Niall Teasdale's Blog, page 33

The Other Side of Hell – The Beginning

Tomorrow The Other Side of Hell is going out to Smashwords and Amazon (assuming the world doesn’t end between then and now), and I thought I’d share the start of it with you before then…

Ceridwyn Brent opened her eyes and let out a soft, contented sigh. The beautiful half-succubus in her arms shifted slightly at the sound and Ceri reached a hand up to stroke Lily’s soft, chestnut hair. Lily’s warm skin felt wonderful against Ceri’s, just like always. Lily’s demonic powers were fuelled by an internal thaumic reaction which gave off heat as a side effect. Sleeping against Lily was like having the sexiest hot water bottle in the world in bed with you.

The sun was blazing in through the window; it looked like a beautiful day. It had been quite cool recently, but it looked so nice out that Ceri decided they should do something, go somewhere. The zoo, perhaps. Her parents had taken her there many times when she was a child and she had not been since. They could drop in and see whether the Regents Park werewolves were about; they tended to congregate just outside the zoo’s fence and they had not seen Catherine, their Alpha, in a while.

‘What do you think, Lil? Fancy a trip to the zoo?’

Lily shifted, turning over and smiling. She had a cute sort of face with high cheekbones and a small, upturned nose. Her skin was a flawless, creamy white; so smooth. Her smile showed a lot of white teeth, and a pair of fangs. Being part demon had some odd expressions on the physiology.

‘I can’t, Ceri,’ Lily said, her voice soft, almost consoling. ‘You know I can’t.’

Ceri pouted. ‘But it’s a beautiful day, and we don’t have anything else to do.’

Lily reached out a hand and stroked Ceri’s cheek. ‘I can’t go out with you, Ceri. This is just a dream you’re having. I’m dead.’

Ceri felt her heart sink. Suddenly Lily’s hand on her cheek was icy cold. ‘No,’ she whispered. The world seemed to twist around her, the sunny room falling away and taking Lily with it. She was awake, strong arms encircled her and she fell into them, sobbing uncontrollably against Michael’s shoulder.

It was true. Lily had been dead for three weeks now. She had died saving Ceri, and the planet. But Ceri did not care about the planet, all she cared about was that her best friend was gone forever.

The Other Side of Hell – Cover Art

The tenth Thaumatology novel, The Other Side of Hell, will be appearing in the shops this weekend. Below is the cover art for it. The full-size render can be seen at my DeviantArt site.

Another Dragonfall Teaser

Dragonfall is out in the shops in time for Christmas (or December 21st and the end of the world), and I thought I’d post another fragment, taken at random, to give a little flavour…

Ceri pushed the bag with her clothes in it into the hole in the tree roots where she always hid it. Getting to her feet, she stretched and then reached for the leather, silver-studded collar around her throat; it and the fairy silver chain around her ankle were the only things she was wearing. A small push of power, a shimmering, tingling sensation that washed over her skin, and the world was different.

Of course, technically, it was Ceri who was different. She had black fur, a dog-like head, eyes which saw much better in the dark, and a nose which almost immediately caught Michael’s scent on the breeze. She estimated he was a hundred yards away, give or take a bit, which likely put him at the edge of the lake. He probably had not caught her scent yet and was possibly busy. Giving a soft snicker, she slipped through the bushes and out onto the footpath, staying low and trying to ensure she was not seen.

She spotted him as he was sending two of the Guards off on a perimeter run. Dropping down behind a bush, she waited for the two wolves to lope away before making her move. Michael was entirely oblivious until about a second before she tackled him. Then he let out a yelp which turned into a gurgle as they both went into the boating lake. They emerged from the greenish water spitting and coughing, and in Michael’s case growling. Ceri snickered.

Rolling his eyes, Michael waved for her to follow him and set off across the lake toward the island in the middle. She got the feeling Alexandra wanted to talk to her and she was not wrong. Michael shifted as he climbed ashore, and started toward the clearing. ‘I can’t believe you did that,’ he huffed. ‘I just got dry.’

Ceri lifted her hand to her collar, shifting back to human and then running a couple of paces to catch up. ‘You were going to bring me here anyway. And you jump me every chance you get.’ They emerged into the clearing with its oil drum in the middle where Alexandra usually had a fire, though not tonight. ‘You’re just sore because I turned the tables on you.’

Alexandra, curled up beside the oil drum, lifted a mug of tea toward Ceri, who took it without a word. The old woman tended to know when she was going to have visitors; she was kind of annoying like that actually. ‘Of course he is, dear. You’re getting to be as good as him. He won’t be able to use training you as an excuse for al fresco sex in the bushes.’

