Konn Lavery's Blog: Posts from konnlavery.com, page 16
April 15, 2021
Audiobook: Fire, Pain, & Ruin – Episode 11
Episode 11 of the Fire, Pain, & Ruin: A Rutherford Manor Novel episodic audiobook is here. As with previous weeks, a new chapter will be shared on Thursdays. Enjoy the podcast below and share it around:
Missed the previous episode? Starting out? No worries:Episode Listing Episode 1 Episode 2Episode 3Episode 4Episode 5Episode 6Episode 7Episode 8Episode 9Episode 10Episode 11Listen
Lisa and Louise hang out at their usual hidden spot in the forest. Unfortunately, Louise isn’t in the mood to play, for her mind is tormented. Great-Aunt Lilith can sense something is wrong with her. Louise later discovers Billy’s shameful secret. It looks like they both have dark knowledge about one another.
Enjoying the audio story? Get the book.
eBook or Print Available
The post Audiobook: Fire, Pain, & Ruin – Episode 11 appeared first on Konn Lavery.
April 14, 2021
Award-Winning Fantasy Sci-Fi author V.S. Holmes’s new novel: Heretics
This month we welcome back the award-winning fantasy & sci-fi author V.S. Holmes! Last year they joined us in July to discuss their fantasy series Reforged. Now, we dive into the Stars Edge, Nel Bently, universe with them to learn about the newest book Heretics.
In addition to writing, V.S. Holmes works as a contract archaeologist – cool – throughout northeastern U.S. They also live in a tiny home with their spouse – also cool.
Let’s Welcome V.S. Holmes back to the blog.
Thanks for joining us V.S. Holmes! For those who don’t know, can you give a brief intro about yourself?Heretics is the latest Nel Bently book in the Stars Edge universe. Tell us about Dr. Nel Bently and her latest adventure, as she is the main protagonist in the series.The Stars Edge: Nel Bently Books begin with Travelers. Dr. Bently discovers her pristine archaeological site is the center of an intergalactic feud. With her work, her friends, and her life on the line, she’s ready to fight dirty. She’s a hot-tempered and stubborn archaeologist who’s better at digging holes–metaphorical and literal–than she is at dealing with people. Like me, she often jokes the reason she’s an archaeologist is she realized she preferred her subjects dead. Nel’s books explore how where we come from impacts where we’re going, and follow her as she learns how to decolonize archaeology and science.
Heretics, out May 8th, is the fourth of Nel’s adventures, and with this one Nel must join forces with former enemies and untrustworthy allies to save Earth from a deadly radio transmission. She’s stuck between coming home and feeling out of place on the planet that made her. A theme in my work is how we respond to expectations of who or what we should be, both others’ and our own. Nel faces the root of her anger in Heretics and tries to navigate her confusing relationship with high-powered Lin.
The Stars Edge world is a shared universe with author Cameron J. Quinn. As you mentioned before, Dr. Nel Bently once dated Cameron’s character, Tabby. The two have made appearances in both authors’ work. What’s grown over the past year in the Stars Edge world?The biggest change in the Stars Edge world is actually that Cameron and I have parted professional ways, due to very different business models. She put aside her half to focus on romantic suspense and I took over the Stars Edge label, so while you can still glimpse Tabby and some of the references in earlier Nel books, they’re mostly ghosts. For my part, the core of the world is still Nel’s arc, but there are several spin-offs in the works focusing on some of the side characters–Phil, Dar, Andy, and Jem as well as a few others. My aim is to delve into the history and future of the world’s science. Next up is a serial, based on my short story Starfall, which will be exclusive to my Explorers and center on the relationship between conflict journalist Andy Gull and medic-turned-rebel Jem!
For each book, you’ve developed playlists for the books on Spotify, with Heretics having the latest. Do you write to the chose music, or does curating the right moods and themes come post writing?While writing, I choose various tracks–often instrumental, but sometimes lyrical–to help me capture the mood I’m going for, whether that’s the adrenaline that comes with escaping an imploding planet in Strangers or the languishing warmth of a New England summer in Drifters. With the more recent books, due to their heavy sci-fi nature, I’ve been more into synthwave and instrumental epics. The playlists on Spotify are curated “highlights” that I feel encapsulate the rollercoaster of emotions throughout the books or ones that really helped me nail down a scene. I’m currently drafting Fugitives, the penultimate adventure, and there are a lot of “epic space music” searches in my YouTube history! As for Lin and Nel, their theme is most definitely “Fly For Your Life” by Gunship. I love me some angsty lesbians that can’t decide if they love or hate each other.
