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Albert Camus

Don't walk behind me; I may not lead. Don't walk in front of me; I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend.

Thursday, August 3, 2017

one brush of a fingertip... -Helena Hawthorne by May Freighter

"This book is amazeballs. If you are needing something adventurous, paranormal, fun alongside of something to laugh at here and there, and not to forget vampiric romance, then this book is for you.
Many things are not as they seem, for which I'm sure will have you hooked onto your seat." - Elisia, Goodreads

Description:

Russian Roulette

Who could guess that one brush of a fingertip over a shimmering soul-string could flip your world upside down and inside out? 

Nineteen-year-old Helena’s life changes when her spirit enters the Angel Realm in search of her father. But, things don’t go as planned. Against her guardian angel’s warnings, she binds her soul to a vampire—a creature she thought only existed in horror movies.

Lucious has spent his immortality looking for the monsters who killed his sire. The last thing he needs is to be vulnerable because of a bond with a reckless girl. Yet, he sees how he can turn this to his advantage. Believing that Helena possesses great power, he plans to use her against the Council as a bargaining chip.

When Helena meets the gorgeous and also terrifying vampire with whom she’s now stuck sharing an emotional bond, she realises that her life will never be the same. Despite fighting against Lucious’s manipulative ways, she can’t deny their attraction.

As their desire for each other intensifies, she needs to know if she can trust him. After all, her life and soul are on the line.

For readers who enjoyed The Vampire Diaries by L. J. Smith, Twilight Series by Stephenie Meyer, or A Shade of Vampire by Bella Forrest

Demon Gates

Uncertain whether she is human or not, Helena is forced to undergo new nightmares while her mental battle continues with a demon called 'Lazarus'.

Without her guardian angel to protect her, she is left to rely on vampires who have their own reasons for everything.

The attraction between her and Lucious grows, whether it is a side effect of the soul-bond they share or of their own volition. Yet, how can they be certain? 

With the help of her new friends, they must seek out a Demon Gate and enter the Demon Realm to stop Lazarus from claiming her and Lucious' souls. But, will they succeed or perish as the only weapon that can kill a demon has been lost centuries ago.

Crumbling Control

After attending a funeral in Aberdeen, Helena meets with a member of the European Vampire Council. Vincent shares his concerns about the imminent dangers local vampires are facing. After all, the hunters are gathering in London, local packs of werewolves fight for territory, and Eliza is up to something that will ‘save them all’.

Lucious is staying away from Helena. The hunters shot him full of tracking bullets and every time he stops, they catch up to him. To prevent those he cares about from being in danger, he ends up calling in a favour from the man he never wished to see again.

Helena’s feelings for Lucious begin to waver as she cannot get in contact with him. Andrew remains by her side and makes her laugh when everything else is going to hell.

How will Helena and Lucious overcome their new trials once the hunters come knocking on their door, demons escape through the Demon Gate, and the Council begins to crumble?

Fated Origins

Helena’s life is back to normal. College, friends, family…everyone’s happy. Yet, she can’t understand what is missing. No matter how hard she tries to fake her excitement about a new movie or laugh over a cup of coffee during lunch, it doesn’t feel right.
Peace doesn’t last long. A demon appears, claiming to be her friend and lifts the memory block Lucious had put up. Outraged he had done this to her, she decides to go against her family’s wishes and pursue him in London. Only one problem remains: she’s losing control of her body.
Lucious is unable to mend his broken heart. He grew complacent and cares little about the proceedings of the Council while Kallias takes the lead. With the hunter threat growing and the werewolves no longer willing to help stabilise London, to unify the vampires all over the world, Kallias believes it is time to awaken the one true leader—Arthemis.
The full cycle comes to an end. Lilia and Helena are faced with the original vampire. Despite their differences, a choice must be made with grave sacrifices. Will they save humanity or let vampires rule the world?

Author's Q&A

What inspired you to write this book? 
Russian Roulette came to me on its own. I have mentioned this in other interviews, my imagination works in strange ways. When I was trying to attempt meditation at home, I simply came upon some of the main characters that way and started jotting down our encounters, so to speak. I guess that’s why Lucious comes across as a manipulative man and Vincent is so terrifying to be around. 

After that, the story changed and morphed into something different entirely. What my readers see today is 17 drafts away from the original story. 

What can we expect from you in the future? 
That’s a tough question. I love writing with all my heart. It brings me joy to give life to my characters and tell their stories. It always makes me happy to see my readers enjoying the works I’ve created, too. 