Ceri’s cheeks coloured a little, but she smirked. The embarrassment was irrational; it was down to being caught out by Alexandra more than what she was suggesting. The Battersea Alpha was well over a hundred years old and her age was showing, just not nearly as much as it should have. She was a black-fur, like Alec was, and they tended to age slower than humans, or other werewolves. Alexandra was a picture of fading beauty made regal by age. She always held herself straight and her body, while not as perfect as it had been, was still attractive. Her hair, long and silver-white, gave her the look of a wise grandmother. Under a full moon her hair shone and she looked truly incandescent.

‘You wanted to talk to me?’ Ceri asked, curling onto the grass. Michael settled behind her, sliding in close and wrapping his arms around her waist. His chin rested on her shoulder and he nuzzled her neck. Werewolves had no idea of personal space and a very tactile view of affection.

‘I told you that my visions of the future had… more or less stopped?’

Ceri nodded. ‘Things were probably too uncertain for anything clear to come through.’

‘Well, I’m starting to get fragments. Little bits of dreams. Well, more like nightmares.’

‘When you said you’d lost sight of the future I didn’t think it was going to good.’

‘No. True. It’s not much, really, but it doesn’t seem good. I’ve been dreaming of battles between demons and dragons. It seems abstract. I don’t recognise the locations. I’ve seen no one in those dreams who resembles you, or anyone else I know. It’s as if I’m seeing cyphers. Two huge armies, lines of battle, a representation of a war rather than a prediction of one.’

Ceri frowned. ‘Demons fighting dragons. Do you think this is happening already?’

‘I think that it has been going on for some time, yes. I also think that things are changing. Lines are being drawn. Something big is going to happen.’

Ceri sipped her tea. ‘If the demons are planning something, there aren’t very many dragons in this part of the world to fight them. I mean, I know most if not all of them and none of them seem like they would be much use in a fight. Brenhines, maybe, but she’s pretty isolated.’

‘Perhaps,’ the old wolf said, ‘they need to become more engaged.’

Dragonfall

It’s that time; time for the end of the world (well, maybe). Dragonfall, the ninth book in the Thaumatology series is now up on Smashwords and  Amazon.

Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/...
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AKV95XW
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00AKV95XW

And here is a little hint of what’s to come:

Carter Fleming had a smile on his face. As usual he was dressed in an expensive, perfectly fitted suit which showed off his physique. His ash-blonde hair was perfectly coifed. He was a handsome man wearing his half-century very well, and he exuded confidence. His premiere nightclub, and the one closest to his heart, was full again after recent problems which had seen most of London shut down for more than a week, so business was good. The smile, however, was primarily because he had five attractive women around him and that always made him happy.

Aside from Cheryl on a bar stool beside him, and Ceri and Lily, there was Sasha and Tess, the other two waitresses. Each of the Dragon’s waitresses was dressed in a garment which could only loosely described as a dress; high-collared, sleeveless, with an open panel over the chest and a skirt which consisted of two short panels to front and back, barely long enough to be decent. Each had a different colour and pattern making each girl unique, and while Lily was the best waitress, each girl had customers who favoured them whenever they visited. The Dragon was noted for its attractive, professional, and exceptionally good staff. It was the place to be seen and on a night like this, not long after the full moon, when the werewolves were still a little too depressed for partying, the club had a plentiful supply of people who liked being seen; famous people, who left big tips.

That was even more true currently because the city’s vampires were keeping their heads down. There were a few of them in, but not the usual numbers. An Ancient vampire had come to the city only a couple of weeks earlier and caused what had almost been a full scale war. The older vamps had sided with the normals and the other supernaturals against him, but there was still a degree of bad feeling against the undead. The fallout among the normals was still working its way out too, but that was primarily an issue with the government, police, and army, not the general citizens.

Inside the Jade Dragon, however, ill-feeling was forgotten. The people there were there to have a good time, perhaps even more so considering they might have all died a couple of weeks earlier. Ceri had noticed it; people were drinking a little more, partying a little harder. There was a hint of the kind of attitude people had had in war time. Enjoy yourself now, because there might not be another chance.

‘You know,’ she said after coming back from a drinks run, ‘I think people are starting to think the world might end this winter.’

‘That Mayan calendar business?’ Cheryl asked. ‘I thought there was plenty of evidence that the date was wrong, and the Mayans didn’t think of things ending then anyway?’

‘Popular culture,’ Carter grumbled. ‘People prefer a good story to facts. And we have had a couple of close calls recently. The severe winter and the werewolves two years ago. Then last Samhain was the worst since the Shattering. Monsters crushing churches tends to make people think. The mass arrival of a horde of angels during the Witch Hunter business, and now the vampires going off the reservation.’

‘Put like that, it is a little apocalyptic.’

‘I’d have thought we deserved a bit of quiet after all that,’ Tess said.

‘It would be kind of nice to go a month or two without the world threatening to end,’ Ceri agreed, ‘or someone deciding to execute witches, or…’

‘Ghosts seeking vengeance through the power of a Fury?’ Lily suggested.

