Kay Kenyon's Blog, page 9

Cover reveal: Book 3 Dark Talents Novels

Coming 2019

Here it is! The gorgeous cover of the next book in the Dark Talents Novels, Nest of the Monarch!

A huge thanks to Navah Wolfe and Saga Press!

(In this book, Kim Tavistoc’s mission is to Berlin and the Bavarian Alps, where she’s up to her eyebrows in myths, royals, treachery, partisans and a super race!)

Vote for your favorite cover (comment here) and I’ll enter you to win a free AUDIO version of At the Table of Wolves.

 

FAQ on Serpent in the Heather and the series

For a little background on how I came to write my latest novel, here are some frequently asked questions.

Why did you chose to set this historical fantasy series in the 1930s?

The 1930s – and particularly in England – was a period overshadowed by the catastrophic losses of World War I. Every family had its losses, and the public attitude was to willfully turn a blind eye to Hitler’s arms build up. So instead of a war with steal, it became a shadow war of spies, secrets, and deception. It is such a fertile ground for fiction! The roster of characters and motivation is vast: British aristocracy fearing the loss of class privilege, fascists, pacifists, spies and those who chose to do nothing. This historical context raises an interesting question: What would you have done? How much would you have sacrificed to stop the coming war?

Is this a series?

Yes,  the Dark Talents novels began with At the Table of Wolves and continues with Serpent in the Heather. Nest of the Monarch will come out in 2019. All of them feature the espionage missions of Kim Tavistock, a flawed but extraordinary spy.

What inspired you to write this historical fantasy?

The first inspiration came from William Manchester’s biography of Winston Churchill. I’m especially interested in the World Wars (and their lead-ups)–times with amazing contrasts between self-sacrificing idealism and staggering villainy. I had previously dealt with the historical period of the 1850s in England and India for my fantasy A Thousand Perfect Things, and was looking for a different, largely unexplored, time period for my next fantasy.

What are the fantasy elements for this realistic setting?

Psi-powers are a relatively new phenomenon, but came into the world as a result of the society-wide psychological suffering of World War I. Called Talents, these powers affect perhaps one in a thousand individuals. Because psi-powers are not widespread, they engender suspicion and fear among many. My premise is that the Germans have been weaponizing Talents and are years ahead of England and the US. I wanted to explore how occult powers would change society and also open doors for women who had Talents. More powers are revealed in each book, but some are: the spill, trauma view, mesmerizing, disguise, attraction, hypercognition, darkening and hyperempathy.

To see an annotated list of the Talents, click here.

How accurate is the espionage context and the examples you show of trade craft?

As accurate as I could make them after intensive research. The Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) is shown with as much actual detail as I could manage, including its political context. The chief of SIS was known as “C,” and in my story, “E.” Monkton Hall, where Talent research is carried out, was inspired by Bletchley Park. The trade craft was especially fun to research, with things like dead drops, brush passes, code names, surveillance, moles and so much more adding to the flavor of the shadow world that was (and is) espionage.

The Publisher’s Weekly’s  review of the first bookpointed to the moral ambiguities brought forward by the series. What are the main ones?

Espionage, like war, is full of horrific choices, but often they are decisions one has to make alone in the field.

What is justified in terms of harm and betrayal of the innocent?

How many lies can you tell without losing your sense of truth?

What if you start enjoying deception for it’s own sake?

How can Kim Tavistock come to terms with her Talent for “hearing the truth”? How can you use your Talent in a larger cause, when it means exploiting confidences and people’s weaknesses?

To see my blog series on Women Spies of the World Wars, a subject that inspired this series, click here.

Does the evil of fascism that you depict in your story present a threat today?

