Lizzie is going to Greece to have a holiday with her Gryphon boyfriend in his ancestral home - while Dimitri can finally look to a future with his family and clan now the curse has been lifted

But peace is quickly menaced by an ominous prediction of Lizzie’s death. Oh and Dimitri’ ex who raises some disturbing questions about where Lizzie actually fits in his world.

This is one of this books that surprises me. The first two books of this series have… not been my favourite series, been often quite simplistic and sidelining just about everything that made this book so fascinating - like the biker witches

And a fair bit of that continues - the biker witches are still just a vague background group who don’t serve a great deal of purpose except to be the world’s worst house guests just so Lizzie can feel super super worried.

But it does equally feed quite interestingly into Lizzie’s conflict over just how much Dimitri has done for her, sacrificed for her et al. Which is an interesting element of self-reflection especially from a character who has spent most of her story so far being understandably self-absorbed. I mean this isn’t a character flaw on Lizzie’s part because she’s obviously gone through a lot, being a little self-focused makes sense. I don’t begrudge her a second of this because that’s natural, nor do I think her resisting further revelations or her objecting to anything stopping her having a break, just a brief break. This is a reasonable, human reaction. And it’s equally reasonable for her to, when she has a bit of break, to reflect on that and think that maybe the people around her have done a lot for her. I kind of think that the Witches deserve more of this reflection and realisation than Dimitri. But the whole conflict and internal debate is really well done.

I think that the book kind of misses what Lizzie did for them - saving the witches and releasing Dmitri’s family from a curse that was killing his sisters and destroying his family and future. I mean this whole narrative kind of misses that every side character would actually be dead if it weren’t for Lizzie. The balance isn’t all one way- and I think that this is pushed at least in part because they wanted Lizzie to have break up angst with Dmitri. Which I don’t get the need for, we don’t need a relationship drama as well as everything else and I think the relationship was already super shaky because of how very very.

But I did like the interaction between Lizzie and Dmitri’s sisters - the instant connection, the support, Lizzie backing them without trying to overrule them. And I liked Amara. I’m skating round spoiler territory here - but I liked her developed story and the revelations that came with her especially since she began as such a “AAARGH EVIL LOVE RIVAL! RAWR!”

Really, Lizzie’s interactions with other women in this book were excellent - even when it looked like something stereotypical or dubious was raising it’s ugly head it was subverted. I also liked the crafty biplay of Dimitri and the Biker witches. While Lizzie is, frankly, being ultra snobby and generally thinking that her low class family is going to embarrass her in front of her super classy boyfriend, Dmitri himself is fully respectful of the witches skills and willing to let them have free reign. It’s a nice touch and a gentle subversion of Lizzie’s own, well, shame at her biker family.

I also really liked her instructor - quirky, not aggressive, forms a good rapport: there’s no unnecessary antagonism at all. On top of that we have an interesting plot with some nice forboding and hefty stakes and some really powerful hooks for future books

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Lizzie needs an instruction book - being a demon slayer is definitely not a learn-on-the-job profession.

But she has no time to study - her uncle has fallen into the clutches of a succubus in Las Vegas. But on arrival there’s far worse than just one man’s life at stake - the entire city is under threat, none of her friends can help and Dmitri, the powerful griffin she loves, is dangerously compromised

The first book in this series has enough plot points to intrigue me - while also having a lot more elements I didn’t enjoy quite so much. I was hoping the balance reset and we saw more of the fish-out-of-water Lizzie trying to establish very normal self in the wild and whacky world of elderly biker witches and demons and griffins.

And… we didn’t really get that?

I kept checking to see if I’d skipped a book because Lizzie has suddenly developed a weird level of self-reliance. A major side plot, perhaps the entire theme of this book, is Lizzie trying to drive everyone off and insisting she has to do all this alone… and… since when? By the time line of the book she’s been doing this for about 2 or 3 weeks? But now she’s making multiple comments on how she needs to do all this alone, she doesn’t need help and… this would work in say, book 5? But now it’s odd: where did this come from?

