Last week, I announced on my Facebook page that Shani from the awesome Paranormal Book Club gave Blood Shadows a 5 star review and shout out on their Facebook page. This week, Shani has now given Blood Roses and Blood Torn 5 star reviews too! The PBC Facebook page is featuring Blackthorn right now with Shani declaring, “This is one of my favourite series so far this year!” Yesssss!! š
This is what Shani had to say about each:
Blood Shadows
What a FANTASTIC read! This was a great vampire book. The character development was on point and the plot fast paced. I loved the interaction between Caitlin and Kane. The plot twists got me every time. Add this book to your “to read” list. If you want action, love, and some hot fangs then this is the book for you.
Blood Roses
I am completely enthralled with this paranormal series. You get so wrapped up in the story and characters that you lose track of time. I truly loved book 2. The story that developed between Leila and Caleb is riveting. The more I read the more I fall in love with Blackthorn. What a great plot and character development that does not leave you wanting. Action, love, trust, sex, mystery. What more could you want? Add this series to your must read list.
Blood Torn
WOW! It just gets better and better! You really see how everything is intertwined in this book. I could not put it down. Jask’s and Sophie’s storyline was awesome! I cannot wait to see what happens in book 4. Brilliant job Lindsay Pryor.
I still can’t quite believe how much excitement has been flooding in for this pending announcement. But then again, neither can I believe we’re on book 4 of my Blackthorn series already! It only feels like a short time ago since I launched with Blood Shadows.
But here it isā¦calendars at the readyā¦it’sĀ Blood Deep‘s release date!
NINE weeks and counting!!
There will be lots more between now and then though – not least the cover reveal, the first three chapters uploaded here for you to read for free, and a post from me giving you a few clues as to what to expect. It’s all on its way. š
If you’re not aĀ regular here,Ā you might not know that Blood DeepĀ features the final integral Blackthorn couple you need to meet: Eden and Jessie. For those who are still assuming this is the finale, I cannot stress enough that it’s not!
And if you are fairly new here, and don’t yet know how Blackthorn began and developed into what it is today, I was asked to reveal all in a post for my week-long spotlight on the wonderful ‘The Author Visits’. You can read it here.
Courtesy of the wonderful Veena Kashyap, Blackthorn is currently featuring in a week-long spotlight on ‘The Author Visits’. Thank you SO much for hosting me, Veena. š
It started on Monday with a showcase of all three Blackthorn books so far. An awesome 5 star review of Blood Shadows featured yesterday. Today, I’m being interviewed by Veena. If you’d like to know who or what inspires me to write, what scene I’d pick out as a favourite from one of my books, and what advice I’d give to fellow writers on their path to publication, you’ll find it here. There’s lots more insight too!
Later this week, there will be reviews for Blood Roses and Blood TornĀ as well as a guest post from me. There’s also a give-away of the first three Blackthorn books, just in case you want to tempt a friend into trying the series. I do hope you’ll be able to stop by.
And, in case you’ve missed it on Facebook, Twitter and the notice board here, THIS FRIDAY we’re revealing Blood Deep‘s release date! I’ve been totally overwhelmed by your response to this news so far – thank you for all the support and excitement that’s been flooding in. Calendars at the ready!! š
We’re also celebrating Blood Shadows reaching number 1 again in the Gothic Romance charts on Amazon.com this week – so thank you again for all your support. xxx
Once upon a time, in a dark, dark woodā¦hold onā¦strike thatā¦.
Once upon a time, in a dark, dark district, deep in the rotten and impoverished core of a human-ruled localeā¦
I often get asked what inspired Blackthorn ā how the idea first came to me, or which author in the genre made me want to dip into PNR. By now most of my readers who visit this site or have read any of my interviews will know it was one night of getting lost that inspired my first thoughts about the series. And I have confessed that I hadnāt actually read any PNR at that time, not least because it didnāt exist long, long ago, in the distant land of Wales, in the year of 1996.
