Daughter Of The Night - Tiki Kos

Daughter Of The Night by Tiki Kos

Daughter Of The Night #1 Genre: young adult/paranormal romance Release date: October 31st, 2017

Synopsis

Daughter of Nótt, your sacrifice will bring the end. When Serena returns home from a day of work, she witnesses a terrifying event which uproots her quiet existence. Attacked by a vicious creature, she is saved by a mysterious figure and introduced to the Einherja, warriors trained to protect Earth from demons. Serena soon finds out she is the descendant of an Aesir god, and her recurring dreams might just be the answer to Avonmore's ritualistic murders. Will she be able to protect her hometown, or will she be forced to sacrifice her new love? Daughter of Nótt, your sacrifice will not be in vain. A tale of passion, loss and self-awakening, Daughter Of The Nightis the debut release of Tiki Kos, and the first in the Daughter Of The Night trilogy. For fans of Mortal Instruments and Buffy, let yourself get sucked into the whirlwind of adventure and Norse Mythology.

 

Sneak peek

She followed the dirt road until the willow trees became pine trees and she arrived at the highway. Both legs grew tired as she trudged down the road that took her to the outskirts of Avonmore. She crept through a backyard, ducking underneath the patio to avoid being noticed by the family sitting watching a movie. Opening the fence gate, she ran across the lawn and into another empty backyard. As she tried to wiggle the next gate open, a loud creak filled the quiet night. Her eyes grew big and she shook her head. You’re going to wake someone up. Gripping the rough edges of the wood, Serena hoisted herself up and over the fence. Letting out relieved sigh, she landed softly on the ground. Cat woman has nothing on me! Whew! She wiped the sweat rolling off her forehead. More yards were crossed until Serena reached the main street. The Avonmore pub light sputtered, followed by a hum, loud music, and chattering from inside. The police had barricade tape blocking the front door of the Steaming Mugs. Serena ducked underneath the tape and tried to turn the doorknob, rolling her eyes at her belief that it may have been unlocked. Annoyed with herself, she made her way up the main street. A light thudding came from behind her. She whipped around, but nobody was there. An eerie wave of cold air went through Serena, down to her bones. Her body rippled from the chill, sending goosebumps down her spine. Nothing was behind her, but she ran the rest of the way to her house. She scurried through the door and locked it. One knee after the other, Serena crawled on the floor to the front window and slowly pulled back the curtains, looking outside. You are being paranoid. Chill out, Serena. Whatever she thought was behind her refused to pop out of the darkness, even after ten minutes. Each knee throbbed when she arose from the hardwood floor. She flipped the light switches to get out of the darkness and opened the wooden closet in the front entry. Digging through the empty boxes and winter clothing, she pulled out a purple backpack. She grabbed her family photo album from the rickety book shelf propped against the wall. Gently placing it in her backpack, she glanced around the room to see if there was anything else she wanted to take. Few photos hung on the walls, but she pulled a couple off, placing them in the photo album. She headed straight into the bathroom, opened the door to the vanity, and pulled out her hair straighteners, along with her favorite shampoo and conditioner. Twisting the lid off the shampoo, she sniffed the top. Oh coconut, my hair has missed your mystical detangling powers. Laughing to herself, she put the shampoo bottle into a plastic bag before she placed it in the backpack. Everything else was in her room. Opening the dresser, she pulled out as many clothes as she could fit and shoved them into the bag, letting out exasperated grunt while doing so. A puff of air came out of the backpack as she struggled to zip it up. “Whew!” A noise came from downstairs. Quickly, she looked through the bedroom window. A dark figure stood in front of the door. Whoever they were, they raised their leg up, slamming it down into the door. After a few minutes of silence, the high-pitched shatter of glass came from the living room, and the hardwood boards let out a moaning creak. Heavy footsteps came stomping up the stairs. Serena pulled out both of her daggers and hid behind the bedroom door. The footsteps stopped for a minute as the bathroom door creaked. Then, they continued down the hall. As the steps came closer, the smell of rotting flesh filled Serena's nose, making her stomach queasy.

Purchase it

Amazon US | Amazon UK

Author bio

YA Author of Daughter of The Night (Halloween 2017)  House Stark, Rebel, Sailor Scout, Hufflepuff, Cthulhu obsessed, Board game addict. Born and raised in Alberta, Canada. She started working on her YA novel Daughter of The Night in 2016. The first book in the trilogy. Tiki has been married to her husband Joel since 2015. She is a mother of two wonderful children.  When she isn't working on her novels, you can find her drinking coffee and eating sushi. She enjoys baking/canning, reading fantasy books, gardening and playing video games.

