By Kelsey Ketch
Release Date: April 30th, 2021
New Adult Dark Fantasy Short Story
Summary from Goodreads:
Long before Charissa began her murderous rampage through history, she was a young woman living in ancient Alexandria.
Oppressed by society and cursed by the color of her hair, Charissa had hardly seen the world beyond the four walls of her home. So, when her husband leaves for extended military duty, she takes the opportunity to tour the city her brother once loved. Little does she know the Fates have other plans in store for her when she runs into an exotic woman in the Rhakotis District. The encounter will change her life forever.
Buy Links:
Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Kobo | Smashwords | Apple Books | Google Play
Giveaway!
5 Winners will receive an e-copy of Dark Reflections by Kelsey Ketch!
Playlist!
Interview with Kelsey Ketch
What made you want to become a writer?
It was just an idea, really. I started writing the summer of before my junior high school year when the beginnings of what is now the Death Island Duology trickled into my imagination. I really didn’t plan to be a writer, but I loved it so much. Writing was (and sometimes still is) an escape from reality. By the time I was about to graduate college, I had a thousand-page novel on my hands. It was then I decided to pursue what it would take to become a published author, and later, started my next book, Daughter of Isis.
What inspired you to write Dark Creation?
I’ve been wanting to write Charissa’s backstory since Dark Reflections. The problem was Charissa didn’t want to share the details of her life in Egypt. In a lot of ways, she still hasn’t. However, when readers’ reviews revealed they wished they could see things through Charissa’s eyes, I thought I try writing Charissa’s backstory again. But it wasn’t Charissa who first approached me. It was Sekhmet, who started sharing bits and pieces of the events from her point of view. Then I started to learn more about the Hellenistic era, and finally, Charissa began opening up. Not about everything from her past, but enough to write a little about her brother, the day she met Sekhmet, and the night she was thrown out of Egypt.
Can you tell us a little bit about the characters in Dark Creation?
Charissa, who is the antagonist in Dark Reflections, is now the protagonist in Dark Creation. Dark Creation gives the reader a glimpse of Charissa’s mortal life while living in ancient Alexandria, Egypt, which wasn’t easy. To begin, based on my research, it was the belief of the time (particularly for the ancient Greeks that occupied Alexandria) that a woman’s place was in the home. Most weren’t even allowed to walk the streets unless accompanied by a male member of the family. But on top of it, because the color of Charissa’s hair and the fact she remained barren during her marriage, she was considered a curse. The day she stepped outside her husband’s house, she just wanted to be free of her oppressive life. Even if it was only for a few hours.
The other character introduced is Sekhmet. Readers will learn more about her history in the next short story of the series. But in Dark Creation, she is the “immortal” that frees Charissa from her mortal life.
You know I think we all have a favorite author. Who is your favorite author and why?
That’s a hard one. There are not a lot of authors I have read beyond one book or series. But based on their writing style and their characters, I would say Esther M. Friesner (author the Princesses of Myth Series) and Dan Brown (author of the Robert Langdon Series).
Can you tell us a little bit about your next books or what you have planned for the future?
The next book I’m releasing later this year is about a young woman named Astyr Salt, who is a spiritual and emotional empath. She moved to England with the intent to forget about a traumatic, supernatural event that occurred during her freshman year of college. She reluctantly takes a spiritual cleansing assignment in a haunted country home. Unfortunately, her emotions energize the ghosts inhabiting the house, helping them draw their own tragedies to the surface. And while searching for the truth, Astyr is forced to relive the past and is placed in the path of a demented predator. It’s a mix of mystery, horror, English lore, and spellcraft.
Additionally, I’m currently working on Sekhmet’s short story as well as another standalone novel.
What did you enjoy most about writing this book?
I would have to say learning about the Hellenistic era. Before writing about Charissa, I related this period purely to Cleopatra, and though I respect Cleopatra as a great ruler, I have never really been particularly interested in her story. But Cleopatra was at the tail end of the Hellenistic era, and Dark Creation gave me the opportunity to investigate how Alexandra came to be, how the city was designed, what the social structure was, how the Greek rulers blended religions, and what daily life could have been like for normal citizens.
About the Author:
Kelsey Ketch is a young-adult/new-adult author, who works as a Wildlife Biologist in the state of North Carolina. During her free time, she can often be found working on her latest work in progress. She also enjoys history, mythology, traveling, and reading.
For more information, please
visit her site at kelseyketch.com.
Author Links:
Goodreads | BookBub | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest | Instagram
Tour Created by YA Bound Book Tours
1 comments:
Sounds like an excellent book. Thanks for the information.
Post a Comment