At long last, a new Extra! I’ve been holding this one in reserve since Shadow’s Fall, but I think it’s more poignant now that more of the series has unfolded. It’s a watershed moment in the lives of our heroes, not just emotionally, but for the fate of the entire Shadow World. I think the best word for it is “bittersweet.” Enjoy!
In case you ever thought precognition would be a fun gift…
(Downloads as a .pdf)
I thought I’d take a moment and answer a few of the recurring questions I’ve gotten since Of Shadow Born hit shelves last month. It’s hard to answer without giving too much away, given the pace of the story, but I did my best.
1. Is Nico going to turn Deven into an Elf?
No, not at all. There are things about Dev that most people don’t know (here’s a preview: he can hear trees talking), which will come to light now that he has someone to talk to about them who can understand. But assuming he doesn’t go batcrap crazy, Dev will always be who he is – and that’s going to continue to get him into trouble with those he loves. Part of why he’s such a basket case is that he can’t reconcile his dual identity – being a self-proclaimed “murder pimp” versus being a healer. Book 5, in fact, spends a lot more time in his head, for better or worse. Whether or not Nico is successful in helping him will significantly influence what’s to come for everyone.
2. How long does Olivia have to wait to find a Consort?
Not as long as you’d think. In fact, one of our characters has already met him – not on camera, but back in the 90s before our story began.
3. But seriously…Elves?
It’s all based on the myth of Persephone and her sister; it’s all about balance. If there’s a predatory species meant to feed on humans, there must be an equal and opposite force to help lift humans up. Those are the only two supernatural races in the Shadow World; there aren’t any werewolves lurking down the corner. (Witches, here, are just enhanced humans, not a separate race.) Both races represent very different ways of dealing with humanity, and you’ll notice which one has survived. The story’s not going to be overrun with Elves, though, don’t worry; at the moment I only know of three – maybe four, maybe – who will make any sort of appearance, and of those only two are really important.
4. Aside from the black eye thing and being stronger, is there anything else that will make the Thirdborn different from regular vampires?
Absolutely. There’s one major thing we’ll get into as soon as the next book starts; it’s a consequence neither of our Pair imagined, and weren’t prepared for at all. And they’ll have a particular role to play in the circle once it’s completed and they can start figuring out what the hell they’re supposed to be doing.
5. Is Stella going to become a vampire?
Definitely not. I think it’s important with all these supernatural beings running around to have a human anchor, even if her life is as bound up in all this as anyone else’s. Stella is on a very important journey and it’s just barely gotten started. She doesn’t want to be a vampire, has no romantic notions about life as one – partly because she’s seen what happens to Miranda and David as they try to keep their people safe. She bears witness to the breaking of their world in a way that only a human can. These vamps are rich and powerful and badass, but they are not angst-ridden over the loss of their humanity – they have too much work to do, and it requires a ruthless, violent lifestyle. Even the most sparkly-eyed teenager would think twice about that, and Stella is in her early 20s – and far more mature than she looks, with her funny hair and outfits. She and I are both quite content with her as a Witch.
6. Are you planning to kill off any more major characters?
There’s a pretty significant death coming up, and beyond that I don’t know. I don’t have every moment planned out, to be honest; most of the time I follow the characters where they lead me, and sometimes even I’m surprised how things end up. I was thankful that Of Shadow Born had a happy ending, more or less, because I think it’s important to know that our characters aren’t just fighting for a world full of tragedy, but for a world full of love and joy as well. If all they had to look forward to was being picked off one by one, why bother? But if it helps, I don’t kill people off lightly. When it’s a good guy, I almost always cry over it at least twice: once while writing it and once when I reread it later. Speaking of deaths:
7. Why did you have Miranda kill Hart instead of finding a way for Cora to do it?
Cora would not have killed Hart. I don’t think Cora would kill anyone unless someone she cared about was in mortal danger. There’s more to Cora than we yet know, but at that time, she wasn’t ready to take that step. Miranda, on the other hand, is a warrior, and she was able to do it in honor of the women Hart had abused and killed, without lowering herself to his level and torturing him to death or anything like that. Miranda understood the significance of the act as well as its necessity. Did she get a little wicked glee from it? Hell yeah. She’s only “human,” after all, and this was the man who enslaved and raped Cora for decades, as well as countless other girls; did the same to Amelia Hayes, putting Jeremy on the path that led to David’s death; and was instrumental not only in setting up the Awakening but having Miranda shot – an attempt to destroy her career. He had absolutely earned a quick appointment with Shadowflame.
