Sarah and Judith, thanks so much for having me as your guest today on
your blog. It’s exciting to be here discussing the wonderful world that is
urban fantasy, fantasy romance and paranormal romance!
And how good is it to be promoting it for a WHOLE MONTH??? Oh, yeah! I’m
more than happy to discuss my love for the genre!
So, let’s launch right into it, shall we?
One of the questions I get asked a lot as an author (particularly from
my non-UF/FR/PR reading friends) is what attracts you to this genre?
Quite simply it’s the world building!
Nothing beats the excitement of reading about and discovering a new
world. The mystery of the unknown, the thrill of learning about a new culture
or race – the characters, their cultures, politics, military, traditions,
religions, clothing, technology, weapons, geography – everything, and being
able to feel that it’s so real that I can suspend my disbelief and live
alongside the characters as their story unfolds.
There’s also the satisfaction of diving into this world and being sucked
in so well that you lose track of time and when you look up it takes you a good
several seconds to realize where you are (and maybe even rue that you’ve had to
return to reality after being immersed in another time and place).
Anyone else ever felt like this when you’ve read a darn good book in
this genre? I bet many of you have. Conversely, this same answer applies when
I’m asked why I write in this genre.
My debut novel with Berkley Sensation, VENGEANCE BORN, is a fantasy
romance.
When I first started playing with ideas for
this series, I knew I wanted to make it (at a minimum) a trilogy. The scope of
the external plot wasn’t going to fit in just one book.
While the series isn’t epic fantasy in its
purest form, it does have similar elements.
The world is entirely fictional, there are
different races (not just humans), the plots employ typical themes such as a
quest, a guiding deity, struggles against an opposing force, creatures, paranormal
powers, conflict between races, the threat of world
domination, revenge and redemption.
Yet there’s also a romance between main
characters – Annika and Kalan struggle against personal prejudices, flaws and other
external hurdles to find love.
There’s intrigue and mystery, some twists and turns in the plot that
will satisfy this craving, and some secrets you may anticipate, others I hope
you don’t see coming. And there is definitely action – fighting, a chase scene,
death, escaping from dungeons, rebellion… Everything I love about fantasy and
romance, and had enormous fun putting together into one story.
Without giving away any spoilers, in VENGEANCE
BORN readers quickly learn the Na’Reish
outnumber the humans, and that the human race is under threat of enslavement.
Annika and the other Na’Chi prove to
be the key to humanity’s survival, although no one realises it at the time, and
it takes Kalan to engineer a change.
For those wondering about the series, this
change and some of the broader themes continue throughout ALLIANCE FORGED and
Book #3, and we see them unfolding through other characters and their personal
stories and romances. While each book can be read as a stand-alone romance I’d
recommend reading them in sequence for the full impact.
The trilogy will tie up some over-arching
plot threads, readers will learn more about each of the races in these stories,
but there’s plenty of scope to incorporate other threads and extend the series
beyond three books. Some secondary characters are already demanding that their
stories be told, so I hope I get the chance to tell them.
So if you like this sort of epic-style
story with a good romance then the Light Blade series might be a series to try.
Now for some facts and fun…
Title: VENGEANCE BORN (Bk#1
of the Light Blade series)
The Book: A bastard-born heroine and warrior hero uncover
ancient secrets, struggle with prejudice, and discover a love that will save
three races.
Setting: Alternate paranormal
world where demons and humans once used to co-exist peacefully together but are
now at war with one another.
Hero: Kalan – human Light
Blade warrior
Heroine: Annika – a Na’Chi woman (a crossbred between human
and demon) who possesses strong healing powers.
Scene you would never
cut from the book.
Hmm, there’s a scene early on in the book where Annika is escaping from
her father’s dungeon with Kalan. At the last minute she hesitates, the impact
of her decision to escape hitting home.
Hesia patted her
back. “You know I won’t make it. I’m far too old to run.” The woman released
her and placed the healer’s pouch on her shoulder. Gnarled fingers gently
traced her face. “May the Lady bless your path.” Her gaze met his. “Both of
you. Go swiftly now, and don’t look back.”
A gentle push started
Annika on her way but at the last corner in the corridor, her steps slowed.
What was she doing? She placed a hand on the cold, stone wall, her fingernails
digging into the grimy surface.
An ache started deep
within her chest and spread outward, expanding to include her lungs. She
labored to suck each breath in, and hot tears stung in her eyes and made her
throat ache. She was leaving the woman who’d been more her mentor, protector,
and best friend, the closest thing she’d had to a mother since her own had died
giving birth to her twenty-five years ago. And here she was leaving behind the
only person who’d ever loved and cared for her. For a half-blood outcast.
Annika’s leaving behind Hesia, her mentor, knowing her father will
likely kill her for the part she’s played in their escape, she’s giving up her
life as she knows it (as bad as it is it’s one she knows and is familiar with)
for an uncertain one living among humans, and she’s placing her life in the
hands of a warrior who would, in other circumstances, probably kill her.
It’s a huge turning point for Annika. She has the chance to change her
circumstances but she has to trust in a stranger and his word to achieve a goal
she’s longed for all her life. For someone who doesn’t trust easily this is a
huge moment.
