Category: Character Spotlight

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Meet Cal of the Last Gatekeeper by Katy Haye

Character Spotlight Cal of The Last Gatekeeper

Hello Lovelies, 

Do I have a treat for you. Remember when we interviewed Katy Haye? Well, she had so much fun that she wanted to introduce us to Cal of The Last Gatekeeper.  Let’s turn the time over!

​​I’ve pinned down the elusive, often taciturn Cal, Queen’s-guard-turned-rebel, as seen in Katy Haye’s The Last Gatekeeper and The Last Dreamseer. Cal has – rather surprisingly – agreed to answer a few questions about himself. In case you haven’t met him yet, the young man opposite me is well-muscled for his age (he’s young for the close-to-immortal Fane: just eighteen). His light hair is tousled as though he hasn’t bothered to brush it since he got up, and his eyes sparkle in a way I’m finding a little unsettling. He doesn’t look terribly happy to be sitting still, so I’ll be quick!

Describe yourself in three words.

Powerful, determined, unstoppable.

Why should your enemies fear you?

See the above. I don’t think fear is a useful emotion, though. Fear stops you thinking when you most need to think. I’d prefer respect. My enemies should respect me and I’ll respect them in return – so long as they deserve it.

What’s your biggest secret?

If I told you that it wouldn’t be a secret, would it?

I guess not. Er, next question. You were one of the Queen’s most trusted soldiers, a Captain of her personal guard, and now you’ve been exiled to Earth. What happened?

Have you been asleep lately? The war happened.

Yes, I know that. But – what happened for you? Why did you refuse to support your Queen and join the rebels?

See, here’s the thing. In a battle situation, yes, the obedience of the soldier must be immediate and absolute. But the rest of the time … no leader should refuse to answer the doubts of their followers. Fane’s leadership grew arrogant and corrupt. I couldn’t support a Queen I knew was wrong in so many ways. So I joined the rebels. We hoped to win, but when I was captured I knew my past with the Queen would count for nothing. I guess I’m lucky to be alive and banished rather than dead.

What are you most proud of in your life?

Choosing the right side.

What makes you happy?

Bounding. I love the sensation of being one with the world and using my elemental powers like they’re meant to be used. There’s nothing else like it.

What in your past would you like to forget?

Everything about the war: all the divisions leading up to it; all the betrayals that happened during it. I have to hope that life will improve for everyone on Fane.

Do you really believe that?

Not while Queen Issaenaptra is ruler, no.

So what do you plan to do about it?


What can I do? I’ve been banished. To return to Fane would be a death sentence.

So you’re just going to give up?

I never said that.

What of rumours of a Gatekeeper being here on Earth? Couldn’t they turn the tide of war?

Rumours are the worst possible use for air.

You don’t believe it’s possible that a Gatekeeper is here?

Anything’s possible. And if there is a Gatekeeper … well, Issaenaptra should look out.

As should we all! Thank you for joining me, Cal, we –

So I can go now?

Yes. Thank – Ah, well, I guess Cal is a Fane of action rather than conversation. I hope you enjoyed meeting him!

Want to learn more about Cal and the Fane? Peek inside The Last Gatekeeper today! 


Until next time, 
Keep Reading!

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Meet Darren Broderick of Snatch Girl by L.J. Kane

Meet Darren Broderick of Snatch Girl by L.J. Kane

Hello Lovelies,

We’ve had a couple fun posts so far about Snatch Girl by L.J. Kane. Today, we introduce you to another character.

Full Name: Darren James Broderick

Age: Late 20’s

Place of Birth: Perth, Western Australia

Father: James Broderick – owns a car repair centre in Perth, Australia. He’s slightly dishonest when declaring his income. His favourite saying is, “What they don’t know won’t hurt them.”

Mother: Susan Broderick was a bank clerk until recently, when she was sacked for slipping a bit of cash into her handbag. She is currently in charge of her husband’s business accounts.

Siblings: Darren has an older brother, Jason, and a younger sister, Amanda, who is a model at a small modelling agency in Sydney.

Appearance: Darren is very attractive, with brown, collar-length hair and brown eyes. He is tall and athletic, and likes to work out. He’s often seen wearing his black leather biker jacket, and a pair of blue-black jeans.