Author links

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From Joey's Instagram

A ghost, time travel and an innocent man to be saved. Can Harriet do it? Buy here: http://amzn.to/1TxqXo1 #teasertuesday #bookboost #bookstagram #indieauthor #writersofinstagram #writerslife #authorslife #authorsofinstagram #youngadultbooks

Final Tally for October 2017

In October I managed, 20 chapters, 86 pages and 47,411 words! A great end to the year of writing - which runs for me from November to October. I'll have my final year count up in an upcoming vlog, so watch out for that!

I will be doing #NaNoWriMo17 so be ready for updates!

From Joey's Instagram

Well it's not November yet but I figured I could spend the day starting the edits for #DyingThoughts6. Sixth Change is gonna be amazing. A good way to spend a day off! #authorslife #authorsofinstagram #indieauthor #writersofinstagram #writerslife #amediting #booksinprogress

Series & Standalone: Three Ways It's A Standalone & Three Ways It's Not

SERIES & STANDALONE: 3 WAYS IT'S A STANDALONE & 3 WAYS IT'S NOT

While this may seem like something that's obvious, I thought I would do a piece today about what makes a standalone a standalone, and how to tell if it's a series or not. I'll also do a piece on series along the same vein. I found that when writing my standalones, there has been a few things that tell me the story is no longer than one book, but there have been signs for me that show it isn't just one book. So here we go, my three ways it's a standalone compared to three ways it's now.

IS - #1 - THE STORY ARC IS WRAPPED UP
If you're writing a standalone, then you generally will plan for it to finish within the set length of that book. When I plot, which I do minimally, I always have an ending in mind. Because of the fact that I'm a hybrid it's sometimes the case that I'll start a book with a plan that has a nice neat ending, and realise while writing that it's not going to have that ending. If you're writing a standalone, you'll know because the plot is all tied up once you reach the end of it all. If you're writing a standalone, you'll have had all these sub-plots, and when you reach the end, you're able to put the book down, walk away and not feel like you've missed things out.

NOT - #1 - YOU HAVE MORE THREADS TO TIE UP
By that vein, if you reach the end of the book and realise that you actually have more questions to answer, then it's probably not a standalone. Of course this can happen if your outlining or whatever process you use, has failed, and in that case it could go either way. The one time I've written a book thinking it was a standalone, I knew pretty much at the fifty percent mark that I would have more threads to tie up than at all possible in one book.

IS - #2 - FURTHER PLOT WOULD JUMP THE SHARK
You've all read series that feel like they should've ended a while back. I know I have. In fact I did a piece on that here. If you're writing a standalone then you should be able to see that doing another book with the same characters, and a similar plot line, would only make the second book redundant and it wouldn't further the plot at all. It would be unnecessary and it would show in the way the story was told. When I finished Blackout, I was desperate to continue the story with Tally and Lisa, but it soon became apparent that doing so would be a bad idea.

NOT - #2 - FURTHER PLOT MOVES THE ARC FORWARD
On the other side of things, if it's not a standalone, then you'll soon realise there is more plot to be added. Along a similar vein to needing more story to tie up the loose threads, you'll be able to start a second (and third maybe) that would allow you space to keep telling that story.

IS - #3 - IT ENDS NATURALLY
No matter how much you might want to continue a character's story, if it comes to the end, you'll know it. If all the story is wrapped up, and furthering the plot would jump the shark, then you have to realise that the ending itself come to a stop naturally. When planning, you'll usually be able to tell if the ending is natural, but sometimes it takes actually sitting down and writing the story to be able to see for yourself that the ending really is the end of that cast of characters and story. It's not a bad thing, just some stories end sooner than others and that's okay.

NOT - #3 - IT OPENS UP EASILY
On the flip side, if while planning, or writing, you realise that there is a pretty valid continuation of a story, then you've probably just got yourself the start of a series and how far it goes is up to you. If you find that you can easily project where it needs to go beyond that first book, then you're on the right track to it being more than a standalone.

So those are three ways it's a standalone and three ways it's now. All of this is, of course, subjective and depending on how you plan, write and view your own process you'll either agree or see other ways to tell the difference between the two. I've found along my writing career that I usually have more ideas for a series than I do for a standalone. It's the curse of having too many plot bunnies popping into my head at once, but that's not a bad thing!

Do you have ways to tell the difference that I've not mentioned here? Feel free to comment, or send me an ask letting me know! I'm always open to discussion and to hear other points of view.

Follow Joey here on her blog, or on Facebook or Tumblr to be kept up to date with the latest news regarding Joey and her books. You can also sign up to her newsletter here.

From Joey's Instagram

Excuse the messy hair. I am not happy. I've been feeling a bit crap lately and was having to come up to bed more. Thought it was just side effects and all that. SATS haven't been brilliant so been on the oxygen. Turns out my concentrator downstairs was broken after the service. He didn't tell us and spoke to emergency line and they're sending someone out. Of course that means stuck in bed until then as my cylinders are not all full. Not happy! #oxygenuser #brittleasthma #chronicillness #spoonie

From Joey's Instagram

And it's finally Friday! Doing a #LightsOff chapter and thinking about setting up in bed but might stay at my desk. Who knows? #authorslife #authorsofinstagram #indieauthor #amwriting #writerslife #writersofinstagram #selfie

Interview with Azalea Dabill & Review of Falcon Heart: Chronicle I

I'm delighted to be joined on the blog today by Fantasy author, Azelea Dabill for both an interview and my review of her book - Falcon Heart: Chronicle I. Here's a little about Azelea.

