When I started writing Storm of the Gods, I had always envisioned an urban fantasy novel. As someone who is a big fan of and reads a lot of urban fantasy, I knew my story had to contain some elements of the genre. I wasn’t going to have traditional vampires and shapeshifters or fae, though Storm has plenty of its own monsters. Instead, I decided to go the route of magic.
Originally, Storm of the Gods focused on witchcraft, but with more rewrites and new ideas as I expanded the universe, I decided “traditional” witchcraft wasn’t a good fit for the story. Not that there aren’t interesting witches in Greek lore. Hecate and Circe are complex and engaging women who constantly toe the line of victim and villain. But early beta reads suggested that was a story seen too many times.
So I went with the alternative, an idea I’d already been playing with: descendants, or scions, as I chose to refer to them as. In Storm, magic is taught to scions at a young age while they’re in school. As each scion matures, they learn to use magic in various ways: they can “sense” other auras by “pushing” their magic outward, using it as a sixth sense if you will. By the time they reach adulthood, they’re able to harness the magic within them into spells befitting their lineage, i.e.: as a war scion, main character Derek is able to control and create elemental fire, Adapt his body to various combat settings/scenarios, learn and master any fighting style easily, and go into a Berserker Rage that makes him a fighting machine that doesn’t respond to exertion or pain.
Other variations of magic can be learned through enchantments, which are spells that can be created through herbs, chants, and rituals. Derek’s mental link with his younger brother Liam was created with an enchantment. The only scions that can access and use enchantments without ingredients are Athena’s descendants, craft scions. Finally, and most dangerously, hexes are enchantments that can be placed on a person to detrimental effect. One of the side characters––and Derek’s target for most of the story––has a hexed memory, and her plotline is one I’m thrilled to explore later on.
The more urban fantasy I read, the more I seek books that challenge the traditional paranormal stereotypes. I will always have a love for the classic werewolf/vampire/mage stories, but I define the paranormal aspects of Storm of the Gods as purely magical ones. They carry power, mystery, and danger, and that’s the paranormal at its core.
Blurb
Thirty
years ago, the gods of Greek legend returned to the world. Their return
restored their powers, which had been spent in a cataclysmic battle with the
Titans. With the ancient deities imprisoned in Tartarus, the Olympians now
reside in Néo Vasíleio, formerly known as California.
Twenty-four-year-old
Derek Aerios is a war scion, a descendent of Ares, the God of War. He and his
brother, eighteen-year-old Liam, capture mythological creatures and rogue
scions as part of Ares’s elite military force. As he struggles to cope with his
violent powers and the scars of a traumatic childhood, Derek tries to keep the
two vows he has made: protect his brother, and never kill a human again.
But
when Ares forces him to hunt and kill four rogue scions under Athena’s control—by
threatening Liam’s life—Derek chooses to go after the scions in order to save
his brother and keep his promise to himself.
Yet the
closer Derek gets to the scions, the more he realizes that his orders are part
of a deeper conspiracy that put him at odds with his mission and his
conscience. Athena may not be the enemy, a traitor could be in their midst, and
the Titans could be closer to freedom than ever before.
Buy it here:
Amy is a Canadian
urban fantasy and horror author. Her work revolves around monsters, magic,
mythology, and mayhem. She started writing in her early teens, and never
stopped. She loves building unique worlds filled with fun characters and
intense action.
When she isn’t writing, she’s reading,
watching movies, taking photos, gaming, struggling with chocoholism and ice
cream addiction, and diving headfirst into danger in Dungeons & Dragons
campaigns. Amy can be found online on Facebook (www.facebook.com/amybraunauthor/)
Twitter (@amybraunauthor) and Instagram (@amybraunauthor)
Social Media Links
5 comments:
Congrats on your new release!
Thank you for hosting, Diane! :D
My pleasure, Amy. We love Paranormal Romance here. Thanks for sharing your story.
This is an awesome book, Amy. I've enjoyed watching it evolve on WeWriWa. Congrats on the release!! I love new takes on familiar themes.
Amy, thanks for an interesting post which introduced us the writing of the novel and the novel itswelf.
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