You have both the Regorged and the Stars Edge universes. What’s your favourite part of world building?Oh that’s such a fun question! I adore the complex political structures that come with ancient kingdoms or organizations–whether that’s the battered cities in Blood of Titans or the 13,000-year-old Institute for the Development of Humanity in Stars Edge. My characters often find themselves in forgotten pockets of these worlds. I’m also a big fan of culture clashes, and very different characters realizing that maybe they have some similarities after all. And, anyone who has watched Dune with me will say that one of my favorite things about world-building is the hats. I’m a big fan of ridiculous fashion.
What’s next for you? Deeper into the Stars Edge world? Back to the fantasy realm of Reforged? Or something new?Yes! All three! I’m finishing book five of Nel and outlining some key aspects of the sixth and final book. I can’t ever have just one project to focus on, so I’m also drafting a new set of epic fantasy books. While it is, technically, a return to the Blood of Titans world, it focuses on new characters and new places. There will, of course, be some fun–and bloody, let’s be honest–cameos, but you won’t need to have read the first few if you want to pick up the series with these ones first. I’m also working on an entirely unrelated project, a stand-alone gothic fantasy that is dark, and broody, and sexy.
Let’s thank V.S. Holmes for joining us to talk about their work!V.S. Holmes’s NovelsV.S. Holmes on Social MediaThe post Award-Winning Fantasy Sci-Fi author V.S. Holmes’s new novel: Heretics appeared first on Konn Lavery.
April 9, 2021
Canadian Author W.L. Hawkin New Urban Fantasy Novel To Kill a King
We have a bonus guest author celebrating W.L. Hawkin’s new novel To Kill a King, where The Hollystone Mystery series continues. The additional books in the series are To Charm a Killer, To Sleep with Stones, and To Render a Raven. W.L. Hawkin writes edgy urban fantasy with a twist of murder from her loft near Vancouver, B.C. Her characters go on a journey where Hawkin’s travelled herself.
Let’s welcome W.L. Hawkin to the blog!
Thank you, W.L. Hawkin, for joining us! Can you give a brief intro about yourself?I’m happy to, Konn, and thanks for inviting me. I should start by saying that W. L. stands for Wendy Louise. Most people know me as Wendy Hawkin. I created my last name several years ago. It means “kin of the hawks” as I have an affinity for birds of prey, covet their sense of freedom, and long to be able to fly like J. P. McLean’s characters! I grew up in rural Ontario and now live in an ecovillage on an organic farm with my beautiful yellow lab. I love myth, nature, and spiritual work, all of which appear in my books.
Your characters travel where you have. Is it the travel that inspires you, or do the characters guide you?For the most part, the characters guide me. When I introduced Dylan McBride in To Charm a Killer, I already knew he’d been raised in Tarbert, Scotland and learned to communicate with stones in Kilmartin Glen. That’s Dylan’s “superpower.” I did that research online. Then, when I decided to set To Sleep with Stones in Scotland and make it Dylan’s story, I traveled there. We stayed in Tarbert and I photographed houses I felt he could have lived in with his granddad. I even photographed an old man standing outside his home that resembled Dylan’s grandfather. We also went to the Kilmartin Museum to see the grave slabs and to several fields of standing stones, like Ballymeanoch, where Estrada holds the ritual to call on the gods. Dylan is arrested for murder when he’s working on an archaeological dig there and when I saw Dunchraigaig Cairn, I knew that’s where the body would be discovered. It’s just the perfect place to “almost” hide a body. I take lots of photographs and use them as memory triggers but also like to soak up the energy of the landscape and record details.
When I wrote the last book, I went to specific places in Ireland because I was following an archaeological trail I’d already started to research, and I wanted to walk where my man had walked before he was ritually murdered in 200BCE.
You spend time carefully researching your books. What usually comes first, the idea or the research?Hmmm . . . Good question. The idea comes first, I think. To Kill a King grew from a moment when I saw the mummified fist and torso of Old Croghan Man in a National Geographic. I was struck by it and knew I had to tell this man’s story and give his life meaning. I started researching Dr. Eamonn Kelly’s work on Kingship & Sacrifice and then went to Dublin where I spent time with the artifacts in the National Museum — the real fist and torso — and tried to connect with the spirit of the ritually killed king. That’s how I got his name. It was a burbled R sound — Rory — which I spelled Ruairí. I spent days at the museum and working at a downtown library in Dublin. Then I went to other prehistoric sites and finally climbed Croghan Hill, where Ruairí was inaugurated as king and then ritually murdered.