Azalea Dabill enjoys growing things, bookstores, and hiking and hunting the wild. Never finding enough fantasy with threads of romance and mystery, she writes young adult and historical fantasy. Enter breathtaking worlds of adventure, treachery, and renown where many pursue quests, from peasant to king. Join Azalea on her next enchanting journey at www.azaleadabill.com, from a desperate first daughter to the last dragon, from our world to another, and from mortal to immortal. 

Crossover: Find the Eternal, the Adventure! Azalea also took writing for her Associate of Science and devoured how-to books from James Scott Bell to Sol Stein. A member of the Christian Proofreaders and Editors Network (the Christian PEN), she holds an editing certificate from the American Copy Editors Society. Mythic fantasy has always held a special place in her heart - for it unfolds a universe of meaning, not to mention expanding the delight of the reader. She assists traditional and self-published authors with developing their characters, plot, and the structure of their stories. For as you know well, words hold so much power.

And onto the interview!

What kind of books do you read for pleasure?
I love Anna Thayer’s The Knight of Eldaran trilogy; Lisa Bergrin’s River of Time series; Patrick Carr’s Shock of Night; most of Robin McKinley’s books, like The Blue Sword; Elizabeth Moon’s Deed of Paksenarrion; Rachel Neumeier’s Griffin Mage trilogy; Holly Bennet’s The Bonemender;  and Sherwood Smith’s Crown Duel. These are my favorite kinds of fantasy adventure, but I’ll read any moderately clean, good story, including CJ Cherryh’s The Pride of Chanur, Patricia Malone’s Legend of Lady Ilena, Rebecca Tingle’s The Edge on the Sword, EJ Fisch’s Ronan (space fantasy), Victoria Hanley’s The Seer and the Sword, and more recently, Timothy Zahn’s Dragon and Thief, a great Dragonback Sci-fi series.

What are you offering that is different from other historical and YA fantasy writers?
Well, I actually create stories similar to Lisa Bergrin’s River of Time series, Stephen Lawhead’s King Raven trilogy, and Melanie Dickerson’s The Golden Braid. Historical and YA fantasy are my genres of choice, and the only thing I can think of that I’m offering differently right now is the Falcon Chronicle Adventure Guide Journal, which you can discover more about in another post of Joey’s. [link my blog post on your site] It’s an inner journey guide to becoming a strong, compassionate person by following the adventurous heroine of my first novel, Falcon Heart.

What attracted you to your chosen genre?
The sense of mystery, of discovering other peoples, places, and times—from Kathy Tyer’s Shivering World to Anne Elizabeth Stengl’s A Branch of Silver, a Branch of Gold.

What kind of writer are you: plan or not?
I pantsed Falcon Heart and the sequel Falcon Flight, but the rest of the Falcon Chronicle series I planned, and am planning. Number four, Falcon Dagger, is in the works.

Do you have a writing playlist? Or do you prefer silence?
It depends on what story I’m writing. I wrote Falcon Heart to a lot of Jeff Johnson and Brian Dunning’s Celtic music and Enya, Falcon Flight to the Thirteenth Warrior soundtrack etc., and my current work on Falcon Dagger to the Eragon soundtrack and others. Sometimes I also have to work in quiet.

If you had the chance to write anywhere, where would you choose?
I’d go to Europe and find a nook in one of the old castles and soak in the ambience of the scents, sounds, and let my imagination come alive. (With what is lacking since the Middle Ages have passed. Thick forests, wolves and brigands, chivalry, and other things.)

Do you have any hobbies?
Yes. I walk in the country for prayer time, my sanity, and outdoor beauty. I also enjoy my garden, look forward to hunting in fall, and of course I read every chance I get.

Would you ever like to branch out to a different genre?
Yes, in a way, though I always come back to fantasy subgenres, such as historical. My next novel after the Falcon Chronicle series will be pure fantasy about a runaway princess, a lost sword, a prince, a prophet, a sorceress—and a world different than any of them thought it would be.

Murder, sacrifice, vengeance . . . an adventure beyond fear . . .

A band of slavers murder stronghold daughter Kyrin Cieri's mother in medieval Britannia. Forced by the slavers to sail for Araby with an exiled warrior from the East and a peasant girl closer than blood, Kyrin learns the unarmed art of Subak from her husband-in-name to protect her from the raiders of the sands and the secrets of the caliph's court.

A strange dagger pursues her through tiger-haunted dreams, while the caliph's coils tighten.

