by Amy Lane
One hundred and forty years ago, Harry, Edward, and Francis met an angel, a demon, and a sorceress while escaping imprisonment and worse! They emerged with a new family—and shapeshifting powers beyond their wildest dreams.
Now Harry and his brothers use their sorcery to rescue those enslaved in human trafficking—but Harry’s not doing so well. Pining for Suriel the angel has driven him to take more and more risks until his family desperately asks Suriel for an intervention.
In order for Suriel to escape the bindings of heaven, he needs to be sure enough of his love to fight to be with Harry. Back when they first met, Harry was feral and angry, and he didn’t know enough about love for Suriel to justify that risk. Can Suriel trust in Harry enough now to break his bonds of service for the boy who has loved his Familiar Angel for nearly a century and a half?
Now Harry and his brothers use their sorcery to rescue those enslaved in human trafficking—but Harry’s not doing so well. Pining for Suriel the angel has driven him to take more and more risks until his family desperately asks Suriel for an intervention.
In order for Suriel to escape the bindings of heaven, he needs to be sure enough of his love to fight to be with Harry. Back when they first met, Harry was feral and angry, and he didn’t know enough about love for Suriel to justify that risk. Can Suriel trust in Harry enough now to break his bonds of service for the boy who has loved his Familiar Angel for nearly a century and a half?
So, Familiar Angel...
First of all--I love writing purple. I do. Alternative universe is my favorite--but it's not really a big seller, so I have to limit how much of it I write.
So when Dreamspun Beyond offered me a chance to write a series--a trilogy-- I jumped all over that! I had the perfect premise, and there would be three adopted brothers, and they would turn into cats, and there would be action and danger and so much excitement! Okay, so I WAS a little hot after reading Ava Drake's offerings to the Dreamspun Desire world, I'll admit it--but what I wanted was MacGyver and Hawaii-5-0 and NCIS with magic, and that's what I set out to write.
And I was having a BLAST.
Until...
Okay, so you may notice...
This is not a Dreamspun Beyond.
It seems the whole human trafficking angle was just a little bit dark for a line that's supposed to be light and fluffy, and suddenly I was in a quandary.
I had these books written in my head already.
I had the style, the tone, the backstory. I had already written the meeting in the clearing--which they wanted to cut--with the angel, the demon, the parents of the child who would be the lover of the third familiar...
IT WAS ALL THERE!
I froze, for like, a week. I nibbled at it, but mostly I wrote other things--I just... I couldn't decide what to do.
Now I've said before that I've never gotten writer's block, and that's still true. Because this wasn't writer's block-- it was decision block. I could either completely rethink this idea and release the stories with the Beyond line, or I could keep going, finish what I'd already started, and release it as is.
And as independent as I'd always prided myself as being, it was a tough decision.
All anybody knows of my "purple" has been a series of low-selling, much talked about one-offs. A Solid Core of Alpha. Under the Rushes. Immortal. These books made an impression and I'm proud--but they didn't feed my family.
I'd hoped, with the attachment of the Beyond line, I could have the best of both worlds--write urban fantasy, and yet still sell.
But in the end it came down to what I know of myself and what I know of my writing, and I decided to keep the concept I had.
Of course, that didn't stop me from sending it to Ava Drake (Cindy Dees!) for a cover quote--and the thing she said about it? I died. It was lovely. That blurb on the front is one of my proudest moments as a writer. (As is the Karen Rose quote on the front of Red Fish, Dead Fish. Seriously. Talk about validation. DAMN.)
And that may be what it comes down to in the end. I wrote the book I wanted and hoped for the best.
But guys--it really is a fun book. It's Hawaii 5-0 with angels and demons. It's Charmed with cats and relationships that don't end in recriminations and nihilistic superpowered lovers. It's Supernatural where the witches are the hunters and the bad guys get comeuppance.
It's hot sex on wings and cats who read on the Kindle--and I hope you love it like I do.
Cause I really do want to write Edward's book. I think you'll like that one too.
Familiar Angel, the Blog Tour
Gay Book Reviews
Tammy's Two Cents
Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words
Love Bytes
Boy Meets Boy
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