Company Assassin
by Claudia Blood
GENRE: Fantasy
BLURB:
It’s Duff Roman’s eighteenth birthday, but no one is lighting candles.
Turning eighteen in the orphanage on Kalecca means starvation for those who aren’t hired into a Family. Outside the Family compounds lies the jungle. And in the jungle lies death. And Relics—the only real currency on Planet Kalecca.
The orphans are Duff’s family, and he’s sacrificed everything to keep the orphanage running, even his chance to move on. Now, at eighteen, he has no choice but to leave. Without him to bring in extra money, the orphans will starve under the Company’s control. Duff's only chance to save them is to find a spot on an independent crew and hopefully find a Relic to sell.
A seemingly chance encounter with Z, leader of the most feared independent crew, offers Duff his opportunity to score a Relic. And offers Z a chance to relieve the guilt he feels over his past.
But a company assassin has plans to lay waste to Duff's future, and the orphanage as well.
Excerpt:
Z from Chapter 10
Z took a small sip of the best whiskey they had at the Inn. It burned the back of his throat. He stood as if he didn’t care that he was the only freelancer in the place. He stood as if he’d only come here to enjoy some whiskey. It was good. It left a sweet smoky taste in his mouth. But he was here to gather information and to sort out a few things before going back into the jungle.
He’d gotten good at watching a room without seeming to. The Families had finally calmed down enough to resume the conversations that had stopped when he’d walked in.
They all recognized him as an ex-company man. The first time he’d come in here, there’d been bets on how long before he ended up dead. No one knew that he had something over Ravenne, which made him harder for her to kill. Not impossible, just harder.
He took another sip of the whiskey and closed his eyes as if he was just enjoying a drink. That allowed him to focus his senses on the conversations. No one was talking about the orphanage or Duff. They’d been long forgotten. There seemed to be a general unease in the room. Too many high ranked Family men were here. Odds were good they would meet in secret later. There was definitely something going on.
He’d also noticed that there seemed to be less Relics in the normal spots and that the company was paying a bit less. That would be a troublesome trend.
Interview with Claudia Blood
Do you have any tattoos? Where? When did you get it/them? Where are they on your body?
I don't. I think about getting one but can't decide where to get it and what to get.
I did just get a kickstarter book on magical tattoos for inspiration for a character I'm working on.
My husband has two very large pieces on his side and a half dozen smaller ones on his shoulders, legs, and back.
Is your life anything like it was two years ago?
I've worked from home for the last ten years, and have been fitting writing between pet and kid wrangling. I think there are two things that are different.
The first is that my kids are older. They are 8 and 10 now. With my writer brain I could imagine all sorts of things that would be story worthy, but you would NEVER want to actually happen. I spent so much energy trying to find that balance between helicopter mom and letting them do crazy things. So I worry less now.
The second thing is I am more confident in myself. This is not true for everyone, but for me I was very paranoid about what people thought of me. I could read a room and figure out how to try and please people. It's very easy to get lost in that. Did you ever see the movie Runaway Bride? That was me changing to try and fit in. It's hard to be yourself under those conditions..
Now I spend less energy worrying about that and spend more time being me.
How long have you been writing?
For years and years, I did daydream about stories, but did little actual writing. I've done nano for 16 years and about four years ago I decided to make it something more than a hobby.
What advice would you give a new writer just starting out?
Know yourself. I took a class by Becca Syme - Srength Finders for writers. It was through that class that I was able to embrace my process. Outlining doesn't work for me. It kills the story. I have six novels that I outlined that I may never write. The point is that it's okay. You have to find what works for you and be willing to experiment.
Another example, I have writing friends that I do sprints with. It just works because I feel like I am letting them down if I go watch a youtube video. :)
Once I was able to accept that my way may not work for others and vice versa, it helped alot.
I would add 'experiment with process' to know yourself. Try plotting, Try pantsing. Use a spreadsheet. Try free form writing. Whatever gets you evaluating did this work for me?
Tell us something about your newest release that is NOT in the blurb.
The main bad gal on the series is my favorite. She is so cold and yet the whole story is based on her obsession with saving her daughter. I wasn't going to have her POV, but it felt necessary for the story. I'm glad I did.
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Claudia Blood’s early introduction to Dungeons and Dragons, combined with her training as a scientist and a side trip into the world of IT set her up to become an award-winning author of Science Fiction and Fantasy.
For her latest release, visit her at
Facebook – Author ~ Facebook – Page
Short Story give away for newsletter sign up – Bookfunnel
BUY links for Trilogy
9 comments:
Thanks for hosting!
Good Morning! Thank you for hosting me on your blog.
Hi Victoria! I;m glad you enjoyed the post. Thanks for stopping by. :)
Great cover and excerpt.
sounds like a fun one
Hi Sherry, I'm glad you liked the cover and excerpt. Z was not always the easiest character to write. :) Thanks for stopping by.
Hi Daniel, I'm so glad it sounded like a fun book. Thanks for stopping by!
Sounds wonderful, thanks for sharing!
Interesting excerpt. It makes me wonder what's going to happen next.
Post a Comment