BSP Blog Tour: Daughters of Deception & Giveaway
Daughter Of Deception Summary:
Daddy's little girl.
That's what clairvoyant Viola Ashwood has been her entire life. She wouldn't mind quite so much if her father hadn't been possessed by a powerful, and nasty, demon nearly a decade earlier. After recovering from a horribly tragic confrontation with Daddy Dearest, Viola wants nothing more than to get back in to the federally-funded but privately run demon-hunting Network. Duke, her brother's ex-best friend and the guy she's crushed on since she was six, stands in her way. As Network regional head, Duke's got plenty of reasons for keeping Viola out of his region, and that's before he considers the fact that her father's on the Network's most wanted list.
Just when Duke grudgingly allows Viola into the Network, Daddy Dearest, still possessed and more obsessed with Viola than ever, reappears. While trying to stay one step ahead of the demon, Viola struggles to overcome fears about her surprise demonic heritage while learning to control her new abilities. Especially the one that has her raising zombie squirrels in the middle of the afternoon. Together, Duke and Viola deal with dangerous demons, centuries of family secrets, and a mysterious link that may bind them for life.
Hi Ms. Thorpe. We were wondering why you picked demons and not angels or demons or any other paranormal creature?
I love all paranormal creatures, but there is so much written about them that I wanted a little control – something that was mine and not a creature people would have preconceived notions about. We try not to do it, but we always compare books that have similar creatures even if they are completely different. Plus “demon” is such a vague term. You can do almost anything with them. Aliens are the same way. There’s just no limit.
During your writing, which character(s) came easily to you? Which one(s), if any, took longer or were harder to write?
Viola was the easiest. In all of Daughter of Deception’s incarnations, she was the main character and I’ve had her story, from birth to the end, planned out for years. She’s complex and she’s fun. Elrachaim, Viola’s father, was easy, too. I enjoyed writing him probably more than I should have. Duke, on the other hand, is a relatively simple guy, but I still struggle with him. His arc is a little different than what I usually do for characters and it is difficult. The demons are my favorite characters to write, though.
We really like the names you picked, especially Viola and Duke. Was there a reason why you chose names like those?
It started with a conversation I had with a coworker about “theme” names for children. My family did the same first letter thing, as a lot of families do. My parents’ names rhyme (which is cool, but I would never do that to my children). When I started thinking about Alicia Ashwood, Viola’s mother, I realized she was the type of person who would name her children after her favorite piece of literature – Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. As for Duke, I wanted to play on the Twelfth Night theme a little. Since he had a huge responsibility piled on him early, it made sense that he would drop what he saw as a “kid-ish” nickname like Toby and insist on being called by his last name. Of course, Viola’s always enjoyed needling him so she’s the only one who calls him by his full first name. It’s become sort of a term of endearment.
We are really curious how the zombie squirrels came about? Care to share with us?
Can you imagine what’s buried in your backyard? I don’t want to think about it! It actually started because I wanted to add a bit of levity to that portion of the story. Viola’s not happy about the surprise necromancy and I thought her accidentally raising something normally harmless would be funny. I had planned a conversation about responsible zombie raising, but it never made it into the story. Just imagine what it would be like to realize you could raise the dead – without even knowing how you did it. I’d keep my hands in my pockets all the time, wouldn’t you?
What other family secrets and lies can we look forward to in the next book?
Oh, Viola won’t be finished uncovering all the secrets for ages. In the second book, her brother Sebastian plays a bigger role, and so you’ll see more of that family dynamic. There are more demons, and Viola learned what it really means to be Elrachaim’s daughter. The series is a bottomless pit of revelations, really.
What inspired you to write this novel?
I adore characters. Romance and action are fun, but they don’t mean anything without characters. I like to explore their relationships and how they react to even the smallest change. The novel started out exploring the dynamic between Viola and her possessed father and her siblings. I wanted to focus on her and how she dealt with discovering that her entire life was a sham. Eventually, Sebastian took a backseat, Duke pushed his way to the front, and Daughter of Deception was born.
Thank you, Miss Thorpe.
About the Author:
Where to find Daughter of Deception:
Smashwords
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Goodreads
The Giveaway:
Harmonious Madness (Kara Thorpe's blog)
Great interview!
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