Butā¦
I had watched The Little Vampire TV series as a child. I did watch The Lost Boys in my late teens. Iāve always held that those two were the inspiration to my urban approach to vampire tales. Then, of course, I read Anne Rice. My fascination with all things mythological stems back years even before all of that though ā probably as far back as having read The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. Amidst all that, I developed a fascination for the Gothic genre.
Yet I cannot deny, though Iāve never gone into any depth about it until now, that fairy tales have most definitely played a part in forging the fabric of what Blackthorn has become. For a long time, I didnāt even realise it. After all, what is the essence of Blood Roses if not Beauty and the Beast? Except this beast really bites ā and Beauty has a sting all of her own, of course!
Thereās been some fabulous and fun fiction, TV shows and films out these last few years during a wave of fairy tale revival. This time itās been with new spins on old favourites or, more specifically, intended for an adult audience.
It appears that fairy tales are as enduring as the legends surrounding our most beloved supernatural characters ā vampires, werewolves and witches, amongst others. Witches, in particular, are reoccurring āfavouritesā in both fairy tales and paranormal romance. Unlike so many representations of witches today though, I remember when they were damn scary. I think the film, The Blair Witch Project did an incredible job of bringing the legend right back to how it used to be. I remember it took me months to build up to watch it. I knew, even before it started, it was going to terrify me. I knew I was going to be transported right back to when I was a child, when the witches of fairy tales truly were the thing of nightmares. The serryn-kind of witches that terrify vampires in Blackthorn.
Whether we like it or not, weāre born with an inherent fascination with the macabre. Itās in our basic survival instincts to be aware of the threats out there ā we want to learn, we want to understand and we want to be able to protect ourselves. As children, fairy tales feed that part of us. Theyāre exciting, dangerous, scary, anxiety-provoking and utterly compelling as a result.
Forget Disney’s interpretations, fairy tales, real fairytales, arenāt nice. In fact, theyāre downright disturbing ā not least when you peel the layers away. Itās probably why theyāve held a captive audience for so many centuries and why theyāre still bought today. Dark, violent, cruel, sexist, full of selfishness and greed, kidnappings, blackmail, loneliness, where only the beautiful survive or whereby unless youāve got feet unnaturally small for your height to the point you wouldnāt be able to stand up, you donāt deserve to find your prince. (Iāve got small feet for my height, by the way, so thatās not a personally-motivated dig. ;-))
Fairy tales donāt shy away from things. Thereās childhood abuse, predatory adults, a beast threatening to slaughter a young girlās father unless sheās delivered to him against her will (of course, she still fell in love with him ā the shock, the shame, the slight against woman-kind!!), attempted murder, a brave prince losing his eyes trying to cut through a Blackthorn hedge (allegedly) to save his one true love, children shoving an old woman in an oven to burn her alive after thieving from her house ā but only after being willfully abandoned by their parents to starve to death. And, of course, letās not forget what terrible press stepparents get in these stories. Yes, fairy tales are just magical and highly-appropriate reading material for young and delicate minds.
Only maybe they are. Maybe thatās why theyāve endured like they have. Fairy tales are not there to soft-pedal reality. They are there, in some cases, to push readers to the edge of their fears, to give a sense of right and wrong, to show both light and dark in parallel, to explore the consequences of behaviour but, most of all, fairy tales show that all can be okay in the end.
Very few fairy tales end without some kind of justice, of good overthrowing evil (however debatable and sometimes stereotypical that evil is), of characters changing and developing as happens in all great stories. Most of all, theyāre brilliant because they donāt hold back on character flaws. They donāt hold back on the bad stuff. They say sometimes life is bad, that bad things happen, that it can be struggle and that, sometimes, things happen for no reason at all. Anger, fear, hatred, cruelty, prejudice, oppression, injustice ā theyāre part of the fabric of society. BUT people survive, friendships are formed, families are reunited, characters see the errors of their ways and those that donāt are punished whilst the good go on to live happy lives. Good can triumph over evil. Monsters can be defeated. Love, ultimately, finds a way.
