Today author Janeen Ippolito is here on the blog to share about her upcoming steampunk fantasy adventure – Faithless, Book 2 of her Ironfire Legacy series!
First, a bit about the book…
One wild night, Shance Windkeeper discovers he’s married to a death unicorn.
But that’s the least of his troubles.
As an agent for the Lawless, Shance is working with dragonshifters Kesia Ironfire and Zephryn Nightstalker, trying to end the dragon-human war and the organization that masterminded it. While on a mission in the Scepter of Knowledge, the Lawless is hit with a devastating death unicorn attack.
Out of the wreckage new allies emerge: Lirome Ukerys, and his twin sister Maira, the death unicorn queen – Shance’s long-lost wife.
Recently freed from captivity, Maira is fighting to regain control of her herd. Lurien Alistil, a rogue death unicorn, has bespelled the Scepter of Knowledge and taken Maira’s son. When Kesia unexpectedly challenges Lurien to a public debate over the fate of the city, the Lawless has a chance to break the usurper’s hold. To obtain vital information they must infiltrate her lair – and as the husband of the death unicorn queen, Shance Windkeeper is the perfect prize to go in.
But Lurien’s power is stronger and more insidious than they realize. And if the final pieces of her plan fall into place, not even Shance’s newfound Talents and knowledge will be enough to stop her.
A steampunk fantasy adventure with much intrigue, unexpected romance, sudden tragedy, and a snarky cat-dragon.
Now here are some of Janeen’s thoughts on the process of writing this intense book!
Faithless was one of the hardest books I’ve had to write. And I’ve written a lot of them, most of which have been cast aside in favor of better ideas, or are in my “to-be-revised” pile, which is huge, by the way.
The difference with Faithless was that it was supposed to be easy. Each book in The Ironfire Legacy series had to be outlined and planned in order for it to be accepted by Uncommon Universes Press. So I figured Faithless would be easy enough to write.
But this book asked something of me, that I didn’t fully understand. It asked me to subject a main character to her worst fear. And then to keep doing so, all throughout the rest of the series. This would seem standard for storytelling, but in the case of secondary protagonist Kesia Ironfire, taking away what she feared to lose most also drastically altered the tone of the story and upped the pain level for everyone involved.
I’ll tell you a secret: I hate making my characters suffer. I can chuckle about it with gallows humor, borne from necessary distance and also a side effect from having to go over the same manuscript ten times or more.
Yet every time I have to take my characters to those dark, hopeless places, I get frightened that maybe hope won’t be on the other side. Silly, I know, since I’m the writer. But my style of writing is a bit method, if you will. I leaped into each character’s POV and try my best to pour out their story on the page from their POV.
So what hurts my characters hurts me. And I really don’t enjoy hurting. It is the OPPOSITE of my favorite. I strongly prefer to be an upbeat, chill sort of person who lives and let lives. But there are painful shadows in my past and in my heart, hurts that insist on forcing their way out through my fingers whether I want them to or not. And sometimes, I really don’t.
It takes time. It takes several drafts with major revisions between as my beta readers and editor force me to go deeper and deeper into hard places. And, mean people that they are, they insist that I can’t always end an intense, difficult moment with a joke or a silly bit of action.
The editor and publisher in me agree with them. The author in me sticks out her tongue.
The overall process is exhausting and on occasion, annoying, as I go into those shadowy places inside myself. But the results are always worth it. The story is deeper, richer, and the humor a lot more potent for the hardship.
In the case of Kesia Ironfire, Faithless continues her trial by fire with a brutal twist. She weathers on. She endures.
She finds new hope in the darkness.
And in writing her story arc, I do as well.
About the Author
Janeen Ippolito believes words transform worlds. She creates writing resources and writes steampunk fantasy. She’s also an experienced teacher, editor, author coach, and the editor in chief of Uncommon Universes Press. In her spare time, she enjoys sword-fighting, reading, food, and making brownie batter. Two of her goals are eating fried tarantulas and traveling to Antarctica. This extroverted writer loves getting connected, so find her on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and at her website: janeenippolito.com
Purchase Faithless from these online retailers!
Amazon – Barnes & Noble – Kobo – iBooks – Signed Paperback
OR (this is my preferred way to get UUP books!) get autographed pre-orders straight from the publisher’s website!
Faithless – or – Priceless & Faithless Bundle – or – Ironfire Legacy Bundle
Also, add Faithless to your Goodreads!
Pssst, there’s also a Facebook party!
Celebrate the launch of Faithless: The Ironfire Legacy Book 2 with featured author Janeen Ippolito and guest authors Angelique Anderson and R.J. Metcalf! Get your fill of steampunk, dragons, adventures, and more (re: death unicorns and a cat-dragon) with this fun-filled evening that includes giveaways, games, and an exclusive reveal or two.
Hosted by Laura A. Grace of Unicorn Quester and Uncommon Universes Press!
Click on the image below to join the party!
Faithless will also be touring on these lovely blogs:
Monday, October 8th
– Map Monday Spotlight – Becky Gaines
Tuesday, October 9th
– Spotlight – Letters From Annie (Douglass) Lima
Wednesday, October 10th
– Character Interview – Jenelle Leanne Schmidt
– Guest Post & Interview – TheHufflepuffNerdette
Thursday, October 11th
– Behind-the-Scenes –The Simmering Mind
– Author Interview – Claire M. Banschbach
Friday, October 12th
– Behind-the-Scenes – Author Katherine A. Massengill
Sunday, October 14th
– Book Review – Smada’s Book Smack
Monday, October 15th
– Spotlight – A Hippie’s Bookshelf
– Character Interview with Shance – Becky Gaines
Tuesday, October 16th
– World Building Feature on the Scepter of Knowledge – K.A. Cummins
Wednesday, October 17th
– Spotlight – The Genre Minx Book Reviews
Thursday, October 18th
– Behind-the-Scenes – Unicorn Quester
Friday, October 19th
– World Building Feature on Death Unicorns – C. O. Bonham
– Spotlight – YA/NA Book Divas
Saturday, October 20th
– World Building Feature on Dragons – Empyrean Voyager
– Book Review – The Book Unicorn
Monday, October 22nd
– Book Review – Jessica Rachow: Author & Blogger
Tuesday, October 23rd
– Behind-the-Scenes – Anna Tan
Wednesday, October 24th
– Book Review – Anna Tan
Thursday, October 25th
– Author Interview – Laura VanArendonk Baugh
– Book Review – Becky Gaines
Thanks so much for hosting my moody thoughts! 🙂
If it’s comforting, the reader in me wants to be like “NO! Don’t do it!! Give us happy feels!” LOL! Thanks so much for sharing! Very good read!
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