But I’ll say too that my online research is continuous, and I constantly look up information as I’m drafting. For example, in To Render a Raven, the characters travel by yacht up the Pacific Coast to rescue Estrada’s baby from vampires. I had to research yachts and maps and then plan a timely route. I’d worked as a relief lighthouse keeper on the coast, so I had a feel for the landscape, but I’ve never piloted a yacht up the coast — though I’d love to do that someday.
To Kill a King takes place in Ireland and has Wicca, Druids, and Faeries. Tell us more about the fantastical elements in your series!I’ve studied Wicca and Druidry and love the Irish Faeries – the Sidhe — who are like a parallel race of superbeings descended from ancient Irish gods, the Tuatha de Danann. Wicca is in all the books because Estrada, the main protagonist in all the stories, is the high priest of Hollystone Coven. Sensara is the high priestess and together they enact seasonal rituals that I create in detail.
In To Charm a Killer, Estrada desperately wants to meet faeries. He’s read Yeats’s Celtic Twilight and wants this experience. The faeries are the Indigenous ancestors and appear to Maggie, another character in that book, as well as Primrose, an Irish witch. Estrada eventually gets his wish.
Then when Estrada gets desperate in Scotland, because Dylan has been threatened in prison, he goes to the Ballymeanoch Stones and conjures the ancient Celtic gods — The Oak King and the Horned God, Cernunnos — plant and animal, you see.
To Sleep with Stones has a dual storyline. Estrada’s lover, Michael Stryker likes to dress up and play vampire at his goth club, but while Estrada is in Scotland, Michael gets targeted by a real vampire. The vampires are terrific antagonists in To Render a Raven and steal Estrada’s baby to revenge something Michael does. I quite enjoyed creating the vampires who all have their own personalities and backstory. And, here’s a little spoiler— In this thriller, the ravens they render are vampires!
The Celtic druids in To Kill a King are real, in that the people would have been druids in 200BCE Ireland. But druids are practicing today, and I’ve studied some of their work through OBOD, the Order of Bards, Ovates, and Druids. One of my favourite characters, Magus Dubh (Dove), is a modern day druid. Dubh is a Glaswegian antiquities dealer; a tattooed blue dwarf whose father was fey. Dubh is also godfather to Estrada’s baby because he saves Estrada’s life in Scotland and again when they face the vampires in book three. Dubh’s fey blood comes in handy.
So, I suppose I have an assortment of fantastical creatures, although I don’t think of them that way. They’re all very real and have come alive as friends over the years . . . until I kill them off, that is.




I’ve just written a small town romance laced with suspense, mystery, and adventure. Arrow to the Heart, the first in the Lure River Romances, is just back from my developmental editor and I’m revising it. I’m also halfway through a first draft of Ghostlight, which is a mystery set at a lighthouse I worked at on the Pacific coast. And To Kill a King ends with a cliffhanger that begs a fifth book. I’ve already started seeing scenes from it. Really, I could keep writing this series forever.
For writers just starting out, what would be one piece of advice you’d like to give them?I write because it feeds me. I can’t not write. If that’s you, write what you love however you can. I taught full time for years and wrote weekends and holidays to destress and escape. It takes months and years to write a book, but that book will follow you forever. So, make it your best work and love it into being. Befriend your muses and your characters and listen when they speak. Meditation is a wonderful practice. If you sit in stillness, you’ll hear them, and if you ask nicely, they might just tell you their story.

The post Canadian Author W.L. Hawkin New Urban Fantasy Novel To Kill a King appeared first on Konn Lavery.
April 8, 2021
Audiobook: Fire, Pain, & Ruin – Episode 10
Episode 10 of the Fire, Pain, & Ruin: A Rutherford Manor Novel episodic audiobook is here. As with previous weeks, a new chapter will be shared on Thursdays. Enjoy the podcast below and share it around:
Missed the previous episode? Starting out? No worries:Episode Listing Episode 1 Episode 2Episode 3Episode 4Episode 5Episode 6Episode 7Episode 8Episode 9Episode 10Listen (NSFW)The Savidges have their first dinner with the Connors, letting Spalding become familiar with the type of man Maxwell Connors is. The following day, Lousie experiences a horrific tragedy, one that will mark her for life.
