Lily Mayne's Blog - Posts Tagged "fantasy"

My debut novel, Soul Eater, is out now. And I could not be more excited! I’ve been writing bits of a million different stories for years, but never forced myself to sit down and really focus on one project – until now.

I had a vague idea for a dystopian world where monsters of all different kinds have risen and taken over huge areas of the earth, forcing humans to reside in cramped and dirty cities along the coasts. I was intrigued by the idea of a young soldier, aimless and already jaded from his short stint in the military, crossing paths with a terrifying monster and journeying through these barren, monster-infested lands together.

But all is not what it seems…

I fell in love with Danny and Wyn writing this. Particularly Danny – I have a soft spot for him. A young, hopeful guy who stays optimistic despite having a pretty tough life, who hasn’t yet found himself and has his own insecurities. But he’s still brave (despite what he thinks) and he’s not afraid to go after what he wants.

And then there’s Wyn. An ancient death monster, near immortal, unfathomably powerful, feared by all… But he has his own insecurities too.

These two brought out the best in each other, and were so achingly sweet. It was a joy to write them, and I missed them the moment I finished the book.

What’s next?
I really hope you enjoy Soul Eater. Please consider leaving a review or getting in touch – I would appreciate your feedback, especially as this is a new venture for me.

Next up has to be the big overbearing purple dude, Edin. I’m already deep in his story – and Danny and Wyn will definitely be making an appearance (I can’t resist).

If you enjoyed Soul Eater, please consider signing up to my newsletter to receive updates, bonus content and news on future releases.

Lily

I'm so blown away by the response I've had already to Soul Eater . You are all wonderful! It makes me so, so happy that people out there are reading this story and enjoying it as much as I loved writing it. It's an incredible feeling that I've been able to introduce these characters to you. And that you love them as much as I do. Thank you!

I'm deep in Book Two of the Monstrous series, which is the lovely Edin's story. He's still overbearing. Still loud and arrogant. And according to surly, rough-around-the-edges soldier Hunter, he's trying his hardest to give him a nervous breakdown.

For a little teaser of Hunter and Edin's very first meeting, keep reading. And if you want to get these teasers sooner, as well as future bonus content (I think I need more Danny-Wyn time), please consider signing up to my newsletter !

Sneak Peek - Edin (Monstrous: Book Two)

“Fuck,” I breathed out, half-laughing and half-sobbing at the sheer gall of it. Of spending twelve years in the military fighting monsters, twelve years out in the Wastes, but meeting my end all alone in a fucking sinkhole in Kentucky.

I tried to find purchase with my boots against the side of the hole, but even if I could there was nothing to grab onto to climb back up. Loose dirt crumbled beneath my boot soles, falling into the darkness beneath me. My chest was heaving with panic, and black spots appeared in my vision when I looked back up at the surface in desperation. A part of me had already realised that this was it. I wasn’t getting out of this. There was no way I could—

A head—with horns—appeared, peering over the side of the hole, nothing but a silhouette against the bright sky behind it. A mixture of relief and apprehension flooded my limbs.

“F-fuck,” I gasped. “Help me!” I yelled up, voice hoarse and wild with panic, survival instinct causing me to overlook the fact that this was clearly a monster, and it helping me out of this hole may not end up being the better option.

The head cocked. “Hello, human.” Its voice was so deep that the irrational part of my brain worried for a second that it would make the sinkhole worse if it kept talking.

“Please help me.” I tried to calm my breathing, to steady my voice. “Can you get me out?”

The head cocked again. “You want to get out?”

Was this monster stupid? “Yes, I want to fucking get out!” I paused, panting too quick breaths. “Unless you’re going to eat me or something if I do.”

A deep, rumbling laugh. “I don’t want to eat you.” The monster paused. “Well, I mean…” it then added in a contemplative voice. I saw its head peer further over the edge of the hole, as if it was assessing me.

Panic flared through me. “Look, please—I need to get out. I don’t—I have to—My friend—” I was babbling in agitation, my pulse drumming hard in my throat. My hand was slipping. This monster may want to kill me, but if that was the case, either way I was dying. And I’d really rather not meet my end plummeting into a pitch-black hole. “P-please.”

