Demon Storm Book Three
YA Fantasy
Date Published: 04-13-2023
Publisher: Shadow Spark Publishing
Evil never really dies. It rises, again and again.
Now—Kari knows it’s rising inside her.
After barely defeating wicked Shadow Witch Raven, the wolf-demon knows her turmoil is far from over when her vanquished foe invades her dreams. And a new power stirs within her: thanks to Raven’s cunning, Kari’s potential as the Catalyst has awoken. A conduit for a terrifying, world-cracking force—one that could open at any moment.
Kari has resisted this new temptation thus far. But Raven again forces her hand, unleashing a demonic abomination to draw her prey out—a deadlier foe than any Kari has faced before. If she taps into this dark new power, she could become strong enough to defend the people she cares about. But the Catalyst has bloodthirsty designs of its own…
If she submits, what new horrors will be inflicted on the world Kari’s come to love?
Interview with Valerie Storm
How many books have you written and which is your favorite?
I’ve written something like fourteen books, three of which are currently published. My favorite of them all is constantly changing, but consistently I think I fall on either Storm & Shadow (book 2 of my Demon Storm series!) or Heart of the Storm (book 4 of my Demon Storm series, coming out this year!)
If you’re planning a sequel, can you share a tiny bit about your plans for it?
The Demon Storm series will be a 8-book-long series. We’ve just released The Storm Darkens (book 3), so the following will be book 4, Heart of the Storm.
Heart of the Storm will continue Kari’s story as she traverses not only her trauma, but now Ari’s too. He’s lost something great, and while Raven might be preoccupied, there is so much more than grief for him and Kari to worry about. Heart of the Storm will bring new characters, including my delectable villain, Valeris.
Do you want each book to stand on its own, or are you trying to build a body of work with connections between each book?
I once considered hoping for my books to be able to be standalones, but I just don’t think that’s something I can do. Each book in Demon Storm is going to have so many connections to a greater story arc, it would be so hard for new readers to pop in at a later book and be able to really appreciate what’s going on.
How did you come up with the title for your book?
I was imagining ways to describe a storm growing dark, and went for the simple description. That’s really the brunt of it!
How long did it take you to write this book?
The Storm Darkens was my stopping point in my writing for years. I started writing when I was ten, but this book became a wall for me mid-high school. I didn’t pick back up the habit until my near twenties, and it took me even longer than THAT to really polish this book and get it to where it is now. In total, it probably took 10-15 years to finish The Storm Darkens.
What does the title mean?
The Storm Darkens was originally called something like The Curse, meant to represent the “curse” Raven inflicted on Kari. As I refined the story, and the entire series, the name changed. I not only wanted to include a theme of “storm” in my titles, I also wanted to show that things are steadily getting worse for Kari.
What did you learn when writing the book?
I learned a lot about patience and knowing your strengths and weaknesses when writing. When I was younger, trying to finish this book, I was trying way too hard to do way too much. I needed to be older and more experienced; I needed to have gone through the “writing ringer” a bit.
On the fun side, I also learned a little bit about archery (at least for a few vocab words, anyway).
What surprised you the most?
I’ve been very surprised by my readers’ reactions to some of my prose and descriptions in this book, as well as the amount of love I’ve gotten for some admittedly lore-dumpy scenes. I really didn’t expect people to love The Storm Darkens as much as they have so far!
Have you ever killed off a character your readers loved?
Hahaha…Oh…oh, yes, I have. The Storm Darkens may or may not be one of those very books. Readers will have to wait and see, I suppose.
What do you do to get inside your character’s heads?
I’ve realized over time that my characters are usually some facet of my personality, in some way, shape, or form. When I need to write them, I channel them, I become them. I make their expressions and mimic their actions (within reason!). I imagine their feelings as my own, and do a lot of imagining. Sometimes, I’ve done exercises with odd or random questions to think of new ways the character might react in new situations!
About the Author
Valerie Storm was raised in Tucson, Arizona. Growing up, she fell in love with everything fantasy. When she wasn’t playing video games, she was writing. By age ten, she began to write her own stories as a way to escape reality. When these stories became a full-length series, she considered the path to sharing with other children & children-at/heart looking for a place to call home.
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2 comments:
I like the cartoon cover. Looks great.
Congratulations Valerie!
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