8. Are things going to get weird again with David/Deven/Miranda?
If by weird you mean “is David going to fuck it all up again,” then, the answer is no. But the dynamic of their friendship is changing – the thing to remember is, everyone in the circle is going to grow closer, but those three, along with Jonathan, are in an odd position because they were already close, and the boys already had a painful history. The connections among all the characters have to shift and evolve and there’s no guarantee everyone will react well. But though they’re certainly still hot for each other and love each other very much, neither really wants to go back there. There’s just too much pain down that path, above and beyond who else would get hurt. They want to be just friends, but will probably never be just friends – the trick is figuring out what they can be.
9. Are things going to come to a head with the Council in the next book?
In a manner of speaking. As in, there will be a schism, a lot of death, and a certain ice-cream loving geek we know and love will find himself doing something that has never been done in all of Signet history.
10. Tell us more about what’s coming up in book 5! And when is it coming out? How many more are there going to be?
Shadowbound, book 5 of the Shadow World series, will be out at roughly the same time next year as Of Shadow Born was – end of March, I do believe. I only have a contract up through book 5, so far, but if everything goes according to plan there will be eight books. I think. Maybe?
As for Shadowbound itself, I’ll give you five words:
Sunlight
Hayloft
Scion*
Wedding
Spider
* – Not the car.
Check out what the publishing fairy brought me today! (Or actually brought me on the 18th, but don’t get me started on the management at this apartment complex.) A happy box of brand new shiny Of Shadow Born.
You know what that means–time for a giveaway! Since it’s so close to the release date, this time there will be TWO winners, and each will receive a signed copy right out of the box. I can’t guarantee it’ll reach you by Tuesday (and let’s be realistic, given the speed of snail mail it probably won’t), but maybe some of you Kindlers will already have it and want an autographed copy for your shelves.
To enter, just leave a comment down below telling me your favorite moment of the series so far. Happy, sad, a death scene, a battle, sexytimes, something funny–just a scene, or even a line, you love. I’ll choose two winners via random number generator.
There will be at least one more giveaway after the release date, so if you’re still jonesing for a signed copy you can always buy one and give it away after you win. *laugh* It’s always good to pay the vampires forward.
Good luck!
Here’s our second and final excerpt before next Tuesday’s release.
It’s the first part of Chapter 1, scene 2: it doesn’t give away anything too major, at least nothing you couldn’t have deduced from Shadow’s Fall, meaning where Miranda ended up immediately afterward.
Once again, don’t scroll down past the cover art if you haven’t finished Shadow’s Fall!
There’s a vampire on my couch.
“Lark, seriously, this is the fifth message I’ve left you. I’ve been trying to reach you since last night—I need you to come over, okay? I’ll explain when you get here.”
The living room was as dark as she could get it, with blankets hung over the one window, but Stella had a candle burning on her altar and its light flickered in the jewel-toned hair of the unconscious woman who hadn’t so much as twitched in nearly thirty hours. Once in a while Stella could see her chest rise and fall, but it was the only sign Miranda Grey was even alive. Her skin was ashen, and the aura of power that had surrounded her when they’d met seemed to have evaporated into the night as Stella half led, half carried her to the car and across Austin to Stella’s apartment.
Even the light in her Signet was dull. It still shone, but through a glass darkly. Stella would have called it a coma if Miranda were human. Did vampires have comas?
There’s a vampire on my couch. This is not my life.
She wanted desperately to call her father. He might have some idea what the hell was going on . . . but her intuition told her to wait, and it was intuition that had led her to the building downtown just before the front of it blew out and turned the whole world into hell. She somehow didn’t think the human police would know anything more about the whole thing than she did.
Miranda hadn’t spoken or even acknowledged Stella’s presence once they were in the car. She just fell against the window and passed out.
Stella stood in the doorway between the living room and tiny kitchen, chewing on her fingernail, wondering what she was supposed to do now.
She’d done the best she could to make Miranda comfortable, whatever that meant in this situation— she’d pulled her boots off, unbuckled the sword from her waist and laid it on the coffee table, wiped the soot off her face and swabbed at the wounds all over her torso . . . but by then the gashes were already healing, leaving only angry pink scabs in their wake. Stella had debated with herself on whether to do anything else, but the sight of all those bloody holes in Miranda’s shirt was too creepy, so she wrestled the singer out of her clothes and into a set of Stella’s pajamas. They were about three sizes too big but would have to do for now. She doubted Miranda would care at this point.
Long about noon, there was a knock.
