Creating Blackthorn’s Couples: Caleb and Leila

*WARNING!! This post contains HUGE spoilers for Blood Roses.*

Before I started writing Blood Roses, I was already gaining a gist of how I wanted the overall Blackthorn story to evolve. I knew it was going to be a story about overcoming oppression and injustice and about the measures that are put in place in society both intentionally and unintentionally that feed assumptions, discrimination and prejudices – where people are not seen as individuals but a collective and labelled as such. Blood Roses became the perfect opportunity to explore the terrifying extent of that, let alone allow me to test the cliché of whether true love really could conquer all. There was no better way to do this than through two characters destined to destroy each other for the sake of their kinds – who, by the very fabric of what they were, were the most fervent of enemies.

Caleb – the pending Tryan

When first introducing Caleb, I had to be careful not to give away any clues about him being the pending Tryan, but at the same time give him the necessary traits of being capable of leading a vampire uprising. I needed a character who was intelligent, hard-working, dedicated, focused, industrious, strong and assertive. One who also has a caring side, a compassionate one, and one that is fiercely protective of those he loves. I created a character who had managed to claw his way up through Blackthorn and stand on his own two feet despite the fact that his lineage dictates that he could join the Higher Order in Midtown any time he wanted to. Instead, Caleb opts to stay amongst his own, to be the iron fist ensuring that the interests of those in Blackthorn are maintained, not least against the threat of the cons. Caleb is loyal to those who are loyal to him and uncompromising to those who want to overthrow his power for their own ends. In Caleb’s district, the vulnerable are protected – and that is out of a reputation built on fear and zero tolerance.

But there is a flip side to Caleb. Caleb does what he has to do without apology because I needed him to be real to the environment in which he lives. There is an air of the authoritarian about Caleb, laced with brutality and arrogance because, like Kane, to survive Blackthorn, that means exhibiting traits that can been deemed villainous. That said, he is not perceived as a villain by his own. In fact, in any other context, in any other story, his serryn-hunting abilities alone it would be enough to herald him a hero – the Van Helsing of the vampire world.

Creating this kind of dichotomous character became essential for the sake of the rest of the series and what is to unfold. Of all the characters needing to maintain an air of uncertainty in readers’ minds, it’s Caleb. What this lead to was the closest epitome of an anti-hero I could get. He’s the scarred warrior still struggling every day, with a barely suppressed dark side when up against opposition. And there none that bring out his dark side more than a serryn – the catalyst of all that went wrong in his life. He has every reason to want to destroy Leila and is totally justified every step of the way if you truly understand his mindset and can empathise with what his kind are up against. Unfortunately for him, his nemesis is not the cruel, manipulative and vicious witch she should be.

Leila – the serryn anomaly

Leila’s character was developed when I knew Caleb was going to have to come across a powerful force to be reckoned with. When it came to vampires versus humans, it seemed the former were always top of the food chain. They didn’t appear to have any natural predators (of course, that’s evolved massively now). The idea of creating a serryn came out of me wanting to pitch an equal against my pending vampire leader – something that would make him feel vulnerable in her presence.

The serryn is born out of old witch lore – more Blair Witch Project and less Bewitched. Serryns are the dark witches of fairytales. But instead of preying on humans, they prey on vampires. Within that boundary, they are indiscriminate killers whether the victims be males, females or children and they do so without conscience. Using their looks, charm and then emitting a lethal chemical not dissimilar to a pheromone, this rare strain of witch draw vampires to feed on their toxic blood. There’s no purpose to it other than pleasure, their sadistic streak only developing and intensifying the more kills they make. Of course, I created an exception to the rule in Leila. To test Caleb’s resolve and give a ring of truth to any potential of him falling for her, I had to present him the polar-opposite of what his experiences and beliefs dictate.

I needed someone with a clear sense of self and a deep-rooted need not to evolve into a fully-fledged serryn in the face of abject temptation. I needed to create a back-story of reasons why she would not confront her destiny. I needed someone who, instead of being self-seeking in the story, would, for the majority of it, be thinking with clarity, focus and an absolute need to succeed. Instead of a character who would take Caleb on physically (and inevitably lose), I needed one who could sustain a psychological battle and unhinge him from the inside. The fact Leila is still alive by the end of Blood Roses proves she was exactly as effective as she needed to be.

Enemies to lovers

Aside from being destined to kill each other and have every instinct dictate that from the moment they met, this was only reinforced by Caleb and Leila being from opposite ends of the geographic, social and political aspects of the Blackthorn world. I wanted to create a sense that the compacted hatred between Leila and Caleb was almost a carefully constructed plot by fate to ensure that when they finally met, the implosion would be guaranteed. I wanted to give the impression of them as puppets helpless to what they would become.

