Please tell us about your latest release.
Omnipotent
Blood is the second of four books in my Urban Fantasy Sisters in Blood series.
The supernatural world expands in this installment, with Angels, Demons and
witches joining the fray, which made it really enjoyable to write. The book
blurb is below:
Having
survived the attack inside the Natick Mall, Brooke dreads the thought of
spending decades in exile while she waits for the media firestorm from the
superhuman brawl to run its course. But soon after fleeing Boston, she
discovers the battle caught the eye of forces far more lethal than humans.
Captured by the dark Goddess Lilith, Brooke has her soul stripped away,
becoming a greater demon tasked with leading Hell’s forces to war.
But
not even Lilith could have anticipated the powerful bond Brooke has formed with
her family. Or the unlikely alliances they’d forge in an attempt to save her.
Her love for Sienna and her sisters prevents her from fully embracing the
darkness, but the demon spirit inside her is claiming more control of her mind
with each passing day. It’s a race against time, and the whole world is at
stake.
Was one of your characters more challenging to write than
another?
With
Brooke being under the influence of very dark forces for a large portion of the
book (and not just in a “tranced” robot, can’t control my body sort of way), it
made it challenging to write from her very altered and sometimes disturbing
point of view while providing readers with enough signs that there is a piece
of her deep down that is still fighting to give them hope. She goes through hell—literally—before
ultimately finding her salvation. She wrestles with her sexuality and her faith
as well, and is thrust into a leadership position she isn’t at all prepared
for, waging a demon-on-demon war (featuring dragons, minotaurs and all kinds of
other fantastic creatures) with the fate of mankind at stake. There are so many
aspects of her character that are developed in this book. She truly is not the
same person by the end.
What is your favorite scene from the book? Could you share a
little bit of it, without spoilers of course?
here
are a lot of them J If
I had to pick I’d say it’s when she explores the valleys of hell for the first
time atop her sister she’s transformed into a dragon. An excerpt from this
scene is below:
“Rise, Ruby,” I commanded.
Once she’d climbed to her feet, I dissolved her gown and motioned for
her to climb up onto the altar. Having been told what was to come next, she
placed her hands and feet within easy reach of the iron shackles, allowing me
to quickly secure them. Knowing I was about to make my now-paralyzed sister
immortal filled me with such happiness I couldn’t resist raising her veil and
giving her a loving peck on the cheek.
Lilith placed her tri-bladed dagger in the palm of my hand. The
black-vial handle had Mary Antoinette Jewel written across its face in the same
stylish font and striking crimson lettering as mine had been. I’d never heard
her middle name before. While I took a moment to focus on my target, part of me
absently wondered why her parents had chosen it.
With a quick lunge, I plunged the twisted steel deep into Ruby’s
heart. She let out a faint gurgling noise before she stopped breathing and her
heart went silent. Thanks to Hanna, the jeweled golden candle holder was
already sitting next to the altar, ready and waiting for me. I inserted the
ceremonial black candle and whispered the simple incantation I’d memorized from
the grimoire I’d been given. The eerie black flame hissed to life, rising high
above the candle.
The sound of my own voice echoed through the temple as I began to
recite the first chant and dance around my sister’s prone body. Just as with
Aimie, the demonic candle spoke to my spirit, letting me know when and where to
place the wax to help dislodge her soul. My body moved on its own accord as I
wove the enchanting spell, calling to Ruby’s spirit like a siren leading a ship
toward its watery grave. I was so lost in the ceremony by the time I’d
completed the last of the chants Lilith had to shake me just to bring me back
to my own body.
“Someone’s been practicing,” she said with a beaming smile on her
face. “I could not have performed the harvesting ceremony any better myself.
Now hand me your sister’s soul so you can call forth her ignis demon spirit.”
I eagerly did as she instructed, unsnapping the vial from the center
of the three twisted blades still buried to the hilt inside Ruby’s chest.
Rather than tucking it away to be filed in the vault as I expected, Lilith
raised the small black cylinder to her mouth. Her tongue sharpened to a
needle-like point and penetrated the seal before she tossed her head back and
began to feed. Watching her consume my sister’s soul was surprisingly difficult
for me. I knew she’d be feeding off my own soul soon enough—if she hadn’t
already—and as demons we no longer had any use for them, anyway, but there was
still a startling sense of finality to it. Slowly the elegant red lettering
began to fade, marking the end of her soul’s existence. By the time Lilith
finished feeding, her body was glowing so brightly I had to avert my eyes to
keep from being blinded.
