My critique partner Kath and I put our heads together to explore a unique way to tell you about our new/pending books that we hope you'll see in the bookstores in the comings months/years.
Here's what came out of that brainstorming session...
Here's what came out of that brainstorming session...
Blood Angel/High Daemon Abdriel Visits the Blog
“Hello. Is anyone home? Mudge, I told you we should have entered through the front door. You do know this is a bathroom window, don’t you? Help me down.” Blood Angel Abdriel brushed off her new jeans and tight blood-red sweater. She patted her back to check that her wings were still closed and turned to her Gargoyle lieutenant Mudge whose ragged overalls and torn flannel shirt needed no straightening. “Take your head out of the toilet. That is not a drinking fountain.”
Abdriel peered out the bathroom door into the hall. “Follow me. We’ll find Ms. Shields, and you can explain our unorthodox entry. I am sure there was no ward on the front door. We were invited. But then she does write about the best witch in the whole of existence. Don’t share that with Hazel. She’d be jealous.”
Abdriel’s wings twitched only once as she led the way down a short hall into a sunny kitchen. She spotted the author they had come to meet. Ally Shield’s back was to them, busy with something on the kitchen counter.
“Hello. I’m Abdriel Mallack, Blood Angel and High Daemon. I believe we have an appointment, Ms. Shields.”
The author whirled around, eyes large, but recovered immediately and chuckled. “You startled me. I should have known you wouldn’t use the front door. Or did you? I didn’t hear the doorbell or the door open and close.”
Abdriel shrugged. “A Blood Angel thing.”
“Really? Well, never mind. I so enjoyed reading the draft of your first book. I hope we’ll see you and Mudge in print soon. I’m looking forward to our interview.”
Abdriel held up a finger and addressed her lieutenant, “Mudge, you must ask before you slurp up someone’s peanut butter. Ms. Shields--
“Please call me Ally,” she said. “Ms. Shields is so formal, makes me feel old.”
“Okay, Ally, but please excuse my Mudge. He is overly fond of peanut butter and is quite unable to control himself. Not that our cupboards are bare, and he didn’t eat before we left home.” She glared at the stumpy three foot tall gargoyle who rolled his eyes as if to say there wasn’t any peanut butter at home.
“Not a problem. He's welcome to it. Would you like some coffee?” Ally pointed to the coffee maker that chortled out a perfect cup of coffee into a mug with a bewitching witch on its front.
“How kind. Normally I’d say yes, but I’ve just finished an interesting series of books on the English Regency period. I’m dying to try a cup of …” Abdriel snapped her fingers at her short scruffy lieutenant.
Mudge mumbled through a sticky mouthful of peanut butter, “Tea.”
“Yes, that’s the word.” Abdriel looked around the sparkling kitchen. She spotted a porcelain teacup, waved her fingers, and brought it to the counter beside the coffee maker. “No milk. I’m not eating animals these days.”
“Milk isn’t exactly eating an animal,” Ally protested.
“Is that a lion?” Abdriel looked at the space around the author’s ankles. “I’ve never seen a lion so small.”
Mudge stood stock still for a second, then raced to the side of a lanky brown and cream-colored kitten who stood her ground not bothering to hiss at the gargoyle as he clumsily stroked her silky back.
“That’s Latte,” Ally said. “She doesn’t usually like visitors. Goodness. She just rolled over for a tummy rub!”
“Mudge is very friendly. Did you say you had tea?” Abdriel tapped the edge of the teacup’s saucer.
“I do.” As Ally disappeared into a neatly stocked pantry, she continued, “You said you had just read a Regency series. What a coincidence. I have a new Regency series coming out soon, The Viscount Ware Mysteries. I’m waiting for a final release date.”
“And I thought you were a devoted fantasy author.”
“I am…under the name of Ally Shields. My new series is written as JL Buck.”
“Oh. Well, I’m a fan of Arianna, your Guardian Witch, in particular. Do you have a strong female protagonist in the new Regency series?” Abdriel looked around the bright kitchen. Her eyes stopped at the room beyond. A prettily set table with a plate of cookies in the center and linen napkins drew her. “Let’s sit and talk. Will you bring the tea and coffee?”
Without waiting for her hostess, Abdriel placed herself at the head of the table and motioned to Mudge. “You will play with the little lion while I talk with Ms. Shields.”
Mudge peered at the plate of cookies, but Latte snagged the back of one leg of his overalls, and he turned and joined her play with a large foil ball that skidded into the vaulted living room beyond the dining room.
Abdriel checked her wings again to make sure they weren’t unfolding. They had a mind of their own, and she was only beginning to get them to follow her wishes. Ally appeared with a tray replete with her own coffee in the Guardian Witch mug, the porcelain cup brimming with tea, slices of lemon, and a bowl of sugar.
Abdriel accepted her tea but shook her head no to the lemon and sugar. “Tell me about your new Regency series.”
Ally smiled. “But you’re here to discuss your first book in a new YA series. Such an intriguing title--Blood Angel: Ascent from Hell. I loved reading your manuscript. I’m afraid Latte had a hard time gaining my attention while I read it all the way through in one sitting.”
