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/

 

Discover the Witchslayer's Scion and a Giveaway

 

Check out the new book by L.T. Getty, Witchslayer's Scion and make sure to enter the tourwide giveaway for a chance to win from the author, a $25 GC, of the winner's choice, to an online bookseller to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. The tour is sponsored by Goddess Fish Promotions and you can find all the tour stops HERE.

Talking with the author:

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

 

          Koth’s people live apart from most of the rest of the world, in a remote village, and some like him have developed powers that seem to appear randomly. Koth has some skill with healing, able to fix wounds by touch, but he’s dwarfed compared to other healers, such as his aunt, but in general he’s well-received and more than a little frustrated at his lot in life. He prefers hunting to healing.

          Two strangers arrive just after the birth of another promised healer, but when they find the boy didn’t survive, attempt to kidnap one of the village’s women. This leads to Koth being badly injured and the death of his brother, and he sets out to find the men responsible and kill them, but also figure out what they are and why they came for the infant.

          Koth begins to realize that his people’s powers weren’t meant for them to hide away, but something happened within the last few centuries, and his people are very few in number, so they’re basically in hiding while a shadow is growing in the world. He’s sort of taken aback at his own people’s cowardice, it never occurs to him that most of the young people have no idea what’s going on or the danger they’re in, because the mages did find them, but for the most part the mages too are playing a game of shadows. The world is slowly rebuilding from a cataclysmic event, and the people who tend to seize power in the world have zero problem enslaving people like Koth so they have a tactical advantage over their enemies.

          Then there’s the deal with the mages. The first real coven Koth and Una discovers are about trying to be the power behind the throne, manipulating events because they think that they can lead a rising empire into a new golden age.

          Koth doesn’t give two craps about who’s got a crown on their head. He wants a certain man dead and he’s stubborn enough to walk across the continent to find him.

          Unfortunately for Koth, he’s got some supernatural advantages but he’s a small fish swimming out to a big world.     

 

 

 

Give us an out of context quote from your book to warm our hearts:

 

          Aytheon appeared eventually. He smelled of fresh bread and meat. “My mother says you’ll teach me everything you know,” he spoke sourly. “I shouldn’t be here long.”

 

 

Who are some authors that you look for inspiration?

 

I think the three most developmental authors for me were Edgar Rice Burroughs, George Orwell, and C.S. Lewis. There’s plenty more that have developed my writing and made me really have to think.

           

I grew up reading Edgar Rice Burroughs novels as well as my dad’s old comic books that definitely had their flair. These were often formulaic, but you knew you were in for an adventure.

 

I read Animal Farm when I was much to young to understand it (as it was meant to be understood, anyway) but I read a lot of modernist writers in University, and I read an absolute ton of George Orwell for my undergraduate work, mostly his non-fiction. I noticed a huge jump in my writing quality when I started to follow his advice, although I was also taking a course on stylistics and really paying attention to word choice and syntax around the same time.

 

CS Lewis most people think Narnia, but I think about his religious commentary as well as his other lesser known novels. Til We Have Faces is my favorite novel.

 

 

Fire down below! What’s the first object you save?

 

I might be the person rushing in. I’m cross-trained in firefighting unless I’m doing my day job in the ambulance.

 

And the answer is people, or your pet.

 

Once the people are secure, I am probably fleeing with my laptop or a memory stick. I’d hate to have to rewrite my body of work.

 

 

Advice for newly sparking writers in three sentences or less:

 

Never ever ever give up.

And I swear Microsoft Word has little gremlins that change words… and not the ones you expect either. I once had a blacksmith raise his hummer.

 

 

Which of your characters would you want to share a campfire with, and why?

 

Una. She’s a very powerful healer and Koth’s mentor, and not as good and noble as she first comes across, essentially training him to do what she can’t. I started to delve into her backstory in the second book, Magus’ Gambit, but ultimately it had to be cut for book length. I’ll likely finish it as a novella one of these years.

 

 

Tell us about what you are reading at the moment or anticipate reading in the future? Any new books you are looking forward to?

 

I am really looking forward to the Jade Legacy trilogy by Fonda Lee.

 

I’m excited to do events again and seeing some of my fellow Manitoban writers, and seeing what they’ve accomplished. I’ve been busy and never stopped working or worked from home, but I’m sure most people have had time to do more creative work, so I’m hoping that when I do see people I haven’t seen in a while at events, that I get to at least hear about what they’ve been working on.

 

Can you briefly describe your writing process for us?

 

I’m a Plantser – so I plot and write by the seat of my pants. I usually start out with an idea and then form a lose framework, knowing that I can deviate. The first draft is telling myself the story.

 

I have a beta reader, R.J. Hore (also a Champagne Books Author) but is name is Ron. Usually he reads it, mostly he focuses on story issues or things he does and doesn’t like. I take it with a grain of salt, because he likes most of my stuff, but he didn’t care much for the books I’ve written for my nieces, who are quite young readers, whereas he’s in his 80’s and retired. We don’t worry too much about getting sentences perfect in this round. I complain he uses the crows or certain phrases too much, he tells me whether or not I’m being historically accurate.