We tend to think of the Nazi brutality and ideology as an aberration. We’d like to think it could never happen again. But then, how did the holocaust ever happen? Looking at North Korea, we can see that the world is still capable of ideological evil, when a leader can starve his people and, yes, establish concentration camps. I believe we are forewarned by the catastrophe of Nazism. We should be watchful lest it creep in on us.  Most of us will never be called upon to be heroes in a fight. But to combat a great evil, we have to stand against it close to home wherever it begins to tinge our thinking through religious intolerance and racism. We can all do that, and must.

What formats are the books in?

Serpent in the Heather is available in hardcover, e-book, and Audible version.

At the Table of Wolves is available in all formats including trade paper.

What books do you recommend for people interested in espionage novels and nonfiction?

There are so many, but here are a few top ones.

Nonfiction:

A Spy Among Friends. Ben McIntyre

The Secret History of MI6. Keith Jeffery

“C” The Secret Life of Sir Stewart Menzies, Spymaster to Winston Churchill. Anthony Cave Brown

Double Cross. Ben McIntyre

Fiction:

The Night Soldier books. Alan Furst

The Spies of Warsaw. Alan Furst

Any book by John le Carre.

Istanbul Passage. Joseph Kanon.

 

At the Table of Wolves: Chapters and Extras

If you don’t yet have the first book in my Dark Talents series, here’s a chance to see inside the book!

I’m providing the first two chapters of Book 1 as well as a nifty chart of the Talents (powers).

(Book 2, Serpent in the Heather, will be available on April 10.)

At the Table of Wolves
Chapters 1 & 2
Chart of the Talents

ONE OF YOUR OWN WILL BRING YOU DOWN . . .

The concept of At the Table of Wolves: In 1936, when Talents have come into the world, a woman who is drawn into the shadow world of espionage uses her gift for hearing the truth to uncover a Nazi plot to subdue England with a mysterious power over ice and cold. It’s Foyle’s War with a female hero and psi powers both subtle and scary.

REVIEWS: Kenyon’s finely tuned historical atmospherics and her sure-handed development of even minor characters make this novel a superb adventure, worthy to launch a distinguished historical fantasy series. — Publisher’s Weekly, starred review

I came to this with high expectations, having read Kenyon’s brilliant The Entire and Rose four book sequence.  Once again, Kenyon knocked it out of the park. This is a wonderful novel for many reasons – it tells a full story in and of itself and also sets a foundation for many stories to be told. . . . Highly recommended. — SFF World

At the Table of Wolves is a remarkable bit of alt-history.  — B&N Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog

Goodreads Giveaway of Serpent

If you read At the Table of Wolves and liked it, here’s a chance to win a print copy of Book 2 in the series: Serpent in the Heather.

The Goodreads Giveaway.

Ends March 27

A teaser on Book 2:

Summer of 1936. Assassinations are underway in Europe, targeting people with meta-abilities. It is an undercover German operation to deprive future targets like Poland and France of important Talents.

Now the killings have begun in England and they are young people, their bodies left in public places, ritually murdered. But how can the killer know which youngsters have Talents?

Kim Tavistock is sent to penetrate a religious cult tied to the Earth Mysteries movement, a cult that believes there are places of power linked to neolithic henges and stone circles. In the forbidding Sulcliffe Castle in Wales, the elderly matriarch of this movement is Baroness Ellesmere, an ardent Nazi, who, though dying, wants to confer spiritual power on her handsome but Talent-less son.

Kim is always on the side of the innocent, and she closes in on the killer, learning that he has a previously unknown Talent that makes him a frightening threat to England. Cut off from support and with the Secret Intelligence Service too late to the rescue, Kim must face off alone with the malevolence of  the assassin and the denizens of Sulcliffe Castle. — Available April 10

KIRKUS REVIEWS on Serpent in the Heather:

Paranormal fantasy and historical fiction fans alike should find Kenyon’s saga featuring assassins, spies, and secret agents to be supremely entertaining. A unique concept that is superbly executed.