Stella jumped about a mile and squeaked. Warily, she checked the peephole, then let out a massive sigh of relief. She darted over to the couch and yanked a throw blanket down over Miranda’s exposed skin, just in case—the front door opened into a short hallway, but she had no idea how much sunlight was too much.
Lark was just about to pound on the door again when Stella opened it.
“Jesus Fancy Dancing Christ, Stell! What is all this?” Lark, who looked more worried than Stella had ever seen her, held up her phone and the list of missed calls and texts.
“Where the hell have you been?” Stella demanded, hauling her inside and locking the door again.
“Hung over, of course,” Lark replied. “I had my phone off. What’s the big emergency?”
Stella ushered her into the living room and gestured helplessly at the couch.
Lark gave her a dubious look. “Um . . . you know how I always said I’d help you bury a body? That was a metaphor, sweetie.”
Stella sighed again. “No . . . look.”
She lifted the blanket.
Lark’s mouth dropped open. “Is that . . .”
“Yeah.”
“What the . . .”
“I have no idea.”
“How did . . .”
Stella pointed at her altar, where the tarot cards were still spread as she’d left them. “I was doing a reading, and I had a vision. I followed it downtown to this building that was on fire, and found her in the street.”
Lark, eyes still huge, sank down in the rickety armchair they’d scavenged from behind a furniture store. “There’s a famous person on your couch.”
Stella nodded.
“And . . . she’s wearing your Hello Kitty pajamas.”
Stella nodded.
Today I’ve got a surprise for you – an excerpt from Of Shadow Born.
The book will officially be out in exactly two weeks, but today you can get a tiny taste and read the opening scene below. I’ll have one more short excerpt for you next week.
If you haven’t finished Shadow’s Fall, don’t scroll down past the image or you’ll be massively spoiled!
“Brave new world, friends! Brave new world!”
Bill raised his glass to the entire bar, or at least the half-dozen vampires that were out tonight. This was the only place he’d found open, but tonight was a night for a party.
The bartender looked nervous at his toast. “Keep it down, Bill . . . somebody might hear you.”
“Screw ’em,” Bill replied with a laugh. “We’re free, man. No more rules, no more looking over your shoulder.” He turned back to the bar, but nobody was making eye contact; in fact, they looked scared. “Oh, come on—eighteen years we’ve been too afraid to piss in this territory without permission. Now it’s back to the good old days—the Auren days. Remember when we could eat whoever we wanted and live like real vampires, not some pussy-whipped hippies?”
He looked over at the guy two stools down. “How about you, friend? Have a drink with me to celebrate.”
Eyes a strange shade of lavender fixed on his. “Why not?”
Bill motioned to the bartender, who let out an exasperated breath and poured out two shots. The other vampire, a slender, sort of girly-looking fellow with pierced eyebrows and a black leather coat buttoned up to his neck, clinked glasses with him, then knocked back the shot smoothly.
“Are you a native of this territory?” the pale-eyed vampire asked over the rim of his shot glass. He looked at Bill as if he were studying him in a zoo, and if Bill hadn’t already had most of a bottle, he might have been uneasy.
“Ninety-eight years,” Bill said. “Long enough to have seen Primes come and go and know we’re better off without this one.”
“And what about the next one?” he asked. “What if he’s as bad as Solomon?”
Bill laughed again. “Nobody’s as bad as Solomon. Bastard was tracking all of us like criminals, making us live like slaves.”
“Oh? I heard that the population here nearly doubled in his tenure—why would that happen if everyone was so miserable?”
“Beats the shit out of me. All I know is, I’m gonna go out there and rip a few throats, and there isn’t a damned soul who can stop me.”
He set down the glass and smiled. “I can think of at least one damned soul who can.”
Before Bill could reply, there was a sword pointed at his throat.
Bill’s shot glass clunked down onto the bar, spilling the last few drops of whiskey, but the bartender was standing there gaping and didn’t make a move toward it. “I—I—”
With his free hand, the pale-eyed vampire opened the collar of his coat, revealing the glowing emerald that hung from his neck. Bill swallowed hard, terror gripping him in a cold fist.
“Tell all your friends,” the vampire said in a quiet, calm voice that everyone in the bar could still hear. “This territory is still protected by a Signet. The law stands as before. Put one fang out of line and I will gut you, take your head, and sow your corpse with salt.”
Bill was panting. “Who . . . who the hell are you?”
An icy smile. “Just a temp.” He lowered the sword, casting his gaze around the bar. No one was looking, but everyone was listening. “Spread the word,” he said.
Then he tossed a folded bill onto the bar, nodded to the bartender, and walked out into the darkness.
© 2013 by Dianne Sylvan. May not be reproduced in any form.