Seeing my sister’s still form lying on the altar made me quit
wondering about what our goddess would be able to do with her newfound power,
and I was able to focus on completing Ruby’s conversion. I carefully withdrew
the dagger from her heart, breathing a huge sigh of relief when it began to
beat again.
The summoning spell for an ignis demon was far more complex than the
spell for a succubus, as it required a greater concentration of the darkness to
form such a powerful spirit. After conducting a final practice rehearsal inside
my mind, I raised my arms high above my head and began to sing out the lengthy
chant. By the time I was halfway through, sentient black smoke-like tendrils
began to seep up from the depths below and coalesce around my sister’s body. I
continued to sing as they forced their way into her mouth and eyes and between
her legs. Fearing I would get distracted, I turned away when her body began to
mutate, choosing to watch the dark tendrils rise up from the depths of Hell
instead. When the last of the smoke disappeared behind me, a fierce roar
bellowed through the temple. I turned to find myself face to face with a
seventy-foot-long dragon.
Ruby lowered her enormous head so I could rub the scaly red skin
between her nostrils. Grayish horns protruded from the top of her skull, but
the rest of her countless bony growths—including the spikes that ran the length
of her spine down to the tip of her tail—were blood red like her body. Her
striking brown eyes were the same color as when she was in her human form,
allowing me to see a bit of my sister within the beast. Unfortunately there
wasn’t room inside the temple for her to extend her majestic wings. The
confined space seemed to be upsetting her.
Feeling a little suicidal, I leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on
her snout. “You are so beautiful, Ruby. Can you understand me?”
She nodded, inadvertently
knocking me onto my rear. I laughed as I climbed back to my feet. “Easy with
the gestures there, sis. I’d say you’re like a bull in a china shop, but you
could eat a bull in one gulp.”
She let out a little snort that I took for her version of a laugh.
When she opened her enormous mouth to reveal her six foot fangs I couldn’t help
taking a step back from her. It was like looking down the throat of a lion, only
a thousand times scarier.
I couldn’t figure out what she was trying to tell me by holding her
mouth open until Lilith spoke up. “She wants you to climb inside, my young
general. To prove you still trust her.”
The are-you-nuts, wide-eyed look I shot back made her and Hanna both
laugh. “Look at the bright side. Even if she eats you, I’ll be able to piece
your body back together once you come out the other end. No harm done.”
“How comforting,” I growled back at her. Being remade from a steaming
pile of dragon poop. There’s an image I’d never get out of my head. Still, if
my sister wanted to eat me, she could have done it by now.
I slowly walked forward, stepping over the two-foot-tall teeth in her
lower jaw to climb inside her mouth. When she lifted the base of her forked
black tongue toward my butt, I figured she wanted me to sit and eased myself
down onto the sandpaper-like skin. She carefully closed her jaws until I was
cocooned inside in complete darkness. Suddenly her tongue shot forward. I let
out a scream as she knocked my legs out from under me, sending me sprawling
onto my back. The sides of her tongue rolled around my body, wrapping me up
like a burrito before my sister was on the move. I could hear stone breaking
apart as she lunged forward on her powerful lizard-like legs. Soon the ground
dropped out from under us.
The thunderous flapping of her powerful wings shook her entire body
almost like the gallop of a horse. After the initial nausea from my
tilt-a-whirl ride, I began to enjoy the feeling of us being airborne and wished
I could see where we were going. “Can you fly with your mouth open a bit
without dropping me?” I yelled out, hoping she could hear me above the noise.
The scorching air I was somehow growing accustomed to came whistling through
her teeth as her mouth cracked apart just wide enough for me to peer through.
We were flying above a vast ocean of bright orange magma. Off in the
distance I began to make out what looked like the ruins of a sprawling coastal
city. Giant granite statues of my god and his daughter stood like sentinels on
the high cliffs above the port. Skeletons of mile-wide castles and
long-abandoned arenas littered the ground we passed above, as did the
foundations of thousands of homes. Further inland, the tracks of ground were
sectioned off and plowed in neat rows. Farms had once spanned from one horizon
to the other. Now all that was left was an endless stretch of charred, lifeless
soil. It was like looking at a post-apocalyptic earth. If I didn’t utterly
despise our enemies before seeing such indisputable evidence of the genocide
they’d committed, I certainly did now. Soon the angels would pay for what
they’d done to our homeland. They’d all pay.
