Blood Sin is a cautionary tale. The story of a prince who falls in love with the wrong woman and pays the price for that crime, it is the first of a series called The Kan Ingan Archives.(The kan Ingans apparently had no shame in recording their deeds and mis-deeds for posterity!) Blood Sin has had a singular history. In reality, it was the second novel in the series to be written; in the 70's when I wrote what was intended to be a stand-alone novel. About ten years later, I got to thinking about the background to that story. I ended up writing of happened before Blood Sin took place--about the crime he committed, and the acts leading up to it. A prequel, if you will, that eventually became Book One.
During all this switching and re-writing, I also decided to relate the stories to The Chronicles of Riven the Heretic by having my hero (Erik Brand) be a direct descendent of the hero of The Chronicles. That necessitated a change of name and spelling, so he became Aric kan Ingan. Since Riven was considered the ancestor of the ruling family in the Emeraunt Galaxy, Aric became the Crown Prince of the current branch. The story came mostly out of my own imagination but I will admit it has a vague resemblance to the ancient Greek myth of Phaedra. You know...older man, young wife, young handsome male relative...prime ingredients for disaster. That story's been played out a thousand times in a thousand variations--especially on the daily Soaps--since Euripides introduced Phaedra in his drama Hippolytus in 428 BC. (The ancient Greeks, by the way, didn't receive it appreciatively. Too immoral, they decided.)
Blood Sin was submitted to 6 publishers--and rejected by all of them. At this point, I'll repeat myself, so those of you who know this story, don't listen! Shortly after the last rejection, Danielle Kaheaku of Leucrota Press, called me to give me her reasons for not accepting the story. She talked to me for nearly thirty minutes while I occasionally asked her to slow down because I was taking notes. At the end of her conversation, she told me if I would act on her suggestions, re-work some sections and add more characterization, she would review the manuscript again.
The rest, as they say, is history...
So, here's the Promo: Blood Sin, the story of a man destined to be the most powerful person in the galaxy until that troublemaker Cupid skewers him with one of those devastating little darts. A man accused of committing a crime and unable to prove himself innocent because to do so would reveal he's committed an ever greater crime. It's got plenty of love, sex, and violence. (Who could ask for anything more?)
Blood Sin will be released in August by Leucrota Press. It can be pre-ordered from www.amazon.com. For a preview, here's the trailer:
You really have to give the rest of us a chance to catch up.
How the heck do you do it?
You're incredible.
Aw, shucks! Thanx, Mary!
Intriguing story. The trailer was very well done. I'll look forward to reading Blood Sin.
You are amazing, Toni. I'm glad you took that editor's suggestions. :)
Love the trailer!
So glad you could do what this editor wanted. Sometimes it's difficult to find an editor or agent who shares our view of our stories and characters. Good job, girlfriend.
Toni,
As always, I am in awe of your incredible talent!
Toni, congrats on the upcoming release of Blood Sin! Your story is very encouraging and there is a lesson to be learned here. When we write a story sometimes we become to close too the characters, too involved in their lives and we tend to forget they are not real people. So, when an editor or a critique partner suggests a change to make the story stronger, we resist their advice. It is difficult to have to go back and tear apart our carefully composed work, but we should remember that it is just that... work. These are works of fiction, they do not exist and therefore are not carved in stone. We can and should make changes to improve our work. To say, my character just wouldn't do that, is a cop-out. We simply don't want to change what we've written because we love it the way it is! Good for you for being able to make the changes as recommended. It sometimes means the difference between selling or not. And if we refuse to make changes until "the editor" request them, we might just doom ourselves to failure because said editor might not take the time and effort to make the suggestions. It is far easier for them to just send out a rejection. Why take the chance? Good job, Toni!
Very intriguing... You are our energizer bunny, Toni! Wonderful storyteller...