Home: Darren resides in a studio apartment in Oxford, England, for now, until he gets kicked out for rent arrears. He has a beer fridge, and a bed, and that’s about it, unless you count his expensive car, and diver’s watch. He’s a regular visitor to the local pawn shop.

Education: Darren attended veterinary college in Western Australia after leaving school, but dropped out of university after the first year. There appeared to be no end to his gap year…

Visa: Darren escaped to Britain with an ancestry visa after getting his best mate’s girlfriend pregnant. His story changes often, but this is the real reason, and don’t let him tell you otherwise!

Work: Darren has had a variety of jobs, both in Australia and in the UK. He drifts from one to another, never settling for long. No one seems able to pin him down.

Hobbies and Interests: Diving, rally driving, motorbikes, playing cricket, and gambling.

Friends: Darren has a group of Aussie mates who are all trying to get back home to Oz for a variety of reasons. His friend, Brett Hayes, is a property developer of undisclosed habits, who is looking to get rich quick before he returns to Australia for good.

Romances: Darren’s lost count of his romantic encounters and tends to brag, so it’s hard to obtain a true figure. Like his jobs, he doesn’t stay for long, and his friends are not expecting him to settle down anytime soon. He’s had his eye on one particular girl, but she’s holding him at bay – and who can blame her?

Worst Fears: None in particular. Darren doesn’t let on that he’s scared of anything!


Want to learn more about Darren? Grab your copy of Snatch Girl on Amazon today! 

Did you miss out on the other fun posts we’ve had? Check them out:

Until next time, 

Keep Reading!

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Meet Clara Lissing of Clockwork War

Clara Lissing of Clockwork War

 Hello Lovelies, 
Remember when we had Katy Haye over for an author interview? Well, she just sent this exciting news interview with Clara Lissing of the Clockwork War (One of the short stories in the Shattered Worlds anthology.) If you aren’t familiar with the Shattered Worlds anthology, watch this fun panel I did with several of the authors.

Hope you enjoy getting to know Clara!

Your London Courier is always first with the news. Today your Courier reporter spoke to Clara Lissing, the young engineer who came from nowhere and is now working with England’s regent, Duke Murgatroyd, on a top-secret device sure to bring a speedy end to the war with Scotland.Miss Lissing is much younger than I’d thought – only seventeen. She has olive skin and dark hair that’s pulled back in a bun. I was hoping to see one of the devices that brought her to Duke Murgatroyd’s attention, but all I can see in her workshop today is bits of metal, and tools.Tell us about your family, Miss Lissing.

I have five brothers. Bill, Sam, Harry and Nathan are all older than me. They’re miners in Dorstow. The youngest is Tom. He joined the army recently

And your parents?

My parents are both dead.

I’m sorry to hear that. But they weren’t your real parents, were they?

They were my real parents. They weren’t my birth parents, if that’s what you mean. 

Our research tells us you were discovered floating in a rowboat on the river Dor when you were a baby. Is that true?

I’m not sure why you’re asking me questions if you already know the answers!

Please, don’t be offended, Miss Lissing! We have to do our research – that’s the sort of tidbit our readers love.

Yes, so far as I know, that story’s true.

And you’ve never found your real parents?

I’ve never looked.

Well, if any of our readers can cast any light on the matter, be sure to get in touch at the Courier offices on Fleet Street. Perhaps we could reunite you with your parents, Miss Lissing!

Perhaps.

So, how did a lowly girl from Dorstow come to the attention of Duke Murgatroyd?

My brother, Harry, wrote to the Duke about my skill with machines.

And now you’re working on a top-secret device to help us win the war. How exciting! What can you tell us about it?

Not much. It’s top secret.

There’s no catching you out, is there, Miss Lissing! But tell me this – did the king really come and inspect the device himself?

Both the king and the dowager queen, his mother.

Oh, what a day that must have been!

It was certainly interesting.

Tell us a bit more about yourself, Miss Lissing – what’s the first machine you ever made?

I spent years fixing machines before I started creating my own. The machine I’m most proud of is Fetchitt, who helps me in my workshop.

Fetchitt? What does that do?

Fetchitt fetches me things, it’s my mechanical assistant.

How useful that must be. And what do you do when you’re not working on your devices?

Oh, well, there isn’t much spare time while I’m working to end the war. I did see a show at the Hippodrome recently. That was great fun. We don’t have anything like that in Dorstow.

And when the war ends, Miss Lissing. What will you do then?

