Here’s a list of ten things I love about my book, Out of the Shadows, in no particular order:
Beezlebub
He’s only in a couple of scenes but I had so much fun writing them! He’s the Infernal Prince who loves Run DMC and MPreg romance—and his dialogue…well, I hope it makes readers laugh as much as it did me while I was writing it!
Moss’s T-shirts
I love quotes, what can I say? I just hope people don’t get too sick of these t-shirts because there’ll be more of them in book two! My favourite top so far: ADRIAN! ADRIAN!
That it’s set in Melbourne
Melbourne is not only my hometown but my favourite city in the world, so it has been my absolute pleasure to set this story here and hopefully share a part of the magic of Melbourne with the rest of the world.
All the cute boys
I think this pretty much explains itself. One person mentioned there were too many cute boys—but is there really such a thing?
The Star Wars references
There are a lot of pop culture references in this book, but as a massive Star Wars fan these are my favourites. Our taste in movies and TV is probably the one thing Sachi and I have in common, other than that we don’t really have many of the same interests.
The chapter titles
I’m going to make a confession here—most of the chapter titles were thought up during the first round of revisions while I was putting in fourteen-hour days and sustaining myself on caffeine, cereal and frozen chicken nuggets. This explains a lot.
Once they started popping into my head, however, I had to just roll with it. My favourites are a tie between All The Librarians Are High (Chapter 13) and Cue Dawson Ugly Cry (Chapter 35).
Flynn
It might surprise some people to know that my favourite character is one who doesn’t appear until the very last chapter of the book. He is one of those characters who popped into my head fully formed, pretty much writing himself, and with him he brought an entire new storyline that opened up the series in a way I hadn’t expected. He has a huge part to play in the series going forward and I loved introducing him at the end of Out of the Shadows.
The world
It took me a long time and a lot of fanegaling to create the world that would work with the story I was trying to tell. Once I finally got there I was filled with a great sense of fulfilment as everything kind of clicked into place and the world and the story just kind of started to flow together naturally without me having to really work at it anymore. I think the fact that it was difficult at the start has allowed me to really appreciate all the work I’ve done and enjoy myself a lot more now that things are coming a little easier.
The beignets
My mouth was watering while writing the scene where Mira and Maxx eat gumbo and beignets. If only it were possible to travel through shadows and be in New Orleans in a matter of moments, instead of having to fly for 22 hours on multiple flights!
That it’s coming out tomorrow!
Yay! We’re only one day away from the Kindle release and I’m so excited to finally be able to share this story with readers. I hope they enjoy reading it as much as I’ve loved writing it!
Beezlebub
He’s only in a couple of scenes but I had so much fun writing them! He’s the Infernal Prince who loves Run DMC and MPreg romance—and his dialogue…well, I hope it makes readers laugh as much as it did me while I was writing it!
Moss’s T-shirts
I love quotes, what can I say? I just hope people don’t get too sick of these t-shirts because there’ll be more of them in book two! My favourite top so far: ADRIAN! ADRIAN!
That it’s set in Melbourne
Melbourne is not only my hometown but my favourite city in the world, so it has been my absolute pleasure to set this story here and hopefully share a part of the magic of Melbourne with the rest of the world.
All the cute boys
I think this pretty much explains itself. One person mentioned there were too many cute boys—but is there really such a thing?
The Star Wars references
There are a lot of pop culture references in this book, but as a massive Star Wars fan these are my favourites. Our taste in movies and TV is probably the one thing Sachi and I have in common, other than that we don’t really have many of the same interests.
The chapter titles
I’m going to make a confession here—most of the chapter titles were thought up during the first round of revisions while I was putting in fourteen-hour days and sustaining myself on caffeine, cereal and frozen chicken nuggets. This explains a lot.
Once they started popping into my head, however, I had to just roll with it. My favourites are a tie between All The Librarians Are High (Chapter 13) and Cue Dawson Ugly Cry (Chapter 35).
Flynn
It might surprise some people to know that my favourite character is one who doesn’t appear until the very last chapter of the book. He is one of those characters who popped into my head fully formed, pretty much writing himself, and with him he brought an entire new storyline that opened up the series in a way I hadn’t expected. He has a huge part to play in the series going forward and I loved introducing him at the end of Out of the Shadows.
The world
It took me a long time and a lot of fanegaling to create the world that would work with the story I was trying to tell. Once I finally got there I was filled with a great sense of fulfilment as everything kind of clicked into place and the world and the story just kind of started to flow together naturally without me having to really work at it anymore. I think the fact that it was difficult at the start has allowed me to really appreciate all the work I’ve done and enjoy myself a lot more now that things are coming a little easier.
The beignets
My mouth was watering while writing the scene where Mira and Maxx eat gumbo and beignets. If only it were possible to travel through shadows and be in New Orleans in a matter of moments, instead of having to fly for 22 hours on multiple flights!
That it’s coming out tomorrow!
Yay! We’re only one day away from the Kindle release and I’m so excited to finally be able to share this story with readers. I hope they enjoy reading it as much as I’ve loved writing it!
Out of the Shadows
Shadowlands
Book One
Ashlee Nicole Bye
Genre: Mature YA/NA Contemporary
Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Huntuzie Press
Date of Publication: 11 April 2017
Word Count: 106,000 approx
Cover Artist: James @Go On Write
Tagline:
Book Description:
From the streets of Melbourne to the bowels of Westminster, the delicate balance between life and death that is so painstakingly maintained by the Reapers of The Order of Dark and Light is being tested by the return of an ancient threat. Tensions are rising within the hidden world of The Shadowlands and if this threat is not contained war will be inevitable. And the destruction of the human world is bound to follow in its wake.