Some of us are still big kids at heart, arenāt we? Isnāt that why we love the escapism that stories give us? To go places weāll never experience or might be too scared to venture alone? Donāt some of us, as adults, want to revisit the witchās kitchen, to walk through that dark wood, to feel the wolf snapping at our heels, to believe that heroes and heroines still exist and, most importantly, that thereās always hope? Donāt some of us, basically, still like a little bit of magic in our lives? And not least when things, when reality, gets dark?
Hence Blackthorn ā not for the faint-hearted, but then it was never meant to be.
So hereās a very special thank you for all the wonderful messages and emails Iāve received that inspired this post. To the readers who have brought me smiles and to the edge of tears letting me know how valuable the escapism of Blackthorn has been to you. Knowing itās a little sprinkle of fairy dust in your own lives is the biggest payback of this series ever. You make sharing Blackthorn with you so worthwhile. So, in turn, thank you for sharing your stories with me.
Enjoy the rest of your weekend.
xxx
P.S. If youāre intrigued by my reference to the āBlackthornā hedge ā there will be a post on that before too long!
Some of you will know that, last month, a few days before my first draft of Blood Deep was due in, my trusty old laptop passed away. My laptop had been my Blackthorn buddy for almost fourteen years and all of the first four Blackthorn books were written on it.
Blackthorn didnāt start on my laptop, of course. When I first started writing the series, I was armed only with a pen and paper and my electric typewriter because, back in 1996, I had no such thing as a computer. Four years later, my laptop became my Blackthorn haven.
The poor thing certainly worked hard all its life, sometimes for ten or twelve hours a day until, eventually, it couldnāt hold more than 8% battery at a time. In the last few months, it had to be permanently plugged in ā and when your writing buddy is of the nibbling variety, it can be quite a feat managing Blackthorn and a loose cable!
Tilly – my rescue bunny/A mistreated bunny rehabilitated/When the Blackthorn angst gets too much!
Of all the times to leave me though, my laptop certainly picked the most opportune. Happening around my 40th birthday, I had the perfect excuse to indulge. So hereās where the rest of the Blackthorn series will be written ā on my brand new laptop! It arrived last week but, with my second draft of Blood Deep due in on Monday, yesterday was the first time I got a chance to play with it.
The keys are backlit! Perfect for night-time tapping away!! (A dark PNR author has to consider these things.)
And talking about the rest of the Blackthorn seriesā¦ the REALLY exciting news is that Bookouture is showing interest in signing more!! Weāre currently in conversations about it so please keep your fingers crossed that all goes well. I can’t think of any better publisher to see the series through to the end.
So thank you to everyone who is helping make this happen by rating and reviewing my books, leaving all your comments and messages of support here and all the amazing stuff that happens on Facebook to help spread the word (reaching over 4,000 people last week alone!). Basically, thank you for making it loud and clear that you want more Blackthorn. Not only is my publisher listening, you’re helping tempt new readers into the series every day. I am so VERY grateful for your support.
Iāll have more news on Blood Deep shortly but, for now, for those who are assuming it’s the final book (and contains the end battle), I canāt stress enough that itās not. Itās all about the final couple – and many more pieces of the Blackthorn puzzle falling into place. Then, as I put it to my publisher, the honeymoon period is over (cue a scary-sounding “mwah-ha-ha”). Iāll have more news for you in a while about what to expect next ā as well as that eagerly awaited Blood Deep release date, and so much more!
A little while ago, I was really flattered to be invited to be a part of Moonrise Book Blogās anniversary event. This awesome blog is super-supportive of Blackthorn, not least giving all three books terrific reviews and 5 stars each. So when they asked me to be a part of their event, it was an easy yes.
As part of a fantastic giveaway, they have several fabulous authors each picking one of their characters to interview with a set of questions provided by Moonrise. When I saw that one of the questions was: āTell us a secret about you that no-one else knowsā, Jask immediately sprung to mind. After all, heās the least likely of all my heroes to be holding something backā¦isnāt he?
