Category Archives: Updates

Indie urban fantasy series I recommend…

I know many of you are waiting patiently for Darkness Divides to come out on April 20th.  As an update, it’s coming along well and I’ll be posting the first two chapters this weekend.  So be on the lookout!

In the meantime, I thought I’d give you all a list of other urban fantasy authors who I follow.  Most of you are probably already aware of the big traditionally published names in the genre such as Jeaniene Frost, Ilona Andrews, Karen Marie Moning, Chloe Neill, Patricia Briggs, plus many more.  This is to highlight the indies who I’ve found to be just as enjoyable.

Keep in mind that your mileage may vary as no two people have exactly the same tastes, but these are ones I’ve found to be good and think you might too if you haven’t discovered them already.  All covers are linked to the book’s Amazon purchase page.  I’ve also included some brief thoughts on my impression of each author’s books.

 

 

Blood Wager coverConnie Suttle– If you haven’t read the book that begins her Blood Destiny series and sets up the ones that follow it, check out Blood Wager first.  The key thing to know with her work is that it has a lot of emotional twists, action, and expands to include sci-fi elements as the series progresses.  The romance in her work isn’t of the traditional variety, but I love the uniqueness of her writing.  Her “voice” is very different from other writers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Demon Bound book coverDebra Dunbar– For those who enjoy a wicked sense of humor, this is a great series to try.  The main character is a demon imp who gets into a lot of trouble, but as you get to know her you’ll find she’s surprisingly relatable.  There are light romantic elements and a rather hunky love interest or two, but nothing too hot and steamy for those who prefer those elements toned down.  Do expect some naughtiness, though.  This series has five books out so far and Debra recently released two spin-off novels.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sleight of Hand book coverMark Henwick– His series is strong on action and suspense, while being lighter on the romantic elements (though you should expect some explicit content).  The thing I think readers love the most about his writing is how fast-paced it is  and that he includes investigative elements as well as a female character who has a military background.  This series has three books out so far, plus a prequel.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dark Dates coverTracey Sinclair– I stumbled upon this author after seeing a review of one of her books from a blogger who also follows my series.  The cover is a bit different from most UF, but I promise this series is great!  The setting is in London, so with this one you get out of the United States so you can enjoy something a little different.  There is some nice humor and the romance will keep you intrigued.  If you like heroines who are always trying to do the right thing despite not being all that powerful, you should enjoy this one.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Elemental Magic coverAngela Wallace– She has a nice UF series that features elementals (users of earth, air, water, fire).  Her novels are lighter than the ones I mentioned above, making them a great change of pace from the standard darker fare.  There’s more mystery to her books too and they have sweet romantic elements (nothing hot and heavy).  The main character stays the same for the first two books before switching to a different one with the third.  She should be releasing the fourth novel soon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

shadowpath_coverP.L. Blair– She has a UF series featuring two main characters.  A human female and an elf male.  They are detectives who have been partnered together to investigate supernatural cases.  The criminals in this series are rather unique and the lore this author uses keeps me fascinated.  The romance doesn’t pick up until much later in the series and the author keeps things fairly clean, but I must admit I was ready for it when it came!  Expect the books to focus on the plot and have some nice action sequences.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Feel free to make your own suggestions in the comments section.  I know there are a lot of other good ones out there and that I didn’t name them all.  If you can tell us a little about why you like any particular author/series, that would be helpful too!

Book trailer for Darkness Divides

I’ve got some more fun stuff for you all to help you get exited for the next book in the Sensor Series, Darkness Divides.  This book trailer took months of planning to make it happen, but I’m very pleased with how it turned out, and grateful to the team of people who helped me put it together.

To warn you, I have some subtle hints in the backgrounds that may not make full sense to you now, but will after you read the book.  Just know every part of this trailer was done for a reason.  Hope you enjoy it!

 

 

For those who missed it on Facebook, I’m also posting a promo shot of Lucas and Melena together.  It’s meant to capture the scene at the end of Chained by Darkness when they confessed how they felt about each other.  Of course, we embellished it a bit with the fire to add intensity to the scene 🙂

 

Lucas and Mel promo 1

 

Photography by Teresa Yeh

Models- Haley and Steve

Design/artwork- Claudia McKinney

Hair/make-up artist- Nadya Rutman

 

 

 

 

Cover Reveal for Darkness Divides- Book 3 of the Sensor Series

I’m revealing this cover a little earlier than I usually do before a release date, but thought you all would appreciate getting to see it sooner rather than later.  Plus I’m excited by how well it turned out!  If you missed the last post or saw it before the update, you can see some “behind the scenes” shots from the photo shoot if you scroll toward the bottom.  Here’s the link.

Below you will get your first look at the cover, book summary, and expected release date.  Hope this helps build up your excitement for the next novel in the series!

 

 

Darkness Divides cover

 

Book Summary:

The blood and violence never ends—it only stops long enough for Melena to relax her guard, to think she might actually survive.  For the past year, she’s worked hard to pick up the pieces of her life.  The supernaturals in Fairbanks are tolerating her, the angels are shielding her from her enemies, and she’s getting stronger as her body changes into…something else.  If not for the man she loves being locked away in Purgatory, she might even believe she could be happy.