Amidst this tension, eighteen year-old Sachi Manning is struggling to cope with the grief and guilt that has plagued her ever since her best friend was murdered six months earlier—that is, until she spots him seemingly alive and well and being held at scythe point by a hooded figure who looks more like a GQ model than the Grim Reaper.
Sachi shouldn’t be able to see through the glamours that shield Shadowlanders from the human world, so the Reaper in question wants some answers. And so begins the craziest couple of weeks of Sachi’s life as she is drawn into a world of mysteries, magic, monsters, and mayhem, encountering dragons, Faeries, soul-sucking Demons, not-so-grim Reapers, and even the Horseman of Death.
With a mix of heart, humour and hair-raising action, Out of the Shadows is the adventure of an after-lifetime, perfect for fans of Cassandra Clare and Kresley Cole.
EXCERPT
ONE (Opening scene)
As Julian studied the mangled
remains of the boy who had once been Campbell Locke, it was easy to see how the
humans could have mistaken the death for a homicide. The latest in a string of
vicious murders by the now infamous “Melbourne Slasher”, who had plagued the
streets of this city for near on three months now—or so the papers said.
The
teenager’s throat had been slashed with what, to human eyes, looked like a
knife. But Julian knew better—that wound was the result of an incredibly sharp
claw.
Julian
had positioned himself on a first floor window ledge not ten metres away from
the crime scene. It was the perfect vantage point, or would have been had his
legs not been cramping from the awkward crouching position he’d been forced to
assume in order to balance his tall frame on the narrow ledge. The
preternatural eyesight bestowed upon him almost a century and a half ago
allowed Julian to make out every detail of the narrow alleyway: the ground a
peculiar patchwork of cobbles, concrete, and bitumen; walls the brick exterior
of low rise buildings whose original colour could not be determined through the
layers of graffiti—some of which, Julian had to admit, was quite remarkable.
There was a blue industrial rubbish bin set up against the wall of the
nightclub that backed on to the alley, overflowing with black bags and glass
bottles. Julian could feel the vibration of the heavy bass from the club’s
music thrumming through the walls around him. The song was something modern,
with a powerful female voice interweaving through a thumping dance beat. He
couldn’t say what it was called—it all sounded so similar to him.
At
the mouth of the alley, a row of uniformed police officers stood guard over the
crime scene, sending any curious onlookers on their way. Julian was tempted to
move closer. To walk right up to the crime scene and stand amongst the mingling
investigators. After all, with his invisibility glamour in place no one would
be able to see him.
But
it was a risk he could not afford. He was well aware of how far crime scene
technology had progressed since his time amongst humans. They had something
called “forensics” now, where scientists could track a killer using the
smallest piece of evidence: a drop of blood, a strand of hair, even the tread
of dirt from a foreign location. Julian frowned as he glanced at his boots, the
soles of which were crusted with the remains of the Faery he’d disposed of
three hours earlier. These humans would be baffled enough as it were with the
lack of evidence to be found at this scene, he didn’t think it wise to confuse
them further with the presence of an otherworldly substance. Not to mention
that the invisibility glamour was somehow affected by flash photography—he was
not in the mood to explain to Lord Mortem why there had been a “ghost” sighting
at the most recent “murder” scene.
An
awareness brushed across Julian’s mind and he immediately looked up, scanning
the rooftop opposite. It didn’t take long to spot Moss; he had his hood down
and even without Julian’s superior vision, it would have been difficult for him
to miss that mop of bleached dreadlocks contrasting starkly against the
midnight sky.
Julian
swept his gaze over the crime scene one last time before letting the ledge fall
away from him. It was a split second of dark emptiness as he passed through the
shadows, and then he was standing on the roof next to Moss.
‘Crazy
night, dude,’ Moss said in his Floridian surfer drawl.
Julian
ran his eyes over his friend. They had gone their separate ways tonight, and it
was clear by the smears of blood over Moss’s face and the tear in his sleeve
he’d had almost as interesting a night as Julian. Moss always looked slightly
rumpled, though; unlike Julian, who, even after killing the Banshee that had
been about to take centre stage in front of twenty thousand humans under the
guise of a popular musician, a passionate kiss of gratitude from said musician
(whose memory Julian had, most unfortunately, been obligated to alter moments
later), and crouching on the window ledge for a good two hours, was still as
tidy and well-pressed as usual, not a hair out of place.
‘You
could say that,’ Julian said. Though a hundred and forty years had passed, he
still spoke with the same accent and manner he had cultivated during his life
as the son of an English peer. He would have liked to believe there was little
else from that life that remained, though he knew this was not the case.
‘So,
this one makes three.’ An uncharacteristically sombre expression crossed Moss’s
face. ‘Any ideas?’
Julian
shook his head. ‘Something with claws—which narrows it down to at least a
thousand Shadowlanders.’
‘It’s
hot.’ Moss emphasised the statement by rubbing the back of his forearm over his
sweat-streaked brow. It was indeed. The Australian summer was only a week away,
and Melbourne had been hit with a blast of the kind of humidity usually
reserved for the northern parts of the country. ‘That should rule out an
Infernal creature, yeah?’
Julian
frowned. ‘I think it would be foolish to rule anything out at this stage.’
About the Author:
Ashlee Nicole Bye is a self-confessed bibliophile, sports fan and music lover. She also writes sometimes—when she’s not busy mastering the art of procrastination, that is. She writes mainly Fantasy, mainly Young Adult, although some of her current works in progress have seen her step firmly outside her comfort zone.
Her first novel is OUT OF THE SHADOWS, a mature young adult contemporary fantasy set in her beloved home town of Melbourne. It is the first installment in the five-book series, SHADOWLANDS, and will be released on Kindle on April 11, with paperback to follow shortly after.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ashnicolebye
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ashleenicolebye/
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