I read Erin Kellison's debut book, Shadow Bound, last year and was amazed. It's a dark paranormal about the daughter of Death, who... well, you just have to read it. The twists start early in the book and I won't give anything away. It's fresh and gritty and full of action. I invited Erin to Get Lost in a Story today to talk about how the series is continuing!
Simone: Tell us about your latest release.
Erin: My latest release (August 2010) is Shadow Fall, book two in my shadow series. The hero, Custo Santovari, is the best friend of Adam Thorne, the hero of book one, Shadow Bound. In the first book, Custo got beat up pretty bad. At one point, he made me bawl, so I had to give the poor guy his own story. Which is ironic, since when I set out to write Shadow Bound, I tried to cut the character of Custo several times. But he kept coming back, the story needed him, and finally I relented. By the time I got to the end, I understood why.
Here’s the blurb:
Sacrifice
Custo Santovari accepted pain, blood, even death, to save his best friend. But a man with all his sins just isn't cut out to be an angel.
Mystery
One moment he's fleeing Heaven; the next, he's waking up stark naked in Manhattan. In the middle of a war. Called there by a woman who's desperately afraid of the dark.
Shadow
It gathers around Annabella as she performs, filled with fantastic images of another world, bringing both a golden hero and a nightmare lover.
Wolf
He pursues her relentlessly, twisting her desires even as she gives herself to the man she loves. Because each of us has a wild side, and Annabella is about to unleash the beast.
Simone: What is the first book you ever "got lost" in?
Erin: Easy. Jane Eyre. My family was very big on the library when I was growing up, and I found a middle-grade book titled, It All Began with Jane Eyre. The girl on the cover was basically me. The title piqued my curiosity. I was in 6th grade at the time, and I asked my mom about the real Jane Eyre. She responded that it was too difficult for me. Uh-huh. I can still feel the rock-solid determination that formed within me at those words. I would read that book
Simone: Where is your favorite place to read?
Erin: In bed! Usually with something to snack on so that my husband grumbles when he finally joins me and discovers all the crumbs. I love to read, and before I had kids, I could easily spend an entire weekend in jammies, lost in a book. Total heaven. I could almost weep just thinking about it. Actually tearing up here…
Simone: What's one thing readers don't know about you?
Erin: I’m searching for a hobby. I tried knitting—total failure—but produced some very interesting scarves last year. One of the scarves, my favorite, can loop around my sister’s neck maybe fifteen times. The scarf belongs in Dr. Seussland, though I didn’t intend it that way. It was an earnest effort; maybe too earnest. Then I tried puzzles. I like puzzles. But, yeah, they remain unopened in my closet. Lately, I have decided on photography. I bought a book about it last week, and I plan to adventure out into the world and take stunning pictures. Soon. After my copy edits are done and turned in.
Simone: What are some of the things that inspired the Shadow series?
Erin: The Shadow series inspiration came largely out of a writing exercise I did to uncover the origins of the heroine of Shadow Bound, Talia O’Brien. Talia is a banshee, and has one foot in the mortal world, and the other in fae Twilight. I knew that much, but I had to learn how she was conceived in the first place. I sat down and simply wrote it. As I was writing, I came to understand that the fae world exists in between the mortal world and the hereafter—it’s the place where all the stories are true, where humankind visits when dreaming. It’s seductive and frightening, full of possibility. It’s also inhabited by a magical race trapped within that realm and longing for mortality. My imagination went wild with possibilities. I’m working on book four right now, and am contracted for a fifth.
Simone: Did you do any special research for the series?
Erin: I’m always checking up on this or that detail, but the bookish/computer research keeps me in my chair. The one thing I get a big kick out of are the weapons and combat stuff. I have an expert that I get to pepper with questions. I’ll ask for a new gun, ammo, armor, and get great information. And once, when I asked for a demonstration, he happily subdued my poor husband on the ground. That technique is in my e-novella, Shadow Touch.
Simone: Tell us what's next for you?
Erin: I’ve got two releases coming up. The first is Shadow Touch, an e-novella coming out in June. Then Shadowman, book three in the series, releases in September. For more info, check out my website, http://www.erinkellison.com/.
I’ll leave you with a taste of Shadow Touch:
“Is she dangerous?” Kalamos asked.
Ellie had answered this earlier, and repeated the same. “I don’t think so.”
“Our first priority is the safety of the men and women working at Segue. Can you please clarify?”
Ellie had promised herself that she’d hold nothing back, but his sharp approach had her hesitating. “She plays tricks,” she said, though this was the lesser truth. “And, depending on her mood, she can try to scare, or disturb, or…or confront....” Another dodge.
Kalamos leaned forward. “Can she physically touch anything? Can she affect electricity or water or light or air? Can she do anything?”
“No.” The lie came out smoothly, with zero outward angst, but—oh thank God, there she is—the lie, or maybe the memory underneath, had brought her shadow. Her naked self emerged through the wall—a bare leg, arm, breast and shoulder.
“Contact!” shouted a soldier. The two moved in tandem, taking new positions to face her shadow, guns aimed, ready, and utterly useless.
Her shadow was coming slowly, carefully, a look of extreme distrust on her face as her gaze cut from soldier to soldier. She snarled at them.
Lovely.
Thanks, Erin!
Erin has confessed her darkest hobby secrets, including the infamous Dr. Seuss scarf. What is your hobby, and are you any good at it? Does it matter if you're any good at a hobby?
Erin is giving away a copy of both Shadow Bound and Shadow Fall to one lucky commenter.