It doesn’t help that we don’t have any real revelations of this book - or any development of the world building that would justify this level of confidence. One of the comic relief elements of this book is the fact she’s given a provisional license. That she doesn’t know how to be a demon slayer. She comically fails the test. She has a huge, and good, epic rant about how her mother had all the training and experience and she was just winging it. She even starts writing a book - The Dangerous Book of Demon Slayers - to guide others because they’re so rare and there’s so little guidance. Her approach to other supernatural in this book is, naturally, confusion

So why the self-reliance? Why the confidence? When she was asked to levitate her response was literally “I didn’t know we could do that!!!”

What matches this confusing lack of character development is a rather equal lack of world development. The witches use magic - which basically means icky things to freak Lizzie out  - and I say again what a shame this is. These witches, all older people, were driven out of their home and away from their own traditions and had to hit the road, developing their own cobbled together magic as bikers, transients, people without herb gardens or supplies. I would loved to have seen more of magic, the witches and their cobbled together need to use floss and mouth wash and road kill etc. This is such an utterly fascinating unique concept while, ordinary-woman-who-throws-shit-at-demons-while-whining-and-has-a-cute-animal-companion is dullllll and done done done.

We had ghosts in this book. We had fae. We had people saying fae are discriminated against, we had clearly other supernaturals, a bureaucracy, licensing for practitioners, a fairy godfather and OH MY GODS SHE DOESN’T QUESTION ANY OF IT. It’s just like “hey, this exists” which is great - but we never go beyond that. Give me depth

Because without a compelling, developed main character, without a compelling, developed world we’re left with the plot which, I’m afraid, also doesn’t pull me in. Like the characterisation, it’s not actively awful, it’s just lacking anything to drag me in. They arrive in town to find and save Lizzie’s uncle and manage to find and lose him. And then we just have a whole waffly bit in the middle Dmitri is in trouble, Uncle Phil is in trouble and they don’t seem to actually do a whole lot? There’s just a lot of flabby waffle round the centre of this book, lots of fretting over Dmtri (but not fixing it), lots of worrying whether they can trust a demon hunter (but not doing anything to find an answer for this), lots of fretting over the growing number of succubuses…. And there’s a lot of “oh we have no time!!!” DO SOMETHING THEN!!!!

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I know I missed this last week, but I was out of town for my best friends birthday party, and when we came back into town, all we wanted to do was see X:Men Apocalypse and go out for drinks. That's my excuse, and I think it's a damn good one! But don't assume I wasn't working. Granted, I got almost no new words in, but I managed to get a lot completed in the last couple weeks:

• Send out Midnight Skymedia kit and pre-order links for promotions
• Format Midnight Skyfor print and ebook (test out Scrivener) (Just need to do the print versions)
• Series outline, and plots for the Iron Gargoyle series (create a map) (First novel is plotted)
• Start writing The Iron Gargoyle, the first Iron Gargoyle novel
• Finish the sequel to Storm of the Gods
• Beta read edits for Storm of the Gods(if they come in)
• Open contests for Damnation's Door(released next week!)

This week, the key word will be editing. The bane of every writer's existence, but if I want people to take me seriously as an author (meaning agents, publishers, reviewers, and readers), I need to work my ass off. So here's what I need to do this week:

• Format Midnight Skyfor print and order author copies
• Plot remaining books for the Iron Gargoyle series (create a map)
• Continue writing The Iron Gargoyle, the first Iron Gargoyle novel
• Beta read edits for Storm of the Gods
• Formal edits and minor tweaking forStorm of the Gods
• Make list of publishers accepting new authors and sending queries for Storm of the Gods
• Look through Scrivener tutorials and begin working from there

Yup. All of this for me. Still, I'm riding high for the release of Damnation's Door, which happened last week and is coming to the end of its two blog tours and release blitzes put together by XPresso Book Tours and En Pointe Author Services, which have contests and promotions open for 24 more hours!

Demons are free. Angels are fallen. Hope is dying...

Constance Ramirez and her adopted sister, Andromeda, have stopped Lucifer’s plan– They have closed the Heaven Gate and kept the demons out. But their choice came with brutal consequences, and now every angel on earth is trapped in their mortal body.

All that remains is closing the Hell Gate and establishing a balance once and for all. That means returning to the city of Constance’s nightmares, which has become a haven for murderers and monsters. But even more dangerous than their hunt is that Andromeda’s powers and instincts are turning darker, and this time Constance doesn’t know how to protect her.

Constance is ready to fight for her life, but her enemies have plans she can’t begin to imagine, and they’re prepared to make her suffer...