The monster paused for a second, before I saw those horns dip as it nodded. “Okay. I’ll help you out.”

In anticipation of the release of Edin (Monstrous: Book Two) in the coming days, I have updated the cover of Soul Eater . I feel like this better reflects the ghoulishness of Wyn. Hope you like it!

UPDATE: Edin (Monstrous: Book Two)
Edin's book is getting its final proof, and then it will be out in the coming week! I can't wait for you all to read it. It's quiiiite a bit longer than Soul Eater - is that good or bad? Pfft, I don't know. We shall see...

Edin’s book is here! He’s less mysterious and more arrogant than Wyn (and kind of a busybody), but that doesn’t make him any less loveable.

Edin’s a bit like an iceberg. He is careful with what he reveals, so it’s easy to assume he’s a bit vacuous and not very deep. But he feels things very deeply—life experience has just taught him to not get his hopes up.

Hardened soldier Hunter has seen it all. Done it all. He didn’t think there was much left out in the Wastes that could surprise him, but that all changes when circumstances force him together with this big, annoying purple monster who’s bossy and overbearing and pushes all his buttons in the worst—and best—ways.

We get to see more of the Wastes in this book, and find out what it’s like surviving out there when you’re not travelling with a ghoulish Soul Eater who everyone fears. It was so much fun exploring more of the world in this book. Edin and Hunter have lots of adventures, and we see Danny and Wyn again, who get to experience some more closure.

These two are a lot less sweet than Danny and Wyn, but neither of them would have it any other way.

Buy Edin on Amazon or read on KU

Monster Index
I've also included a handy Monster Index at the end of Edin's book, so we can keep track of all those weird and creepy monster species that pop up throughout. Especially as some may become very important in future books...

What’s next?
Remember that camp of “half-decent” raiders back in Nebraska that Edin was going to take Danny to? We’re heading there in Book Three, to finally see how ‘the other half’ live out in the Wastes.

And we’ll finally be meeting the rycke. Specimen zero-zero-one to the military. The monster that Wyn told Danny to run from if he ever came across it.

Fun!

Stay in touch
If you have enjoyed my books so far, please consider signing up to my newsletter to receive updates, bonus content and news on future releases.

Lily

Are you ready to finally meet the rycke and his human? He's that silent, passive winged dude that was being held in the military base, never fighting back. What's with that?

I am now working on Book Three (and missing Edin. And Hunter. And Danny. And Wyn). I have to take a moment to express how incredibly shocked and grateful I am at the response I have had so far, from you lovely readers. Genuinely, I didn't think anyone would read my weird monster love stories. The response has far exceeded anything I could have imagined, and I can't tell you what it means. Thank you.

Side note: You may notice your copy of Soul Eater gets updated with a few minor tweaks in the coming days. I just wanted to make some very minor changes and pick out those little mistakes that slipped through (and remove some f-bombs. I realised Danny swore a lot, huh?)

For a sneak peek of The Rycke , keep reading. And if you want to get these teasers sooner, as well as future bonus content, please consider signing up to my newsletter.

I mentioned some bonus Danny and Wyn content before, when I was working on Edin, but I'm not sure whether to work on that first before getting deep into The Rycke... Tell me below if you have a preference. Bonus Danny-Wyn goodness, or the third book sooner? Hmm.

Teaser - The Rycke (Monstrous: Book Three)

This was the first military building we’d been able to poke around in; the first that we were aware of falling under the might of the beasties. The night it had gone up in a towering column of smoke that had been visible for miles, Anchor had sent me on a scouting mission to see what was happening. I’d camped nearby for a few days, then returned every other week since.

In the first few days, I'd watched the more bloodthirsty beasties roaming the wreckage in search of survivors to pick off. Then a while back I noticed a new set of faint tyre track marks leading away from the building—looked like someone had taken one of the military trucks. But there’d been no other movement around the building.

I’d reported it empty a month ago, but Anchor was cautious. She’d still made us wait. Which was fine—I wasn’t going to argue. I was cautious by nature too, and there was a very good possibility that the military would come and remove anything sensitive, or raze the building to destroy the remains, or… something. But there'd been nothing.

