Pippa DaCosta's Blog, page 7

#5 Ties That Bind - OUT NOW!

It's the end of an era. Book #5 in The Veil Series is out today and I'm equal parts elated and sad. Muse, the main character from the series, has come a long way from her naive beginnings in Beyond The Veil (or if we include the novella Wings Of Hope, she's come a long way from a half-demon plaything), and she's not the only one who's changed. I've received emails and messages from readers saying how much they've enjoyed witnessing Muse, Stefan, Akil (and maybe even Ryder!) change throughout the series. Enemies become friends. Villains become heroes. The good are bad, or are they?

It truly has been an amazing experience to see a series such as this one through to the very end. There were times when I had to force myself to sit down and write. There were times I cried my eyes out while writing certain scenes (if you've already read Ties That Bind, you'll know why). Times I laughed, cringed, and wondered what the hell I was doing.

When I started writing Beyond The Veil, did I imagine it would be so popular? No. I dreamed it would be. Did I dream that I'd have sold 10,000 copies of the series in a year? If someone had told me, a year ago, that would happen, I'd have laughed at them.

Even now I struggle to put into words what The Veil Series means to me. I think perhaps every author is gifted with a special book/idea, the one that makes all the difference. The combination of characters in the Veil Series are what really makes it shine; and while I adore Muse, there's one demon who I must tip my hat to. He's the one everyone asks me about, the one who I had trouble keeping in line, the enigma that is Akil.

I'm not sure if it's normal for an author to thank a character, but in all honesty, Akil is as real to me as anyone. He was an absolute b*stard to write, and on the couple of occasions I got inside his head (or he got inside mine) to write from his POV—I struggled to 'tame' him. He's a dangerous combination of intelligence, ruthlessness, and immortality. And, as much as I hate to admit it, he is the reason the Veil Series works. (I can just see his smug smile right now).

So *raises glass* here's to the end of the Veil Series. It was a breathless, action-packed, plot-twisting, lust-drenched, fire-and-ice filled, ride; and I wouldn't have ended it any other way.

Pippa.

**GIVEAWAY ALERT**

Yup, it's time to give stuff away! To celebrate the release of City of Fae on May 7th, I'm giving away x4 absolutely stunning autographed notebooks - these pretties are just lurvly: embossed hardback covers, metal clasps, the works. And x10 equally lovely fairy bookmarks, with itty-bitty blue gem wings.

To enter and be in with a chance to WIN, visit the website here.

But Pippa Writes Fantasy?

But Pippa writes fantasy, not sci-fi?

Right now, my head is saying; ‘write more urban fantasy, you have a spin-off series to do, a sequel to write, fans want more Muse, more demons, more fantasy-esque stuff, more-more-more.’ And I do want to do those things, I will do those things BUT, you know what my heart is saying? Whispering... ‘You know that guilty pleasure of yours, the love of sci-fi? You should write that, because a writer has to follow her heart, else the words won’t flow.’ But this isn’t just about writing what I want to write. There’s no room for sci-fi in my business plan. I’ve not written sci-fi before, and I have no idea what I’m doing. I don’t know if there are sci-fi readers out there who will like my style. I don’t know if there’s a market. Honestly, there’s a whole heap of ‘don’t knows.’ If I research the market, I suspect I’ll discover Urban Fantasy sells better to the 18-30 female audience (currently). My business head will say no to sci-fi,...and I’ll do it anyway, but feel worse about it.

Having come to the end of the Veil Series (x5 novels and a novella) and with ‘City of Fae’ in the hands of the publishers, I’ve been stuck in a serious book and reading funk. Everything I read feels flat, everything I write feels flat. ‘You’re burned out’ my writer friend suggested. ‘Take a break.’ She’s a writer, she should know better. Writers don’t take breaks.