Trust is lost and hearts are broken in the epic conclusion in Amy Braun’s Cursed trilogy...

Media Kit

Chapter One

Buy it here:

Amazon Kindle | Paperback | Kobo | Barnes & Noble | Nook | iBookstore |  Goodreads | Smashwords 

Giveaways:

The Bookish Crypt Damnation's Door and Cursed series giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Sign Ups:

Book Blitz for Damnation's Door

Release Blitz and Blog Tour for Damnation's Door

With the end of the Cursed series now upon us, all my attention is turning to Dark Sky and the novels and novellas taking up my schedule for the rest of the year, starting with Midnight Sky, the sequel.

There are secrets, there are betrayals, and there are sacrifices… 

The Behemoth has been destroyed, and the bloodthirsty Hellions seem to have left Westraven. But Claire Abernathy’s mind is not at ease. A terrible disease plagues her sister, appearing to have been brought on the Vesper, the leader of the Hellions beyond the tear between worlds– the Breach.

To save Abby and stop the Hellions for good, Claire must find the machine her parents built before the attacks, and fix it before the monsters return. To do so, she needs the help of her crew, and must ignore the secrets and rivalries between her captain and the man she saved.

Because the Hellions are not the only dangers following Claire. Twisted humans and old enemies surface to stop her and destroy all she loves. While she is determined to endure the trials, a single betrayal could shatter the hope of a better world, and force Claire to make a choice that will cost her dearly…

Media Kit

Chapter One

Preorder Links

Kindle | Kobo | Barnes & Noble | iTunes | Smashwords | Goodreads

I cannot get enough of that cover or that artwork. Seriously. I can't keep gushing about it, and for any bloggers/reviewers interested in reviewing the novel, you have your chance here:

Review Opportunity for Crimson Sky and Midnight Sky

Alas, promotion isn't the only thing I'll be working on in the coming weeks. Storm of the Gods has gotten its Beta edits back, and holy smokes, do I have a lot of work to do if I'm going to send it to publishers. I meant, that should be a given, really, but I'd rather it just be accepted and then I don't have to work any more! Why can't anything be easy? Sigh... 

Still, I'm testing out a new editor who is mega-detailed, and I think Storm of the Gods and the Areios Brothers series as a whole will gain a lot from working with her. I've never feared editing, and even if the series isn't accepted for a book deal, I'll be thrilled to publish it myself knowing it will be polished to a pristine finish. 

The Iron Gargoyle is still going strong. I haven't found the time to work on the other plots for the novels, but I'm hoping to do that within the next week or two so I have a better understanding of what I might need to add to the first novel to affect later novels, if that makes sense. That said, I'm loving the way thing are playing out and can't wait to see where it ends!

So, yeah. Every time I think I've caught up on my work, more tumbles down the line. Still, it makes me happy, and the massage I'm getting in a couple hours is destined to do wonders. Worst comes to worst, if my chosen career becomes too much to handle, I have a backup plan...

Hey, all the great authors did it, right? Cheers!

Amy

I'm still reeling from the knowledge that I've officially released a full book series. It's exciting, uplifting, and a little sad. I've been on some great adventures with Constance, Dro, Warrick, Sephiel, and Max, and I'm sad to see them go. Still, I've learned a lot from the experience, and know that I can use the knowledge to improve myself as an author. Besides, there's another story to be told: Midnight Sky, the second Dark Sky novel, had its official cover reveal on Sunday, and I couldn't be happier with the work Deranged Doctor Design put together.

There are secrets, there are betrayals, and there are sacrifices… 

The Behemoth has been destroyed, and the bloodthirsty Hellions seem to have left Westraven. But Claire Abernathy’s mind is not at ease. A terrible disease plagues her sister, appearing to have been brought on the Vesper, the leader of the Hellions beyond the tear between worlds– the Breach.

To save Abby and stop the Hellions for good, Claire must find the machine her parents built before the attacks, and fix it before the monsters return. To do so, she needs the help of her crew, and must ignore the secrets and rivalries between her captain and the man she saved.

Because the Hellions are not the only dangers following Claire. Twisted humans and old enemies surface to stop her and destroy all she loves. While she is determined to endure the trials, a single betrayal could shatter the hope of a better world, and force Claire to make a choice that will cost her dearly…

Preorder Links (More on the way!)