As part of this, I needed to develop tight internal conflict to forge the hatred between my hero and heroine. It wasn’t enough to just present them destined this way or as age-old enemies. They needed their own deep-rooted reasons to sustain the prejudices against each other and this came out of both having witnessed the worse of each other’s kind.

At a young age, Leila witnessed her mother being slaughtered by a vampire. It was her first introduction to them. She grew up in the world of Summerton, where children are taught how segregation in their security is justified by the daily threat vampires pose. Her grandfather, who was also her mentor, loathed vampires and brought her up with a fear of the vampire prophecies. In many ways, those prejudices reinforced her need to fight the dormant serryn inside and suppress any desire to step foot near Blackthorn. Of course, she has been advantaged by the regulations allowing her to stay in the safety of Summerton as far away from her potential trigger as possible, until she was summoned by Caleb – the earthquake to her well-ordered world.

As a youth, Caleb was tempted by a serryn who quickly turned on him, inflicting the most horrific physical, psychological and emotional abuse on him. He was forced to watch a serryn inflict the most atrocious acts on males, females and children of his kind as he helplessly watched on. Surviving, his needs for vengeance was only managed by the support and positive influence of his older brother, Seth – only to then have him murdered by a serryn some years later. Internally, he is justified in doubting Leila for who she claims to be. He’s been on the receiving end of their deceit with tragic consequences. It’s no wonder that when Leila presents herself as being the key to either the salvation or downfall of his kind, he has every reason to see her proclaimed innocence as nothing more than an elaborate scheme to trick him.

The stage was set. It should have run according to plan. He’s destined to be the saviour of his species, she’s anything but destined to be the saviour of him. But as the story progresses, that’s exactly what she starts to become.

Psychological warfare

The result was intense psychological warfare exacerbated by a confined situation with the added conflict that both were a catalyst for the suppressed darkness in the other. The constant, relentless breaking down that Caleb does of Leila, while Leila fights the dormant serryn inside, was admittedly exhausting to write. They spin in circles like lovers caught in an intense argument, both needing to come out on top.

Into the mix, is the taboo simmering attraction between them. Not since his first encounter with a serryn has Caleb ever been attracted to one. He is renowned for being able to abstain from any physical interaction with them, but with Leila the draw is something even he can’t control. To suppress his own self-hatred at his growing feelings – the very prospect a betrayal to his dead brother, not least dismissing the torturous experience that changed who he was – he has to forge a distance that makes him appear cold and heartless. And Caleb is everything Leila should despise, not least because he’s blackmailing her, making it abjectly clear what he intends to do with her, let alone responsible for unearthing the serryn that she has fought so hard to contain.

But fortunately for both, Leila is empathetic enough to see behind the mask that Caleb has worn for too long. She begins to see the Caleb who once was. She sees him at the crucial point where he could flip from a tyrant to a hero – and she is determined to intervene. Not only does she want that part of Caleb to win over for his sake and for them as a couple, but she knows that, ultimately, saving him is the only way she’s going to save everyone else with it. Leila knows that if she succeeds in overcoming the darkness in him, there’s going to be a bright, shining light at the end of it that could save both their kinds.

And Caleb sees hope in Leila. She has a resoluteness he admires, a determination and an uncontrived strength of self, let alone a loyalty to those she cares about. And amongst that is her undeniable attraction to him. But Caleb has a vulnerability born out of knowing that once he falls in love, he falls deep. Caleb’s greatest struggle is his developing feelings for Leila whilst not being selfish enough to turn his back on his own. What Caleb really wants is the best of both worlds – to save his kind and have Leila. And despite the odds being stacked against them, Leila still believes in him when she has every reason not to. By falling for him at his worst, he starts to see Leila’s potential to be his salvation – at least enough to let her go, to let her try. For now.

To end or not to end?

One of the most challenging aspects of writing Blood Roses was maintaining the characters and the strength of their beliefs as genuine – no matter how dark that became at times. More than that, was the need not to override the magnitude of the decisions they are making. To overcome and resolve, in less than a handful of days, what are epic decisions would have undone the whole gravity of the developing love between these two. Caleb and Leila are in an impossible situation – damned if they do and damned if they don’t, and they both know it. What they both have is the weight of responsibility for their kinds on their shoulders with catastrophic consequences if they get it wrong.

But despite every reason for them to see their destinies through, when it comes to it, they cannot kill each other. For Leila, cornered and at her weakest point, when again and again Caleb is not given her the assurance she seeks, the point where she had finally given up hope, seconds away from her own death, she still placed her hand on Caleb’s chest to stop him because she couldn’t let him die. And Caleb, feeling her reach out to him one final time, finally starts to accept that whatever connection they have forged is something worth fighting for.