 

My general rule is after he’s done, is to let the story sit for at least a month, preferably three before I go back and start doing ‘hard edits’ based on what Ron tells me (and I’ll be honest I do read his comments and try to fix the manuscript while it’s still a work in progress). I don’t do exactly what he says, but use the feedback to try to fix the story. Hard edits I do on paper, and my general rule is I want to cut out about 10% of the manuscript, but add in description. I tend to gloss over that, but I’m not usually focusing on visuals in my books.

 

After that, I like to go through it at least twice. Now, if I was sending this to a slush pile, it would end there, with anticipation that it probably needs another two rounds for the main manuscript, but because it can take more than two years for a rejection, I’m not worried about getting caught with my pants down. Because Champagne Books will ask for all of a manuscript, I will likely want it to be more polished.

 

I generally like to take a break and do things that inspire me between polishing. As for how long it takes – that depends on how I feel about the book in general. I’m not above being edited but I want the editor to feel like they don’t have to do much.

 

 

What is next on your writerly horizon?

 

I would like to turn Witchslayer’s Scion into a series. The next two books are written. I’d like to make it at least five books, I think I’d like to polish off and send one of my two science fiction novels sitting down.

                   

I’m also continuing to dabble in self-publishing, so expect more of that. My goal was to do both once I bought a house, and I now have a lovely house.

 

 

Please share your links for readers to check out your books, social medias, etc. as well.

 

 

Champagne Books

 

Witchslayer’s Scion

https://champagnebooks.com/store/fantasy/843-witchslayer-s-scion-9781771552707.html

 

Dreams of Mariposa

https://champagnebooks.com/store/horror/790-dreams-of-mariposa-9781927454220.html

 

 

Tower of Obsidian

https://champagnebooks.com/store/fantasy/374-tower-of-obsidian-ebook-9781927454770.html

 

 

Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6479207.L_T_Getty

 

My Blog:

https://ltgetty.ca/

 

Pinterest:

https://www.pinterest.ca/leiagetty/_saved/

 

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/leia.getty/

 

 

 

Witchslayer's Scion

by L.T. Getty

GENRE:   Sword and Sorcery/Fantasy

 

BLURB: 

Koth’s life was decided for him since before he was born, for his ability to heal wounds by touch is rare even among his people. When an attempted kidnapping turns to sacrificial murder, he embraces vengeance and the sword. As he journeys far from his small isolated village in the north, he learns the truth as to why his bloodline is targeted by strange magic, in a world still rebuilding from a time when dark sorcerers didn’t bother with secrecy.

Koth thinks his quest is straightforward enough--find the men responsible, and kill them--and any who aid them. He will soon learn that those who have both privilege and power, there are few things they lack--and in the pursuit of godhood, their allies can prove even more sinister as mere mortals seek to advent empires and dynasties.

Buy links:

Champagne Books: https://champagnebooks.com/store/fantasy/843-witchslayer-s-scion-9781771552707.html

Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/witchslayers-scion-l-t-getty/1139633382?ean=2940165401237  

Amazon (American): https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B096LXWJM6/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i1

Amazon (Canadian): https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B096LXWJM6/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i1

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/ca/en/ebook/witchslayer-s-scion

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58269585-witchslayer-s-scion

Excerpt One:

 

“Something’s wrong,” Una said. “Koth, wait here.”

           

“Why?” If there was a problem, she should be waiting outside for him.

He sensed inside, his aunt’s thoughts remained hidden from him. Una shouted, and he ran inside the building. He thought there were lights on inside, but he saw no candles.

 

The tea house was very dark, and he felt a sudden dread—he wanted to leave. Baro barked from the outside. ~Una!~  he thought, before something hit his neck.

 

He knew at once it was a poison dart, and ripping it out he tried to smell what it was. Seeing metal reflect moonlight and he moved his hand, his skin cut. Moving instinctively out of the way, his next reaction was to purge the toxin that coursed through his body and tried to understand the wound. It was mostly his forearm, deep but he could still use it, the bone unaffected. He’d do a better healing later. He focused on something not unlike a burn before going for the knife at his hip. Striking 85 in the next liquid motion, Koth realized he was attacking his aunt.

 

She grabbed onto his injured flesh and seared it, destroying, weakening the sinew and the cartilage and causing it to age and die, following up the bloodstream, to find the heart and kill. Koth tried to brace; he couldn’t heal and keep her at bay. He was physically stronger and much heavier, but she was weakening his muscles. He tried to wrench the knife from her.

 

He knocked the blade to the ground then tried to lock minds with her to find nothing short of blinding pain take him over, wrestling him to the ground and making him drop his knife. She took the dagger and when he tried to force himself up, a familiar sense washed over him. Magic, but not coming from Una.

 

“Do not kill him yet,” Yeshbel said, “we will bleed him first.”

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 

L.T. Getty is a rural paramedic from Manitoba. She enjoys writing science fiction and fantasy and generally being creative.

Author Links:

My Blog: https://ltgetty.ca/