Here's how the conversation usually goes ...
Interested reader: "Are you writing anything lately?"
Me: "I'm about to release the second book in my urban fantasy series."
Reader: "Really? What's it about?"
Me: "It's about Staff Sergeant Hester Trueblood. She's on duty in Iraq when she picks up a golden coin that activates a spell that makes her the embodiment of the ancient Mesopotamian goddess Inanna. It's the second book in the series."
Reader: ...stares blankly...
Me: "Sounds crazy, I know."
Reader: "No really, it sounds great! Oh my daughter would LOVE that!"
Me: "It's not YA. I mean, it's more of an adult urban fantasy suspense kind of story. Inanna was the goddess of war, and ... love, soooo."
Reader: Now, losing interest. "Oh, well...great. Congratulations."
As an author, you'd think by now, I'd have learned that the last thing people want to hear about is writing stuff. They politely ask. I should just politely say ... something, that doesn't put them in the position to ask anything else. But I have a hard time not talking about this series.
The Bonding Spell is a Jim Butcher style, urban fantasy suspense with a couple of mysteries to solve, some bad guys to catch and a dark and twisted trail of bodies and emotional background to wade through. It's not for everyone but it's definitely not in the tween, YA catagory.
I know there are some who don't like anything with urban fantasy as a description. I get it, but I love reading that stuff and I loved writing this. And while I wouldn't recommend it for young girls,if they're mature teenagers or grown up people who like a bit of action, adventure, mystery and magic all rolled into one and topped off by an interesting main female lead ... You might like this story. Hester Trueblood is a former soldier with a salty tongue. Inanna, the goddess of love and a bunch of other things, has healthy appetites. There are trusted warriors, large guard cats and a demi-god love interest.
Just a quick note to let you know that The Bonding Blade is set for a June 20, 2019 release, and now up for pre-order on Amazon.com. If you want to get caught up, I have made the first book in the Desert Goddess series almost free. For one penny less than a buck, you can get started on the story.
After you've read it, you can decide if your daughter is ready for it!
M. L. Doyle has served in the U.S. Army at home and abroad for more than two decades as both a soldier and civilian. Mary is the author of The Desert Goddess series, an urban fantasy romp consisting of The Bonding Spell and The Bonding Blade. She has also penned The Master Sergeant Harper mystery series which has earned numerous awards including an IPPY, a Lyra Award and the Carrie McCray Literary Award. Mary is the co-author of two memoirs; A Promise Fulfilled; the story of a Wife and Mother, Soldier and General Officer (Jan. 201) and the memoir, I’m Still Standing: From Captive U.S. Soldier to Free Citizen—My Journey Home (Touchstone, 2010), which was nominated for an NAACP Image award. Mary's work has been published by The Goodman Project, The War Horse, The WWrite Blog and The Wrath-Bearing Tree, an online magazine for which she serves as a fiction editor. A Minneapolis, Minnesota native, Mary current lives in Baltimore. You can reach her at her website at mldoyleauthor.com.
2 comments on “No. It's not for kids”
Sounds really good to me I need more money to buy more books. Because this sounds like something I want to read.
LOL! Well, you're in luck. The first book is on sale for less than a buck! 🙂