I tried to write, and failed. Rubbish. Rubbish. Rubbish. And then, that little whispering voice said, ‘Hey, how about that sci-fi you’ve been thinking about? Maybe try something totally new, something to cleanse the palate?’ I ignored that voice, because my head said, ‘Sit your ass back down and focus.’ After a few days of frustration, I opened a new word.doc and tapped out the opening chapter to Girl From Above told from the main character ‘#1001’s’ point of view. (See it here: http://www.pippadacosta.com/#!girl-fr... ). I didn’t have an outline, or a plan, just one little scene (take note, the Veil Series started exactly the same way). Chapter One done, I slept on it (not literally), and wondered what it would be like to try alternating POV’s in first person perspective. So, the next day, I wriggled into my other main characters head, flexed my fingers, and started typing. And Caleb Shepperd happened. Seriously, happened. In the space of a few chapters, ideas for his character exploded. Suddenly I had to take notes, to scribble a rough story arc, to jump out of bed in the middle of the night and write down his next snappy piece of dialogue. He’s crass, selfish, obnoxious, and a borderline sociopath. He’s such a damn cliché, that even I rolled my eyes, but in the background, secrets bobbed to the surface. His secrets. The other main character, #1001, has secrets too. Caleb’s second-in-command, Fran, is a drug-addict. They’re all frankly messed up in the head, and to top it off, they run illegal cargo, and should be in prison. They’re rude, aggressive, abusive, to the point I already have a warning written, because they will offend. These characters are so morally ambiguous, that I wondered if I had a cast made up entirely of bad guys.

But, the obsession took hold. First draft fever, I call it. When I can’t sleep because the characters are acting out their scenes in my head; when I can’t think about anything else, and I start twitching with need to get typing, just to get the voices out of my head (quickly moving on). I’m now along for the ride, thinking about turning this novel into a series, about covers and editing. And still the ideas are flowing faster than I can write them down.

Writing ‘Girl From Above’ makes zero business sense. It’s a huge risk. And I don’t care. I want to write an action-packed, sexual charged, heart-pounding sci-fi novel. I don’t know if my readers will like it, I don’t even know if they read sci-fi, or if they’ll skip it, because it’s not their usual genre (I hope they give it a chance, because sci-fi isn’t about sci-fi, not really. The same as fantasy isn’t really about fantasy. It’s about the people). I hope my readers will trust me to bring the same dynamics from the Veil Series to Girl From Above.

I’m thrilled, excited, and slightly terrified. But mostly I have a huge grin on my face. Because this is the next Veil Series; I can feel it in my inky-writer veins.

Wish me luck & please comment to let me know I'm not absolutely crazy to do this!

Click to add it to your shelves.

**New Book Announcement** 'City Of Fae' Coming May 7th, 2015!

Finally, I can talk about it. Yup. Here's the big secret I've been sitting on. And oh, can we just take a moment to absorb that gorgeous cover? I'll wait here.

Yeah. I know. Cover love is definitely a thing.

City Of Fae is a new-adult urban fantasy. Which basically means it's sexy, action-packed, and sometimes dark. All the things I love. Toss in some sexy fae, a dash of magic, many, many spiders, and you get awesomesauce.

Here's the blurb:

Days to live. Hours to love. Seconds to kill.

From the moment Alina touches London’s hottest fae superstar, breaking one of the laws founded to protect all of her kind, her fate – and the fae – close in.

Below ground, the fae High Queen plots to claim the city as her own and places her pawns, ready for the battle to come. A battle she cannot lose, but for one small problem – Alina. There are four ancient keepers powerful enough to keep the queen in her prison. Three are dead. One remains … And to fight back, Alina risks sacrificing everything she has come to love.

Click on the cover thumbnail below to add it to your Goodreads shelf.



Coming May 7th 2015 from Bloomsbury Spark (a Bloomsbury Publishing imprint).

Pre-orders will be up soon. Sign-up here to get news direct to your inbox.

Official website

Book #1 now FREE

Y'know that friend, the one you've been bugging for ages to try The Veil Series, and they keep dragging their feet? Well, now there's no more excuses. Book #1 Beyond The Veil is FREE and for the first time you (and your friend) can download it from Amazon and iBooks, Nook, Kobo & Scribd.

Click for:
Amazon
iBooks
Nook
Kobo
Borrow on Scribd

Don't forget, you can get the Veil Series prequel Wings Of Hope for FREE too, by signing up to my mailing list, here.

What are you waiting for? Go grab the free stuff.

Pippa.

**EXCLUSIVE SCENE FROM AKIL'S POV**

What's it like inside Akil's head? We've all wondered. Well, two nights ago, he demanded this moment be shared and I had little choice but to write it down. He doesn't often talk to me. Usually just stands, arms crossed, eyeing me like he's imagining all the ways he could make me disappear.

Click here to experience a rare glimpse inside Akil's thoughts.

(WARNING: 18+ only please. Scene takes place between books 3 & 4. If you're expecting nice, don't click ;) ).