“High praise indeed!” Abdriel sipped at her tea. “What part did you like best?”
“It’s hard to pick just one, and I don’t want to give away too much of the plot, but your escape from Hell at the beginning was very dramatic and exciting.”
“It was indeed.” Abdriel laughed. “It seems like a long time ago that Mudge and I made that clever escape. We certainly didn’t know our quest to find power on Earth to take back to Hell would end the way it did. I’d never even heard of the Sisterhood or Hunter Angels. Surprising, don’t you agree?”
“Absolutely, but it made for a great story.”
Abdriel stood and paced to a sideboard. “Is this an advance copy of your new Regency series?” She held up the book. “The Dead Betray None by JL Buck. Tell me about it.” Abdriel set her lips in a pout. “I still miss the Guardian Witch. Is this series as good?”
Ally took a breath as though to humor her guest. “I hope so, but perhaps not as interesting for a high daemon/blood angel as the urban fantasy series filled with witches, vampires, and even demons.”
“Yes, it would be better if there were demons...and blood angels,” Abdriel conceded, “but I wish to hear about it anyway. Now. ...uh, please,” she added, remembering humans liked that word.
“Very well. Lucien Grey, Viscount Ware, the heir to an earldom, was a spy for England during the war with Napoleon. He and his partner were betrayed in France and forced to flee to avoid the guillotine. Upon arrival in London, they were recruited into the Prince Regent’s private spy unit, unmasking foreign spy activities within England...or any other delicate situation Prinny felt threatened the Crown.
The first book involves a stolen cipher, the key to Napoleon’s latest spy code. While attempting to recover the missing cipher, Lucien encountered Lady Anne Ashburn standing over a dead body. This intrepid young woman provides valuable assistance during the inquiry and becomes a potential love interest.
Book two, entitled The Dead Cannot Hide, is already written; book three, The Dead Came Calling, is in progress; and book four, The Dead Sang Off-Key, will be underway soon. Those four books are under contract. More books are still in the planning.” Ally set down her coffee mug. “Now, can we talk about your book?”
Abdriel shrugged. “What can I say? It’s wonderful. It’s about me. And Mudge, of course. Lots of adventure, and narrates all the very smart things I say and do. It’s really indescribably awesome.”
“I hope you’ll tell us as soon as it’s for sale.”
“Watch what you humans call a television. Such a momentous event will naturally headline the news.” Abdriel stood. “We must leave. Mudge and I have a busy schedule." She laid a hand on Mudge’s wings, snapped her fingers, and disappeared.
“Hello. Is anyone home? Mudge, I told you we should have entered through the front door. You do know this is a bathroom window, don’t you? Help me down.” Blood Angel Abdriel brushed off her new jeans and tight blood-red sweater. She patted her back to check that her wings were still closed and turned to her Gargoyle lieutenant Mudge whose ragged overalls and torn flannel shirt needed no straightening. “Take your head out of the toilet. That is not a drinking fountain.”
Abdriel peered out the bathroom door into the hall. “Follow me. We’ll find Ms. Shields, and you can explain our unorthodox entry. I am sure there was no ward on the front door. We were invited. But then she does write about the best witch in the whole of existence. Don’t share that with Hazel. She’d be jealous.”
Abdriel’s wings twitched only once as she led the way down a short hall into a sunny kitchen. She spotted the author they had come to meet. Ally Shield’s back was to them, busy with something on the kitchen counter.
“Hello. I’m Abdriel Mallack, Blood Angel and High Daemon. I believe we have an appointment, Ms. Shields.”
The author whirled around, eyes large, but recovered immediately and chuckled. “You startled me. I should have known you wouldn’t use the front door. Or did you? I didn’t hear the doorbell or the door open and close.”
Abdriel shrugged. “A Blood Angel thing.”
“Really? Well, never mind. I so enjoyed reading the draft of your first book. I hope we’ll see you and Mudge in print soon. I’m looking forward to our interview.”
Abdriel held up a finger and addressed her lieutenant, “Mudge, you must ask before you slurp up someone’s peanut butter. Ms. Shields--
“Please call me Ally,” she said. “Ms. Shields is so formal, makes me feel old.”
“Okay, Ally, but please excuse my Mudge. He is overly fond of peanut butter and is quite unable to control himself. Not that our cupboards are bare, and he didn’t eat before we left home.” She glared at the stumpy three foot tall gargoyle who rolled his eyes as if to say there wasn’t any peanut butter at home.
“Not a problem. He's welcome to it. Would you like some coffee?” Ally pointed to the coffee maker that chortled out a perfect cup of coffee into a mug with a bewitching witch on its front.
“How kind. Normally I’d say yes, but I’ve just finished an interesting series of books on the English Regency period. I’m dying to try a cup of …” Abdriel snapped her fingers at her short scruffy lieutenant.
Mudge mumbled through a sticky mouthful of peanut butter, “Tea.”
“Yes, that’s the word.” Abdriel looked around the sparkling kitchen. She spotted a porcelain teacup, waved her fingers, and brought it to the counter beside the coffee maker. “No milk. I’m not eating animals these days.”
