Demon Storm, Book 5
Young Adult Fantasy
Date Published: 02-13-2024
Publisher: Shadow Spark Publishing
The calm can only last so long.
Now a member of Freehaven's Council, Kari tries to put her past behind her and settle down in her new home with her ever-present Lord and love, Ari.
Cracks in her mind, parting gifts from the heart eater, make planning the upcoming Spring Festival a struggle, but Kari is determined to do her best, even after Guine departs the town.
When a mysterious child appears at the festival and marks Kari, all semblance of normalcy is banished.
A triple threat from her past awaits beyond the walls of Freehaven and options are thin. Not willing to spill any more blood, Kari takes it upon herself to stop them—with Ari by her side.
Interview with Valerie Storm
Have you read anything that made you think differently about fiction?
This is an interesting question! I think I can only reference the many fiction books I read growing up. In particular, Tamora Pierce’s Magic Circle series really opened my eyes to how beautiful fantasy is, and how friendships can transcend so many boundaries. Reading these books (as well as others, like Bring Me Their Hearts by Sara Wolf and the Elemental Trilogy by Sherry Thomas) made me love fiction that much more. It is a source of comfort when the world is a little too hard.
How do you select the names of your characters?
Usually, I name my characters off the cuff by piecing sounds together. Occasionally I’ll use a name generator or look up names that mean certain words!
Do you hide any secrets in your books that only a few people will find?
Not many, but there are hints and clap backs to prequel books that are yet to be edited. I’ll drop character names and historical events—for instance, in Birth of the Storm (book 1), I mention Brianna of Nagaris, who is the main character of the second prequel book I’ll publish someday.
What was your hardest scene to write?
In Storm’s Convergence, the hardest scene(s) to write was the action and fight scenes! At times there were 4-5 people in each fight scene, and it was so hard to juggle the characters. I had to constantly consider who was doing what, if their actions made sense, and if anything at all was fluid.
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 am definitely building a series. None of the Demon Storm books could stand alone and do it well; there will just be too much as the series goes on for new readers to miss. In the future, I plan to write standalones within the same universe, though!
What were your goals and intentions in this book, and how well do you feel you achieved them?
My goals for Storm’s Convergence were to bring together the Iniko Sisters, who had been a long-run set of villains meandering mostly in the background. I wanted to pull them into the spotlight, then wrap up their part of Kari’s story. I feel like I did what I intended! Everything is dramatic and wraps up so many loose ends I’d laid down for four books.
What inspired you to write Storm’s Convergence?
I knew I had to write Storm’s Convergence when I realized I wanted my Demon Storm series to survive past book 3. I had introduced two of my magical sisters by this point (Riniko in Birth of the Storm and Niniko in The Storm Darkens) and knew that they couldn’t go away; I could not write them out, and they would not be forgotten. So, Storm’s Convergence was going to be their conflict rising to a point and Kari having to face it (and the third and final sister, Kiniko, would join, of course).
Can you tell us a little bit about the next books in Demon Storm or what you have planned for the future?
Demon Storm is set to have 8 books, so we’re more than half way there! The rest of the series is written and just going through some rewriting and editing phases so they can be as ready as possible. I hope that my readers will stick around for the finale of Kari’s story!
After Demon Storm, I plan to work on the four prequel books that would come before Kari’s story. The first of them, titled Ascension, would overview the rise of the first demons. Readers will get the inner details about how that happened and why! From there, the prequels will show more of my world and how the demons’ influences shaped everything before Kari was even born.
Can you tell us a little bit about the characters in Storm’s Convergence?
Those who have read Heart of the Storm and know who Guine is? He’s taking a back seat in this book. Instead, Kari and Ari will take on center stage and have to face the Iniko Sisters, a trio of magical women who have made it their life-long goal to hunt Kari, the Demonic Catalyst prophesized to end the world.
I like to think my characters are usually very well-written and dynamic. When readers met the Iniko Sisters throughout the series, it was just a taste of what Storm’s Convergence will provide. These three are full of depth and personality; they go beyond a simple goal of wanting to save the world. They are sisters first, who have journeyed and worked hard to get to this part of their lives. I can’t wait to see how divided readers are when they watch the sisters match against main character Kari, who could very easily be viewed as an antagonist in the right lens.
What did you enjoy most about writing this book?
My favorite part about creating Storm’s Convergence was forming connections from this book to the rest of the series. In very early drafts, this was very much a standalone novel, an Anime stye arc that served as a way to tie up loose ends. Over time, I tightened some of those strings and used characters working in the background. I can’t explain too much—spoilers!—but suffice it to say that someone very special shows up to ruin everything, and it is one of my very favorite scenes.
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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1 comments:
My favorite genre is fantasy, I really liked the review. Thanks for recommending it
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