Interview with Kaitlyn Davis for The Raven and The Dove

The Raven and the Dove (The Raven and the Dove #1)

by Kaitlyn Davis
Publisher: Amazon Digital Services LLC
Release Date: March 9th 2020

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Retellings

Synopsis:

Four fates collide in this avian-inspired, epic fantasy retelling of Tristan and Isolde perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas, Sabaa Tahir, and Leigh Bardugo!

A princess longing to be free...

On the dawn of her courtship trials, Princess Lyana Aethionus knows she should be focused on winning her perfect mate, yet her thoughts wander to the open sky waiting at the edge of her floating kingdom. One final adventure calls. Upon fleeing the palace, the last thing she expects to find is a raven prince locked in a death match with a dragon.

A bastard aching to belong...

Reviled son of a dead king, Rafe would do anything for his beloved half-brother, Prince Lysander Taetanus, including posing as him in the upcoming courtship trials. When a dragon interrupts their secret exchange, he orders his studious sibling to run. After suffering a fatal blow, Rafe is saved by a beautiful dove who possesses forbidden magic, just like him.

Fate brought them together, now destiny will tear them apart...

Unknown to the world above, on the foggy sea ten thousand feet below, a young king fights a forgotten war. He believes Lyana is the queen prophesied to save the world, and with the help of his favored spy, hidden deep in the highest ranks of the dove royal house, he will stop at nothing to have her.

Three shocking betrayals. Two star-crossed lovers. One unforgettable journey. If you like fierce heroines, brooding heroes, forbidden romance, and action-packed magical adventures with twists you'll never see coming, don't miss The Raven and the Dove!

Can you briefly describe THE RAVEN AND THE DOVE and its characters?

The Raven and the Dove is an epic fantasy retelling of Tristan and Isolde set in an avian-inspired world. Picture aerial fight scenes, forbidden romance, elemental magic, masked balls, floating islands, and wings!

At the start of the novel, the characters are preparing for the courtship trials, in which the royal heirs compete to win their choice of mate. Lyana, the dove princess, yearns for freedom and sneaks out of her palace in search of adventure. She stumbles upon the raven prince who is locked in a death match with a dragon, but she soon comes to discover not everything is as it seems…

Who would you say is your favourite character from the story and why?

The story revolves around four main characters who are all so different and unique I could never pick between them! Lyana is the adventurous princess, dreaming of more than what's planned, in search of a purpose and longing to explore the world outside the confines of her royal responsibilities. Rafe is the brooding warrior, aching to find a place where he belongs, strong and loyal but lost in all the ways that matter. Xander is the noble prince, ready to sacrifice anything for his people, kind-hearted and determined, book smart but unsure of his own worth. There's a fourth main character, who I'll keep secret—her morally grey viewpoint was also a blast to compose.

How did the story occur to you? Did you find inspiration anywhere?

The story first came to me in an image (which later went on to become the basis for the cover!)—I saw a woman with white wings standing before a man with black wings as magic sparkled between them. I have no idea where the thought came from, really, but when I saw it, I just knew I needed to explore the new characters making home inside my mind. The rest of the world unfurled from there, to include an entire floating avian kingdom based around different bird houses, and the plot twisted into a retelling of Tristan and Isolde. 

If you could choose one song to describe your book, which one would it be?

I'm really not a musical person (and I'm horrible at picking one of anything), so I'd say, one part "Bleeding Love" by Leona Lewis, one part "Set Fire to the Rain" by Adele, and one part "Apologize" by OneRepublic…if that makes sense. 

If your book was going to be made into a movie, who would play your characters?

I'll pick people for the main four! For Lyana, I would go with Lovie Simone. Rafe and Xander are nearly twins, so they could probably be played by one person, but I have two options anyway—Matthew Daddario and Noah Centineo (I'm obsessed with To All the Boys I Loved Before…and yes, it definitely influenced my choices!). And for Cassi, I'll say Naomi Scott.