Kindle | Kobo | Smashwords | iTunes | Goodreads

Though I'm still focusing on Damnation's Door and trying new promotion techniques, I have to say that I'm thrilled to have figured out parts of Scrivener with Midnight Sky, which will be my go-to writing tool... once I learn how to use it. I'm very excited about the release and everything that will come with it. In addition to the blog tours for Damnation's Door, I've also got a ton of contests and signups going on:

The Bookish Crypt Damnation's Door and Cursed series giveaway

Last week got busy fast, and this week is going to be even more intense. I have so much going on and even more planned, it's hard to keep up. While not everything is crossed off from last week's goals, most of it is close to being done:

• Finish editingMidnight SkyASAP!
• Midnight Skymedia kit and pre-order setups 
• Format Midnight Sky(working on today)
• World building, histories, series outline, and plots for the Iron Gargoyle series (create a map)
• Continue writing the sequel to Storm of the Gods

And if you thought that was a lot of work, take a look at this:

• Send out Midnight Skymedia kit and pre-order links for promotions
• Format Midnight Skyfor print and ebook (test out Scrivener)
• Series outline, and plots for the Iron Gargoyle series (create a map)
• Start writing The Iron Gargoyle, the first Iron Gargoyle novel
• Finish the sequel to Storm of the Gods
• Beta read edits for Storm of the Gods(if they come in)
• Open contests for Damnation's Door(released next week!)

Yeah. So far, today has been one of those days where I just don't know where to start. Well, that's not true. I'm aiming to get the final drafts and review copies for Midnight Sky up now that the Kindle, Kobo, and Smashwords pre-order links are live. More should be on the way and the Dark Sky series page will be updated next week after the cover reveal on June 5. 

 Sign Ups:

Blog Tour for Storm Born

Review Opportunity for the Cursed series

Pre-Order Release Blitz for Damnation's Door (Starting soon!)

Book Blitz for Damnation's Door

Release Blitz and Blog Tour for Damation's Door

Cover Reveal for Midnight Sky

Review Opportunity for Crimson Sky and Midnight Sky

Not that I have any expectations to get all of those goals accomplished, but to think that I might is really motivating. I mean, if I get even two or three of them done, I'll consider myself ahead of the game. Since formatting is perhaps my least favourite part of writing, I'm going to be working with Scrivener for the first time. I'm a little anxious and I hate tutorials (so boring!), but considering the issues I've had in the past, and the recommendations I've gotten, it makes sense to give it a shot and see how it works. If nothing else, at least I'll have a reliable formatting software. 

Damnation's Door is out next week. I'm still working on believing that. It seems like I just finished the final draft yesterday. It's nice to know that I'll have a full, completed series, but I'm going to miss the characters. That said, I'm getting ready for the blog tours and giveaways, and have already heard great reviews from One Book Two and fellow author Christina Ochs!

Speaking of Christina Ochs, she'll be part of a special guest post this week on my blog to promote her new novel, Hammer of the Gods. I've already read and reviewed the novel on Goodreads (a fuller review will be coming this Saturday), and I have to say it's freaking spectacular. If you like mild fantasy novels/historical battles, trust me when I say this is a book series you want to start. I couldn't stop reading! 

Last but not least, updates on my newest writing projects. The second Areios Brothers novel is almost finished (about 2.5 more chapters to go), and I'll be relieved when its over. There will be some changes, many of which might come later since I need to update the first novel, Storm of the Gods. I should be getting the Beta edits back any day now, and am hoping to start working on them in June so I can take a deep breath and send out query letters. Once I do that, the series will be out of my hands and there will likely not be updates on it for the rest of the year, unless the incredible happens and it's picked up by a publisher. 

Finally, Iron Gargoyle. You guys have no idea how much I'm aching to get really started on that bad boy. I've already created the world history, written the prologue and the first chapter of the first book, and have the basic plots for the series (which will include four full length novels and a series of three novellas revolving around another character), so now I need to set up the world and detail the plots. It's a lot of work, but I love doing it. 

So, this blog post turned out to be way longer than I expected. Imagine what my monthly blog post is going to look like! 

Anyway, it's time to get back to work. Thanks for spotting by! Cheers!

Amy