See you at RadCon

I’m excited for RadCon to be underway! I haven’t been to a con since World Fantasy last November, so I’m ready to see old friends, meet new ones, and see what people are up to. I have a big schedule on Saturday, but some free time on Sunday. Hope to see some of you in Pasco, WA Februay 17 and 18!

My schedule:

Saturday

10:15 AM – Rm 2211 – Reading from At the Table of Wolves

12:45 PM – Rm 2207 – Alternate History & Social Justice/Injustice

3:15 PM – Rm 2207 – Keeping it Interesting

7:00 PM – Rm 2207 – Writing Compelling Villains

Sunday

9:00 AM – Rm 2207 – How to Write a Series

11:00 AM – Merchandise booth – Selling, signing my books

RadCon years’ past:

Bob Brown and me

Me and Patty Briggs

A Galactic Time Was Had

A fun evening at Mysterious Galaxy in San Diego Friday night. I talked about the forgotten women who played heroic roles undercover in WWII. Inspiring stories, surprising and at times devastating. Thanks to all who turned out! If you’re interested in this topic, see the category “Women Spies of the World Wars” in these posts.

Newsletter drawing winners

Thank you to everyone who filled out my “Making my newsletter awesome” survey! I got such a great response, and much to think about. The feedback was so valuable. Changes are coming!

(If you aren’t signed up for my newsletter–4-5 times a year with news, industry and writing tips, extras, and giveaways, please consider doing so: here.)

And, drum role . . . the winners of the January newsletter free books are:

K. Parkinson, W. Duncan, D. Watson, G. Stewart, J. Mellinger, P. Schreiner, A. Baronfsky and blaiddins.

Congratulations to all!

I’m at Mysterious Galaxy

Krystyna Skarbek

“Women spies of World War II” will be my topic at Mysterious Galaxy in San Diego on January 19. I’m excited to talk about what has become my favorite topic: the women who inspired me to write At the Table of Wolves, the first book in my Dark Talents trilogy. (Featuring the women shown below and more.)

Check it out here! Mysterious Galaxy is one of my very favorite bookstores, and I’m so happy to be there on Friday. For those of you who’ve inquired, my cat Winston has declined to accompany me since he will be napping, but my husband Tom will be there–I know, a poor substitute for Winston fans. . . So who was my cat named after? Yup!

The sequel, Serpent in the Heather, is out April 10, and the trilogy concludes with Nest of the Monarch, coming soon!

Event particulars:

A chat and signing At the Table of Wolves
Friday, January 19, 2018 – 7:30pm
Mysterious Galaxy






5943 balboa ave
suite 100

San Diego, CA 92111

Inayat Khan

Pearl Cornioley

Nancy Wake

Violette Szabo

Women Spies of the World Wars: Violette Szabo

This blog series on women working undercover during the world wars highlights a few of the stories that inspired me while writing At the Table of Wolves which deals with the anti-fascist career of Kim Tavistock in the years leading up to WWII.

Violette Szabo was a French-born Englishwoman, one of the most decorated women of the SOE (Special Operations Executive). At the age of 20, having just lost her husband at El Alamein, she was eager to avenge his death and took training to serve as a courier to the French resistance.

SOE was always on the lookout for fluent French speakers, and Szabo came to their attention because she had been active with Britain’s Auxiliary Territorial Service in an anti-aircraft battery. Just 5’3″ her diminuitive size raised concerns when she was interviewed. But Szabo had always been athletic, and upon induction into SOE, took training in parachuting, weapons, and demolition.

Scattered throughout the UK were sites specializing in different skills that undercover operatives would need on the Continent. Szabo started her training at Arisaig House in the Scottish Highlands, specializing in commando-type skills such as silent killing, weapons, and sabotage. Shortly before D-Day she went to “finishing school” at Beaulieu, Hampshire where the intelligence service trained people to operate as undercover agents, including escape, evasion, uniform recognition and cyrptography.

