Here's the start of the blurb: Cursed by God, hunted by demons, desired by Cain and Abel... All in a day's work.
Oooh... You can check out an excerpt here: http://www.sjday.net and see the book trailer here: http://www.sjday.net/trailer/
S.J has agreed to stop by to answer any questions/comments you have, so please welcome her to the blog!
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First, I must do a *squee* over being invited to blog with Nalini!! (Thank you!)I just returned from the RT Booklovers Convention a couple days ago. While I was there, I participated on a panel called "Historical and Paranormal: Mixing the Mystical with the Past." One of the questions that were asked was, “How do you keep immortal characters from becoming cynical and jaded?”
Since the two heroes of my Marked series are Cain and Abel--arguably two of the oldest people ever--this was a fun question to answer. The two brothers have seen and done just about everything. Aren’t they sick of living at this point? And how would such an attitude affect their characterization?
The overall answer provided from the panel of speakers was that for the most part, their immortal characters are indeed sick of the same old/same old, but that the story usually begins with a life-altering event that shakes everyone out of their complacency and triggers a new series of problems to be addressed. They are no longer bored because they’re faced with a dilemma that is new and therefore requires traveling unfamiliar avenues of thought and action.
My answer was a bit different. It’s true that when we first meet up with Cain and Abel, they’ve just experienced a life-altering event--the introduction of my heroine, Eve. However, the two brothers aren’t yet completely world-weary when the story begins. They’re not just going through the motions, even after living endlessly. Why not? Because they’re ambitious. Cain and Abel both have goals yet to be met and those goals are fluid. It’s hard to think you’ve done it all when you’re still striving to get somewhere and you’re continually challenged by obstacles and missteps.
I, personally, went through the same thing while writing the first three Marked books. New genre, new name, new publisher, new goals and expectations. Despite having written a dozen+ books before, there wasn’t much familiar about the process, which made it exciting and fun. The new and unknown keeps things interesting. Hopefully, you’ll find the same to be true about the Marked series!
Hugs,
S. J.
19 comments :
I've been reading your interviews all over the web and I am so excited to get my hands on the first book in your Marked series! Friday...I just have to wait until Friday...
Congrats on the release! Eve of Darkness sounds great!
I read a review of this last week and it sounds fascinating. I love the shades of grey between 'good' and 'evil'. (For some reason Terry Pratchett's Good Omens springs to mind :)
If I may please, didn't Cain...um....murder Abel? I'm guessing in Eve of Darkness he didn't quite succeed? Oh, I can't even begin to imagine the brotherly love between those two!
All the best for the release SJ!
I have this book in my hot little hands! I can't wait to dive into your juicy new series!
I have seen several promos over the past few days. From what I see, it looks like a very interesting series. A perfect book for my vacation. LOL
Hi S.J.,
Congratulations on the release of Eve of Darkness! I loved reading this book! I can't wait till June 2nd, when Eve of Destruction comes out.
Will there be more books besides the first three in the Marked series?
Congrats on the new series release, Sylvia. I've been looking forward to these books and now have the first. Was wondering the same thing, have you plans to do more than three?
Jackie -- Thank you! I hope you enjoy it.
Amy S. -- Thank you! :)
orannia -- My story follows the Biblical tale faithfully, so yes, Cain killed Abel. But in my books, Abel has been known to kill Cain, too. They're still at each other's throats after all these years.
Thank you for the good wishes!
Crazy Sue -- I hope you enjoy it!
Ann -- I had someone say that it's a good beach read, so I hope you find that to be true for you, too. (even if your vacation isn't at the beach *g*)
Fantasy Dreamer -- I'm so glad to hear that you enjoyed EOD1! I hope you like EOD2. I, personally, think it's the stronger of the first two.
Fantasy Dreamer and Pam P -- These first three books are launch books for a continuing series. :)
Congrats on the new series. I'm looking forward to reading Eve of Darkness. Just wish it was available for the Kindle so I could have it NOW instead of having to wait until I go to town and the book store next week.
Jory -- I'm hoping Tor starts e-formatting their books and backlist soon!
Thank you for TBR'ing EOD! I appreciate it, and hope you enjoy the book when you get it. ((hugs))
Hi S.J.
Congratulations and best wishes on your new release! I recently read a review of Eve of Darkness by Katiebabs and I instantly became intrigued by the world, premise and characters of your Marked series and look forward to reading it.
I also wanted to say that I love that you were able to make your own personal connection with your characters regarding the potential for boredom among the immortal and among a seasoned writer. And that having ambition to achieve your goals is crucial to any life journey.
Congratulations on the new release of your new series! It looks and sounds fascinating and I am really intrigue by the mythology you've presented. I cannot wait to read it!
The panel you were on at the RT convention sounds intriguing. What were some of the other topics you discussed?
So very excited for you Sylvia. I can't wait to read my copy, we've been teased for months and now it's finally here. I can't wait to see how this plays out - It's intrigued me from the get go.
looking forward to the series. and love the covers,
i have notice it seem alot of historical author do write as their other genre paranormal, though which is wonderful and im a guessing ,to keep things fresh for yourself?
Thanks for being my guest, S.J!
I have a question - since the series is a continuing one, do you have the overall storyline worked out already?
Have it on the top of my TBR! Can't wait to read it.
Christine -- I'm glad the book intrigues you! Ambition is one of the energies of life, I think. As long as you have a goal to reach, there's something to live for. :)
Una -- Thank you for the congrats!
On the panel, we talked about taking creative license with history, various research sources, dialogue used with immortal characters (too modern/too ye olde), and more that's escaping me now... I really enjoyed it.
Laurie -- I hope you love it! *g*
blackroze -- There are a lot of considerations that go into deciding to write a new genre. Usually the decision is based on an amalgamation of creative, career, and personal reasons. That's certainly true for me.
Nalini -- Thank you again for inviting me over! I appreciate it.
I'm somewhat restrained by Biblical history, but there are so many hills and valleys on that set path. Just this afternoon I was tossing ideas back and forth with a friend and the possibilities are so vast. I have certain storylines that I know will be addressed, but I'm a seat-of-the-pants writer so I leave lots of room for inspiration and deviation. :)
Aymless -- I hope you enjoy it! Thank you for picking it up.
Hi SJ!!! I can't wait to venture out to get EVE OF DARKNESS. I've been so waiting for these Marked books! You said that first 3 books, so there will be more after these, right? How did you come about to writing these 3 to come out in a row?
I am going to get to RT some day!!
Caffey - Yes, the Eve books were always planned to be a continuing series. :)
It was Tor's idea to release the first three consecutively, because they wanted to launch the series in a way that would give it the best chance to succeed. I'm grateful for their enthusiasm and support.
I'd love to see you at RT someday!
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