So far, my goal is to write 100 books I’m satisfied with. In these past ten months, I’ve released seven and have three more to go before the end of the year. Afterwards, I believe I will slow down to 2-3 books a year as I will have to write books from scratch again instead of releasing the material I’ve already written over the past three years. 

To answer the question, hopefully, I won’t be buried under a mountain of other pen names out there. I have a lot of stories to tell and look forward to finding new readers. 

Do you have any “side stories” about the characters? 
I do. I have released a novella, Desired, in July 2017. It is a spin-off from Helena Hawthorn series and takes place during and after Crumbling Control (book 3). The story is from the POVs of Maya and Ben. They are the two hunters the readers meet for the first time in Demon Gates (book 2). It was a lot of fun writing from the perspective of Maya who became a demon by accident and hated what she was but desired to be with the man she loves. 

I am planning on releasing Cherished before the end of the year, too. This novella will take place after Fated Origins (book 4) and during Dark Affiliations (book 5) and look into the minds of Hans and Perri who come to learn more about their feelings for each other, their spirit-bond, and how they want to fight in the future battles. 

Tell us about a favourite character from a book. 
I love Watson from Sherlock Holmes. People often think that Sherlock is the one who should get the trophy, and he is the main character in his own right, but Watson managed to become a friend to such an oddball and still not pick up any of Sherlock’s bad habits or addictions. He can easily stand on his own, protects those he loves and cares about, and he is a good friend. What else can you want in an awesome character? 

Describe your writing style. 
Every author’s writing style changes and morphs throughout their career. It can depend on many factors such as what they’re reading at the time, their feelings, thoughts, emotions, heartbreak. I don’t believe my writing style has yet stabilised. I know that I have my own voice in my works. My stories often talk about life and the choices we make, prejudice, love and hate, being backed into a corner, manipulation, greed, lies and deceit, etc. There is also some of my philosophy hidden between the lines. 

What makes a good story? 
Mystery. A story without something hidden or kept from the reader until the very last pages makes for a boring read in my opinion. I even left an “Easter egg” of sorts in Helena Hawthorn series. I often wonder if someone will catch on to it or not. 

A day in the life of the author? 
I think I’m expected to say something like: “I wake up every morning and write 5,000 words. Then I have some food and write some more.” In my case, that’s not entirely true. It depends on the day. Some days, I can wake up early, get my fill of green tea and something to digest while I dive into the story I’m working on. My word count typically varies between 1,000-5,000 words a day. If I’ve not written for a few days or weeks, the word count is ridiculously low but does increase with each passing day. 

Then there are days when I’m faced with edits of my book and want to pull my hair out. Staring at the MS of 100,000 words and wondering why on earth I wound up writing so much! Life would spare me so much stress and grey hair if a magical fairy turned my books into readily edited and proofed manuscripts when I went to sleep. 

I think the most common denominator of every day is being alone. Sure, I have a lot of emails to respond to or messages on FB to reply to, but human interaction is greatly limited in my case. It gets very lonely, so I am glad I don’t live alone. If I did, I would most likely go crazy. 

Advice they would give new authors?
Don’t slack off on marketing. Marketing helps with exposure of your work. If you abandon it after a week or a month, your sales will dry up and so will the attention your book receives. 

If you get a bad review, don’t let it get you down. Each bad review will sting less and less until you grow so used to them that you won’t have to worry about them too much. Not everyone is going to love your work. It’s the reality we must accept. But, the first 1-3 bad reviews can really upset authors and keep them from writing more stories. Some authors I know stay away from reading their reviews because they stress them to the point where they can’t focus on work. 

What are they currently reading? 
Bram Stoker’s Dracula. I thought getting into the classics may be a nice change of pace and give me some new ideas. 

How long have you been writing? 
Since 2012, but the first time I published was in October 2016. 


book#1 is .99 on Amazon
About the author:
May Freighter is an internationally bestselling author from Dublin, Ireland. She writes Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Romance, and Sci-Fi mysteries that will keep you entertained, mystified, and hopefully craving more. Her only pets are cacti. They're the only things that survived. It may be too dangerous to entrust her with an animal while she's engrossed in writing.
On sunny, rainy, and overcast days, she spends her time with her fictional friends, putting them through dangerous adventures while wishing them the best of luck. Her hobbies are photography, drawing, and plotting different ways of a characters' demise. 


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