Earlier in the week, I let my Facebook followers know this interview was coming and asked them to try and guess what Jaskās deep, dark secret is. Some readers even re-read Blood Torn this week to see if they could find clues! Now thatās dedication! š Iāve received suggestions ranging from Jask being related to Kane, that heās half vampire, heās secretly married, he knows Roneās twin is actually still alive and even that heās ensured, after the trauma of losing his family, that he can never have children again. As is typical of the lovely Team Blackthorn, there were also some funny suggestions thrown into the mix to keep me giggling along the way. But one person, Candice, got dangerously close with her guess. Nicely worked out, Candice!
So, if youād like to see what Jask has been concealing from everyone, even his best buddy, Corbin, itās live on Moonrise Book Blog now. I don’t think you’ll be surprised as to why he wanted to keep this little gem hidden from one person in particularā¦
Thanks so much again, Moonrise Book Blog, for inviting me to be a part of your special event ā it’s been great fun!
And good luck to everyone who enters the giveaway!
A little while ago, I mentioned on Facebook that an awesome interview had landed on my desk. Charles Phipps ā an all-round fantasy and sci-fi fan ā discovered my series through his wife, Kat (awesome lady), and has since become a huge Blackthorn fan. Not only did he read my books, but he reviewed them too.
The minute I read his reviews for Blackthorn (all 5 stars, yay!), I was taken aback both by just how much he had picked up on as well as his unique reflections. Iāll be honest and say we donāt agree on everything (be warned ā heās not a Kane fan! *gasp of horror*), but isnāt that the great thing about books? Having now read a lot of his reviews, I totally respect how much time, effort and thought he puts into each one. Charles knows his stuff and, yes, I’m in awe of how much he knows.
An avid fan of worldbuilding (he is a fantasy writer himself, debuting with Permuted Press in 2015), Charles was keen to know more about Blackthornās creation. Knowing heād come up with some nitty-gritty (and maybe tricky) questions, I simply couldnāt resist signing up to this one.
This has to be the most detailed interview Iāve ever given about creating Blackthorn and the process I went through ā as well as a couple of hints of what to expect in Blood Deep (as always, no spoilers!). You can read the interview HERE.
And if youād like to read Charlesā fabulously insightful reviews of each Blackthorn book so far, you can click on the links below:
Thank you SO much for hosting me on your blog, Charles ā and for your patience in waiting for me to get Blood Deep drafted first!
And talking of Blood Deepā¦
My revisions came back last week and itās all looking good (phew)!! Iāll be making it the best it can be now under my editorās guidance before sending it back in preparation for line edits. The even-better news is we’re another step closer to me being able to disclose the release date to you. I canāt wait! š
I’ve finished writing Blood Deep! Well, in first draft anyway. As of yesterday, it’s in the hands of my publisher and editor whilst I await their verdict in the next couple of weeks. In the meantime, I’m left with post-exam/post-interview nerves. Letās hope they like it!
Thatās the exciting news. As a small aside, the sad news is that on Friday, days before my deadline, my beloved laptop finally gave up on me. It feels like the end of an era, not least because Iāve spent fourteen years writing Blackthorn on it. Itās now going to rest snugly in my attic with my old electric typewriter where Blackthorn begun its first outing all those years ago. Sigh.
But back to Blood Deepā¦
So what happens next?
Before you get too excited, for those not in the know, this is just the first stage of the process. Once the story gets the nod of approval, the structural edits soon follow. After the structural edits come the line edits. After the line edits come the copy edits. A whole team will be working away in the background week after week until Blood Deep is exactly how I want it. The good news, however, is that although thereās still a wait, it might not be too much longer before my publisher letās me announce the release date. Stay close for that one!
HUGE thanks, Team Blackthorn!
Since the release of Blood Torn back at the end of February, Blackthornās readership has increased day by day. Luckily for the series, many of you are wonderfully vocal with it ā and this is something that certainly hasnāt gone unnoticed by my publisher. I cannot thank you enough for all the amazing messages youāve been sending my way, let alone the fantastic reviews youāve been leaving on places such as Amazon and Goodreads. Every single review matters and makes a massive difference in helping towards more Blackthorn books being signed.Ā So THANK YOU so much for taking time out to share your support for both me and Blackthorn.