Can Kyrin survive her enemies within and without until she overcomes the sword that took her mother and exacts justice? Trapped by intrigue between a slave she does not want to kill, her friends' destinies and her own life, Kyrin will fall into darkness with the tiger or journey beyond ...

To keep her friends from a fate worse than death, Kyrin Cieri, keeper of the keys, takes up justice against hate and a dagger against her master's blade. She will save her companions - if she can pay the price that the secret of the falcon dagger demands. 

Amazon

My Review 4 stars
This book is well-written, starting the story of Kryin with her mother and the danger that follows. I'd not read from this author before and I have to say she has a unique way of writing that I found interesting. I did find it a little hard to get into, but none the less, the book was good and an intriguing tale of Kryin and the people she meets along the way of her journey. The story itself has many twists and turns focusing more on the Master of all things in regards to Kryin's beliefs, but glad I finished it and stuck with it.

You can follow Azelea on Facebook, Twitter, Pintrest, and her website.

Join Joey here on the blog on Fridays for interviews, reviews and guest bloggers. If you'd be interested in doing any of those, you can contact Joey here.

From Joey's Instagram

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Questions From Writers - October 2017 [CC]

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From Joey's Instagram

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From Joey's Instagram

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All Hallows Writing Tag

Welcome to the the ALL HALLOWS WRITE tag!

The Rules:

#1 – Provide a BRIEF description of your novel before starting.

Dying Thoughts - Sixth Change is a young adult paranormal, crime and mystery book. It's the sixth book in the Dying Thoughts series. Tara has a gift that allows her to see the last moments of someone's life when she touches something that used to be belong to them. This book follows her past secondary school and into college after her life has made a complete 180 to how it was before. She has new friends, her dad is back in the music business and Tara is recovering following the events of Fifth Secret. The only problem is there's someone attacking young women, and with every new victim, the attacks escalate. Can Tara find them before they kill someone?

#2 – Don’t use the same character for more than 3 answers.

The Questions:

It’s Halloween night! What is your protagonist dressed up as?  
Tara would probably be a bit of a killjoy. Halloween is more of a US tradition and more popular with young kids than teens Tara's age, but that said, her birthday falls 10 days before Halloween so an excuse for an awesome party and all she has to do is dress up? She's game. She'd probably go as a serial killer which would enable her to put the least amount of effort into it.

Who in your cast refuses to dress up and shows up at the Halloween party without a costume? 
Tara, if she could get away with it, she would. As I said above, she might make the effort, but if she thought she could sneak in without having to dress up, she would.

Which character wears the most outrageous costume, and what would it be? 
That would be Kaolin, she would go all out to either impress the boy she likes, or just to be the life of the party. Kaolin is a geek, but she's also someone that loves to be involved and dancing around. She'd have a brilliant costume picked out and she's wear it well. She'd probably dress up as a sexy bunny, but with a twist where the bunny has some blood dripping all over their fur. She'd spend ages making it herself and it would be more than a little risqué plus scary.

On Halloween, werewolves, vampires, and zombies are on the prowl. Which of your characters gets caught in their clutches, and which creature do they subsequently turn into?
Probably Cindy, Marie and Evelyn. They're a threesome that is always seen together. If they were walking home a little high on sugar and all dressed up, I could see all three of them running into some vampires and happily making out with them. So of course, they'd become vampires.

Who wins the contest for best costume? 
Probably Kaolin because she'll have put that much thought into it.

Who hands out toothbrushes to the trick and treaters?
Colin. Tara's dad might be a rock star, but he's still a bit of a stick in the mud when it comes to that kind of thing. He'd be happily handing them out and probably signing autographs for the parents!

Which two of your characters decide to pair up and do an angel/devil costume together?
Probably Evelyn and Marie. They've been best friends since they met at primary school, all the way through to secondary. I could see them both have an argument however who gets to be the devil though.

Someone is too scared to even attend the Halloween party. Who is it?
Jen. She's one of the few who came to college without her friends from secondary. She's happy to be in the group, but she'd be worried about being singled out because everyone else has their buddies.

Who overdoses on Halloween candy and ends up sick?
Lilly. Simply because her parents are really over protective of her since she's disabled, and given the chance to go wild, she would very happily.

Which character is most likely to place a curse/hex on someone and who would they curse?
Lilly would happily do that. While she's a logical person, the idea that she could hex or curse someone would please her greatly. She's unaware of Tara's gift, simply because she's so logical about this kind of thing. As to who she'd curse? That would be a spoiler!


Don’t forget to tag your writer friends and use ‘all hallows write’ in your tags so other writers can easily find your answers. 

