The 13th Descent by Ky Lehman
(Rosefire Trilogy #1)
Publication date: August 30th 2014
Genres: Paranormal Romance, Young Adult
Synopsis:
ONE CHOICE CAN MAKE AN IMMORTAL HUMAN. BUT WHAT CHOICES NEED TO BE MADE TO GO BACK AGAIN?
The revolutionary year following Serenay "Ren" Avalon's eighteenth birthday could rival Clark Kent's entire adolescence. After her mother and her grandmother were killed in a car bomb explosion at the heart of their sleepy hillside town where nothing extraordinary usually happens, she discovers that her mother is actually alive and in hiding, her long lost father is a Father, and her best friend, who turns out was once an Archangel, has taken a gargantuan step back in his evolution to live on Earth with her for the past thirteen lifetimes. And besides being the only one in her immediate circle with a serious case of past life dementia, she learns that during her first lifetime, she was married to one of the greatest teachers history has ever known who is now the gorgeous lead singer of a hot new rock band taking the world by storm, and who is keen to meet up with her again in the twenty first century.
As Ren realizes that the powerful family name she bears also brings with it the promise of an unnatural death, she is reminded that it has always brought hope to people on both sides of the veil, human and Tor. As the world draws closer to being completely shrouded by the dark cloaks of her age-old enemies, the Bloodstones, she now, more than ever before, has to draw strength from her origins to protect her family and their ancient truth from this global force responsible for torturing and killing centuries of her ancestors. As she struggles to unearth who she was, who she is, and who she chooses to be, as well as the expectations of her first mortal love and the heavenly love she has always guiltily denied, she has until midnight on the Solstice find a way to bring light to a compromised heart and to a world on the brink of perpetual darkness.
This first book in The Rosefire Trilogy is a reminder of how the choices we make in the throes of love, loss, hope, and adversity are what makes the divine human, and the human divine.
Excerpt:
Because we have an hour and a half before our next flight takes off, and I can't bear the thought of another torturous half-a-day trapped in an enclosed space with him this shitty at me, I decide that now is the time to take a stab at breaking the ice: here on solid ground with easily accessible emergency exits amongst all these relaxed, smartly dressed people in this posh boarding lounge, hoping our surroundings will make Mike think twice before getting loud as he has been known to do when he is this mad.
I take a deep breath, lean towards him and whisper, "So...with the recent changes and all, what are we supposed to be to each other now?"
"WHAT?" he yells, throwing himself back in his chair like he has been electrocuted.
"With our new names, what are we to each other now?" I softly repeat, the double meaning to my now regrettable question hanging over my head like an axe.
"You're asking me this, here? Now?" he snarls, glaring at me and breathing heavily.
Well done, Ren. That broke the ice, and started an avalanche.
My soaring anxiety brings with it uncontrollable trembling, and my eyes become hot and twitchy, threatening to overflow. But, then I remind myself I'd rather be up to my neck in his frosty words than suffer another minute of his cold silence, and that I deserve the payout that's coming to me.
I brace myself and peek up at him, quickly looking straight back down when I see the gutted expression shrouding his once glowing face. It is in this tragic moment that I realise that I haven't seen his light since he first showed it to me all those hours ago.
"Well, um...our new passports say that we're no longer siblings, so what is our relationship to each other?" I quietly ask, attempting to downgrade my loaded question into an innocent one.
"You want to know what you are to me?" he growls and abruptly stands. "Do you?" he seethes as he leans forward, staring me down. "You are my first breath. My last breath. And all of the heartbeats in-between. You are my joy. You are my pain. My one true hope. For God's sake, Ren, you are the mother of the children I finally realise we will never have." He inhales deeply through his clenched teeth making a hissing sound. "And, after all this time, you still have no friggin' idea."
Pinned in my seat, all I am capable of doing is blinking and assisting the hot rush of tears to spill down my cheeks. As he holds his glare, I see the amber flecks in pools of rich brown ripple, flicker, and vanish. I gasp and slowly point up at his changing eyes, shocked and devastated at how that light that allows me to see into is soul has faded too. He gives me a curt nod acknowledging what has gone.
He sighs, in what I pray is regret and not relief, and with an indifferent gaze and a distant tone I don't recognise, he softly and terrifyingly says, "You know what you are to me, Serenay? You are my greatest disappointment." He pushes away from the table, snatches up his backpack, turns and strides away from me.