Can you tell readers a little bit about the world building
in the book/series? How does this world differ from our normal world?
While
the bulk of the story occurs on our modern-day earth, Brooke visits both heaven
and hell, which in my book are entirely different worlds unlike anything
described in the bible with a rich and violent history stretching back
countless millennia. As is true in all wars, both sides have committed
atrocities as a means to an end, and while the angels are definitely “the good
guys”, they are far from innocent. The reader is forced to wrestle with that
fact, and will likely find themselves empathizing with Brooke’s altered POV at
times.
With the book being part of a series, are there any
character or story arcs, that readers jumping in somewhere other than the first
book, need to be aware of? Can these books be read as stand alones?
Omnipotent
Blood contains its own unique plot arc and can be read as a stand-alone. Both
the central conflict and the primary antagonists are introduced in this
installment. I drop in short character and plot point refreshers in the first
couple of chapters as well. Obviously readers would benefit from having read
Dangerous Waters but they wouldn’t have to in order to enjoy Omnipotent Blood.
Do you find it difficult to write in multiple genres?
I enjoy writing in both the Urban
Fantasy and Fantasy genres. I find Urban Fantasy writing to be a little easier.
By being rooted in the “real” world, it provides the author and reader with an
established foundation to tie the magical / supernatural elements into. If, on
the other hand, your world is full of carnivorous jasperia vines, soul stealing
mist clouds and all manner of unique creatures, you need to get the reader’s
head around these elements in addition to introducing the main plot and your
central characters. On the other hand, Fantasy writing provides a blank canvas
for the author which is incredibly endearing to me. I hold Laini Taylor
(Daughter of Smoke and Bone, Days of Blood and Starlight) in high regard as a
Fantasy Author and have learned a great deal from her writing.
Other than writing, what are some of your interests, hobbies
or passions in life?
My
wife and I love hiking and viewing wildlife. We have been to Yellowstone
National Park four times. Someday I’d love to retire there. After twenty years
of marriage we still go on a date night ever Saturday, which typically consists
of catching a movie and eating at one of our favorite restaurants. I am a
lifelong New England Patriots fan, back to the early seventies, and played
football in both high school and college. I grew up playing sports, hunting and
fishing with my three brothers and our dad. And I am an avid reader, of course.
I may have to build a new wing onto our house soon if I keep devouring novels
at my current pace J
What was the last amazing book you read?
The
Name of the Wind (Kingkiller Chronicles, Day 1) by Patrick Rothfuss. Patrick is
a gifted storyteller, and the book is presented in a really unique way, going
back in time to explain how the protagonist became the legend he is while
occasionally cutting back to the present time. The style reminded me a bit of
The Notebook, although even modern day in this case is in the middle of the
series plat arc. At some point in book 3 or so we will catch up with where the
narrator is in time then be treated to seeing what happens from that point
forward. It’s kind of dystopian fantasy.
Where is your favorite place to read? Do you have a cozy
corner or special reading spot?
Typically
in bed, although if it’s been a long day that can present challenges with
trying to stay awake. If I’m being especially bad on a weekend (letting myself
read for hours rather than write) the recliner in the man cave is my preferred
spot.
What can readers expect next from you?
I am
currently working on a fantasy romance called Kerrigan’s Race that features a
female Olympic swimmer who is captured and taken to a foreign water world full
of mermaids, griffins and countless other creatures. The Greek and Roman
pantheons play a huge role in the story, with Neptune and Poseidon ruling over
their world. I will also begin working on book three in the Sisters in
Blood series soon.
Sisters in Blood
Book Two
CM Michaels
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Freya’s Bower
Date of Publication: October 6, 2015
ISBN: 978-1617981654
ASIN: B015S1FTPG
Number of pages: 294
Word Count: 117,529
Cover Artist: LLPix Design
Book Description:
Having survived the attack inside the Natick Mall, Brooke dreads the thought of spending decades in exile while she waits for the media firestorm from the superhuman brawl to run its course. But soon after fleeing Boston, she discovers the battle caught the eye of forces far more lethal than humans. Captured by the dark Goddess Lilith, Brooke has her soul stripped away, becoming a greater demon tasked with leading Hell's forces to war.
