Today, I took off my writer’s cap to being editing ‘A Darkness Awakens (Elements of Ilysia: Volume One)’ written by my ‘Passion of the Dragon Saga’ co-author, Helena Lancaster. Helena started this tale over fifteen years ago. She has developed it in to a gripping tale of civil war which involves humans, fae, vampires, witches, […]
Well, it only took me almost 10 years, but I finally did it!! My very first solo novel, Pandemonium’s Shadows, was released through my publisher, KCL Publishing on November 29!
When I started writing, I never intended on releasing it as a novel. One day I sat down in front of my computer and the words flowed onto paper, so to speak. In just outside of 4 months, I had written almost 3 novels. The story was fun, inciting, sexy, and intriguing, but that was just my opinion. One day, I asked a few people to read a little of it to see what they thought. I was amazed as I watched them become so engrossed with the story, they loved it! For years, I was told that I needed to release it so others could love it as much as my proofreaders did. It took me 9 years to decide to actually release the first novel. Then it was a year of many changes to the manuscript due to being asked “Is that character based on me?”
What is it about, you ask? I leave you with the blurb from the back of the book:
“When American teacher, Karita Kerns is forced to endure a Knight of Cups concert, she encounters Rhys Cooper, the half-Finnish, half-British rock star/lead singer of the band, and her world is upended. Karita had resigned herself to being single after ending a disastrous marriage, as Rhys was recovering from a catastrophic relationship that almost ended his life. Sparks fly between them and never-before felt emotions are surfacing neither of them comprehend. As they try to understand, they are faced with daunting situations: past relationships that could resurface, separation of thousands of miles on different continents, and complete culture differences.
Could a teacher and a rock star successfully blend their worlds? Can their love survive his rock star ways? Will her love ever be enough for him? The answers lie in Pandemonium’s Shadows.”
On June 21st, 1997 a small book called Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was published and a literary juggernaut was born. (I’m not even going to start on the movies, merchandise…
I’ve mentioned a few times that I have been developing a fantasy series. The idea for it first popped into my head more than a decade ago. I have gone through several different stages of developing, including making lots of changes as my original idea evolved into what it has become now. The basics of […]
I am so excited to announce a new project! Before Helena and I began The Passion of the Dragon Saga, I started writing a novel of my own. That novel has expanded into at least three novels as of right now. I have titles my WOP as Pandemonium’s Shadows. The first novel is about a woman from a small town in South Carolina who travels to the land of the midnight sun, Finland, for the love of her life. Why Finland, you ask? Well, it all started back in high school…
(The sky still shines at midnight in Finland)
In my world history class, we spent a week on Scandinavia. And in that week, I learned about Finland. From the first time I heard the name of the capital, Helsinki, the name never left my mind. I would randomly heard the name in a show, news cast, or it would just pop in my mind. The more I heard or thought of it, I knew I had to go visit it some day. As with all people, life takes us in a different direction. The thought of Helsinki was put on the back burner as much as possible.
(Munkkiniemi Beach, Helsinki)
Fast forward to 2008, when I had a lot of time on my hands, so I wrote. And did I ever write! The majority of the first three novels flew out in just under four months. I had yet to visit Helsinki, but that did not stop me from writing what I believed it was like. Then I began to look at photos on the Internet and was amazed at how what I saw was almost the reality of what the city really looked like. It was almost as if I had been there before. This just spurred my love for Helsinki.
(The South Harbour)
In the summer of 2010, I was finally able to put my feet on Finnish soil. The wait had been so very long, but once I was there, it had been worth it. My co-author on The Passion of the Dragon Saga, Helena and I were lucky to live in Helsinki for a month. I fell in love with everything about that country; the architecture, the people, the food, the culture, and even the language. Leaving that hot, sunny day in July to head back to the States, I felt as if I was leaving home. It took me six years to be able to return. Unfortunately, I was only able to stay for just under two weeks. We were on our way to Romania! But you already know that story.
(They read my mind!)
Helsinki has become where I want to be. Where I can spend the day by the South Harbour or walk the trail by Munkkiniemi Beach. You can walk the city to find the Lutheran Cathedral, the Uspenski Cathedral, or my personal favorite, St. John’s Church. No matter the area of the city, you will never tire of the beautiful architecture.
(Lily Pads, Helsinki)
My love for Helsinki is what has given birth, to what I have been told by pre-readers, “could lead to greatness!” I am not looking for greatness; I just want to help others be aware of a beautiful place. In my next blog, I will tell you more about the story; the basis of the story, characters and their backgrounds. I hope you look as forward to reading this series as I do releasing it for all of you.
~ Rayna
All photo credits to me, with the exception of the Finnish Flag.
My co-author, Helena Lancaster, and I are excited to announce the title of the upcoming third installment of The Passion of the Dragon Saga. Our next release, coming December 12, 2016 is titled Souls Ignited: The Story of Vlad the Impaler and the Women He Loved. It will be available in paperback and for Kindle on Amazon. We are hard at work writing this novel so you can learn more in the Vlad, Erdenia, and Erzsébet love triangle.
We want to keep the book as true to the history of the real Vlad Dracula while adding our own little twist with Erdenia and Erzsébet stories. This is what took us across the ocean to beautiful Romania last year; to learn more about the man, the myth, and the legend of Vlad the Impaler. Visiting his castle was an experience I will never forget and will cherish for the rest of my days. I hope that you love reading our novels as much as I have loved co-writing them so far.
Writing these novels has taught me more about history than I expected. I had always been fascinated by the man since childhood. This has enabled me to write what I already knew and to learn even more about the misunderstood prince.
As we prepare for the release of the next book, we are having a celebration of sort by introducing a box set of the first two novels. On August 24, 2016 you will be able to by Hearts on Fire and Love in Flames for Kindle. The box set is available for pre-order on Amazon now. They are also now available on Kindle Unlimited and we will be having upcoming Kindle deals! Stay tuned for more details. You can learn more now on our Passion of the Dragon Saga blog at https://thepassionofthedragonsaga.wordpress.com/2016/07/25/big-announcements-volume-three-title-and-much-more/.
As a side note, I will be announcing a side project I am currently working on. I will post about this in my next blog!
To most people, poetry is about love and happiness. Fortunately, not all poetry is that way. Don’t get me wrong, I love romantic, sappy poetry that makes your heart soar. But for the unfortunate souls who have to live through abuse, that kind of poetry doesn’t help them. For them, the need the poetry of […]
Rayna Kingston 