And even though I agreed with Anchor’s cautious approach, she wasn’t the one who’d had Rig whining in her ear, practically drooling over the thought of the tech left behind and fretting over it being scavenged before he could get to it.

Well, it looked like no one else had been here yet to pick anything off. There weren’t any other raider camps close, and having the military base fairly nearby to ours scared off nomads and monsters most of the time, which was why we’d been able to live somewhat peacefully out here.

As I made my way through the shell of the building, I could see some boot prints in the dust and soot. The stuff was thick on the ground and every other horizontal surface. The concrete floor was pitted with bullet holes. Once gleaming metal doors and window frames had become mottled with dents from gunfire. Anything that had been made of glass was shattered completely, the remaining shards crunching under my heavy boots as I walked, my footsteps otherwise silent. On the surfaces that weren’t coated in ash, old and dead blood had dried and was starting to flake. And there was a lot of it.

I was nearly at the staircase, but I kept one ear trained on Rig in the next room, rustling through whatever he’d deemed worthy of his crafting skills. I stepped on something that crunched under my boot but wasn’t glass. I didn’t look down, seeing as it sounded suspiciously like bone. The sound was uncomfortably loud in the otherwise still silence of the abandoned building.

There was a sudden flurry of movement next door, the sound followed by Rig sucking in a sharp breath.

My body went tense and completely still, ears straining. I thought I heard… something. A faint whisper… but as I cocked my head to try and discern the noises better, Rig’s raspy voice cut through the air so sharply it made me jump.

“Ghost… Get in here.”

I was already moving when he added, “Now.”

I stepped into the room, shotgun raised, my finger on the trigger. We hadn’t had shells for it for years, but it was a good deterrent. I had a crowbar tucked into my belt if I really did need to fend anything off, not that I ever wanted to use it.

I wet my dry lips as I silently made my way over to Rig, eyes darting, trying to find the danger. My heart was pounding. I could feel my pulse jumping at the base of my throat.

Rig was staring at something behind a tall shelving unit, something I couldn’t see. He wasn’t attempting to reach for his gun, which meant someone—or something—was either poised to strike, or it wasn’t a threat.

When I reached him, looked over his shoulder and saw what he’d found, I couldn’t immediately tell which was the case.

Just a quick update!

I'm finally on Facebook. It's been a while. It's scary and different. Please bear with me while I get the hang of it.

I've created an Author Page - please follow if you want to receive updates and teasers over there!

Keep an eye out for another teaser from The Rycke soon...

L

Hi there! I'm working hard on book three, falling in love with the rycke and his awkward human Ghost. I'm also loving being able to write more about how the raiders live in the Wastes, and the relationships they form in their camps - good and bad.

I'm still missing our other monsters and humans, though. Obviously. My plan is, once The Rycke is finished, to write some bonus content revisiting our OG monster-human couple. I miss Wyn. A lot. There, I said it.

If you missed my last post, you might not have seen that I'm now on Facebook - join me over there!

Sorry for my rambling. Now, finally, keep reading for a second sneak peek of The Rycke. If you missed the first teaser, you can find it here.

Teaser #2 - The Rycke (Monstrous: Book Three)

Despite being unable to see the beastie's face, I could tell from their body language that they were uneasy and dirty and tired. Exhausted. What had they been doing here, in these ruins for the last several months? Why hadn’t they escaped with the other beasties? Why hadn’t they at least attempted to get out of these chains before? They hadn’t been that hard to cut through with Rig’s cobbled-together rotary blade. Surely the monster would have been able to find a way.

Why were they so afraid? They looked tall, and while lean, their body radiated power even in this weakened state. I had no doubt that this monster had strength far greater than either of us—beasties tended to be faster, stronger, smarter than humans. They also lived much, much longer, and with age came experience. Skill.

Maybe this one was very young.

My ears were ringing when Rig finally turned off the blade, cutting through the last of the chains binding the monster's arms tightly together. Despite the creature’s seemingly timid nature, I couldn’t help but tense up, expecting the worst, when the chain fell away and landed on the concrete floor with a sharp clank.

The monster was shaking, shoulders hunched with tension. At first they didn’t even move their arms from the position they’d been trapped in by the chains for a long, long time. I winced at the sight of all the dried, crusted dark green blood around their wrists. The deep black bruising marring their white skin all the way up their inner forearms. The pinched blood vessels in the sensitive inner creases of their elbows.

