As an author, it is always amazing to see your book and characters come to life through art. As a self-publish author, you’re always looking for ways to garner interest about your books. It is for both of these reasons that I recently commissioned artwork for my latest novel, Unforgettable, from the lovely an talented Leda Chung.
Reading is often the best exercise for your imagination, and I like to think putting visuals to novels takes it to the next level. I often dream of the day my novels become so loved that fans take on the task of creating their own art based on the characters and settings that I was passionate enough to write about. I would genuinely love to see what imaginative creations would come out of my work.
But before that can happen, it’s my job to get you interested and excited about my novels. I fancy myself a very character-driven writer, so what better way to do that than to let you get to know three of the main characters of my book?
First, there’s Cas – our leading, if not reluctantly so, lady. Cas was born special – though she might consider it a curse. Her abilities allow her to steal the memories of others, though at the cost of being forgotten by most who meet her. Raised by the local authority – a vampire named Edmund – she tacitly agrees to do the clean up work of making mortals forget about the weird, supernatural things that go on in her hometown of Knoxville, Tennessee. We first find her waiting anxiously at the Greyhound station, ready to skip town in an attempt to reclaim her life away from the burden of her servitude.
She’s pulled right back into the fray before she can make her escape, however, by her handler Jasper. A crime scene is waiting – and she’s got work to do.
In the beginning, Jasper’s relationship with Cas seems purely transactional – when an incident occurs, it’s his job to round up the cleanup crew and get to work. As a Shifter, he also takes on a Tracker role, which is why he’s the perfect candidate to keep his eyes on Cas. While he may seem like her number one nemesis, preventing her from leaving a life she doesn’t want, it gradually becomes clear that he is fiercely protective of her. Though he struggles to remember her every day, he maintains a journal to keep the memory of her sharp in his mind.
Jasper’s intervention at the Greyhound station prevents Cas from skipping town – and in doing so, they both meet Carmen – Edmund’s newest Inspector.
Carmen’s appearance is a surprise for both Jasper and Cas – what she is and where she came from is a mystery. One thing is clear, however – the moment she lays eyes on Cas, there is a spark. We later find out that Carmen appears to be the one person who seems to have no trouble at all remembering Cas. So much so, the woman insists on having Cas help in the investigation of missing mortals.
Intrigued by the new player, and secretly thrilled that someone seems to be able to remember her for more than 24 hours, Cas agrees – despite knowing nothing about the nature of the case or the nature of her new admirer.
It doesn’t take long for things to go sideways, and Cas to become one of the missing. Jasper and Carmen form a tenuous alliance to try and get her back – Jasper racing the clock before he forgets the girl altogether and Carmen wrestling with what part she may have had in the disappearance.
And that is as much as I can say without going to spoiler-town. If you like supernatural characters and settings, along with the whole struggling-to-know-who-and-what-you-are and courage-under-pressure stories, you’re the ideal reader for this book, and my other – Children of the Fallen, which sets the stage for the larger story arc of the Children of the Fallen series. These two books can be read in any order, and my plans are to have a handful of other novels that introduce more characters like Cas that will be united in the story line that takes place in the novel following Children of the Fallen.
Also, if you enjoy “Easter eggs,” the photo backdrop in the feature image is the bar in Knoxville that inspired one of the settings in both Unforgettable and CotF.
So what do you think? Is art a good way to get readers interested? You tell me and leave your thoughts in the comments!
Eve is the founder of Some Nerd Girl and the author of urban fantasy novels Children of the Fallen and Unforgettable as well as science fiction novel Colony One. She has been writing since the age of 13 and has been flying her nerd flag for the past 16 years. Fandoms include Star Wars, Star Trek and Battlestar Galactica. Basically if it has ‘star’ in it, she’ll give it a shot.
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