'Drowning In The Dark #4 The Veil Series' ~ Now Available for Pre-Order

The fourth book in the Veil Series, Drowning In The Dark has a release date and is up for pre-order.

Oh, book 4 was a difficult one (I know I say that about all of them, but this one really was). The story wanted to go one way, and I was afraid—yes, afraid—to let it have its way. We wrestled, but in the end, the story won (as it should).

You can read an action-packed draft excerpt on Tumblr, here. (Do not read the excerpt unless you're up to date with Darkest Before Dawn). I've posted various other snippets and shorts on Tumblr, including a holiday special featuring Ryder and Muse.

Click here to pre-order book #4. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00QQMKLDW

And have a Happy New Year!

Blurb:

“I wasn’t demon enough to defeat my brother before. Things have changed.”

As the veil begins to fall and the demons bleed through onto the streets of Boston, Muse knows the battle is lost before it’s even begun.

To make matters worse, Adam and the Institute have captured Akil at a time when the city has never needed him more. Muse believes Akil’s incarceration is a ruse, because if he truly is at the mercy of the Institute, she must choose which side she’ll fight for. Human or demon?

The princes are coming. Muse’s immortal half-brother, Valenti, leads the charge. The Institute is not ready, the people of Boston are not prepared, but one man is. Stefan knows what it will take to beat back the netherworld. Will his demon allow him the freedom to right his wrongs?

Muse’s loyalty will be tested. To save those she loves, she must give up that which she cherishes most. Her humanity.

The Mother of Destruction is about to go nuclear.

'Delta' Cover Reveal

Ooh, a surprise cover reveal today, for Delta the 1st book in the new Half-Blood Twins Saga.

It's still early days for this little book, but I can tell you what I know so far.

Delta is set in the same world as Beyond The Veil. We follow a young half-blood (half-demon) who has no memory of who or what he is. He knows just three things:

His name is Delta.
He has a sister, somewhere.
He is a killer.

'Delta' is a gritty new adult urban fantasy, similar to The Veil Series in tone, but told from the point of view of a very different character to Muse (the main character from the Veil Series).

Here's the teaser scene:

Reality dealt me the cruel slap to the face I needed when I killed the two men who’d tried to kill me. I hadn’t planned it that way. Generally, only sociopaths plan to kill, and I didn’t think I was one of those. Yet.

But I was demon. Or, at least, half demon. I learned a lesson that night; when you don’t know who you are, or where you’ve come from, and have no place to sleep, life can still get worse. Demon. There wasn’t a cure for that. And even if there was, nobody was going to help me find it, not now I’d added murder to my résumé.

I’d drowned them; the two hooded thugs who’d thought they’d liven up their evening by beating on the homeless kid. The only reason I didn’t have blood on my hands was because the rain—my rain—had washed it away. But a sudden and inexplicably localized rainstorm wasn’t going to wash away the bodies. So I did the only thing I could, and ran.

As I stumbled into LA back alleys, avoiding the brightly lit streets, I knew three things for certain.

My name was Delta.

I had a sister, somewhere.

I was a killer.

Two weeks ago, when the veil fell, I lost my mind, and my sister. I planned to get both back, if I survived the night.

I'm hoping to have this released in the summer of 2015. The schedule will depend on The Veil Series and other writing commitments, but rest assured, Del's story is coming, and soon!

Add it to your shelves here:

New Spin-Off Series? You Decide

I need your help. There's an idea in my head, scratching to get out. A character wants his story told, and he's getting impatient.

The Veil Series finishes at Book #5 Ties That Bind but what if there was a spin-off series? What if...it didn't entirely end there?

Check this out and leave a comment or ask a question on the website beneath the sneaky little snippet. I need feedback to know whether this story should be told. Ask me anything. Got an idea? Share it there. What do you want from a spin-off series? You can make this happen (or not ;) ) ~ Please, go comment.

Click here to read a snippet from the 'Half Blood Twin Saga'.

Who doesn't love free stuff?

Yup, that's right. Get your twitchy fingers on a free copy of the "mesmerizing" & "emotionally charged" Wings Of Hope.

All you have to do is sign up to my mailing list (I promise not to spam you) and instructions on how to get your free ebook will follow. Then simply download the ebook to your kindle/ereader, and enjoy.

Click here to do the deed. No strings.

www.pippadacosta.com
www.theveilseries.co.uk

(I only send out emails when I have a new release or when I'm running a competition. You can unsubscribe from me at any time).