Itās payback time with a giveaway!
So to say thank you to all my awesomely-lovely Blackthorn supporters and because itās my 40th birthday next week, I canāt resist a giveaway. Iāve been promising this for a little while but wanted to hold on until Blood Deep was in.
The challenge is simple andĀ hopefully fun! Could you cast āBlackthorn The Movieā? Did you have someone in mind when you read the books? Do you know who would make the perfect Kane? The best Leila? Have you already decided on the ideal man to play Jask Tao and head up Blackthornās most notorious pack?
All you have to do to enter this giveaway is write your suggestions below this postor on my Facebook page stating who YOU would cast in the title roles. Because casting is so subjective though, Iām not going to judge the winners. Instead Iām going to pick names randomly from a hat. You get an entry for every suggestion you make so the more characters you choose, the better chance you stand!
The prizes
There are TWO prizes up for grabs ā again, the winner of each prize will be chosen randomly. The same person may even win both!
Are you looking at the picture of that manuscript above, wondering whatās written beyond that first chapter? Iām going to give one reader the chance to read the first three chaptersof Blood Deepbefore anyone else (other than my publisher and editor!). It wonāt be an e-copy though ā Iāll send you a one-off print version signed by me.
Also up for grabs is a signed paperback copy of my last release, Blood Torn.
It doesnāt matter where you are, Iāll post both prizes anywhere ā so donāt let location put you off.
The giveaway opens now and closes on Wednesday June 25th (midnight UK time). Iāll announce the winners on Friday 27th June here on my blog.
Iāll also be posting all your suggestions onto a Pinterest board dedicated to YOUR shared vision of the Blackthorn cast. Iāll share the completed board with you once the competition closes.
Iām going to be taking a short break between now and then but please do keep posting your entries! Good luck! š
A frequent question authors get asked is who inspired their characters, not least in terms of their appearance. Iāve always had to answer with the honest answer of āno-oneā. Instead of seeing someone and then creating a character based on that inspiration, the creation of my characters and their appearances sparked simultaneously.
This, of course, was never an issue when they stayed in my head and no one else needed to see them. But, since being published, itās not just interviewers who ask that question ā of course my publisher now needs to see my vision too, not least for those all-important book covers.
Iāve made no secret of the fact Iāve had a real struggle trying to find the right images for each of my characters. Having lived with them for almost eighteen years now, theyāre as clear to me as anyone I know. Iāve trawled through hundreds of images these past eighteen months trying to find the right people to match my vision. All Iāll say is thank goodness for Pinterest!
Well, itās that time again. š With the first draft of Blood Deep due with Bookouture next week, it wonāt be too long before the editing process is underway and the covers start being discussed. So, after a couple of months of keeping it secret, Iāve now launched my Blood Deep board over on Pinterest. There will be lots more to come on it in due course but, for now, I have a few sample Eden and Jessie shots to share. The ones below, I think, are the most defining. I hope you like them!
And talking of finding appropriate people to play my characters…
A few weeks ago I asked if anyone would like to have a bit of fun sharing who you would cast to play my characters in the film version of Blackthorn ā all as part of a giveaway. I have more news of that next week!
*WARNING!! This post contains HUGE spoilers for Blood Torn.*
One of the fun aspects of writing Blood Torn was creating a whole other side to Blackthorn. Up until then the series had been dominated by the vampire world versus the human authorities, with other species only fleetingly mentioned. Amongst those cameo roles was Jask Tao in Blood Shadows, when Kane made a brief visit to the lycan compound to collect an escaped Caitlin and, later, when Jask is waiting for her outside the courtroom. To keep the focus on Kane and Caitlinās story, I revealed little about Jask and his pack at the time, let alone how he fitted into the overall Blackthorn picture.
