It’s almost here!!!!!!! I’ve gotten my massive stack of author copies. I’m getting ready to swing into giveaway mode. The excitement is starting to take hold.

What’s this all about, you ask? It’s been almost two years, but the sequel to Five Moons Rising is out in right around two weeks.  Hunter’s Descent was a challenge to write. That should be a redundant statement. I mean, every book is its own challenge. Descent was merely challenging in a new way.

This is the first sequel that I didn’t write right after the preceding book. The On Deception’s Edge trilogy was written back to back to back. The first book of the series, Depths of Blue, is the first novel I ever wrote. In fact, when I started writing it, I thought the whole trilogy was going to be one book. It didn’t take long before I figured out that it was much too long and I was going to have to chop what I thought was one book into three parts. Since I’d never published anything before, I had the leisure of writing through all three books in one go. Then I polished the crap out of Depths and submitted it for publication with Bella Books. While it was being considered, I was able to start working through the drafts of Heights of Green and Vortex of Crimson.

Things are different now. Hunter’s Descent is my sixth novel. (WHAT!?) I wrote a steampunk novel between it and Five Moons Rising. Demon in the Machine was very different in tone and feel than Five Moons was. That was on purpose. I loved writing Demon, it’s probably the easiest story I’ve done so far, and it scratched a creative itch I was feeling at the time, but Malice and Ruri’s story was still playing out in my head.

Once I finished up with Demon, I knew I wanted to get back to them. I’d left their story on a positive, if uncertain note, and I knew there was more ground to tread there. Getting back into their heads was a bit of a challenge, however. Malice was the hardest to get a handle on. I started her story back when I was going through a lot of upheaval in my life. I was frustrated and angry, and her character lent itself to a lot of what I was going through at the time. I’m not in that place anymore, and I’m glad for it. I’ve moved on, but Malice has waaaay more issues than I did. Her anger is still there under the surface, ready to boil over. I was able to get back in touch with her, but it took me probably halfway through the first draft to do so.

Ruri has always been an enigma to me. She is way more even-keeled and laid back than I can ever hope to be. I really enjoy that about her character, and it’s fun to explore sides of a personality that I simply don’t have. This time around, I had an easier time wrapping my brain around Ruri’s motivations. She’s laid-back, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t get frustrated. The situation I put them in, and where Malice currently is in her own head put Ruri in a bit of a pickle. Yes, even solid-as-a-rock Ruri can still lose her shit when it’s justified.

I did get there, and I’m very pleased with how the story turned out and the interplay between the main characters. Hopefully, you will all be pleased as well!!

Hunter’s Descent

While investigating the deaths of multiple students at a boot-camp style institution, Malice and Ruri become trapped in the mysterious Kingdom of Flower and Bone–a netherworld filled with both magical and malignant beings. But which is which? Even ancient forces aren’t immune to petty squabbles. Will the pair make it out alive?

Mary Alice Nolan, code-named “Malice,” is a Hunter: genetically modified and rigorously trained to track and kill supranormals (“supras”) such as werewolves, vampires, and demons. Seeking revenge after her sister is malevolently “turned” into a werewolf, the last thing the hot-tempered Malice expected was to develop deep desires for one of her sworn enemies.

Ruri Samson is a magnificent golden-eyed wolven without a pack. Smart, sensitive and loyal, she considers Malice her mate. Ruri would sacrifice her own life to protect her—and this time she just may have to.

Hunter’s Descent is the sequel to Five Moons Rising.