Blood and Fire
Alpha and Omega, #1
by Kim Mullican
Date of Publication: January 17th 2022
Publisher: Syn Publishing
Cover Artist: Get Covers
Genre: Urban Fantasy
ISBN: 978-1-942632-39-9
ASIN: B09NN4GLTZ
Number of pages: 160
Word Count: 62k
BLURB
I am Maia Delacroix and I hunt people and relics. My life does not lack excitement or danger. I have it in spades.
Then the Mageri surprised me with an orphan...yes, an orphan. I can’t even keep a house plant alive, let alone a kid. It turns out that I’m her only living relative, and even though we’ve never met, I’m her only hope. Great. Can I feed her after midnight? What does she eat? I have no idea what I’m doing.
They tell me this little witchling will need care for a few years until she comes of age. The bizarre fire leaking out of Elaina’s hands is a pretty good indicator that she is no witch.
Then the coven comes—they want her back. Necromancers show up, turning my vampire friends into enemies. If that isn’t bad enough, I have a demon problem now too.
Join me, and see if we can make it out alive!
Excerpt:
She leaned into me and sobbed.
I didn’t know her but damn if I didn’t suddenly feel responsible for
her. How in the hell had that happened? Because I lost my mother too? Because
this poor kid had big blue eyes and pleaded for me to help her? Damned if I
knew.
She wiped her face on her shirt. “We should probably get some
groceries.”
And we did. While she did buy some junk food, I was a little surprised
at how much healthy stuff she put in the cart. She even claimed she knew what
to do with it.
When she grabbed a box of Earl Grey tea, I laughed. “You liar!”
She looked slightly embarrassed. “My mom drinks it,” she looked down at
the box, “she drank it.”
I snatched it out of her hand and threw it in the cart. “If nothing
else, we’ll brew it just to sniff.”
She blinked back tears before grabbing a bag of coffee. “Sounds good.”
The bill at checkout nearly gave me hives. Did teenagers eat this much
every week? The paperwork the attorney left did show a nice monthly allowance
for necessities, but if the grocery bill was this much each week, I’m not sure
how much would be left.
I tried to hide the shock from Elaina. My poker face must not be as
good as I thought, however.
“Don’t worry, we had to get a lot of staple items this week. We won’t
need this much each time.”
Smiling, I started piling bags in my truck. “You noticed my
mini-stroke?”
She laughed. “I’ve never seen a mage turn white like that. It was like
a vampire had sucked you dry.”
After returning home, she helped me put all the groceries away then
volunteered to start making dinner. I poured a glass of wine and leaned against
the counter, watching her. Something was niggling at the back of my head.
“I wanted to ask you about that awesome fireball you made earlier.”
I noticed the pause in her movements before she went back to work. That
spoke volumes.
“Cool, huh,” she said, keeping her back to me.
“What kind of magic is that?” I asked. “I’ve never seen a witch make a
fireball.” I studied her movements while she worked. Her hands started to shake
a little. The topic made her nervous. Interesting.
Her shoulders rose and fell as she took a deep breath. “As it turns
out, I’m not a witch. I turned twelve and mom put me through all of the usual
tests. Nothing.” She shook spices on the meat in the pan.
“Wow, that must have sucked.” I was trying to stay on her level to keep
her comfortable.
“Not really. She didn’t make a big deal out of it. I helped her with
her projects, learned about ingredients, spells, and relics. Last year, I felt
something.”
She turned and looked at me. “I don’t know how to explain it. It was
like a switch flipped and I could feel something here,” she said pointing just
below her sternum.
“Warm and kind of moving?” I asked.
She nodded. “Exactly, except sometimes it feels icy too.”
Warm and cold? Was this kid defective?
“Anyway, I told my mom. We were close and she was just, awesome. I
always knew I could tell her anything. She said it was excellent. So, we went
into the woods and tried several things.
Nothing I tried worked. Then she said to do what felt naturally. That’s
when I cupped my hands and made a tiny light ball. It was the size of a
marble.”
This made no sense. It didn’t sound like any magic I
knew.
Author Info
Kim Mullican is a cross-genre author with over 20
novels under her belt. She enjoys the farm life in Northwest Indiana with her
husband. Between chasing chickens and herding cats, she and her husband enjoy
gardening and old episodes of Top Chef.
The Book Junkie Reads . . .Reckless Dreams Interview with . . . Kim Mullican . . .
How would your describe you style of writing to someone that has never read your work?
My style is very conversational. I like dialog for many reasons but mostly, that’s how many of us experience our lives. People talk and interact. They don’t interact for hours without speech.
I also write a lot in first and third person. James Patterson writes a lot this way and I enjoy his early work (when he actually did the writing.) First person really allows the reader to get into the headspace of the MC.
Do you feel that writing is an ingrained process or just something that flows naturally for you?
This has evolved over time. When I first began and didn’t know what I was doing it was basically word-vomit. Through many years of editors beating me over the head, I’m a bit more methodical now. I have a story board, a series bible, and character sheets. I use John Truby’s Anatomy of a Character religiously now. But when I start writing, it feels completely organic. Having that general idea in my head and in writing helps the story flow onto the screen much easier.
Have you found yourself bonding with any particular character(s)? If so which one(s)?
I started writing Book One and then, my best friend in the whole world died in October. Because of that, I’ve become more emotionally attached to Elaina. She’s lost her mother. That leaves a gaping wound that never truly heals. I get it and because of that, I love her the most.
Can you share your next creative project(s)? If yes, can you give a few details?
Stacey Dugan is narrating the audiobook for Book 1. That will be released (hopefully) in April. I’m excited about that. Book 2 is in its 2nd draft and headed for edits. Book 3 has been started already. I have a relatively long series planned with a few spinoffs. I love reading long series. You’re already invested in the characters and learn their nuance.
What are some of your writing/publishing goals for this year?
I really want to rapid release the first four books this year, possibly six. That means a lot of butt-in-chair time and trying not to cry when my editor emails me. I know there are authors who put out a book a month all year but I am not at the point where I can do that and put out a quality product. I envy those that can.
Have you ever felt that there was something inside of you that you couldn't control? If so what? If no what spurs you to reach for the unexperienced?
Hang on, I think I need to get horizontal for this session. There we are. The short answer: yes. I don’t have a burning desire to succeed. But I do have the burning desire to achieve. I’m not big on sitting around and watching television. I have a farm. I work a full-time job. I write. On top of all of that, my husband and I care for his mentally ill mother, who refuses to take her meds and loves to run around naked. So, there’s that. I’m not sure how much longer I can do EVERYTHING. But none of us are guaranteed another day and I intend to make the most out of every single minute I have here on this earth. I don’t know why I am this way and I don’t care. I’m sure someone could shrink that into submission, but I have no interest in changing. It took me 45 years to accept myself and that this is how and who I am and I have no desire to change that. But then again, that might be the menopause talking.
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