Their futures

Leila’s made Caleb a promise that she can find a way out of their predicament. Whether she succeeds, if she was telling the truth at all, is another matter. But for Caleb to put that amount of trust in Leila was an immense thing for him to do – the first step towards being able to trust her and let her undo all the damage that her kind have done before. Of course, if she fails, there’s every probability it will intensify his darkness more.

Because, whatever the outcome of their seven-day agreement, Leila is no longer a serryn but Caleb is still the pending Tryan. He’s got his finger on the button and so does his invisible enemy (more of that in Blood Deep!), with the question of who will press first. Caleb has everything he cares about, everything he has worked for, everything he believes in, resting on him making the right decision as to when that button should be pressed – before his enemy does the same. Caleb is left standing on the edge of the precipice, whilst what Leila does next being pivotal to whether he leaps.

What remains to be seen is whether absence makes the heart grow stronger when it comes to Leila and Caleb, or whether both will start to see things differently when they’re away from the intensity of each other. It depends if Caleb does get his hands on Phia, whether his love for Leila will override his instincts when faced with a serryn he hasn’t fallen for this time (and, let’s be honest, if anyone is going to try Caleb’s patience, it’s going to be Phia!!). Or even whether Leila’s loyalty to her own will win out, whether she will still see the potential of redemption in him, or whether she will accept that his demise is necessary for the sake of her own.

Unfortunately for them, the ante is about to be upped. Deep down, they both know there are consequences to them not fulfilling their side of the prophecy – consequences that you’ll learn more of in Blood Deep. Caleb and Leila’s fight to be together has barely even begun.

Jask and Phia will be in the spotlight in a short while – but an interview with the lycan leader is coming even sooner! I’ll have more news of that tomorrow. 🙂

Creating Blackthorn’s Couples: Kane and Caitlin

*WARNING!! This post contains spoilers if you haven’t read Blood Shadows or Blood Torn.*

Blood Shadows wasn’t the first Blackthorn novel I wrote, Blood Roses was. But Kane and Caitlin were amongst the first couples to appear in my short stories whilst I was first finding my way around Blackthorn.

When I ‘met’ Caitlin, she was hightailing it alone down a maze of back alleys (which changed slightly). I instantly knew I didn’t want her to be the one being chased. Instead I gave her a purpose: she worked for some kind of agency – an agency that kept the third species, primarily vampires, in check. As I love conflict, I upped the ante. I couldn’t have her chasing just any vampire – I needed her to be hunting down the best, or should I say the worst.

Enter Kane Malloy.

I first saw him the same time Caitlin did. Initially she succeeded in cornering him, but I knew he was going to be even more trouble than I’d envisaged. With this in mind, if he was going to be true to this elusive, most-wanted vampire who was already rapidly developing in my head, it didn’t make sense that she would catch him – not on her terms, anyway. For the sake of the potential story that was already beginning to spark, I needed her good, but not that good.

Their first meeting

So, instead, Kane came out from behind her, pinning her face-first against the wall. It would have been so easy to let a fight to break out between the two, but I wanted Caitlin to be smarter than that. Besides, I already knew I didn’t want it to be a fist-flying and high-kicking kind of story. I certainly didn’t want a super-human heroine able to handle anything thrown at her. I created a sense of fragility to up the tension but, with it, had to justify to myself why she’d be irresponsible enough, even as a top agent, to risk her life pursing such a notorious vampire alone. And then I knew it: she had nothing to lose. Her life was already under threat. She had days left to live. And she wanted Kane because he was the only one who had the answer to help her save herself and, with it, avenge the loved ones she lost in the process. From then on, Caitlin’s character came to life very quickly. And so did Kane’s.

Evolving somewhere between a hero and an anti-hero, for a short while I wasn’t sure which Kane would be. But when logic dictated he should have knocked Caitlin out cold and promptly escape the authorities, instead he stayed to play. He subsequently developed into an even more intriguing character – not least because he had a purpose for Caitlin as much as she did for him. With his goading words revealing he knew just a little too much about her, it became obvious there was going to be some interesting psychological warfare between these two. And when Caitlin, despite all of Kane’s teasing, gritted her teeth, kept her eye on the goal and played the game quietly and carefully before finally getting one over on the master vampire, I knew she was the right one to take him on. And so Blood Shadows (or, as it was then called, Beguiling the Enemy) began.