Can you recommend your readers any other books in case they are left hungry for more once they finish THE RAVEN AND THE DOVE? 

Well, the sequel, The Hunter and the Mage, is now available to pre-order… ;) JK! I'm a huge fan of young adult fantasy so I probably have too many recommendations, but some of my favorites are: Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo, Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor, The Song of the Lioness by Tamora Pierce, Protector of the Small by Tamora Pierce, Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson (not YA, but amazing), and An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir. 

If you prefer standalones, I just recently read The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix Harrow and Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson, and both were fabulous! 

What would you say is the most difficult part of writing a book? 

Self-doubt is definitely my biggest struggle! Even with twenty books under my belt, I feel like an imposter some days. Usually, when I first start a book I'm so excited to be writing these new characters, everything flows. But somewhere around the middle of the manuscript, those evil little questions creep in—Is this good enough? Will anyone want to read this? Is the storyline terrible? Are the characters horrible? The only way I deal with it is to push through. As I near the climactic scenes, everything starts to flow, and usually, during my first read through, I fall in love with the book all over again. But then you send out ARCs, and the self-doubt process begins anew… lol! It's a vicious, never-ending cycle, but it’s worth it. 

As a reader, what is the “one thing” that a mind-blowing story must have, in your opinion? 

Surprises! Obviously, I want to fall in love with the characters, I want to be wrapped up in the romance, and I want to be glued to the pages, but some books do all of that, and are still missing something for me. I love a good twist ending I never saw coming. 

What’s next for you? 

Writing the sequel! The Hunter and the Mage goes on sale in September 2020, so I'll be polishing up the manuscript over the next few months to get it ready. I'll also start working on book three :) Some of my favorite scenes are coming up in the next few books (ones I've envisioned since my initial brainstorming session years ago), so I can’t wait for people to read them.

Kaitlyn Davis, a bestselling author with over a quarter of a million books sold, writes young adult fantasy novels under the name Kaitlyn Davis and contemporary romance novels under the name Kay Marie. Publisher's Weekly has said, "Davis writes with confidence and poise," while USA Today has recommended her work as "must-read romance."

To learn more about her contemporary romance novels, visit her Goodreads author page for Kay Marie here: https://www.goodreads.com/Kay_Marie

Always blessed with an overactive imagination, Kaitlyn has been writing ever since she picked up her first crayon and is overjoyed to share her work with the world. When she's not daydreaming, typing stories, or getting lost in fictional worlds, Kaitlyn can be found playing fetch with her puppy, watching a little too much television, or spending time with her family. If you have any questions for her--about her books, about scheduling an event, or just in general--you may contact her at: KaitlynDavisBooks@gmail.com

Sign up for Kaitlyn's newsletter to stay up-to-date with all of her new releases and more! http://bit.ly/AuthorNewsletter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Blitz + Giveaway: White Raven (Raven #1) by J.L. Weil

White Raven (Raven #1)
by J.L. Weil
Publication date: March 27th 2015
Genres: Paranormal Romance, Young Adult

Synopsis:

DREADFUL LIES.

UNEXPECTED LOVE.

IMPOSSIBLE TRUTH.

It only took one heartbeat to change my life—one chilling phone call in the middle of the night.

And then, as if my life didn’t already suck, my dad sends my brother and me to some idyllic island for the summer to live with a grandma we never met. WTH. Naturally, I rebel. In the end, I find myself shipped off to Raven Hallow…and bored to tears.

Until I get an eyeful of the mind-bendingly gorgeous Zane Hunter. The dark-hair cutie makes my pulse go bonkers, and I think, maybe this might not be so bad after all. Six feet of swoon inducing looks, with a hint of Celtic charm in his voice, he was the type of guy that left a string of broken hearts in his wake. And I had all the heartbreak I could handle.

