I’ve got a lot to show you about Elle Hill and her book, Hunted Dreams.
I want to thank Goddess Fish Promotions for organizing a really fun tour!
Elle Hill is here to answer a couple of questions about writing her book. I have a hook to snag ya and a glimpse inside this exciting story.
And don’t forget to enter the awesome giveaway!
Elle Hill is here to answer a couple of questions about her writing process and her story. Enjoy this quick, fun interview.
When starting a new book, do the characters come first or the storyline?
Rewind about four years to the genesis of my Hunted Series universe and Hunted, the first novella that would populate it and my thoughts went something like this:
Wouldn’t it be cool if there were a community living under human’s noses that bred women warriors and men magicians? Yeah, that’s cool. And they’d be at war with another supernatural group, one from whom they needed to protect humanity. Maybe that other group would eat humans. Not literally, though, ‘cause that’s kinda gross. At war for centuries, these groups wouldn’t know life without fighting; they can’t imagine life without hatred and death. Children would be trained as soon as they could hold a weapon. The two different groups would probably shove their members under one roof in order to protect them. Heck, I imagine the warriors would even sport names with one syllable, since, during battle, it’s a lot easier to call out “Bren” than “Anastasia.”
Now imagine one of those woman warriors. What would she be like? Probably pretty no-nonsense. Even if she cared to, she wouldn’t know anything about dating or nail polish or playing board games. What would happen if this ascetic warrior met a peace-loving, sweet human guy? She’d probably feel as uncomfortable around tenderness as he would feel knowing an entire supernatural war has raged invisibly for centuries.
Throw in a black cat named Picante, and you have the foundation for Hunted.
As you can probably tell from the example above, my plots and characters tend to inform one another. My story ideas usually start out as a small, conceptual seed (“What kind of character development could we explore if the main character remains locked inside her own head throughout the book?”) that blossoms into character sketches and arches, which in turn branches into specific scenes and situations. It’s all very organic.
Did the loop of nightmares lead to psychic vampires or vice versus?
In Hunted Dreams, Katana, the amnesiac main character, remains locked in an endless parade of nightmares. She doesn’t even realize she’s dreaming till a quarter of the way into the book, and only when Reed, the story’s male protagonist, begins visiting her dreamscape.
The pair tries to figure out who she is and why she can’t wake up. They discover the second first: Katana is trapped inside her brain because supernatural beings named Leeches (AKA, the Broschi) subsist on painful human emotions, and they wanted a continuous supply of snacks.
So, in short, the psychic vampires induced Katana’s endless nightmares, since the resulting pain, confusion, and terror benefit them mightily, that is, gustatorily.
Thanks so much for the opportunity to chat with you, Laura. Happy October!
Happy October to you too Elle. Hunted Dreams will be the perfect read for Halloween!
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Hunted Dreams
by Elle Hill
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BLURB
Her history, her whereabouts, her name: She knows nothing. Nothing but her current reality: a constant stream of horrific, surrealistic scenarios in which she fights not only monsters and unseen attackers but also her own pain and despair.
Reed Jayvyn is an ex-Army vet, penniless and living in his truck. After saving a young man from attackers, he finds himself embroiled in a superhuman drama between the Broschi and the Clan, two groups engaged in a centuries-long war. Worse, he finds he is one of them—a Broschi, a psychic vampire that feeds off the pain of humans. But Reed’s greatest surprise comes each night, when he finds himself dreaming of a fierce, nameless woman.
She is dreaming. So says the handsome man who uses his heretofore latent psychic ability to flicker in and out of her dreamscape. With Reed’s help, she slowly learns more about who she is, why she is here, what trauma in her past keeps her locked inside her mind. Meanwhile, Reed explores his own heritage, discovering enemies and allies in unexpected places.
But most important to Reed is freeing this woman caught in an endless loop of nightmares, someone he considers in every way to be the woman of his dreams.
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Hook
A woman trapped in an endless cycle of nightmares. A handsome hero committed to rescuing her. It’s just like Sleeping Beauty – except the dreaming damsel is the sword wielder and the hero is a psychic vampire feeding off her pain.
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Enjoy this glimpse inside.
“The Leeches got their nickname from the way they eat.” Reed’s voice was even.
“They drink blood?” she breathed.
He shook his head. “A little less literal. The Broschi are empathic. They can feel and even evoke other people’s feelings, negative ones like fear, pain, horror.”
“Sun and stars,” she breathed. She got it.
She got it.
“They’re eating me,” she said, and laughed, but not humorously. “These superhuman, psychic Leech people are keeping me trapped in nightmares, eating my feelings.” Her chest felt heavy. She pressed her left hand against it and felt its gentle rise and fall.
None of this is real. All this drama, all this fear, all the pain and anger and malice. None of it exists except in the form of juicy brainwaves that these beings sip like mint juleps. No wonder she couldn’t die, couldn’t escape, couldn’t ever wake up.
Reed’s face was flushed, his nostrils wide. Her handsome hero. For a minute, she hated him, hated that he got to wake up, hated this situation, hated everything boxing her in this narrow world.
Katana glared at him for a moment. “I’m trapped in here,” she grated.
His face relaxed into compassion. Hers hardened.
“I know,” he said.
She stared at him for a moment longer. Finally, with a sigh, she leaned her head against the glass. “Who are you, Reed?”
“I’m a Leech, too, Katana.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
An inveterate fan of fairy tales, particularly the darker ones, Elle pens paranormal romance. Her urban fantasies envision an alternate Los Angeles (or is it?) in which Leeches — scheming psychic vampires — and Hunters and Psychics — the beings that exist to thwart them — fight fierce, primal battles in the land of movie stars, silicone, and sunshine.
Born in Idaho during the height of disco, Elle Hill now chicken-pecks at the keyboard while rocking out to Donna Summer and KC and the Sunshine Band. She worked in Idaho for several years as a secretary and journalist before moving to California and selling her soul to academia. After receiving her PhD in Sociology, Elle Hill became a not-so-mild-mannered college instructor by night and a community activist during the remainder of her waking hours. Always a journalist and writer at heart, one of her favorite pastimes includes publishing commentary on the political and social states of the world; some of her thoughts are posted on her blog at ellehillauthor.blogspot.com.
Elle welcomes visitors to her website at www.ellehill.com. She also urges everyone to become a superhero and adopt their next non-human companion from a local animal shelter.
Links:
Blog: http://ellehillauthor.blogspot.com/
Website: http://www.ellehill.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-Elle-Hill/155409064486649?ref=hl
Purchasing the book: http://www.amazon.com/Hunted-Dreams-ebook/dp/B00CHUEIIG
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Elle will be awarding a $50 Amazon Gift Certificate to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour.
Click on the rafflecopter link below to enter.
RAFFLECOPTER GIVEAWAY
Click on the button below for more fun posts on the tour.
Don’t forget to comment! The more you comment, the more chances to win.
Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!
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Nothing this week.
Busy, busy, busy. So many delicious reads! Some I’ve read and will be posting my reviews soon.
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