But for a sensor, peace is always an illusion.  A magical explosion is about to rock the earth between Alaska and parts of Canada, bringing with it a new wave of fear.  People she cares about will be hurt and she’s going to need answers.  Are her enemies trying to flush her out of hiding or are they up to something even more sinister?  It will take all of her newfound strength and the help of every ally she’s got to put a stop to their plans.

 

Expected release date:  April 20th, 2014

 

*Also stay tuned to this blog for other updates, including the first two chapters of Darkness Divides to be revealed in early April.

New Darkness Haunts cover!

Many of you will remember the original Darkness Haunts cover that I have been using for over a year now.  It was my first book and I was quite proud of it at the time I published it, but I also knew it wasn’t quite the right look for Melena.  Sometimes you just have to settle for what you can get (stock photos) and I couldn’t afford a professional photo shoot at the time.  My cover artist did a great job with it, though, and it drew in plenty of readers so I can’t complain.

But it was time for change.

After the awesome experience with the photo shoot for Chained by Darkness, I decided I had to redo Darkness Haunts.  It just couldn’t stay the same anymore.  I am very pleased with how it turned out and hope you all will be too!  So here it is:

 

Darkness Haunts cover

 

This was not done alone.  There are many people who helped make this cover come to life and they deserve a mention…

I enlisted the aid of several enthusiastic fans of the series who helped me with the planning for this cover.  Plus some other projects related to the series such as the Lucas promo pic in my last post and the soon to be revealed Darkness Divides cover.  Thanks to Heather, Rachel, and Kristy.  You ladies are awesome!

They worked hard with me to come up with the pose ideas, hair styles/make-up, wardrobe, props, and backgrounds.  I also had their help in selecting the right model after the casting call.  A lot of people don’t realize the level of detail that goes into these things, but it can be much more complicated than you’d think.  We exchanged countless emails and spent many hours researching potential ideas.  I cannot begin to express my gratitude!

I also have to thank my photographer, Teresa Yeh, for her amazing work.  She did a fantastic job coordinating this shoot and was so patient with my nitpickiness over all the details.  Not to mention me bombarding her with packages after I started ordering the wardrobe and props!  She did an awesome job of finding the right model to fit Melena’s look, too.  Haley (the model) did a great job of following my pose/facial expression guidelines and really captured the look I’d asked for!

It should be mentioned that we had one major hiccup just before the shoot.  The package I’d sent containing the weapons and related props got delayed due to the snow storms bombarding the northeastern US.  Despite my begging and pleading, UPS couldn’t get it there in time.  No way was I going through with the shoot if we didn’t have the weapons! The stylist handling the model’s hair and make-up came through for us, though, when she heard what happened.  Her husband offered up his gun and knife collection for us to use.  I certainly wasn’t going to complain if we could use real ones!  It was truly gracious of them and I can’t thank them enough!

You’d think I’d be done with my acknowledgements, but I’m not.  After the shoot took place someone had to do the artwork that goes with the model shot (the background and touching her up to fit it).  A big thanks to Claudia at Phat Puppy Art for her part in this.  She had this cover and the one for Darkness Divides done within a couple of days of receiving the shots.  I was blown away!

Then Ashley over at Bookish Brunette moved super-quick to get the typography on there so I could get it out as soon as possible.  The photo shoot took place on Sunday (February 16th) and you’re already getting to see it today (February 21st) despite the chain of people involved.  Truly, I have an amazing team.  This was definitely not a one person operation, but rather something far more complex!

So now onto my explanation for the design on this cover…

It should be kept in mind that it portrays Melena at the start of the series.  She’d had some rough experiences in her past that gave her an edge, but the things she was about to encounter in Alaska were unlike anything she’d faced before.  It’s the beginning of a journey that has continued to test her at every turn.  At this time, she was still innocent in a lot of ways when it came to the supernatural world.  Over the course of the books she’s had to learn to toughen up a whole lot more if she wants to survive (as you’ve seen).  This cover and the one you’ll soon see for Darkness Divides provide a stark contrast from how she appeared at the beginning and how she’s looking at the start of book 3.

Hope you all like the new and improved look.   I’m truly excited to be revealing it!  For those wondering, I am working to get a new paperback version available soon.  I’ll post an update once it’s ready 🙂

 

UPDATE!!!

The photographer, Teresa, was kind enough to share some behind the scenes photos of them getting Haley (the model) ready.  You can see Nadia, the stylist, working on Haley’s hair.  Nadia’s husband was even nice enough to jump in and help.  He was also the one to rig up the holster and knife sheath you see Haley wearing on the Darkness Haunts cover.  I couldn’t have asked for a better team of people for this shoot!

Behind the Scenes-1 Behind the Scenes-2 Behind the Scenes-3

 

For those of you in need of a Lucas fix…

I just got some new shots with the model for Lucas and thought you all might enjoy seeing the promo pic we designed for him!

There is another photo shoot coming up soon with a new model for Melena.  She really fits the look better than the last and I think you all will like her.  Expect to see a new cover for Darkness Haunts around late February/early March.  Plus some promo pics for Melena.  I’ll also be revealing the cover for Darkness Divides sometime in March.  In the midst of all this, I am hard at work on the next book.  Hopefully, you all will find the wait worth it!

Teresa Yeh Photography Proofs