily look in her eyes.
I brush the stray hair from her face and place my hand against her cheek. Her skin is cold but smooth, soft as rose petals. The floral scent drifts past me and I close my eyes, wanting to devour the space between us. An ache blooms in my chest.
She places her hand over mine and kisses my palm. “How I’ve missed your touch.”
My fingers curl around her jaw and I move over her, forcing her back against the ground. I bury my face in her neck and suck in a deep breath. The tangibility of her taut flesh threatens my restraint. The tip of a fang pricks my lip. Drops of blood fall onto her throat, the skinny trickle disappearing around the curve of her neck. I lick the blood, spreading it outward and suckle the salty flavor. She moans and arches, begging me to take what she calls mine.
The black dress she always wears tickles my musings of what lies beneath, every crest and dip of her body, permanently etched in my memory. Her leg wraps around my back and I'm tangled in black tulle, drunk with the divine taste of her skin on my tongue. Ambrosial.
As I pull away, her gaze captures my attention, bringing the world back to focus. “What is it?”
“The sun used to reflect in your eyes.” Her finger lightly sweeps over my eyelids. “Here,” she says then kisses the lingering sensation left by her cold touch. “Where has it gone, love?”
That familiar desperation suddenly settles over me. “Come with me.”
“God, I would…” She smiles, but the tear that streams down her temple reveals sorrow. “I can’t, Zayne.”
Eyes that mirror the bluest skies trail upward. A tumbling wave of storm clouds rolls in overhead, casting that blue into darkness. Contentment gives way to dread. Her eyes find me once more and widen with urgency.
“You have to go now.”
I shake my head. “No.”
“Please Zayne, I fear the consequences if you stay much longer.”
I finally catch sight of our surroundings: golden fields speckled with multi-colored flowers and patches of green, turned grey and withered. Lifeless. Cracks erupt in the barren field as if the world would split and swallow us whole. Shimmering edges of the horizon quickly disappear into the dark landscape, indiscernible against everything else. A smothering gloom closes in on the two of us.
“I can’t leave you here.”
She exhales a shaky breath and another tear falls, landing on the dusty bed of dirt where it’s absorbed into the ground. “I’m so alone. The air suffocates," she whispers, fingertips caressing my jaw. "The granules keeping time here fall cold against my skin and evaporate into eternity without you.”
I hold the dagger to my heart. “Then I will stay with you.”
Her stiff fingers cover my hands, eyes locked on mine. “I would push the blade myself if I could.”
The steel breaks through my skin.
Her eyes, trapped behind a diaphanous shield of tears, soften with resolution. “But I love you more than my own selfishness.” The dagger transforms into a snake, wriggles loose from my grip and slithers away. “Here is where I’ll stay. In dreams.”
“Please Shey." Pain bursts through my chest and travels through my blood, like venom, searing my veins in its wake. "I have nothing on the other side. I am nothing.”
A smile displaces her sad expression. “You’re wrong love. You are everything.” She leans upward to kiss me.
I close my eyes and reach to embrace her, arms crossing over one another, grasping the nothingness in between. I open my eyes to the dark room. Bolting upright, I glance around. “Shey!” I cry out for her. Only the howl of the wind outside answers my call. The empty darkness consumes me, fucking suffocates, as it crawls across my skin and I claw at the sensation. Mocking shadows watch from their corners, amused. A hollow deep inside my chest begs for breath while silence crushes my skull. My hands ball into fists at my temples. Shey.
The gold picture frame on the nightstand beside the bed carries a soft glow in the darkness. Her face. That smile. Gone. I lie back to rest, eyes shrouded in blackness, and pray that dreams will return me to her.
For in the mourning, I will wake and the soothing melody of her song will fade with every swallowed pill.
Wow, it's been a long time since I've blogged...anything! I thought, since I've gotten a few questions in real life, asking 'When's book 2 coming?', that I should provide a little update; letcha know what's going on in this head of mine.
First, my nephew was born a week ago today. Man, time flies! He's such a little cutsie pie! Check this out:
I am one happy auntie...
Second, I just sent off my newest WiP, with a working title of Soul Avenged, to my beta readers. This is book 1 of the Sons of Wrath series...clearly a distraction for me, but one that I couldn't let slip past without writing it down. Here's what happens: I'm this walking, open vessel for ideas. It's a curse, really. I can't get over how many silly things manage to inspire a story. I hear a song...BOOM, a story pops in my head. I rifle through pictures of a recent trip...BOOM, a story pops in my head. I read someone's brilliant poetic words...BOOM, a story pops in my head. I don't even know where Soul Avenged came from, what of the million little inspirational gems I've been exposed to since last October, might've given rise to these voices and scenes. But they did and I went with the flow. In the end, I wrote a 100K novel that I'm hoping is being torn to shreds by my betas at this very minute.
So my nephew is born...my distraction is sated (sort of)...what happens next?
I've already begun the prequel novella to Halos. You want answers and I'm going to start giving you some. But I think you know me well enough by now, to realize you're not getting everything...hehe. Well, because I like to torment. That's just how I roll. So I'll sneak a few answers in to hold you over until book 2 comes out.
When is the prequel expected to arrive?
Because it's just a novella, I am going to shoot for completion at the end of summer. It will go through the same process - beta readers, editor, cover reveal etc. AND BOOK 2?! You ask, with your hands on your hips and that unyielding expression on your face. Book 2 will be out shortly after the prequel. So hold tight...but don't worry. Distractions are a natural part of my genetic make up. They don't mean I've off and left y'all hangin' like a dangling chunk of tuna bait over shark infested waters. Uh...sharks being your overwhelming curiosity...
I'm hoping to give you more to devour. Soon.
Just want to tell you how much I love your continued interest in the trilogy. The emails, the comments on my FB pages, the conversations in person...all so humbling. Thank you for being such awesome readers.
In the meantime, check back this Friday...I'll be posting another flash story based on some characters from Soul Avenged!
I’ve been tagged!
Perhaps you’ve seen this little blogging game going around the internet. I was tagged by the very wonderful Candice Bundy and since I’ve been dying to share a bit of my new WiP, I thought it’d be fun to play!
But! I can’t just pick any ole’ scene from the book…and thank goodness, or I’d be here all day trying to decide on one. So here are the rules:
Go to page 77 of your current ms
Go to line 7
Copy down the next 7 lines/sentences, and post them as they’re written. No cheating
Tag 7 other victims…er, authors
Here’s the thing…I’m not going to tag other authors this time round. So if you’re reading this and you think you’d like to play along, have at it! It’s a great way to give a snippet of your work without having to agonize over what lines to choose.
Now on to my Seven:
This is taken from my current WiP that has a working title of Soul Avenged, book 1 of my Sons of Wrath (SoW) series. Unfortunately, because it comes from the middle of a page in the middle of a chapter from the middle of the book, well, it might not make a whole lotta sense. Oh! And there’s some strong language in this one too. So here goes:
“It’s worth a shot.” The first words Draven had spoken since earlier in the night.
“Is it, mister wizard? And what happens when those demon fucks wipe out half our army, huh? You think we’ll ever get the upper hand on the Lycans?”
“We have the Lywa antibody, we can create soldiers, sir.”
“We can create soldiers, sir,” Wade mocked, “I keep forgetting you’re the goddamn expert in this operation, boy wonder.”
Hahaha…oy. Well, if you think you might be interested in this new series, perhaps I might consider a flash story based on the characters.
