Today, I'm pleased to
have Kelly Martin here talking about how the idea originated for her
new paranormal book, Heartless. I'm always curious about where book ideas come from.
Mine usually spark from an element in nature. Very cool how hers started during
her husband's fishing trip.
"Jessup Hart Blackwell ate my
brain every night."
by Kelly Martin
I'm not going to lie, that is one of the strangest opening
lines I've ever read--much less written. I've had the basic storyline of
Heartless in my head for about four years. In fact, it was the first story I
ever thought about writing. I remember being on the boat while my husband
fished and writing the first 2-3 chapters. Now, NONE of that ever made it into
the final draft. The only thing that came from the first draft, the first thing
ever, was the name Hart.
Hart has been Hart since this story was an idea bubble four
years ago.
Hart... bless him.
Originally, the book was supposed to start during a dark and
stormy night while a man, Victor Blue, drove home from work. It was his
daughter, Violet's, birthday and he was going to surprise her. Unbeknownst to
him, on the hood of his car, two supernatural creatures were fighting it out--
Alexander, the angel, and Hart, the demon.
Hart won.
For years, I've had this basic story in my head and I wanted
so badly to write it. I'd sit down every once in a while and try to make
something happen. I loved Hart. I could see him with his red eyes and his
snarky attitude. I could picture Alexander (who turned into Lucien) as an angel
fighting his inner demons--who wanted to do good-- who was good-- but had to
fight all the same.
And then there was the girl.
I couldn't quite figure out the girl.
Then one day, like magic, it all came together as I took a
shower (as most good ideas do). When I got out (I dried off first because I
have manners), I quickly wrote down the basic outline for Heartless (I tweaked
it with some help from my friends along the way) but the opening line since
that day has always been "Jessup Hart Blackwell ate my brain every
night."
That one line...
That one beat...
That one thing made this entire story possible.
I had no idea where to take the story in the early days--
that sentence set it up.
It goes with the story so well: part horror, part humor, all
paranormal, all human, all feelings I think we all have inside.
Sometimes things just click.
To be honest, I was scared to keep that line in, but
everybody who has commented on it, seems to love it.
So... Jessup Hart
Blackwell ate my brain every night... I wonder what else happens... ;)
Heartless
The
Heartless Series
Book
One
Kelly
Martin
Genre: Paranormal
Publisher: indie (Kelly Martin)
Date of Publication: Jan. 17th, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-942246-75-6
ASIN: B0199LR1UM
Number of pages: 386
Word Count: 68000
Cover Artist: P.S. Cover Design and
Author Services
Book Description:
Gracen has to fight the devil in
her mind and the angel on her shoulder before one of them destroys her.
For thirteen years, Gracen Sullivan
dreamed about a red-eyed demon named Hart Blackwell who tortured her every
night. Her mother freaked when she found out about her daughter's
"hallucinations" and forced Gracen to go to the doctor, who
prescribed some very powerful medication which kept Hart out of her head for
five years.
A week ago, Hart came back and brought
a friend.
But something has changed, and
Gracen is seeing Hart when she's awake too. And the other "friends"
in her dreams? They have been found dead.
The police want to talk to her.
Her boyfriend has become distant.
Her dreams are becoming more and
more intense.
Hell wants her.
Heaven has to stop her.
When push comes shoving, can Gracen
fight the evil eating away inside her or will she be forced to embrace it and
destroy the world?
Book Trailer: https://youtu.be/D-D11pA3YtI
Available at Amazon
Excerpt:
Jessup Hart
Blackwell ate my brain every night. He also ate my spleen, my liver, and my
kidneys. Basically, anything he could get to, he ate. My tongue was his
favorite. He said liars’ tongues were the best.
The leather straps
with the weird symbols on them held me down—and quite frankly chaffed the heck
out of me—while he cut and ripped away at every bit of skin, muscle, and cell I
had.
All but one.
My heart.
He said it was
because I didn't have one.
For years this
happened until I finally told my mom who took me to the doctor who in turn gave
me some medicine to induce a dreamless sleep and offered the alternative of
placing me in a mental hospital if I didn't want to take it.
I chose medicine.
The nightmares
stopped.
Until a week ago
when I started my freshman year at the University of Tennessee at Crimson Ridge
campus.
Last night, Hart
brought a friend.
About
the Author:
Kelly Martin writes paranormal,
contemporary, historical, and YA fiction. She has been married for over ten
years and has three rowdy, angelic daughters. When she's not writing, she loves
taking picture of abandoned houses, watching horror gamers on YouTube-- even
though she's a huge wimp-- and drinking decaf white chocolate mochas. She's a
total fangirl, loves the 80s and 90s, and has a sad addiction to paranormal TV
shows. {Basically, she likes creepy stuff.} Her favorite characters are the very
flawed 'good guys'--and 'bad guys' who don't know they are evil. She loves
giving her readers books with unexpected twists and turns, but (here's a hint)
most of her books have the ending spelled out in the first chapter. See if you
can figure it out.
You can follow her writing
adventure at www.kellymartinbooks.blogspot.com
Instagram: https://instagram.com/kellymartin215/
"Nerd" group on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1451773008377850/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/martieKay
Tumblr: martiekay.tumblr.com
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/KMBooks
2 comments:
Thank you very much <3
You're very welcome!!
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