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From Joey's Instagram

Had a bad day health wise so writing in bed and it's flowing nicely! Just having a break to neb and eat and then on with the rest of the chapter! #amwriting #writerslife #writersofinstagram #authorslife #authorsofinstagram #indieauthor #joeywrites #bonuschapters #chronicillness #nebuliser #LightsOff #jowrimogo #lovemyjob #ilovewriting #igwriters #igauthors

Interview with JL Myers & Review of Nerve Damage

I am delighted to be joined on the blog today by JL Myers for both an interview and my review of her book - Nerve Damage. Here's a little bio about the author.

Jessica L Myers’ vivid imagination and quiet demeanor as a child led her to the imaginary worlds of books. Even at a young age, her love for the supernatural was prevalent, with her first loved books being R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps series. Following that she took an interest in other non-fantasy fiction, including Virginia C. Andrews series Flowers in the Attic. In her teen years, Jessica spent many school hours writing poetry and dark short stories and took up sketching some of the terrifying things that came from the graphic night terrors she’d grown up with. As an adult and after meeting the love of her life, Jessica got married and started a small construction business with her husband. With the birth of her son, Jessica suffered PPD and found escape in her books and their fantasy landscapes. It was at this time that her need to write flourished. In 2009 the decision was made and the first words to her New Adult Paranormal Romance novel What Lies Inside were written. When Jessica isn’t immersed in writing about extraordinary characters with dangerous abilities and deadly obstacles to overcome, she likes to spend time with her two kids and husband, curl up with a good book, or watch anything and everything supernatural.

And onto the interview!

What made you want to be a writer?
I have always loved reading and books. In school I started writing dark short stories and poems to pass the time in classes, though my real need to write flourished when I first became a parent. Suffering postnatal depression, I rediscovered my love for reading and books, but I felt like I needed more than to read someone else’s words and live in their created landscapes. I needed a purpose and something that defined me. And many of you many not understand this, (especially with a beautiful new baby that I truly loved from the moment he arrived) but I needed an escape, a way to get out of my head and the emotions that seemed to have a hold of me. Writing was my way to finding myself, to working through my own demons, past and present, and to becoming a better person and parent. Many women feel that they lose themselves when they become mothers, and for me, writing was my way to rediscovering who I was and who I wanted to be.

What kind of books do you read for pleasure?
I mostly read paranormal and fantasy books that have at the very least a hint of romance. Given me any supernatural creatures and end-of-the-world dramas and I’m happy!

What kind of writer are you: plan or not?
I am an absolute plotter. I must admit, with my first novel I did begin by sitting down with an idea in the back of my mind, which I then just continued to write as new ideas came to me. Now I like to know who my characters are, what they want most, and how each story will end. I take time now to create the skeleton of each of my stories, starting with my rough ideas and characters. I then mold that into a scene-by-scene setup with a rough layout for who appears in each scene, what actions they will take, and then what the conclusion will be to lead me on to what happens next.


What book/character of yours is your favourtie?
I have to say Amelia from my Blood Bound Series is my favourite character out of all my books and characters. She is in her rawest level an extension of me and the things I have struggled through in life. I understand her and every one of her motives, her endless protection and devotion to protect those she loves, her fears of what she’s becoming and is capable of, and her innate need to be better than she believes she is.

If you had the chance to write anywhere, where would you choose?
I must admit I have two amazing destinations in mind as the places I would most like to write in. One would be a secluded cabin that overlooks rolling mountains and all of nature in its purest form—a waterfall would be an epic addition too!
For the second destination, I’d pick a quiet beach where I could lounge in front of lapping shores under an umbrella as I create worlds that are out of this world.

What attracted you to your chosen genre?
I have always loved the spooky and strange. Give me vampires, werewolves, fairies, supernatural hunters, and all the monsters in-between and I’m in heaven. In my mind all these paranormal creatures are real, and perhaps one day, if I’m lucky enough, I’ll catch a glimpse of the real thing…

Would you ever like to branch out to a different genre?
My main genre is paranormal romance, but I’ve always loved thrillers, especially psychological ones that have you guessing and on the edge of your seat. So it may not come as a shock that my latest book, Nerve Damage, is actually a psychological thriller.

A fatal car crash. The sole survivor. And the dark hooded stranger that wants her dead.

When a terrible accident—not accident—stole my parents’ lives, my whole perfect life changed. My memories are hazy, and there are scars on my wrists. I’ve been locked away for my own protection…until I prove my sanity, until I lie. There was no hooded figure on the road that day, no one standing over me as I lay paralyzed watching my parents burn.

I am Cassidy Lockheart…20-year-old orphan.

Determined to free my caged mind, I find myself far away on an unexpected trip to help return my forgotten past. The snow was part of my life before, but now it’s like a blank slate, until an avalanche changes everything. But I’m not alone. These other ‘lucky’ trip winners may not be the strangers they pretend to be. And my hooded attacker…I see him everywhere.

Is this real? Or delusion caused by head trauma?