In the background to developing Kane and Caitlin’s romance, I created the TSCD and its various departments along with the system of laws (not to be mistaken with lores, which apply to the third species belief/rule systems) that kept the third species in order. I’d already decided that one of the features that differentiated the third species from humans was their shadows in place of souls, so creating Caitlin’s shadow reading abilities became a part of that concept when I worked out what threat was looming over her (the soul-ripper). Kane became a master vampire when I had to work out what made him so special that only he could help her.

Shadow readers and master vampires

According to the Global Council’s classification system, a shadow reader is a second species – a human with additional skills but still with a soul (like witches). By reading pulses, where energy transmissions are particularly intense, Caitlin sees fragments of acts and thoughts that are stored both consciously and subconsciously inside the third species equivalent of their conscience. Giving her this skill would enable her to get the truth from Kane whether he liked it or not – hence her taking the risk of catching him. More so, further down the line, I started to see how her skills were going to play a pivotal role later in the series (no spoilers on that yet!).

Before Kane appeared on the page, I’d already started to sketch out how I wanted my vampires to be. I didn’t particularly find the ‘undead’ concept appealing for a romance, and I didn’t want to go down the well-establish horror route of evil binding these animated corpses to the earth. I wanted them to be alive – a different species. Out of this, I developed a vampire hierarchy of royalty and lesser vampires. But, through Kane, a race developed that sat outside of both. Master vampires are the purest of the species (not to be mistaken with the pure blood of vampire royalty): dual feeders able to consume both blood and energy. They sit outside of the rule of the Higher Order, governed by their own lores. Along with this ability, I gave master vampires knowledge about their species others didn’t have. Because of this, Kane became particularly relevant to the future of Blackthorn – not least why the authorities wanted him in the first place.

Love your enemy

Over time, Blood Shadows became an evolving plot of secrets, lies and cover-ups – where the good guys are revealed to be the bad guys, and the bad guy, well… I’m biased, obviously! Amidst this, I developed both Kane and Caitlin’s characters to give them enough motivation to sustain their battle of wills in order to gain the upper hand in their causes – both sharing the same goal of vengeance for their loved ones.

Of course, their attraction to each other became inevitable. Despite fighting this, the sexual tension between these two became palpable very early on. Caitlin’s deep-rooted obsession with Kane for so many years before finally meeting him did nothing to appease it – not least when he started to prove himself as anything but the reputed monster. And when Kane discovered that, far from knowing the truth of what happened to his sister, Caitlin was more innocent than he could have imagined, it threw a whole raft of moral complications his way. What started out as a dark game for him on his journey to vengeance developed into real feelings when he found himself uncovering more admirable qualities in Caitlin than reasons to hate her. Though set up as enemies, Kane and Caitlin gradually started to discover that their greatest strength was through working together rather than as adversaries.

So did Kane turn out to be the good guy after all? That has been debated. But I think the pivotal scene where Caitlin learns she had the power to destroy the soul-ripper without Kane all along, says it all. I was once told indirectly in a review that if Kane was any kind of hero, he would never have let Caitlin fight the soul-ripper but instead killed it for her. That’s not how I see it. I see that Kane never left her side. I saw him poised and ready if anything went wrong. And I know he would never have let the soul-ripper succeed. What Kane did was forego his own fourteen-year quest for vengeance by refusing to kill Caitlin (despite it creating a whole raft of additional complications for him). With it, he could have easily broken even by taking Caitlin’s fulfilment of her vengeance away from her too. All he had to do was kill the soul-ripper, herald her indebted to him and, with it, conceal the truth of how little she’d needed him all along. But he didn’t. Instead of taking over, he let her discover her own strength. He let her see her quest through to the end – encouraged it even. And when he walked away, he did so only to give her the chance to do the same – with every excuse possible to do just that. I don’t know about you, but I’m glad she didn’t.

Their future

It might have ended with a happy-for-now for Kane and Caitlin, but if you’ve read Blood Torn (if not, look away!!), you’ll know that their actions potentially have huge global consequences. Sirius Throme, the head of the human-run Global Council responsible for putting the regulations into place in the beginning, had never had anything beyond his own interests in mind. He initially wanted Kane so he could ensure that whatever secret recipe could bind vampire and human blood together remained as such. After all, if there’s a cure for human ailments, if the third species are there for the good of mankind, justification for the segregation would fall apart and his world domination plans would be thwarted. Instead, Kane saving Caitlin presented Sirius with an even greater opportunity – a potential way to increase his power to an almost immortal state that has nothing to do with cures at all. He has plans for creating an entirely new world order by using and then disposing of the third species in the process.