When the monster finally lowered their arms away from one another, towards their sides, a weak pained sound left their throat. Their arms trembled, moving stiffly. The veins looked dark and prominent under the white skin, but I didn’t know if it was a reaction to the binding pressure of the chains or if it was normal for their species.

“Hey, it’s okay.” Rig ducked his head, and I realised he could see the monster’s face.

I ignored the stab of… something I felt at the fact that the creature was doing everything in their power to not look at me, literally flinching at the sound of my voice, but were seemingly fine with Rig.

Why had they warmed to Rig and not me? What had I done?

Hello! A little update for you all. Book three of the Monstrous series, The Rycke, is written and currently being proofed by the lovely Kate Wood Proofreading, who has already been an incredible help and some of her comments on the book made me laugh out loud.

In the meantime, I am currently working on some revisions for Soul Eater before I release the series so far in paperback. Danny and Wyn's book is shorter than the others, so I'm extending with some new chapters and revising some of the content :)

Hello! So. At the time of writing this, I’m getting ready to release the Monstrous series (so far) on paperback. And before I did that, I wanted to get Soul Eater to a place where I was happier with it. So I went back to book one to revise and extend it. Wyn and Danny’s story is a fair bit shorter than the others, so I’ve extended it with some new chapters. (Woo!)

Another main reason I have made some revisions to the book is this: Danny and Wyn travelling by car. If your first time reading Soul Eater is after the date of this post, and you have absolutely no idea what I’m talking about: Soul Eater previously contained scenes where Danny and Wyn found a car in the Wastes and drove for some of their journey.

Here’s the thing—several things. I second-guess literally everything. I also know d*ck all about cars (shocker). And I never expected anyone to read my book. So the car thing I just… didn’t overly consider.

But then people started reading it. And then people started reviewing it. And several of those reviews said, ‘Ok but… the cars would not work. Come on.’ I tend to fixate on things, and when I realised what a monumental error I had made, my anxiety went through the roof. (But it does with almost everything so that’s not a big surprise.)

(Some people also had issue with Danny eating old food, but I largely feel like you would do that in an apocalyptic wasteland, with few other options, so that bothered me less.)

So anyway, I have gone back and removed the cars. (Except for one bit.) It hasn’t changed the story at all. They just walked more. Took ‘em longer to get places.

Does all this make me an unprofessional hack? Yes. It absolutely does. But I’m not a professional. I just love writing, and I really love these characters, so I want them to have the best book that I can write for them.

In case you want to read the new scenes but don’t want to reread the whole thing, the new chapters in Soul Eater are chapters seventeen and eighteen.

The Rycke is here! This sweet monster who everyone's scared of, and his ball-of-anxiety human Ghost.

This book is set mainly in the Nebraska camp that we have heard about before, and features a whole host of new characters, many of whom are getting their own books, as well.

It was fun being able to flesh out how humans who aren’t in the military live out in the Wastes—how they’ve made their homes safe enough to stay alive out there, and what being a raider means. Which, in Ghost’s case, means doing the shitty jobs no one else wants because you’re a pushover and scared of pissing anyone off. Poor Ghost.

I hope you enjoy (or enjoyed, if you're reading this after finishing it) The Rycke. He might be my favourite.

Buy The Rycke on Amazon or read on KU

What’s next?
Next up, we are revisiting our original monster-human couple, Danny and Wyn, for a novella from Wyn’s perspective!

And… in this novella, I may be backtracking on some things I’ve said before. This backtracking may make you either love me or hate me. So many people said they wished Wyn and Danny’s time together wouldn’t be so short—as in, Danny’s-human-lifetime-short. Same with Edin and Hunter. So, okay. Let’s fix that. You want Wyn to be able to have some more time with his human? I have ideas to make it happen, so I’ll make it happen.

After Danny and Wyn’s novella (which I am already halfway through), it’s going to be Rig’s story, another raider who we meet in this book.

Stay in touch
If you have enjoyed my books so far, stay in touch! Follow me on Facebook - I have an author page there. I love hearing from you.