I’ll go home. To my family. I miss them. I hate being away from my brothers.

Then let’s hope you won’t be kept from them for long. I won’t keep you from your important work any longer, Miss Lissing. Thank you.

​​


Clara Lissing is the heroine of The Clockwork War, a steampunk/alternate history novel available exclusively as part of Shattered Worlds, a collection of 23 epic YA worlds.

Katy has been working on a tie-in short story to The Clockwork War. She’s delighted to say this is now completed, up on retailers, and (most importantly) FREE!

The short story The Replacement Princess is set in the same world as The Clockwork War. It doesn’t feature Clara, but has other characters that readers will meet in the novel.

 Imagine Queen Elizabeth I never reigned. England and Scotland never unified. It’s 1841 and war is on the horizon – unless English Princess Myrtle can cement a truce with a marriage to a boy she’s never met.

This story is available on Amazon, iTunes, Kobo, and Nook.

Until next time, 

Keep Reading!

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Meet Ellie from Snatch Girl by L.J. Kane

Meet Ellie from Snatch Girl by L.J. Kane

Hello Lovelies,

As you know, we’ve had a great opportunity to get to know L.J. Kane, her novel Snatch Girl, and have been enjoying getting to know some of her characters. Today we’re meeting Ellie.

 Full Name: Eleanor May Cunningham

Nickname: Ellie

Age: 18

Place of Birth: Salisbury, England, UK

Father: Rob Cunningham. He divorced Ellie’s mother years ago, and he is now living abroad with his new wife, Maria.

Mother: Emma Masterson (deceased). Emma married Ellie’s stepfather in the year following her divorce.

Stepfather: Doug Masterson, an entrepreneur and business tycoon. Doug has tried to help Ellie trace her father, Rob, to no avail. Doug treats Ellie like his own daughter, Charlotte.

Siblings: Ellie has an older stepsister, Charlotte Masterson, who has a young child, James, and a baby called Sebastian (known as Seb).

Appearance: Ellie has bright blue eyes, and pale blonde hair. She loves to maintain her tan, and enjoys having regular pamper sessions at her local beauty salon. Ellie’s quite particular about her appearance, and loves buying new clothes, and following the latest fashions.

Education: Ellie was studying journalism and media at college, and is now considering taking a gap year before starting university.

Work: Ellie works part time as a waitress in a quaint riverside café, and also helps out in a secondhand bookshop in town. She is still undecided about her career path, but feels that she has plenty of time to make up her mind.

Hobbies and Interests: Ellie loves reading thrillers and chick lit. She sings with a local band at weekends (much to her stepfather’s annoyance), plays tennis, and enjoys pony-trekking, and horseriding with friends.

Friends: Ellie is part of a large group of college and university students who meet up in Ellie’s favourite coffee shop. Her best friend is Kirsty, who robbed Ellie of her boyfriend during their first year of college, and only redeemed herself this year. Kirsty is on borrowed time…

Romances: Ellie has been romantically involved with students of her own age, plus others that she doesn’t want to mention. Ellie is reluctant to share this information with anyone (if you’ve read ‘Snatch Girl’, you’ll know why!).

Worst Fears: Ellie is terrified of hypodermic needles. Just seeing one freaks her out. Going abroad is a nightmare for Ellie when there’s an inoculation involved.

Pets: Ellie owns a huge ginger cat called Jackson.

If you haven’t seen the other posts about Snatch Girl, be sure to check them out.

Want to learn more about Ellie? Take a sneak peek today! 

Until next time, 

Keep Reading!

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The Ghoul-Poet a Guest Post by James Dorr

The Ghoul-Poet

“On a far-future, exhausted Earth, a ghoul–an eater of corpses–explores the ruins of one of its greatest cities in hopes of discovering what it was that made its inhabitants truly human.” Thus began my first answer in Heidi’s interview of me on January 9, introducing my novel scheduled for June from Elder Signs Press, Tombs: A Chronicle of Latter-Day Times of Earth. But let’s hear the word from this ghoul-poet himself:

Death was what ghouls ate.
But was that not itself a poetic thought, the Ghoul-Poet wondered, one based on abstracts? That one that eats corpses–because that’s what ghouls did. Ghouls were the world’s scavengers. That one who does that then in some way consumed death too?
The ghoul looked about him, at buildings fallen, at others still standing but long ago emptied. In what had once been a vibrant, bright city, not like the ruins that ghouls had always lived in. This was the New City, a stronghold of humans, but humans all deceased. . . .
(and, later)
Yet he continued on, reading. Devouring. Another poetic thought, that one might eat words. The abstracts behind them. 
The legends he picked out, the themes repeated in tale after tale, history after history. The power of love. The joinings together. And yet of death also–there was even, here, a legend about ghouls! And of a great storm, but how both human- and ghoul-kind survived it. And of the great world beyond even the river that separated New City from the Tombs, there where all New Cityers strove, in time, to go.  
The above are from the openings of Sections I and II, respectively, in the novel. There are five sections in all, each introduced by more of the Ghoul-Poet’s own tale, joined by an Entr’Acte between Sections III and IV that offers a snippet of an even earlier history. The hoped for effect should be that of an “ubi sunt,” or “where are they now,” story set generations in the future of the “Tombs” stories proper, but interwoven among them to act as a “glue” to bind them together (much as, in the tale of “The Beautiful Corpse,” a chapter-story from the first section, a Curator speaks of a “balance” that binds the parts of the soul and the body together in life, that “That is what death does . . . [I]t sunders this balance, sometimes at the slightest of disturbances”). Thus the unity, first within the sections themselves (that is, loosely by theme), then of the sections into a novel. 
And so the ghoul, who might seem an unlikely choice to be a poet from his own admissions, at least apparently understands one thing, going back all the way to Aristotle. That a work of poetry, or prose, needs a certain unity. In fact that’s something I touched on myself in my discussion here on structure and the “novel-in-stories,” citing Edgar Allan Poe, on  February 9. But there’s another kind of structure alluded to just above, which the poet seems to sense as well. This has to do with the choice of legends to be presented and, equally important, the order they will be presented in.      

​​The themes of each section are patterned on what’s sometimes called “Five-Act Dramatic Structure,” that of classical plays like those of Shakespeare (if the “Contents” page of Tombs itself should happen to look a bit like a playbill, this is the explanation), of “Exposition,” “Rising Action,” “Climax” or “Turning Point,” “Falling Action,” and “Resolution.” Thus in Tombs: A Chronicle of Latter-Day Times of Earth we have (along with our Entr’Acte) “The Founding of Legends,” “Life, Death, and Love in the World of the Tombs” (warning: as decadence is a part of this, some actions may be of an “adult” nature), “Intimations of Future Disaster,” “The Future Becomes Near” (as far-off catastrophes start to impinge), and “Approaches Toward Reconciliation” (as individuals seek their own hopefully satisfactory conclusions), with the Ghoul-Poet helping us out by acting as sort of a guide.
Do you love what James is laying down? Follow his blog, join him on Facebook, and subscribe to his author page on Amazon to find out when he releases new books. 

Take a peek inside.


Until next time, 

Keep Writing!

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Character Spotlight of Tara From Dying Thoughts

Character Spotlight of Tara From Dying Thoughts

Hello Lovelies,
Let’s welcome Joey Paul back to the blog!  In case you missed it, I did a Meet the Author with Joey recently.  Today she is doing an interview with her main character, Tara, from Dying thoughts. Without further ado, I turn the time over to Joey! 


So I thought I’d bring along my longest-standing character with me today. Tara Leverton is the protagonist from the Dying Thoughts series, and with her fifth book due out May 15th, it seemed like the perfect time to interview her. If I can get her to forgive me for writing about her life story that is.

*Tara glares as she sits*

So, Tara, tell us a little about yourself?
Well, like you said, I’m Tara, I’m sixteen and just about to sit my GCSEs, which y’know, I *should* be revising right now! There’s really not much to say about myself except for that little matter of my gift.

And what gift is that?
*deep sigh* I touch something that belonged to a dead person and I end up getting a vision of their last moments on earth. It’s kinda silly really when you think about it. I got it when my mum was killed. It turns out that it’s been in our family for generations. Mum’s gift activated when her nan died and then when Mum died, I got it too. Of course half the time I have no idea what it means or what I’m doing with it because Dad doesn’t know much and Mum, who would know, is well, dead.