My panicked heart rips me out of my seat and propels me forward. "Mike!" I scream, tripping over a chair leg and ungraciously falling to my knees.
Everyone in the lounge immediately turns towards the commotion I'm making, everyone except for him.
Q & A with Ky Lehman
Since this Blog is called Inspired Writers, tell me, what inspires you?
Courage - witnessing a trail blazer hacking their way through harsh, unwelcoming terrain and making their way through to the other side.
Give us an insight into your main character. What does he/she do that is so special?
Ren is a well-practised trailblazer! Even though she doesn't remember or acknowledge that about herself right away. She is loved by people from all walks of life, and adored by those special few who have seen behind the armour, and she has so much love to give, but instead of allowing herself to embrace, revel and grow in all that love, she insists on restraining and harnessing it, riding high up on its back in the one position where she doesn't have to look it directly in the face like it is a war horse with the strength to carry her - and the baggage of the twelve 'her's' before this one - as she charges headfirst into the bloody battle she has fought for millennia against her history, her family name, and the men who love her.
Which actor/actress could you see playing the lead character from your book?
Ren played by Isabel Lucas
Mike played by Henry Cavill
Josh played by Sam Heughan
Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?
I know how I, myself, feels to love someone, and I know how it makes me feel to be loved in the different ways one can be, but describing how another person feels love? Even on my most emotionally imaginative days, describing what another person's notion of physical, emotional, and spiritual love is always proves to be the most challenging.
Is there a certain type of scene that's harder for you to write than others?
Honestly, erotically-charged scenes! It's not really the writing of them, it's the editing of them! Some things have to be left to the reader's imagination, but how much? I always struggle with how much description is, or is not, enough!
What advice would you give to aspiring writers?
Read. Read. Read. Write. Write. Write. Then read some more.
Do you have any unique talents or hobbies?
I always win handstand competitions in the pool. I've been told that I make a richly-mean spaghetti bolognaise. I paint landscapes - not well - but I love it! I am good with animals - especially fluffy ones - I get cuddles from the apparently shy ones, and I've been told that I have a knack of chilling out the uppity ones, but I don't know how - I'm not exactly the most chilled-out person!
What do you consider to be your best accomplishment?
Giving up smoking. After the countless times I tried, I was dangerously close to giving up on giving up, but after all that practice, I finally got there in the end!
What books have most influenced your life most?
Kathleen McGowan's, The Expected One, The Book of Love, The Poet Prince. Her books dared me to look deeper, and when I did, all I thought I knew about divinity was blown into smithereens. Thank you, Ms. McGowan!
Who is your favorite author and what is it that really strikes you about their work?
Paullina Simmons - namely The Bronze Horseman Trilogy. She wrote a tale set in a tragic, mind baffling, soul wrenching time in Russian and world history, but through all of the death and disaster, and the difficult and overwhelming overtones, simplistic messages of love, hope, honesty, and strength in the face of adversity and injustice rose to the surface and hit me square in the chest.
Are there any books that you ashamed to admit you have read and loved?
The Twilight Saga. I ate them up!
Who is your favorite Villain/Monster in Literature?
Jekyll and Hyde - because apparently humans are capable of being either, but thankfully most of us choose not to be!
What advice would you give to your younger self?
Embrace what you see as your imperfections because sometimes they can turn out to be the most loveable and unique things about you.
Which famous person, living or dead would you like to meet and why?
Florence Nightingale. Not only was she a renowned nurse and matron, she was also a rebellious daughter, a social reformer, and an accomplished writer who lived to the grand old age of ninety. I would love to meet her as an old lady, make her multiple cups of tea, and listen to her stories about all that she has seen, felt, failed at, and succeeded in. She was a trailblazer, a great one, who, in her younger years, broke the mould, and in her adult life, started to break down walls we are still hammering away at today.
About the Author:
KY LEHMAN is a novelist, a children's author, a teacher of swimming and water safety, wife to her high school sweetheart and the proud mother of their three very tall sons. She lives in the Yarra Ranges, Victoria, Australia with her husband and their children where she is currently writing the second book in The Rosefire Trilogy, The 13th Rising.
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