Either way, I’m being watched. I can sense it. I can feel it. Someone is after me; maybe they’re after us all. The avalanche was no accident. It was staged to deliver us to this abandoned place. A place where the walls whisper dark secrets of a sinister past…a past no one can escape. Trapped, this snow won’t let up…it won’t let us leave. My lost memories hold clues, but they’re buried so deep, polluted and twisted in my every waking nightmare. What is real? I don’t have the answers. But I need them. Time is ticking and if I don’t figure this all out soon it will be too late.

The past is coming for us all…and it wants blood.

Amazon

My review: 5 stars
I picked this book up when I read the synopsis. I've always loved a good psychological thriller and this one did not disappoint! The scene is set with Cassidy and the accident and then picks up with her having lost memories of her past. The story takes us to a remote location where there is a dark and deadly history. It was enthralling and gripping from the first page and I loved it completely! I had some guesses as to the end, but was gladly surprised with how things turned out! Amazing writing! Highly recommended!

You can follow Jessica on Facebook.

Join Joey here on the blog on Fridays for interviews, reviews and guest bloggers. If you'd be interested in doing any of those, you can contact Joey here.

From Joey's Instagram

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From Joey's Instagram

And it's Thursday! Today's vlog is all about the aftermath of the #Darker2017 signing. Check it out here: http://bit.ly/2mstCH8 #authortuber #authorslife #authorsofinstagram #indieauthor #writersofinstagram #writerslife #thedarkersideoffiction2017 #booksigning

The Signing Aftermath [CC]

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Cover Reveal: Daughter Of The Night by Tiki Kos

Daughter of the Night by Tiki Kos

Cover by The Book Cover Designer

Daughter of the Night #1 Genre: paranormal romance, young adult Release date: October 31st, 2017

Synopsis

Daughter of Nótt, your sacrifice will bring the end. When Serena returns home from a day of work, she witnesses a terrifying event which uproots her quiet existence. Attacked by a vicious creature, she is saved by a mysterious figure and introduced to the Einherja, warriors trained to protect Earth from demons. Serena soon finds out she is the descendant of an Aesir god, and her recurring dreams might just be the answer to Avonmore's ritualistic murders. Will she be able to protect her hometown, or will she be forced to sacrifice her new love? Daughter of Nótt, your sacrifice will not be in vain. A tale of passion, loss and self-awakening, Daughter Of The Nightis the debut release of Tiki Kos, and the first in the Daughter Of The Night trilogy. For fans of Mortal Instruments and Buffy, let yourself get sucked into the whirlwind of adventure and Norse Mythology.

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Author bio

YA Author of Daughter of The Night (Halloween 2017)  House Stark, Rebel, Sailor Scout, Hufflepuff, Cthulhu obsessed, Board game addict. Born and raised in Alberta, Canada. She started working on her YA novel Daughter of The Night in 2016. The first book in the trilogy. Tiki has been married to her husband Joel since 2015. She is a mother of two wonderful children.  When she isn't working on her novels, you can find her drinking coffee and eating sushi. She enjoys baking/canning, reading fantasy books, gardening and playing video games.

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From Joey's Instagram

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Series & Standalone:When It's Time To End A Series

SERIES & STANDALONE: WHEN IT'S TIME TO END A SERIES

If you're like me then you'll me aware that there are some book series that go on for too long. I won't name and shame, everyone's reading experience is different, but there does come a point where you start to think that maybe the series should've ended before that point. When I started writing the Dying Thoughts series, it was one big thing that stuck in my head and made me more than a little nervous. I didn't want my series to jump the shark, but I also didn't want to end it before the story was done. This is less of a problem for series that have an arc that carries on through the books, such as the Harry Potter series because in those cases, you generally know where the story ends and therefore where the series will finish.

That said, even if you don't know the actual end point of your series before starting, it's generally a good idea to sit down and think about where this story is going and where you want to get to before you finally close the door on those characters and that world. When I started writing Tara's story, initially I was only going to go as far as getting her out of secondary school because I felt that was the natural end of the book. When I reached that point, I realised her tale wasn't done and extended it tentatively to seven books before finally writing the eighth and final book last year. The end of the book was still a similar point, but as the story had grown, Tara as a character had also grown and evolved and she had more to say and more to do before I could happily stop writing.

So how do you know when it's time to end a series? If you do have an end point in mind that's all well and good, but what if that end point is not a solid time and can happen at any point? Unlike with the Harry Potter books, which took you from Harry's first year to his last, where each book was a school year, the Dying Thoughts series didn't have such a timeline. It takes place at different points along the last two years of Tara's secondary school and beyond into college. I was very careful with how many books I did, never over-planning, but still have some semblance of a plan in place, because I didn't want readers to get to the point I've gotten to with other series. Which is where you read it and think: really?? Like seriously? I didn't want to over-extend the belief that Tara could go through these different scenarios and still come out the other side.