​​I’m sorry for your loss. Didn’t I hear you work for the police?*glare* You know I do! I work with Mike…sorry DI Clifford. He knew my mother and she worked with him too, but when Kaolin almost got killed, he saw that I had the same gift and so he said I could help consult. I mean, we don’t advertise what I do, nor do we really discuss it. It feels like a lot of the reasons are bad ones and after what happened…*looks down at her feet* We just don’t advertise it.

Can you tell us a little about Kaolin? Sure! She’s my best friend. I guess you’ll figure it out eventually, but my dad was, kinda still is, famous. I had a lot of friends before Mum was killed, but after that, they stopped talking to me because Dad was out of the limelight. Mum died because of Dad’s stalker, and so he focused solely on raising me. It seems it wasn’t all that cool to be friends with someone whose Dad wasn’t rubbing elbows with celebs anymore. Anyway, I was pretty happy with that, but then I met Kaolin and we kinda clicked. Now it’s just me and her. There was another friend but…she died before we could really get to know each other that well. Kaolin knows about my gift, she knows about the work I do with Mike. So it’s easier to talk to her because I don’t have to hide stuff. It’s always good to have good friends. So, can you tell us a little about what happened? You mean in the book? I’m not sure I’m really wanting to talk about it yet. It’s still a little raw for me. 

That’s fine. What are your plans once school finishes? I didn’t actually have any, to be honest, not until a few weeks ago. I was gonna get out of school and then do nothing for two years while I waited to join the police force. Except, well Mike and I talked and it made sense to go to college and get some A-levels so I’m gonna do that now. I’m doing History, Sociology, and Law. I figure life’ll be different at college. No Jody, or if she’s there then I don’t have to actually see her all the time. And it made Dad happy. He’s more concerned with my education than what I want. Though right now he won’t say anything because of…the stuff that happened. Right now he’s more concerned that I’m broken.

How do you feel about what happened? I dunno. *shrug*. I guess I feel kinda numb about it all. I feel stupid for not realising sooner and I feel sore. Not just where I got hurt but inside. After what happened it made me realise that I can’t tell anyone about my gift. I can’t even let them have the tiniest inkling. I guess that will change at some point, maybe it won’t. I don’t think I’m broken though, I think I’m just…numb. Dad keeps saying that there’s no shame in therapy and he’s right, but I can’t tell them about my gift and that’s kinda a huge chunk of the story. I don’t want to talk about this anymore. I have revision to do. *Tara stands up and leaves*So there you have it! A kinda interview with Tara Leverton.

If you wanna know what happened, you can check out the fifth book in the series Dying Thoughts – Fifth Secret

 

Until next time, 

Keep Reading!

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Character Spotlight Niko Rafaelo of The Man of Cloud 9

Niko Rafaelo of The Man of Cloud 9

Hello Lovelies,
We have an awesome guest post for our Thoughtful Thursday, in the form of a Character spotlight! I am so excited for this one! let’s get right to it! 
​​Meet Niko Rafaelo – The Man of Cloud 9

No. Not now. It’s a terrible idea. We’ve all heard these at one point in our lives when we put forward an ambition or desire, only to have it shot to pieces. Often the other person has no idea how vulnerable we are in that moment, how soul-crushing that response is. I had this happen many times throughout my life: as a kid with big ideas, as a software developer, and as an aspiring author. There are few things harder to take than finding you can’t escape the orbit you’re in, and that none believe you can. This is at the heart of The Man of Cloud 9’s main character, Niko Rafaelo.MXLLS​​

Niko’s a man possessed by the idea of a new generation of nanobots (a banned technology) and integrating it with the human microbial cloud (the bacteria that surrounds each of us). But in the late 21st century, after 70 years of climate devastation and social unrest, there’s little appetite for big dreams and dangerous ideas. Part Steve Jobs, part Nikola Tesla, Niko throws everything he has at breaking through the wall of no, and see his ultimate vision realized.

People like Niko have a defining moment in their life, where their path forward is seemingly set in stone. For Niko, it happens at age 17 with two life altering events. The first is the death of his parents and brother, and the other? Well, you’ll have to read the book to find out.

The Man of Cloud 9 is available in paperback and eBook, and is available at

Amazon, Kobo, Smashwords and Barnes & Noble

I am eager to read this book! I have been hearing great things about Adam Dreece’s works and it is right up my ally! Are you excited? Let me know and maybe we can do a “club read” together! 

Don’t miss my Book Unboxing or my book review! 

Until next time, 

Keep Reading!