What’s one quirky
thing about your hero and heroine?
Kalan has a thing for hot baths – he loves them, indulges in them when
he can. If he lived in the modern world he’d be the one with a jacuzzi in his
apartment. But being on the run from the Na’Reish
with Annika, baths are in short supply, but they do come across a hot spring…
Annika’s quirk isn’t as pleasant, quite the opposite. She sits on the
pitches of roofs. It’s purely a survival tactic. Growing up as Na’Chi, her mixed heritage makes her a
social outcast with both the Na’Reish and
their human slaves.
As a child she was bullied and physically abused by others. To avoid
this she used to hide on rooftops. From there she could spot the bullies coming
and take advantage of any hidey-holes or escape routes she could see from that
height.
The strategy is one she uses even as an adult – as you’ll see in the
latter part of the story when Annika arrives in the city where Kalan lives.
VENGEANCE BORN blurb
There is no mercy in the demon realm. No escape. In
this place of desperation and conflict, anyone who is not pure bred is
virtually powerless. Until an unlikely champion is born…
Annika,
half-blood daughter of the Na’Reish King, longs for more than her tormented
life among her father’s people. Conceived in hatred and bred as a tool of
retribution, she’s gifted with a special talent that can heal as well as
destroy.
With the
Na’Reish vastly outnumbering them, Kalan, a Light Blade warrior, knows the
future of humankind depends on him alone. Incursions into human territory and
raids for blood-slaves by the Na’Reish Horde have increased. As Chosen-leader,
he faces the task of stopping the demons—and convincing the Council of aging
Light Blade warriors that change is necessary for survival.
When Annika
learns Kalan is a prisoner in her father’s dungeon, her dream of escape seems
within reach. She agrees to free him in exchange for his protection once they
reach human territory. Now, marked for death for helping him, Annika must learn
to trust Kalan as they face not only the perilous journey to the border but
enemies within the Council—and discover a shocking truth that could throw the
human race into civil war…
What’s next for you?
ALLIANCE FORGED, the second book in this series is out July 3rd,
2012.
And, all going well, Book #3 (untitled) is scheduled for an early 2013
release. Both feature characters introduced in VENGEANCE BORN.
AF BLURB
There
is no mercy in the demon realm. No escape. In this place of desperation and
conflict, anyone who is not purebred is virtually powerless. Until a blind
priestess lays claim to a half-breed warrior, body and soul…
Hunted and marked for death by Na’Reish demons for their half-blood
heritage, the Na’Chi are searching
for a new home—something an alliance offered by the human leader could provide.
With both races divided by prejudice, when Light Blade rebels brutally attack
the Na’Chi, the alliance seems doomed
to fail.
Varian, leader of the Na’Chi, a hybrid race of gifted
warriors, is cursed with the darker impulses of his demon heritage. Controlling
the part of himself that craves the high of the battle is a struggle he’s
afraid he’ll lose—until he meets Kymora Tayn, a priestess driven to serve her
deity. While he’s unwilling to trust anyone outside his people, he finds
himself drawn to Kymora’s strength and passionate nature, and discovers she has
the power to calm the darkness inside him.
When the Na’Reish raid human territory for blood-slaves and kickstart a war,
the key to the survival of both races—Na’Chi
and human— is an alliance. However, when Kymora is kidnapped, pitting human
against human, Varian realizes he must embrace his darker half, not only to
save the alliance…but also the woman he loves.
The Human Side of Me
Pseudonym or Given
Name?
This is a question I
get asked a lot – especially from the children in my class and their parents.
I went with Griffin
for three reasons:
a) it’s my great grandmother’s maiden name (from the
paternal family tree) and I’m big on keeping it in the family!
b) my given surname
would be closer to the bottom of the bookstore shelf, whereas G tends to be
more central or at eye level for any prospective reader,
and
c) Griffin suits the
paranormal genre to a T!
Where are you? Outback New SouthWales. It’s a lovely part of Australia – volcanic mountains dotting the
landscape, wide open plains stretching to the horizon, rural farming area so
lots of crops and stock, fresh air, open skies that are so dark and clear at
night you can see the Milky Way.
Favorite color: Green.
Hunkiest hero ever: Hugh Jackman (sigh).
Cat or dog (or
other): Definitely cats – plural. I share my home with 3 moggies – Splat, Panda
& Furball.
Author living or dead
you’d most like to meet: Anne McCaffrey – her book DRAGONFLIGHT showed me
fantasy and romance could be combined and inspired me to write the same.
Most daring thing
you've done in your life: Tandem skydiving in Queenstown, New Zealand – what a
rush! I was on a high for about a week afterwards.
BIO
Kylie Griffin’s obsession with all things
paranormal/fantasy started at an early age, when she used to imagine the
jacaranda tree in her front yard was a spaceship used to defend the world from
invading enemies. Writing stories seemed a natural extension to her childhood
adventures.
Today, she’s a primary school teacher
sharing her love for the written word with young children. In her spare time,
she writes and reads all things paranormal.
Kylie lives in a small rural village in
outback New South Wales, Australia, where she volunteers in a number of
emergency service organizations in her local community. Visit her website at
www.kyliegriffin.com
LINKS