I looked for three key things when I realised it was near the end of her story and I made sure that as I plotted out each new book past the original five, that I checked in at several stages to be sure that I wasn't going too far. It's very easy to get attached to characters and their worlds, and it's very easy to be so comfortable writing them that you don't want to stop. By the end of the Dying Thoughts series, it had become almost second nature to be writing one of those books while I also wrote a standalone. It's not surprising considering that was pretty much the case the whole of my writing career. It took me just under fifteen years to finish all eight books, and saying goodbye was hard, but I also knew it was right.

So what did I look for? I basically asked myself the following questions, making sure that I really examined every point in full before I made my final decision and I kept doing that throughout the writing process as well.

#1. IS THIS POSSIBLE?
I had created a world where Tara, at fifteen, has a psychic gift that allows her to see the last moments of someone's life when she touches something that used to belong to them. She, in the first book and into the second, uses this gift sparingly and mostly keeps it to herself, but at the end of First Touch, she's approached by a police officer who knew her mother (from whom Tara inherited the gift) and asked to help consult on cases. In the real world, that would be a difficult feat to pull off for anyone with those powers. So in essence, I'm already stretching the powers of believability to a point. When writing the later books, as Tara grew as a character, I was asking myself whether or not, considering all she had been through, would it be possible for her to get wrapped up in another crime that needed her intervention? If I couldn't present the facts of the case to someone who'd read the books (mostly B or Kim) without having to go into too much detail and background information, then it wasn't going to be a story I could keep telling. I made sure that I was able to justify every book. Although I had always planned to do five, even as early as Third Wish I was asking for help to see if my series had jumped the shark. I used the people I did because they knew me well enough that I trusted their honest opinion on whether or not the story was just too out there to be carried out.

#2. WHAT IS ITS PURPOSE?
At the end of Fifth Secret, when I decided to continue the series, I was pretty sold on where I wanted that epilogue to take place. I wanted to get to that point with as few books as possible. So every book that followed it got broken down into whether or not it furthered the story (something you should do with any series to be honest) and got me to my goal or if it was just a story that I wanted to tell because of other reasons. When writing Sixth Change which will come out in May 2018, I knew where I wanted to start, but I also knew that because of what happened in Fifth Secret, I would have to be careful how far forward in time I jumped. Because of that the seventh book takes place further along than usual. I made sure that I could justify each new story so that I didn't have to worry that it wasn't needed. If the storyline passed the first hurdle, this second one was in place to make sure that I told the right kind of stories.

And finally, #3. IS IT THE END?
If my plotlines got passed the first two questions, I would then sit and seriously consider if this was the story that ended the series. I would weigh up the start points with the projected end point and see whether or not this would be the final book. I finally had the answer to that when I started to plot out the eighth book. The kind of story I wanted to tell called for it to be the end. There was no way I could've continued the series with what happens, and no way I would've wanted to. The eighth book fulfilled all three questions and because of that, it's where I left Tara.

So those are my three questions as to whether it's time to end a series. At the end of the day, it's something on you as an author can decide because you're the one with the story, plot and characters all in your head. But one piece of advice, just because you pause a series if you don't know it's the end, doesn't mean you can't pick it up later, and same as if you reach the end before you think you're ready, it's better to quit before you arrive at the jumping the shark moment. Your mileage may, of course, vary, and that's okay. 

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From Joey's Instagram

#Repost @claribel_ortega (@get_repost) ・・・ 💕Giveaway time 💕 Sherlock 🕵️ meets Buffy 🦇 the Jackaby series is one of my all time favorites. It’s got monsters, dragons, slow burn romance 🌹 and it’s so funny! I got the final book at this year’s #frankfurtbookfair and I’m pretty sad the series is over BUT in honor of these great reads I’m doing a giveaway of the first three books in the series! To enter just follow me & comment your favorite emoji on this post, and repost to your own IG. Giveaway ends 10/22 at Midnight ET! International OK 🌎! #bookstagram #amreading #jackaby #jackabyseries @algonquinyr

From Joey's Instagram

Bluetooth headphones and #Busted playing it's a good day to get that last chapter written before a fresh block starts tomorrow! #authorslife #authorsofinstagram #indieauthor #amwriting #writerslife #writersofinstagram #music #joeywrites #jowrimogo

From Joey's Instagram

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#regram via @alyssadrakenovels . . . "Escaping Friday the 13th...."

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From Joey's Instagram

A week ago today was #thedarkersideoffiction2017 and my first signing. What an amazing experience it was! Today is six months until #Shenanigans2018 which will be my second signing! Time to write! #amwriting #writerslife #writersofinstagram #authorslife #authorsofinstagram #indieauthor #booksigning

From Joey's Instagram

TFW you've had a shit day and got no one to blame but yourself and your body hates you on top. Coz it can just join the back of the queue #spoonie #selfie #badday #brittleasthma #chronicillness #fibromyalgia #flare #chronicpain

Interview with Trish Beninato & review of Acceptance

I am pleased to welcome Trich Beninato to my blog today for both an interview and my review of her books - Acceptance. Here's a little bit about Trish.