“Milk isn’t exactly eating an animal,” Ally protested.
“Is that a lion?” Abdriel looked at the space around the author’s ankles. “I’ve never seen a lion so small.”
Mudge stood stock still for a second, then raced to the side of a lanky brown and cream-colored kitten who stood her ground not bothering to hiss at the gargoyle as he clumsily stroked her silky back.
“That’s Latte,” Ally said. “She doesn’t usually like visitors. Goodness. She just rolled over for a tummy rub!”
“Mudge is very friendly. Did you say you had tea?” Abdriel tapped the edge of the teacup’s saucer.
“I do.” As Ally disappeared into a neatly stocked pantry, she continued, “You said you had just read a Regency series. What a coincidence. I have a new Regency series coming out soon, The Viscount Ware Mysteries. I’m waiting for a final release date.”
“And I thought you were a devoted fantasy author.”
“I am…under the name of Ally Shields. My new series is written as JL Buck.”
“Oh. Well, I’m a fan of Arianna, your Guardian Witch, in particular. Do you have a strong female protagonist in the new Regency series?” Abdriel looked around the bright kitchen. Her eyes stopped at the room beyond. A prettily set table with a plate of cookies in the center and linen napkins drew her. “Let’s sit and talk. Will you bring the tea and coffee?”
Without waiting for her hostess, Abdriel placed herself at the head of the table and motioned to Mudge. “You will play with the little lion while I talk with Ms. Shields.”
Mudge peered at the plate of cookies, but Latte snagged the back of one leg of his overalls, and he turned and joined her play with a large foil ball that skidded into the vaulted living room beyond the dining room.
Abdriel checked her wings again to make sure they weren’t unfolding. They had a mind of their own, and she was only beginning to get them to follow her wishes. Ally appeared with a tray replete with her own coffee in the Guardian Witch mug, the porcelain cup brimming with tea, slices of lemon, and a bowl of sugar.
Abdriel accepted her tea but shook her head no to the lemon and sugar. “Tell me about your new Regency series.”
Ally smiled. “But you’re here to discuss your first book in a new YA series. Such an intriguing title--Blood Angel: Ascent from Hell. I loved reading your manuscript. I’m afraid Latte had a hard time gaining my attention while I read it all the way through in one sitting.”
“High praise indeed!” Abdriel sipped at her tea. “What part did you like best?”
“It’s hard to pick just one, and I don’t want to give away too much of the plot, but your escape from Hell at the beginning was very dramatic and exciting.”
“It was indeed.” Abdriel laughed. “It seems like a long time ago that Mudge and I made that clever escape. We certainly didn’t know our quest to find power on Earth to take back to Hell would end the way it did. I’d never even heard of the Sisterhood or Hunter Angels. Surprising, don’t you agree?”
“Absolutely, but it made for a great story.”
Abdriel stood and paced to a sideboard. “Is this an advance copy of your new Regency series?” She held up the book. “The Dead Betray None by JL Buck. Tell me about it.” Abdriel set her lips in a pout. “I still miss the Guardian Witch. Is this series as good?”
Ally took a breath as though to humor her guest. “I hope so, but perhaps not as interesting for a high daemon/blood angel as the urban fantasy series filled with witches, vampires, and even demons.”
“Yes, it would be better if there were demons...and blood angels,” Abdriel conceded, “but I wish to hear about it anyway. Now. ...uh, please,” she added, remembering humans liked that word.
“Very well. Lucien Grey, Viscount Ware, the heir to an earldom, was a spy for England during the war with Napoleon. He and his partner were betrayed in France and forced to flee to avoid the guillotine. Upon arrival in London, they were recruited into the Prince Regent’s private spy unit, unmasking foreign spy activities within England...or any other delicate situation Prinny felt threatened the Crown.
The first book involves a stolen cipher, the key to Napoleon’s latest spy code. While attempting to recover the missing cipher, Lucien encountered Lady Anne Ashburn standing over a dead body. This intrepid young woman provides valuable assistance during the inquiry and becomes a potential love interest.
Book two, entitled The Dead Cannot Hide, is already written; book three, The Dead Came Calling, is in progress; and book four, The Dead Sang Off-Key, will be underway soon. Those four books are under contract. More books are still in the planning.” Ally set down her coffee mug. “Now, can we talk about your book?”
Abdriel shrugged. “What can I say? It’s wonderful. It’s about me. And Mudge, of course. Lots of adventure, and narrates all the very smart things I say and do. It’s really indescribably awesome.”
“I hope you’ll tell us as soon as it’s for sale.”
“Watch what you humans call a television. Such a momentous event will naturally headline the news.” Abdriel stood. “We must leave. Mudge and I have a busy schedule." She laid a hand on Mudge’s wings, snapped her fingers, and disappeared.
Kath Boyd Marsh (kathboydmarshauthor.com)
Author of the Bumblespells and Bubbles and Smush Middle Grade fantasy series.
Author of the soon-to-be-published Abdriel: Ascent from Hell (Book one of the Blood Angel series)
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