Forged in Fire
Witch World Series, #2
by Lyn C. Johanson
Date of Publication:
November 17th 2016
Cover Artist: Renu Sharma
Genre: Paranormal
Romance
Lyn
C. Johanson continues her scorching Witch World series with a new story of a
human fighting to survive in Hell, and a dangerous beauty who might cost him
his soul.
BLURB
AN EXQUISITE PUNISHER LIVING ON BORROWED
TIME…
Desiree ruled a domain swarming with the
worst sinners ever to walk on Earth, until her dual nature became too dangerous
for the Demon Council to ignore. Now banished, she finds herself intrigued by
an enigma she encounters—a decent soul in the land of rotten scum.
A FIGHTER DOOMED TO HELL…
To save his newborn nephews, Ciaran
sacrificed his life to spend eternity in the Underworld. Yet becoming a
plaything to be used and abused is a fate he is determined to avoid.
A PASSION FORGED IN FIRE…
Temptation stokes the flames in both their
hearts and bodies, but when faced with the reality of their circumstances,
those flames might burn them both to ash. For in a demon world defined by
supernatural abilities, a human must remain a slave, and she—free from any
weakness her enemies might take advantage of.
Buy Link: Amazon
Please note that although Forged in
Fire can be read as a stand-alone story, I would strongly recommend reading
Till Death and Beyond first, as the world builds from one book to another.
Available on Amazon
“Bow before your master!” One of the
guards spat an order.
“I bow before no one,” Ciaran muttered
without turning. That was one thing he refused to do. Ever. No matter how many
whips sliced his flesh.
Instantly, he felt a fierce blow to
his inner knee. His leg bent, and he went down. Ciaran gritted his teeth at the
impact with the hard floor, and before the guard could deliver another blow,
grabbed for the nearest weapon.
Suddenly fire flashed through the
space. As one, the guards sank to the ground, bowing their heads.
“Enough!” Huge eyes appeared in the
air, above them.
Ciaran frowned. Stood up.
The eyes narrowed. Green flames
consumed the irises, and for a second he thought the room would catch fire.
“Out!” A sharp order rang out, and was
followed before the echo subsided.
The moment Ciaran was left alone,
shadows began swirling, the eyes got smaller, until a figure stepped out of the
darkness. He thought he was prepared for whatever was coming. A two-headed ogre
wouldn’t have surprised him, but when the shadows dissipated, and his eyes
locked with those of the creature he’d been summoned by, he forgot whatever it
was he wanted to say.
Her eyes were no longer round, but
almond-shaped, slightly tilted downward toward her straight but narrow nose.
Those eyes missed nothing—and right now, they were focused on him. Not burning,
but the way her irises caught the glare of light, it appeared to glow with a
cat-like luster.
In vibrant copper-red, the strands
that escaped her knee-length braid danced like flames against her flawless,
porcelain skin, conjuring up an image of a fragile, ethereal beauty.
One look at her, and Ciaran knew there
was nothing fragile about her. She radiated power, and he had no trouble seeing
why the guards bowed before her. Why everyone was afraid to even mention her
name. The raw energy flowing around her was nothing he’d ever experienced. No
demon he’d met possessed a smidgeon of it.
He was screwed, he concluded,
determined to get this over with as quickly as possible.
“What do you want from me?” he
demanded, finally coming to his senses.
She approached, no hesitation in her
lithe, tall body. It moved with hypnotizing grace, accentuated by her simple
leather pants and top that hugged her like a second skin. If he thought she had
power before, it was nothing compared with the sizzle of energy that shot
through him when she stretched out her hand, and gently touched his cheek.
It took everything he had to keep his
body stone-still. He dared not even breathe. He felt if he did, she could
actually bring him to his knees. And as seconds ticked by, her lips curled into
a lazy smile, transforming her face from beautiful to stunning. She was a
vision—a vision he expected to morph into a nightmare at any moment.
That’s when she whispered, “I want to
play.”
Buy Link: Amazon
MY INTERVIEW WITH LYN
C. JOHANSON
How would you describe your style of writing
to someone who has never read your work?
My
readers have described my stories as thrilling and captivating. Even intense.
And that’s what I strive for – I dig deep into the characters’ heads to flesh
out their emotions, to show their highs and lows. And when it comes to romance,
I like to make the pages sizzle!
What mindset or routine do you feel the need
to set when preparing to write (in general whether you are working on a project
or just free writing)?
I try
not to force myself if the words are not forthcoming, because if I did,
whatever I wrote would also feel forced. I simply find something else to do, be
it jogging or Photoshopping. And the story comes.
Once it
starts spinning in my head, it’s usually all I can think about, and I have to
put it on paper. That’s where the notepad I keep at a hand’s reach comes into
play.
Do you take your character prep to heart? Do
you nurture the growth of each character all the way through to the page? Do
you people-watch to help with development? Or do you build upon your character
during story creation?
It all
depends on the character. Some come to me and reveal their life stories,
letting me into their hearts, and when I write – they shape their stories.
Others, like Ciaran (the hero of Forged in Fire), show me just a small facet of
themselves, and I experience the getting-to-know-them part as the story moves
forward. But even then, he himself shaped the story – he just didn’t tell me
why he did what he did.
It can be
frustrating – not understanding your own creations; and yet, the discovery of
who they are is an amazing experience that only makes them more real. In the
end, character development and story development go hand in hand, each
influencing the other until they’re more than just a figment of my imagination.
Have you found yourself bonding with any
particular character? If so which one(s)?
It is
impossible to tell a story without bonding with its characters, because only
through bonding do I experience their joys and heartaches so that I can show
that to the reader. If I didn’t feel what they felt I wouldn’t be able to put
it into words.
I bond
with each character I introduce into the story – with some more strongly than
with others. Ciaran, for example, was first introduced in Till Death and Beyond
(Book 1 in the Witch World Series), so I knew him, and still he managed to take
me on a journey; while Desiree, his heroine – she appeared just before I
started writing Forged in Fire.
I
wasn’t sure about her at first. I thought they would clash on every imaginable
level – both being proud and headstrong individuals – but while they did, they
clashed just right. And in the process Desiree won me over. I can definitely
say that I feel a particular affinity with her. There is so much inside her –
so much she hides – I cried when she cried.
Do you have a character that you have been
working on that you can't wait to put to paper?
I have
been working on a few characters I can’t wait to put to paper.
There
is Dazlog – he plays an important part in both the first and the second book,
and his character has so many possibilities – in becoming either the hero or the
villain – but there are a number of events that need to occur before I can delve
into his story.
Dacian
– Raven’s brother. (Raven is the hero of Till Death and Beyond, Book 1 in the Witch
World Series.) I wanted to tell his story after finishing Raven’s, but Forged
in Fire happened. And now, I feel that Dacian is not ready yet. It is Hadrian
who wants his story told. I can’t wait.
Have you ever felt that there was something
inside of you that you couldn't control? If so what? If no what spurs you to
reach for the unexperienced?
Since
my characters are a figment of my imagination – something coming from inside me
– and I can’t really control them, I have to say yes, there is.
Author Info
A computer science major, Lyn C. Johanson
discovered her passion for writing romance stories during the long and stressful
months spent finishing her master‘s thesis. It encouraged Lyn to open a new
blank page and let her imagination take flight. Several years later, her first
romance novel was born.
Her stories transport the reader into the
darkly sensual world where the magic of romance meets fantasy. When she’s not
writing, she enjoys spending time with her husband and sons.
Author Links:
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