On her first mission to France she parachuted in near Cherbourg where she was sent on an unexpectedly dangerous mission to Rouen and Diepe to determine the damage done to a network that had suffered recent German arrests. The circuit had been decimated, a terrible blow to SOE. While there, Szabo collected intel on munitions factories that helped establish Allied bombing targets. On the plane back to England, the aircraft came under fire. Escaping, they landed, and as the pilot tried to help Szabo out of the plane, she heaped abuse upon him in French, thinking him a German captor. When the situation was made clear to him, she rewarded him with a kiss.

Szabo went to France one more time. This time, she was sent as liaison to the local French resistance (Maquis) in West-Central France. Once on the ground, she went by car with two male agents. SOE was unaware, however, that a Panzer division was passing through the area. At a roadblock, she was captured. The subsequent supposed firefight that attached itself to her mythology, is likely untrue. Also unclear, whether an old parachuting injury hindered her ability to escape as the others did. She was taken to a prison in Limoges. The SOE immediately kicked into gear to try and effect her escape, but she had been immediately transferred to Paris, to the infamous Sicherheitsdeinst (SS security service) HQ on Avenue Foch where she underwent torture.

Eventually she was sent to Ravensbruck, a notorious prison camp. On February 5, 1945, Violette Szabo was executed, a shot to the back of her neck, along with two other women prisoners. Since she wore civilian clothes and operated behind enemy lines, the Germans did not consider her protected by the Geneva Convention, and thus she could be summarily executed.

The British government considered undercover agents killed at concentration camps to have been “killed in action.” Szarbo was one of two women to be awarded the George Cross by the British government during the Second World War. The other was Noor Inayat Khan.

Other women featured in this series:: Nancy Wake, Noor Inayat Khan, Marika Rokk, Virginia Hall, Krystyna Skarbek,  Pearl Cornioley

Women Spies of the World Wars: Pearl Cornioley

Many women worked undercover during the world wars, but we know the names of only a few. Like men in the secret intelligence services, many went to their graves never revealing their roles. This blog series highlights a few that inspired me while writing At the Table of Wolves.

Pearl Cornioley

This amazing World War II operative rose to the highest ranks of the French resistance and was deemed the best shot British intelligence had seen, male or female.

Cornioley was 29 when she was sent to France as part of Churchill’s Special Operations Executive (SOE). Her flawless French and determination to fight the Nazis brought her quickly to prominent leadership in the resistance.  She began as a courier between the British and the French resistance and rose to command 3,000 underground fighters, the only woman to serve as a network leader. At one point she presided over the surrender of 18,000 German troops. As cover, she often had a suitcase of cosmetics to deflect suspicion during her travels in occupied France.

Cecile Pearl Witherington was raised in France by expat British parents. When the Germans invaded France, her family escaped to England where she found a job in the British Air Ministry. She never forgot the brutal invasion and was determined to assist in the fight against the Nazis. She joined the SOE in June, 1943 and parachuted into France. She was soon the leader of the Wrestler Network in the Valencay-Issoudun-Chateauroux triangle, reorganizing the group with the help of her fiance, Henri Cornioley. This network had over 1,500 members of the Maquis. By this time, the Germans had put a million franc reward on her head.

This group played a major role in fighting the Germany Army during the D-Day landings. Incredibly, she and her network endured a concerted artillery attack in a 14-hour battle, and were attacked by 2,000 Germans. Despite the onslaught, her forces lost only 24; these included civilians who were injured and then executed. With her network broken, she then launched effective guerilla assaults that disrupted German columns trying to get to the battlefront.

Cornioley died in France in 2008 at the age of 93. She  received many honors, but there was one she refused. This was the Order of the British Empire, the M.B.E., the civil version rather than the military one. In her letter of refusal, her acerbic comment was, “I did nothing civil.”

Other women featured in this series: Nancy Wake, Noor Inayat Khan, Marika Rokk, Virginia Hall, Krystyna Skarbek