Yet, there is something uncanny, almost supernatural about Zane, and it’s not just his devastating smirk. No matter how much distance I put between us, Raven Hallow isn’t big enough, and the sparking tension between is undeniable. Of course, the one person I want to avoid becomes my salvation.

My past comes back to terrorize me. Someone wants me dead, and the closer I get to the truth, the more I realize my whole life is a lie. I am no longer sure what is more frightening—the attempts on my life or the guy whose heart and soul are synchronized with mine.

TJ and Rose kept the conversation rolling as I gave the appropriate one-word responses or a head nod. I didn’t have much of an appetite, mostly picking at my chicken Caesar salad and gazing out at the ocean, until…

His hair was black as a wintry night, eyes icy blue as a gypsy’s heart. He had a lazy saunter about him and a glint of humor twinkling in those heart-melting eyes. There was nothing loose about his body, muscles bunching as he tethered a boat to the dock. I twiddled the straw, staring brazenly.

Good God. I wanted to have his babies. Not now, but most definitely someday.

And just like that, my summer got a billion times hotter…and interesting—way more interesting. I bit my lip, mulling over how I was going to accidently fall into his pants. Um—I mean path or even his lap would do, anything to get that one’s attention.

Drool hit the table in a mad case of fangirl, and I didn’t even know his name.

As if he sensed he was being slobbered over, his eyes scraped over me, and I held my breath. Holy hot tamales. An electric bolt of…lust maybe, I really didn’t know what it was, but it coiled through my body, making me shudder. A flicker of an unidentified emotion crossed his face, right before a secret smile appeared on his lips. Oh man, don’t get me started on his lips.

Elbows propped on the table, I rested my head on the edge of my palms, continually gazing and getting lost in the depths of his eyes. He hypnotized me. I followed his movements, my eyes glued to him. Then one of my elbows slipped off the table in classic Piper form, and down I went. I caught myself just before my chin whacked a corner of the patio table.

Only me.

Mortified, I closed my eyes.

TJ laughed. “Smooth, Pipe. I think you made a lasting impression.”

Award-winning and Bestselling author J.L. Weil writes Teen & New Adult Paranormal Romances about spunky, smart mouth girls who always wind up in dire situations. For every sassy girl, there is an equally mouthwatering, overprotective guy. Of course there is lots of kissing. And stuff.

Most of her books are for ages 16+. They usually have what she considers the good stuff - sexual content (oh yeah) and swearing. You have been warned ;)

An admitted addict to Love Pink clothes, raspberry mochas from Starbucks, (yum!) and Jensen Ackles (double yum!). She loves gushing about books and Supernatural with her readers.

Win (1) ebook copy of WHITE RAVEN by J.L. Weil (INT)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Blitz-wide giveaway (US/CAN):

Win a $25 Amazon GC, signed copy of White Raven, and swag

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Blitz + Giveaway: Raven (Chronicles of Steele #1) by Pauline Creeden

Raven (Chronicles of Steele #1)
by Pauline Creeden
Released Date: 10/2014

Synopsis:

This is the complete Steampunk Fantasy novel - all four parts of the serial in one volume!

Human life has value.

The poor living in the gutter is as valuable as the rich living in a manor.

The scoundrel is no less valuable than the saint.

Because of this, every life a reaper takes must be redeemed.

Raven has lived by this first tenet since she was trained by her father to become a reaper. But since his death, she’s been spending years redeeming the lives she’s taken. By her count, she’s even and it’s time for that life to end. If she settles down and becomes a wife, she might just feel human again. But on the way to the life she thinks she wants, the baron of New Haven asks her to complete a task which she cannot ignore… Just when Raven decides to give up on her life as an assassin, she’s pulled right back in.

Raven

by Pauline Creeden

RAVEN STEELE COUNTED every footstep she chanced through New Haven with the knowledge that any could be her last. But the gamble wouldn’t last long. She quickened her pace. Only two kilometers of brownstone street stood between her and the safety of the forest.