But that’s only one of many problems Kane and Caitlin are facing. They’re still on opposite sides of the fence when it comes to the law. Caitlin has an unwavering belief in what she does for a living, not least her need to end the corruption in her organisation. Self-reliant and strong-willed, Caitlin’s not going to give all of that up easily. Then there’s the fact that she’s still recovering from the betrayal of those she loved and trusted. Having had her first love abandon her when she needed him most, the question remains whether she can truly learn to trust again. And with Kane still something of a closed book, it’s possible her insecurities could resurface – not least as it’s not just her heart she’s trusting Kane with this time, but potentially the future of her kind, let alone the third species too, if he is to go up against Sirius.

But Kane’s vengeance remains incomplete. He still carries his guilt for what happened to Arana. He’s still hellbent on not only bringing down the system (now more than ever since Sirius’ threat) but, as you now know, the prophesied vampire leader too. Up until now, Kane has sustained his middle finger at the authorities who slaughtered his sister by refusing to care about anyone who could be used against him again. Being with Caitlin means accepting he has made himself vulnerable. And with Caitlin potentially in the firing line, fiercely-protective Kane could create a whole new wealth of conflict between them if he doesn’t approach it the right way. And let’s not forget Kane’s falling for Caitlin also had him going back on his deal with Jask. Kane certainly can’t afford to lose his reputation – the one thing that he has to maintain to survive Blackthorn – especially with a pending war looming and Sirius having him ready as the scapegoat. With this on top of the prophetic threat of an even greater uprising imminent, having anything but his mission to worry about could get too much.

I’ve no doubt Kane and Caitlin’s love for each other is real though. They have an amazing understanding of each other, a mutual respect, let alone having found a companionship that is developing into become as emotionally fulfilling as it is passionate. Above all of that, they both have a new common goal – one that is no longer one of opposition – in preventing the pending disaster and stopping the real bad guys from winning. I’ve always had a good feeling about these two. Let’s hope they don’t throw me a curveball, but continue to prove me right in believing in them.

Leila and Caleb are up next time!

Creating Blackthorn’s Couples

I’m a huge fan of worldbuilding. I’m a total sci-fi and fantasy geek. It’s what I grew up watching and reading. I started to write my first sci-fi book when I was nine and the ideas kept coming. I’ve always been fascinated by alternate possibilities, other worlds or worlds parallel to our own. Mythology, urban legends, superstitions, religious beliefs and traditions, cryptozoology and conspiracy theories have long intrigued me. Amidst that is my fascination with the power, possibilities and effects of beliefs – for good and for bad. I also love the potential of just one person, or a small group of people, to make significant changes. I guess all of that forms the true backdrop to Blackthorn.

You may or may not know that Blackthorn wasn’t created out of a single moment of resolving to write a paranormal romance series. PNR wasn’t an established genre (or certainly not available to me) when I started writing the series – back at a time when the internet didn’t exist! In fact, Blackthorn started on an electric typewriter because I didn’t even have a computer back then. What I knew about vampires came from The Little Vampire kids’ TV show, a few legendary horror films, not least The Lost Boys, and the sparse books on the subject available at my local library and bookshop.

It’s scary to think it was nearly twenty years ago now that I found myself lost (not uncommon!) and alone in a dark, run down, isolated part of the city I’d just moved to – an incident that sparked an idea of a socially-segregated and deprived society built on ignorance, prejudice and fear. With an already embedded fascination with mythology, I knew this society couldn’t be just human-based. I labelled my non-human characters the ‘third species’ to give them a true sense of segregation and to exacerbate that sense of hierarchy. On top of this, I resolved they’d have shadows instead of souls to justify the conditions they’re forced to live in. Then ideas really began to develop.

The main thing for me was having fun with the possibilities of creating a whole new world. And because, back then, I wasn’t even considering Blackthorn being published one day, I could create my world and my third species exactly how I wanted to. Inevitably, my imagination quickly ran wild with all the romantic possibilities – the Romeo and Juliet or West Side Story of the paranormal world, where love crossed truly significant boundaries.

Blackthorn paranormal romance series by Lindsay J. Pryor

My favourite stories are always based on heavy doses of conflict. For me, that’s what stories of true survival and true love are all about. Make it too easy, and I get bored. Luckily for me, Blackthorn became a rich backdrop with countless possibilities for both external and internal conflict between my love interests. Over the decade or so while I was getting to know Blackthorn (in-between writing completely different books that I thought might actually pass for publishable), I wrote several short stories as I found my way through the world, meeting various characters from a variety of circumstances. I basically speed-dated all of my characters, placing them in situations and watching if they’d spark – and it quickly became apparent that, to be true to the dark, treacherous and prejudiced world they were in, they weren’t going to have an easy time in the process. After handing them a load of baggage and deep-rooted issues (because I’m mean to them like that), things became even more complicated. But it was out of this trial and error that my key players started to form.