But not even Lilith could have anticipated the powerful bond Brooke has formed with her family. Or the unlikely alliances they'd forge in an attempt to save her. Her love for Sienna and her sisters prevents her from fully embracing the darkness, but the demon spirit inside her is claiming more control of her mind with each passing day.
Excerpt:
As she drew
closer I got a good look at her face. The tiny hairs on the back of my neck
tingled. I’d seen her before—the creepy room service girl at the hotel who’d
held my wrist for about five seconds after I’d taken my glass of wine. “Am I
supposed to believe that you just happened to show up here? A hundred and fifty
miles from the hotel you work at?”
She grinned,
securing her thick, wavy hair in a ponytail. “Of course not—although I don’t
actually work at the hotel.” She made a wide sweeping gesture with her arm
toward the wreckage. “Who do you think caused the accident?”
This whole
encounter was freaking me out. Fuck being discrete. I visualized her flying
backward into the snow bank. In an instant the strange connections formed in my
mind, physically linking me to all of the cars, people and debris that
surrounded me. I didn’t want to hurt her—not yet, anyway—so I only pushed hard
enough to send her sailing about fifteen yards into the ditch.
She laughed as
she climbed to her feet, shaking the snow off her designer outfit. “It’s been a
while since I’ve been knocked on my ass. Impressive.”
I’d never felt
so dumbfounded in my life. Even if this psycho bitch was used to fighting my
kind it was unlikely she’d ever crossed paths with another telekinetic. She was
acting like I’d crafted a wiener dog out of a balloon at the fair. “What the
hell are you?”
“I need you to
come with me,” she said, making no effort to respond to my question. “And since
you seem to be immune to being bound—I’ve been trying ever since you got out of
the car—you’re going to have to consume my blood first.”
“I’m not going
anywhere with you!” Where the hell were Sienna, Raven and Sandy? Ruby’s
escalade might be shielding them from seeing the encounter, but even if it did,
I wasn’t exactly being quiet. And Ruby was staring right at us.
“Your coven
sisters can’t see or hear you.” She’d apparently guessed my thoughts by the
direction I was looking. “A simple illusion. To them you appear as if you’re
still sitting in the passenger seat like you were told.”
“How—”
“Enough!” Her
voice boomed with unnatural power, causing me to take an involuntary step
backward. “I have no desire to harm you, child, but you are coming with me.
Now.”
With all of the
abilities that I had been given, I never thought I’d have cause to feel afraid
again, but watching her approach me like I was nothing but a petulant child
made me shiver. There was no way to fake that type of unwavering and absolute
confidence.
Still, she
couldn’t possibly know I was far stronger and faster than the vampires she was
accustomed to. Like every redneck bar brawler, she’d finally messed with the
wrong person. I shifted my feet into a more athletic stance and began to study
her movements, searching for a weakness to exploit. My muscles tensed in
anticipation. “Take another step toward me and I’ll rip your fucking heart
out.”
She lunged.
C.M Michaels grew up in a small town in northern Michigan as the youngest child of a close-knit family of seven. He met his wife, Teresa, while attending Saginaw Valley State University. Together they’ve provided a loving home for several four-legged “kids”, including Sophie, their eternally young at heart, hopelessly spoiled Spaniel.
He has always enjoyed writing, and still has fond memories of reading his first book, a children’s novella, to local grade schools when he was 14. C.M. is currently working on the third book in the Sisters in Blood series along with a Fantasy romance called Kerrigan’s Race.
An avid reader since discovering Jim Kjelgaard novels in early childhood, his favorite authors include Kelley Armstrong, Peter V. Brett, Richelle Mead, Rachel Caine and Laini Taylor. When he’s not writing, C.M. can be found curled up with a good book, watching movies or hitting the hiking trails with his wife.
C.M. currently resides in Louisville, Kentucky.
Website: http://cmmichaels.com/
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1 comment:
Thank you so much for hosting me today and giving me the chance to tell your wonderful readers about my latest release, Omnipotent Blood :)
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