Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Guest Blog by Danielle Gavan


Soaring with Ardeur and the Abbey of Angels

What you see isn’t always what you get—or, your planned final destination may not be where you actually end up. Both can definitely be said of my novel Ardeur.

I’d like to share with you a bit about the journey the main character, Ardeur, and I took together. I’ll expand on parts of it over the course of my blog tour this month with Bewitching Book Tours.

In August of 2009, some girls I knew from a fan forum decided to branch off and form a role-play forum. They invited me to join and I created a spunky little necromancer named Ardeur. I made her French Canadian, like myself, gave her (or tried to) a few of my own personality traits and set her loose on the forum.

Ardy mingled, made friends, and soon took on a life of her own. The cute little character I thought I’d developed so well pulled an about face and changed the playing field on me. Her new motto? I’m a Canadian Badass—which she still is.

Fall came around and a writer friend suggested I submit a short story to a contest run by a Canadian magazine. I hemmed and hawed for a bit, and decided to go for it. Ardeur had been feeding me bits of her story over time, so I thought what better way to start?

She told me a story that pulled on my heartstrings and sent me on an emotional rollercoaster. The five-page, twenty five hundred word, essay quickly turned into several thousand more words over a five month period.

Two years after that first fateful short story and here we are.

Much like my beloved heroine, there have been some pitfalls in my path. The journey had its dark spots but I’m finally starting to see the lighter side of things. I’ve grown as an author and in other aspects of life to make me who I am today.

So what’s Ardeur about? It’s the story of a woman who was sold as a child, forced to host a demon, and trained to be a killer for hire. Ardeur’s ride through life is a dark, bumpy one. Unwanted by her parents, barely tolerated by her captors, berated and belittled by her demon—Ardy’s life is a plate of burnt strawberry pop tarts.

Throw in an ex-military werewolf determined to find the little girl from his childhood, an Angel of Death obsessed with keeping Ardy for himself, and what have you got? Ardeur, Abbey of Angels—a dark into light journey filled with heartache, hope, and a woman who won’t give up no matter what life throws at her.

A little about me:

I was born and raised just outside of Sudbury, Ontario, Canada—nickel capital of the world and home to the largest nickel ever minted. The first story I can remember writing was in middle school, on a heart-shaped sticky note pad.

When I’d first made the conscious decision to become a published author, my goal was to find an agent and sell my book to a publisher. That vision changed last summer. Suffering from call-center burnout and a particularly vicious resurgence of a chronic illness, I made the decision to go indie. I’ve since banded with a wonderfully talented bunch of authors, led by the brilliant C.J. Ellisson and couldn’t be happier with the way things have turned out.

I invite you to come along during this blog tour and discover where that first heart-shaped notebook took me.


Ardeur
By Danielle Gavan

Book 1 Abbey of Angels

Born a necromancer…

Sold by parents who wanted a normal child, Ardeur Lisle now hosts a demon and was trained to be a killer for hire. As an adult possessed, dreaming of escape and of a kind face from her childhood helps keep her sane.

If she breaks free from her captors, what will this new world full of paranormal beings hold for her? Ridding herself of her demon parasite will be her first priority.

A promise kept...

Brody Callaghan never forgot the angelic blonde from his childhood. After years of military service, he swears to track down the face still haunting him from his youth.

But Brody has a furry secret of his own; one unveiled with each full moon. Will the two hold onto love with danger, deception, and an obsessed angel driving them apart?


About the Author:

Danielle Gavan lives in Ontario, Canada with her husband of eight years and their two sons. Danielle has been writing since she was in middle school.
She loves a good book and is usually found with her nose in one. She has an extensive list of them on her book pile. When she's not writing or reading, Danielle keeps herself busy designing book covers and editing.

Her guilty pleasures are her favorite television shows Bones, House and Hawaii Five-0.

Danielle welcomes email and you may contact her at daniellegavan@rhpublishing1.com.

You can also find her hanging out on the forum she shares with Jennifer Feuerstein. The Crowded Minds is a great place to relax and have a little fun.

Find Danielle on the web:

1 comment:

Jennifer said...

WOOOO!!! Go Danielle!! Love this story!

 
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