Lycans and serryns
In the background though, I had already designed the lycan world in detail ā who Jask was, how he operated, let alone why I created the pack the way I had (you can read all about that here,Ā here and here). As with all the mythology Iāve developed for Blackthorn, Iād spent quite some time looking into adapting established ābeliefsā to suit the world I was creating. As a part of this, I developed the concept of lycanthropy as an allergy, the management of it having become increasingly challenging for the lycans under the regulations due to the systems put in place.
Jaskās character evolved out of developing that mythology.Ā I had to work out what kind of personality would successfully manage a minority pack in Blackthorn under that new system. I knew I needed someone mature, self-controlled, strategic, intelligent and wise. I needed someone strong enough both physically and mentally to rule a pack, let alone with an edge of authority that not only demanded respect but equally with a fairness, dedication and selflessness to earn that respect. And, of course, my lycan leader had to be someone with insight into the dynamics of the world heās in in order to best protect that pack ā including executing sufficent humility toĀ seemingly play ball with all the various groups, not least the human authorities.
But, like with Blackthornās other heroes, there also needed to be a dark side to Jask to warrant his survival in Blackthorn ā an innate sense of the hunter and, in some respects, the feral. I needed someone who made the pack stronger by being its leader as well as being strengthened because of the packās faithful support, but I also needed someone who was equally capable of going it alone ā and surviving against the odds. Jask became that type of hero and subsequently an integral player in Blackthornās future, especially because he has one of the most powerful potential armies under his effective rule.
My serryn mythology was already established by the time I wrote Blood Torn, having explored it in its fledgling form through Leila in Blood Roses. But in Blood Torn, I had the opportunity to start to show more of a serrynās evolvement through Phia ā not least because she had none of her big sisterās reluctance in embracing her new ability. Phiaās developing serenity is, without doubt, more destructive to her personality than it was to Leila’s, particularly because of Phiaā emotional vulnerabilities and not having her big sisterās self-control (despite Calebās fervent efforts to the contrary). It goes without saying that if Phia had turned up to save Alisha instead of Leila, Blood Roses may have been the shortest Blackthorn book ever!
However, you may be interested to know that when I first started mapping out Blackthorn, I didnāt plan on Leila losing her serrynity to her nemesis ā nor it jumping down the line, along with her fate, to her sister. Iām so pleased it did though because it shifted Phia (and Jask) from being a secondary character to becoming integral in Blackthornās tapestry.
But romance was never the plan
For the future of the story, I knew Jask and Phia had to meet. I knew it was Jask who would find Phia in the ruins. I knew Phia had to forge a link with the lycans. The last thing I expected was for these two to fall for each other.
My initial intention when designing Blackthorn was that, although Jask was going to be a hero in the story, he was never going to be a romantic hero. When I first created his character, he had given up any prospect of finding love again. Having written a few scenes between him and Ellen whilst exploring his character, I couldnāt imagine him with anyone else. Instead, Iād resolved heād focus on devoting all his time to his pack and, with me already knowing they would come under attack from the authorities, he was going to have enough to contend with without the entanglement of romance too. Besides, he might have needed Phiaās help but, for the outcome I wanted, he didnāt need to fall in love with her. Like with most of my characters though, Jask had his own ideas.
Sophia. Sophie. Phia. From the moment she burst onto the page in Blood Rosesas an unruly child with a pretend UV torch on her head, a wooden stake in her hand and trying to feed garlic to her little sister, I knew I had my hands full. Furthermore, painted as an adult as the thoughtless missing sister causing Leila a headache and later revealed to be on prejudice-induced, anti-vampire vigilante mission in Blackthorn, Phia was most definitely never going to be one of Blackthornās romantic heroines. Aggressive, stroppy, stubborn, immature, argumentative, even arrogant at times, Sophia is frequently quick to act and slow to think. With a plethora of issues that would create a fortress-type barrier to any potential love interest, I knew it would take a saint to bother to peel through her layers. And well, to be honest, I didnāt think I had time for that in the strict internal timescale I had set for the story.
More so, I knew all her flaws were going to be exacerbated by having her up against Jask. Even-tempered, rational and reasonable, let alone with the weight of trying to save his pack on his shoulders, the last thing Jask should have been putting up with was Phia’s often deplorable (and irritating) attitude problem when, instead, he deserved so much better.