‘I think we’re starting to run out of threats,’ Ceri said, grinning.

Carter winced. ‘Don’t tempt Fate, dear girl. I don’t think I can stand the stress.’

‘Of course you can, Boss,’ Lily said, ‘you’ve got all that wonderful stress relief sitting beside you.’ Her eyes flicked to one of the tables. ‘Sasha, twenty-eight.’

The blonde smiled and started toward her table. ‘Thanks, Lil.’ One of the reasons the Dragon’s waitresses were considered so good was that they always seemed to know they were needed before they were asked. That was thanks to Lily.

‘Indeed,’ Carter said, ‘but my stress relief is rather busy at the moment, between the upcoming conference and this power generation project. Not to mention that she keeps discovering fundamental particles governing the world’s magic field. Has anyone confirmed the thaumino data, since we’re on the subject?’ Carter was a wizard, and a moderately good one. His magic was practical, but he was an intelligent man and understood at least some of what Ceri and Cheryl did. He had helped finance the research.

‘We’re hoping that the delegates from MIT may have an announcement to make at the conference,’ Cheryl said. ‘The last I heard they were close, but it was going to be right up to the wire.’ She glanced at Ceri. ‘Barclay Macbay is coming over for the conference.’

‘Maybe he’ll have some news about their generator project,’ Ceri said, nodding.

‘Oh yes,’ Lily said, ‘can we borrow a car Monday, Boss? Ceri wants to go look at Stonehenge again.’

‘The Range Rover?’ Carter asked without a second’s thought. ‘Or would you prefer the Aston?’

‘The Range Rover,’ Lily replied. ‘I’ll be too tempted otherwise and we want Ceri in a fit state to work when we get there.’ Ceri grinned at her; she disliked travelling, and in cars especially, but she was a lot better than she had been. ‘Besides,’ Lily added, ‘the backseat is much roomier in the Rover.’

‘I thought you were working,’ Carter said, a knowing grin forming.

Lily gave a little shrug and smiled. ‘Well, you know what they say about all work and no play…’

Dragonfall Cover Art

As promised, the cover art for Dragonfall. This will be going up on my DeviantArt page soon.

Dragonfall Reminder

Just a reminder that Dragonfall, the ninth book in the Thaumatology sequence will be published to Smashwords and Amazon this weekend. Over the next couple of days I’ll release the cover artwork and maybe one or two excerpts. Today I’m announcing that Dragonfall will be going on sale at $0.99. This is partially because the next book, The Other Side of Hell, will be out two weeks later and you’ll probably want to be snapping that up if you’ve read Dragonfall, and I don’t want to suck up all your Christmas money.

NoNo/Book 11 Update

It occurs that I neglected to share the exciting news: Book 11 first draft wrapped the weekend just gone. On Friday, I think. I’m currently going over it to tidy it up before sending it off to my Sanity Checker.

One thing that has come out of doing this is that, frankly, NaNoWriMo is a lousy way to write a novel. Normally I’d be rethinking sections and going back over them as I write, rechecking, ensuring everything was right. NaNo kind of forced me to press onward. As a result I’m finding spelling errors I’d normally have seen (yes, with red lines under them from Word), missing words, grammar errors I should have seen. Plus, I know I need to rewrite several blocks based on rethinks later in the book. I’m not sure I’ll bother doing that again.

Coming soon: some peeks into books 9 and 10 which will be coming out soon!

News and Stuff

Two items of note:

First off, Amazon have the worst update mechanism I’ve ever heard of, badly documented and manual in handling. That process has now been followed through, but I have no idea when links to allow people who previously purchased Thaumatology 101 to get the update will become available on your “Mange Your Kindle” page. Amazon say it could take up to a month, and I’ve no idea whether they’ll notify me. So, if you’re an Amazon customer, I can only apologise.

Second, Amazon did, however, drop me an email recently telling me that Season 1 of Lost Girl would be coming out on DVD soon. They are estimating availability on February 25th next year (that’s in the UK). I’ve been waiting for this for a while. There aren’t many good urban fantasy TV series, and this is one of them.

Fifty K

I just beat the fifty thousand word target on NaNoWriMo. Everything else is gravy as far as the challenge goes. Of course, I’m not finished with the book yet. It would be cool if I could wrap the whole thing by the end of the month, which should be possible if I keep going at this rate.

NaNo nano-update

That’s a tiny update concerning NaNoWriMo. I thought was a cute sort of pun. Kind of.

So, last night I beat 35,000 words and the little estimation widget on the NaNo web site says I could have hit the challenge target (50,000) by the end of Sunday. I have to admit, Book 11 is streaming out of me in a way Books 9 and 10 didn’t. I think the rest I took to leave starting this one until November did me good. Or, after the relatively high-stress, complex plot writing of 9 and 10, 11 is a little easier on the brain. Hey, I even gave it a mildly amusing title.