A throng crowded the street. People. Men. Women and children. It had become too easy to think of them as cattle. But they were human. Her deepest desire was to become one of them and live a normal human life. Gregory would make her feel human; he always did. Her heart quickened at the thought of him, and her tread became light.

Raven winked at a fat-cheeked baby held by a pinch-faced woman with silver hair pulled into a severe bun. The woman looked Raven up and down, tching her tongue and shaking her head. Even in the city, a woman in breeches instead of a skirt remained unacceptable. Or maybe the crossbow snapped to the magnets on the back of her corset made the difference.

Would the woman know her secret?

Raven swallowed hard and assured herself of the ignorance of the populace. Few knew what a reaper was, much less their prohibition from the city.

Only the occasional cloud blighted the deceptively clear blue sky over New Haven. Sunlight sifted through and between the buildings stacked next to one another like books on a shelf. An automated horse bore down on her, and she flattened herself against the cool brick. The coachmen yelled at the crowd, “Out of the way! Clear the road. Coaches before walkers!”

The scraping metal and shouting continued down the street, scattering merchants who gave the coach malicious looks and then checked their wares for damage. Beside her, a bronze clockwork mechanical man pushed a merchant's cart, its jerky movements unsuitable for zeppelin-living high society. It stopped just before the haberdasher’s shop.

With a wave of his arm and a grand flourish, the man next to the clockwork man produced a small metal gadget in his palm. “Don’t be the last of your neighbors to procure this one. You’ve never peeled potatoes as expeditiously or had as much merriment in the doing. Your children will quibble over whose turn it is to do what used to be scutwork.”

He placed the gadget next to a pile of potatoes, and the clicking and whirring of the blades set the crowd into exclamations of eager yearning. The people applauded and mobbed the stand, blocking the entire walkway. No elbowing through the throng this time. With a sigh, Raven hopped off the walk onto the street, nearly stepping into a pile of manure left by a flesh horse. Her metal-heeled boots clicked with each step on the smooth stones.

Seagulls crowded a fishmonger’s cart on the other side of the street. The monger accosted her as she neared the bridge, but quickly moved on to the next person behind her when she shook her head. Boats docked behind him and bobbed up and down in the river. Skipping up the steps of the footbridge, she pushed away a black flyaway curl from her eyes and pulled the tendril behind her ear.

Halfway across the bridge, she inhaled a lungful of the salty air and released a contented sigh. Only a day’s journey still stood between her and Gregory’s house, and for once, she wasn’t injured. She smiled to herself as she imagined the look of surprise on his face. She planned to tell him she loved him this time. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach. Would he be ready for marriage? Was she?

The fishmonger’s scream broke through the chattering crowd on the bridge. He jumped into the river to avoid an out-of-control carriage pulled by a polished brass automated horse. Steam poured from the nostrils of the metal horse and leaked from its joints in an unnatural manner. Its black lacquer carriage careened on two wheels through the turn onto the bridge before righting itself. Wires shot out of the neck of the metal coachman where the head should have been. The reins in its limp, useless hands were slack and whipping against the horse’s metal flank.

Raven jumped to the rail, moving out of the way of the crowd as they stampeded toward her. She gripped the lamppost and her reaper training kicked in. No fear. Breathe deeply. Think ahead. Make quick decisions.

The black lacquer carriage squeezed between the bridge railings, and the oak boards of the narrow footbridge splintered apart as though they were balsa wood. The railing to the left gave free another meter and the automated horse jerked in that direction.

In a quick, natural motion, Raven unsnapped her crossbow and felt through the quiver attached at her thigh for the right bolt. Pulling the wire from her belt’s winch, she hooked it to the arrow, pointed it at the wooden post of the gas lamp standing closest to the carriage, and pulled the trigger.

