I'm pleased to be handing over the blog today to Lindsay J. Pryor, author of the Blackthorn series. Her book Blood Shadows was released in November 2012 and all the details are included below.
Please welcome Lindsay to the blog, and I hope you all enjoy her post.
I
Didn’t Think I Wrote Sexy by Lindsay J. Pryor
I’ve come to realise, as an author, that
the most rewarding part of this job is reader feedback. There is also nothing
more terrifying. Only recently published, I was at least semi-prepared for
facing an audience by having entered Harlequin Mills and Boon’s online New
Voices competition – twice.
For those who don’t know of this writing
competition, you upload a chapter onto an interactive forum and basically
invite anyone out there to tell you exactly what they think. Why do it? Because
the first prize was a contract and, for runners-up, professional editorial
feedback. In this industry of single line rejection letters, that’s gold dust
enough to be worth the potential humiliation. At least it was to me. Having
written in isolation for almost thirty years and constantly telling myself I
wasn’t good enough, New Voices was my way of finally forcing myself to see if I
had what it took. Once my finger clicked send, I couldn’t take it back. I could
no longer say I’d send it tomorrow once it’s better.
It was the best thing I ever did – not just
because it was that competition that lead me to being discovered and being
offered a three-book deal back a few months ago – the reader feedback was
pivotal in getting me to the point where I am now. Not only was it was those
reader votes and comments that got me into the final in both 2010 (with Blood Roses) and then again in 2011
(with Blood Shadows previously called
Beguiling The Enemy), but they gave me the courage to pursue publication.
Since then, readers have been responsible
for shaping my self-perception as a writer. I’ve learned I’m a fast-paced,
page-turning storyteller. I’ve learned I make readers breathless. I’m told my
hero is to die for. I’ve learned I write twists in the tale that readers don’t
see coming. I’ve learned I write with emotional depth that pulls at the
heart-strings. Most of all, I’ve learned I write sexy. Really sexy. Two years
ago I would never have put that top of the list. Intense, yes. Dark, most
definitely. But sexy is most definitely the comment readers make the most.
I’ve also learned I can’t please everyone.
Where I’ve been told that my hero oversteps the mark to the point of making
someone uncomfortable, I’ve had many more say the fact my heroes are so
unpredictable, that they skirt so close to the edge, is what makes the stories
so exciting. One person thought my heroine was too fragile, another too much of
a superwoman. For some it’ll be too dark, for others not dark enough. I have learned
that what some people dislike about my stories, are the very things that other
readers love.
For me, this is the best thing about
writing romance. It’s the fact there is such an eclectic range of books within
the genre, and even within the sub-genres themselves, that makes it such an
exciting genre to work in. That if we try to please every reader, we’ll do the
genre a disservice. Yes, it’s hard when someone dislikes what I write. Yes,
I’ll drag my heart around in my socks for a few days because of course it
matters to me what readers think – but that’s when the positive reviews make
all the difference. Stand in front of an audience with your soul bared and
you’re going to get hecklers. But you’ll also get those that give you a nod and
wink of supportive approval and, every time, that’s more than reward enough.
wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
Cover Artist: Henry Steadman
Blood Shadows
Blackthorn Series Book One
Lindsay J. Pryor
Lindsay J. Pryor
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Bookouture
Published: November 7th, 2012
ISBN: 9781909490000
ASIN: B00AAMO252
Number of pages: 380
Word Count: 117,000
Book Description
For vengeance - would you trust a vampire?
For justice - could you betray your family?
For love - are you ready to question everything you believe in?
Gifted with the ability to read the shadows of ‘third species’ beings, Caitlin Parish is the Vampire Control Unit’s most powerful agent. Despite that, her mission to hunt down Kane Malloy – a master vampire – comes with a death wish. Many have tried, but few have survived.
For Caitlin, tracking Kane is about more than just professional reputation. With her parents both mysteriously killed 7 years apart to the day, Caitlin knows that without Kane’s help she is next.
She has four days to make a deal with the wicked, the irresistible, the treacherous Kane Malloy. The vampire who despises everything she stands for.
Or die.
For justice - could you betray your family?
For love - are you ready to question everything you believe in?
Gifted with the ability to read the shadows of ‘third species’ beings, Caitlin Parish is the Vampire Control Unit’s most powerful agent. Despite that, her mission to hunt down Kane Malloy – a master vampire – comes with a death wish. Many have tried, but few have survived.
For Caitlin, tracking Kane is about more than just professional reputation. With her parents both mysteriously killed 7 years apart to the day, Caitlin knows that without Kane’s help she is next.
She has four days to make a deal with the wicked, the irresistible, the treacherous Kane Malloy. The vampire who despises everything she stands for.
Or die.
Buy Links
Book Trailer
You can read the first three chapters on Scribd for free:
Check Out What
Readers Have to Say About Blood Shadows:
“Lindsay J. Pryor easily earns a place alongside Paranormal
Romance's best writers!” ~ Michele Hauf
“An incredible voice for paranormal.” ~ Rhyannon Byrd
“An incredible voice for paranormal.” ~ Rhyannon Byrd
“I drooled on my keyboard.”
“Wow! This is just soooo good.”
“Utterly captivating.”
“Flawless, tight, sensual, electrifying!”
“Tell Kane he can have my soul RIGHT NOW!”
“Every moment was dripping with tension.”
“I forgot to blink.”
“Girl, you can WRITE! And you can write sexxxy!”
“Fang-a-licious!”
“I nearly fainted when he removed her belt.”
“The sexual tension is off the charts.”
“After Kenyon’s Zarek, I thought I’d never fall for another
bad boy again...”
“Jaw-droppingly good... I’d want to shout ‘Bite Me!’”
Author Bio
Lindsay J. Pryor is a British
Paranormal Romance author who writes dark, intense stories set in the dystopian
world of Blackthorn.Her trademark powerful vampire heroes and utterly combustible sensual romances have earned Lindsay comparisons with both J.R Ward and Sherrilyn Kenyon.
A finalist in Mills & Boon’s New Voices competition in both 2010 and 2011, Lindsay has already proved a smash hit with readers.
Comments like “Utterly captivating”, “Jaw-droppingly good”, “Awesome”, “I forgot to blink”, “The sexual tension is off the charts”, “I nearly fainted when he removed her belt”, “I drooled on my keyboard” and even “Tell Kane he can have my soul RIGHT NOW!” convinced Lindsay she just might have what it took to become a published author.
With the launch of Blood Shadows, that dream is now a reality. Her journey to published author though has been a long one.
Lindsay has been creating stories since she was nine years old, when she quickly decided that fantasy was more interesting than reality. She thought she’d grow out of it but hasn’t yet.
Despite years of bashing out stories on an old typewriter, it was the death of her father in 2007 that finally convinced Lindsay to try and become a published author.
“One of the last things my dad said to me was to do what I wanted to do in life. After he passed away, I pulled out all my scribbles from over the years and got back to writing what I loved most – paranormal romance.”
If reviews are anything to go by, it was a journey well worth making.
Author Links
