Guest Author Katherine Cook

 

Welcome author Katherine Cook to the Reading Nook and introducing us to her two books in the Secrets of Socendor series.

Tell us about your latest book, who are the main character’s and what can we expect when we pick it up?

The Lost Son is book 2 of my Secrets of Socendor series. Book 1 (Heretic) is the short prequel to the series, but The Lost Son picks up 25 years later and involves both main characters: Micheil (an elven mage) and Kalen (general for Akuron’s army). The book is an enemies-to-lovers story, though primarily on Kalen’s side of things. There’s magic, elves, Koleri (this world’s version of dark elves, essentially), and so much more!

 

Do you come up with the hook first, or do you create characters first and then dig through until you find a hook?

Both! LOL Sometimes, the guys come to me first; other times, it’s the plot. Music fuels my writing as well, so there have been stories that sparked due to a song.

 

Which of your own characters would you like to have lunch with?

Probably Braen, to be honest. He’s the anti-hero of the Socendor books. Though he makes his debut in Heretic, he plays a much larger role in The Lost Son (and will be a major character in books 3 and 4).

 

Tell us about what you are reading at the moment or anticipate reading in the future? Any favorite authors you enjoy reading in your spare time?

I have several auto-buys: MA Innes/Shaw Montgomery, Anna Wineheart, Ashe Moon, R Phoenix & Adara Wolf… The list goes on! Lately, I’ve been reading more lighthearted/low-to-no angst books for various reasons, but there are quite a few on my TBR that certainly fall into the angtsy realm. I also read multiple books at a time on Kindle, so there’s that. LOL

 

Which of your own books would you like to live in?

Peravon, which is the overall world for the Socendor series. There are MANY other books I’ve got set in that world beyond the Socendor ones, too. It’s a huge world with so much going on depending where you are in terms of location.

 

What do you do when you have free time?

What is this ‘free time’ of which you speak? LOL I’m *always* busy. That said, I’m a voracious reader, a PC gamer (we have a family Minecraft realm), and I’m a YouTube addict.

 

How do you approach character development in your stories? Do you have any specific techniques or methods that you find particularly effective?

Not really. All of it is very organic. My characters do what they want, and I just write it all down. More than half the time, the scenes take me by surprise. I’m definitely 100% a pantser when writing.

 

What do you believe sets your writing apart from others in your genre, and why should readers choose to read your books?

There are a lot more fantasy books with gay male characters now than there were years ago. I like to think mine fit neatly into that group. Although I certainly don’t shy away from explicit love scenes, the romances aren’t the main focuses for any of my fantasy books. I like to classify my work as Katherine Cook under ‘queer fantasy’ instead of romance or erotic romance.

 

Can you discuss any upcoming projects or books that you're currently working on? What can readers expect from your future works?

Right now, I’m working on book 3 of the Socendor series: Dragonblade. The final book is titled Retribution. Beyond Socendor, like I said before, I have many stories set in the Peravon world, including one that takes place during a zombie apocalypse! I had often wondered if there were fantasy books that had a zombie apoc as a plot, but I couldn’t find any that took place in a truly fictional fantasy world. So… I started writing one! Some of those upcoming titles are: Cadinya’s Song, The Mage King, and Mindfire (the zombie one).

TITLE: Heretic

SERIES/#: Secrets of Socendor, Book 1

GENRE: fantasy, sword & sorcery

EBOOK:

Arian Derwydd Books: https://arianderwyddbooks.com/product/heretic/

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CVFWJLBT

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1414524

PRINT:

Amazon: https://a.co/d/iOtqLkm

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/heretic-katherine-cook/1143752914

The races of Socendor have coexisted for ages, but that is about to change. With the Koleri king dead, the heir to the throne, Breasal, sets up rule. His ambitions, however, go far beyond that, and his first target is the elven queen, Furia. Now it falls to an elven mage, Micheil, to rescue the queen and put an end to Breasal’s reign.

EXCERPT from HERETIC:

 

“The king is dead.”

 

The pronouncement echoed over the crowd below, and then the chatter began. Even from his vantage point on the balcony, Vakis Izreih could hear the prince’s name roll through the crowd. Most of the people seemed apprehensive about the prospect of the prince taking the crown, but there were some who had been vocal throughout the last days of the king’s life about Prince Breasal presenting a much stronger force in Socendor. Vakis dutifully kept his own misgivings to himself. King Amreth had been a kind and fair ruler. His son, however, had a reputation for cruelty and wielding an iron fist in every dealing that involved him – and several that did not.

 

It didn’t matter. Vakis had served King Amreth faithfully, and he would do the same for the man’s son.

 

Leaving the masses to their rumors, Vakis returned to the throne room. A part of him wasn’t surprised to find Prince Breasal happily seated in the throne. Vakis bowed.

 

“So, my father is dead,” Breasal said. He rubbed the polished wooden arms of what was now his throne. “Bury him beside his wife. Conduct whatever rituals you feel necessary.”

 

“As you wish, Your Highness.” The words tasted like ash, and speaking them aloud only increased the uneasiness in Vakis’ mind. He bowed once more and left the room, wanting to put as much distance between them as he could.

 

Braen, Breasal’s illegitimate son, fell into step beside him. The man had a habit of appearing out of nowhere. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

 

“Your father ordered the burial as soon as possible. Where is Vamir?”

 

Braen gestured in the direction of the servants’ wing of the keep. “Last I saw him, he was grumbling about protocol.”

 

“Tell him those protocols are in place for his – and your – protection. Your father would not tolerate your fraternizing with a commoner.”

 

“I’m surprised my father even remembers I exist,” Braen said.

 

Vakis sighed and stopped, as did Braen. “Regardless of how things are between you and King Breasal, you are his only heir. Keep up appearances no matter what happens. He will expect children from you, Braen.”

 

One black eyebrow lifted, and Braen snorted. “Somehow, I don’t think he’s going to get any, unless your son’s anatomy has changed within the past few hours.”

 

 AUTHOR:

Katherine Cook has been an avid fantasy nut for a very long time and places the “blame” squarely on J.R.R. Tolkien. At the age of nine, Katherine devoured The Hobbit and the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy, and never looked back. Katherine Cook is the alter ego of gay romance author Mychael Black and het romance author Carys Seraphine.

 

https://katherinecookauthor.com/