But whilst giving them more time on the page together than Iād originally planned, I switched from constantly face-palming with Phia to seeing a whole other side of herĀ ā and a whole other side to Jask too.
I started to see Phia as painfully lost in her own frustration and fears, erratically and misguidedly running around trying to make things better in all the wrong ways. Above all else, her deep sense of insecurity born out of her own self-hatred started to emerge. Behind the mask of arrogance was a vulnerable and fragile character who acted badly to evoke the same reaction in others because, basically, she didnāt believe she deserved any better. She certainly didnāt think she deserved Jask, someone who she had come to both respect and admire.
And, rather than Jaskās loss of Ellen being the barrier between him and Phia that I first envisaged, it became an opportunity to reveal an even more admirable side to him. With refined survival instincts making him wary of quick judgements, Jaskās tragic past also created in him a deep empathy that enables him to read beneath surface behaviours. Understanding everything there is to know about self-hatred, Jask revealed a compassionate generosity of spirit, let alone a patience and tolerance with Phia that I think makes the best of both him and of her. He sees her strength, her independence, her feistiness and her bravery. Most of all, he sees how fiercely loyal she is to those she loves. When she is calm and focused, Phia McKay makes one hell of an ally because, in a battle, sheād be the first to step in-between the one she loves and the enemy ā and thatās a pack-like trait Jask inevitably deeply admires.
Their futures
Unlike with Blood Roses where, for so many reasons, I had to conclude it with a sense of uncertainty about whether Leila and Calebās emerging love is strong enough to see them through, Blood Torn, I hope, gives that real sense of a hero and heroineās bond being strong enough to surpass anything. But things are never straight forward for my couples. As is indicative of Blackthorn, there is a flipside of renewed complications out of what should have remained a forbidden love.
I concluded Blood Torn amidst an imminent threat. Sirius Throme, head of the Global Council is once again using Jaskās pack as pawns in his mission to get his hands on Kane. In a strategic move youāll learn more of in Blood Deep, heās had Jaskās young delivered to the cons ā something Jask is yet to uncover. If he does, his reaction could reveal a whole other side to Jask that Phia is yet to see.
After all, Jask, at the moment, is successfully managing his dark side, but it still simmers beneath the surface ā and at no greater time than when his allergy peaks. He may be one of the rare lycans able to control his change, but he was never given the opportunity to perfect it with the regulations having interrupted his progress. But even without his instincts to contend with, self-controlled though he is, his interrogation scene with the vampire in Blood Torn shows that he has no qualms in doing whatever it takes for those he loves. When it comes to lethal, Jask is more than capable of holding his own against, or alongside, Kane and Caleb. Heās just not been put in that situation in BlackthornĀ yet.
As made clear at the end of Blood Roses, Caleb is already on the hunt for Phia: next in line to be his sacrifice if he is to claim his Tryan status and save the third species from oppression. Heās yet to find her, heās yet to know she now has Jask and his entire pack behind her, but with Calebās impressive networks in Blackthorn, itās only a matter of time. Jask will have even more to contend with if heās seen as the barrier to the third speciesā salvation ā something that could test his loyalty to Phia if, subsequently, heās not only at risk from vampiric retaliation but also from his own kind.
As for Phia, she may have made huge progress as far as her sense of direction and self-esteem are going, but sheās still a serryn and serryns are renowned for becoming overwhelmed by their own selfish desires. Already impulsive by nature, Phiaās greatest challenge is in controlling her serrynity sufficiently to use it as a weapon as opposed to self-indulgence. That need certainly wonāt be helped if her natural nemesis evolves into a threat to anyone she loves.
Letās just hope Kaneās visit to Caleb goes well!
*Ā
Thatās it for my couple insight posts for now. I will, of course, do the same for Jessie and Eden ā but, no spoilers, Iāll do it after youāve read Blood Deep.
Iāll be back next time though with a short post to show you my vision of what Eden and Jessie look like ā and itāll be kick-starting a give-away too!