For a moment, the heavy metal horse hung over the edge with the carriage wedged between portions of broken railing. The horse’s brass legs still poured steam as they struggled in the air, creating the eerie sound of scraping metal. Gouges raked along the black side of the carriage as it inched its way toward the river. A small hand pressed against the window. The door surged past the railing and swung open. The body of a young boy tumbled out. He hung from the door handle with his fingertips. A gasp and a few screams filled the air behind her.

A female voice shrieked, “It’s the young baron!”

Adrenaline coursed through her veins, and Raven leapt toward the boy—toward the river. She fell in a controlled arc, the wind pulling her long hair as taut as the line from her belt. The carriage broke free from the bridge a moment before she reached it. She thumbed her winch to release more line and grabbed the boy in a full embrace. The cold water enveloped them.

The sudden change in temperature forced the air from her lungs, but she held it in as they darted below the surface. Her submerged body jerked to a stop as the line reached an end. The boy’s forehead struck her in the temple. Saltwater burned her eyes, and stars danced in her vision. Bubbles of air escaped her lips.

The boy went limp in her arms. She gripped him tightly in one arm and hit the rewind lever on the winch. She grabbed the line, and it wrenched her toward the light above. Streaks of her long, black hair stuck to her face as she emerged from the river. She released her breath and gripped the line. The winch pulled her toward the bridge, and the crowd above applauded. Gasping, Raven struggled with the sudden, heavier weight of the boy, struggling to hold him until they reached the top of the bridge. The line cut into her hand and her arm muscles ached.

Her tall black boots squished against the side of the bridge as they were pulled steadily up. She pushed off a tarred pylon to make it over the lip before the cable pulled them against the railing. The winch slowed when it neared the top. She reached up with her free hand and grabbed the crossbow bolt. With a flick of her thumb, she depressed the lever and the grappling hooks withdrew. After pulling the hook free of her line, she replaced the bolt in her quiver. A slow zipping sound continued as the winch on her belt drew in the cable. She allowed hands from the crowd pull the boy from her grasp. She blinked the saltwater from her eyes, her vision still blurred, her muscles quivering.

Four armed guards and one skinny man in a bowtie surrounded the boy she’d hauled to the surface, shooing away the people. Two other guards stepped forward to hold back the crowd.

With a sputter and a cough, the boy retched water from his lungs. The tension in Raven’s chest relaxed. She smiled and attempted to step toward him, but a vice-like grip took hold of her arm. Her fingertips twitched; she was ready to grab the knife on her hip and fight her way out, if necessary. The hard faces of two guards stared down at her. She could smack one in the jaw with the back of her head, and when he loosened his grip, throw a punch at the other. The taste of escape grew bitter on her tongue when she considered the surrounding crowd. She made a count of the collateral damage and clenched her jaw. The last thing she needed were more kills on her conscience, more lives to redeem herself for. With a deep sigh, she remained still.

The man in the bowtie held the wet boy to his chest. His cold blue eyes pierced hers. He pointed and said, “Arrest her.”

In simple language, Pauline Creeden creates worlds that are both familiar and strange, often pulling the veil between dimensions. She becomes the main character in each of her stories, and because she has ADD, she will get bored if she pretends to be one person for too long.

Pauline is a horse trainer from Virginia, but writing is her therapy.

Armored Hearts, her joint effort with author Melissa Turner Lee, has been a #1 Bestseller in Christian Fantasy and been awarded the Crowned Heart for Excellence by InDtale Magazine. Her debut novel, Sanctuary is scheduled for release September 30, 2013, and has already been nominated for two awards in YA Science Fiction.

One of Pauline's short stories has won the CCW Short Story contest. Other short stories have been published in Fear & Trembling Magazine, Obsidian River and Avenir Eclectia. An urban fantasy short will appear in The Book of Sylvari: An Anthology of Elves from Port Yonder Press, and a vampire short will appear in Monsters! from Diminished Media Group.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Blitz Organized by: