Guest Author - Erica Hayes (Shadowglass Launch & Giveaway)

Today it is my pleasure to welcome back author Erica Hayes who has a special guest post for us on Shadowglass, the second book in her dark urban fantasy Shadowfae Chronicles series (released March 2). I interviewed Erica last fall for her debut launch of Shadowfae and you can read my review of this "fresh and unusual diversion from mainstream urban fantasy" here.  I've read, but haven't written up my review for Shadowglass yet, and I assure you it more than lives up to the high expectations set by the first book.

I encourage you to leave a comment or question for Erica as she will be dropping in periodically. Of course keep in mind that Erica lives in Australia so for many of us there is a bit of a time differential.

Erica is also giving away a copy of Shadowglass to a lucky commenter. Details at the end of the post.

You can also learn more and visit Erica Hayes here:
Website |Blog |Twitter  
 
Welcome Erica!

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The Second Book is a strange and frightening beast for an author. It's where you really need to make decisions about what the series is. Are the books standalones? Do they have continuing characters? And most importantly: what's the point? What's the overarching story, and what happens at the end?

Cue the thinking music. My first book, SHADOWFAE, is about Jade, a succubus in fairy-infested Melbourne. She's in thrall for a thousand years to Kane, the powerful and petulant demon lord who owns the city, and the story's about her efforts to escape hell's shackles. Jade and her incubus lover find at least some kind of happy-for-now ending (I don't think that's a spoiler!) but I had more places I could go with them, more trials to face and freedoms to aim for. It was tempting to continue their story, and do a series with a continuing heroine.

But it wasn't until I sat down to write the second book that I twigged: this series isn't about Jade.

Oh, no. That wasn't the tale I wanted to tell. That dirty demon lord had stolen my heart along with my story arc, and if Jade taught me one thing, it's that there's no use arguing with a demon.

This story is about Kane. And the cool thing about Kane is that… well, he's already in charge. The city's already gone to hell. If there ever was a war between angels and demons, it's over, at least for now. But the forces of good (or slightly lesser evil!) won't lie down and die. And what could be a more fundamental story arc than the fight between hell and… well, whoever hell are fighting against?

So, in terms of the series, SHADOWFAE is an introduction to this world and the people that live there. We meet Kane, his vampire mafioso minions, and their enemies, the dark and devious DiLuca clan. In that book, Kane comes out on top, when Jade inadvertently gets rid of his major rival for power. All is rich and ripe for the taking.

But it's in SHADOWGLASS that things really start getting interesting for Kane. A seductive new demon rival dares to challenge his control, and allies herself with the new DiLuca boss, a sinister cold-blooded shapeshifter. And a strange, ingenuous creature falls from the sky, perhaps a messenger from an ancient enemy – or perhaps something worse.

And to top it all off, pesky fairies keep pinching Kane's stuff. Oh, the indignity. Which is where the heroine comes in. Ice is a waterfae thief, obsessed with shiny things, who steals a magic mirror from Kane's pocket and learns a whole new appreciation for the saying, 'Be careful what you wish for'.

SHADOWGLASS has romance, action, suspense and chills, as well as the colour and sensuality I hope you enjoyed about SHADOWFAE. If you're a romance reader, yes, it has a happy ending – that's the beauty of having a new heroine for each book! If you're new to the series, you can jump in right here and it'll still make sense – though I hope you'll try SHADOWFAE too!

Many thanks for Doug for hosting me on SciFiGuy today. You can find out more about my books, and read a free prequel, Hellcursed, at my website.



GIVEAWAY GUIDELINES:

1. A copy of Shadowglass to giveaway courtesy of Erica Hayes to be drawn randomly.
2. Leave a comment or question for Erica.
3. Open to US and Canada.
4. Leave a way to notify you if you should win.
5. Blog, tweet, post on Facebook or other social network sites for an extra entry. Leave a comment here to let me know.
6. Giveaway open until Midnight, March 24, 2010 EST.