I quickly became intrigued by a VCU agent and master vampire, fighting on opposing sides of the law but with threads that bound them together. From extreme ends of the locale I’d created, I discovered a witch with a difference and a powerful vampire who, unbeknownst to them, were destined to cross paths. I stumbled on a member of a covert human vigilante group and a lycan leader who were so severe in their differences that I never believed it possible they could fall in love. And, of course, there’s Eden and Jessie – but I’m not giving you any clues about them just yet. 😉

Most importantly, as each couple developed on the page, overcoming species differences, prejudices and assumptions, they started to see qualities in each other that bound them more deeply than their unavoidable intense sexual attraction. More so, each of these couples demonstrated an ability to make a huge impact on the world in which they live. Over time, this lead to the creation of Blackthorn becoming like unravelling then reassembling a puzzle, with my four couples as the four corners of the board, each in their own worlds until gradually meeting in the middle, creating a visible catalyst for change beyond their own relationships. Blackthorn, as you now know it, was the result.

So that’s how it all began. Starting this Friday, I have three posts coming up for you where I’ll give you a little more insight into my creation of these couples and the challenges that may lie ahead for them (don’t worry – no spoilers!). And because I know you’re keen to know more about Blood Deep, I’ll end the series of posts by sharing some images of Eden and Jessie as I see them.

Kane and Caitlin, our hero and heroine of Blood Shadows, are up first. And, in the interim, I’m on the home stretch with the first draft of Blood Deep. This latest instalment has been, in equal measure, both fun and terrifying to write – but more of that in due course!

Have a great week! 🙂

All 3 Blackthorn Books at the Top!

Some of you will know that Blood Shadows has reached number 1 in the Gothic Romance chart on more that one occasion on both Amazon.com and Amazon UK. But today, for the first time ever, ALL three Blackthorn books hit the top spot in Amazon.com’s Gothic Romance kindle chart – and in the right order!

And all three books only marginally missed replicating the same in the Amazon’s UK Gothic Romance chart. As it’s Kate Morton holding it back though, all is forgiven.

Thank you to everyone who continues to recommend, rate and review my books – I deeply appreciate it. <3

Blackthorn – Casting the Movie

Before I mislead you – no, there isn’t really going to be a Blackthorn movie. When it was first released, Blood Shadows was optioned by a Hollywood film studio but just lost out in a split vote (boo). But who’s to say what may happen in the future? And there’s nothing to stop us having some fun with the idea, especially as talk of Blackthorn hitting the big screen has been one of the most frequent topics of conversation from readers these last few weeks – not least who could be cast in the main roles. Well, I might not be able to give you the movie itself, but we could have the next best thing!

I have a series of posts coming very soon wherein I’ll be sharing my take on Blackthorn’s main characters, including a few hints of possible challenges ahead for them. To conclude the posts, I’ll show you some pics of my vision of Eden and Jessie (Blood Deep). I’ve already been busily creating their secret Pinterest board in the background so the cover designer will know the types of models to pick when the time comes. But you might have a few ideas of your own…

So, during the forthcoming weeks, I’d love you to ponder over who you’d like to see in the cast if Blackthorn ever did make it to the screen. Kane, Caleb, Caitlin, Alisha – your choice! I’ll put an official call-out for your suggestions a few weeks from now (noting down any that you share in the interim). And between then and now, I’ll wrack my brain for another fun giveaway prize I can run as part of creating our ‘official’ cast (I’m afraid delivering the cover models to your doorstep isn’t currently a giveaway option).

To hopefully kick-start your thinking, and because I promised Katie – one of my lovely Blackthorn readers who inspired this blog post – that I’d do this, I’ve included two of my own suggestions below… though I might be tempted to change my mind once you’ve joined in! Hopefully I don’t need to tell you who I’d cast them as. 😉

And for those who don’t know, I have some suggestions for other Blackthorn characters over on one of my Pinterest boards. Please feel free to take a look!

The Blackthorn Album – Readers’ Choices

When I set up this competition and put a call out for songs for the Blackthorn Album (mock-up, I must stress!), I didn’t expect so many suggestions! More so, I’ve been thrilled with how apt your choices are. Yep, I’ve googled all the lyrics.

When I write a book, I have no idea how it will be received. I don’t know if readers will see what I see, feel what I feel, or care about the world I’ve created anywhere near as much as I do. Aside from reviews and individual messages, this has been the closest I’ve come to seeing how you view Blackthorn and the characters residing there. What has shone through from this competition is how much you’ve been peeling away the emotional layers of the characters and sifting through the complexity of their relationships – and totally getting it. And I love that so many of these song choices – despite a good number being as suitably dark in theme as the books themselves – are laced with hope. The fact you are rooting for the survival of these characters and their relationships is just immense.