Enjoying the audio story? Get the book.
eBook or Print Available
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April 6, 2021
Early Access: Award-Winning Fantasy Sci-Fi author V.S. Holmes’s new novel: Heretics
To view this content, you must be a member of Konn's Patreon at $5 or more - Click "Read more" to unlock this content at the source
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April 4, 2021
Into the Macrocosm Literary Titan 5 Star Award and Interview
I’m pleased to share that Into the Macrocosm has been awarded the Literary Titan 5 Star Award for April 2021 book reviews! Congratulations to everyone who was awarded. Full list can be found here.
InterviewFull interview can be found here. We cover the following questions. Enjoy!
Into the Macrocosm is a collection of dark and bizarre stories that follows a character that observes 22 unique deaths. Did you write these stories specifically for this collection, or did you write them over time?
This collection fits within the universe you’ve created with your other novels. What are some moments fans can look forward to in this collection that connect directly to your other novels?
I really enjoyed the different ideas explored throughout this collection. What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
What is the next book that you are working on, and when will it be available?
Literary Titan also has summed up the short story collection as follows:Star Rating: ★★★★★ REVIEW
Into the Macrocosm by Konn Lavery is a collection of thought-provoking short stories about an unknown character who is the observer of 22 deaths. At the beginning of this intellectually invigorating collection readers are given intriguing theories on life after death. Konn Lavery addresses these theories in multiple ways, all of which are fictional in nature but spiritual at heart. Although the character is more of an observer in these stories, I like how I can still feel the personal connections while reading along. It was easy to get entangled in these insightful stories and there was a sense of adventure that was consistent throughout these stories. I also appreciated the subheadings in this collection because it helped me keep track of special events that lead to the plot twists.
Into The Macrocosm has so many fascinating stories that it will be impossible for readers to find at least one that speaks to them. None of the stories are overly horrifying, nor would I put these stories in the horror genre, there is just an ever-present ominous feeling that permeates these stories, enough to give you goosebumps rather than frighten you outright. This is a metaphysical exploration that leaves you with thoughts that are hard to shake. The way spiritual transformation is portrayed was enough for me to set the book down and ponder the implications for a bit. I loved that this collection used these dark stories to highlight the importance of self-awareness. I also loved how the author showed how much the darkness within us and around us can weigh us down.
Konn Lavery’s Into The Macrocosm is an exceptional short story collection that explores some provocative ideas through a darkly imaginative lens reminiscent of Edgar Allen Poe or H.P. Lovecraft.
Into the Macrocosm
This story is found within the collection.
Enter the expanding universe through the lives of 22 souls, as the Nameless One and their ghoulish companion attempt to unlock the mysterious past of how they died.
Order Today




The post Into the Macrocosm Literary Titan 5 Star Award and Interview appeared first on Konn Lavery.
April 1, 2021
Audiobook: Fire, Pain, & Ruin – Episode 09
Episode 9 of the Fire, Pain, & Ruin: A Rutherford Manor Novel episodic audiobook is here. As with previous weeks, a new chapter will be shared on Thursdays. Enjoy the podcast below and share it around:
Missed the previous episode? Starting out? No worries:Episode Listing Episode 1 Episode 2Episode 3Episode 4Episode 5Episode 6Episode 7Episode 8Episode 9Listen (NSWF)Spalding makes an immoral choice that contradicts everything he stands for, leaving him troubled, shattered, and uncertain if he can ever live up to his family’s name again. Louise wants to skip church with Lisa. Unfortunately, Mr. Connors finds her before her sister . . . for the worse.
Enjoying the audio story? Get the book.
eBook or Print Available
The post Audiobook: Fire, Pain, & Ruin – Episode 09 appeared first on Konn Lavery.
March 30, 2021
Ascend from the Rabbit Hole
We’re into day 377 of Alberta’s two-week flatten the curve plan. Now, entering the fourth month of 2021, we are in a warm spell – woohoo! Previously in February and January, Alberta experienced record-breaking cold temperatures. It was truly intense, even for us veterans to the prairie winters. What does this mean for writing? Well, it leads to even MORE indoor time, on top of the usual pandemic distancing, plus our province is keeping moderate restrictions up (no indoor gatherings). More indoor time equals more opportunities to write. Thus, in January, February, and March, I willingly descended into the dark depths of project crunching. Now, finally, as the weather warms and the geese return, I ascend from the rabbit hole to experience a newfound joyous state of appreciation for downtime, a much-needed stoppage, liberating the exhausted spirit from the heavyweight of work.
