Daemon Blood
Mary Maddox
(Daemon World, #3)
Publication date: March 8th 2022
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Horror
Our war will not unfold in your imaginary heaven. We will fight on Earth with human beings as pawns and weapons.
Lu Darlington is a seer, bound to the daemon Talion through ritual and blood. It’s not a role she enjoys, but she has little choice: daemons take what they want and destroy whoever stands in their way.
So Lu’s surprised when Talion doesn’t punish her for her newfound ability to keep him from possessing her whenever he likes. In fact he’s pleased. The stronger she is, he explains, the more powerful he becomes.
And he needs that power, because a war is brewing in the daemon world, a war that will be fought by—and through—humans.
Lu’s friend Lisa Duncan can’t see daemons but she’s seen what they can do and so has stayed far away from Lu for years. After a bizarre attack on Lisa leaves half a dozen people dead and she learns it’s just the first skirmish in the daemon war, Lisa realizes the safest place to be is with Lu.
Then Talion sends Lu away to teach her skills to another seer and Lisa must stay behind to look after Lu’s son Solly, conceived through a daemon ceremony with Talion. At four years old Solly’s seer abilities are already so strong Lisa is sometimes more afraid of Solly than for him.
As Talion’s enemies grow bolder, Lisa and Lu face attacks from every direction. There seems little hope any of them will survive—until Talion and his allies devise a plan.
The only problem is how much it will cost.
“With Daemon Blood, Mary Maddox has crafted a timeless tale of good against evil. With compelling characters and a keen sense of the darkness that lurks within us all, Daemon Blood will stay with you long after you turn the final thrilling page.”
— David Sodergren, Author of The Forgotten Island
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Interview with Mary Maddox
How did you become involved with the subject or theme of your book?
Daemon Blood is the third book in the Daemon World series. The second book, Daemon Seer, ends with Lu, the main character, pregnant and traumatized by a daemonic ceremony she was forced to take part in. The book was hard for me to write and, I think, hard for some people to read. I tried moving on to another series, but Lu’s story eventually called me back.
What were your goals and intentions in this book, and how well do you feel you achieved them?
I wanted this book to end with Lu in a happier place. I had the same goal for her friend Lisa, who is still addicted to opioids at the end of Daemon Seer. Daemon Blood realizes both goals—mostly. The novel begins with both characters already in a far better place than they were, but then they encounter complications and setbacks. The resolution of Daemon Blood isn’t all sunshine for either of them. I have a terrible time with “happily ever after” endings. Ironically, those endings seem too unrealistic to me.
What was the hardest part of writing this book?
Two things made this book hard. Lu is the protagonist, but Lisa plays a major role. I had to switch back and forth between the two characters while keeping both their narrative threads joined to the main plot. The other problem was providing enough backstory for readers new to the series, and providing it in a way that didn’t weigh the story down.
What did you enjoy most about writing this book?
I enjoyed returning to the world of the daemons and adding more dimensions and details to that world. I looked forward to writing every day throughout the first draft and the first couple of revisions. Then I started to get tired.
Were there alternate endings you considered?
I knew from the beginning where the story would end, but had only a vague idea how to get there. The writing held quite a few surprises, and the story kept changing during revision.
Can you share some stories about people you met while researching this book?
Beyond reading a few books, my research involved visiting a seaside town in Southern California like the one where part of Daemon Blood takes place. I stayed in the town’s one hotel and walked around for a day taking notes and photographs. Although I didn’t talk with anyone long enough to learn much about them, I found myself inventing stories about some of the people I saw. A pier figures prominently in the story, so I lingered on the town’s pier for a while. I wondered about the men fishing off the sides and the people leaning on the rails and gazing out to sea. Were the fishermen trying to feed their families—or escape them for an afternoon? Were the gazers dreaming of faraway places or struggling with grief or loss? Who knows, maybe someone on the pier was wondering about me.
What genre of books do you enjoy reading?
My favorite genre is the thriller, be it horror or crime or action or political or espionage. If the story offers a thrill, I’m there.
Author Bio:
Mary Maddox is a suspense, horror, and dark fantasy novelist with what The Charleston Times-Courier calls a “Ray Bradbury-like gift for deft, deep-shadowed description.” Born in Soldiers Summit, high in the mountains of Utah, Maddox graduated with honors in creative writing from Knox College, and went on to earn an MFA from the University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop. She taught writing at Eastern Illinois University and has published stories in various journals, including Yellow Silk, Farmer’s Market, The Scream Online, and Huffington Post. The Illinois Arts Council has honored her fiction with a Literary Award and an Artist’s Grant.
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5 comments:
Looks like my kind of book.
I so enjoyed reading the excerpt for this book - well done!
Thank you for sharing this.
Thanks for the great excerpt. The book sounds very intriguing. Great cover!
Thank you for reading! I’m glad you enjoyed the excerpt!
sounds like a fun one
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