So thank you to every single person who got involved in this – we’ve ended up with a triple album! And here we go – your awesome choices (I had to include them all) and the categories you put them in…

Kane and Caitlin (Blood Shadows)

Do What U Want – Lady Gaga

Wonderland – Natalia Kills

Poison – Alice Cooper

Nothing Else Matters – Metallica

Temptation – The Tea Party

Look After You – The Fray

Hang Ten – Edwin (Kane for Caitlin)

Caleb and Leila (Blood Roses)

Fix You – Coldplay

Red – Taylor Swift

Never Let Me Go – Florence and the Machine

Precious Things – Tori Amos

All You Wanted – Michelle Branch

Bed of Roses – Bon Jovi

I Hate Everything About You – Three Days Grace

Hang Ten – Edwin (Caleb for Leila)

Jask and Sophia (Blood Torn)

We Found Love – Rihanna

All of Me – John Legend

Feel Again – One Republic

My Immortal – Evanescence

Bitch – Meredith Brooks

Radioactive – Imagine Dragons

Blackthorn Theme

Welcome to the Jungle – Guns N Roses

Black Black Heart – David Usher

People are Strange – The Doors

When Worlds Collide – Powerman 5000

The Day the World Went Away – Nine Inch Nails

Unattributed

The Dark Side – Kelly Clarkson

Demons – Imagine Dragons

Bound To You – Christina Aguilera

Resistance – Muse

Thousand Years – Christina Perri

Unintended – Muse

Undisclosed Desires – Muse

Without You – Hinder

Map of the Problematique – Muse

Hit the Floor – Linkin Park

Blue Jeans – Lana Del Rey

It Could Be Sweet – Portishead

Battle in Me – Garbage

Teeth – Lady Gaga

HUGE thanks to everyone who contributed to the album. I do hope I haven’t missed any songs out! And I’m just so glad I’d decided to pick the winners randomly before this started! Those 5 winners of a signed postcard, are:

Deb Bailey, Sari Kalanti, Denise Morrissey, Tracey Rogers and Sam Williams.

Congratulations!! If you send me your postal address either through Facebook or via my ‘contact’ tab above, I’ll get your postcard to you asap. Just let me know if you’d like it signed to you personally.

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I hope those who didn’t win won’t be too disappointed. 🙁 I promise I’ll run something similar again at some point.

Have a great week, everyone!

Win a Signed Blackthorn Postcard

Last week, I posted this image on Facebook and it received a fabulous response. As a result, I’ve decided to convert it into some limited-edition postcards – signed, of course – to give away. But this is Blackthorn, so nothing is ever that easy. 😉

Inspired by one of my lovely readers, Kat, who got in touch to tell me she’d attributed songs to my Blackthorn couples, I thought this would be a great theme for this giveaway. She’d decided that Kane and Caitlin’s song is ‘Do What U Want’ by Lady Gaga, and Caleb and Leila’s song is Coldplay’s ‘Fix You’. I’m sure there are many more!

So, to be in with a chance of winning, just tell me what song you think deserves a place on the Blackthorn compilation album. It can be about individual characters, couples or even Blackthorn itself. You can post your choice via the comments section below or on the related Facebook post. You’ve got until midnight on Friday (UK time) to enter. Then, over the weekend, I’ll draw five random names out of a hat and let you know who’s won on Monday. There’s no limit where I’ll send the postcards, so don’t let distance put you off! Good luck! 🙂

Blood Deep – Behind the Scenes

In about six weeks’ time, all being well, I would have finished writing the first draft of Blood Deep. That then grants me about two months for my own self-edited rewrites before it’s due on my editor’s desk for the first time.

In the weeks that follow, the editing team will help me get the book to where it needs to be. Then comes the cover design, typesetting the book ready for publication, press releases and the invitations/requests to review. (Not that I’m giving you any furtive clues as to timescales or anything… 😉 ) And, when the time comes, I promise I’ll be working on persuading my publisher to give one reader an early copy of Blood Deep too, just as we did with Blood Torn. You’ll hear it here first!

So, what can you expect when Blood Deep does land in your hands?

The final couple

Blood Deep is about Blackthorn’s fourth and final core couple – Eden (hero) and Jessie (heroine). For those who are speculating, no, that doesn’t mean the series ends there – far from it. I can’t specify how many books will follow until they’re agreed and signed, but we’ve got a hell of a battle to come and these budding relationships aren’t going to be without their challenges as a part of that. Yes, every couple you have come to know will certainly be back – I promise!