Welcome to another edition of Unprocessed ThoughtsHow’s that for a dramatic intro paragraph? Okay, real talk though, I did bury my head in writing-related projects over the first three months of 2021. The sweat and determination were intentional, so I can enjoy the warmer weather that’s to come. If you’ve been following Canada’s vaccine rollout plan – we’re nowhere out of the woods yet this year. So, I’d like to enjoy summer outside and not be working on some of these tasks I’ve wrapped up.
What Work? Ascend from the Rabbit Hole?You may be wondering, what is all this fluff-talk about work? Well, let me tell you in a simple, bullet-point form. I’ll breeze over January and February. It’s old news that you can read in previous Unprocessed Thoughts:
I got the edits back for Rave back. Revised. Formatted.Currently, I’m in the seedling phase of marketing Rave. This means:ARCsPrepping interviewsA press kit.Marketing CampaignWatch out, April and May. I’m about to get noisy(annoying?) online.I’ve written some tracks and am organizing musicians for a bonus component of Rave.If you’ve seen my past book releases, you can probably guess what this is.The Into the Macrocosm audiobook is complete and is currently being processed by distributors.March’s short story was EPIC and longer compared to the usual short stories. It covered some mystery behind Karazickle from the Mental Damnation dark fantasy series.Interview with Malpherities on PatreonThen there was all the usual stuff on the blog and running promo sales to attract new readers. Oh, let’s not forget the contract design and web development work I still do.
There you have it, a busy three months of hammering out work done through consistent militant time schedules and mundane, repetitive days. Yes, most of the work is fun, and some days it’s not. But that’s the truth of any hard work – you don’t always want to do it. The results are worth it when you can ascend from the rabbit hole.
What’s Next?Well, all the heavy lifting behind the scenes is done. Now it’s all about Rave. The proof print copy is on its way, and the book launch event date will be announced. This will take up a lot of my focus. In the off time, I’ll be exploring new writing. I’m at a crossroads and am unsure what story to tell next.
It’s a difficult dilemma that I’m unsure how to approach it. Without getting into an in-depth analysis of the situation, it can be summed up as: Should I write to market or write for the soul?
I’ve got several ideas for the next story to tell. Two of them have series potential. Thankfully, I am at a place where the next book doesn’t need to be crunched out for an upcoming convention. I’d like to have something out for 2022. We’ll see what answer reveals itself to me as I wander the great summer Edmontonian river valley, connecting with my inner self, as one does when they ascend from the rabbit hole.
Beer Note: Archipelago Canadian Pale Ale. Polar Park Brewing Co.For March, I tried a good ol’ Canadian beer made in Edmonton by the Polar Park Brewing Co. The Archipelago Canadian Pale Ale sits at a 5.1% alcohol level. The four-pack was downed fast, and I didn’t even realize it. Not too hoppy and not too flat, making it an easy drink. This is the kind of beer I’ll come back to!
The post Ascend from the Rabbit Hole appeared first on Konn Lavery.
March 25, 2021
Audiobook: Fire, Pain, & Ruin – Episode 08
Episode 8 of the Fire, Pain, & Ruin: A Rutherford Manor Novel episodic audiobook is here. As with previous weeks, a new chapter will be shared on Thursdays. Enjoy the podcast below and share it around:
Missed the previous episode? Starting out? No worries:Episode Listing Episode 1 Episode 2Episode 3Episode 4Episode 5Episode 6Episode 7Episode 8ListenLisa and Louise stay the midwives as their mother is in town. The three women share insightful wisdom about independence and living an unorthodox life, conflicting from what they’ve been told at church. Spaulding’s and Penny’s marriage is on a delicate balance after another fight, making Spalding’s confrontation with a ghost of his past challenging to shrug off.
Enjoying the audio story? Get the book.
eBook or Print Available
The post Audiobook: Fire, Pain, & Ruin – Episode 08 appeared first on Konn Lavery.
March 23, 2021
Interview from the Afterlife with Malpherities
To view this content, you must be a member of Konn's Patreon at $5 or more - Click "Read more" to unlock this content at the source
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