Trish Beninato is a young adult fantasy/scifi indie author, who has an unhealthy love for Marvel comics and Star Wars. She is desperately trying to make thirty the new twenty and lives in Colorado with her husband, three children and her adorable rescue pup. She was born in Indiana and raised around the world, spending most of her youth in Hopkinsville, Kentucky. She has a love for traveling and moving to new places thanks to being a child of the military and now spouse to a military soldier. In her spare time she works with young children, paints and hikes around the Rocky Mountains.

And onto the interview!

What made you want to be a writer?
I’ve always been involved in some type of creative writing. I started writing novels in college, but they were more works in progress. Finally, I finished one that I was proud of and ready to publish. I think what made me decide to become a writer was when the stories became something I couldn’t close my eyes and not see it playing as a scene or the character’s speaking to me in some way urging me to write their words down. That was when I knew, I just had to write.

What kind of books do you read for pleasure?
I read a bunch of everything. I enjoy paranormal, sci-fi/fi fantasy, supernatural, romance and in any age group. I mean I read the Percy Jackson novels and fell in love. Lately, I’ve been reading a bunch of young adult and new adult novels since that is my preferred writing genre.

What kind of writer are you: plan or not?
I guess as writers everyone has different desires on what they want to be as a writer. I want to be good. I want people to enjoy my books and give them a little bit of my crazy imagination that they can catch a little bit of as well.

What book/character of yours is your favourite?
I only have one book out published, but my main character, Jewel, I based much of her character on a sassy girl who really grew through the book to understand what she needed to do in order to save the ones she loves. I admire that about her.

If you had the chance to write anywhere, where would you choose?
So, this summer I did a bunch of my writing after a hike or at a park. I live in Colorado and it is beautiful here. I find inspiration in nature.

What attracted you to your chosen genre?
I work with youth and middle schoolers. First as a teacher and later as a assistant director in a program. I love that age group, so I wrote for them. And as for writing fantasy and sci/fi, I wrote in that genre because I love it myself. And everyone loves a good romance, to include myself. So I started with my first book adding all the things I love and molding it into something young adults would love as well- or at least I hope!

How have other writers influenced your own writing?
Oh, there are so many! I love Edhna Walters. Her Runes series is really well written. I’ve also tried to read a few authors series that were similar to mine with he twist of mythology in it. Eva Pohler has a really great series I picked up recently that is really great. It’s called the Gatekeepers Daughter. In adult fiction I’m a really big fan of Karen Marie Moning and my hometown native Theresa Medeiros.

Do you prefer to type or hand write?
Type, I prefer to not do double the work, but have tons of respect for those who hand write. I take my MacBook everywhere.

Do you have a writing playlist? Or do you prefer silence?
I usually don’t listen to music when I write, but because I’m always multitasking. I write with my children running around. Although, I do like the idea of a writing playlist. I might have to try it at night when I’m writing into the night while they are asleep!

Do you have any hobbies?
I like to hike, I love oil painting and I love to travel.

What's your favourite kind of scene to write?
I like to write action scenes or highly emotional scenes. There are quite a few in my book. Another would be to write scenes where there is funny banter between the characters.

Would you ever like to branch out to a different genre?
Yes, I am open to branching out to any of the genres I love. And I love a bunch of them!

What does your writing space look like?
I’m just going to be honest and say it looks like a hot mess, but I call creative chaos! But thats only my writing space.

When destiny and desire collide...

In a community full of supernatural powers, eighteen-year-old Jewel longs for a life of normalcy. But nothing in her life is ordinary. And suddenly she discover she's more abnormal than she ever realized--complete with a past she never knew existed. Once a goddess from ancient Greece, Jewel is the main reason everyone has their special abilities.

As she struggles with her newfound knowledge, Jewel encounters the mysterious god of Egypt, Anubis. With a past she has no recollection of, she tries to deny the pull she has for the sexy god. But, destiny has other plans. As she uncovers more secrets about who she really is, Jewel is pulled into a dangerous world surrounded by a prophecy--a prophecy that both terrifies and intrigues her. Will Jewel accept who she once was for a chance to become who she's meant to be?

Amazon

My review: 5 stars
I loved this book! The opening was hat pulled me in, Jewel lives on a compound of sorts where people have enhanced abilities, she's after a normal life and so struggles to stay in school like a normal teen even though her powers have started to manifest. She's thrown in at the deep end when things start to unravel and the truth about her, her past and her life come to the forefront of her world. It is engaging, exciting and thrilling to read. I loved Jewel and Teddy and loved the pace of the story. It was amazing and I loved it!

You can follow Trish on Facebook or Twitter.

Join Joey here on the blog on Fridays for interviews, reviews and guest bloggers. If you'd be interested in doing any of those, you can contact Joey here.