For those of you who like Blackthorn trivia, you might be interested to know that Blood Deep was plotted around the same time as Blood Shadows. Like Blood Shadows (and all the other Blackthorn books), Blood Deep started as a short story when I was exploring the various fractions and inhabitants of this world I was creating (seventeen years ago now!). But like Kane and Caitlin, as well as Caleb and Leila, Eden and Jessie’s romance not only blossomed into the potential for a full-length book but they quickly revealed themselves as playing an intricate and fundamental role in the future of their world. (Incidentally, I always thought Jask would end up killing Phia before any romance had a chance to develop, so I’m glad those two proved me wrong! We most definitely need Phia alive and well!)

Where we’re going

So far, we’ve been inside the Third Species Control Division, vampire territory and the lycan compound. Next, in Blood Deep, we’re venturing deeper into the darkness – because it’s time to get up close and personal with the cons.

The cons are human convicts who cannot be contained by their penitentiaries, either due to their lack of co-operation or having committed crimes so heinous they’re deemed unfit for rehabilitation. On both counts, they’re abandoned to their respective locale’s impoverished core to survive for themselves. Microchipped so they can’t cross any borders beyond the core, they’re even more trapped than the third species.

If you’ve read Blood Torn, you would have already been introduced to their world. And if you’ve read chapter one of Blood Deep at the end of Blood Torn, you’ll know Eden has just arrived in the “con capital” of our locale – the south side of Blackthorn.

Unwanted residents

Unfortunately for all concerned, having cons reside in Blackthorn (or any other core) wasn’t part of the promise the third species were given back when the regulations were first set up some eighty years before. The third species were promised a district of their own whilst the Global Council deduced whether they were safe to mingle with humans. But instead of sticking to that, less than two decades later, Blackthorn became an overflow for the penitentiary across the border in Lowtown. With cons loathing the third species and the third species loathing them, the former resolved to keep as much distance as possible, taking the unclaimed south side and developing a culture all of their own.

The scariest place in Blackthorn?

Vampires and lycans are scary, but so are humans. To be honest, I’d opt for Caleb’s dungeon any day over stepping into con territory! Caleb is often deemed our darkest hero to date but at least he has a moral code (albeit concealed at times). As you would have seen from the opening chapter of Blood Deep, many of the cons have none. You may be wondering how I’m creating a hero out of that. As with all my heroes, it’s probably best to keep an open mind.

So, with me deeming the south side the scariest place in Blackthorn, expect your latest instalment to be rooted in the dark, dark side of romance. But I promise, it will be a romance all the same! I can also assure you that, as with Blood Torn, more loose ends will be tied up as the overall picture – currently spread all over my study floor – continues to fall into place.

* * *

I’ll have more Blood Deep news in a while. Until then, I’ll be sharing some personal insights into creating the previous three couples. In the meantime, if you have any questions, especially if you’re new to the series, or would like to see a particular blog post, please always feel free to ask! A lot of these blog posts come out of reader queries – that’s what they’re here for.

Have a great week!

Back in the Spotlight

Have I got a burning ambition to write a story in another genre? The lovely Minxes of Romance have asked me this question amongst many more over on their blog today. Thank you so much for hosting me again, ladies!

I’ll be back next time with a Blood Deep progress update for you, along with some insight into creating this final ‘meet and greet’ of the series. 🙂

Blood Deep News

Team Blackthorn is becoming a force to be reckoned with! You’ve pleaded me into submission. And then I pleaded my publisher into submission. I guess that’s how it works! So here’s the most-asked question, or demand in some cases, of the week that I’m referring to: When is Blood Deep out?

I can tell you that Blood Deep will most definitely be released this year. I’m afraid I can’t say any more than that for now other than to confirm you will be meeting the last of Blackthorn’s four pivotal couples – Eden and Jessie. I’ll have much more to share about them nearer the time, along with a few story insights and hints of what’s to come. I’ll also see if I can persuade my wonderful publisher into giving one lucky reader a pre-release copy like we did with Blood Torn. I’ll let you know about that nearer the time too – so don’t wander too far if you want to be in with a chance of getting your hands on book 4 before anyone else does!

If you don’t want to miss Blood Deep‘s release, don’t forget you can sign up via the tab above to get an email reminder on the day. And if you’re a new avid fan and want to know everything you possibly can about Blackthorn, you can subscribe to this blog via the sidebar to get all my latest updates. I’m already plotting what I’m going to be sharing over the next few months. 🙂

And I just want to say thank you SO much for all your messages this week. It’s been an absolutely incredible week of finding new readers who are loving Blackthorn. And if you are loving Blackthorn, please don’t be shy – rating and reviewing my books, even a couple of lines, really makes a massive difference. That’s my plea of the week done now too! 😉